ali: tonight on pbs news weekend, the u.s. and russia are expected to start negotiations in the coming days on ending the war in ukraine -- as europe may be left out in the cold.

then, as a deadline for israeli troops to withdraw from southern lebanon looms, pbs news embeds with u.n. forces monitoring the unfolding situation. and, looking for love in all the wrong places -- the millions of people being targeted by online rings of sophisticated scammers. >> really anyone old, rich, poor, young. this targets people of all nationalities, all genders, educational backgrounds. it's a universal scam. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs news weekend has been provided by -- >> in 1995, two friends set out to make wireless coverage accessible to all. with no contracts, nationwide coverage and u.s.-based support, consumer cellular. freedom calls.

♪ >> the ongoing support of these individuals and diffusion's. -- institutions. and friends of the news hour. ♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ali: good evening. i'm ali rogin. john yang is away. as the munich security conference wrapped up today, american officials prepared to begin talks with russia over ending the war in ukraine. those discussions are expected to begin in the coming days in saudi arabia. meanwhile, europe's leaders are

preparing to convene an emergency meeting in paris on monday in response to being shut out of early negotiations. there's also no clear indication yet that kyiv will be involved at those talks either. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy told nbc's meet the press today that his country would never accept a deal struck just between moscow and washington. he also said surrendering any ukrainian land is off the table. pres. zelenskyy: we will never do it. it's not about it's not about any negotiations. we will never speak about it. >> even crimea? you seem to have acknowledged pres. zelenskyy: even crimea. we will never recognize it. because in years in years, all things, all things which are ukrainian will be ukrainian. ali: kurt volker served under the first trump administration and was the u.s. ambassador to nato under resident george w. bush. thank you for being with us. what are your expectations for

these talks in saudi arabia, given neither ukraine or european representatives are invited to attend? kurt: first off, we have had bilateral meetings with russia, your crane means -- ukrainians, europeans all theit is not outs. we just had the secretary of defense at nato and secretary of state meeting with allies. we have president trump calling president zelenskyy. jd vance met with president zelenskyy. it is about getting the russians to the table to engage them in the process to try to stop the war read there is no process at the moment or any table anyone is excluded from. it is about trying to get the russians to do something different than what they have been doing the last three years. ali: i hear you saying this is nothing new, but the rhetoric out of the trump administration seems to be trying to push the

envelope forward saying, now is the time to initiate a formal peace process. they seem to be framing these talks as the beginning of that process. do you not see it that way? kurt: i don't, no. you had a phone call between putin and tromp followed up by rubio and theyteed upso far tht by russia to even consider stopping war. this is an effort to get them into a process. as this evolves i'm not sure there will be a single table. i don't necessarily see there will be a conference hall in vienna where everybody sits down and negotiates. i think it will be a combination of pressure, may be incentives, phone calls between leaders,

engagement among leaders, and various meetings we engage in. i think that is a more realistic set of expectations than one formal negotiating process. ali: questions about the makeup of the table aside, do think president zelenskyy of ukraine has the same leverage now that he may have had if, for example, we would have entered into this phase under the biden administration? kurt: leverages the wrong word in the case of president zelenskyy. he is fighting the right fight. he is defending his country, defending europe. he is the victim of external aggression. everyone knows that. the u.s. and europe have helped him for a long time. but the reality is, this war did not end over three years. russia continues its attacks. what president trump is trying to do as i see it, is engage

with russia because russia is the problem. russia has to agree to stop the war. in terms of how we play this, i do think what you just played the clip from president zelenskyy, ceding territory to russia would be a mistake here would he said we will never recognize it and that is the key point. we may have to realize there is no military way to recover all the ukrainian territory right now. we may end up with a situation it is not recognized, it is reckoned -- russian occupation, but we return it by other means. meanwhile we get a pause in fighting so people stop dying. i think that is where president trump is trying to drive this. ali: we will leave it there. kurt volker, thank you for joining us. the future of ukraine took

center stage at munich's security conference over the last few days before the u.s. announced it would meet with russian officials, our foreign affairs correspondent and defense correspondent nick schifrin sat down in germany with melanie joly, talking about u.s. economic threats against canada and tensions in munich between the u.s. and its closest allies. nick: here in munich this weekend, you told europeans, quote, you're next on tariffs and that canada and europe had to work together when it comes to tariffs. has the trump administration's trade talk and rhetoric here even in europe, affected how the u.s. is perceived as an ally? melanie: well, when it comes to tariffs, it's already the case in the sense that steel and aluminum tariffs are already being imposed starting march 12th on european allies and on everybody actually. canada is the biggest client of the u.s. we buy from americans more than china, japan, france and the uk.

we are the best neighbors, we are best friends. we are completely linked. so, of course, if it happens against canada, it will happen against europeans. nick: president trump has paused the 25% tariffs that he threatened on canada for one month. you called those quote, an existential threat. do you believe that president trump will impose the tariffs? melanie: the basis on which these tariffs were going to be imposed on canada and mexico were based on fentanyl and the fact that there were issues at the border. so we wanted to do the best for us and also the u.s. which is , having a very secure border, having a joint strike force against fentanyl, making sure we have a border czar and getting very good vibes from washington, but, we understand the threat will continue to be there. in that sense, in canada, the reaction is, first, we'll take care of ourselves.

second, we need to be closer to other allies and diversify our trade. thirdly, i think that canadians expect their government to be very strong on this. nick: canada threatened about $155 billion worth of tariffs against the u.s. are you keeping that threat on the table? and what would you do if, in fact, donald trump continues with 25% tariffs as threatened? melanie: well of course, this is our response. we'll make sure that we abide by what we said to first canadians, but also to americans. we have to respond if we're under threat. nick: this weekend you chaired the first g7 foreign ministers meeting this year, mostly focused on ukraine i am told. this week, secretary of defense pete hegseth said that ukraine probably would not be able to recapture all its occupied territory and would probably not join nato. vice president vance at the end of the week said, maybe u.s.

troops could even be sent into ukraine. what is the impact of u.s. mixed messages on ukraine? melanie: we need to make sure that we stand with ukraine. and ukrainians have been fighting for their own freedom. but we're not naïve. we know that if that if russia doesn't go unchecked, it's our own freedom at stake. that is why a was happy to see that within the foreign ministers meeting of the g7, we all agreed that first ukraine needed to make sure that it was going to have access to a comprehensive, a just and long lasting peace, and also that ukraine needed security guarantees, nick. that's why i think that the g7 statement is a strong one, one on which all g7 members agree, including of course of the u.s. so i think it's sends a strong message. nick: does that mean that you have faith that the united states will continue supporting ukraine? melanie: i think it is important they do.

at the same time we hear the message, we need to spend more on defense spending. canada will do so. if it's about burden sharing, no problem. let's have that conversation. but let's not have a bad deal for ukraine. nick: finally, president trump has continued to joke about canada is the 51st state. he's questioned the sovereignty of greenland and panama. what is the impact when the president of the united states questions the sovereignty of countries, including nato allies? melanie: i think canadians have been clear. they don't like it. we don't like it. we will make sure that never happens. we will continue to be the best friends and best neighbors america will ever have, but we will never be a state and we will never be a colony, period. nick: thank you. ali: in tonight's other news -- the white house is doubling down on its support of israel in its fight against hamas. marco rubio visited jerusalem today -- his first trip to israel as secretary of state. while there, rubio blamed iran

for instability in the region and reaffirmed president trump's plan to take over gaza, calling it a bold vision for the future. for his part, prime minister benjamin netanyahu said he and president trump have major plans for hamas if the group doesn't release the remaining 73 hostages. >> we have a common strategy, and we can't always share the details of this strategy to the public, including when the gates of hell will be opened, as they surely will, if all our hostages are not released. ali: as time ticks down on the first phase of the israel-hamas ceasefire -- netanyahu said he plans to meet with his security cabinet monday to discuss next steps for phase two of a deal. heavy rain, flooding and mudslides have inundated states in the southeast this weekend. in kentucky, governor andy beshear confirmed at least eight people have died due to flooding and dangerous driving conditions. beshear said he expects that number to rise.

in west viriginia, 10 counties are under a state of emergency and in rural virginia mudslides have forced road closures. as that system moves out, most of the lower 48 will soon feel the tenth polar vortex of this winter season. the national weather service forecasts the frigid blast of arctic air will move south this week, plunging temperatures. most of the country will get to below freezing, but states like montana and the dakotas will plummet to temperatures of minus 30 degrees. after attending last weekend's superbowl, president trump showed up at another popular sporting events this time, the , daytona 500. mr. trump traveled from palm beach to daytona where he received an enthusiastic welcome from the crowd. the presidential limousine then took a loop around the famous speedway, followed by secret service, pace cars, and the racers themselves. this is mr. trump's second time attending the daytona 500 as president. still to come on pbs news weekend, as the deadline looms, the withdrawal of israeli forces from lebanon remains uncertain.

and, the lucrative world of online romance scams. who's behind them and who's most at risk. ♪ >> this is pbs news weekend from the david m. rubenstein studio at weta in washington, home of the pbs news hour weeknights on pbs. ♪ ali: this week is the deadline for israeli troops to withdraw from southern lebanon. tuesday is the agreed upon date -- but israel already missed one previous deadline at the end of january. and it's indicated it will remain in some strategic areas along the border, raising fears of a prolonged occupation. u.s. central command -- which chairs the ceasefire committee -- reiterated on friday it expects israel to hand over control of all population centers by the tuesday deadline. special correspondent simona foltyn has our report from southern lebanon - where she embedded with u.n. forces. simona: in southern lebanon you

when peacekeepers walk over -- watch over a fragile cease-fire. he leads the battalion here. >> we are about six to seven kilometers from the blue line. simona: that is the demarcation line separating lebanon and israel. for decades this mission has been stationed here to keep hostilities between israel and hezbollah at bay. >> our job is to be the eyes and ears of the international community and pass on whatever information we can see on the ground in relation to violations. simona: the violations have been many. almost three months after the cease-fire came into effect, israel still occupies lebanese territory and is likely to stay past a second deadline. the delays have sparked fierce opposition from lebanon's newly formed government. unifil has been caught in the

middle. >> it has been tense, i'm pretty double and there has been movement of the civilian population out of the area of operations. a lot of activity here. it has been difficult to operate as a u.n. peacekeeping force in those conditions. simona: while hezbollah has stopped firing rockets into northern israel, the lebanese government accuses israel of hundreds of attacks on lebanese soil since the truce began in november. unifil does not have the mandate to enforce the cease-fire. its job is to monitor and report violations. even that has become more challenging in recent months as it faces growing movement restrictions, especially from the israeli side. to access areas -- is really areas under unifil, they must get permission. >> if we want to go to a u.n. position we go through that village or around the village. we request permission to travel.

freedom of movement for the u.n. is difficult at the moment. there are roadblocks, conditions set that means we can't go into certain locations. that is frustrating as a commander. simona: as a result unifil was unable to take us close to the blue line where israeli troops are stationed. instead we headed to a nearby town, passing through villages where hezbollah enjoys widespread support. this has historically been a hezbollah stronghold and there is suspicion by locals to unifil who some perceive as exciting with israel. peacemakers are doing their best to build trust with local communities. the peacekeepers visit a girl's orphanage damaged in an israeli strike. their rector is grateful for support, but such positive

attitudes toward unifil are rare. >> during the conflict, the recent conflict, the people did not feel that unifil was supportive to them because their houses, all the houses, were blown up and damaged. what was not blown up was burned in front of unifil eyes and unifil did not or could not do anything. simona: distrust has grown in months as israel repeatedly violates the cease-fire with little condemnation from the international community. >> some people have that feeling that, why does unifil not see both sides equally? all the pressure is put on the lebanese side. simona: as part of the truce has bullet is to disarm south of the river, in line with a 2006 u.n.

resolution never and plummeted. israel is saying lebanon has not kept its part of the deal. how easy is it for you to verify if hezbollah has disarmed south of that river? >> it is difficult to answer. what we have seen in weeks is a decrease in kinetic activity. simona: many of the fighters are from southern lebanon and can blend into the civilian population. is it possible to differentiate between fighters and civilians? >> when any armed element is embedded in the community, it is impossible to determine who is a fighter and who is just a normal civilian. simona: israel has said it will remain here until lebanon upholds its commitments under the cease-fire. many fear this could open the door for indefinite israel presence and perhaps give hezbollah reason to take up arms again. for pbs news weekend, simona,

southern lebanon. ♪ ali: it is valentine's day weekend and love is in the air. more and more these days, that first spark begins with connections we make on our phones and computers. but not all budding online romances are real. scammers use texts and fake profiles to win the trust of people looking for love and fleece americans of billions of dollars every year. i recently spoke to investigative reporter cezary podkul, who is writing a book about these scams, to understand how they work and who they target. cezary: in the process of doing my reporting on this i have spoken to multiple victims who've lost over $1 million, many in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. the losses are staggering. anyone, old, young, this targets people of all nationalities, all genders, educational backgrounds. it's a universal scam because of that psychological manipulation aspect.

i think all of us have to watch out for the red flags. they involve things like someone being just really friendly, coming out of nowhere and offering to teach you an investment opportunity, sometimes being pushy and forcing you to do things that you don't feel comfortable doing, like depositing more and more money into an investment opportunity that you start to suspect may be not what you thought it was. watching out for those things and really just anyone online contacting you out of the blue offering things that you're not aware of and were not expecting, those are things we should be watching out for. ali: if you are caught up in one of these scams, what are the best ways that you have to get your money back? cezary: first of all, if you are in the midst of this scam and you're still talking to someone, the best thing you can do, really, is to ask someone, like show them, i'm talking with this person. do you think it is real? if you are doubting it getting a , second opinion from a trusted friend can really help you kind of realize you are wrong.

then once you realize that you have been scammed, the best thing that you can do is just report to report, report, report the crime not only to your local police, but also to the fbi internet crime complaint center. find your local field office of the u.s. secret service and tell them about this crime. you're often not the only victim. you know these websites that are set up, they're active for many different weeks, sometimes months. if you report, you're not only helping yourself, but maybe also other victims, because law enforcement may then be able to cluster those cases together, seize larger amounts of funds, do the investigation, and you may find yourself, a year or two later, might end up finding out from law enforcement, hey, they are able to see some funds and it looks like you were part of the same fraudulent website that defrauded a lot of other people. you're only doing yourself a favor by reporting the crime. you are only doing yourself a disfavor by not reporting it. ali: what role does cryptocurrency play here? cezary: it is central. it's really the main way that criminals engage with victims by convincing them to send their money using cryptocurrencies. cryptocurrency transfers are

instant, borderless, the money can go worldwide very quickly. it is always on the move. because of that, it's really important for fraud victims to not delay as soon as they suspect that they may have been victims of cyber fraud, they should report that crime as quickly as possible so that law enforcement can get started tracing that flow of funds, -- funds. ali: the people reaching out to victims in many cases are often victims of human trafficking themselves, right? cezary: not always, but in many cases, yes. because this is part of the business model, unfortunately, and the people behind it, largely, they're chinese cybercriminal gangs that have been setting up shop in these countries and in many cases recruiting people through human smugglers into these scam centers to do the dirty work, what we're seeing is that people are often tricked online with promises of a well-paying job. and so many young people from other countries where they can't get that kind of salary, they'll jump at that opportunity. they'll fly to thailand thinking they're going to be somewhere around bangkok, but instead they get smuggled from there into

what really can only be described as scam compounds like entire buildings built and dedicated for the purpose of online scamming right across the border from thailand to myanmar. and it's really nothing short of a crisis, a human trafficking crisis, what we're seeing there. ali: the trump administration is working to shut down usaid and also reevaluate all foreign assistance money that goes out the door. how do you think that might impact efforts to combat these fraudsters? cezary: so usaid has a broad portfolio, and that includes anti human trafficking work in places like cambodia. and that's really important because what we're seeing in places like cambodia, again, are people who are forced into situations where they're being told to contact strangers abroad in countries like america to try to get them involved in these crypto scams. any cuts in usaid staffing and funding are going to hurt the ability of local charities and

nonprofits to help those survivors to make sure they don't go homeless, and making sure they don't get trafficked into the scam centers again is really important. to those cuts to that funding, it's really you know, it's not good for the human trafficking victims, obviously, and it's certainly not good for the potential targets of this fraud, including people in america. ali: cezary podkul, investigative journalist who's working on a book on this topic. thank you so much for joining us. cezary: thanks for having me. ali: that is our program for tonight. i'm ali rogin. for all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. have a good week. ♪ >> major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by -- ♪ >> in 1995, two friends set out to make wireless coverage accessible for all with no long-term contracts, nationwide coverage and 100 customer support. consumer cellular. freedom calls. ♪ >> the ongoing support of these

individuals and institutions. ♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ >> you are watching pbs. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute,

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