♪ >> this is dw news, live from berlin. tonight, a military escalation and the crisis in ukraine. the pentagon sending troops to beef up european presence, and also coming up, whoopi goldberg taken off air over a holocaust comment. the u.s. superstar saying nazi persecution of the jews was not about race.

now the memorial center wants her to come along and find out the truth. and the fanfare begins, the winter olympic tour, but with human rights abuses and the coronavirus pandemic in the spotlight, we ask whether it risks becoming a sideshow. ♪ brent: to our viewers watching on pbs in the united states into all of your around the world, it's good to have you with us this wednesday. it is a military escalation in the crisis over ukraine. today u.s. president joe biden saying he is sending 3000 troops to strengthen the american presence in eastern europe and to reassure nato allies of america's commitment to collective defense. the pentagon emphasizing it is not sending troops to ukraine,

but adding today's announcement is meant to deter russian president vladimir putin from invading the country. the kremlin has already denounced the move, calling it destructive, saying it is likely only going to increase tensions. >> another day, another increase in tension over ukraine. the u.s. is sending 2000 soldiers to poland and germany, while another 1000 move from germany to romania. >> the current situation demands that we reinforce the deterrent and defensive posture on nato's eastern flank. president biden has been clear that the united states will respond to the growing threat to europe's security, stability, our commitment to nato, article five, and collective defense remains ironclad. >> the pentagon made it clear that no u.s. soldiers will fight in ukraine. ukrainian president said diplomacy comes first, but no

options are off the table. >> we only think about peace. we only think about the return of our occupied territories and only through diplomacy. we will not give up a single piece of our land today. we will not give up our territories, no matter what the price. >> despite zelensky's reassurances, others are preparing to do battle if it comes to a fight. the mayor of kim and his brother both -- mayor of kyiv and his brother both signed up. >> we are not week, and any aggressor nice understand, you do aggressive activity against ukraine, you have to pay a huge price for that. we are ready to fight. >> leaked documents confirmed by the pentagon reveal efforts to

avoid war. the u.s. offered access to inspect key military sites in return for de-escalation. russia says it has no intention to invade ukraine, but these pictures released by russia's defense ministry showing joint combat beer -- drills with belarus send a clear message, russia is not backing down. brent: we've got coverage of this development tonight. nick is covering events for us in ukraine. why this deployment now? has the security situation change, or are we talking about truly symbolic moves here? >> it's a bit of both, really. the pentagon spokesperson, john kirby, said it is in response to the russian troop tilde that we saw satellite pictures earlier today, showing that russia continues to add forces to

belarus and to that border region between russia and the ukraine. that is the concern of course for the united states, which has been met by a troop buildup by the united states, but on a very much smaller scale. it's also symbolic move, given that 60,000 u.s. troops are already stationed in europe, 100,000 russian soldiers on the others of the border and 3000 u.s. troops. it's really not that big of a number we're seeing here deployed by the united states. brent: the pentagon spokesman made it clear the u.s. is not sending additional troops to ukraine. so what does today's announcement mean for the situation on the ground there? nick: i think it just shows ukrainians once again what the value of nato membership is. the numbers in ukraine for nato membership were not particularly high before russia annexed

crimea and ukraine basically has been convinced by vladimir putin in the last few years that it is an alliance worth being in. i think ukraine has been happy to see u.s. deliveries of ammunition and weapons systems in recent weeks. beyond that, the ukrainians are clear that apart from weapons and cash, they are on their own. in the medium-term they will have to stand up to russia on their own without help from the u.s. or other western allies, and all they can do is hope that this pauses for now and that at some point rush will -- they will be able to join nato with other allies that put them in a more comfortable position. brent: we know that 8500 troops are on high alert in the u.s. for possible deployment. now we've got 3000 that we know

are going to eastern europe. do we know exactly how long they are going to be stationed there? >> the official take is that it is just a temporary deployment. of course we don't know for how long because what the u.s. wants to eventually reach edge agreement -- agreement but that implies that putin de-escalate's and changes course and drops his maximum demands that we've heard and of course russia wants to ban the ukraine from joining nato. so we are very much at a stalemate here right now and it doesn't look like things are getting clearer as we speak, we're looking at the russian troop buildup, so it is rather likely that we are seeing the tensions getting more severe before we see any kind of de-escalation. brent: all over and nick, to both of you gentlemen, thank you. we take the story now to poland

and i'm joined by a member of the polish parliament who joins me tonight from warsaw. it's good to have you on the program. let's talk about numbers for a moment. 1000 troops going to poland from the united states. is that just a drop in the bucket for you? >> good evening, it's a pleasure to be with you. it's another drop, it is important from our point of view and the point of view of our central european allies. it shows the strength of nato, the strengthening of the eastern flank in this direction is extremely important. we have diplomatic talks on one side, but on the others, the ability of western allies is

extremely important. brent: the u.s. says that these troops will not be going to fight in ukraine, but in your opinion, is this the right time to be sending troops to eastern europe? there is the possibility that these moves could escalate instead of stabilized or de-escalate. do you agree? reporter: i don't agree at all. there is no better time than right now for strengthening the american presence on the ground here in europe, because we cannot let us us be taken hostage by the russians, by putin's propaganda and aggressive policy. we have to show our strength. we have to show our decisiveness, and we canno, as

the west has the alliance, we cannot be backing off all the time. the nato policy of open doors is something our alliance members agree on and we have to send a very clear message to the kremlin that ukraine's right to determine its future, to have its territory complete and free from any aggression is the key to proper relationships between russia and the west. brent: and we know that russia does not see it that way. we have the illegal annexation of crimea as one example to prove that. i know your country shares a border with ukraine. how big is the concern or the

fear that if russia were to invade ukraine, that that military conflict could then spillover into poland? >> we share a border, not only with ukraine, but with russia as well. most importantly, we share hundreds of years of history with russia in its different forms. so we can talk from our experience. and the politics that will be followed by the russian government until it is stopped by very strong western response. we all hope for de-escalation, but a show of strength and the ability to respond is also extremely important when it comes to de-escalation.

i still hope that this is just a power play from vladimir putin and that he won't attack ukraine, but in this case, i don't think poland would be threatened directly. but our concerns and the concerns of the baltic states are real becse it might seem very different from washington. right here in this part of europe, the russian threat is real. brent: that's why it is very important that we hear views coming from countries such as poland. we appreciate your time and your insights tonight. thank you. >> thank you very much.

brent: and the other stories making headlines around the world, the european commission has given the green light for some nuclear energy and natural gas investments to be labeled as green and sustainable. officials say private investment can contribute to fighting climate change, but critics warn the legislation jeopardizes the target of achieving carbon neutrality by the year 2050. austria says it is considering a eagle challenge to the rule. germany and the united states have rejected the word apartheid in connection with israel. amnesty international published a report accusing israel of practicing segregation, dispossession, and exclusion against palestinians. it says it is based on the seizure of palestinian land and the forcible dispersal of people. whoopi goldberg has been suspended from the u.s. talk show the view for her remarks about the holocaust.

goldberg said the nazi persecution of the jews was not about race, and that set off a storm of outrage. goldberg later apologized. she has now been suspended from the show or two weeks. -- for two weeks. >> in her on-air comments, whoopi goldberg claimed the holocaust was not motivated by racism because it involved, as she said, two groups of white people. following the backlash, she took to social media to apologize for her comments and correct the statement she made on air paid she tweeted, on today show i said the holocaust was not about race, but about man's humanity -- inhumanity to man. i should've said it is about both. the jewish people around the world have always had my support, and that will never waver. i'm sorry for the herd i have cause. critics of goldberg's comment said she was uninformed about the ideology behind the holocaust and that her comments play down the dangers of anti-semitism. the director of a memorial in

israel invited her to visit in order to educate herself better. >> ms. goldberg displayed in her words a fundamental lack of understanding and self-knowledge about what is anti-semitism in general and the holocaust in particular. nazi germany hit persecuted jews because they saw us as an inferior race. whether we are a race or not, that's not relevant. they saw us as a race, therefore it is racist persecution. >> other observers said they thought they understood the intentions behind the actors statement. >> but i think what she is trying to say is that the holocaust is about hatred, it's about inhumanity, it's what human beings will do to one another that is inhumane. perhaps she was also thinking that jews aren't a race, because

they are not. jews are a religion. >> abc, the broadcaster that airs the view, said that suspending goldberg is intended to give her time to reflect on her comments. goldberg has not yet spoken publicly about the suspension. brent: for more on this controversy, i'm joined by a jewish american political commentator who is host of a podcast. it is good to have you with us tonight. we've got a lot to talk about here. what about this conflation of race and religion? is this just a case of whoopi goldberg not being well educated and understanding that there is a difference between the two? katie: i think precisely tha i think she is coming at this from a very american centric perspective. the problem is that this is a discussion about the holocaust, and while i think what whoopi

goldberg is also reonding t is the fact that she, as a black woman, travels through the world in a different way than people who are, let's say, jews travel through e world. and that is a valid point. there is a question of how recognizable someone is due to their race. brent: let me just ask, how is it valid, though? she said this was not racism because she was talking about two groups of white people. that suggests a lot of things, that whites can't be victims of racism, for example. or that because of her experiences in the u.s., her definition of racism is only whites against blacks. katie: i think it is based in the united states. i think it's a zo-sum game and

we can hold multiple ideas in our heads. we can acknowledge that white jews have white privilege, and also that anti-semitism is based on a racialized sysm that sees jews as an inferior race. thank god for small favors, whooping i would be in the same boat, so to speak. she as a black woman, i as a jewish wom, under nazism. i don't think we can afford to have this kind of zero-sum game. brent: shouldn't she know better, though? she is on a talkshow that is seen by millions of people every day. when would be talks, people listen. shouldn't we expect even in america's cult of celebrity, shouldn't we expect people like whoopi goldberg to be smarter and better educated? katie: well, i was surprised. her apology in her tweet ihink was mu better than what she

said on the colbert report, which was her kind of apology, which was a non-apogy. she said she would not say stuff like this anymore, which is kind of a passive-aggressive apology. she was saying i learned not to put my foot in my mouth by saying this stuff. so that think was really frustrating. onically she kind of contradicted the written tweet that she had put out which acknowledged -- i have to say, i didn't think this was up for debate that the nazis saw jews as a different race. the racial difference inot as big as the one between black people and white people -- i think what isronic is that she is actually buying into the idea of race. race is supposed to be a social construct, but she is excepting the fact that there are innate differences between white people and black people and there are not a need differences between jews and non-jews. brent: that is my point,

shouldn't we expect people to have such a big platform to know that? katie: i don't know who spoke to her. she needs to speak to someone who baks it down oa better level. anmazing woman was on my ow the other night and she said she would love to ask whoopi goldberg, do you think that jews -- she kind of assumes that would thinks it's all about religion. to be clear, my family who died in the holocaust -- she said you think she would have said to whoopi goldberg, do youhink of juice that i'm going to give up my religion and not be jewis anymore, that hitler's would have stopped and said you are safe? clearly they did see them as a racialized other. brent: on your podcast you say that goldberg was stupid for saying what she said, but i think you said she shouldn't have been suspended. why is that? katie: i mean, i think that suspending people -- it's kind

of a bad look overall, all around. i honestly think that it shows a double standard. you are allowed to say really offensive and outrageous things about people, but if you say something that's kind of clumsy or ill-informed are shows that you haven't really delved into this enough, and it's about jewish issues, then you are not alloweto fumble. so i don't love that, because i think it also creates, honestly, this idea tt there are certain issues that you get in troub for talking about. and i don't think that is a good thing to having the ecosystem, either. brent: sharon osbourne used to be on the same talkshow and she was fired last year when she supported a comment that was made by piers morgan about meghan markle. we've been hearing a lot of people saying there are double standards here, that sharon osbourne was fired for saying

something that was considered to be in support of a racist remark, but will be goldberg is only getting suspended for two weeks. do you s a double standard ther katie: what she said was ignorant, i don't think it was anti-semitic the army is -- the irony is that the biggest ai-semites see the jewish as a separate race. so you can just accuse her being insensitive in her perspective and how she is basing it on her own experience and what we live today. the other thing is that she was making the point that books like "maus," which is a graphic biography about holocaust survivors. her point is that this should be taught. she's coming from good place. she's not holocaust denier,

she's just being a little dense i would say when it comes to understandingow nazis saw jews, and how anti-semites see jews today. brent: should the take -- should she take the option to travel there and see it for herself? katie: i think that would be a good idea. i think she should also look into israel's treatments of the palestiniansbecause if we care about persecution, and i sa jew always try to call out -- i, as a jew, always try to call them out. brent: katie, thanks for talking with us. come back and talk with us again, thank you. katie: thanks so much.

brent: even before friday's official opening, the beijing winter olympics are already mired in contra bc with concern -- mired in controversy. the olympic torch relay has completed its first circuit with more than 500 carriers. almost 3000 athletes will be competing for glory, but some worry the competitions themselves are at risk of becoming a sideshow. >> millions havbeen invested into making sure beijing 2022 is successful. sports fans can enjoy over 100 events across a range of disciplines, but build up to these games has been about so much more than sport. politics, for instance. some nations have declared a diplomatic boycott over human rights issues, including the u.s. and great written. they will send competitors, but

no ministers or officials. environmental's have also been raised with artificial snow being sprayed on competition sites. china has been criticized over the impact of its process. meanwhile, organizers have threatened athletes with punishment over any behavior or expression they deem to be in breach of chinese law and will expect the ioc to rigorously enforce its own rules limiting protests. in the olympic charter, there are very strict rules. so for the medal ceremonies and during the competitions, they cannot express their opinions. but at other occasions, like press conferences or during interviews, the athletes are free to express their opinions. but they need to be responsible for what they say.

due to covid, athletes and journalis will be kept in secure bubbles, while no spectator tickets will be sold to the public. organizers say health and safety are paramount. of course covid countermeasures are still on top of our agenda. we have been taking effective measures and everything is under control. without safe games, there would be no games, so we will make sure that the health and safety of all participants is our top priority. >> within 30 new covid cases were reported to political authorities on wednesday alone, and as many feared, athletes are seeing their preparation diupted by tight quarantine rules. after coming into contact with someone who tested positive lt week, one skater shared the distress this has caused her on social media. >> some of you have read the

news that i was sent out of the isolation facility. without this meant i was allowed to return to the olympic arena and be treated as a close contact. on the way to the village, they said not to return to the village, but the ambulance went to another facility. where i am now. >> the ioc has since returned to -- promised to return her to the olympic village, but such distressing episodes can have consequences on performance. as expected, the pandemic is proving to be one of many headaches for organizers of beijing. ♪

>> [speaking french] >> welcome back.nch] headlines this hour. manual macron said to discuss the ukraine crisis with joe biden after washington deploys 3000 troops to eastern europe. the u.s. says it is ready to impose additional sanctions if violence against protesters continues. you member states divided after the european commission -- including a nuclear energy sustainable. ♪