claire sebastian joins us. claire, ras the reality? what is the reception here?rter: yeah, whitney. this is calculated rhetoric. he's saying we are ready to negotiate with, quote, everyone involved in this process. a clear reference to the fact that russia continues to suggest it is fighting not just ukraine but the west and nato as a whole. he continues he wants to talk about acceptable solutions. obviously that means acceptable to russia. we know russian solutions are not acceptable to ukraine and they have tried to find a peaceful solution to everything since 2013. this comes across as we had an ultimatum from the russian foreign minister saying if ukraine doesn't comply with russia's proposals when it comes to the annexed regions in ukraine, the russian army would take it into their own hands. in a sense, nothing has changed. they have not given any ground and it includes crimea. those are red lines. simple question, why say it now? why say you're willing to negotiate when you're not, you can't rule out putin is trying to say he wants to try to numbnudge ukra

let's go to claire sebastian. who is this going to hurt? what's the intention behind it? >> well, this is something russia has said it was going to do, it wasn't going to sell its oil to anyone. are i wouldn't say it lives up to the rhetoric there. isn't teeth in this one. any contract where the sale is directly or indirectly provided for the use could affect price maybe suggests you could have a contract where it doesn't suggest it. it's temporary and expires in july of next year. there's a call in the decree that the president any time he wants can grant a waiver. even if it violates the decree and goes under the price cap. so clearly i think russia does not want to shoot itself in the foot and come up with oil exports. i think that's clear. it also shows perhaps the g7 and the eu is working the way they set the price cap. it means russia most likely will continue to produce oil close to the current level. >> and now let's turn to the horrifying reports that i just mentioned about alexey navalny and his treatment in prison and what he claims being injected with an unkno

claire sebastian is tracking these events and she joins me in london with more. i think there are 11 post soviet states, 11 other than russia, where do they stand on putin's invasion of ukraine and supporting him. >> reporter: yeah, interesting, bianca. president putin has devoted a lot of time in this space since the start of the war in ukraine. he's visited all five central asian countries. that is very unusual for him to do in the space of a year. it's clear he wants to cement his influence over this region, his sort of sphere of influence as a counterpoint to the trans atlantic western alliance you see in the middle of that family photo. russian culture also on display. the russian museum in saint petersberg. he's saying he wants 2023 to be the year of the russian language, but we have seen countries in this grouping wavering on their support for russia and ukraine. kazakhstan and the ukrainian health ministry has said it's received generators from kazakhstan as they continue to shell and bomb the energy grid. the support has been sort of there but also not c

claire sebastian is live in london. this trip is not without risk. >> the immediate security risks, of course, which is why we did not see president zelenskyy confirm this was happening until a few hours ago until he said he was already on his way. the immediate risks to his security. there are risks to him politically when the u.s. offered to evacuate him from ukraine. he said, i don't need a ride, i need ammunition. to make this trip politically sound, he has to bring back that significant weapons package from the u.s. that weapons package carries some risks, as all of these foreign weapons deliveries do as far as how moscow will see it. they do see it as an escalation. all this leads to an aggravation of the conflict. it does not boyd well for ukraine. zelenskyy said the benefits will outweigh the risks and the optics will be crucial. a face-to-face meeting addressing a joint session of congress. all of that will showcase the alliance with the u.s. and the west and perhaps even strengthen it as we head into a new con

claire sebastian, cnn, london. >>> i'm joined now by cnn military analyst colonel cedric laton.y getting your reaction to this attack in k kherson city. >> paula, that was a devastating attack clearly designed to not only be a warning to the ukrainians and also to be a terror instrument and what you are seeing here is although the ukrainians regained kherson which was a major victory for the ukrainians, it is still at risk and what the ukrainians are finding is that although they gaineded this territory the russians can still fire missiles and rockets into the areas that they reoccupied so it is very dangerous for the people that remained there and it is also clear that the russians don't have the wherewithal to bring in extra troops on the ground to retake the city, and although not at the moment. >> the president zelenskyy went to the u.s. and delivered a landmark speep in congress. >> do you think on the's retailition and and what what is going on in kerr kerr kerr sn, and didn't stp plt wvrnt wently, pt putin none one foe. he was not only to make this visit was a major moral

. >> let's bring in cnn's claire sebastian live in london. she's been watching all of this. claire, how has the kremlin responded to zelenskyy's visit? >> reporter: christine, we just in the last few minutes heard from dmitry he said not a single word was about the bombings. there were no real calls for pe says the u.s. continues the line of de facto and indirectly fighting with russia until the last ukrainian, this is a line that russia has consistently taken, they believe they are in a battle with ukraine and with nato. and i think that interesting that russia should be criticizing ukraine for not making moves to peace. it is clear they are not making any proves to peace. p putin talks about putting them under siege. there is a new military district on the northwestern border where nato is set to expand beefing up the nuclear arsenal, improving the readiness, big things like that. what this means, there is no end in sight in the conflict. pulling out all the stops to retool the forces. it's clear that part of the purpose of zelenskyy's trip will do everything to guide again

. >> claire sebastian, thank you. >>> coming up on "cnn newsroom," we are remembering the incredibled memory of drew griffith who lost his battle with cancer over the week end. >>> we want to take a moment now to acknowledge the passing of one of our own. cnn senior investigative correspondents drew griffin. he died on saturday after a battle with cancer. anderson cooper looks back at the incredible legacy drew leaves behind. >> reporter: during his nearly two decades at cnn, drew griffin was known for his tenacious reporting. >> are you worried you'll be indicted before the election. >> reporter: his interviews were unwavering. >> i don't think you understand how votes are cast, collected and tabulated. >> reporter: he gave a voice to those who tonight have one. >> we don't expect it to be easy. we don't expect the truth to be easy. >> reporter: drew was a gifted story teller, dedicated to seeking the truth and holding the powerful accountable. >> why do you continue to push the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. >> it's not a lie. you don't have the facts. >> reporter: drew's s

. >> for more let's go to claire sebastian who joins us live from london.olodymyr zelenskyy is returning to ukraine with more money and defense weapons in hand. what could come next? >> that is the big question. we do not know what it means for the battlefield in ukraine but clearly russia is firmly on a war footing. there were two elements to the speech, one russia believes it is under siege. not only with ukraine but a expansion which is nato. one of the original justifications that he put forward for launching the campaign and also we have the expansion of the military. take a listen to his opening remarks to his speech on wednesday. >> it is well known that the military potential and opportunities of all of the countries in nato are being used against russia. nevertheless, our soldiers, officers and sergeants are fighting for russia courageously. >> he announced that he wanted to increase the size of the russian army from 1 million to one and a half million, he talked about accelerating a hypersonic missile program. and increasing the readiness of nucle

cnn's claire sebastian is following the story from london. claire, what kind of new threats is putin talking about here? >> reporter: yeah, it was pretty cryptic, christine. he talks about the changing situation in the world and the sort of new threats as a result of that appearing clearly we can read into that the reference on the war in ukraine and the fact we've seen the violence spill over on to russian territory, shelling in nearby regions. we saw some attacks on military air fields hundreds of miles from the ukrainian borders. clearly that has rattled president putin. he talks about stepping up the work of the fsb, the federal security service border force cracking down on foreign security sore advises, rooting out traitors, spies and saboteurs. he's talking about this is providing cover, i think, for another hallmark of this conflict, repression at homes. he talks about special control on crowded places, transport, all of those things. somewhat unusual for putin he talked about the, quote, extremely difficult situation in russia's new r

claire sebastian is here first. let's begin with phil mattingly at the white house. >> reporter: for more than 300 days president volodymyr zelenskyy has not left ukraine. russia's invasion of ukraine and a grinding war that continues to this moment. however, on wednesday he will depart. depart and has already departed for washington, d.c., in what will be an historic and quite symbolic meeting face to face with president biden. the u.s. serving as the number one ally and certainly when it comes to scale of defense assistance. in that meeting which will be extensive, the presidents and their top two teams, president biden will make a significant announcement of his own, $1.8 billion in new security assistance on top of more than 20 billion the u.s. has already directed towards ukraine since the start of the war. inside that $1.8 billion, the most significant weapons system the u.s. has been willing to provide ukraine up to this point. patriot missile systems which president zelenskyy has repeatedly asked for, talked

clair sebastian is tracking new developments and joins us now live.is expected to come out of the informal summit? >> reporter: this is about russia proving to the world it is not isolated on the international stage, that it still has this very clear sphere of influence and has alliances that serve as a sort of counter point to the western alliances it has essentially lost as a result of this war in ukraine and on the other hand, this is about this specific region. putin has visited all five of the central asian countries present at this meeting since the start of the war in ukraine and he hasn't done much traveling since the start of the war in ukraine. he was pretty casual about leaving the country after covid. so that is significant. the talks are about economic ties between the two countries. putin said trade is up some 6% between january and october this year compared to last year and security as well. he admitted that there have been challenges in terms of security on the world stage, no explicit mention of ukraine. he did also admit there have

. >> claire sebastian, thank you. >>> just ahead, tragedy in an ice covered lake in arizona. >>> plus, real backlash over a congressman-elect's fake resume. >>> what supreme court rulings could mean for thousands of migrants now stranded at the southern border. getting into, but at the end of the day, you know you have a team behind you that can help you. not having to worry about the future makes it possible to make the present as best as it can be for everybody. okay everyone, our mission is complete balanced nutrition. together we support immune function. supply fuel for immune cells and sustn tissue health. ensure with twenty-five vitamins and minerals, and ensure complete with thirty grams of proin. pain hits fast. so get relief fast. only tylenol rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast for fast pain relief. and now get relief without a pill with tylenol dissolve packs. relief without the water. >>> this is just a band aid on a broken immigration system. the system has to be fixed. >> that's the mayor of el paso, texas, right now after the supreme

cnn's claire sebastian following this for us live in london.istine. there seems to have been a major barrage of drone attacks across ukraine. this morning, the ukrainian defense ministry tweeting this was one of the most massive drone attacks to hit the country since the start of the war. they say that in total 35 iranian drones were launched towards ukraine of which 30 were shot down. a large number directed towards the capital kyiv where the military administration there says that 23 drones were launched towards the capital, of which 18 were shot down. so it seems that ukraine's air defense systems are working actively, but still some missiles are getting through. you showed that images of the fire raging in kyiv which authorities are still trying to put out. energy infrastructure was hit there just several days after the massive barrage of attacks which knocked down a lot of energy infrastructure on friday. this continues to be a key part of russia's play book. other civilian elements were hit as well. private homes, things like that. so we

cnn's clare sebastian is following the relevance and joins us now live from london with more. clairederstand that russian president vladimir putin is expected to visit belarus today. could belarus be pulled into that conflict? >> that continues to be a subject of speculation. ukrainian officials have said that they are increasingly concerned that this relentless aerial bombardment, that we are seeing in the capital this morning, and the south in kherson, could proceed a new ground offensive from russia which they have expected as early as january. president zelenskyy saying on sunday that all possible defense scenarios are being looked at with this border, the visit by president putin to belarus comes as we have seen an increase in military activity on both sides. belarus helped snap military drills last week, there has been a new reporting by the defense ministry showing a grouping that was set up in october of russian forces with belarusian troops in belarus doing training exercises, there has been movement of belarusian heavy equipment, so there is some speculation that this could