. >> from the kgb to the presidency. inside the russian leader's decades-long grip on power. >>> plus, diving with a purpose. the explorer scouring the bottom of the ocean to tell the untold history of the transatlantic slave trade. making history herself. >> this is not just black people's history. this is global history. >> documenting the past and educating the next generation. robin roberts joining the journey. ♪ >>> good evening. thank you for joinin us. the east-west showdown over ukraine continues as the stakes get higher. even financial markets around the world wobbled today. now with the winds of war blowing even stronger, some wonder if the door to diplomacy is quickly closing. abc's senior foreign correspondent ian pannell is on the ground in kyiv. >> reporter: president biden tonight unveiling a major package of financial sanctions against russian financial institutions, as well as business elites and their families. the european union, the 27 member states, also unanimously agreeing to a package of financial

they have to know the truth and part of what putin is the master of, kgb, kgb, kgb, kgb for his life, his orientation, his is misrepresentation. he is effective against that unless we inoculate against it. unless we make the case against it so the russian people know the truth that the surrounding areas know the truth. when we talk about the president he is doing the sanctions. he has a full picture of this. i said he was present the day of the expansion of nato. i saw the respect he commanded then and that was 1997 by the heads of state of all those countries and that has only grown over time by his leadership but also the expansion of nato. i think we are very well served. i respect his judgment and again, it is not just about when you do the sanctions or how you support the people, it is about how the world views what putin is doing. this is a very evil move on the part of vladimir putin. he is a kgb guy who happens to be the richest man in the world. he does not want them to know about the exploitation and uses excuses like change. you hear him say, well, they are part of us. they

so in the kgb, he was not involved in any meaningful kgb style operation. all his mo tus app ran die comes from his experience in the first half of the '90s in st. petersburg, in gangster war. at the time the situation in the city was similar to what was happening in chicago in the 30s. one gang against another gang, and putin was in the middle. so his actual real modus operandi is that of a gangster, and his main weapon, he weaponized this, this is bluff, putin is bluffing. the reason of what he is doing is domestic. he needs to reinstall himself in 2024 as the president for life of the russian federation. just six months ago, they were talking about possible transition but the latest developments in kazakhstan, president tried to do this transition and lost everything, so it sends a strong signal to putin that the only guarantee for his personal safety for everything he has done so far is to stay in power forever. and this is the reason why he came up with this idea ultimatum, to the united states. his objective are as follows. if he gets something in res

chuck, former kgb agent. thank you so much for joining us.up after the break, there are air raid sirens going off in kyiv right now. we will join a journalist who's currently on the ground in kyiv. don't go anywhere. don't go anywhere. -weekly ozemp. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ ♪ oh, oh, oh ♪ ozempic® is proven to lower a1c. most people who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. and you may lose weight. adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. in adults also with known heart disease, ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. ozempic® helped me get back in my type 2 diabetes zone. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effect

the name of kgb, there is no such thing as former kgb. >> reporter: in november 2013, thousands of nationalistesters took to the streets in ukraine's meydan revolution, fighting to break free of russian influence. katya organizing and raising money for countrymen from abroad. >> it will be money toward 24/7, the situation there. me and my husband, we were sleeping, we slept in turn just not to lose anything. and those people out there without any weapon wearing this -- whatever they can find useful, like bicycle helmets and holding these wooden shields and wooden swords. >> reporter: tell me a little bit about belarus and where you're from. >> it's a country in eastern europe. it's run by authoritarian dictatorial regime. >> reporter: the threat of russian invasion is familiar to new york city councilman ari kagan. you've seen this type of geopolitical invasion in your country. do you think vladimir putin stops there? >> of course he doesn't stop. he would prefer to contro again all former republics of the former soviet union, including baltic countries. >> reporter: the belarusian fled the us

yeltsin's eventual successor was an ex-kgb officer, vladimir putin.insisted he did not want to revive the old soviet union, and he seemed to fit in well with the diplomatic niceties of a world which was now dominated by the united states. yet all the time he was quietly rebuilding russia's armed foes, which had fallen into decay. putin was on a mission to make russia superpower again. western leaders just saw him as someone they could do business with. >> the problem is that they approached pressure with optimism, thinking that russia can be engaged with like a western liberal democracy, not realizing just how rapidly russia is retreating back into its own historical comfort zone of hostility not only to the outside world, but its on population, and its specific view of history where in nurses is grievances that are unrecognizable to the outside world. john: ukraine especially seemed to upset him. he hated the way it had gone through independence when the soviet union collapsed. pro-democracy orange revolution was an affront to him. by 2014,e infiltra

his experience of serving in the kgb as an intelligence officer.ver served in the military but intelligence was his business and that would have been key to him and determining ukraine's capacity and will to fight. and russia has overstretched. it reminds me of general secretary the last couple years of his life and beating afghanistan. and that put a lot of nails in the coffin of the soviet union. vladimir putin took a great risk dealing with extended supply lines that has a negative impact on the troops ability to move. there are major rivers in ukraine that pose challenges and there are large cities. they just don't have the troops to subdue them and ukraine has highlighted led by president zelensky bravely demonstrating how committed they are fighting for their freedom and independence. we are now stepping up time is on ukraine side the longer they hang in the fight the more we can get in terms of humanitarian assistance and other things that can help them against to defend themselves against russian aggression. lawrence: you have served this c

don't forget he is kgb through and through and surrounded self with former kgb sycophants that are clearly what he needs to hear about the situation on the ground. i really wonder if he wasn't told that once russian tanks crossed the border, we have a two that will one —- a clue to bring down president zelensky instantly or that ukrainian people really do believe they are citizens of russia and not ukrainian nationalists and that they will throw down their weapons and walk out as liberators not as the occupiers and war criminals they are becoming. brian: to refrain where he is that and says i need some help so income the russian forces and cause extent is now a state of russia because the leader and the military and the same thing happens with belarus. and calls money hundred vladimir putin and he comes in and now belarus is now part of russia under the sphere of influence can you think ukraine would be the same way did he not understand he was legitimately elected? >> and that's the problem with dictators is that they don't understand the mindset of a democratic people and certainly leade

putn was a kgb officer -- putin was a kgb officer.lt the russian empire still needed to exist. he has been trying ever since coming to power to basically reestablish russia. ensure russia still has respect on the global stage. yamiche: and david, ann is talking about russia making great again, you have been covering the pentagon, a few years after the soviet -- since a few years after the soviet union collapsed. how quickly could ukraine become fully under control of russia? what happens next, and how long could this occupation go forward? >> well, the original fear was that kyiv could fall within a day or two. the russians are not advancing as quickly as they thought. the ukrainians are fighting and the russians may well have underestimated the opposition. that they are receiving from the ukrainians. but we shouldn't fool ourselves here. russia has only committed about a third of those 150,000 plus troops it had amassed around the border, so it has much more firepower that -- that it can roll in against ukraine. what russia caused th

. >> reporter: in the 1970s, putin joined the kgb, becoming a mid-level spy, eventually the chief of's counterintelligence agency. although the kgb was technically disbanded when the soviet union fell, putin's experience as an intelligence officer watching the soviet union dissolve made its mark. earlier this week, he claimed the soviet union was robbed of land. >> we talk about the way that the collapse of the soviet union is within living memory. it's important to remember that with putin, that is lived memory, not living memory, lived memory. so these are events that he remembers personally and is angry about. >> we'll have another update from ukraine in just a few minutes. >>> still to come, a crocodile escapes custody in florida. >>> also ahead, a news reporter gets a big surprise from ever wonder what everyone's doing on their phones? they're banking, with bank of america. the groom's parents? they just found out they can redeem rewards for a second honeymoon. romance is in the air. like these two. he's realizing he's in love. and that his dating app just went up. must be fate.

this is rank kgb stuff, and he uses that. so i think that kind of thing will continue, but it depends on the next few days and what happens here. if in fact, president biden has an opportunity to sit down with president putin, that could move this thing in a different direction. then again, it could mean nothing. i don't think the russians are going to give up those -- those tools, cyber attacks, and using cyber as they have very effectively. >> and your message to corporate america in terms of whether or not we're defending ourselves and our own institutions and our own infrastructure against what could become an escalading cyber part of any potential war? >> well, that's right. and i think the business community is sophisticated enough, and has dealt with cyber attacks, not just from russia, but from china and other countries, and i think the business community is doing very well protecting themselves. i mean, cyber is a deadly, deadly weapon. you never know when it's coming, where it's coming from. it can paralyze power gr

is trying to impose his twisted kgb vision of the world order on the rest of the world. he wants his sphere of influence, he believes only a few countries in the world should enjoy true sovereignty. russia and china among them. that's what we face right now. a month for sanctions? really i think ukraine has a lot less time than that to exist as a nation states. we are not demonstrating with her policy process a kind of alacrity. frankly this crisis is demanding of us. were going to pay the consequences. >> i'm sticking with you for a second. you mentioned the month language but i was from president biden. he said for now these sanctions are working and in a month or so it, i'm paraphrasing they are. but now is the time for crushing sanctions. i'm trying to wonder is if you're up thing we can't endure these crushing sanctions economically? and they are leading away rather than the united states? otherwise thing right here right now there is an invasion of us sovereign country now is the time for the highest level of sanctions? >> i think there's too much focus on the sanc

yeldon's eventual successor was an ex—kgb officer, latimer putin.t to revive the old soviet union, and he seemed to fit in well with the diplomatic niceties of a world that was now dominated by the united states —— vladimir putin. it all the time he was quietly rebuilding russia's armed forces, which had fallen into decay. putin was on a mission to make russia a superpower again. western leaders, though, just saw him as someone they could do business with. the problem — could do business with. the problem is _ could do business with. the problem is that _ could do business with. tue: problem is that they could do business with. tte: problem is that they approach russia with optimism and thinking that russia can be engaged like a western liberal democracy, not realising just how rapidly russia is retreating back into its own rules comfort zone of hostility, not only to the other world but to its own population, and with a very specific view of history wariness is grievances that are just unrecognisable to the outside world.— outside world. ukraine es

. >> bret: jen, you have followed putin since living in moscow, is he a former kgb agent honed his skill deception for years and did very dark things in the past. >> absolutely, bret. putin has used poison to kill and maim his political opposition. even targeting dissidence in london. going back to 2007 when his agents use pallone yum to poison and kill a former lee tenant commander in the kgb then there was the poisoning in london. he even tried to assassinate and disfigured victor yushchenko in 2004. just moments ago i spoke to a friend of alexyal van any who putin poisoned and now keeps in the modern equivalent of a russian gulag. putin has annihilateds opposition. brutal a&e authoritarian held power with iron fist 20 years now about to wipe a sovereign nation off the earth. >> bret: worth remembering. jennifer, thank you. the ukraine crisis is taking a toll on wall street. the dow lost 465 today after a big loss yesterday. the s&p 500 is down 79 in what's called correction territory. nasdaq plummeting 344 today. officials here in washington continue to prepare for a canadian style tr

does it at all square with his image and his history as a wily former kgb agent?having me on. i actually agree with both of those assessments. i think, you know, really, if we look at putin, he's 69 years old, and has really spent 50 years of his life, quite frankly, either in government or working for the kgb and i wholeheartedly agree with some former statements made by senator john mccain a few years back that, you know, when he looked into putin's eyes, he saw three letters, k, g, and b, and i think for the vast majority of putin's time in office, that's really how he's operated. he served in east germany, really when east germany fell and the soviet union really fell apart in 1991. that's when he was there. and i think he views that as almost a personal defeat. he grew up at a time in russia in the '50s, '60s, really at their -- really some of their strongest point, and i think that is -- he wants to restore russia really back to that, and he looks at ukraine right now as being occupied, almost, by a foreign country, and that foreign country being sort of the

you joke, you always fall me a kgb guy and you are the director of the cea. fair enough.hat we should do is make clear that the russian people have a real vested interest in being part of the west, europe. there are many leaders inside of russia who are simply exhausted with the constant chatter. contrast them with the oligarchs , many of whom benefit enormously from russia having this unique place in the constellation of nations where they are able to have a set of relationships that far outstrip the 15th largest economy in the world capacity. it's a mixed bag. the west needs to try. the germans would remind us that they were trying with things like gas and the like. what you have to make sure one does along the way is that the political comes along with the economic. it can't be the case that you give russia all the economic benefits without demanding that they make the political gestures connected to becoming part of the west. my paper talks about, they should get back inside the construct. we should invite them to be part of the structures. it has to be the case that

. >> reporter: in the 1970s, putin joined the kgb, becoming a mid-level spy, eventually the chief of the counterintelligence agency. and although it was technically disbanded when the soviet union fell, putin's experience as an intelligence officer, watching the soviet union dissolve, made its mark. earlier this week, he claimed the soviet union was robbed of land. >> we talk about the way that the collapse of the soviet union is within living memory. it's important to remember that with putin, that is lived memory. not living memory, lived memory. so these are events that he remembers personally and is angry about. he remembers the soviet period when russia and ukraine were one. and he feels that was right and should be restored. > well, you know, we have a lot to cover here, what's going on in ukraine and russia. the a.p. is reporting that russia's military says it has knocked out ukraine's air defense assets and air bases. of course this all started overnight. it's about, what, 9:00, 10:00 a.m. right now in ukraine. as citizens there brace for what would be described as an invasio

he is after all, a kgb thug. it is almost inof. >> we have known for 4 months. trying to measure the will of ukrainian people, it was clear, we will fight, we don't want to be part of russia, we don't want to be rule by vladimir putin. we're seeing that demonstrated. i think the russian leadership has been quite taken back by the amount of resistance, their willingness to fight. so grateful for that. trey: congressman, another country, china, they refuse to condemn, they abstain at u.n. vote, the reporting is they shared intelligence with russia that we shared with them, they then shared with russia. that does not sound like a country we have business trusting. >> well, it makes us wonder about our own judgment. what was administration thinking? they were not sharing with china satellite images. i know the information they shared, some of the most sensitive in being in the government. china turned and shared that with russia. is anyone really surprised? for heaven's sake, china continues to delay or make it impossible to condemn them in u.n. and why is russia st

, a trained kgb operative. but again, as with china, as with hungary, she is, first of all, without illusion and first of all interested in protecting her own country and secondarily europe and then the western alliance. so dealing with russia will always be on top of germany's list of foreign policy priorities. but she is, of course, anti-militarization of her country, again, going back to her deep awareness of its terrible history. so she resists that, although germany has improved its, has beefed up its defense capacity. but under nato's umbrella is where she wants germany and europe to stay. and as much as she no longer looksll to either washington or even the current administration to be what she wants -- she once dreamed of for the west under her heroes, reagan and bush, she does believe that the nato defense umbrella is essential in dealing with rush is shah. so -- russia. so that's my longwinded answer. >> thank you. let me turn to constance. wewe talked a bit about nord stream, but it's, of course, muc

the regime also glorifies the kgb and the border guards picturing them as heroes who protect the country from foreign subversion. such propaganda is intended not only as indoctrination but also as intimidation to remind the people that the state is fully capable of repressing those who step out of line. in some soviet citizens do not buy all that the official media. tell them. their daily experiences demonstrate to them the faults of the of much soviet propaganda. even when it is not believed however, propaganda is a powerful instrument of manipulation for the regime. it defines the limits of permissible discussion and sets parameters on what is considered legitimate. and what will not be tolerated.

yeltsin�*s eventual successor was an ex—kgb officer, vladimir putin.seemed to fit in well with the diplomatic niceties of a world which was now dominated by the united states. yet all the time, he was quietly rebuilding russia's armed forces, which had fallen into decay. putin was on a mission to make russia a superpower again. the western leaders, though, just saw him as someone they could do business with. the problem is that they approached russia with optimism and thinking that russia can be engaged with like a western liberal democracy, not realising just how rapidly russia is retreating back into its own historical comfort zone of hostility not only to the outside world, but to its own population, and to its own very specific view of history, where it nurses grievances that are just unrecognisable to the outside world. ukraine, especially, seemed to obsess him. he hated the way it had gone through independence when the soviet union collapsed. the pro—democracy orange revolution was an affront to him. by 2014, he infiltrated his soldiers into crim

the regime also glorifies the kgb and the border guards picturing them as heroes who protect the country from foreign subversion. such propaganda is intended not only as indoctrination but also as intimidation to remind the people that the state is fully capable of repressing those who step out of line. in some soviet citizens do not buy all that the official media. tell them. their daily experiences demonstrate to them the faults of the of much soviet propaganda. even when it is not believed however, propaganda is a powerful instrument of manipulation for the regime. it defines the limits of permissible discussion and sets parameters on what is considered legitimate. and what will not be tolerated. follow american history tv on twitter facebook and youtube for schedule updates to learn about what happened this day in history watch videos and learn more about the people and events that have shaped the american story find us at cspanhistory. gordon i go back well over 20 years and oddly enough. he still takes my phone calls. so that's all good. but i will read a little bit about gordon bu

he was always as senator rubio said, the next kgb man, he said you're always kgb man if you always are. he had the taft veneer. he was always calculating and cold. but this is different. he seems erratic, he is descending into something i personally have not seen before. >> the pentagon is not reacting to putin's declaration today that he is putting his nuclear weapon and a doctrine according to experts using tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield at key times and places to break or create an operational or tactical advantage. russians believe in practicing escalation and chemical warfare to secure their objective. at the same time intelligence analyst think putin is attempting to escalate to de-escalate. that is why he's putting his nuclear weapons on high alert while offering to negotiate with president zelensky. he may be trying to scare the west into pressuring president zelensky to step aside which appears unlikely. u.s. intelligence assesses putin committed two thirds of the russian combat power against ukraine into the country. president zelensky is sending a delegation to

while the west was celebrating the fall of the soviet union vladimir putin and kgb agent in east germany said it was the worst day in russian history shrinking russia's borders since 1964. he feels betrayed by the west. u.s. promised not to expand nato. hungary, poland and czech republic and nato bombed serbia after they joined. he does not see nato a defensive alliance. he points the operations in iraq, libya proof with nato now in country's border in baltics, putin wants to stop ukraine from joining alliance in the west. last summer putin wrote a 5,000 word essay posting as one people. i looked at it this morning. it's a blue precipitation for what's happening right now. boris johnson gave the following chilling warning. >> i'm afraid to say that the plan we are seeing is for something that could be the biggest war in europe since 1945 and just in terms of sheer scale. lucas: this year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the soviet union, another anniversary which perhaps wants to take advantage of, arthel. arthel: by most accounts experts are saying the likelihood of ukrain

this is epic battle between two ideologies, communist in china and the legacy communism of putin's kgb russia versus freedom, free markets, idea there is a western world order, there is such a thing as hard natural law rights we call human rights. idea necessary our bill of rights from freedom of speech and self-defense and not being held captive and all that are worth fighting for versus this other essentially repressive ideology. it is not just a battle for territory, it is battle for ideas. this is opening round in test to see in europe whether there is pushback enough collectively in unified way that says we believe in these values enough we will put down differences between us and suffer losses, if we have to get counter sanctions, stand up to this aggression and stand up in the far east, as well, it is a critical moment ttests resolve or metal of the western world. >> todd: robert, we love to go to you because you give us inside chatter coming from the national security inner circle. at this point, among individuals, yourself included what is greatest concern for the united state

the normal pursuance, planning, perspective, that we associate with the calculating former kgb agenthink he is trying to provoke some reaction from the united states, from even the nato allies that would therefore allow him to justify taking more brutal action against the ukraine. and i think in comingdoes not -g success, is he going to try ramp things up. and we have got to be in position to be patient. to use the high level intelligence we have had to anticipate his moves rather than play into his hands and suddenly make us the topic of conversation rather than -- >> bret: sure enough. and there are a lot of questions about the erratic behavior of vladimir putin. the ukrainian ambassador to the united nations presented these texts from a russian soldier to his mother. dead russian soldier now. take a listen. >> momma, i'm in ukraine, there is a real war raging here. i'm afraid. we are bombing all of the cities together. even -- even targeting civilians. we were told that they would welcome us. and they are falling under our armored vehicles, throwing themselves under the wheels and

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

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

officer say about president putin only asked how he could trust him because he lives in the kgb officeris not lying. to meet this is hopeful but the reality is, this is a very unstable untruthful person. bret: you mention the unity there are number of nations who have not done aggressive things before it like, germany stepping up with the defense budget also sending in weapons. even sweden, switzerland signed the to step to the plate. and now there is unity on the swift banking poland russia from the financing. that is a big move, right congressman? >> absolutely we need to go after the money laundering oligarchs that surround putin. individual with $100 billion. and then the new chancellor of germany really showed some courage and stopping nord stream2 about energy and how we have to be independent both now and in the near term transitioning fossil fuels. >> on that points, why not open up the keystone pipeline? why not do more leases now to change the dynamic and send the signal to the world the u.s. is not dialing it back. before the technology takes us to the next climate change mom

putin's generation is of the kgb, the ones who want to bring it on and teach the west a lesson.hey think they succeeded in vietnam or whatever and then we succeeded in afghanistan. they think that are abysmal retreat from afghanistan was a sign of weakness, and that was an extra trigger, why this is happening now. taylor: that makes sense when you put it into context. talk to us about -- romain has mentioned this and it was posed to jake sullivan today. does prudent risk provoking the chinese if he does this during the olympics -- putin risk provoking the chinese were if he does this during the olympics? ariel: he does, and we saw the big statement in rich -- which moscow and beijing loudly say they are together, opposing the west, and by the west, i don't just mean euros -- u.s. and work -- europe but transpacific west with japan, australia, possibly india, so the world is being divided in two camps as we speak, as we are watching this history being made in front of our eyes. you know, i have published my phd dissertation as a book on russian imperialism. i did not believe i wo

he was always as senator rubio said, this was the next kgb man, he once said you're always tpg man if you are. he had the tough for near, always calculating and cold but this is different. he seems erratic, he is descended into something that i personally have not seen before. >> what is the assessment putin? >> i think a number of people who know him well would say was secretary rice is saying. i think if you look at putin behavior since he took office, first of all people thought he was a strong man they thought it would be a reformer and they were prepared in russia to put up with that to get the reform. that did not happen. he tried to invade georgia, he took idea, poison the people on the streets, assassinated somebody in germany and now we have the poisoning and now the invasion of ukraine. whether he is erratic or not has been an increasing change over the years as more and more aggressive and destabilizing behavior. bret: the new move to heighten nuclear forces in russia, is this a threat? how do you perceive that? >> i think the first thing to say is the strategic forces of r

putin of course ex kgb, he really prizes intelligence, prizes the element of surprise. and the u. s. is tipping its hand deliberately and saying, hey, we have a lead on you. we have a sense as to what you are planning to do. and they are putting it out there for the world to see. basically asked put earlier, if -- analogy here, if the burglar is rubbing your house, through the lights on. make sure everyone can see him do so. and that is when the u. s. is doing, the administration officials that i have talked to over the last day or so, they want the world to know would vladimir putin is up to. they are hoping at the last minute, he will change his mind. >> jeremy, you are on the ground there, whereas the president we just heard a little clip of him saying russia can still choose diplomacy. my question is, do you have a sense from the folks that you are talking to, if that is the american strategy to rattle him, could it be successful? is there still a chance to avoid an all-out invasion here? >> well, here is what i think it has been successful at. it has been successful at constr

you know, he is kgb, and he operates pretty much as a former kgb agent, which is to basically assume is after him and that what he is going to do is try to undermine the united states and allies. that is where he is coming from. we are not going to change putin. we passed that point a long time ago. when you deal with a bully, it is very important in dealing with the bully to make clear he cannot have his way. i think if we can do that, perhaps we might open up a period where russia and the united states and our allies can, in fact, negotiate some real important steps related to security, both for russia and the united states. judy: how possible do you think that is, knowing, having studied putin as much as you have? ms. stent: it is possible we could sit down with the russians and talk about more general security issues, but i think we should also recognize this will be a long, drawn out process. if there is no invasion this or next week, it does not mean the problem is over. the russians can continue to make demands and move troops back and forth. we are talking about a longer-term

vladimir putin is a kgb officer. he likes the play games. attack in a conventional way. he can use missiles and airplanes. he can try to destroy the military. there's no one piece of information that will let us know what happens here. we'll have to maintain day by day day. >> may i make a short comment? >> sure. >> very quickly in is the single thing you get an accident or incident. it doesn't have to be on the ukrainian periphery. it kbcould be in the arctic or e mediterranean and then it spins out of control. this is really dangerous. folks need to be talking, including us, and the russians and just lower the temperature. it is really dangerous and we're both nuclear. >> all right. thank you. next, voters in one of america's most liberal cities, sfraan francisco, ousting three members because they didn't reopen schools fast enough. next, i'll talk to a mother who was a long time democrat and helped lead the recall effort. >>> the january 6th committee could soon learn who trump was meeting with on january 6th. and. strypaper? luckily, the

and soviet forces that vladimir putin knows he's a kgb officer that we've forgotten.learn those. nuclear signaling is a critical component of it. >> i should say, though, that we are right now at a more dangerous juncture point than we were even at many periods in the cold war. we have fewer agreements between the united states and russia governing strategic encounters than we did at that time -- >> but i think what's important is putin's aggressive nuclear actions that united the european. this is the most unified the u.s. has been around ukraine in decades. i would be remiss if i didn't mention, in 2019, i was there when colonel vindman was raising the alarm about getting military aid and security aid to the ukranians. most americans didn't understand why that mattered then. they are seeing this force of president zelenskyy and they are realizing this is people standing up for their borders. and the united force that the americans are holding against russia. >> it's the ukranians that are fighting, they seize the initiative. he's trying throeaten us on othr things l

the former kgb man working hand and hand with two dozen buddies capitalized on the fair sale of state owned assets in the 1990s to horde billions of dollars for themselves. if you look at russia's richest men it's a web of connections that leads you all the way to the top, straight to putin. these folks have their hands in everything, i mean everything. phone companies, medals, gas and construction and that's just to name a few. like all crooked billionaires, they love to launder their money. buying real estate in london, beautiful yachts on the french river rivera. putin has been bracing for impact restructuring his economy in anticipation of this very day. making sure russia can with stand western sanctions by stockpiling reserves trimming budgets and granting the rich -- his rich buddies lucrative deals at home so they don't have so sweat losing international contracts. this might help explain why putin whose own fortune is estimated to be between $200 million, somewhere around $200 billion moved his personal yacht from germany into russia in january. president biden had warned tha

he's a kgb trained -- he was a foreign intelligence officer with the kgb. he's a smart man.s had years to prepare this, sort this out. as you just talked with your previous guest, he's saved up more than $600 billion in resuffers. he has it diversified for ways. the sanctions that president biden put on won't do much of anything to him. i might hurt his people. but he's willing to make all sorts of trade-offs in the interest of this mission. that is exactly what you're seeing. he likes this. i think he's enjoying this, if you watched him last night at the kremlin. >> neil: well, it's interesting as well when he was speaking and sort of, you know -- we might get an idea now from antony blinken, the secretary of state, the ukrainian foreign minister about what options are still out there. the secretary of state. >> foreign minister and i were in munich a few days ago. russia's aggression to the ukraine and its rejection of international law and diplomacy have accelerated. yesterday president putin recognized the so-called independence of the donetsk and luhansk regions of the

it's now just a handful of former kgb officers who are around him. john thanks, you were asking matt about these talks on the belarus border. one way to judge how serious these are is to look at who is actually going to be at the negotiating table. ukraine has sent its defense minister so short of president zelenskyy itself, about the most senior person they can send to the talks. vladimir putin has sent the former minister of culture so that i think gives you some sense of how serious this is. it is not at all clear that this russian delegation is empowered to negotiate in putin's name, and i will tell you that there are not high expectations that these talks will lead to a silencing of the guns in ukraine. jonathan. >> that's a really good point about the identity of the delegation. that's raf sanchez. also thanks to matt bradley traveling through eastern ukraine. thank you both, gentlemen. >>> still ahead, the latest research on where the covid virus originated. plus, a look at the growing humanitarian crisis in eastern europe as thousand of ukran

the kgb pushes down and just simply kills people if they go against him.e from the belarusian angle but the other thing i think you have to remember is that the northern approach and kiev is very close to that border would be important if he were to do full-blown invasion of ukraine. if he were to do something smaller such as an eastern incursion, perhaps into the donbas region, the belarusians of course become a little less important. >> absolutely, right, you wouldn't need it at all, could be for show because you're planning something else. these are the big questions. so let me ask you one other point though. yesterday, our viewers may remember, steve, we showed all of you watching, images of a bridge, satellite images, a bridge constructed right on the other side of the belarusian border from ukraine, essentially constructed overnight just a few miles from the border. sources now tell cnn that 24 hours later, so it's built overnight, 24 hours after we see it it's gone again. poof, gone overnight. what do you think happened? >> i think what's happening

this was an ex kgb man. kgb man, he once said.entially key gop man if you are, so he had that tough veneer. he was always calculating and cold. but this is different. he seems erratic. he's descending into something that i personally haven't seen before. meanwhile the pentagon is not publicly reacting to putin's declaration today that he is putting his nuclear weapons on high alert. russian nuclear doctrine, according to experts includes using tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield. at key times or places to break a stalled offensive or create an operational or tactical advantage. the russians believe in practicing escalation, including chemical warfare. to secure their objectives. at the same time, intelligence analysts think putin is attempting to escalate to deescalate. that is why he is putting his nuclear weapons on high alert while also offering to negotiate with president zelinsky. he may be trying to scare the west into pressuring selenski to step aside, which appears unlikely us intelligence assesses putin has commit