detained doing his job for "the wall street journal." >> how is the family holding up? >> they say it's hard. they put out a statement today saying every day that evan isn't home is another day too many. we heard from the wall street journal today saying journalism is not a crime. we work closely with the highest levels of the u.s. government and expect they will vigorously pursue all efforts to free evan. the national security advisor said he met with the employer of evan, "the wall street journal," and officials from his family or representing his family at the white house today. clearly, they are engaged with the wlhite house on this. >> thank you very much. let's hope he comes home soon. thanks very much for watching i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room."

president biden tells cnn it's essential that ukraine get controversial custer munitions from the u.s. a, quote, difficult decision that has biden taking heat from allies and members of his own party. is rudy giuliani aboutdisba? the special counsel zeros in on a chaotic white house meeting that include d rudy giuliani. thanks for joining us. i'm e erica hill. it's controversial because as you can see, it breaks apart

midair and skaters explosives over a large area. cluster bombs can leave munitions that didn't explode on the ground long after the fighting has stopped, continuing to endanger civilians in the area. that, of course, is part of the problem and part of the concern that was discussed with russia early on in an exclusive interview with cnn, president biden explains why he believes now is the time to arm ukraine with this powerful weapon. >> they're trying to get through those trenches and stop the tanks from rolling. it was not an easy decision. the main thing is, they either have the weapons to stop the russians now from -- keeping them from stopping the ukrainian offensive through these areas or they don't. i think they needed them. >> not an easy decision. a number of key allies are among the more than 120 countries that

have banned cluster munitions because they can cause so much damage, initially and as we noted for years to come. the u.s., ukraine and russia are among the 71 that have not signed on to the ban. this decision by biden also puts him at odds with some members of his own party, among them congre congresswoman hoolihan. since the early days of this war, both russia and ukraine have been using cluster munitions with deadly results. in a new video posted by russian soldiers, putin's men can be heard pleading for help as they are hit with ukraine's cluster munitions. >> translator: we were at the front line under constant mortar fire of the enemy. more than 2,000 shells were fired at us every day. we will no opportunity to take cover because all the positions that had been dug, they were all

destroyed under enemy mortar fire as well as cluster munition. we were there without air and artillery support. >> i want to get to our national security reporter. you reported a week ago that the biden administration was seriously considering sending cluster munitions to ukraine. today, they made it official. also, really sought to draw a distinction between how russia uses this and how ukraine is using them and plans to use them. what more have you learned? >> what we saw today from the white house and pentagon was a full-throated defense of this decision to send ukraine these very controversial munitions. we heard from jake sullivan who said that without these cluster munitions, the u.s. is very worried that ukraine might not have enough artillery ammunition to actually get through the rest of the counteroffensive and successfully prosecute this war against russia. of course, this has serious implications for the u.s.'

relationship with its allies, particularly those that banned the use of cluster munitions. over 100 countries have done so. the u.s. says it's confident they have managed to reassure allies that this is what ukraine needs right now. national security advisor sullivan sought to draw distensions between how russia and ukraine are using them on the battlefield. russia does have cluster munitions. importantly, the dud rate in terms of how many of those little bomblets that scatter actually explode, actually do not explode is much higher than the dud rate of the munitions the u.s. would provide. what does that mean? the risk posed to civilians in the longer term by the russian cluster munitions is greater than those that would be posed by the ones that are going to be provided by the u.s. the u.s. is drawing a disti distinction. the ukrainians are defending their own territory. the rush slansians are using th

attack. >> we should note, the u.s. and its allies are focussed on belarus. they are looking for signs. fighter are amassing there. looking to determine whether russia sent its tactical nuclear weapons there. matthew chance is reporting on where the wagner fighters would be stationed. >> reporter: this is the closest we have ever come to a wagner camp. not in russia nor the ukrainian front lines, but standing empty for now in belarus. this is where we thought that wagner soldiers invited to belarus could be housed. a vast tent city that this military use about 100 kilometers outside of the belarusian capital in tents like these that have been set up to house a couple dozen fighters at any given time. for the most part, empty at the

moment. those because the plan to invite wagner and its leader over here into belarus after their military uprising in russia now appears to be on hold. recent satellite images showed how quickly the camp was transformed, readied to house large numbers of troops at short notice. the belarusian general who gave us access told me wagner forces could still be deployed here. if the political decision is made. there's room for up to 5,000 soldiers at this camp alone. we have other facilities, too. have you been told to prepare this camp for the possible arrival of wagner fighters? is that what you were told? we have prepared it for training and for territorial defense, he says. it was the sudden announcement by the leader of belarus that

neither wagner for its leader was, in fact, in the country that seems to have thrown planning into disarray. luke s lukashenko insists his offer is still on the table. with new questions over wagner and its leader, it seems unlikely this would be wagner camp will be filled. what i think this shows is that the offer to house wagner fighters in belarus was genuine. the mood towards the group and its leader prigozhin is changing rapidly. the chance to leave russia to the camp in belarus may have passed. >> important reporting. thank you. democratic congressman adam smith of washington, the top democrat on the armed services committee. good to have you with us. the white house, as you well know, officially confirming

cluster munitions will be sent to ukraine. you said you would be open to sending them if it could end the war sooner. do you ultimately think this decision and these weapons will achieve that? >> i think it's the right decision. it's a tough decision for the reasons that jake sullivan and president biden outlined today. the bottom line is, the ukrainians need these munitions, because we are running out of other munitions to give them. the war is still being prosecuted against them. the big concern about cluster munitions is the impact they have on the civilian population and the communities where they are used. that's a legitimate concern. the russians are using cluster munitions with a dud rate of over 30%. the munitions we are sending have a dud rate of just over 1%. the ukrainians are using these to defend their own territory. the reason the white house waited is we would prefer not to

send these weapons. but because the russian invasion persists, we are getting to the point where they are flneeded t provide to ukraine to retake their territory. tough decision but the right decision. >> tough but the right one. as you know, a number of your fellow democrats don't agree. your colleague from pennsylvania saying, quote, i challenge the notion that these weapons are the most effective support we can provide ukraine right now. i challenge the notion that we should employ the same tactics russian is using, blurring the lines of moral high ground. are you concerned about the u.s.' ability to claim the moral high ground after reversing course on these weapons? >> no. i am not remotely concerned about the ability of the u.s. to claim -- or ukraine to claim the moral eye ground. russia invaded ukraine, unprovoked. ukraine posed no threat to russia. they have innovated them.

they have devastated city after city. your crews have documented mariupol and bakhmut how the russians don't just attack. they utterly destroy the cities and kill countless civilians. nobody with a straight face should utter the notion that there's any question of where the moral high ground lies. number two, we are not using these munitions in the same way that the russians are. the russians are indiscriminately bombing civilians and civilian targets with cluster munitions that have dead rate dud rates over 30%. ukraine will use these weapons to target military targets that have invaded their own country. any suggestion that somehow this is even remotely similar to what the russians are doing is just ridiculous, frankly. we don't want to use cluster munitions, not because of any moral comparison to russia, but because we would rather not do

it. russia has forced ukraine's hand with this brutal and unending invasion. that's, i think, the problem way to look at this difficult decision. >> tomorrow is two weeks since prigozhin ended his armed rebellion and two weeks since he was last seen in public. we were told he was in belarus. lukashenko said he is in russia. the kremlin isn't commenting. how concerning is it that no one seems to know exactly where he is? >> look, i mean -- for prigozhin and his supporters, it's very concerning. for the rest of us, we might have a different look at that. the concerning thing is the instability in russia, what it means for the war in ukraine and what it means for where the russian government is going to go in the future. we want to have a reliable partner to ultimately negotiate a peace on this. the instability in russia is undermining that.

what is prigozhin doing? i don't know where he is at. it definitely adds an element of instability. it's worthing th inoting that p lied, it wasn't what he was telling the people, it was a war of choice, that it means there's going to be internal conflict in rush russia for some time to come. >> thank you. >> thanks. appreciate the chance. next, more trouble for trump's longtime attorney rude rudy giuliani. he could be barred from working as an attorney. questions grow over why the secret service investigation is taking so long into the cocaine found at the white house. space-x investing millions of dollars into a small town that's home to the launch pad. why do some want him to take his rockets elsewhere ?

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interviewer: please, call or go online right now. [music playing] new tonight, should rudy giuliani be disbarred? that's the recommendation from a disciplinary committee which says, he claimed massive election fraud but had no evidence. mr. giuliani has not acknowledged or accepted responsibility for his

misconduct and the misconduct sadly transcends all his past accomplishments. this as we learn jack smith is focused on that chaotic oval office meeting we heard about in december of 2020. the one that giuliani and other trump legal advisors attended where trump considered every possible option to stay in power, despite the objections of his then white house counsel, including seizing voting machines. we know the special counsel asked giuliani and others about the meeting. he is focused on efforts to pressure officials to overturn the results in their states. does there give us a clue to how close jack smith is to wrapping this up? >> this information taken together with our other reporting does suggest that a charging decision could be near. let's take the december 2020 meeting. this is one of the most explosive moments in the time period between the election and

january 6. it's wildly considered one of the most chaotic meetings of the trump administration, which is really saying smchlt this was covered by the january 6 committee. we have known about this. the fact that they are now in recent weeks and months asking witnesses about this, it suggests that they are crossing their ts, dotting their is. they are talking to rudy giuliani. he was a central player here. all of this in addition to our other reporting about how they are interested on the pressure on states to overturn their results. it suggests this could be close to wrapping up. we have other reporting that suggests they are not done. we know there other witnesses who have been contacted by the special counsel but have not set a date to sit down with him. there are people that they need to interview. at this point, it's not clear when charges will come.

the other big question is, will the former president be charged? at this point, based on our detailed reporting, it's not clear. >> appreciate it. thank you. ryan goodman, former special counsel at the defense department. let's quickly talk about rudy giuliani and this recommendation he be disbarred. >> the evidence is overwhelming. one of the key facts that they say is paragraph 33, that he acknowledged in the hearings that he commenced the litigation without evidence of his core factual claims. that's damning. let's put it in context. they said his destructive purpose and affect. he had not a faint hope of suc

succeeding. that's the language. under the significance of the case, this pretty heavy sanction of a complete disbarment does seem like it's called for. i expect that will be the final result. >> there terms of the commends, it's important to just remind people what we heard from rudy giuliani. >> joe biden is in the lead because of the fraudulent ballots, the illegal ballots that were produced and that were lawed to be used. they look like they are passing out dope, not just ballots. it's quite clear they are stealing votes. there was the worst election in american history. this election was stolen in seven states. >> we have his words there. when you look at this -- we talked so much about rudy and his role. was there anyone who was more key based on what we know to these efforts by the former president to overturn the election?

or does it all lead back to rudy? >> do i get to say donald trump? i would put him one. then rudy giuliani is number two. so much ran through him. he is facing at least a partial consequence with having his law license suspended. you can as a lawyer be zealous in your advocacy, creative. but you cannot lie to a court. you cannot go to a court with absolutely nothing to back up the claims you are making. so much of this ran through rudy, from the advice he was giving to donald trump, the coordinating role in putting together the slates of fake electors, to his role in pumping up the election fraud lie in the public and in the courts. it's worth taking a moment to reflect on the court decision. it's sad. it's pathetic what happened to rudy giuliani. he was a very respected federal prosecutor in the southern district of new york. now as of this moment, he is unable to practice law in this country. >> it is really something. also i agree, notable it was mentioned there in the recommendation that all of this

overshadows all of those past accomplishments. as paula was reporting, we know there's this focus from jack smith on this meeting in the oval office. why do you think they may be focused -- it's not the only thing they are focused on. this is one of the elements, one of the parts of the investigation. what does that meaning signify to you or could it? >> there are many different things that come out of the meeting. it seemed to cover the water didn' waterfront. one aspect is a clash between the lawyers. it might give jack smith into the legal advice donald trump was receiving. he is getting the white house counsel saying this is not legal, you can not go through these approaches to overturn the election. on the other hand are powell and giuliani and some of the advice seems to be conspireing in the criminal conduct of trying to overturn the election. that would be very important to the special counsel, because it could deny donald trump one of

his key defenses. i was relying on counsel. they told me. not if this was happening and not if the counsel themselves are implicated in the criminal scheme. >> potentially conspireing. is there clear, based on what with -- we know a lot about this meeting, thanks to everything we learned during the committee hearings. right? does anything that you have seen point to potential criminal activity that could lead to charges? >> let me tell you what i think is and is not. if we look only in the meeting, you can't point to just that meeting and say there's a crime. this meeting was chaotic, wild, crazy and all of that. even some of the advice was dangerous, anti-democratic and unconstitutional. not necessarily a crime. what you have is one group of lawyers saying to donald trump, do these things, seize voting machines, name powell special counsel. another, i think, more responsible group of lawyers saying, you can't do that. i don't think you can charge donald trump with a crime because he close to listen to group a rather than group b. but it's a very important part

of the story. virtually everything that follows flows from that meeting. a lot of the actions that come after, the submission of the elector schemes flows from that meeting. it's important to set the baseline. i don't think a prosecutor will argue right there in the meeting a crime was committed. it's part of the bigger picture. it goes to broader intent. >> flonow we wait for more. >> is it -- >> you don't have plans tonight? >> it's 7:25. i don't think doj is coming out tonight. >> you might be able to enjoy your weekend. thank you. a warning from a prominent democrat tonight that cornell west running could hand the election to donald trump. why some residents in a small community fear elon musk's spa space-x will destroy their quiet beach town. >> my fear for my neighbors that they will be shut out, they will be pushed out of the neighborhood and the place that we know as home.

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president obama warning biden could be facing a third party spoiler, specifically from cornell west. in 2016, the green party played an outsized roll in tipping the election to donald trump. now with west as the likely nominee, they could do it again. this comes as ss than 40% of americans view biden or trump favorably. almost one in four say they don't like either. which is a key part of west's pitch. . >> i thought about all the courageous fellow citizens that i meet. how do we end with two candidates, trump, biden. good god. with trump, you have got a gangster in the objective sense. with biden, i love the brother, but he is a hypocrite. he is pushing toward world war

iii. >> former republican candidate for u.s. senate basil smykle. you were nodding your head as we were playing that sound. he has been a major figure in progressive politics for some time. now we see where he is going. this recent nbc news poll stoo out. 45% of democrats say they would consider backing a third party candidate. compare that to 34% of republicans. how concerned do you think joe biden should be? >> a little concerned. p cornell is my frat brother. i got ply ph.d. because i was drawn to his scholarship. he has resonated with the african american community for decades. if you are joe biden, you know this is likely a close race, whether it's desantis or trump,

that it's those margins in some states where this third party candidate could be effective. particularly when you look at 2022. you see the numbers -- especially in the african american community, were not where democrats needed them to be. if there is concern about how close the general election might be with memories of stein from 2016, this is going -- this should concern biden and democrats a little bit, based on the issues that cornell west will be able to address. >> a little concern for biden and the democrats. what about the republicans? >> look, i think for me personally, if democrats seem to think that cornell west is the problem, they don't seem to recognize why they lost to president trump in 2016 in the first place. it was not because of stein. it was because there was a blue collar revolt from people who felt the democratic party had left them behind. for me, whether you are republican or democrat, you see somebody like cornell west who has dedicated his life to justice, the only thing they

should have to stay is thank you. instead, they send david axelrod to go out there and take the hatchet to him. i think it plays into everything he is talking about. this is a party that is more concerned with the status quo than they are with the safety and security of black and brown communities. i would also say that we can't forget this is the same cornell west that was ostracized because he wanted to support bernie sanders and push further, because he wanted to have a black state of union to talk about what was rightfully owed to a black community that came out in record numbers to help elect the first black president. for me, it just confirms what many believe the democratic party seemingly has forgotten about, what they claim is their core conviction, trying to make sure they can deliver results to multigenerational poverty and despair. >> i was struck today, the fact

that cornell west was a major surrogate for bernie sanders. >> i think he has done quite well given the limitations that we have. i do think that there are ebbs and flows. >> will you be supporting joe biden for re-election? >> i believe given that field, yes. >> how significant is it that she's saying that at this stage? >> right. it's incredibly significant, because in some ways it pulls a lot of her supporters in the direction of joe biden and away from thinking that maybe we should be looking at somebody else. joe biden -- >> maybe we should be looking at cornell west. >> a lot of folks argue joe biden's numbers are soft. i don't think there's a concern that a lot of voters will vote for cornell west. it may tamp down turnout because

you don't have that sort of movement candidate in a joe biden. to everything you said, absolutely right, in terms of community of color, particularly for the black and brown communities that cornell west speaks to a lot of the concerns. joe biden needs to take some of that on the campaign trail. >> to that point that you are both making, she was then asked about cornell west. she referenced that. i think we have that as well. >> what do you blake of cornell west's campaign? >> i think dr. west has an incredible history in this country. what he fights for, what he gives weight to sis incredibly important, and the ability for us to talk about issues that frankly mainstream democrats are often too afraid to touch. >> that's essentially what you were saying. you are both agreeing with each other. what is the potential not just for cornell west to maybe peel away some of those voters and

maybe even beyond people of color, we are talking about worker class voters in this country, who are looking for somebody to talk about their issues. could he pull some away from -- if it's a donald trump as a nominee? >> you see even now with somebody like rfk junior who is starting to attract some traction from some republican voters. there is a fervor in america for people who are willing to speak to the populous ambitions of the nation but also the bedrock deficiencies within our construct. yes, i think if dr. west was being wise, he would probably just abandon everything he is doing and move to iowa. there's a long tradition of grass-roots support particularly more in the populous and liberal bent in those democratic caucuses. he should go to all 99 of those counties. then go back again and go back again. the south carolina primary has been rigged. democrats trying to figure out where they will move it up or leave it where it is. there's not a lot of oxygen there. they say they know joe.

i think that's where he could have impact. to your point, there is a broad consensus from all americans that we want to have somebody that speaks to the fact that we are spending money on wars abroad. we are not dealing with public housing crisis at home. >> if i could add. there needs to be -- i think aoc was talking to this. someone who will hold democrats acountable for the issues that we haven't necessarily talked about. if you look at what bernie sanders did -- look at the impact on how we talked about college and college af afford affordability. how we talk about length care. there needs to be that voice in this conversation. if cornell west will play any part in this, that's the voice that -- that's the lane that he occupies. to your point about the south carolina primary, what joe biden can do, since that's likely the first primary, is talk about tloes issues early, set the tone and hope that that carries into the general election. speaking on it once, letting it

go, not addressing it again is a losing proposition. >> that's why you see so many more african american men bit by bit slowly moving to the right. at some point they are willing to consider alternatives because they feel as if their needs have been neglected. >> great to have you both in the studio. thank you. next, it's been five days since cocaine was found inside the white house. why don't we know who was behind? this as the national security advisor weighs in on that investigation. it was a tiny texas town until elon musk's space-x took it over. some people are not happy about it. we have a special report ahead. muscle, bone, and heart health. everyone: woo hoo! ensure with 25 vitamins and minerals. enter the $10,000 nourishing moments giveaway. julian's about to learn that free food is a personal eating trigger. no, it isn't.

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jake sully ivan is raising doubts the cocaine belongs to anyone who works in the building. >> we have rigorous drug testing policies at the white house. we have drug use policies here at the white house. we take those extremely seriously. we will let the investigation unfold if it involves someone from the white house, the appropriate consequences will ensue. >> the secret service -- it's the secret service in charge of the investigation, is expected to wrap up the investigation by

monday. a refresher, the cocaine was found in a cubby near the ground floor entrance to the west wing where staff led tours of the white house pass through when entering the building. a former secret service is here. it's good to have you with us. jake sullivan suggests he doubts the person responsible for this is a white house employee. just because of some of the testing that they do, some of the security measures they have in place. do you agree? >> i don't. one thing i learned working as a criminal investigator and doing investigations is you can't vouch for anybody. you would like to think and presume that everyone we hire is a certain way. at the end of the day, you can't do that. you don't know what people's personal lives are like. you don't flow whknow who peopl. i hear him say rigorous drug policies. i would push back as a former interviewer. what are those? what exactly are those? how often do you drug test? just because you test when you hire someone, which many places

do, it doesn't mean that they are not going to hit later. if you do drug test, is it random, every three months, every year? what does that look like? you can't really vouch for anybody. >> it's been five days at this point. based on your experience, do you think the secret service has narrowed it down to a small list? >> i think they are working very hard. from a science-based approach, you will look at dna or fingerprint. if you don't have anything, the follow-up would be doing interviews. thinking from that standpoint, i don't know if you can wrap it up by monday. maybe they can say, no dna, no fingerprint. then if they found something, they have would have to track down who it was. it won't be wrapped up by monday. this will take time. also doing the interviewed. i would polygraph people. figuring out who was in the white house, who brought this in.

i think we should have some answers, because it is the white house. there's a bit of that shame factor. how could something like this happen? how could this be brought in? it would be very important to narrow that down. >> does it raise security concerns? jake sullivan said no. >> it doesn't. it's somebody's bag that they brought in. at the end of the day, you are looking for weapons, anything like that from a security standpoint, it's secure. >> to your point, a little embarrassment. great to see you. thank you. next, elon musk could be wearing out his welcome in one small town where space-x is impacting just about everyone's life, including the wildlife. a special report next. ukraine's president told erin burnett he needed president bid biden to push for ukraine to join nato now. tonight, president biden responds. that's my boy. ♪ stay off the freeways! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. libertrty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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>> looks like the surface of the moon. >> yeah. other worldly. >> reporter: walk through the sand dunes surrounding the launch pad tower in south texas and the remnants of april's launch of the most powerful rocket ever built are still everywhere. these pieces were part of the launch pad? >> yep. this is only a quarter of a mile. debris that size went three-quarters of a mile at least. >> reporter: after the launch, justin documented the aftermath. he is a biologist with the coastal bend bays and he is coup aris program, a group that's tracking the environmental impact of space-x launches on the peninsula. the area is now often referred to as elon musk's star base. >> it's in the middle of a wildlife refuge and stas parklands. this area isn't mrent to be disturbed. that's the point of protect the areas is to protect them for the wildlife and public enjoyment. >> reporter: in april, thousands

of people descended on south texas to witness the thunderous launch of the space-x starship rocket and heavy booster. the rocket's 33 engines disinterest gated much of the concrete launch pad. a few minutes later, the rocket blew up before reaching space. >> like a meteor. >> reporter: debris left craters in the sand flats, smaller pieces peppered the landscape like a shotgun blast at close range. tangled rebar was thrown nearly a mile away. vegetation near the site was scorched. the area say nesting ground for threatened and endangered wildlife. what's your concern? >> that's the question is where does it stop? another explosion, another explosion, another explosion. eventually, this is not a wildlife refuge anymore. it's not a place for the public to go and see natural beauty.

>> reporter: the april launch has resurfaced the tns between elon musk's space-x and the critics. this graffiti appeared a week later. several environmental groups are suing to take stricter oversight of the private space company's launch plans. space-x did not respond to cnn's request for comment. it's not clear when space-x will launch again. elon musk says he would like to try >> the federal aviation commission tells cnn it won't speculate on a timeline to approve future flights. the faa says spacex has yet to complete its final mishap investigation and the company needs to identify and implement corrective actions to insure public safety. >> a lot of its space theme. >> barton opened a bar and grill two years ago. it's become a popular spot for spacex employees locals and space tourists, business has

been booming. >> we had a lot of regulars coming in every day and really responsive of it. now we are kind of, you know, again they were shocked by it. >> so like more nervous what the impact might be. >> yes. >> there's no turning back from this now? >> there's no way they're not going to keep launch from here. these guys will figure out what they need to do. >> the boom has triggered a real estate boom. >> this is old brownsville? >> this is old bronzeville. >> you grew up two blocks away? >> i grew up two blocks that way on levee. >> josette isn't sure how much longer she can afford to live here saying her rent jumped from $650 to a thousand in two years and hinajosa says families are selling homes because they can't afford the tax anymore into that is my fear for my neighbors that

they will be pushed out of the neighborhood and the place we know as home. >> brownsville is in one of the poorest counties of the state but the median price has more than doubled since spacex broke ground here in born, far outpaceing the increase. >> it's like this polarizing issue because you have people who work for them and guys like me looking at the bicker picture. >> local leaders see spacex as a economic driver that will change the future of the rio grande valley. the company is expanding its footprint on the south texas coast and elon musk has committed millions to the community. >> we are inventing the wheel with the largest potential space ship that's ever been launched. >> camp crownty judge says it's

like early days of nasa. >> i guarantee any other community in this country would love to have spacex launching in their backyard because what it would mean from and economical and tourism standpoint. >> cnn brownsville. >> thanks to editor reporting. out front next, ukraine wants an invitation to join nato. does president biden believe the war torn country is ready to join the alliance? his exclusive intervieiew next. cardiologi recommended form of coq10. qunol. the brand i trust.

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>> tonight, president biden says he does not believe ukraine should be invited into nato just yet. listen to what he told cnn in an exclusive sit down. >> i don't think it's ready for membership in nato but here's the deal. i spent, as you know, a great deal of time trying to hold nato

together because i believe it has had an overwhelming objective from the time he launched 85,000 troops into ukraine and that was to break nato heat was confident, in my view, he could break nato so holding natalee thogt is really critical. i don't think there unanimity in nato about whether or not to bring ukraine into the nato family now. at this moment in the middle of a war. >> those comments come after ukranian president zelenskyy made a direct appeal to president biden in an exclusive interview with aaron burnett saying in english, ukraine needs to be a part of nato quote now. you can see the full interview with president biden this sunday right here on cnn at 10 a.m. eastern. thanks so much for joining me on up front. ac 360 starts right now. >> tonight on 360, to indict o