missy: let's talk about latvia. how many nato forces are present in latvia? and are you satisfied with nato's military presence in the baltic nations specifically, given their geography and history as soviet republics? pres. levits: we have nato military personnel from 10 other nations, 10 other nato nations here, and several from other nato states, and our own military forces. for the moment, it is enough. but because of the change of the strategic situation in europe, we need more troops. and we need to strengthen the eastern flank of nato. and of course, that mia is part of the eastern flank, and we will prepare our proposals so that we have more emphasis to defend, the common defense, and for the deployment of nato troops in our baltic region and in general, eastern part of europe. missy: it is interesting to see nato leadership make these decisions following president putin's invasion of ukraine, that many countries in eastern europe have in calling for four years. we know baltic nations have warned the west for a long time about the threat of russia and

missy: let's talk about latvia specifically. how many nato forces are present in latvia? are you satisfied with nato's military presence in the baltic nations, specifically given their geography and their history with soviet republic? president levits: we have nato military personnel from 10 other nations. 10 other nato nations here. and we have several thousand from others, nato member states, and we have also of course our own military forces. so that's for the moment it is enough. but because of a change of the strategic situation in europe, we need more troops and we need to strengthen all eastern flank of nato and of course latvia is part of the eastern flank. and we will prepare our proposals so that we have more emphasis to defend fence, and -- defense, and of course for the employment of -- deployment of nato troops in our region. baltic region, but in general in the eastern part of europe. missy: it's interesting to see nato's leadership make these decisions following president putin's invasion of ukraine that many countries in eastern europe have been calling fo

what do you make of that given, you know, especially the history of latvia and latvia's positions in eastern europe? president levits: so latvia and all other member states of nato, which joined nato after 1990 as democratic states. it was their choice. of course, the principle of independence and self-determination says it is for the state to choose alliance. the whole world knows that nato is a defensive alliance. no one in nato is thinking to expand and to make war against another country. so it was increase of security, increase of peace in europe through ak session -- accession of member states since 1990. i will say if it would not be done, then we would have much more worse situation as now. >> i think the elephant in the room when we're talking about eastern europe and the baltics in particular in this conversation about raesh's intentions, vis-a-vis nato, is the possibility that president putin could decide to widen the war, potentially launch a direct attack on nato nations? and you referenced earlier, latvia's feeling of security. i'm hoping you can elaborate on that. what

latvia giving assistance to accommodate and feed these refugees?res. levits: there are over 3 million refugees already. 2 million of them are in poland. more or less, 10,000 or less that 10,000 in lafayette. because we don't have a direct border with ukraine and we are welcoming ukrainian refugees and all of the assistance which is needed. so we should be ready to have refugees and the locking people welcoming the refugees. because after the second world war, many latvians were also refugees, they came through sweden, germany and immigrated to the united states, there is a big lesbian community. and now there's a second world war messaging. we are welcoming ukrainian refugees and trying to help with all necessary help that they need. missy: how does lafayette plan to reduce its dependence on russian energy supplies and more broadly, how do you think europe can wean itself off of russian oil and gas without jeopardizing the climate change goals that it has? pres. levits: in lafayette, we should not overestimate our dependence from russian energy. ap

the president of latvia joins me now from latvia. thank you for joining me. share a border with russia. do you fear that your country latvia could be next? >> latvia is member of nato and nato is the strongest military alliance in the world. 800 million people lived in nato states, and nato has the biggest military potential in the world, much bigger than russia. so republicans and democrats are shocked about russian aggression against ukraine. but aggression against ukraine is not only aggression against the state. at the same time, aggression against the west and against western values. ukraine is now fading. our job is to help ukraine fight hard for the country and for the nation. >> so on that note, the united states is sending hundreds of troops to your country, to latvia, including f-35 fighter jets for the first time. the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken also said nato, which as you mentioned, of course, you are a member of, is establishing a more permanent military base there in latvia. do you think that has to happen in order to protect against

in latvia. it is really a shot, saying to the last point that we didn't believe he was going to do that. so there are new realities as well, a reality check and as i call them, russian chauvinists, that no matter what will happen and no matter what you will put incentives into integration and whatever, they will be committed to mother russia and putin and that is, of course, our intelligence community needs to work that out and identify beforehand. but i have to say we still have to do a lot in the west. i mean, it has been three weeks right now, when we suddenly realize that propaganda channels, we need to shut them down. we see the fine example of ukraine. if ukraine didn't abolish propaganda channels in 2004 and didn't start to strengthen the ukrainian language, strength of the national identity, i think the situation would be totally different right now on the 24th of february. and this is a miscalculation that putin made as well. i senator: i think that's a very important point. we were in

latvia, lithuania and estonia joined nato in 2004.hree countries were under soviet rule for so long they're populated by many ethnic russians and russian speakers to this day. about 7% of lithuania's population speaks russian. 27% in estonia, 33% in latvia. we know vladimir putin's ultimate goal is to protect russians everywhere, not just within the borders of his count preep that's not conjecture, he's actually said that. vladimir putin said in televised comments that moscow needed to defend russian speakers in ukraine's east as well as its own interest. some may be now wondering, what's next? small countries like latvia, lithuania and estonia would have good reason to be worried about an actual russian expansion into their countries even though they are nato members. joining me now is the permanent representative of latvia to the united nations. andres pilkovich. thank you for joining us. i want to ask you that your neighboring baltic countries have expressed great fear and concern about the fact if russia succeeds in its invasion o

in latvia, u.s. forces are taking part in nato military exercises.osh letterman is there with exclusive reporting on their training >> reporter: tonight, american troops barely 100 miles from the russian border, ready to take on any threat. running through drills in latvia alongside nato allies, preparing for a range of battlefield scenarios. >> i never thought i'd be able to train with nato allies like this. >> reporter: it's a decades old mission with fresh purpose these troops training on russia's doorstep in a country that some fear could become putin's next target. >> it certainly gives us a sense of urgency. all the training that we are con ducking right now is very focused on what we would have to do to defend latvia. >> reporter: the u.s. has deployed another 800 troops to the baltics. they're among roughly 100,000 u.s. troops in europe >> the experience get your heart pumping >> reporter: after russia invaded ukraine, the u.s. moved 20 of these apache attack helicopters from germany to here in latvia to shore up nato's defenses. paratroopers

secretary of state tony blinken speaking in latvia now.d and russia has to end it because it started it with no provocation, unwarranted but also premeditated. we appreciate any efforts from our partners to see if there's any opening to end the war, consistent with the principles that we've all established starting with the ukrainian government and the ukrainian people, who must have their sovereignty, their independence and territorial integrity. so i look forward to hearing your ideas, hearing about some of the engagements that israel has had but we appreciate all efforts by friends and allies to look for a diplomatic resolution. that's always been preferably from the start. unfortunately, russia chose not to pursue the path of diplomacy, it chose aggression and now we have to all contend with that. i also look forward to speaking about some of the other issues and challenges we're facing together and we're united and committed to the proposition that iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon and i look forward to bringing you up to date o

stops in lithuania and latvia. part of the u.s. diplomatic mission to show support for eastern european countries who feared they could be putin's next targets. >> we've seen some scenes like this before in europe. every russian has lived or learn about the horrific siege of leningrad in world war ii. that siege affected millions of russian families, including president putin's whose 1-year-old brother was one of the many victims. the world is saying to russia, stop these attacks immediately. let the food and medicine in. let the people out safely. >> and wnba super star brittney griner is still reportedly detained in russia after vape cartridges and oils were found in her luggage while traveling to play overseas. griner's wife is asking for privacy as the family and the u.s. government work to try to get her home. joining me now is nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel in kyiv, and allison barber in poland. you spent the day on the outskirts of kyiv where soldiers were preparing for the worst. there was the bridge that the

is that something latvia is willing to do? >> it's not only for latvia.ny and others. we will see how they will answer. but in general, europe also latvia has decided already to cut energy dependence on russia as soon as possible. >> but if next week you had to pay in rubles to keep the lights on and the house is warm in latvia, is latvia willing to do that? >> we have enough reserves for the moment. >> and if you start to wean yourself off of russian gas, where else will you find it? >> yes, it is possible to get alternative lng. there are alternative terminals in europe. it is possible to replace russian gas. >> are you talking to those types of partners? >> yes. >> the cost is going to be higher. is there something the government is willing to do? >> this is the price for our freedom and it is better to pay in dollars then as the ukrainians are doing with blood. >> the united states is now saying president putin is a war criminal. do you agree and how do you think this is going to proceed in the legal sense? >> international criminal court in the hague

, _ translation: god forbid, if we are known more then latvia, lithuania, | known more then latvia, lithuaniawill be next, then moldova, georgia, poland, and so on. they will march to the berlin wall, believe me.— will march to the berlin wall, believe me. e , ., , ., believe me. it's the same story of destruction _ believe me. it's the same story of destruction in _ believe me. it's the same story of destruction in southern _ believe me. it's the same story of destruction in southern ukraine. | destruction in southern ukraine. large parts of the port city of mariupol are being shelled. as russian forces tighten the noose a humanitarian tragedy unfolds. the city's electricity supply has already been cut. and resistance, though noble, is futile in the city of kerss on. conquered by russian tanks, the first major urban area to fourin tanks, the first major urban area to four in this war. —— to fall in this war. but there is no bigger prize than the capital, kyiv. an explosion overnight rocks the railway station. debris from a russian cruise missile shot out of the sky. it's unclear how many wer

, is latvia willing to do that?e enough in reserve for the moment. >> and if you start to wean yourself off of russian gas, where else will you find it? >> it is possible to get alternative lng. there are lng terminals in europe, and it is possible to replace russian gas. >> are you talking to those types of partners? >> yes. >> the cost, though, will be incredibly higher. is there something the government is willing to do to help ease the pain for consumers? >> yes, of course. i can repeat, this is the price for our freedom, and it is better to pay in dollars or in euros as ukrainians are doing with blood. >> the united states is now saying president putin is a war criminal. do you agree, and how do you think this will proceed in the legal sense? >> the international criminal court in the hague has already opened investigations into war crimes. investigations are now going on in are already in their second week. it takes some time. then of course, i feel it will end with an accusation against the responsible person

latvia and its neighbours say they understand the kremlin more than most.acy, says latvia's prime minister, it's a show of force that counts. if putin is not stopped in ukraine, he will not stop. what about a european army, an eu army? goodidea? as long as we keep nato at the centre, the strengthening the european's military capabilities, this is something that we have been arguing for for years, and it now seems that finally everyone agrees this needs to be done. vladimir putin has brought large—scale death and destruction back to europe. the eu — a peace project by design — has been shocked out of complacency. action western allies take together now will affect all our safety and security for years to come. kathy adler, bbc news. you could have been forgiven for thinking last week that spring had arrived, but this week has changed all that, with many areas covered in snow and the met office issuing two warnings for snow and ice. cricket whites took on a new meaning as nottinghamshire's cricketers were caught out by a sudden snowfall during their start—of—

some of those service members are in latvia, a nation bordering russia in riga they're running militaryxercises with nato allies nbc's josh lederman is there at camp adazy. >> reporter: tonight american troops barely a 100 miles from the russian border, ready to take on any threat, running through drills in latvia, alongside nato allies preparing for a range of battlefield scenarios. >> i never thought i would be able to train with nato allies like this. >> reporter: it's a decades-old mission with fresh purpose, these troops training on russia's doorstep in a country that some fear could become putin's next target. >> it certainly gives us a sense of urgency all of the training we're conducting right now is very focused on what we would have to do to defend latvia. >> reporter: the u.s. has deployed another 800 troops to the baltics. there are roughly 100,000 u.s. troops in europe. >> the experience gets your heart pumping. >> reporter: after the russians invaded ukraine, the u.s. moved 20 of these apache attack helicopters from germany to latvia to shore up nato's defenses paratrooper

we're live in latvia near russia's border as nato troops prepare for the worst.ho would've thought printing... could lead to growing trees. ♪ when we found out our son had autism, his future became my focus. lavender baths calmed him. so we made a plan to turn bath time into a business. ♪ ♪ find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com i'm so glad we could all take this trip together, son yeah. and kayak made getting here so easy- ♪ ♪ here we go. you know i'm a kayak denier! you can't possibly believe kayak compare hundreds of travel sites at once! get out! i will do no such thing. and don't use kayak to fly home, because it's not real! i'm going back to the room. compare hundreds of travel sites at once. kayak. search one and done. my asthma felt anything but normal. ♪♪ it was time for a nunormal with nucala. nucala is a once monthly add-on treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma that can mean less oral steroids. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infecti

well, right now in latvia, what they will say about russia's war in ukraine. there was a long period of silence right now, i mean long period is several days, and then the leadership of the orthodox church in latvia spoke out condemning the russian aggression on ukraine. in the meantime we see the leadership of the orthodox church in russia are echoing the opposite when speaking about russia's war on ukraine, again, a special operating liberating and that's saying the same war russia is conducting towards ukraine, and at the same time when it's referencing baltic states, you know what is going to await baltic states, and so that indicates that the orthodox church is very much echoing that the narratives putin regime is posing both to their population and also towards those outside of russia as well. >> yes, ma'am? >> if you allow me i would like to reply to the previous question. is that okay? >> yes. >> it's between 6 and 7%, no public actions in support of russia's aggression against ukraine so far. it's the quite opposite. our citizens of russian descent ar

. -- latvia gets 90% of their 90% of gas from russia. >> it's interesting depending on how close you are to ukraine, if you are in eastern europe like the baltic states versus being farther west, you seem to have not only a different view because of your dependence on oil and gas, but your proximity to what is going on. how is that aspect going to play out? there still seems to be a subtle difference in nations over what kind of signal to send vladimir putin about the possible response from nato. >> it's a great question. we are sitting in eastern europe, this is your doorstep. you are quite concerned and you've been dealing with the russians as your neighbors for centuries. what we are seeing is a bolstered military presence on the eastern flank. i spoke to the press secretary for the pentagon today about the fact that potentially, this may be long-term. he didn't have an answer that this might be short-term deployment. what we are seeing in terms of american and other troops nato troops bolstering the eastern flank. what he said is that this changes the entire security apparatus fo

latvia.ding up the deployments when russia said multiple times this is just about ukraine? >> reporter: katy, when we here president biden and others say an attack on one is an attack on all in nato article 5, it sounds hypothetical. but here it's felt real, and also by the folks in latvia. the battlefield scenario these war games are simulating are entirely real. what message do you think exercises like this send to our potential adversaries? >> they send that we are ready and we are in a 30-member alliance that is based on common values of freedom. >> reporter: when president putin says nato's expansion into eastern europe threatens russia. this is what he's talking about. last month the u.s. sent an additional 70,000 troops to the europe, activated for the first time in its history to defend nato territory. the u.s. deployed about 800 troops to the baltic nations as russia moved into ukraine. plus apache attack helicopters made in the u.s. this morning u.s. troops are playing the attackers

. >> god for bid if we are no more, than latvia, lithuania, estonia will be next.n moldova, georgia, poland, and so on. laura: more than one million ukrainians have fled the country since the war began. we'll bring you the very latest throhout the program. ♪ welcome to world news america on pbs and around the globe. on day eight of russia's invasion of ukraine, president putin cims everything is going to plan but has had to admit the russia troops have been killed. russian forces are moving closer to ukraine's capital, about 15 miles from kyiv. to the north of the capital, the city has been under sustained bombardment. ukraine officials a dozens of people have been killed there after airstrikes hit residential areas, including two schools. in the south after capturing the city of hersen, russian forces have surrounded it and are firing on it. more than 200 people feared dead. ukraine's president has once again called on the u.s. and its allies to give warplanes, warning that if ukraine falls, the baltic states could be next. a second round of talks between russia a

in europe, we need more troops and we need to strengthen all eastern flank of nato and of course latvia is part of the eastern flank. and we will prepare our proposals so that we have more emphasis to defend fence, and --

>> bret: jet paul in latvia a thanks.nergy policy what the president is saying. first here is what some of our fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. forks 29 in philadelphia as the city little a grim milestone 100ity homicide of the year outpacing what was historically bloody 2021 that saw more than 560 deadly crimes. 28-year-old man was pronounced dead this morning following a shooting late thursday night in west philadelphia. fox 31 in denver as starbucks workers there in that city go on strike. they are protesting alleged unfair labor practices by the coffee chain. some workers claim starbucks has punished them in retaliation for supporting unionization. and this is a live look at las vegas from fox 5. our affiliate out there. one of the big stories there tonight, little less time to gamble this weekend. daylight savings time begins early sunday morning. remember, set your clocks forward an hour. spring forward before you go to bed saturday night. that is tonight's live look outside the beltway from "

translation: god forbid, - if we are no more, then latvia, lithuania, estonia, will be next.ldova, georgia, poland... more than a million have fled ukraine but in moscow today president putin has insisted that russia and ukraine are one people... translation: i would never renounce my conviction — translation: i would never renounce my conviction that _ translation: i would never renounce my conviction that russians _ translation: i would never renounce my conviction that russians and - my conviction that russians and ukrainians are one people, despite parts of the ukrainian country having been brainwashed by the nazi propaganda. more will be done in the uk to target the russian oligarchs. the luxury yachts of russia's super rich — two have been seized by the french and german authorities — as sanctions tighten. bowing to pressure — olympic organisers have now banned athletes from russia and belarus from competing in the paralympics tomorrow. medical aid is flown from the uk as a fundraising appeal is launched to help ukraine. stay with us on bbc news for continuing coverage

we speak to a journalist in latvia. thank you forjoining us. how are people feeling where you are?? good morning. peole where you are? good morning. people are _ where you are? good morning. people are worried... - where you are? good morning. people are worried... audio i people are worried... audio cuts out — people are worried... audio cuts 0ut so _ people are worried... audio cuts out so people - people are worried... audio cuts out so people are. . .. | cuts 0ut so people are.... i am so sorry to interrupt we're catching about one word in five we will try and redial and hope to speak to you in a few minutes while we sort out the line. in the meantime, the european union has agreed to give ukrainian refugees temporary residence for up to three years in a new country. those fleeing have mainly entered neighbouring eu states. the larger arrows here indicate the larger numbers of people. some will head to other countries including germany. trains full of refugees from ukraine are still arriving in berlin from where our correspondent —— correspondent reports. "six people," the shou

and its nato allies regularly hold military exercises here in latvia.ency. ukraine is only about 120 miles to the east of here. some of the u.s. service members from the 173rd airborne brigade that we spoke with today only showed up here about 11 days ago after president biden deployed them to the baltic nations to try to shore up nato's defenses in light of this invasion. we got to watch as they were learning and practices certain skills as to how to repel across the river and call in air support from the ground and we saw some of the 20 apache helicopters that were moved into latvia. this is really what it means when we talk about article 5, when we talk about an attack on one is an attack on all. this is where the u.s., canada, poland, latvia, nations are coming together and learning how to communicate across languages and cultural barriers to act as one to defend all 30 nations in the nato alliance if president putin were to try to expand beyond ukraine and threaten any of the countries in the nato alliance. jose? >> josh letterman, thank you. comin

thousands of them have made their way to latvia.joins us now. thank you so much for joirning us. i have a lot of questions for you. my first is please give us a sense of what you make of vladimir putin's invasion of ukraine and now claims he is scaling back. >> yes, of course, russia has violated international law. the main principles of of international law which lie down already in the united nations statutes from 45. it's greatest violation of independence as territorial and other states and our launch piece order is based on this principle, which russia is now violating. concerning the latest information about russian intention, i would say we have no reason to trust russia, to trust lavrov, to trust putin. if we would see in reality that there are some actions that they are stopping, then it will be another situation. but now such kind of announcements there's no reason to trust that. there's a repositioning of russian forces from one front to another front. but that does not mean stopping of the aggression. >> do you have any

you look at the populations of estonia and latvia that are russian speaking.ou ask, will he do the kind of thing there he did in donbas, get them to agitate, get those russians to say they're subject to discrimination if not genocide by the people of latvia and estonia, and then they call on support and help from mother russia. you know, you worry about these things given the mindset that putin has. >> those russians in latvia and estonia are seeing the picture of ukraine and it may change the calculation of russian speakers. >> steven hadley, stay with us. we appreciate your context and insight as we follow the developing story. when we come back at the top of the hour we will talk more about the russian invasion of ukraine and the concept of banning russian oil imports. we will be right back with steve rattner. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ hey, i get it, commitment can be scary. but not when you're saving up to 15% with subscribe and save at amazon. you get free repeat delivery on your favorite items and if things don't work out, you can always cancel.

for ukraine here in latvia is unmistakeable. a quick drive around the capital city we are here in riga, and you will see flags of ukraine flying more so than you do of latvian flags. and many buildings are lit up in blue and yellow, ministry of foreign affairs, trying to show solidarity. and the russian embassy, a demonstration is growing, locals could show up and show their opposition to the russian invasion of ukraine and a big part of the reason why people here in latvia feel so strongly about what's going on there, is a shared historical struggle involving russian influence, occupation, and aggression. only 30 years ago when latvia restored its independence from the then soviet union, and a border with russia, so many who call latvia home are worried there is a chance what's happening in ukraine could develop here. >> and like for all my life there has been that fear that russia can invade or something like that. it's not going anywhere. it's getting worse. that's the main issue. >> of course there are some steps we already

just today, the ambassadors of latvia, lithuania, and estonia were summoned to smolenskaya square inhe previously announced decision of these countries to also send our diplomats on hearing of notifications. counter-worlds from russia will send a similar number of employees of the baltic children's missions, three people each, and four people contributed to the embassies of latvia and estonia. this program today more current news on our website in our telegram-channel mobile application today. russia needs new measures to protect state sovereignty and will soon propose an appropriate commission. the federation council , head of the commission on state sovereignty andrey klimov, said today, he emphasized that it is necessary to prevent attempts at subversive actions at the legislative level. inside the country, the collective west is trying to split our society, capitalizing on combat losses on the socio-economic consequences of sanctions to provoke civil opposition in russia, using its fifth column, is striving to achieve its goal. and the only goal is the destruction of russia accor

fox news jeff paul has the latest now from riga, latvia. they speak different languages, fly different flags and use different machinery. nato forces from 13 different countries all recognize what's happening in ukraine is far from normal. everybody is very aware of what's on the world and we have to make sure that we're ready. us army major general jeff broadwater spoke with us from the adachi military base in latvia. a baltic country that borders russia, he says. while firepower demonstrations are somewhat frequent, and this one was planned well before russia attacked ukraine, the invasion has changed the tone of the joint nato exercise. it could just makes it more real than invitation from nato. they put our crew right in the middle of the military demonstration. anti tank weapons were fired artillery blasted distant targets and then in rolled the tanks. after a show of force on the ground attention turned to the sky. apache helicopters buzzed our position, followed by two jets roaring through the sky . these troops say the exercises onl

russia is aware of how much firepower it possesses by holding a massive weapons demonstration in latvia. chris paul has that story tonight. >> they speak different languages, fly different flags, use different machinery. nato forces from 13 countries all recognize what's happening in ukraine is far from normal. >> everybody is aware of what's on the world and we have to make sure that we're ready and we're ready with our majors. >> major general jeff broadwater spoke with us at the military base in latvia, a baltic company bordering russia. while power demonstrations are somewhat frequent, this one was planned well before russia attacked ukraine, invasion has changed the tone of the joint nato exercise. >> makes it more real. >> despite what's unfolding in ukraine, these are focused on the mission and preparing themselves to protect every inch of nato territory. in the invitation of nato, they put our crew right in the middle of the military demonstration. anti-tank weapons were fired, artillery in distant targets, then in rolled the tanks. after a show of force on the ground, attention

the president of latvia will discuss russia's invasion of ukraine and what needs for his country. live from the washington post at 10:00 a.m. eastern. at 10:30, the chief of staff and ukraine's president joins the councils region center. >> as always you can watch our live coverage online. video app, c-span now. the ranking members of the house foreign affairs and intelligence committee talked about russia's invasion of ukraine and other international conflicts during a briefing from the house republican retreat in florida.

and as we saw today, in constant preparation, and riga, latvia.news san francisco man who founded a silicon valley startup is in ukraine, fighting what he calls the quote. biggest fight for freedom in my lifetime and quote white crow is a uc berkeley graduate and co founder of whisper palo alto startup that uses artificial intelligence to develop hearing aids. in an interview with cnn on friday, crow said, the situation in ukraine is scary and a little bit out of his comfort zone, but not enough to deter him from helping the ukrainian people get out safely. crow says he booked a flight from california immediately after the russian invasion began and headed to the capital city of keith. everyone i saw it. i honestly i booked a flight from california and came here as fast as i could. if this isn't the fight of democracy and freedom against autocracy of our generation, i don't know what is the u. n. refugee agency says more than 2.5 million people have fled ukraine since russia invaded the country more than two weeks ago. time is now 4 34 happening t

begin with ivan kolpakov, editor—in—chief of an independent news outlet meduza which publishes via latviaan, thank you forjoining me. can you tell me where you are now? hi. i can't tell you, unfortunately, where i am. i cannot disclose this information due to security reasons. and while you are travelling, ivan, can you still publish meduza? yes, sure, sure. you know, we have remote office, entirely remote office during the last two years as have many media outlets in the world, i guess, and meduza is based in riga, latvia, but it is a russian—speaking media outlet and probably the biggest russian independent media so far. and we work from so many cities, you know, from different countries. so, it is possible, yes. and in the week that has passed since this invasion happened, have you still been able to reach your audience in russia? yes. we are ok. unlike many of our colleagues. but we think that we are about to be blocked on the territory of russian federation so we've seen a lot of bad signs during this week. right after the invasion, russian authorities said that the media outlets can

if we are no more than latvia, lithuania, estonia will be next. yes, fornia mold laura, then ali, moldova, ga, poland boy shot and so on. they will, marsh should the berlin wall. believe me, put me in the world must show its strength without fighting, without losing lives. for you, because strength lies in diplomacy. mister taking the day wilmington thet diplomat, which was a provided we want to close the air space over ukraine con because our children are being deliberately killed to provide almost everybody below miss isles bombs. jets and bombers are flying from the territory of bel roost and russia. ah, i say to the russian oligarchy in the crop leaders who built billions of dollars off this violent regime no more. the united states. i mean, if united states department of justice is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of the russian oligarchy were joining with european allies to find and seized our yachts luxury apartments. their private jets were coming for you or ill be gotten gains. that was you as president biden earli

. >> coming up friday on c-span, the president of latvia discuss russia's invasion of ukraine. live from the washington post at 10:00 a.m. eastern. that the chief of staff for ukraine's president joins the atlantic council to discuss nato's diplomatic efforts to end the war in the country and stepped the u.s. can take to support ukraine. you can watch our live coverage online at c-span.org or c-span now, or free video app. >> recorded conversations while in office. here any of those conversations on c-span's new polk -- new podcast. >> you will hear about the 1964 presidential campaign, the march on selma, and the war in vietnam. not everyone knew they were being recorded. >> certainly johnson's secretaries new because they were tasked with transcribing many of those conversations. they were the ones who make sure that the conversations were taped as johnson would signal to them through an open door between his office and theirs. you will also hear some blunt talk. >> i want a report of the number of people who signed -- i promise y'all i will not do anywhere -- go anywhere. >>

latvia shares a border like ukraine and tfeels threatened b russia's actions there. reiterated they have a thousand soldiers training alongside nato forces and continue to rotate forces into latvia to prepare them for anything that might come their way. all of this comes as russia kind of ups its operation in ukraine, increasing it dramatically with bombardment of cities. because of that escalation, the united states and its european allies have been weighing ways to get president zelenskyy and some of his government officials out of ukraine if necessary in order to set up a government in exile potentially in poland. all options are really on the table at this point as they try to figure out how to maintain that continuity of government in ukraine which will, of course, allow them to continue to send weapons and assistance to ukraine to fend off the russians, kate. >> huge questions there. nat natasha, thank you so much. >>> russian strikes hitting more civilian targets, killing innocent ukrainians just trying to escape the violence. what world leaders are considerin

latvia? lithuania? the rest of them?reatened it, potentially threatening to press the button, has everybody in place which is very uncomfortable for everybody, driving the diplomatic conversations. jackie: we don't know which direction it is going to go. we are in day 16, oil prices soaring $100 a barrel and supply hasn't diminished yet but shifted around the globe and this is the increase you see in oil prices but expert says that indicates recession is coming. we can see consumer inflation numbers, they are not going away. >> inflation is only getting worse. if they thought the numbers were due to vladimir putin which is naÏve, you could argue -- next, watch out. jackie: it wasn't included in these months. >> that brings up the next conversation about where is the fed now? yesterday numbers were hotter, expected to be hotter again so could the fed, even though j powell said 25 basis points, could the situation change so much they decide they need to get in front because in my mind they are in the back by 50. i don't th

in 2004, you know, latvia became part of nato.eah, there is sort of the feeling they are somewhat protected, but you know, you just don't know until it happens, and i think exercises like that put those fears at ease but you talk to some people who are maybe first generation where russia is involve in here and talk to their parents or grandparents, only 30 years ago they got their independence back. so always the looming feeling from the east that anything could really happen. >> sandra: i'll finish up by asking you just that, as far as what you are hearing from the people on the ground there. fearing putin's next move and how far he will go, and listening to the response on the part of the united states. is there any wishful thinking to see a red line drawn on the part of our leadership here in the u.s.? >> i think so. i think they see that, and i think the military exercises like we saw today, 13 different nations, pretty much speak different languages, different machinery and to see it all sort of working together from very dif