crimea was the first awful mistake of the ukraine and ukrainian government and people who came after my dad because when you're coming into the poland you're saying is that all people should leave the crimea all russian language should be just. crimea of course the people who were living there they decided to change their just to belong it's a consenting rusher of georgian relations into cells and a it was very painful of course first of all it's difficult for me to say that but. let's say i'm brave enough to say that yes there was a main just person who begin a war really gave the order in russia. there's absolutely no love lost for mr secretary in russia but i think people now can appreciate that he never went as far as cutting the ties i don't think so maybe it was not so we the bull it was no so just both for many russian people but russia really enjoyed was successful to create the absolutely untrue russian feeling especially in generations so he was trying to do this. yes fortunately not fortunately so what is very important to say yes of course you mention a clinician of a pre

on february twenty seventh the government buildings in the capital of crimea were seized by pro russian protesters. the current crimean government was dismissed and the new leader surrogate acciona of was assigned as the leader of the crimean. autonomy's republic when you lead the. list. still with you has this should be. on march sixteenth the crimean referendum or so held and the people voted to leave ukraine and enter the russian federation. the situation in crimea is being presented as a russian invasion and again nobody looks at this seriously and looks at the poll numbers and some of the poll numbers done by the u.s. government agencies themselves showing that the people of crimea prefer being part of russia in the u.s. news media it's all been presented as the russians invaded they then station sham election with people with guns at their backs somehow they big the ballot boxes to get ninety six percent approval for rejoining russia idea of a referendum in crimea is just quite simply unconstitutional but it does raise questions on whether this vote really is free and fair especia

government agencies themselves show the people of crimea prefer being part of russia in the u.s. news media it's all been presented as the russians invaded they then station sham election with people with guns at their backs somehow the big the ballot boxes to get ninety six percent approval for rejoining russia idea of a referendum in crimea is just quite simply unconstitutional but it does raise questions on whether this vote really is free and fair especially given the heavy military presence in crimea right now errol so that's how it's been sold to american people the reality is very different yet it's fantastic trading thousands of people gathered in the capital crime and said. all of this funding of information to be held not signed welcome now a little bit later in the program we will be getting to at more of our top stories from the week that was but just to let you know the reason why we're starting the hour a little bit early we are expecting russia's defense ministry to release a detailed report on the tragic dawning of the russian military playing this week in syria i

should take into account that in crimea they're not pro russians this people who are living in crimea ninety percent of those people or maybe lived it to less but they're not pro russians they are russians and if you are not to protect their own interests and their language and their nationality of course these people will decide to leave not in ukraine but in russia what consenting russia and ukraine i'm absolutely sure that as georgia and russia one day will leave in peace in good relations and good neighborhood relations the same will be with the ukraine and russia but before it will be quite painful time for ukraine and ukraine russian relations in case of georgia is things that in georgia necessary to change the government and to brings the people into this is obviously not something that russia should or should no no of course not i mean. no case i mean georgian people should change the government about how how should the poster of the russian state change in order to allow both you know geography and dusty need to be pursued so to say because obviously many in ukraine and many

it's people based on the will of the crimea who elected us we declare that we will not give crimea to extremists and neo nazis seeking to seize power in ukraine at the cost of the blood of the country and its citizens after the regime change in kiev rumors began spreading in crimea that the new authorities would be merciless to those that oppose them. this led to the pro russian demonstrations rejecting the new government in kiev. on february twenty seventh the government buildings in the capital of crimea were seized by pro russian protesters. the current crimean government was dismissed and the new leader surrogate acciona of was assigned as the leader of the crimean autonomy republic when you lead the below. but i share list. still with you has this should. on march sixteenth the crimean referendum morse held and the people voted to leave ukraine and enter the russian federation. the situation in crimea is being presented as a russian invasion and again nobody who looks at the seriously and looks at the poll numbers and some of the poll numbers done by the u.s. government agencies

government agencies themselves showing the people of crimea prefer being part of russia in the u.s. news media it's all been presented as the russians invaded they then station sham election with people with guns at their backs somehow the big the ballot boxes to get ninety six percent approval for rejoining russia idea of a referendum in crimea is just quite simply unconstitutional but it does raise questions on whether this vote really is free and fair especially given the heavy military presence in crimea right now errol so that's how it's been sold to american people the reality is very different yeah it's fantastic be any electrical thousands of people have gathered in the capital crimean city and some from apple all of this funding away from a dem held last sunday in which the majority of people here overwhelmingly voted in support of being reunited with russia. with us but each to talk with them akin to political slow in the in the within that of those. we know it's of when enough. so in the media and more exposure so it's. so should you know it's there but it's something you

the first statement involves the annexation of crimea. there was no annexation of crimea.ad decided in a referendum that they would like to join russia. the primary reason, primary cause for that was they were afraid, panicked that the ukrainian government will start the process that can lead to complete house... you can rewrite history if you want. but the military invasion of the territory of a sovereign nation, the first in eastern europe since 19115. you asked me about annexation, there was no annexation. i don‘t regret the decision to annex this region. people decided to do it and russia are accepted the wish of the crimean people. second... as a nominally pro—western senior russian politician, do you really believe that? it's not about pro-western or not pro—western. pro people or not pro people. the west in this case was against the wish of the people of crimea unfortunately. i think that was wrong. the west decided to make the coup in ukraine, in kiev. it was initiated by the west and that was a mistake. i regret this decision by the west. and while being friendly

in crimea can you clarify that. they were could do would have barely spoken of a quote but the most of the most go float of could him. as long ago as eighteen zero four sevastopol the naval base became the main military port of the russian empire on the black sea. during the second world war the heroic defense of sevastopol lasted almost a year and took hundreds of thousands of lives. therefore the naval base in crimea has a legacy of historical pride for the russian black sea fleet as well as being of huge strategic importance. those of us alive back then remember when there were soviet missiles put into cuba how frightened americans were and how angry and how we almost went to a nuclear confrontation over having weapons of that kind of destruction placed that close to the united states. just so if the united states considers cuba to be in its backyard. then crimea lays at russia's doorstep. the consequences of a u.s. seizure of the face or a nato base which internationally. but almost a sum up as is and ensuring h

government buildings in crimea should you crazy. just shrug your shoulders and say ok crimea is lost and the old arguments would heat up once again. the cold war would heat up and cool down by turns while both rivals were obsessive leave building up military capacity the turning point took place when the new era perestroika came to the u.s.s.r. with its new leader mikhail gorbachev in the middle of the one nine hundred eighty s. . perestroika meant restructuring towards liberalization and democratization it certainly had a positive impact on the international situation astonishing news from east germany where the east german authorities have said in essence of the berlin wall doesn't mean anything anymore. but inside the u.s.s.r. the weakening of kremlin control had different consequences. in ukraine a nationalistic political organization. or people's movement emerged in one nine hundred eighty nine due to this. they advocated for independence of ukraine from the u.s.s.r. and became an incubator for leaders of ukrainian citizens. in

the us commitment in nato, the recognition policy ofthe crimea annexation. we simply don't know . we do know that at the press conference, president trump said he spent a great deal of time talking about the election and that putin feels strongly about it and has quote, an interesting idea. what does that mean? the president you'll doubt and speculation by refusing to say whether he believes the united states intelligence community or the russian dictator on the subject of election interference in 2016. trump said the special counsel's russia investigation has been a disaster for the us and has kept america and russia separated. these comments can be added to a very long list of ways the president has gone out of his way to cozy up to putin. i wish this resolution work necessary but here we are 60 days after the helsinki summit and we still don't know what president trump said or committed to. we area coequal branch of government . indeed, in theconstitution, we are the first article. the executive is the second . it is time that we take off our red hats for our blue hat and put o

then crimea plays at russia's doorstep. the consequences of a u.s. seizure of the face or a nato base which internationally. but almost a sum up a symbol is and was an intern is a natural. i taught me to an audience but you know what that. was today and you know unless. you know it's not just but with practical putting it into shape.

confrontation how much do you crave at that oh very much so i mean there was a sort of a rehearsal for crimea some years beforehand and in georgia of course went under a lot of american encouragement of the saakashvili government but very provocatively towards russia and a couple of ethnic parts of georgia and iran and i think i forget the name of that number when the current dutch and russia drew a line that russia moved in with support for the local local governments local if the groups and drew a lot and that was a dress rehearsal if you like. ukraine became the real thing because for many years before the the overthrow of the in the case which government for many years before

you are conducting naval maneuvers near crimea it is as if we are training people in cuba how would you feel it's unacceptable to us the spite of all that they remained friends even joke together three months of the pre-election race has taken its toll i feel somewhat tired i saw the picture of you dancing with the girls in the band and you looked wonderful i'm disappointed that no one sets up events like that for me in my campaign they were frank so frank in fact that there generals would get a little nervous yeah they discussed ditching their nuclear briefcases what if we were to agree giving up having to have our finger next to the box and all the time perhaps we could agree that it's not necessary for us to carry the chima down chick well i'll have to think about this all we carry of course are the codes in the secure phone yes you and i are the only leaders you have to do this mr president given the responsibility of your office and president yeltsin's it makes more sense for the two of you to have these devices with you at all times it was simpler in those days the world was young

then crimea plays at russia's doorstep. the consequences of a u.s. seizure of the face for a nato base which in general. but almost a sum up is him being seen by ensuring his election. you have taught me to. put you in with a. post today and. assuring us not to speak with practical. opinion it's. just another to use ocean to elicit but if there was no willingness that ended up with the old me the only leader on the. set it. was a piece of the schools would. estimate what i get there but only in the way but as it used to but they both say you know that in the film nixon amongst the when doesn't it seem easy if it's to make clinton year and a state but the national system. unless you mean it's not. supposed to in the pigott. if we act we would soak in the response. to me because you knew sitting up and you know looking at clint you just know in the us those. play in the in the lead you disappear you know the same so someone. up in the back of the in a plentiful legged little illusion when you want to pay for a by senior night and you shall. die i am co

country don't know maybe they don't understand this but they destroyed the country they lost not only crimea but they lost their own people in two regions crania us and russia they really have is toward a very deep roots and to cause this center trying just to show yourself that you are absolutely separate and different. from russians this is absolutely stupid the way this is the way to nowhere. this is. the church secret indeed just like priests accused of sexually abusing children can get away with it quite literally i like to call this the geographic solution so what the bishop needs to do then he finds out that the priest is is a perpetrator is simply moved to a different spot were the previous standards not the highest ranks of the catholic church conceal the accused priests from the police and justice mustn't do that and if that's not the best yet intent then i think you'll hear about it tuesday's out and. this. is faith. thank you both thank you i think tank the atlantic council's digital forensic lab has been identifying accounts guilty of for an election interference and only. thous

this lion climbing into a vehicle at a park in crimea.way into the front seat, getting behind the wheel. the guide squeezed out of his way and the tourists, of course, took pictures from the back seat. makes sense, better to get a picture for instagram than look out for your own personal well-being. thank you for watching "nightline." we're online 24/7 on our "nightline" facebook page. thank you again for watching and good night. - ( phone ringing ) - big button, and volume-enhanced phones. get details on this state program. visit right now or call during business hours.

in crimea can you clarify that. they were could have. spoken of the quote but the most of the most go full of the below. as long ago as eighteen zero four sevastopol as a naval base became the main military port of the russian empire on the black sea. during the second world war the heroic defense of sevastopol lasted almost a year and took hundreds of thousands of lives.

this sends is significant even if russia and china are at odds on some foreign policy issues such as crimeaor eastern ukraine militarily at least they're moving closer together. well i'm joined tonight by gustav grethel from the european council of foreign relations he has written extensively on military affairs missile defense and arms proliferation mr greste it's good to have you back here on the on the show what message is russia cindy in with these war games in to whom is this message addressed well predominance is the west to nato and to russia seized western neighbors particularly ukraine the wargame or houses a large wall scenario with a western country. the wargame rehearses strategic. deployment and sort of mobility of russian forces which can run sort of west to east like now but which. is to west and it really has the mobilization of for so forces mobilization of russian society in the event of force where it's it's quite obvious with the enemy and what about china what's the message that china is sending over well china sort of the russia russia trying to lure china closer to it

i mean there was a sort of a rehearsal for crimea some years beforehand in georgia of course when under a lot of american encouragement the soccer severely government behaved very provocatively towards russia in a couple of ethnic group parts of georgia and iran and i think i forget the name of it not going to cut and dash and russia drew a line that in russia moved in with support for the local local governments local ethnic groups and drew a line that was a dress rehearsal if you like. ukraine became the real thing because for many years before the the overthrow of the in the case which government for many years before two thousand and fourteen there was all kinds of encouragement being given to nationalistic elements in the crowd and the russian element by the united states and by certain european countries do you think they actually distilled the seriousness of encouraging those kind of forces and the kind of reaction that they may provoke in russia where they understood and simply didn't care i think the latter i think they didn't care i think it was you know whatever we can do to

there was not a robust enough response to various russian predations exercises the annexation of crimea etc the third thing is economic look the united states government is in a period in which the military in particular and i think the people around trump do believe this the military has been deployed on these endless wars overseas by both republican and democratic presidents that haven't done anything to advance our security interests that we need to focus on rebuilding and repositioning to deal with our true adversaries which are in our near peer adversaries china russia and try to get somebody else or come to some solution for these endless middle east wars well gehrig in your view what are the risks of this trump doctrine or policy. i think you know what's already been said here trump seems to have a fundamentally different calculation of what is american grand strategy which was to dish really understood as a form of liberal gemini's america is investing in investing in alliances and partnerships to underwrite a liberal international rules based order support for democracy support

poland, is high in anti—moscow sentiment and the boycott aims to protest kremlin—backed forces in crimea the country's leaders and ridicule from around the word. georgina smyth has the story. of the rich in history, architecture, and culture, but only certain types of culture from now on —— the city of lviv. the two nations to share a common soviet union passed, but critics say that influence is becoming too strong. lawmakers making the controversial move to ban russian cultural products like books, films, public readings, and songs. translation: there is enough russian content, even a lot of it. your feigned there is not enough of ukrainian content. we should have —— you will find. ukrainian and russian are similar languages, but use of the latter in the pro—western lviv has become increasingly political after russia and its crimea in 2014. parliament says the ban will last until the end of russia's occupation of the peninsula, which has claimed more than 10,000 lives. the moratorium has been dubbed a war on language by russia and foreign ambassadors have called for tolerance. translati

it's been done it pretty small amount of territory what five percent of ukraine they they've helped crimea carry out an act of free self-determination and. they did it under enormous provocation if they hadn't been in the mud. they would not have been the warden at least mr kim and i could argue that the west did similar things in other countries but as western officials would reply to that there is no moral equivalency anyway we have to take a short break now but we'll be back in just a few moments stay tuned. i've been saying the numbers mean something they matter to us is over one trillion dollars in debt more than ten like color blind stamping each day. eighty five percent of global wealth you longs to be all for rich eight point six percent market saw thirty percent minus one is pure some with four hundred to five hundred trade per circuit first second and bitcoin rose to twenty thousand dollars. china is building a two point one billion dollar a i industrial plant but don't let the numbers overwhelm. the only numbers you need to remember is one one business shows you can't afford to

it's been done it pretty small amount of territory what five percent of ukraine they they've helped crimea carry out an act of free self-determination and. they did it under enormous provocation if they hadn't been in the mud square could they would not have been the warden at least mr kim and i could argue that the west did similar things in other countries but as western officials would reply to that there is no moral equivalency anyway we have to take a short break now but we'll be back in just a few moments stay tuned. for survival guide books to give the story. repatriations look at the rest of seventy. philip a separate track record. so what we've got to do is identify the threats that we have it's crazy foundation let it be an arms race is often clearly dramatic development is only going to exist i don't see how that strategy will be successful very critical time to sit down and tom. welcome back to worlds apart with tony cabinet foremost troll and diplomat in russia and the author of the book called return to moscow. mr cameron what. we started discussing your crane before the brea

and that of our allies around the world they fermented conflict in the donbass illegally annexed crimea repeatedly violated the national airspace of several european countries advantage of sustained campaign of cyber espionage and election interference they were behind a violent attempted coup in montenegro and a russian made missile launch from territory held by russian backed separatists brought down and a seventy. we will step up our collective effort to protect ourselves in response to this threat and that is exactly what we have done since the attack in march both domestically and collectively with our allies we've introduced a new power to detain people at the u.k. border to determine whether they are engaged in hostile state activity we've introduced magnitsky amendment to the sanctions and money laundering act in response to the violation of human rights and we have radically stepped up our activity against illicit finance entering our country we also expelled twenty three russian diplomats who had been identified as undeclared russian intelligence officers fundamentally degradi

conclave don't know maybe they don't understand this but they destroyed the country they lost not only crimea but they lost their own people in two regions crania us and russia they really have started a very deep roots and to cut this center trying just to show yourself that you are absolutely separate and different. from russians this is absolutely stupid the way this is a way to know where. you are going to accept the slow drivers will start right to the polls because it's it's . i don't believe. me. well i'm somebody doesn't know it's a mess you never know what's happening and whether they're shooting whether it's here. and mistrust out of the. best in their. own system by your. post which a good many of them call it just thinking of the news but i'm addicted to sit with a minute that's and in the muslim saudis today when. among the stories the shape the week president trump takes center stage at the united nations general assembly in new york making one bold claim after another also ahead this hour. a recall saying that the boy who assaulted me could someday be on the u.s. supreme court

they illegally annexed crimea. repeatedly violated the airspace of several countries and carried out a sustained campaign of cyber espionage. they were behind a violent attempted crew -- attempted coup in montenegro. and a russian-made missile launched by russian separatists brought down mh 17. we will protect ourselves and that is what we have done since the attack in march. we have introduced new power to detain people at the uk border to determine whether they are engaged in a hostile state activity. we introduced an amendment in response to the violation of human rights and we stepped up our activity against illicit finance entering our country. we also expelled 23 russian diplomats identified as undeclared russian intelligence officers, fundamentally degrading russian intelligence capability in the uk for years to come. and in recognition of the shared threat posed to our allies, 28 other countries as well as nato joined up and expelling over a total of 150 russian intelligence officers, the largest collective