in order to change the government, in order to used intelligence, the fsb and gru -- again, they areere in the hundreds, if not thousands. this is their backyard. they know this area. and i will just point out here that vladimir putin came to power in russia on the basis of his ability to go into chechnya, in russia, and brutally take out a -- basically, a -- an insurgency against the russian government. that's how he came to power. that brutality, that resolve, that very detailed operational plan that the fsb and gru are executing right now are as important as the military operation. and in fact, it may be driving the timeline more than their ability to encircle and take kyiv. >> steve, do you agree with that? and if so, then how long of a -- i mean, even if -- if you take out the top leadership and, you know, people at lots of different parts of the country, people with military experience. people who might be able to take part or lead some sort of insurgency. you are still talking about an occupation by russian forces of an awful lot of land for a fair amount of time, no? >> yeah.

. >> reporter: he eventually became the chief of russia's counterintelligence agency, the fsb.here, he targeted rebels in countries that had separated from the soviet union when it dissolved. his success against russia's enemies quickly propelling him to prime minister in 1999. he was elected as acting president the year after and has held on to power ever since. >> so putin doesn't necessarily have status on the world stage, but he does have strength? >> it would depend on how you define status. so if you define it as economic status, then russia is sort of the economic size of a mid-size chinese province. but if you define it in terms of strategic awe topic weapons, that's a different matter. russia is too nuclear to ignore. it's the only real competitor to the united states. that's one of the reasons why putin is using force to solve his problems, because it's an area where he has an edge. >> reporter: putin has not been afraid of military conflict in the past, repeatedly launching russian troops into former soviet union territories. chechnya, georgia, and most recently, cri

of the putin regime immediately gets arrested or harassed by the russian intelligence services, the fsbt a good read of what is happening. we did have the case of a few generals who came out and spoke out against a war and called for putin to resign and basically said what we are all saying, that nato poses no threat to russia. what is president putin's aim here? well, i have been thinking about that a lot for a while. why now? he has ruled russia for over 20 years. he has nothing to show for it over the past 20 years. the economy is faltering, conditions inside russia are horrible. and i think he wants to be simply capturing territory because he saw the soviet union collapse as one of the biggest catastrophes and he continuously repeated that over the past 20 years. and i think he wants to leave a legacy behind that he did recapture territory. we saw belarus which has been softly annexed because right now, putin controls basically the military side of belarus as well as having the territory to conduct exercises. and we know he has always wanted ukraine. he definitely does not want a de

property of specific members of the russian elite, and their families, including the director of the fsb, the chairman of psb, and putin's domestic policy coordinator. and third, he's going to clamp down on putin's ability to raise money. he's canceled an expected meeting this week with sergei lav lavrov >> president putin's deeply disturbing speech today and his actions today showed the world how he views ukraine, as a creation of russia and therefore subordinate to russia. >> reporter: one key question is whether sanctions alone is enough to deter putin. u.s. officials said other measures are under consideration, including tough export controls and technically blocking russia from the global banking network. at some point, vladimir putin will have to decide which he values more, the economy or territory. >>> russia announced it will evacuate its diplomats out of ukraine soon russia's parliament approved putin's request to use russia's military forces outside of russia erin mclaughlin is in kyiv. >> reporter: just to give you a sense of how things are going here, the day began with pres

it was right after russian separatists with help from the fsb shot down a malaysian airliner with overphen: i knew it was a happy day. >> we need to quit meeting like this. >> stephen: the last time we got together was another tragic day with some russian aggression with a lot of people dying as a result of vladimir putin's ambitions. >> uh-huh. >> stephen: back then i think the joke i made was i am going to talk to her about the conflict between russia and ukraine. we are going to have to talk quickly while there are still two separate countries. what is happening now? russia launched a full-scale attack on ukraine, so much has happened in the last 24 hours. where do things stand right now? >> so, the day has drawn to a close, the first 24 hours of the war. russia has bombed pretty much every major city in ukraine. there was an amphibious assault on odessa. russians has taken out a lot of air defenses, antaken over chernobyl, weirdly. the bombing is north to south, east to west, bombing the far west, they are bombing right over the border from russia. it is everywhere. >> stephen: you

they sanctioned three individuals, the head of the fsb, the internal security service, and the head of and two of those individuals' sons. but not broader family members and not a broader list of oligarchs. there are people who are elite and important and there are people who are incredibly wealthy and may also be important. the top ten oligarchs, if you look at forbes, not a single one of them are mock those the white house has sanctioned. and you would have to go way, way down the list to get these individuals. so there's a lot more to be done if you think this path is a path that could put pressure on putin internally in russia. >> beth, does it make sense to hold back sanctions against oligarchs the way that the wbidn may have been is doing so right now. they say she don't want to use all their choices now. this is not a deterrence at all. we really need to hit putin and the russian oligarchs where they live. >> reporter: i don't believe that any degree or amount of sanctions will make any difference or would have made any difference. that's my perspective. putin has a $630 billion

fast forward to a if you years ago when a russian hacking team associated with the fsb intelligence agencym their way into a critical infrastructure and collect intelligence on those networks. a long history and a lot of it is quiet. dhs has told companies, they believe the threshold for a major cyber attack in the u.s. from russia is still very high. >> all right. thank you. >>> following the money, how health insurance companies are ending up with record breaking profits on the backs of consumers paying higher prices. stay with us. so when something happens that could affect your portfolio, you can act quickly. that's decision tech, only from fidelity. ♪(music)♪ at aetna® we're shifting medicare coverage into high gear with benefits you may be eligible for when you turn 65. benefits that may include rewards for select healthy activities. aetna medicare advantage plans call today to learn more. you're a one-man stitchwork master. but your staffing plan needs to go up a size. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching

his national security council today on live television, going around the room, asking the head of the fsbussian security services and various other personnel what their opinions are as he appears to mull this over, he is clearly kind of dangling this possibility of recognition ahead of that meeting that is scheduled to take place on thursday between secretary of state tony blinken and his russian counterpart, sergey lavrov. the idea of being potentially this gives them more leverage at the negotiating table, just one more lever that they can pull on, jim. >> putin certainly fond of that highly public televised event like we were seeing today. clarissa ward, thanks very much. >>> listen to this story. the u.n. warned the human rights commissioner that russia has as part of its plans to invade this country identify dissidents and particular leaders to be killed or sent to camps if it further invades or occupies country. the kremlin calls that, quote, absolute fiction. cnn international correspondent kylie atwood is with us now, speaking to empeople at the sta department. they've been descri

and the fsb, the successor to the kgb with the plan to take over this country.r and a half, if you want to call it that, the u.s. sees this all coming together in the coming hours or days. i know, wolf, that we've heard those warnings before. what has changed in the last several days is those forces have gotten closer to the border. the u.s. has observed via surveillance and other means those forces put into combat positions, and other steps taken that indicate final preparations. of course, we'll see if the final order is delivered. that's the picture that u.s. intelligence is seeing. >> could be imminent, as u.s. intelligence believes. oren, you're at the pentagon. what is the latest assessment from the u.s. military on russia's own military readiness? >> let me build on the point jim just made. the u.s. has been watching this build up for months and had an assessment on the types and numbers of forces russia would need if it were to conduct an all-out invasion of ukraine. a senior defense official saying that roush yeah is near 100% of the forces needed and i

had been recuperating in germany after having been poisoned by a military grade nerve agent by the fsb on putin's orders. he dared to come home. people came out and protested, and the kremlin hit back, and everybody is basically now in jail, and exiled abroad, or very quietly trying not to end up on either of those places. this is a country where people go to jail for liking things on facebook, for sharing other peoples posts on facebook, for sharing music videos that they themselves did not make. so what happens is when you establish that climate of fear, there is no pushback. there is nobody that he has to deal with, not the opposition, and not even anybody in his own government. i can 2014, there were still liberals and western oriented people in his government. now, as we saw with the security council meeting yesterday which looked like a deleted scene from death of stalin, you just had the people around him bowing and scraping to say whatever he needed him to say, getting scolded when they stumbled and did not quite get the formulation right, and he is just surrounded by yes men.

and he is a former fsb kgb. we have to understand where he is coming from. he does not come from the oligarchs, the rich guys who lay down on their yachts, as one caller said. he is responding to nato expansion. that is what this is all about. nato expansion. i don't think most of our callers truly understand the concept of what nato was created for. he made his demands. don't put ukraine into nato. biden said -- he refused. in other words, he gave him no choice but to do what he had to do, and that was take over ukraine. host: can i ask, what you were doing living in russia and under what circumstances you met putin? caller: i was a businessman. i did not work for the u.s. government and i was not military. host: how did you get a chance to meet putin? caller: same way i met yeltsin. trade deals, import export. i also organized industrial tradeshows. there were reasons for us to meet. it was strictly on trade. at the time that he came into office, the u.s. and russia were developing very strong trade relations. unfortunately, that was also the time that pre

one is the son of the director of the fsb, the federal security service.f the first deputy chief of staff, the domestic policy adviser for putin. so as this treasury department press release indicates, these are individuals who have directly benefitted from the clep tok rasy that is russia. part of putin's inner circle and now they and their assets will be cut off. it's significant that he is targeting his inner circle, but as the president indicated, there are other levers still in the wings if putin further escalates. >> mike, thank you for that. jim, let me bring you in here. i know you think the more significant announcement is actually the new details we're learning about troop movements. obviously not going into ukraine, but helping to bolster nato allies on the border essentially. tell me more about that. >> that's quite significant. not just in terms of numbers, but in terms of what those pieces of equipment are. the ah 64, the attack helicopter, it's a tank killer. and so obviously the concern in the pentagon was was we need equipment in the balti

there's a military side of it and then there's a political side and the tension and there are kgb or fsb as they're now known, agents according to intelligence assessments with the intention of taking over political institutions in this country. in other words, making plans for having a country to run under russian rule replacing ukraine's own officials and then the added detail of not just replacing them but killing some of them, perhaps, and rounding up and putting them in camps. it's as if we were transported back but we should remember that vladimir putin committed similar crimes in recent years in his eyes inside and outside his country's borders. it's not farfetched, right? he's proven willing and capable of doing it. >> and you talk about being brought back to 1939, that really reminds me of something. britain's prime minister boris johnson said. he thinks russia is planning the biggest war since 1945 and president calling for sanctions to be imposed on russia now to stop an invasion. not after a potential invasion but still debating, so do you think the west is doing enough right

the head of the fsb interesting head of security council. he has a very narrow circle of advisers.ch great advice. and it is only one set of perspectives. he's not what is coming from institutions because he's shut down institutions. he's in a narrow circle and i worry about that with his decision making and frankly, his stability. >> no one has been mentally untouched by the last few years, including me. thank you very much. i appreciate it. >>> next, the january 6th committee expects rudolph giuliani to fully cooperate with its subpoena. what does that mean? is he actually going to turn on trump? rudy of all people? and restrictive new voting laws in texas proving to cause an incredible nightmare with voting. 40% of mail-in ballots in the houston area have been flagged over i.d. requirements. ne. if you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks, make sure you have downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters. (vo) jamaica. (woman) best decision ever. (vo) feel the sand between your toes, and the gentle waves of the sea on your skin. feel the warm jamaican breeze lift your spirits and nou

and he is a former fsb kgb. we have to understand where he is coming from.e does not come from the oligarchs, the rich guys who lay down on their yachts, as one caller said. he is responding to nato expansion. that is what this is all about. nato expansion. i don't think most of our callers truly understand the concept of what nato was created for. he made his demands. don't put ukraine into nato. biden said -- he refused. in other words, he gave him no choice but to do what he had to do, and that was take over ukraine. host: can i ask, what you were doing living in russia and under what circumstances you met putin? caller: i was a businessman. i did not work for the u.s. government and i was not military. host: how did you get a chance to meet putin? caller: same way i met yeltsin. trade deals, import export. i also organized industrial tradeshows. there were reasons for us to meet. it was strictly on trade. at the time that he came into office, the u.s. and russia were developing very strong trade relations. unfortunately, that was also the time that presi

officials went into to describe new intelligence that indicates that officers from the fsb, which is the russian domestic intel jligence agency and the foreign intelligence agency worked hand in glove with these media cutouts to plant story, even edit them, tell them to take things down, meet in person with them so it's a rather extraordinary level of detail that the u.s. officials are going too. i should point out that, as you know, there's a lot of criticism of back and forth between the u.s. media on show me the underlying goods here. you're telling me that's something that is happening but show me. there's a will the of open source information that corroborated these allegations that u.s. officials made and just shows the information warfare aspect of all this. >> really interesting. thank you for the reporting. >>> let's bring in now leon panetta. great to have you here. this is just very, very different messaging that we're hearing this hour from ukraine than we heard previously where they are asking nato to prepare for these large scale emergencies of various natures that can

we saw that brought out by the fsb leader at putin's national security meeting which was present as anxtraordinary unplanned session today. he brought that up where putin kind of went around the room polling dozens of his national security officials about whether or not he should offer recognition for these two regions as independent and played this off as if not decide and a few hours later he came out with a hour-long speech with an historical airing of grievances which essentially amounted to an a argument that the modern ukranian states was created by russia and its existence was a mistake and it goes back to the way the soviet union was formed, the way it was divide internally. everything was there to kind of bolster a broader case and then to kind of tie it all off the camera cut. putin is in a large room in the creme lip, on one side and the camera pans and the two rebel leaders that we saw just hours earlier on russian state television one after another making formal appeals to president putin for recognition, they were sitting in the room signing the documents and that's where

some of them are in plain clothes and there's russian fsb, russian special operators and civilian intelligenceder this guise, is that an invasion? that's one of the questions that we're asking here. what does that mean? >> right. >> so, that's sort of the next shoe that we're waiting to drop here, john. >> well, yes, and courtney, just sticking with you here, you know, a question we've been talking about, which is, to the extent that all these things have been anticipated and that much of what has happened, although it's been kind of terrifying to watch in various ways over the course of the last couple weeks as we've gotten closer and closer to the brink of war, there's a level of predictability to it, and nothing has happened here that has shocked anyone once it's started. once the kind of wheels were in motion here, none of it's really surprised anybody, so if you think that's right on the basis of your sources, what they say about this, they must understand that sanctions are seen widely by almost no one as likely to deter vladimir putin, which raises the next question. you're sitting over

agencies, the gru, their military intelligence, the svr, their foreign intelligence service, and the fsb but really it will be the gru and the svr that does the offense. they have done a lot you have seen that with things like fancy bear on the gru side and you have seen it with the solarwindsen the svr side. i believe those were practices when you think about the impact just from solarwinds of what they could have done with a destructive virus in that case, the impact it would have on our country and others, it's significant. so those are things that are within his reach i don't think he will use them yet. i don't think he is prepared to do that given they have to conquer ukraine and they are going to focus their cyber on ukraine right now. i think we will see attacks in the next few days reaching out to many countries to help from their perspective break sanctions. so this is going to grow and i think we are in a new place. you hit it on the head this is a new change for the way we think about warfare >> that's what senator warner talked about last 24 hours he goes, this has been an ar

it's a classic tactic of russia and a its fsb which was the follow-on agent city the kgb.ion declassified it. and exposed it and really kind of gave the world a heads up. so -- maria: what was -- >> we'll see. maria: what was most important from your standpoint in terms of the briefing that you received yesterday on the russia/ukraine standoff? >> well, putin continues to send huge, huge portions of his military from east to west, from siberia and his eastern armies to the border of ukraine. the buildup in belarus which is by far the fastest route to kiev is incredibly significant. bottom line, he's throwing the whole kitchen sink at this thing, he's moving strategic forces, space forces, parts of his fleet, his pacific fleet is transiting over and his northern fleet. this is an incredibly serious situation and if this was all just for leverage and diplomacy, this would have to be the most expensive and largest r use in modern history pl it doesn't sound like this is a guy who is not going to invade ukraine. are you expecting an invasion? what do you think? >> i am expecti

and he is a former fsb kgb. we have to understand where he is coming from.e does not come from the oligarchs, the rich guys who lay down on their yachts, as one caller said. he is responding to nato expansion. that is what this is all about. nato expansion. i don't think most of our callers truly understand the concept of what nato was created for. he made his demands. don't put ukraine into nato. biden said -- he refused. in other words, he gave him no choice but to do what he had to do, and that was take over ukraine. host: can i ask, what you were doing living in russia and under what circumstances you met putin? caller: i was a businessman. i did not work for the u.s. government and i was not military. host: how did you get a chance to meet putin? caller: same way i met yeltsin. trade deals, import export. i also organized industrial tradeshows. there were reasons for us to meet. it was strictly on trade. at the time that he came into office, the u.s. and russia were developing very strong trade relations. unfortunately, that was also the time that presi

the head of the fsb, he humiliated him in front of everybody as, he laughed at him.t? talking about the realness of mercenaries in kyiv looking for the ukrainian leader, presidents and and ski. did you know he won the ukrainian strictly come dancing a few years ago —— president zelensky. he is also the voice of paddington bearin he is also the voice of paddington bear in ukraine. we will continue to cover the story on bbc breakfast. now for the headlines. see you in a moment. good morning, welcome to breakfast with dan walker and sally nugent. our headlines today. the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, says the next 24 hours will be crucial, with more shelling in the north of the country overnight. hearing care of the curfew has been lifted _ hearing care of the curfew has been lifted. people are queueing at supermarkets, but also the sounds of gunfire _ supermarkets, but also the sounds of gunfire -- _ supermarkets, but also the sounds of gunfire. —— here in kiel. talks between ukraine and russia are expected to talk place at this table in belarus today. boris