all americans still sheltering inside the capital city. get out now. the urgent pleas come as the 40-mile russian convoy that have been stalled outside of kyiv for the last week dispersed, raising concerns that russian forces are regrouping and repositioning for what could be a prolonged brutal attack on the city center. and ukrainian president, volodymyr zelenskyy, is urging his people to brace themselves. today, he warned that putin's army is preparing to launch a quote, unquote, new stage of terror, even more extreme and indiscriminate than what we've seen so far. now, that ominous announcement comes as russian forces have reportedly kidnapped ivan fedorov, the mayor of the southeastern city of melitopol. kremlin-backed officials and luhansk claimed that federal office currently being detained in order to answer for terrorist activities. nbc news has not independently verified that claim.

now, in response, thousands of residents took to the streets, surrounding government buildings and demanding the mayor be freed. of course, instability is rocking that country. not even humanitarian safety corridors have been spared by russian forces, as they routinely harassed and fired upon civilians. >> all the bridges where exploded. we were jumping from bush to bush. we wear crawling through the forest. >> and earlier today, seven people including women and children were killed, when russian soldiers attacked their evacuation convoy near kyiv. meanwhile, the united nations now estimates more than 2.5 million people have fled that country. and an additional 2 million remain internally displaced. we have team coverage on the ground to discuss all this, and much more. we're gonna start tonight with ali arouzi in ukraine. ali, thank you so much for joining us. lots of moving pieces. let's talk with that breaking news that we are talking about.

the developments from the u.s. embassy urging people within the city of kyiv to try and get out now. >> that's right, amen. the russians have intensified their attack on this country. it has started in the east of the country. they're now in the center of the country, in dnipro, which runs on the dnipro river which splits the country into. there is also much further west, closer to where we are inside lviv, hitting two major towns there that have airports and facilities. so obviously, the u.s. is worried about u.s. nationals that are still in this country. and there are broad spectrum of them here. there are people who are mauricio gradients. there are people that have come to help the aid effort, the military effort. they are spread across the country. i'm not sure about the numbers and all of this commercial, and they're being told to leave, as the situation escalates here. and more and more displaced

people are flooding into lviv, where we are. and of course, the eastern cities of this country are just being brutalized by relentless shelling. the city of mariupol has essentially been raised to the ground. and everybody who's in there, 400,000 of them, are essentially being held hostage. >> all right, nbc's ali arouzi life in ukraine for us. starting us off, ali, thank you very much. on a tour now to the humanitarian aspect in this equation. nbc correspondent, josh lederman, is in poland, with the very latest on the struggle to address what is emerging to be one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. josh, tell us what you are seeing. how authorities there are coping with this continuing influx of people, making their way across ukraine's borders into poland and elsewhere? >> yeah, here in poland, they have accepted well over 1.5 million refugees in the few

short weeks, since this swore started, ayman. and it has really pressed the ability of countries like poland, to the brink, as they try to care for the ukrainian neighbors. but at the same time, they're worried about their own potential safety, if president putin were to go beyond ukraine, and start to threaten other countries in the region, such as poland, romania, hungary, many of them nato allies who would enjoy ostensibly the collective defense of the u.s. and everyone else in nato. but still extremely concerned about the potential ramifications for them. we know that earlier today, president putin spoke jointly with president macron of france, as well as german chancellor, scholes, as they tried their latest effort to seek a diplomatic resolution to the violence, i particularly a cease-fire, as they look to those humanitarian concerns. that call lasting about an hour and a half, and coming after president zelenskyy had implored the french to find any

way to get president putin to allow a cease-fire, as well as raising concerns about that. mayor of that ukrainian town who is apparently disappeared, potentially kidnapped, but the french are saying that that was not a particularly successful or a big call. there were no indications from president putin. they're willing at this point to allow humanitarian cease-fire. french presidential source saying macron and scholes pushed pulling up against the wall, in terms of the implications. this will have for russia, raw long term, if president putin barrels forward with this war in ukraine. they also said that macron was pretty open, in saying that president putin is a lying, when he accuses ukraine of flagrant fire ration's of human rights with its handling of the situation inside ukraine. so clearly, there was not a lot of optimism coming out of that call. but it comes as both the

israelis and the turks are also continuing their own efforts to offer a diplomatic services to act or try to act as brokers between the russians and the ukrainians. and we're also seeing the u.s. tonight step up its own security assistance to ukraine, ayman, with secretary of state anthony blinken announcing that the u.s. has authorized another $200 million in security assistance to the ukrainians. that, according to blinken, including anti aircraft capabilities, anti armor weapons, and this is the kind of thing the u.s. feels like they can offer, short of putting boots on the ground, imposing a no-fly zone, or transferring those aircraft to the ukrainians that president zelenskyy has been calling for. the u.s. tonight looking for additional ways that they can help ukraine without getting dragged themselves into a war with the russian military, ayman. >> all right, nbc's josh lederman and poland, covering both the humanitarian diplomatic for us. josh, thank you.

stay safe my friend. president zelenskyy is warning that the russian military is poised to launch a new stage of terror. as kremlin officials grow increasingly frustrated with the slow progress they're making on the ground inside ukraine. and you stages difficult to imagine quite honestly. when the current situation is already so horrific, as we've seen. let's bring in simon & schuster into the conversation. he's a reporter for the times. simon, it's good to see you again. i want to start our conversation with what appears to be this ramping up of the russian effort to capture kyiv. what's seems to be the new strategy, if there is one that is emerging at this stage? and how concerned should people be? >> well, i think it's gonna be very difficult, even if russia manages to amass a lot more troops around kyiv. it's gonna be very difficult to take that city, in the way that russia was expecting, the way that president putin was

expecting, rolling his tanks and armored vehicles into the city, occupying government buildings. i mean, that city has now had about two weeks to fortify itself, and the fortifications are pretty dramatic. i mean, the city is full of ten traps, you know, checkpoints, barricades. the population that has remained in the city has been offered weapons, and has been armed. there is also many, many ukrainian troops defending their city. so i think that no matter how much more firepower president putin plans to bring to bear, his only option, ultimately, is going to be the same when he was in other places, and that's artillery, so essentially firing records at the city from afar. that air power, dropping bombs. you know, these indiscriminate destructive methods that don't really result in, you know,

putin taken control of that city in any real sense. it only leads to destruction. and i think his calculation is that he will ultimately force the people, the government, to leave. but it will cost so much destruction in the process that, you know, i think it's just horrific to even think about it. >> so, what do you think, simon, is the kremlin's goal here? i mean, perhaps no goals, if i can. obviously, we know where they're trying to do in the broad sense, which is to take ukraine, certainly take kyiv. but after weeks of this very slow progress in ukraine, do you think the russians still want to decapitate the government? do you still think that an occupation is a possible, after what you've seen and what you're describing their, and their watch is being met with so much resistance? or perhaps, it's just a pound of the ukrainians, perhaps into some kind of submission, and get them to concede something at the negotiating table? >> i think they seem to be trying all of the above.

from the position of troops, the initial approach still seems to be on the table for president putin. so he is still attempting to surround kyiv, and decapitate the government, and try to install some kind of loyal regime, and regime loyal to russia, in the place of president zelenskyy. as far fetched as this may sound, given how that set against such turn of events, the ukrainian people are. at the same time, there are reports that, in some of the cities and towns where russia has broad its forces in and occupied those towns, specifically the city of kherson in the south. there are reports now that russia is attempting to stage something like a referendum on that city, joining or becoming part of russia, in some way. so that would be repeating the playbook, the kind of political playbook that we saw in crimea in 2014, where russian troops

moved in, and essentially took over that peninsula in 2014, without a shot being fired. and because the population hadn't seen destruction and devastation like we've seen recently, and because the population was more immune-able to joining russia, generally, historically, culturally, linguistically, i think they managed to pull off that referendum at the time. now, trying to do that now is a completely different thing. so russia peers to be, you know, going and that direction, at least feeling out the possibility of trying to stage some kind of political referendums that will give legitimacy to the russian occupation. but the level of resistance among the population is enormous. and the ukrainian people have seen their countrymen, family members fleeing their country. refugees getting killed, getting bombed. so i think it's unrealistic, and honestly, ridiculous to

think that russia can pull off anything like it did in crimea in 2014. >> so to that effect, i, mean whatever xia is continuing to escalate, particularly on civilians? what tools are left at the disposal of the west to try and change that outcome? i mean, obviously, the ukrainians, certainly across the border we speak to, once again no-fly zone. they want fighter jets. the answer from the west has been categorically no, on both of those, at least in the short term, because of concerns that it will bring the west into a direct military confrontation. but if russia continues to escalate, are there anything, is there anything left for the west to do, or can do? >> yes, i think so. i mean, the united states is bringing in a lot of new hardware. as one of your correspondents mentioned, there is a new package of $200 million worth of military aid coming in now. it's enormous.

i mean, i'm about a ten-minute drive from the airfield now, where that military aid is arriving from. i mean, we're talking about 12, 15, 17 massive military cargo planes a day, coming in full of american weaponry. and now, increasingly a secretary blinken said, it's going to be anti aircraft, weapons. the kinds of things that ukraine can use to protect its own skies, the absence of a kind of a no fly zone, and enforced directly by nato planes. so that is an option. i think that is an option that ukraine can use to defend itself. president zelenskyy has made it very clear that that is not enough, they need more participation, more help from the u.s. air force to enforce a no fly zone. but that seems to be off the table for now. >> all right simon shuster, thank you.

it's good to see you again. stay safe. >> thank. you >> coming up, nato has given aid and weapons to ukraine, but has it given the country what it really needs to win this war? we're gonna continue that conversation, next. ersation, next refresh italiano subway now has italian-style capicola on the new supreme meats and mozza meat. just like my nonna makes when she cooks! i don't cook. wait, what? it's a good thing he's so handsome. subway keeps refreshing and refre- so, you found the no7 then. it's amazing... hydrates better than the expensive stuff. i don't live here, so i'm taking this and whatever's in the back. it's already sold in the us. but i'm not taking any chances. the uk's best kept skincare secret. (vo) right now, the big switch is happening across the country. small businesses are fed up with big bills and 5g maps that are mostly gaps— they're switching to t-mobile for business and getting more 5g bars in more places. save over $1,000 when you switch to our ultimate business plan... ...for the lowest price ever.

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approved an additional $200 million in arms and equipment in ukraine. it comes a day after congress passed a 13.6 billion dollar

security and humanitarian aid package. the u.s. and nato allies, ukrainians have received more than 17,000 weapons, and billions of dollars in aid. and of course, russia has been pummeled with an unprecedented number of sanctions. we're gonna have a little bit more on that later in the hour. but despite all of this, russia is still ramping up its targeting of civilians. and it's closing in on kyiv, as we just heard. these efforts actually fall short of what ukrainian leaders have been asking for, things like a no-fly zone, or fighter jets. and a plan that would have had the u.s. serve as the intermediary for transferring those fighter jets between poland and ukraine, it seems to have not gone anywhere. so at this point, what more can nato to? joining me now to help answer some of these questions, is emily harding. she is the deputy director and senior fellow at the center for strategic and international studies. emily, thank you so much for joining us. you know, the broad question here, as we ask, what's more nato can do is, what should it

do? i don't like the sound from president biden's remarks to house democrats from friday. >> the idea, the idea that we're gonna send an offensive equipment, and half planes and tanks going in with american pilots and american crews, just understand, don't kid yourself, no matter what y'all say. that's called world war three, okay? let's get it straight here, guys. >> all right, so he is being very clear about this. that is his red line. he has repeated it from the very beginning of this. and with that limit in mind, how much more can lead to really do to help ukraine, if they cannot help them be offensive, and just simply be defensive? >> right. there is a lot of space between putting actual american troops on the ground, or actual planes in the air. and doing absolutely nothing. we have to remember that the sanctions that have been put in

places on russia are literally the most extensive in history. thousands and thousands of sanctions from governments around the world, in addition to that, some citizen sanctions that have really been unprecedented. from all of the corporations that have decided to pull out of russia, from mcdonald's to -- deciding they don't to leave this country. in addition to that, we see nato pouring in millions and millions of dollars worth of weapons. the anti-armor weapons in particular are quite effective. >> so could biden's public declarations of what he won't do for ukrainians, and his desire not to escalate tensions, could that inadvertently power putin? could he embolden putin to say, i know that the americans are not gonna help provide offensive weapons. they don't want to confront us directly. so he has a greenlight to escalate, now that most of the sanctions have been levied, and correct me if i'm wrong, but they really aren't that much more significant sanctions that could still be in place. >> i am very concerned that

biden's comments are going to be a signal to putin about what we won't do. and as we know, bullies only respond to strength. putin is the kind of person was gonna push as far as you let him push. i think that if i were advising the president, i would be asking him to put in place some strategic ambiguity here, not saying what we won't do, but saying what we will do. and that is to continue to push weapons into ukraine, that can be quite effective against russian armor, against russian airplanes. and that we will support the ukrainians, as they carry out this fight. >> i'm not sure if he's on my conversation with simon shuster, who was talking about the number of cargo planes that are landing daily to deliver weapons to the ukrainians. there was a significant statement from a senior russian diplomat, who warned that the u.s., who warned, excuse, me the u.s. that moscow could target those western shipments of military equipment to ukraine. and we know that the u.s. is continuing to send in more anti tank and anti aircraft weapons. are you concerned about that? how do you see that turning out,

if, for example, the russians decide to attack one of these deliveries, inside ukraine? i don't think that they would do it outside of ukraine, and poland or wherever they are coming from, or whatever the originating from. but if whether they were to strike at a western shipment inside ukraine? >> i think that is a significant risk. but it's a risk worth taking. putin has shown in this conflict that the russian military is not ten feet tall. it might not even be six feet tall. it had such incredible logistical problems. it had equipment rob looms. they know this war is not going well. and they know that their land forces are not what they were dreaming up to. i think moscow has been wary also, starting a war with the west and with nato. so they would, i think, pause before they actually hit any of those convoys, especially right now, as the war's going rap rather poorly. that said, i mean, the russians to telegraph their functions before they make them. i think we have to be concerned to try to protect those convoys, try to make those shipments as quite and as off the radar as possible. >> what should our response be,

if american military shipment, or a western military shipment is indeed attacked by the russians? >> i think it's very different that shipment is attacked inside ukraine or outside ukraine. if it's attacked inside ukraine, i mean, that is to the expected. this is an all-out conflict for that country. if it's attacked in a nato country, that is a serious violation. and i think there would be discussions about article five. i think there would be definitely further nato deployments to the borders of ukraine. i actually hope those deployment are already going on, and this is why it's important that we put as many weapons as possible in ukraine right now. while the borders are still controlled by the ukrainian military. >> finally, the u.s. and nato, i know they're frozen, as we discussed russian assets. they banned the import of some russian goods, including gas here in the u.s.. and certainly severely restricted its ability to participate in the global economy. and as you mentioned, you've got a lot of private companies follow and take their own

decisions and actions about really impacting russia. what's left, when it comes to economic sanctions? is there anything left on that front, specifically? >> this is a problem with the sanctions. we've been talking about this for a while now that if russia does something, and then we sanctioned them, they do something else. we sanctioned them again. until we run out of sanctions that were really bite. and especially ones that will bite the russians more than they beat us. the last time we looked at the table, it was really oil and gas. we put far more restrictions on russia's oil and gas exports. that is gonna come back and hurt the united states in some ways, because oil prices will continue to go up. the other thing is that europe is still highly dependent on russian oil and gas. and it is still winter in your. this is the kind of thing that we want when wait until it's warmer in berlin for example. and then, also, as germany starts to pull on alternative methods of getting energy. >> very good point about the time in which all of this is happening. emily harding, thank you so much. appreciate your insight and analysis.

thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >> up next, we're gonna be joined by igor novikov, a former adviser to ukraine's president, volodymyr zelenskyy. don't go anywhere. anywhere. as a struggling actor, i need all the breaks that i can get. at liberty butchumal- cut. liberty biberty- cut. we'll dub it. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ i'll pick this one up. i earn 3% cash back on dining including takeout with chase freedom unlimited. so, it's not a problem at all. you guys aren't gonna give me the fake bill fight? c'mon, kev. you're earning 3% cash back. humor me. where is my wallet? i am paying. where is my wallet? i thought i gave it to you. oooohhh? oh, that's not it either. no. no. stop, i insist. that was good though. earn big time with chase freedom unlimited with no annual fee. how do you cashback? chase. make more of what's yours.

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and put 48 hour freshness. and one quarter moisturizers in. dove 0% aluminum deodorant. lasting protection. that's kind on skin. >> vladimir putin has made several miscalculation since he invaded ukraine. he underestimated ukrainians willingness to fight. he underestimated the leadership of zelenskyy, and he certainly underestimated the backlash that's now come from the west. but while those miscalculations have cost him on the battlefield, it's also hardened him even further against ukraine, to the point where president zelenskyy said today that putin's assault has now become, quote, a war of annihilation. ukrainian officials are saying that russia is the deliberately preventing civilians from getting out of besieged port city mariupol, and stopping humanitarian convoys from getting in. ukraine's accused russian

forces from shelling residents and my ripple. presidents in the city of mykolaiv were sent to bomb shelters after buildings were shelled, including a cancer hospital. and ukrainian officials claim that russia used high precision weapons to destroy a military airfield southwest of kyiv. joining me now is ian borno recover he's a former advisor to zelenskyy. he's chosen to stay in kyiv with his family. igor, thank you for joining us. , i greatly appreciate it. i know that britain's defense minister says that russian forces that are about 15 miles from kyiv city center. our colleagues at sky news are reporting that kyiv's mayor said that he believed the city has enough vital supplies to last a couple of weeks with newly-2 million people who have remained in the capital. what's next for the 2 million people who remain in the

capital city, including you and your family? >> well, hi, good evening. first of all, next as we fight. this is our homeland. that's a question that i get asked the most. why do ukrainian state to -- why do they choose to stay, why don't they just move to pull in? they're too answers. as i mentioned yesterday, just ask the veterans. and i stand by respect and regards to them, but asked them why we decide to fight instead of a going away. that's the first part of the question. the second part is a great woman once said, if somebody wishes you death, that leaves you very little space to [inaudible] this is why we stay, and this is where we are. it's our children, our homeland, our families. >> i completely understand that, and certainly respect that position. i'm curious though, what you envision happening in the next two weeks in terms of how this

plays out. i mean, it's hard to predict, but what are you preparing or bracing yourself or? >> well, i mean, look, first of all, i think that in -- the situation has been over dramatized in terms of how it's described. the situation is bad, don't get me wrong. but at the same time, saying that russian forces are 15 miles out of central kyiv is true only they move into -- they fly over kyiv. it's not that easy to get inside. people who live in kyiv, with all the traffic, and all the guns stepping sticking out of every building and high rise building, it might be difficult. so it will take some time. on top of that, look, kyiv is a huge city. it split into by a big river. it's not easy to swim circle it. and if you carefully look at what's happening in mariupol and other cities, they are

smaller than kyiv, they are not capital cities, and they are still standing. so with conventional weapons, seizing kyiv is either huge mistake or a miscalculation, or a bluff. at the same time, we won't get our hopes up. it has become a war of annihilation, and it's a war for territory, not the people. so putin doesn't care about the ukrainian people and if he annihilates us, and gets the territory, he will be okay with that. so it's going to get ugly if they move close. if they move against q, that's a separate question. because they plan to take it within 48 to 96 hours. so we are now on day 17, and they are not even close. the southern parts of kyiv, where i am, we haven't even seen some major fighting yet. so we are hearing everything, by the way tonight, surprisingly it's quiet night. it makes you worry, actually. you get used to the bombs and

explosions. but i think that we are still a few days away from anything major happening in kyiv. >> do you have any faith in any of the diplomatic processes that are underway? you have the israeli leader speaking to both, you have the foreign ministers meeting in turkey. today, we heard some calls from the french and the german leaders to vladimir putin. somebody inside of ukraine, as somebody who knows the leadership of that country, what is your assessment of all of these diplomatic maneuverings? are they just a waste of time? >> i don't think diplomacy is a waste of time. diplomacy should be practiced up until the very end. but at the same time, look, we don't know what's the endgame is for president putin. i'm not even sure he knows what is in the end for him. diplomacy will only work if he's looking for an off ramp. if his endgame is potentially challenging the very foundation

of the architecture of the eu, the politics and geopolitics, it's not going to work. and look, if i may, i'd like to take this opportunity to actually argue with the rhetoric that i am hearing about world war iii. i don't think, even if the u.s. or nato, or certain nato members helped ukraine with an ukraine that's going to be a pretext that we're at the beginning of the world war iii. let me remind you that in the 20th century, during the cold war, there was a korean war, nearly open fighting the soviets against the u.s. army. you know, there were certain elements to the vietnam war and so on and so forth. and none of that led to world war iii. but, what i think is going to happen, if ukraine falls, and without major help from the west, we will fight until the

very end. but you know, it's difficult. there's always a likelihood that we will fall. then, when couldn't gets our western border, that's when you are looking at world war iii. and something tells me that putin is not going to stop there. and what should be done? that's the most important part. the west needs to understand how president putin operates. he is practicing a new type of warfare, a hybrid warfare. we have talked about the information war, we've talked about cyberattacks and everything. but he actually weaponizes every day phenomena and things against -- to work against you. he weaponized your fear, that's why he's kind of escalating this war in ukraine, by simply using your own fear as a weapon. fear of nuclear attacks, fear of chemical attacks, fear of world war iii. he's weaponized corporate greed against you. basically, he's encouraging with rubles and with dollars, he is encouraging international

businesses to actually stay in russia. kind of teasing it in. and that makes you weaker. that destroys the consolidation of the west. until there is an understanding of that, and until there is pushback on those fronts, nothing is going to work against him. he's going to keep escalating. and let me remind you one last thing, at the moment it's only russia, but potentially, i mean there's a certain alliance kind of brewing there. and you know, what we have seen today in iraq for example could just be a coincidence or a could be a first small step to bigger action and we will see it happen over, and over, and over again. to disperse and to dissipate attention. it might get really ugly for the world. >> very interesting observation. igor novakov thank you so much for joining us, i wish you and your family safety. coming up on the ground in odessa where ukrainians are

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...helping us all move forward financially. pnc bank: see how we can make a difference for you. >> addresses ukraine's third largest city and a important to putin if he can take that city, he could essentially cut off ukraine from the sea which is why it's one of the main targets for the ongoing russian offensive. but while cities like kherson and mariupol have been overrun by russians already, a dozen has been spared. or at least, from what we know so far. t least,>> on the beaches of od, they are preparing to defend themselves. they know the russians aren't far away now. ♪ ♪ ♪ and who could've predicted this, acquire provides a wartime serenade to volunteers.

everyone here just wants to survive. odessa was a major port on the black sea, strategically important to vladimir putin. his invasion, though, has brought life to a stand still here. and precious monuments are now shrouded incent bags. just a little over three weeks ago, it was bustling here. you know, just as famous for its cafés and restaurants, and it's boutique shops. but now it's absolutely deserted. and the one thing that strikes you on every street corner are the barricades. behind me is the famous opera house here in odessa. the last time it was protected like this was the second world war. history really is repeating itself. on the street, we meet an elderly couple, and i want to know what they think about russia's chances here. >> odessa will not go russian

army. no. >> they won't get through? >> only, back. back in russia. >> daniel was born in odessa, his wife and children have now fled. he's staying to fight. >> you think you can hold back this looking offensive? >> sure. we've already shown since the 24 that we are holding, and we kick some ass, sorry. but we did. we're >> in a desist randy food hall, they turned it into an eight station. in, they're a lawyer who is organizing the effort. what is your message to vladimir putin? >> it is our country, go away. just do anything with your russia. everything you want, but don't come here. we hate you and all the politics. we don't need your support. >> and a reminder of the dangers here. while we were in here, and about to do the interview, the air raid sirens went off so

everyone has been asked to go to the shelter. so we are leaving this area now. a guy grabs a guitar and begins to play. ♪ ♪ ♪ no one here knows what is going to happen next. nick martin, sky news, odessa. >> that was sky news is a nick martin. still ahead, the u.s. targets, one of putin's last lifelines, the oil and gas market. we will tell you more about that. ou that as a struggling actor, i need all the breaks that i can get. at liberty butchumal- cut. liberty biberty- cut. we'll dub it. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ if you have type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure you're a target for chronic kidney disease. you can already have it and not know it.

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oh boy. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty♪ >> this week, president biden hid vladimir putin where it really hurts, the oil and gas market. at the white house, president biden said that he is banning all imports of oil and natural gas from russia, effective immediately. in the united kingdom also announced a plan to phase out all russian oil products by the end of the year. and eu officials have unveiled a separate plan to cut russian gas imports by approximately two thirds this year. russia is of course the largest export of natural gas, and the second largest exporter of crude oil. in the world. and while russia provides the u.s. with less than 10% of imported crude and petroleum, roughly 40% of the european union's gas and more than a quarter of its oil is actually imported from russia. so you have a sense of how

significant it is for the europeans. so the question really is how much will these moves affect vladimir putin, how much will they affect the russian economy, how much will they affect us back here, either in the u.s. or in the west? joining me now is ben life ever and energy reporter for political, and drew percy and award-winning author on u.s. foreign policy in the middle east. good to have you both. ben, lesser with you. let's talk about how significant could the u.s. ban on energy be, particularly when combined with a potential eu reduction of rushing gas imports by two thirds by the end of the year. >> it depends on how the european union actually carries that out, there's a bit of skepticism they can do that. but i think that the view in the long term is that vladimir putin is kind of stepped in it by hastening the transitional way from russian oil and gas into the eu, in the u.s. as well. we never carried that much of

it, but this seems to kind of make the russian industry kind of an end international pariah. so you won't see big moves right away, at the gas pump, for instance here, or in europe. but the thought is that there is kind of know going back to depending on russia for any of it, crude or natural gas coming out of there. >> and, there is an interesting dynamic that's unfolding here because in order to counter the loss of russian energy, the biden administration is doing something that i know you and i are watching very closely, and it has basically signaled the willingness to negotiate with venezuela, saudi arabia, and even iran on this front. and this news was met with, as you can imagine, a lot of backlash given the is bismarck human rights records in each of those countries. not to mention saudi arabia involved in a absolutely disastrous war in yemen. yet, republican senator marco

rubio called the president of venezuela a narco dictator. and another senator calling him a cancer to our hemisphere. and says the u.s. should not breathe new life into his reign of torture. as i mentioned, american concerns over saudi arabia are well documented. why would the u.s. consider dealing with these countries? why wouldn't we simply be trading one ruthless dictator in russia for another ruthless dictator somewhere else we are now working with? >> you're quite right, and that's precisely why dividing the world between dictatorships and democracies has significant limitations. it ends up creating a rather contradictory foreign policy. i think one person who is rejoicing the most is probably mbs in saudi arabia. he has wanted to be rehabilitated by the united states if we continue on this path because there's no way that all of that russian oil and gas can be replaced without

further collaboration from the saudis and then pumping out more and replacing much of what europeans rip buying from russia with saudi oil. and we've seen as you mention today, he executed 81 people yesterday and he said in an recent interview that he doesn't care with the united states things. so i think that's going to be one of the costs of going forward with this. but i think the bigger problem here is that, the biden administration has done a fantastic job at making sure that there is some clear rough lines that he will not cross. he's made it clear that the united states is not going to enter a war with russia for power. but it will defend every inch of nato territory. what is less clear is what does putin have to do to get these sanctions lifted? if we cannot articulate what that is, then putin is going to be left with the impression that those sanctions will not be lifted regardless of what he does and his only option will be to escalate further. and that will mean that he will try to make this policy of replacing russian oil as costly as possible for the united

states in the west. and it will be costly because oil prices are going to go up, oil prices will go up. so i think what's missing in the strategy here is a clear diplomatic exit ramp and some clearly stated goals in order to actually make sure that this pain that russia will feel, that it deserves because of this illegal invasion, is translated into a change of policy. that we have not seen yet. >> ben, the other side of the coin has to do with domestic consumption. because aside from concerns over human rights, another main reason republicans oppose reaching out to foreign countries for oil and gas is they want to see american -- american production increased here at home. and the gop claims the biden administration has basically hindered domestic production. the white house says oil and gas industry is to blame because they are sitting on millions of acres that are not being used. they also point out that domestic oil production actually increased last year.

such the record straight for us for as someone who follows this very closely. can you help us dispel one of those gop claims are myths on u.s. oil production? is their truth behind it? >> they are pretty much the talking points they have been making for the past several years kind of recycled and tied to a little bit of rally around the rig, patriotism. i think the biden administration has approved more permits to drill on public land during its first year than the trump administration had. the oil production that had been lost during the pandemic last year has really bounced back. they're almost back at the level they had been pre-pandemic. the oil industry is unnecessarily hammered by any kind of public policy in the administration. you have to remember also that public land is only 20% or -- it's a fairly small cut. not a huge cut of overall production.

but point being is that the industry has been having its biggest problems with investors. back in 2018, investors were kind of blaming the industry because the oil prices weren't enough to actually pay back the credit the company's own to some of these investors. they were worried and looking at other sectors. so now the oil industry is headed. it's basically looking at the biden administration, blaming public policy, but at the same time, it's real issue is trying to attract private capital back into the market to help them expand. they can't even, i don't think, significantly boost production with what they've already been planning on doing if the biden administration gave them complete cast blanche. so a little bit of a political game playing on the hill on that. >> ben, thank you very much for setting the record on that. been the fed and trita parsi i appreciate you guys. next, the effort to save

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indiscriminately attack ukrainian cities, the staff at the kharkiv art museum is fighting to protect its works of art. there are more than 25,000 in the museum's collection. and the museum still stands, but its windows have been blown out, making it impossible to control the temperature, and of course, the humidity inside the

gallery. so staff and volunteers are working frantically to move these cultural treasures to safe spaces, before it is too late. the irony here is these particular ukrainian using is racing to save russian works of art, because many of the priceless pieces in their collection were created by russian artists. russians are now destroying their own culture. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> good evening everyone. i am ayman mohyeldin. today is day 17 of russia's brutal invasion of ukraine. and russian troops are closing in on ukraine's capital. there are only about 15 miles outside of kyiv, and city center. and the bombardment of ukrainian cities has expanded with civilian targets being regularly hit. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelenskyy, saying today that about 1300 ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the invasion began. as the it