practice apocalypse and several other words i messed up today. now we'll go to ukraine and shepard. >> good evening from kiev where developments have been coming in. russian solidifying its control as local lawmakers say they're on onboard with moscow. observessers have been blocked from entering the crimea, and the russians sinking one of the own ships. you'll see exactly why it happened. breaks now. u.s. lawmakers are all but done vote on promising a billion dollars in aid to ukraine. a lot of news today, so let's get to it. >> now, shepard smith reporting

live in ukraine. >> it's 3:00 on the east coast, noon on the west coast, 10:00 p.m. here in kiev. word tonight from u.s. lawmakers in -- from the law makers in crimea that the west has already lost the toughing dug -- tug of war. they will join with russia's president vladimir putin they with a -- waved russia flags. a protest led to the international crisis we're seeing up folding. crimea's parliament set up a vote for the cream crimean people. a vote that is meant to make the decision to join russia official in the words of one member of

the crimean parliament, i quote, what are people supposed to do when they're surrounded by russian forces? and the fact is, for all intents and purposes, russia is in control of crimea. crimea's new leader says some 11,000 troops have flooded the peninsula. the kremlin ordered ukraine troops in the region to put down their weapons and join with russia or else. russia is controlling the flow of into crimea, pulling the plun all newscasts. they're hearing putin's voice oring in. we could still get a ukrainian news channel near kiev but network officials say they're off the air in crimea. they've say an armed mob blocked their journalists from entering the region and threatened to ya the journalist as human shields in the event of any attack. today ukraine's nucleide called

crime use's vote to join russia a criminal act with russian president putin the culprit. >> are we going crazy? is it acceptable? that in the 25 centuries with no legal ground, with in reason, one country, which possess a nuclear weapon, just decides in a snap to invade another. >> it is a good question. the secretary of state john kerry met for the second straight day with misrussian counterpart but russian's foreign minister said they could not reach an agreement and cited the united states' threat of economic punishment which the kremlin has vowed would trigger a tough retaliation. at the white house, despite the threat of revenge. president obama signed an executive order to move forward with punishments. and a final vote for crimea to join russia would violate

international law. let's get right to the white house. ed henry is live. >> good to see you. this was a surprise appearance in the white house briefing room for the president. he had already signed this executive order that targets not just unnamed russian officials but ukrainian officials that u.s. believes were involved in helping russia to violate ukraine's territory. the president telling reporters all of news the room that he believes this will distract a heavy cost on russia, these sanctions, these moves, and the president also ripped into the referendum on the future of crimea, basically hit it pretty hard, and what is interesting is you have republicans like lindsey graham, who have been going after the president for days now saying he looked weak on the international stage. change saying these steps are a positive. >> any discussion about the future of jane jane must include the legitimate government

ukraine in 2014 we're well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders. >> better late than never. this is trending in the right direction. sending the fighters to poland to help with the baltic patrolling. calling this a -- the status of the crimea illegitimate and outside of international law is a great step. >> senior officials say the president's broader point in coming out today was they believe u.s. allies are united in isolating putin and believe the crisis will come to an end soon. behind me for several hours there have ban few hundred protesters on the ukraine issue chanting, u.s.a., u.s.a., help ukraine. they have been out in the cold for hours. >> ed, thank you very much. let's go to the state department

now and bring in the spokeswoman is who live with news washington. we heard from so many today about the sanctions. sorry about the delay. it's a difficult one for sure. the democrat -- >> i know. >> -- of connecticut said europe is not where it needs to be. can you get them there? >> absolutely. we took such a strong message today, took significant steps to convey there will be consequences for the actions russia is taking. we're engaged the very close consultation, working in lockstep with our european partnership some they agree that russia should be held accountable. we'll see what happens over the next 24 to 48 hours. >> those hours could be

critical. i want to talk about two points we have become aware of today. one great britain. a memorandum was blend -- they do not want to participate in economic sanctions. the russians have a lot of deals with banks in great britain and they apparently are not willing to sign off on system then there's the germans who get so much of their energy from there who are financially tied as well. the bottom line is it looks like from london to germany, the cooperation is not as much as the words ought. how do we do with thought we eu? >> i disagree. there were leaked memos but secretary kerry has been engaged with this counterparts and they agree we're at a critical point. we need to show consequences and make this hurt. and that's what we're doing. so, we'll let the eu speak for a

themselves, but i can assure you, we're united. we all agree the steps russia has taken are unacceptable and we need to take steps on our end to send the message as a united international community. >> i dock think anybody is disputing what your saying. we're saying different things. the united states is going forward with sanctions. european union is not and members of the senate are saying if we can't get them to come along, they're toothless, and for now they have not. how can the united states apply pressure so they would see it behooves them to do so. not just to say we're united this is wrong but to actually do something. >> i hope i would encourage? i senator or congress to read the strong statement that came out of this meeting of the european commission today, where they made clear they do want to tape steps to old russia accountable. at the owned the day here, even the steps we're taking politically, where we are very

united, as the g-7 has sent some strong messages -- are already having an impact on russia. fluctuations in their markets, the rubble -- we need to take this day-by-day here. we have been in lock step with what needs to happen and we'll see over the next 24 to 48 hours what steps member countries from europe take. >> at this time yesterday we heard from secretary of state kerry speaking overseas, and he said he had spoken with his russian counterpart, laid out what it is that needs to happen but didn't give us an indication what was said in return. today we heard as well the contact continued but we have not heard anything firm from the russians do we have any idea what russia might want to stop this advance to beautiful its troops back on to the bases in crimea and respect the integrity of this country?

>> what russia may want is not what russia may get here. this is a case where there's broad agreement, they violated international law. what we're trying to suggest here is the need for engagement and conversation, and the fact that the russians and ukraines need to sit down at table together. that's exactly what we're talking about right now. ultimately it's in russias interests to have a stable and prosperous ukraine as well and not going down a path where their territorial sovereignty and integrity is threatened. so, these are all the issue wears talking about, and we have been clear, we're willing to take economic steps and political steps with our international partners as necessary as well. >> you said at the beginning of our conversation that the next 24 to 48 hours will be very important. is it your sense and the sense of those at the state department and secretary kerry they may be able to get these two parties --

those from here and those from moscow, to sit down in the next 48 hours, or is the timetable not in the works? >> i don't want to make a prediction of that. i'm talking about the urgency that is felt by the international community, including many european countries about sending a strong message that the actions by russiaing unacceptable and illegal. so, that's what i'm referring to, but the goal here is to get them at the table, and any mechanism or format to too that we're open and happy to be part of that. >> it's great a hear from you. thank you so much. on the bbc here. the line remains the same. europe and the united states, the west are united in this understanding that what russia has done is wrong, violates international law, violates the constitution of ukraine.

what has not come together with discussions is whether the germans spikily and london specifically are willing to actually do anything that the united states thinks must be done to get the russians to the table and make this thing de-escalate. one poorly fired shot and this could become a shooting war, and the people of ukraine believe that is what the russians want. the ukraineon government was commended for not firing shots and not being aggressive in its pushback because the life is that's the excuse that vladimir putin needs to go in and take what he wantses. well, the ukraines fought back, i had no choice. but this crisis is moving quickly. updating breaking news out of washington. the house of representatives just voted it will send american tax dollar to the interim ukrainian government as kiev as the country faces an ultimatum

by russia, hand over a bill dollars tomorrow or else. we'll have the updates coming up. announcer: where can an investor be a name and not a number? scotade. ron: i'm never alone with scottrade. i can always call or stop by my local office. they're nearby and ready to help. so when i have questions, i can talk to someone who knows exactly how i trade. because i don't trade like everybody.

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there is break news now on fox news channel and a live look at the united nations where the u.n. security council is meeting at this moment on the crisis in ukraine. we're expecting diplomats to come to the microphone shortly. the question, will the unated

nations take action against russia? updates as they come in. and breaking from the house of representatives. the floor now, writ tack lawmakers a few minutes to pass allion aid package for ukraine, providing loan guarantees for the new pro western government in kiev that came to power last month after protesters ousted the russian leader. yanukovych. the white house promised the aid package to help ukraine cover the fight with russia of energy. throughout the crisis there has been widespread bipartisan agreement. the white house, democrats and house and senates, all septembering to be on the -- seeming to be on the same page. moscow threatening to cut off fuel supply for ukraine if ukraine does not pay an energy bill by tomorrow. the legislative chairman says

this will help the ukraine government restore economic stability and show the world america supports the ukrainian people. peter, what are the details? >> the house voted 385-23 for the loan guarantees for the ukraine, and obviously this won overwhelming bipartisan support. >> we remain committed to working with the administration, to give president obama as many tools as needed to put president bush putin in check and prevent russia from infringing on the sovereignty of its neighbors. >> now, this legislation the house just passed heads to the senate but the senate likely won't get to the legislation before next week. in addition to the loan guarantees, the senate and the house plans to also consider measures to slap russia with more sanctions, and in part three to this congressional response, the response, part one

us loan guarantees. part two is additional sanctions. in part 3 the president is asking lawmakers to approve reform at the imf. they're preparing a mighty billion dollar bailout for the ukraine which is struggling economically. the white house has been pushing for the imf reforms before the ukraine crisis but says congressional approval now would help get the assistance for ukraine down. >> we're now hearing about a possible plan to break some of russia's leverage by using america's natural gas resources. so how in the world would that work? we'll have the details next on "shepard smith reporting," leave from kiev. e same dilemma -- who gets the allstate safe driving bonus check. rock beats scissors! [ chuckles ] wife beats rock. and with two checks a year, everyone wins. [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate.

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21 minutes past the hour. more on the ongoing crisis near ukraine, where energy is playing a major role in this standoff with russia. according to unu.s. state department official there are now discussions at high levels on how to use american national gas -- i should say natural gas to gain some leverage. researchers say russia's supply is 30% of europe's natural gas and half of it flows through pipelines right under ukraine in washington lawmakers are pushing for the united states to start exporting natural gas to europe. they say that could convince european nations to toughen their stances for sanctions. worth noting, russia's biggest gas producer is taking a beating on wall street and its export chief is apparently against any kind of energy war. though he reportedly admitted, quote, the political agenda is out of our control. with us now is john buss, the

executive manager editor of "the wall street journal", idea sound good but isn't it difficult? >> it would be. you're talking about leverage here. how do you encourage the europeans to go against put put with tough sanctions if russia controls 30% of their gas? well, they're thinking longer term. we don't want to get into a tangle with putin. he cut off gas supplies or raised prices suddenly in the past. our industry can't take that. how too you diminish the leverage? one is to begin to more aggressively signal that the u.s. is preparing to export more of its natural gas overseas, and oil, too, but particularly natural gas. the problem is we're not built to do it. it's going to take time to build out natural gas terminals, to be able to prepare the gas for

shipment abroad. you're talking years. this is not something that the u.s. could do overnight. >> so this really, for the forceable future, this is just a talk point more than anything else. i'm curious how anybody could get angela merckle merckle and s to sign off on this. >> it is a talking point now. the gas argument. but there's also a kind of a message being sent to putin. if the u.s. comes out strongly saying we're going to accelerate the process. we have been hesitant up until now. we have proved some plants. if we say we'll accelerate that, that signals russia you have to be nicer to your customers in western europe, and that might give the europeans a bit more encouragement. on the other hand, michael leavy

of the council or foreign'lls says you're whistling in the wind. what russia would do is lower gas prices to europe if it had to, to recapture any lost market share. it's not going to lose that business. >> john buss, thank you very much. this is something that has been discussed here locally across ukraine, the thinking is, vladimir putin must have factored this in. not now but years and years ago. once you begin shipping energy to nations in europe and it has to go under ukraine, you have a lot of leverage and if you want to take crimea, you do it, and he did it. speaking of the crimean people, they're now set to vote ten days from today on whether they want to stay with ukraine or rejoin as one politician called it, mother russia. at least one member of crimea's parliament says the decision to hold the vote was not really up for lawmakers. hear that? the lawmakers themselves didn't make the decision whether they

would vote on such a thing. we're getting dramatic pictures as wolfe protesters on both sides of this conflict, demonstrating in the streets, and one of the questions is, are some of these pro russian protesters actually people shipped in from russia? that's next. if you wear a denture,

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calling on an overseer for the obamacare. >> oscar pistorius broke down in court as witness tonighted. he -- "shepard smith reporting" continues after these messages. i ys say be thman with the plan

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images show security forces pepper spraying an antirussian protester. the reporter says officers dragged her away to a police van. one lou makers called the russians efforts el legitimate and had a message. >> mr. putin, tear down this wall, the wall of intimidation, the wall of military aggression, and let's build new type of relations between ukraine and russia. we are ready for cooperation but we are not ready to surrender and to be subordinate of russia. >> a ukrainian official says the crimean parliament has been cooperating with russia, and some lawmakers in ukraine say russia has already been making plans to annex crimea. president putin denies he plans to make the peninsula part of russia, but these actions speed loudly. he -- speak loud limit the

russia's only warm water port there is and that gives russia crucial access to the mediterranean sea, and russia plans to build a bridge over the peninsula. that peninsula was part of the former soviet union until 1954 and a majority of people there are ethnic russians. the crimean prime minister has called on the remaining ukrainian troops in the region to lay down their arms, join the russian military or being seen as occupiers. amy kellogg is leave from kiev tonight. >> i talked to a member of the upper house of crimea's parliament on the phone this afternoon, and he said he had not been allowed in to vote. neither he nor any of those parliamentarians who wanted to vote no. he said they were threatened and he said he doesn't know that he can actually believe that what went on inside the chambers is

as it's been reported to us. in the meantime, while more people than not speak russian in crimea, more than supreme ukrainian, it's not the case that everybody wants to join the russian federation. people have said basically the people in crimea want the same things that those who staged the revolution kiev. freedom of thought and association, and it's a multieth one person told me they all get along really well. so there's one man i spoke to yesterday said he is not buying this whole idea about the russian army coming in to defend people. here's what he had to say. >> translator: who did the russian army come to defend? who? from whom? the greatest destabilizing factor in crimea is the existence of a foreign armily. >> this man is one of the crimean groups deported by

stalin so they have a beef with russia. he said all people in crimea still quite unified in the face of the threat. >> amy, thank you very much. let's turn to stuart holliday, a former united states ambassador. right now this president and ceo of the meridian international center, global diplomacy organization that works closely with the state department. nice to talk to you. >> good to see you. >> this matter of the vote in parliament, my understanding of the ukrainian constitution at its it's illegal and they can't do that. >> that's right. under the con constitution, referendum offing this type have to be taken on a national level. so there's no basis for it, and it won't hold up in terms of a legal basis for any kind of separation for crimea. >> so there's a vote in ten days

in crimea whether to separate from ukraine. >> under international law it doesn't mean anything but does express a certain statement. and both options, whether to join russia or be a more aton mouse region in the ukraine play into mr. putin's long-term strategy. >> the prime minister of ukraine, who got four percent of the vote in the ukrainian parliamentary election, that prime minister has cut off all access to ukraineian television. all the news stations fly a flag of the ukraine and says, ukraine united. they don't get to see that anymore. all they get is state-run media from russian. that's putin exerts his voice and a way of swaying the people.

is there way the international community can change that? is there any cards to be played in this big picture? >> well, this is, of course, 400 year old question about the crimea and its relationship to russia. you have heard discussion of these targets sanctions. the energy sector in particular. but the united states and the international -- don't have as many cards as, for example, the ukraineians have, to play what would have to be sort of an accommodation with russia, which is to create a context where crimea and the russian minority there is protected, and i think our best hope is to try to both exert some stick, some leverage, as well as get russians back to the table. >> i don't particularly like to play the game of hypotheticals

but i know that at the state department and the pentagon, they have to play those games. one of the possibilities is that a ukrainian military person could become fed up, fire a shot, shot is return, and then we have a whole new world. is it your sense there is a plan in place, there are options available to the west to intervene in such a matter, or how would such a thing be handled? >> well, it would have to be addressed by nato first, and obviously this is a threat to the peace and security that the security council would normally deal with, but as russia a veto-wielding member of the security council, it makes action in that forum difficult. the can the ukrainian military has been very disciplined in not provoking the kind of action we saw in georgia, but that said, they said they would defend themselves, particularly if this expands beyond crimea to the eastern ukraine, and you have a

u.s. ship in the black sea, you've got maneuvers in the area, but i don't think really the united states or anybody is looking to have this trigger a broader conflict. >> former ambassador stuart holliday live with us. >> officials with the ud nations says the -- this happened yesterday outside the main and a half headquarters in the crimea. the representative got in a van and left, went home. officials say he is still here in kiev but plans to leave ukraine entirely tomorrow. they also say they're not sending a human rights observer here to kiev and to crimea to monitor the situation, and whether the crimea will allow him in is a matter that is still left up to see. >> this is the city where the protests first broke out months ago, here in kiev, and escalate

bid clashes that left 100 people dead on this street, and now that same site where all the fighting unfolded has turned into not a place for fighting but a place for meeting. see this tent city? you might call it, well, a congress of canvas. the tents in independence square right around the burned-out barricades that have become a makeshift memorial for the dozens of people who died. it is here where, if you want something done or you need to talk to a representative, it's here you come to deal with the people who are de facto in charge. a canvas congress. right in the place where this uprising began. continuing coverage near kiev. we spoke to a documentary filmmaker today about the situation on the ground here. the man is from new jersey, lives in new york city. no but took his camera here before the uprising and decided,

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>> continuing coverage. first, ha gabriel is live in new york. >> donald trump just wrapped up his speech at the cpac conference. republican heavyweights include paul ryan, ted cruz, and chris christie. he did not bring up the whole bridge controversy. we'll have todays events

streaming online on foxnews.com. >> a high-ranking u.s. army officer facing allegations of sexual assault pleaded feet to -- three lesser charges. he forced a captain to have sex with him, then thenned to kill her family if she made it public. his attorney says the prosecution cannot prove it. today the brigadier general admitsed he had improper relationsships with two other officers. >> few niece -- tunisia has ended its state of emergency. they're protests kicked off the arab spring. the nation held its first elections. >> the sister of a pregnant mom who drove her minivan into the surf with her children inside had been speaking of it earlier.

the officials are evaluating the trevor's mental health. >> today we met an american, man who is from new jersey and now new york whose family came from the ukraine, and he had been watching these uprisings go on since the latter part of last year. he said he had to come and document what was happening to give the western world and folks back home an idea what he was seeing. we'll begin his story as the uprising happened. some of the images are graphic. you see it on tv and you see it in person and a dead body and it's blood, it's hard to takey. >> damian witnessed it. shot this video of it. the moment, he says so intense. >> those days were intense. war-like. >> he lived it, knows his truth of it.

>> the russian media will tell you these are extremeis and niyo nazis, and if you look at their biographies, they're regular guys, teachers, scientists, lawyers, regular people who risked their lives. >> this video to become a documentary on the revolution. >> the snipers were on top of the building and the people were dying right outside here. so the field hospital was set up in the lobby of hotel ukraine. >> in this lobby, hospital, morgue, and memorial. >> they were singing the ukrainian national anthem. the words of the anthem are, ukraine has not yet died. the glory to the heroes. heroes never die. this will be one of the pivotal

historical movements of whatever the future ukraine will be. >> it is no doubt, and the question is what is the future of ukraine? the hotel i mentioned, the ukrainian, it's right on the top steps of the square where the fires happened. i'm standing on the road that leads to the hotel. that hotel that served as hospital and morgue and the spot where they sang the anthem on that faithful night. since then the area around it has been cleaned up. it's still a memorial. there are candles burning all over the area and even at this late hour, 1:00 at night, people are out by the dozens, sometimes hundreds, lighting the candles and remembering the 100 heros who died in defense of their nation damian says his documentary will focus on that last week of violent protests. he says he doesn't have a name for it yet. but he is considering the title "freedom of death: revolution of dignity." >> as the faceoff between the

united states and russia continues, we're now learning the united states military is taking more steps to amp up pressure in neighboring countries. we'll have live reports from the pentagon coming up. [ male announcer ] this is kevin. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap.

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meantime, ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs confirms to fox news the russian navy has sunk one of its own ships in the waters off crimea in an effort to create an obstacle for the ukraineian navy. jennifer griffin is at the pentagon. >> russia continued its efforts to consolidate its hold over crimea today. we have footage of the russian navy sinking its own vessel at the entrance of the straits used by ukrainian naval vessels, preventing access to the black seay, they could defend crimea. the latest act of aggression by russia after refraining from any action in the past week since the crisis began. the pentagon sent six fighter jets to lithuania to help control an air defense zone

along russia's border, symbolic move. the u.s. is not singed state-of-the-art aircraft, trying to assure european allies. the u.s. has trucks on route to the black sea. it will cross into the black sea on march 7th. the u.s. frigate is still being repaired in a turkish part after running a ground. for a second day on capitol hill, defense secretary chuck hagel and martin dempsey took questions about deep defense budget cuts announced this week, something putin is likely watching.

>> a quick wrap up of today's developments. and it comes on the anniversary of a pivotal day in the history of the soviet union. that's next. [ male announcer ] hands were made for playing. legs, for crossing. feet...splashing. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to ma, now may be time to ask about xeljanz. xeljz (tofacitinib) is a small pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. seris, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. don't start xeljanz if you have any infection, unless ok with your doctor. tears in the stomach or intestines, low bod cell counts and higher liver tes and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tts before you start and while taking xeljanz,

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>> updating the latest on developments in ukraine. the house in the past hour passed a bill to spend $1 billion in aid to the ukrainian government, after president obama signed an executive order to expand tough sanctions on russia. in crimea, lawmakers voted to split from ukrainian and join up with president putin and said a vote by the crimean people, asking whether crimea should become part of mother russia. lawmakers say the vote is just a farmallity, that crimea is today part of russia. and the fact is, russia is indeed already in control of the crimean peninsula.

thousands and thousands of russian troops have flooded the region and ordinary ukraine troops to join putin's army or else. russia cut off broadcasts to crimea and they now hear what putin wants them to hear and nothing else. as of tonight, days of warnings from the west and threats of consequences have doning in to stop vladimir vladimir putin's r grab. >> on this day in 1953, the communist party of the soviet union got a new leader. the new leader's name was melankov. after stalin's death he bill premiere, and then his political rival, khrushchev, took over the communist part b the -- communist party.

i'm shepard smith live from kiev. continuing coverage throughout the afternoon and evening. this is fox news channel, america's choice for news and information on cable. >> now we know that latest obamacare delay out of the white house, let's just say it wasn't coming out of just the white house. a lot of hands in this latest fix, and they all had something in common. they're in a heck of fix. >> welcome everybody. follow the dots. nothing like a mid-term election eight months down the rod to get usually slow-moving politicians acting quick limit news today that a number of key democrats facing tough re-election fights were leading the charge to push a hot potato out of the way, namely that thousands of americans seei