sunday morning. moment. captioning sponsored by cbs >> brennan: i'm margaret brennan, and today on "face the nation," ukraine's president makes an urgent plea for help and warns this morning of impending war crimes as russia shells the south and the east, targeting populated areas. antony blinken joins us from the region to update on what the u.s. is doing to help. meanwhile, with russian forces just 20 miles outside the capitol city of kyiv, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy leads for more fire power. we'll ask ukraine's ambassador to the u.s., ox u.s.

oksana markarova what they need, and we'll hear from kurt volker how the western alliance is mobilizing to face its greatest threat in decades. and we will get the latest from the united nations' refugee commissioner. it is call just ahead on "face the nation." ♪♪ ♪♪ >> brennan: good mor morning. and welcome to "face the nation." we have watched with growing horror as vladimir putin's rampage through ukraine continues. the death toll from both sides is incalculable at this point. the news and pictures from the region are adding a surreal quality, quality devastating a world still struggling to recover from a two-year global pandemic.

russia's economy, and in turn the russian people, have suffered a series of blows, from crippling sanctions imposed by the u.s. and its allies, to the growing list of major corporations pulling out of that country. but vladimir putin has refused to back down. yesterday ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy asked congress for more aid, including fighter jets, and again today he repeated that plea for a no-fly zone, a request the u.s. and its allies have rebuffed for fear of direct confront station with russia's military. we begin in kyiv with charlie d'agata. >> reporter: the latest word from the international red cross that the effort to evacuate as many as 200,000 residents from the southern city of mariupol has failed again for the second day in a row. both sides blaming each other for breaking a temporary cease-fire with renewed fighting. residents in the besieged city of mariupol have withstood some of the heaviest shelling from the russian military since

this invasion began. "doctors without borders" describes the humanitarian crisis as catastrophic and it's civilians are in desperate need. the city's hospital is overwhelmed. a man rushes in, clutches his 18-month-old son, wounded in shelling. doctors try frantically to revive the little boy, but they are unable to save him. his mother breaks down in tears. elsewhere, the brutal onslaught has only intensified, destroying everything in its path. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy today warned that russia is now planning to bombard the port city of odessa while renewing the plea for a no-fly zone, counter by president putin's warning to the west that any country declaring a no-fly zone would be seen's an enemy combatant. with moscow now banning all media coverage of the

war in ukraine, visa and mastercard have now joined the growing number of international companies suspending operations in that country. even as russian troops close in on major cities, ukrainian forces continue to put up a fierce resistance. claiming to a downed a russian fighter jet, and the defense ministry releasing video of a russian attack helicopter shot out of the sky. even in occupied cities like kherzon, anti-war protests are already under way. residents confronting armed russian soldiers. and yet the more determined the resistance, the more devastating the russian military's response. this morning pope francis rejected russia's assertion that this is a military operation, saying it is a war, which is leading to rivers of blood and tears. here a ukrainian delegate says a third round of

peace talks with russian counterparts are due to take place tomorrow. margaret? >> brennan: charlie d'agata in kyiv, stay safe. cbs news national security correspondent david martin has been closely tracking the russian military's march towards kyiv and he joins us now. david, the u.s. had projected kyiv would fall within days. is that still what they expect? >> no. the russian attempt to quickly take down the ukrainian government has clearly failed. the russians stalled. but we've got to remember they're stalled, but this is not a spent force. we've seen the satellite photos of that convoy stuck on the road northwest of kyiv. there is another convoy east of kyiv, which is a tank column,lmost a division's worth of tanks. they ended up there when they ran out of gas, literally ran out of gas. but they've been refueled

now. and you can just see that it seems to be a matter of time before this push from the northwest and this push from the east come together in an encirclement. >> brennan: and what happens when kyiv becomes encircled? because the united states has set some pretty clear lines of what they won't do. if ukraine gets these fighter jets they want, will that make a difference? >> sure, it will make a difference. will it be decisive? i don't think so. the poles, who are willing to transfer the mig 29s, on paper they have 27 mig 29s, but we don't know if all 27 are combat-ready. but more importantly, we don't know how many pilots ukraine has left. it is the shortage of skilled pilots thatto yefore ai.

re the u.s. has been just pouring stinger missiles, anti-aircraft and anti-tank weaponry in. is that what ukraine is completely dependent on right now? >> well, they have their own forces that they began the war with, but -- and they had finite stocks of ammunition. i mean, russia has infinite stocks because they can bring stuff from the interior. and all of those javelins and stingers are coming in by land. but if russia syndromes in encircling kyiv, how are the supplies going to get through? >> brennan: i have not been told yet, from every u.s. official i have asked, i have not heard a

clear answer as to when all of these sanctions will actually affect their military and what we're seeing on the ground? >> i don't think we should count have an impact on the fighting in ukraine. what we should count on is that the russians have proven themselves to be not very good at maneuver warfare. the art of maneuver warfare is to bring all of your forces, land, air, all together at a point of attack, and they just seem incapable of doing that. the aircraft are flying over here, and the land troops are trying to advance over here. so they're attacking in piece-meal. and the ukrainians, because they know the terrain better and because they're fig fighting for their country, are able to stop them. if they get their act together, the laws of physics are going to apply here and they're just going to be able to grind up the ukrainian

resistance. >> brennan: david, thank you very much for your insight and for your reporting. we go now to secretary of state antony blinken, who is in moldova this morning. good morning. >> good morning, margaret. >> brennan: vladimir putin has said that sanctions have been an declaration of war. when will sanctions stop the fight? >> margaret, the impact of the sanctions is already devastating, which is presupresumably we he said what he said. pbut we continue to see vladimir putin doubling down on this aggression gens ukraine. that is continuing. i think we have to be prepared, unfortunately tragically, for this to go on for some time. >> brennan: nato has said none of its 30 members are willing to set up a no fly zone, and president biden says he has no interest in that or combat troops. what more can the united

states do, if, for instance, a polish government, a nato member, wants to send fighter jets. does that get a red light from the u.s., or are you afraid that will escalate tensions? >> no. that gets a green light. we're talking with our polish friends right now as to what we may be able to do to back-fill their needs, if they choose to provide these fighter jets to the ukrainians. how can we help to make sure they get something to back-fill the planes they're handing over to the ukrainians. look, i've been in europe for the last couple of days, working closely, as always, with our allies and partners, that nato, the european union, the g-7 countries, and all of us together are continuing to take steps to increase the pressure on russia through additional sanctions, all of which are very actively under discussion and will be implemented in the coming days, as well as taking further steps to give the ukrainians what they need to defend themselves

against the russian aggression. >> brennan: how do you convince vladimir putin that this isn't ultimately about regime change. how do you get him to back down? >> for us, it is not about regime change. the russian people have to decide who they want to lead them. look, as i said, the challenge is this: vladimir putin continues to press this aggression. that's why i say i'm afraid this could go on for some time. but it is going to end, and it is going to end with ukraine prevailing because even as putin has the capacity because he can -- he has the manpower, the equipment he has he can bring to bear can continue to grind down these incredibly brave and resilient ukrainians, winning a battle is not the same as winning a war. what they've demonstrated with extraordinary courage is that they will not be subsubjugated to vlaimir

putin and be under russia's thumb. whether that takes another week, another month, another year to play out, it will. i know how this is going to end. but the question is: can we end it sooner rather than later with less suffering than, you know, going forward? >> brennan: president zelenskyy has repeatedly said these may be his final days. if russia kills him, what will be the consequence? and are you working on a contingency plan to support a ukrainian government without him at the helm. >> reporter: the leadership that ukraine has shown and the government has shown is incredible. i was just, a day ago, in ukraine, at least 15 feet into ukraine with my friend and colleague, the ukrainian foreign minister. the ukrainians have plans in place i'm not going to

talk about to make sure there is continuity of government, one any or another, and let me leave it at that. >> brennan: i want to ask you about another massive diplomatic undertaking, the attempt to negotiate a deal to put a cap on iran's nuclear program. sergei lavrov says he wants you to personally keep writtener t imhais theeal risk? >> the sanctions that are being put in place on russia and have been put in place on russia, has nothing to do with the iranian deal. these things are totally different and are not in any way linked together. so i think it is irrelevant. and it is also on russia's interest for iran not to be able to have a nuclear weapon or the capacity to produce a nuclear weapon very short order.

that remains irrespective of where we are as a result of russia and their aggression on ukraine. >> brennan: what are the process of that deal, and the american hostages being held by iran right now, and do you see the prospect for iran agreeing to stop threatening people on u.s. soil, like they did a journalist living in new york, like they have threatened your predecessor, secretary of state mike pompeo? >> we have made real progress in recent weeks on getting back to reimplementation of the nuclear deal, and i think we're close. but there are a couple of very challenging remaining issues. and nothing is done until everything is done. so unless we're able to resolve a couple of outstanding i-, issues, then we don't get back to the deal. we're working on it right now. it is coming down to whether we can resolve a couple of outstanding i. outstandingissues.

>> pre >> brennan: stopping threats on u.s. soil and getting hostages -- >> we're going to do everything we can to get detained americans home. that's something we're working on every single day. when it comes to threats that iran is making, when it comes to actions it has taken outside of the nuclear area, including activities in the region in the middle east that are threatening to us, threatening to allies and partners, again, irrespective of whether or not we get back into the deal or not, we will stand against those every single day. we were very clear when we were in the deal originally, that nothing about the deal prevents us from taking action against iran when it is engaged in action to threaten us and our allies and partners. that will very much

continue. >> brennan: mr. secretary, thank you for your time. >> thanks, margaret. good to be with you. >> brennan: "face the nation" will be back in a minute. stay with us. so you can feel lighter and more energetic metamucil. support your daily digestive health. and try metamucil fiber thins. a great tasting and easy way to start your day. plaque psoriasis, the burning, itching. the pain. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant® with tremfya®... ask you doctor about tremfya® today.

>> brennan: and we're joined now by ukraine's ambassador to the united states, oksana markarova. welcome back to "face the nation," ambassador. >> thank you, thank you very much for having me. >> brennan: your president issued two pleas for help this morning. he said if the west does not provide ukraine with at least planes, there is only one conclusion to make. you also want us to be killed very slowly. this morning secretary blinken said there is a green light for poland to give you those fighter jets. do you know if you will get them, and what difference will it make? >> well, as we see during the 11 past days, i think ukrainians have shown to all of the world we're not going to stop and we're not going to surrender. and we will defend our homes. like in 2014, when russians attacked us the first time and there was this brutal destruction of

donetsk airport, where our military guys defended the airport until the very end, until it collapsed. and there is a saying we have that, you know, we don't want that to happen again. we will fight our brave men and women of the armed forces and all of the civilians who are threatening the enemy without weapons, even, will fight, and we need all of the support in order to sustain this fight. >> brennan: do you know when those planes will come? >> we're hoping as soon as possible. and we're working with our american friends and allies on the supply of all of the ammunition and the anti-air and anti-tank and planes to be able to affectively defend our country. >> brennan: it terrified the world, frankly, this week, when they saw that russia fired on a nuclear power plant in ukraine. and your president told congress yesterday forces

from russia seized two nuclear power plants in ukraine. they're advancing towards a third. are you on your own to defend these? is any help coming from anywhere in europe to secure the nuclear plants? >> well, i think it should come because the first station that they seized was ch chernobyl station, which is very risky. and there is a lot of waste there and everything else. the personnel that is there is held hostage. there is no change of shifts, so it is very dangerous. the second operation is the largest one in europe. so actually that put the world on the brink of the nuclear disaster. even though, again, our firefighters were able to put out the fire, nobody is safe. ukraine is not safe. europe is not safe. because these stations are not supposed to be run by war criminals. they are supposed to be run by responsible engineers. so this is something that we are raising as an issue

because is ukraine has many power plants, and all of them could be under attack because, again, we're all having this indiscriminatory shelling, bombing schools and now nuclear plants. what's next? >> brennan: so what is the solution there? asking u.n. officials to come in and help? what is the option available to ukraine to secure these plants now? >> this is the question for the world. we are ready for any option. we're talking about we're tal about any tyeratio.alking to hatever, whoever, whether it is the u.n. or any other, or any individual country, we should act together. we're defending it. we're doing everything possible. we are being responsible, even though we're defending our home, our armed forces are very careful not to shoot at the power plants, not to do any damage that could

impact not only ukraine but us. we cannot say that about the russian criminals, who are doing everything specifically to destroy ukraine. >> brennan: russia, of course, denies any of this is deliberate, and denies the reports from your government that they're raping women, that there is a deliberate targeting of nuclear power plants and infrastructure. they deny bombing holocaust monuments deliberately. do you feel like the international community is doing what it is supposed to do? or do you feel like they're failing ukraine? >> first of all, it is appalling that russia is denying it because we see it on line. i would like to thank all of the brave men and women, journalists, who are in kyiv showing what actually happened in kyiv. it happened. they did it. they did it deliberately. we see it on videos, peopkome.l talk

so russians are escalating and they are quick, and we're very thankful for all of our partners, and especially to the united states, to everyone, to president biden, for everything they're doing to support us. but it is clear after 11 da111days that we need to move faster. >> brennan: you were a guest of the first lady, and the president addressed this country, talking about ukraine. that is very different for the american people to hear. how do you explain to the american people why this $10 billion in aid that president biden is asking for -- why should taxpayers be concerned and invested in your country? >> well, ukraine didn't do anything to be attacked. we didn't provoke russia. we didn't pre didn't do anythin. we were not a threat to russia, unless being a

peaceful democracy and peacefully living in your own country is a threat. and if it is so, it is not only about ukraine. then europe and the whole world is not safe. we see president putin threatening everyone with all of the forces, including the nuclear forces. we have to stop him because, again, it is not just some conflicts. it is not just some regional problem. it is a full-fledged war, a nuclear large power that is finding assurances, together with the united states and great britain, when we de-nuclearlized ukraine in 1994. so we are first, and we need to stop putin and this criminal war in ukraine, rather thaning until wl together will have to fight it everywhere. >> brennan: madam ambassador, thank you again for joining us. and we'll be right back with a lot more "face the

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>> brennan: if you can't watch the full "face the natin," you can set your we're e on demand. plus you can watch us through our p paramount are cbs news app. because of dana-farber. what we do here changes lives everywhere. i am here.

>> brennan: and we'll be right back with the chair of the house intelligence committee, ad adam schiff, and we'll have more with the chief of the u.n. agency. plus the former u.s. to ukraine, kurt volker. stay with us.

♪♪ >> brennan: welcome back to "face the nation." we now want to go to adam schiff, a democrat from california, and he joins us from the los angeles area. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> brennan: i want to start on ukraine. the united states purchases about 600,000 barrels of russian petroleum products a day. speaker pelosi said that oil should be banned. the white house says it is looking at options. what is that option? does the solution come from congress? or is this something president biden needs to act on? >> i think it could come from either place. i think there is a