good morning everybody, i'm yasmin vossoughian. it is 2 am here on the east coast, and nine i am in ukraine, or just a short time ago, we heard a new defiant message from ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. he posted this video to twitter, forcefully denying claims that he has caught with his army to stand down, while showing that he is still in kyiv. he says, in part, this. i am here, we won't put down our weapons, we will protect our country, because our weapon is our truth. this new message coming after a tough night for ukrainians. including large amounts of gunfire, and explosions, that were heard throughout the capital city of kyiv, throughout the night.

i want you to take a look at a video from a defense reporter for the kyiv independent newspaper. showing combat fire, near the kyiv zoo, in the city center. happening overnight. despite reports of this heavy fighting on at least three separate fronts, russian forces have not yet succeeded in capturing any major ukrainian city. and that could be because citizens themselves, as you see in so many of these startling images, or taking up arms. and fighting, for their country, remaining united. the ukraine ministry of defense reporting that russian losses so far include 14 aircrafts, over 100 tanks, more than 536 combat vehicles, and 3000 personnel. these numbers provided by the ukrainian government, once again, and cannot be very tight by nbc news. the fighting has continuing in ukraine, on this thursday of war, though. officials in kyiv warning

residents to remain in their shelters. because fighting against russian forces has broken out in the streets. with, that i want to get right to nbc's cal perry, in lviv, the western edge of ukraine. cow, it's good to see you this morning, thanks so much for joining us this morning. talk to us, as residents of ukraine are we can't this morning, you yourself just 30 miles from the ukraine pullen border. sirens going off in your city, at one point considered a safe harbor. atthis was supposed to be that fall back position, that safe city that diplomatic staff could be some cells from, but where citizens and civilians could flee intern this turned into a wire conflict. there were so much thinking going on and the threat of this was downplayed by the ukrainian government the people, frankly, have spoken to, that this would be a war confined to the eastern part of the country, where there has been award for the past eight years. instead, what we are seeing, our harrowing scenes coming

from the ukrainian capital. fighting heavy overnight. it started in the suburbs yesterday, about 16 hours, ago and has crept closer and closer into the city and we're continuing to hear reports of explosions and gunfire as russian troops started to make their way. the headline is going to have to be the one that you gave. which is that the city has not fallen, the russians troops have not stopped at some point during the advance. the issues here in the western part of the city, our reflection of what you're seeing a kyiv. you're seeing an influx of refugees, you've seen a slow security situation that is deteriorating around us. we have a concern here from local authorities that there could be what is called insider attacks, we've seen more police, more military on the streets. we have those air raid sirens this morning. we haven't had actually any arid explosions, there have been no rockets that landed in the city. certainly, people are concerned that things overseen 300 miles wake can make their way here. >> yeah, as we talk about, obviously, the russians advance into trying to get into major

cities like have. cal, i can't help but think, how long ukrainians can hold them off, right? it seems as though up until this point, russians have not been able to advance at the pace that they have wanted to, right? the pace at which putin expected them to, when you decided to invade the country of ukraine. but how long can ukrainian army, can ukrainian people that have taken up arms, how long can they hold them off? >> yes, and how destabilizing has already been, you know. vladimir putin's goals, clearly are, to make this an ungovernable, country and unlivable place. look, at the city of kyiv, is under heavy assault. you have a government and a leader now who is emerging from this, as someone that they are looking at as a now, tremendous leader. these videos that he's posting in kyiv, are rallying and

nation together, and he has chosen to stay there. the associated press is reporting that the americans offered to evacuate him. he said, quote, i need ammunition, not a ride. we don't have that quote, that's when the ap is reporting. that would not surprise me, because that's the kind of talk that he's giving. this is a long way of answering your question of saying, they are trying to keep moral up in this country. those figures that you read, 3500 russian troops killed. we can't verify those figures, but i can tell you for sure, the ukrainian government is gonna try to put out any news that is going to keep people spirits up in this country. because you've not, not only call up of reservists, you now have ban on males 18 to 60 leaving the country, they want them to head to the front and fight. the word went out here is that all you need is a passport, a form of identification, you could be issued a weapon, and sent to the front, 16,000 assault rifles handed out in the city of kyiv, according to the ukrainian government. your question is right want to be asking, how long could the

ukrainians continue to fight this fight, against an army that at least now, seems to be dead set on surrounding, choking, and getting into the center of kyiv. the other question, here and richard engel is talking about this yesterday. how much of the russian forces currently even used? how much they currently have in reserve? what is their second wave, and what does not look like? and are they willing to use in? >> i can't help but here children plane behind, yolk how, is that the citizens of children there playing, it seems. what a scene, what is happening here, while we're whereas happening. in their country. we were seeing those images of the ukrainian presidents, volodymyr zelenskyy, i want you to expand a little bit more on how it is helping the ukrainian people, seeing their presidents standing, staying in their country. we see the images coming out of ukraine, i can't help but think about and compared to what happened in afghanistan just a few months ago, when he just

left the, country right? amidst the taliban descending on cable. i know this is a very different situation, but obviously, this walensky even given the permission to leave, the ride out of the country for safe harbor, denying that, and wanting to stand with his people. >> well, and the evacuation plan, in part, was for him to come here, where i am in the city of lviv. americans were discussing that with him at great length, resurging of him to get to safety. but at times, the americans can keep see the advantage of him staying. i think the two questions are similar. people are arriving here with their families, and they're trying to make their way to the border, there in transit. there are kids all over the city that are not necessarily from the city. the kids are gonna be kids even in a war zone. you see kids trying to get these kids moved around the

city, that's where you heard here. people with bags all over the place. as they look at the television. as folks are on social media, and as they're following the events, the pictures coming out of kyiv, our surreal, and their terrifying, and their harrowing. but what has emerged from that, is almost a new president zelenskyy. it was a few weeks ago when the international community was really upset with him for downplaying the threat. the americans couldn't understand what was happening. he wasn't viewed, here, as necessarily a strong leader. this is a man who had that fateful conversation with president trump, during the last u.s. administration when trump threatened to withhold military aid, he was seen as being delayed, now he's above ground, in the city of kyiv, the military has said that he's personally taking place in organizing the defense of the city. he's emerge not only as a political leader, but as a military leader. these videos are extremely

important, that people continue to see that he is alive, that he is in kyiv. >> cal perry, fourth, in ukraine, i'm gonna be checking back in with the over the next three hours or so. i appreciate you standing by for us throughout that. i want to turn now from you crown, we go to moscow, where i find and bases rough sanchez standing there for us. as can i were talking about there, the emergence of it seems it more powerful leader in ukraine, volodymyr salon ski, it's people looking at him for, guidance for unity, as his country, as their country's been battered on the other end of the spectrum. you have vladimir putin in moscow, losing footing there as protests are erupting across russia. >> yeah yasmin, i think a lot of people inside and outside russia have been really taken aback at the scale of public dissent against vladimir putin's war. we have now see tonight some spontaneous anti war protests

in cities all across russia. more than 2000 russian citizens have been arrested for taking part in those protests, and these people understood the risks of going out onto the street, and protesting against vladimir putin, especially in a time of war. they understood the risk of getting a night stake in the face from a police officer, or been arrested. i've been prosecuted down the line, for rioting, if you're lucky, for terrorism if you're unlucky. and that can carry a criminal record with it, that will haunt you for years and years and years, and make it very difficult to get a job. and yasmin, beyond the people on the streets. we have been seeing this public discomfort with the war seeping into the cultural realm, the sporting realm, a member of russia's national soccer team has been saying a leading russian tennis player, a very high-profile hip-hop artists canceled a number of shows here

in russia, saying to his fans, listen i can't entertain you when bombs are raining down on kyiv, i think one of the feelings here is that people thought they knew vladimir putin, whether they like them or not, they've lived under israel for 22 years now, and they knew him to be a person that is calculating, who is not reckless, but to many many russians, many who thought that this invasion wouldn't have been in the first place, let alone be's maxwell says it is now, many russians are looking i knew at the president of russia, that are wondering, how they committed their, sons their father's to the war with no real plan, no real exit strategy, no real sense of wet mission accomplished would look like, and that is causing deep, deep disquiet in this country, this morning. yasmin? >> yeah, raf i can't help but think that i myself have reported for moscow on numerous

occasions, i lived there for quite some time, i understand the politics of what it's like inside russia, the risk that people are taking obviously, to walk out onto the streets, to protest and protest publicly, whether be online or anywhere else, and it really does speak to how this is playing out, in russia. it's not like here in the united states, there's no sense of freedom of speech, you can just walk out onto the streets in protest against war that your leader has started without the risk of being arrested, and not just for a night, or day, but possibly for months, four years for standing up against someone like vladimir putin. really speaking to, it seems, wet is happening inside that country, which is fairly unprecedented, right? >> yeah, absolutely, i think that people were not anticipating the even see dissent on the scale. it's been really interesting, yasmin, we've been trying to get a sense of what is the russian public being told, and where they not being told about

this war. we've been watching state television here in the moscow bureau. it's really interesting, state television talking a lot about the diplomacy, a lot about what is happening at the un, a lot about the sanctions that have been imposed by western countries on russia. when they are not showing is a lot of footage from the battlefield, they are not really giving the russian public a sense of how quickly, or not quickly russian forces are advancing. that may be a reflection of the fact that this is turning into a much tougher fight then the russian governments anticipated. you mentioned earlier that the ukrainian government has been putting out these figures, about 3000 russian soldiers killed, we haven't verified those figures, the ukrainian government may have an incentive to be inflating them. part of the reason that were struggling to give an accurate number, is the russian government is not telling its own people how many russian servicemen have been killed. and so people who have family

members in the military, really don't have a strong sense of how many young russians are being lost on the fronts, here. this is a conscript army, there are professional soldiers leading the charge, but there are also a lot of young men who have been conscripted, and a lot of where it russian families at home, thinking about what is happening to them. yasmin? >> raf, just thinking, you're always find it fascinating, and you are always watching the local television there, because we tend to learn so much when you're covering the, stories and watching how they portray it. i wonder if vladimir putin -- and or be, making his motives, and his endgame known to the russian people. >> we're feet here in very selectively from vladimir putin, this is a leader has been very isolated, he's gone through very very strict covid lockdown, we saw that comically long table he had president macron

sitting on. that sort of the physical manifestation of how cut off he is at the moment, the last time we heard from him, because during the day on friday when he gave this address that was partially aimed at the ukrainian military. he announced the ukrainian government to present is alaska has a bunch of drug addicts and neo-nazis, he urged the ukrainian military leadership to effectively melted coup, knockout that government, and then negotiate directly with the kremlin. yasmin? all right, rat just for us. i mean it's hockey league again in the next hour. as the russian advance pushes towards the ukraine the white house is continuing its response. in a new memo tonight, offered -- chain assistance in the ukraine. this is after washington announces sanctions directly to the nation of russia. -- ukrainian president zelenskyy

by phone as well. we want to bring in nbc's -- reporting on everything white house on the moment. lauren, talk to me. thank you so much for joining us on this. the response at the white house that we are expecting, and of course this money that the president is now asking for when it's coming to additional aid, to ukraine. what more are we learning? >> the white house has certainly going to continues exploring different avenues available to them to help ukraine. the one thing the president has been very explicit about that is not on the table is actually sending u.s. troops into the region to fight russia. what we have seen over this past week, is buckets of sanctions against russia that really came to a head on friday, with the president issuing a sanction directly targeting russian president vladimir putin. this was a big moments that was largely symbolic. it is very difficult to

actually target the russian presidents assets. they make it very difficult to freeze up. but president biden issued that sanction in partnership with the evolution, and other allies. sending a very clear message that the west is united. that putin's actions, ongoing actions in ukraine. we are all learning that president biden is asking congress for an additional 6.4 billion dollars in aid it to help ukraine. we expect to receive that bipartisan support. president biden is in delaware for the weekend. the white house says that he is capable of securing some phone calls from his private home. -- to meet with his national security team. we do not know at the moment of any other calls that president biden is going to have throughout the weekend. we know that the last time he spoke with zelenskyy was friday, for about 40 minutes. they spoke over the phone. and the white house has said

that the two leaders are going to remain in contact as the situation continues to unfold. yasmin? >> all right, while we have that going on. we obviously have some domestic things as well developing. i do want to touch on that momentarily. and of course we're talking about what will be soon an open season supreme court. the president announcing plans to nominate judge ketanji brown jackson to the supreme court. would you know about this historic nomination? >> that's right. president biden announced her nomination at the white house, on friday afternoon. if confirmed, she would be the first black woman to sit on the supreme court. but that moment was overshadowed by the situation in the ukraine. jackson has a long road ahead of her. take -- so looking ahead, we are expecting jackson in the couple of weeks to start meeting with senators. she is going to be asked by the senate to fill out a very long

questionnaire, detailing her background her work experience. and senate majority leader chuck schumer says he want to move quickly on her nomination. but before she even gets there, she's gonna have to sit down for these meetings, and these conversations. that's before we even get to it hearing, jasmine? >> all right, for now lauren. thank you for that reporting. we appreciate it. we have a lot more to get to. we are gonna hear from a former member of the ukrainian parliament on the perspective of what is happening in her country. stay with us. perspectiv of what is happening in he country. stay with us

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the ukraine is trying to defend itself from the russian invasion, the country's government is taking part in the fight. just hours ago, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy, posted a video from an undisclosed location. warning, the played of ukraine is being decided now. he has violet not to flee the country in support of his people. ukrainian people are also picking up guns to aid in the efforts. i want you to take a listen to a member, kara ruddick. she was on earlier. >> now i have -- because i know that this is a poor fact part of the country protection. the people who -- would show the people how to act, and that would be real strong support to our actual forces. >> and a fellow member of parliament, now joining me from

kyiv. svetlana, a former member of the ukrainian parliament. she was a part of the committee on foreign affairs. thank you so much for joining us. let me just ask you, this morning as you are waking up, as your country is waking up after another night of fighting. it seems that the russian military is the sending on the city in which you are right now. how are you doing? are you safe? >> first of all, i want to say that ukraine does not give up. ukrainian president does not surrender. and this is what keeps our armies spirits high. and our peoples confidence that ukraine will remain our home. at the same time, it doesn't make this blow less devastating. to be honest, i left here if. i did not feel safe with my family. i am blacklisted in russia. so we decided to move to the west. however i am in ukraine. but, at the same time, you know

by saying that, that i'm safe now, i feel also very guilty. very guilty because so many people are not safe in kyiv, in many other cities. but, at the same time, i want to say that we are not going to give our country to putin. >> svetlana i can only understand the situation that you are in, obviously, considering that you and your family want to seek safe harbor. i know nobody can hold you -- being that the situation that you are in, we understand. at one point did you decide to leave kyiv? >> we woke up, with this explosions in kyiv. at 5:00 in the morning, the day before yesterday. and we decided first to stay

and to help journalists to report, in english language. so the world can see what's really going on on the ground. but later on, we got a different kind of information from intelligence that kyiv may be encircled, and i also got some american friends who said hey, you were one of the most particular person when it comes to russian aggression. you are a legislator. you probably have to leave. this is what we've done. which is packed our small suitcase and our dog, and we left. we were on the road for around 20 hours because the roads are completely blocked and hundreds of thousands of people trying to find some safety, our children with their grandparents. many people thought that it was gonna be okay, maybe southern or eastern cities. but now we understand that

airstrikes are occurring around many, many cities. in central parts, western parts. in western ukraine. it looks like nowhere is safe at the moment. because we know that putin's aim is not just kyiv or donbas. his aim is to have ukraine. the whole country. i just want to say that this is a historic moment. it is the biggest war of the century. the biggest war of our generation. his blow is not a blow on ukraine, it is a blow on the humanity, and dignity. and human dignity. on human rights. and human lives. so i would like to say that we expect the international community to stand up with ukraine. and i think the response should be based not only on the principle of linked to

membership. it should be based on moral responsibility. to stop these how that is happening. in the heart of europe. it is not a -- it is an attack on the whole democratic world. >> why do you want from the international community? do you want boots on the ground in your country? >> well, we wanted to become a nato member. we have not been given nato membership. in 2008 we were refused together with georgia. we were refused a membership action plan. at that point, it was motivated -- the refusal was motivated by the fact that it would escalate situations with russia. instead of escalation, we received two full-fledged wars. first russia invaded -- in 2008, and then russia invaded ukraine in 2014 in

donbas. and now strikes on the capitol. in bombs in civilian areas. on the houses, on people, on children. children are dying, people are dying. i want to say that it is hypocritical. at first, it was sorry, we're not gonna take you to nato, because russia may attack you. and now we're saying, now you're not gonna come to ukraine because we fight with russia. so yes, we wanted to become members of nato. however now, we are talking about different help. at the moment we are just needing more devastating sanctions on russia which is happening at the moment. at the same time, i can see that swift has not been stripped from russia. has been banned. and -- alina justified it that, some

russian grandmother would not be able to receive a transfer from her grand daughter. i wanted to say this to the foreign affairs of germany, by not banning swift to russia, you are denying ukrainian grandchildren lives. some children that are dying now will only have their lives. not talking about transfer to the rand mothers. so you know what's? i'm talking about the swift that, russian population has to feel the pain. why? because then they will be our allies in this war. then, they will feel putin. they will make putin feel that okay, this went too far. i have to stop because i will be ousted out of the country. because he will be defeated in kremlin, by his own population. we need to make sure that russian population is our ally

in the protests. in order to make, that we need to make it really painful sanctions against russia. >> svetlana, please stay safe. i hope you and your family remain well. we thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. >> thank you. >> coming up everybody, a recap of how we got here with ukraine. and where we are going. with insight from congress man brett sherman, the ceo near of the house committee. we'll be right back. the ceo near of the house committee. we'll be right back.

welcome back everybody, i'm yasmin vossoughian, want to get you up to date on all the developments that are coming out of ukraine at this moment. we have explosions being reported all night across the country. but the heaviest is what you're seeing here in kyiv, this is by the zoo. russian forces closing in on the capital city there, there each hour raising concerns, of course, of the city will in fact fall to russian control. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is appealing for a cease-fire. but the same time, warning that this day is the decisive moment for the future of his country the, future of his people as well. russian troops have now moved in from the north, south, and east of the country. coming in from all sides, really. the washington post reporting that the u.s. is ready to help zelenskyy get out of kyiv, to avoid being captured or killed. so lewinsky, though, is telling

ukrainians, they will never lay down their weapons, facebook's parent company meta said, it's barring russian state media from money as on any of its platforms. they also say they put labels on any content that comes from russian media, this is -- so many access for facebook. as battle for canvas and temps -ifying, i want to bring in congressman brad sherman of california, senior member of the house foreign affairs committee. congressman, thank you very much for joining us, this morning as ukrainians are waking up after a night of fighting as russian forces are advancing on the capital city of kyiv. talk to me about the additional support the president is now asking for for ukraine from secretary blinken. 350 million i, believe, an immediate support to ukraine's defenses. on top of that, we know, we have 7000 u.s. troops now stationed in europe of, course, to help support nato allies. talk to me about your reaction

so far. >> i think it's important that we not have american soldiers on the ground or in the air shooting at russians. these are two nuclear powers, and we can't let this thing lead to world conflagration. that being said, the ukrainians have made it clear that they can pick up the weapons in poland, and the $300 million figure, and the much larger figures that are being talked about are important, but what is important is the particular items. the defense minister of ukraine, has created a message to members of congress asking for exactly two thing. a shoulder fired anti tank missiles, and shoulder fired anti tank missiles and stinger's. we need to provide these and large quantities, in poland, to the ukraine, in the next 12 hours. and, it's good to talk about amounts of money, but these are

the particular weapons they need. and those weapons would be good, both for the conventional phase, and for any asymmetrical guerrilla warfare that might follow. >> i was just speaking to a former member of parliament, congressman, i'm not sure if you actually have my interview with her, and the desperation in her voice, it was palpable, as she left the capital city with her family, afraid for her own life and the life of her family, of course. she talked about the fact that the world cannot abandon ukraine. that, even though they are not members of nato, that is not because they are doing, she believes, but because of decisions that were made outside of the country, and that they need as much help as possible. because of the humanitarian crisis that is in their future. what do you make of that? >> i think, they don't look upon this as needed humanitarian aid, for refugees

outside the country. they want to fight for and preserve their country. and to do that, they need the support that we can provide and sanctions. and, they need the support that we can provide as far as weapons and ammunition. keep in mind, that the soviet union invaded afghanistan, incurred roughly 100 casualties a month, for roughly 100 months, and withdrew. two years later, there was regime change in moscow. so, if the ukrainians, are able to fight guerrilla or conventional, in a way that sends body bags back to russia, i think they will win this war, it will take them a while, perhaps. i think putin may rue the day that he made this mistake. >> okay, let's expand on that a little bit, congressman, because that's the first time i'm hearing something like

that. so, when i'm hearing from you is that, you feel as if putin will in fact retreats in ukraine, if he feels as if there are too many russian soldiers being killed, despite the fact that would seem like a loss to vladimir putin, something that he does not want, nor likes. not something that necessarily players to what we know about his history, as a former kgb agent, and his character as the leader of moscow. how long do you think a war with ukraine would go on for something like that to happen? >> well, afghanistan was nine or ten years. but, i think there are space saving ways this can be arranged. silence key has been almost begging for negotiations, for a cease-fire. and my guess is that zelenskyy will make certain concessions which putin will exaggerate in importance, and claim some sort of victory.

if russia walks away from this with something that they have to claim as a victory, that is a tremendous better outcome than the conquest of all of ukraine by russia. >> talk to me about the sanctions, here, we know the president obviously issued some new orders of the sanctions against the president himself, his foreign minister, sergey elaborate as well, making it very personal, of course. these sanctions hitting hard across moscow, not only to the russian people, but now the government. what do you make of these sanctions? do you think will make any difference, when it comes to putin's movements inside the ukraine? >> not really, this is putin undertaking this expecting hundreds and hundreds of casualties. these sanctions are actually rather modest compared to what we did to iran back in 2014. we have not used the swift system to cut them out of international banking. and the reason we didn't, is

because both the united states, particularly europe, want to keep buying russian oil and natural gas. and want to keep paying for it, and of course you needed banking system to pay for it. i think the sanction against putin, personally, a public relations action, he'll take it as a slap in the face, but it's not near the kind of sanctions that would really hit the russian economy. >> so, do you think they need to cut off the swift system as well? >> well, we as a western worlds, have to realize that means that there is less oil, that means oil prices are going up, we'd have to make a plane to the saudis that they have to turn the spigot on during this time of international crisis, and we have to discuss this with the american and european population. because, it's easy to talk

about how we're gonna sanction them, it's a little bit more difficult to say, but costs are we, as a society, willing to bear? in order to help the ukrainian people. we can't do much for free. >> congressman brad sherman of california, we thank you for joining us. appreciate it. coming up, everybody, the real life cost of this conflicts on ukrainian citizens, stay with us. conflicts on conflicts on ukrainian citizens us in our softest, smoothest fabric. she's confident, protected. her strength, respected. depend. the only thing stronger than us is you.

welcome back everybody, my colleague rachel maddow, has spoken with key restaurateur alexander, oh earlier here on nbc. i want to listen, in picking up -- >> we've been living -- we woke up two days ago with a

large alarm saying that we are under attack. we all went to the basement. we knew that we were gonna do, but still, it was a mass panic. people started to leave the city. straightaway. there was -- there is still big traffic jams. to the eastern, to the western ukraine. people don't usually make their way tel aviv, it takes them about 6 to 10 hours. they spend their like 24 or 28 hours just in the traffic jam, moving slowly to other parts of ukraine. where it is more safe. but basically we know that there is no safe place now. anywhere in ukraine. so -- >> do you think that your best option is to still get out on the road and try to get last,

try to get potentially across the border nation? >> well, you never know. i think we decided to stay in one place because we're all together. but still, from the yesterday morning till now, almost everybody left from the building. so it's almost around 100 people here. since we've heard that the troops -- the military troops of russia, are moving towards kyiv. we started to hear the explosions. started to hear gunfire. we watch the news, so, again, the third or second row of panic happened again. people tried to move out. i don't think there is a safe place to stay or to go. we do not know. but people, as you said before, people are getting guns to protect the city.

not in just kyiv, but every city and ukraine. when we are asking everyone to help us. and saying to the world, please help us! don't be silent! this is our message. we do want to fight. we never wanted a war. a good unhappy country. >> your president made an appeal, essentially gave a warning to residents of kyiv that it's getting bad. the expectations is that it's bad. they also called for people, anybody if you can fight. i feel like us watching from the outside, your president is very visible. there is a concern that russian troops are gonna come and find him, kill him, and proverb lee get decapitate the government and replace him with a regime. you see in the public announcements that he's made, seeing him stay in kyiv and

talking to you and other kyiv residents. is that heartening to you or how do you feel about that? >> we feel strong support from the president. because he is always reporting the latest news of what we did, and where the enemy is, and what were you gotta do. yesterday we heard his package, he's very active in the east. saying that he is there. and all of his team is there. and we feel like we are all united. but still, we are little country. we cannot fight a big military government as russia. so this is -- >> kyiv residents, restaurant owner alexander, mr. alexander good luck to you and what is happening. stay in touch with us, let us know what we can do.

we would like to be in touch as you go through this journey. good luck to you. >> thank you very much. we are looking to the world and to the world support. please, don't stay aside. we are waiting for you, and for the whole world to support us, and to help us. thank you very much. >> okay, so that was kyiv resident and restaurant owner, alexander, earlier with my colleague rachel maddow. so the west is increasing sanctions directly, we were speaking out a little bit earlier. against the russian president and his -- as we tried to stop the invasion into the ukraine. today the uk announced the move today, followed by the united states as well. the big question, is are the sanctions along there to be enough? to stop a leader who is determined to claim land he falsely believes is hidden to

take, as he believes. one former congressman david -- and an embassy political analyst, david thanks for joining us on this. we appreciate it. listen, this is a question i've been asking from the get-go as we have been speaking about this possible invasion, now subsequent -- as russia is inside ukraine. are these sanctions going to be enough to deter putin? the threat of them was not enough to deter him from invading ukraine, and now the sanctions have been leverage not only against his people, who are by the way, protesting is rose against the ukrainian. right? his family members, people who look like him speak like him. but now the sanctions are not only against himself, but his foreign minister. what do you make of them? first off, from the 30,000 foot above the decision of these overall sanctions? >> the sanctions will not stop the conflict, it will not stop

vladimir putin. it will not protect ukraine. that's the bottom line. sanctions are a penalty for putin's actions, but to stop and to turn around the offense in ukraine requires great military assistance of the army, or some type of military invention where the west has suggested there is no appetite for. i don't think sentient should be put out there is a solution to this, right now the greater conversation is do the sanctions ultimately cripple the economy of russia and provide a political consequence to vladimir putin for his actions. and is the west willing to now increase and shore up, the military presidents against the western border of ukraine. poland, latvia, lithuania, romania and so on. that is probably the only military staff that will stop putin from continuing to move rest. >> okay, but why do you think,

why are you confident that that is a military snap that would stop him from advancing? i asked this to say, first and foremost, obviously, that military would not be inside the borders of ukraine. and we understand the reasoning behind that. but also, there is this overarching threat, god forbid, there is this exchange between u.s. troops and russians. that will subsequently start on third world war between two nuclear powers. >> the way i frame it is this, yasmin. in the past decade, the united states in the west have this opportunity to decide, is it worth the request protecting ukraine? for geopolitical reasons and domestic political reasons, the u.s. and the alliance said no it's not. we're gonna provide military assistance through equipments, through armaments, through

platforms, but we are not going to object our troops to be on the war on the ground in ukraine. now we see our consequence to that. now we see the consequence. the question is do we have the luxury to make that decision now regarding our leitao allies while in romania, lithuania, the other countries there? i don't think we have a choice. so you see biden, though he doesn't like to talk about it, we've moved a lot of our troops from western europe to poland, and to the baltic nations. the question is, are we going to increase a permanent presence there for the next decade to come? vladimir putin sees this moment as a generational moment. not just a moment right now. the question is does the west see this as a generational moment? or will we remain unprepared? and see 5 to 10 years from now putin move out? last >> let's talk about what congressman brad sherman posted to me in the last segment. that was really the stopping of swift payments to moscow.

we know with that would do, right? this is obviously over oil. we've talked about oil over the last half a century it seems, when it comes to a nation providing oil to the world. the united states as well. what would happen if we go to war to these nations of course in the middle east, the iraq war, afghanistan, and so forth. that's a much bigger conversation. that being said what do you make about stopping these with payments to basketball? which will obviously increase oil prices even higher than they've already gone. you have to have conversations with saudi, as a congressman talked about. the united states saying, you're gonna have to open up the faucet and give to the countries in need. because we're shutting down raw russia to squeeze moscow and make sure that they don't advance. >> i agree fully with congressman sherman's approach to this. the sanctions so far severe, they really are, but they are penalties. if you were to stop swift from

russia being able to transact to swift, you're on the road to crippling the russian economy. and that is a strategy. should you cripple the russian economy? we're talking energy shortages, we're talking oil shortages. you're really cutting them off in the russian people. and that create enough political pressure to moderate the behavior? that's a big gamble. would you see him walk away from kyiv? probably not. but to congressman sherman's point, are we willing to absorb the spike in energy prices? the spike in domestic economies throughout the last? these are good questions. we did not prepare for this moment of the last ten years because there was a political appetite within the politic of the u.s. in the west. the economic ripple of cutting off russia from swift, i don't know if there is. those are the tough questions for biden.

can you lead public opinion that far or can you not? because joe biden only has so much political capital use on this issue, particularly going into a pivotal 2022 midterm. >> right. right. but the question is also, how much of a humanitarian crisis does this need to become? right. as we see days go back. ukrainian lives, children, mothers, fathers need to die and be displays. and that is gonna be the conversation going forward. for now, congressman, as always, we appreciate you staying up, or getting up with us. our special coverage, everybody's continuing of course. as the crisis in ukraine continues. russian troops descending on the capital city of kyiv. we'll be right back. descending on descending on the capital city oe 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. we'll be right back.

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