. >> well, our international diplomatic editor nic robertson is live this hour in brussels.nd what a difference one american president makes because we'll remember, of course, under donald trump, so much nato skepticism and criticism of big international organizations and multilateralism. and here, we have a pretty united front from western nato and eu countries, nic. >> yes, this is, you know, a reset, a difference. that's what president biden promised to bring. he promised to be, you know, a -- a standard bearer, if you will, for democracy and has found himself at the center and leading the unity of democracies against an autocrat on the charge trying to overrun a would-be democracy in the country next to him, in ukraine. president biden came to brussels with that express purpose of making sure that there was unity, making sure that all the efforts that have been put in place so far, like sanctions, like ramping up nato troops on the eastern flank of -- of nato. um, that all of that is continued. that the unity is maintained. that that force that's been put on the eastern

let me bring in nic robertson. talks are needed to restart both sides tomorrow. how does ukraine go into this meeting, nic, having seen russia break its word. i imagine they expected it but still -- >> reporter: look, the history of russia's negotiations with ukraine dates back to trying to stop the war that russia initiated in 2014, the second round of those talks, minsk ii talks. russia was sitting at the table negotiating a way to end that conflict. at the same time, at the same time russia was sitting there at the table saying it was an honest broker to end the conflict backing the russian supported separatists in eastern ukraine, back then it was actually with its own troops, russia with its own troops trying to take a town on the ground. it was seen to them at the time as being a key strategic objective in that conflict. even while they were sitting at the table talking peace they were absolutely doing the opposite on the ground and trying to make land grab. ukraine goes into these talks under no illusion that they are talking with a partner who has zero tr

let me go to nic robertson. as michael is pointing out, the very act of attacking a nuclear power plant should send shivers down the spine to any country, including the neighbor russia. how is putin's mental state being covered where you are? >>. >> reporter: yeah, his mental state is never in question on state media. his control and authority over what is happening in ukraine is portrayed. yesterday he was on state tv, president putin, letting the nation know that the military -- special military operation as they call it in russia is still on track, that it's going according to plan. that they're there to help the civilians and it's the ukrainians who are the problems, who are fulmenting the war here. it's something that's repeated time and time again on state media that russia isn't starting this war, it's merely ending the one that ukraine started with the backing of nato. that's the narrative that goes out on state media. when i talk to those of the older generation, those who go to state tv for their infor

cnn's nic robertson looks at both wars. >> reporter: nearly 43 years ago, moscow ordered troops intolowing decade, some 15,000 soviet red army soldiers would die there. their war and eventual retreat led to the collapse of the soviet union. today, the death toll of russian troops in ukraine could already match those killed over ten years in afghanistan. 498 dead in the first week of war, according to russia's defense ministry. and despite no update since, nato officials say after a month of fighting, the russian death toll is now as many as 15,000. across dozens of russian cities, more than 15,000 people have been arrested for protesting the war. recently, anxious parents of troops have begun showing up. putin's achilles heel is the perception soldiers are dying unnecessarily. it's why his reporting laws swamp russia with kremlin propaganda, and it's request are the ukrainian military shows off battlefield gains, liking knock out russian tanks or captured russian soldiers because they know bad press back home is what got the red army out of afghanistan. what sunk for the soviets in t

nic robertson is in odesa, ukraine.hat is our best knowledge as to what's happening right now in h hersin? >> that rings very clear with the russian presence. there is a individvideo standin front of three russian vessels waving a ukranian flag. we have seen videos of russian troops with full shopping carts wheeling them around, clearly involved in looting, or they might suggest fulfilling the lack of supply lines that often has imperilled their advance. if you eventually say to russian troops who have been in battle for a long time who have no supply lines behind them, they start to move into populated areas. 46 dead in about 48 hours is a significant toll for a town that was just so peaceful and desperately hoping that the fighting raging on the eastern outskirts from the bridge there was extremely vital as they head to crimea that russia controls from the north that, they would not start fighting there. but clearly they started moving into there and we've seen vehicles move across it. this may be a new way of life. a

nic robertson is in brussels. atika shubert is in valencia, spain. but we begin with itv's geraint vincent in lviv. >> in the borderlands the battle for ukraine rages on. in a part of the country where the russian invasion began, a ukrainian counterattack. in the diplomatic standoff on either side of this war, meanwhile, american officials have been trying to clarify their position or their president described vladimir putin as a butcher who cannot remain in power. >> i think the president, the white house made the point last night that quite simply president putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against ukraine or anyone else. as you know and as you've heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in russia or anywhere else for that matter. >> reporter: the russian defense ministry released footage of what it describes as its airstrikes on ukrainian ammunition stores. but it is russia's bombing of cities and how to stop it that ukraine's president is most concerned with. mr. zelenskyy krit sooilzed his a

i want to go to nic robertson live for us in moscow.e statement from the russian military and also this warning that residents of kyiv living near cell towers, they need to leave their homes. what is going on here? >> reporter: yeah, very hard to know precisely what the russian military means in this statement, state media here saying that the russian military is warning that they're going to strike inside kyiv, they're warning civilians to get out of the way, they're saying they'll use high precision weapons and they'll be targeting the sbu and 72nd main pier facilities. they indicate what they're targeting here is ukrainian messaging systems, messaging that is attacking the russians. it is very hard to know precisely what they're speaking about here. but the warning itself to civilians speaks for itself. this is russia announcing that it is going to launch precision munitions into built up civilian neighborhoods in kyiv. and in the russian playbook, the fact that they're announcing this and telling civilians to get out of the way late

fred sebastian is here with me and nic robertson joins us in brussels and i want to go to phil black who joins us from lviv, ukraine. there is big skepticism from ukraine and to the allies to russian's pledge to reduce hostility. give us a sense of what the reality is on the ground if kyiv as well as cherniv. >> reporter: they are seeing some equipment being moved north across the border into belarus but there is not any noticeable reduction in aggression across all battle fronts in ukraine but notably around the capitol of kyiv and chernihiv. these are the two areas where russia will reduce russian activity as a gesture of goodwill as a gesture of peace talks. the over bhwhelming analysis is this goodwill gesture is these are where it's performing poorly and taking the cities quickly or in the case of kyiv encircling the capitol. the ukrainian response is to assume that this with zraul about resupplying and redeployment. the question is where it is possibly to the east where russia is focusing the efforts. the ukrainian government is not assuming russia has given up the efforts on t

there that gentlemen offer more, is fin robertson from human rights watch fil a calling bird or finger of brush. and genocide is really not new. is it? i mean, the urine human rights commissioner called it acts of genocide back in 2018. how the secondary blinking announcement change anything? well, we hope that it will now motivate other governments around the world to also look at this to really investigated and also to support the gambia at the international court of justice. but you're right, it doesn't do much beyond a, you know, add to the list of atrocities that the myanmar military has committed. and, you know, that's why we've been saying ok, excellent move. but now we need to see real action. now we need to see something happening at the un security council that actually impacts the situation on the ground. ah, you know, that goes beyond just call for accountability, but actually changes the dynamic keeping weapons away from the military. i'm posing in arms bar, go referring the military to the international criminal court. these are all things that are at the top of our list.

i have mostly bars robertson and nuts, just simple things that i could pass as people move to their next location. am on the daughter of a somali and refugee was summoned to help by family history. an issue that's pretty close to my heart, my dad and his family arrived in the us as refugees from somalia. i am half german and so i really felt as there was a crisis and people were coming. but i was going to show up because someone did it for my own family. rita is now trying to reunite with her son and western germany. but the trauma we shouldn't days is impossible to forget. we are have an urban actin emma in we'd been sleeping in the basin in ghana. oh, there have been emma. we were constantly alert emma bomba. there will always you've only zonker tangs driving down the street. i'll just rasa. it was frightening and terrible, and people were panicking. it was really our fiber let to surprise then that european governments are expecting many more desperate people to follow in vito's footsteps in search of peace. and sport is also moving to isolate russia for old world and european governi

cnn's nic robertson live in brussels.cal of the possibility this happened though it was raised as a possibility. what do you think? >> reporter: the russians raised it as a possibility. it was one of their two conclusions from the talks, that and stating they were dialing back their offensive north of ukraine around kyiv and chernihiv. russia doesn't have a lot of credibility at the moment. it seems to indicate a movement in putin's readiness to speak with zelenskyy, but the reality suppose of where we stand at the moment is the ukrainians put forth some pretty complex proposals to the russians. the issue of crimea, for example, the future of that to be discussed over the coming 15 years. and in essence to look at the rest of ukraine. at the moment the ball is in the russian court and part of the specifics are that russia should withdraw all of its forces from ukraine. russia is in no way preparing through its own propaganda back in russia, no way preparing the russian people for a complete failure in ukraine and a comple

. >> "this guy" meaning vladimir pu nic robertson is live. there are still disagreements behind the scenes on some of the more radical measures like completely cutting off russia's oil and gas sector. >> yeah, that's one of the points of discussion with ursula von der leyen president biden will be having today. ursula von der leyen has been saying that the european union is really in a safe place in terms of energy supplies this winter, but what it's actually doing is sort of going under -- putting itself in a position of radically drawing down the amount of gas and oil supplies it gets from russia, trying to cut them by 2/3 this year. ursula von der leyen has been saying she is looking to the united states to help sort of back fill that if you will. and it's expected to be a commitment from the united states, from president biden to give potentially 14 billion cubic meters of lng, liquefied natural gas to the european union to supplement the supply that could be -- or the european union will need to find an alternate resource rather than get

nic robertson, cnn, brussels. >> let's talk more about u.s. president joe biden's upcoming speech.oining me now is the chief brussels correspondent for politico. good to have you with us, david. >> great to be with you. >> so we saw the u.s. president in poland near the border addressing u.s. troops saying democracy is at stake when it comes to russia's war in ukraine. he's due to give this speech later today. the white house says it's going to be a significant speech highlighting why the west needs to stick together. what can we expect, do you think? >> well, this is really an extraordinary moment, lynda. we went through an extraordinary week in brussels. we've never had a day like thursday where nato leaders, the g7 leaders and european council leaders, 27 heads of state and government were all holding summit on the same day. when you cover these leaders as i do every day you see how exhausted they are, how bleary-eyed they are. war has returned to the continent in europe, and they're confronting as i wrote about in politico on wednesday the failure of the post-world war on secur

nic robertson live in moscow.>>> all right. good morning to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. it is friday, march 4th. i'm john berman with brianna keilar. the breaking news, russian forces are now in essential control of ukraine's largeest nuclear power plant. you can see it right here. it is towards on the south of the nation. this is after an attack set parts of it on fire overnight. ukraine's president calling it terror at an unprecedented level. the fire was extinguished. it started in a training building just outside the reactor. the head of the atomic energy agency said it is unprecedented and very fragile, but there has not been a release of radioactive material and the integrity of the reactors has

we'll leave there for the timing, but thank you so much for joining us today from robertson, from human rights watch. a documentary on the 2019 hong kong protests has been breaking records in taiwan. people have been flocking to cinema as to taking revolution of our times. it is the island territories, top box of his documentary this year. the film means a lot for many, hong kong. ers who called taiwan their home. now they fled their cities cracked down on democratic freedoms. in the past couple of years did up lose. joyce lee spoke to one of them. it takes courage for kim to go to the cinema for this fan from hong kong resolution of our times, documents to pro democracy movement in 2019, where he was on the front line and charged with unlawful assembly. he has now taken refuge in democratic taiwan, but it still hurts to revisit the trauma. cuz it's a yoga hawaii. ha, ha ha, it's tortuous to watch the film. but i think ultimately it's a good thing in our hearts are wounded and we have to face facts, legal. we're brave enough to deal with the fear and tremonti all you got so that we find

nic robertson there for all of us.wn in new orleans overnight was an ef-3. the latest on the search and rescue, next. for the lowewest price ever. plus choose fromom the latest g smartphones. get more 5g bars in more places- switch to o t-mobile for busins today. nina's got a lot of ideas for the future. and since anyone can create a free plan at fidelity, ni has a plan based on what matters most to her. d she can simply focus on right now. that's the planning effect. from fidelity. i'm ben affleck and i want to thank you for joining me and supporting paralyzed veterans of america. i joined the navy to serve my country as a navy seal. i wanted to protect the people i love and the country i love. being a seal gave me so many things, but i gave something too. while parachuting with my platoon, my parachute didn't open. i broke my neck. it left me paralyzed. i realized that everything i had planned for was now gone. paralyzed veterans of america was by my side from that moment on. since 1946, paralyzed veterans of america

nic robertson, cnn, moscow. >> all right, nic, thank you very much.. ambassador to ukraine. ambassador, appreciate you joining us. i have to first ask you about this fire at europe's largest nuclear power plant after it was shelled in ukraine. aside from the shock that something like this even happened, are there options diplomatically in an event like this? communication, backchannels to russia, for example? >> well, there have to be direct channels to russia, don. and the ukrainians just today had some of those direct channels in their conversations that talked about humanitarian corridors. so they made some progress. the ukrainian sxtz rand the rus got together on the belarusian-ukrainian border. this would have been a perfect topic and it is a perfect topic, there's no reason it can't be taken up, this is the kind of emergency, this is the kind of disaster in the making that both sides have a lot to agree on on how to solve it. the russians need to pull back. their firefighters need to be able to get there. and they need to be able to address this

i have mostly bars robertson, oh, nuts, just simple things that i could pass as people move to their next location. a man, the daughter of a somali and refugee was summoned to help by family history. an issue that's pretty close to my heart, my dad and his family arrived in the us as refugees from somalia. i am half german . and so i really felt as there was a crisis and people were coming that i was going to show up because someone did it for my own family. rita is now trying to reunite with her son in western germany. but the trauma we shouldn't days is impossible to forget. yeah, haben urban acton emma in, we'd been sleeping in the basin in ghana. her there had been emma, we were constantly alert him, or boom boom there, while we see bomb zonker tangs driving down the street. i'll just throw so it was frightening. now yet, and terrible. and people were panicking. it was really our fiber let to surprise then that european governments are expecting many more desperate people to follow in vito's footsteps in search of peace to many of those of course children we are now joined by iri

nic robertson, cnn moscow. >>> now, as part of the effort to counter kremlin' disinformation, the bideny. senior officials have given at least seven interviews with russian language news outlets since the conflict began. the white house accuses the kremlin of engaging in a full assault on media freedom and the truth, as they put it, following a russian' crackdown on what's left of independent media in the country. u.s. officials say they will continue to support russian media outlets even after the kremlin bans them. now, the white house moving to tighten the economic screws on russian leader vladimir putin even more. going after more of his wealthy allies. my colleague kim brunhuber will have that story, after the break. ♪ "how bizarre" by omc ♪ nono annual fee on any discover card. ♪ ♪ >> woman: what's my safelite story? i see inspiration right through my glass. so when my windshield cracked, i chose safelite. they replaced the glass and recalibrated my safety system. that's service i can trust. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ what does a foster kid need from you? t

nic robertson, cnn, brussels. >> nic, thank you very much. lviv, ukraine talking every day with people affected by this war. today i spoke with the mayor of this city. a city that has become a magnet for desperate people from all over ukraine, and he told me what he needs the world to do to help them. do you welcome all of the people who are displaced? do you welcome all the refugees here no matter how many? >> yes. yes, it is my -- it is my duty. i -- i like ukrainian people. it is from mariupol, from kharkiv, from kyiv. it is my ukrainian people. i've always focused on my career. but when we found out our son had autism, his future became my focus. lavender baths always calmed him. so we turned bath time into a business. ♪ and building it with my son has been my dream job. ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com ♪ it wasn't me by shaggy ♪ you're never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your discover card. >>> we're here in lviv, vukrain

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nic robertson, cnn, london. >>> that is all for now from lviv, ukraine.l be back at the top of the hour with more breaking news coverage. but coming up on cnn newsroom, making those in need feel welcome. how crane's neighbors are helping ukrainians fleeing the war. stay with us. behold...unlimited wireless for only 30 bucks. that's pretty cool, but you know what's cooler? saving up to 400 bucks! exactly. and if we really want to take it up a notch... get all that and nationwide 5g included. oh nice shot, send that to me. i got you. break free from the big three and get connected to the nations most reliable 5g network. get the new samsung galaxy s22 series on xfinity mobile. and right now, save big with up to $750 off a new samsung device. switch today. what does a foster kid need from you? to be brave. to show up. for staying connected. the questions they weren't able to ask. show up for the first day of school, the last day at their current address. for the mornings when everything's wrong. for the manicure that makes everything right, for right now. sh

cnn's international diplomatic editor nic robertson has details. >> reporter: tender moments as alexeyine years for fraud in a maximum security penal colony. the emaciated kremlin critic comforted by his wife yulia. this trial, like so many he has faced already on charges human rights organizations say are trumped up to silence him. but despite the obvious toll on his well-being, navalny refusing to be silenced, vowing to appeal and defiantly tweeting "you only do two days in jail, the day you go in and the day you come out." a quote from his favorite tv series "the wire." navalny's reality, however, is far harsher. poisoned and almost killed with a deadly kremlin nerve agent novichok while on a political campaign in august 2020. he survived by being flown unconscious to germany for treatment. months later, preparing to return to russia, under no illusion about the danger he faced. >> i understand how system work in russia. i understand that putin hates me, and i understand that these people who are sitting in the kremlin, they are ready to kill. >> reporter: in january last year, his

nic robertson, cnn, brussels. >>> and this just coming in to cnn.ussian state media reports that the military is now claiming to have taken control of the city of izyum southeast of kharkiv which has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent days. it cites the russian defense ministry. ukraine though has not yet commented on that claim. >>> back here in the united states the tough questions are over for judge ketanji brown jackson. next comes the vote for the first black woman ever nominated to the u.s. supreme court. >>> plus, any moment now u.s. president joe biden will arrive at nato headquarters nfor a meeting on the ukraine conflict. we'll bring you that live when it happens. do stay with us on cnn. this is how you imagine your dishwasher. but it may not be as clean as you think. built up grease and limescale could be hiding in your pipes. try finish dishwasher cleaner its al action formula hygienically cleans hidden limescale and grease in. finish. clean dishwasher. clean dishes. with mucinex all-in-one you've got unbeatable relief from your

nic robertson joins us from moscow. nick, putin's statement was broadcast on russian television.orter: yeah, i'd say it's split between old and young. i mean putin liked to use fake tv. he's old school because he's thinking like it's the '90s even where everyone is still watching state tv. well, they're not. the older generation like him, the ones who grew up in the soviet union like him, they are watching it and hearing his message and believing it. they believe that the country was forced to go to war. in fact they think that they're not starting a war, they think ukraine is backed by nato and nato put ukraine up to this. on the streets today i found people literally tell you exactly what they're hearing on tv. they say we're not starting a war, we're stopping a war. you know, that's what the anchors on tv here say. so when putin goes on tv, yes, there's a lot of the older generation that hear him. but there's a lot of the younger generation that are getting their information by social media. they're getting their information from talking to their buddies who live all over euro

cnn's nic robertson has that story. >> reporter: these are editor marina ovsyannikova's last momentsprotesting russia's war in ukraine. her banner, "no war. do not believe the propaganda. they tell you lies here," seen live by hundreds of thousands of russians on the state's prime propaganda channel, channel 1. in court the following day, found guilty of an administrative offense, organizing an unauthorized event, fined 30,000 rubles, about $280. an apparent reference not to storming the set but to a video she posted on social media shortly prior, calling for protests. >> translator: go to the rallies and do not be afraid. they can't arrest us all. >> reporter: russia has banned all anti-war protests, but they continue. more than 900 arrested this past weekend. almost 15,000 since the war began according to an independent human rights group. most getting a beating, a fine, an overnight detention. unclear if the kremlin is trying to minimize ovsyannikova's extraordinary prime-time protest or if she'll face stiffer charges later. initially, state media reported investigators were consi

nic robertson in brussels, thank you very much. ana? >>> it may be one of the only signs of cooperation between the united states and russia right now, an american astronaut and two of his russian counterparts returning to earth today from the international space station. details ahead. plus, a pair of big developments out of hollywood. the academy says it is outraged by will smith's behavior at the oscars. what we're learning about when the academy could take action. and why bruce willis is stepping away from his acting career. neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brainin performance? yes, please! neuriva. think biggeger. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immiate cash payment. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we eded a way to suppleme our income. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding

more now from nic robertson in moscow. >> reporter: on russia state tv, audiences are only being toldat the kremlin wants them to know about the war in ukraine. this new russian army video shows troops handing out humanitarian aid. they claim russian forces are giving civilians safe passage from the fighting. a message, reinforced in president putin's latest state-tv speech. >> translator: our military have provided corridors in all areas of combat action. >> reporter: the terrible reality, the rest of the world sees, shelling of civilians. suffering. death. and destruction. never gets aired on russian state tv. and many russians believe their government, that the war was forced on them by ukraine backed by nato. >> translator: i know the truth. this was a forced measure on our side. after what russia went through in world war ii, it's madness to believe we want war. >> translator: i see what's on tv when i am getting ready for work. we try not to get too involved in it because we've got enough of our own problems. >> reporter: some do care enough to reach beyond state tv but even the

cnn's nic robertson has more on navalny's ongoing battle with the kremlin. >> reporter: tender momentsemaciated kremlin critic comforted by his wife yulia. this trial like so many he has faced already on charges human rights organizations say are trumped up to silence him. but despite the obvious, navalny refusing to be silenced, vowing to appeal, and tweeting, you only do two days in jail, the day you go in and the day you come out, a quote from his favorite tv series "the wire." navalny's reality, however, is far harsher. poisoned and almost killed with a deadly kremlin nerve agent, novichok while on a political campaign in august 2020. he survived by being flown unconscious to germany for treatment. months later, preparing to return to russia under no illusion about the danger he faced. >> i understand how system work in russia. i understand that putin hates me, and i understand that these people who are sitting in the kremlin, they are ready to kill. >> reporter: in january last year, his last moments of freedom recorded as he and his wife rode the moscow airport shuttle bus to the

cnn international diplomatic editor nic robertson joins us live from moscow.e talk about information silos, russia now is creating its own in terms of the coverage of the war. is any of the truth of this war, this invasion, breaking through to the population there? >> reporter: i think, jim, you can probably say the narrative, the kremlin is pushing at the moment, about what they're calling the special military operation in ukraine and they insist that it be called that, and that was one of the things that they said, one of the charges if you will that they leveled against some of the independent media outlets that they are shutting down now, that the narrative that the kremlin has been building is something that has been going on for a number of years. obviously it has come to a crescendo, and to a specific point over ukraine and when you step out on the street here, and you talk to germany, the older generation, they will repeat back to the lines that you hear on state media, which is we're not starting a war, we're stopping a war. ukraine is the one that be

nic robertson, cnn, brussels. >>> well, i have more from lviv ukraine at the top of the hour.gh, let's bring in john vause in atlanta. john. >> hala, thank you. >>> the coming day, we will see an unprecedented trio of high-level summits. nato, g7, european council. all meeting in brussels and the u.s. president will be at all three with a focus of maintaining unity with european allies, as well as a unified response to russia's invasion of ukraine. when president biden addresses his fellow nato leaders, he is expected to urge them to stay the course, increase the pressure on russia. also, make good on their new commitments to boost defense spending. emergency summit is expected to approve four additional battle groups in hungary, romania, bulgaria, and slovakia. the former-u.s. ambassador to nato, and co-author of "the empty throne, america's abby addition of global leadership." welcome back to "cnn newsroom.." >> great to be here. >> so here is more now on nato's deployment of forces from the u.s. permanent representative to nato, julie anne smith. >> this is a nato-wide effo

nic robertson, thanks very much. daalder, thanks for joining us as well. >>> there's more breaking news we're following here in the situation room. a ukrainian crew member now tells cnn how he tried to sink a yacht used by a russian oligarch to retaliate for the invasion of ukraine. this is a cnn exclusive, and we'll have it when we come back. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuelsls six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. (driver 1) it's all you. (driver 2) no, i insist. (driver 1) it's your turn. (driver 2) nope, i think it's your turn. (driver 2) i appreciate your appreciation. it fills me... go. (burke) safe drivers save ney with farmers. (btander) just for driving safely? (burke) it's a farmers policy perk. get farmers and you could get a safe driver discount simply for having a clean driving record for three years. (driver 3) come on! (driver 1) after you. (driver 2) after you. (drivers 1 and 2) safety first! (burke) get a whole lot of

. >> to brussels now and nic robertson. remarkable revelation there from the head of british intelligence. >> yeah, putin's army not as strong as he thought. in part as he heard from u.s. officials yesterday and fleming went on to talk about it as well that the military commanders, defense officials around putin, are afraid to tell him the truth. he doesn't know how incapable, inept, ill-supplied, ill-equipped, ill-motivated his forces are. the evidence now he sees. they didn't take kyiv in that rapid land grab that they originally intended. they're getting bogged down. re-equipping and refocusing their forces. putin today announced a recruitment drive for about 160,000 conscripts. that's about the number that russia recruits twice a year. this is about the time of year it would do it. of course, putin legally not allowed to put conscripts into ukraine, but, in fact, he has been. and many of their families have complained about it. putin also going on the offensive against the european union today saying that as of tomorrow

nic robertson, cnn, brussels. >>> well, i will have more from lviv at the top of the hour.i will turn it over to rosemary church at the cnn center in atlanta. rosemary. >> thank you so much, hala. >>> and still to come, a packed day for u.s. president joe biden as he discusses russia's invasion of ukraine with nato and g7 leaders today. we are live in brussels. that's next. hitting the road? not all 5g networks are created equal. t-mobile covers more interstate highway miles with 5g than verizon. t-mobile has more 5g bars in more places than anyone. another reason t-mobile is the leader in 5g. (johnny cash) ♪ i've traveled every road in this here land! ♪ ♪ i've been everywhere, man. ♪ ♪ i've been everywhere, man. ♪ ♪ crossed the desert's bare, man. ♪ ♪ i've breathed the mountain air, man. ♪ ♪ of travel i've had my share, man. ♪ ♪ i've been everywhere. ♪ ♪ i've been to: pittsburgh, parkersburg, ♪ ♪ gravelbourg, colorado, ♪ ♪ ellensburg, cedar city, dodge city, what a pity. ♪ ♪ i've been everywhere, man. ♪ ♪ i've been everywhere, man. ♪ ♪ i've been everywhere. ♪ >>> welcome b

let's get to cnn's international diplomatic editor nic robertson, live in moscow. yeah, john, there was one strange thing about this broadcast for president putin. he's normally really in control. he looked angry. we've seen him looking that way over the past week or so. but getting towards the end of his speech, he sort of finished and didn't seem sure if he was finished. got up and then sat back down again and then told the audience here that the war was going well. everything is on track. it's all up to speed. but the thrust of this speech was all about trying to keep russians on track with him and with his war. according to the russian military, that was announced yesterday, so here you have a day after, only seven days into the war as well. putin handing out posthumous medals by name and saying that any family of a soldier who was killed would get $65,000. any family of a soldier injured, and that soldier presumably would get $40,000. also saying there will be assurance for the soldiers, presumably he means in a medical context here. so putin really trying to

and nic robertson is in brussels with more on this. navalny is responding to this sentence. he saying? >> well, he's fighting back. he tweeted out that any sentence is essentially only two days in jail, quoting one of his favorite tv shows saying it's the first day and the last day. so very defiant about that. but also saying that it's going to take his message of putin's corruption internationally. he is, of course, the most well-known living critic of president putin, domestically in russia and growing international attention since his poisoning, since his arrest. also in the past couple of hours, he's tweeted out a figure, a very high figure for the number of russian soldiers he says have been killed in the war in ukraine so far. so he's not backing down in his criticism of the kremlin. and this is true to form for alexei navalny. when he came from back germany after recovering from that poisoning that almost killed him, he knew what he was taking on in the shape of the kremlin. he knew that putin hates him. he knows the kremlin is prepared to kill for its aims. he called

claim for the lie it is. [ speaking foreign language ] >> cnn international diplomatic editor nic robertsonbout a call vladimir putin just had with french president emmanuel macron about his goal in ukraine. what more do we know about that call? >> reporter: yeah, frank and difficult, that's how the kremlin is describing it. the best way to describe the phone calls with putin and people like emmanuel macron, these were the place where there was diplomatic hope things would move forward, where international leaders were appealing to putin's better will and telling him what could happen if he invaded ukraine. the state of these calls now are not like that. this went very much sort of putin's way, if you will. according to the kremlin, putin told macron that if these peace talks with ukraine don't speed up and get results, then he's going to essentially increase the pressure on ukrainians. he's going to switch up his demands of demilitarization and neutrality from ukraine. no mention here in this phone conversation at all about russia backing off with all the sort of missiles and bombs and att

nic robertson joins us from london.shment that she now faces for this protest? >> reporter: it's a relatively light punishment. 30,000-ruble fine, about $275 fine. what the investigative committee of that body, the russian body that oversees journalists had initially said she could be tried under the very new dra croneian laws that prohibit any comment, any negative comment about what russian forces are doing in ukraine. you know, in russia right now, you can't even say there's a war. you have to call it a special military operation. it looked like she was going to get -- face those charges, maximum 15 years in jail. when she came out of the court, and i think this perhaps surprised a lot of people. she was able to speak to the cameras there. she said, and i think this is something that the -- that will be what the kremlin wanted to hear, which is that she acted alone. this was her decision, that she wasn't sort of part of a conspiracy at this major sort of organ institution of state propaganda channel, channel 1 there.

nic robertson and kaitlin collins joins us live. kaitlin, let's start with you. this is the first time president biden has come out and said he wants russia out of the g-20. how significant is that? >> it's probably the biggest news to come out of his press deference, pamela, where president biden says yes, he does agree with the statement that the australian prime minister has made, which is they don't believe russia deserves a spot in the g-20. the g-20 is the summit of leading economies across the globe. it's not something that's just made up of democracies, though, we should note. china is a member of the g-20, saudi arabia is a member of the g-20. given this bloody invasion that is happening where civilians have died and have had to flee their country by the thousands and millions, this is a stance that president biden took today, saying he does not believe russia should be able to participate in the g-20. they have a summit every year. this year it's in indonesia. president biden said if russia is invited to the summit, he thinks the counterbalance to that

nic robertson joins us now from london. you've been in moscow for a number of years covering there.lt and dangerous place for people to challenge the government, but now there are new laws that could put people away for as long as 15 years. do we know what her current situation is and what she could face? >> reporter: questions about that at the moment, jim. her lawyer doesn't know where she is. the investigative committee which is russia's state tool to investigate and essentially control journalists said she is going to be or she has opened an investigation into spreading false information about the russian military. now, what does that really mean? those new laws that came into effect less than two weeks ago, it could -- that statement could leave her with a three-year maximum jail term, for spreading false information, but if they decide she was using her official position and the presidential spokesman dmitry peskov said today that employees at state institutions that broadcast live media have special responsibilities, then that tariff goes up to maximum ten years in jail and i

nic robertson has spent more than three decades covering russia and is in brussels ahead of the president's visit. what does it mean to now target more members of the duma? we've got the oligarchs having been targeted, obviously sanctions imposed more generally. the sanctions on vladimir putin himself. what does it mean to target in this more comprehensive way in this level of government? >> yeah, it broadens the signal to the russian legislator, to the russian people and particularly to president putin that there are a few people who are in the government of russia who are not going to be targeted. what president biden is announcing here really sort of brings some united states more into line with what the european union here in brussels have already done. they already sanctioned 351 members of that lower house of parliament, the duma back right at the beginning of the conflict when the duma recognized the independence of the separatist areas luhansk in ukraine. i think that's what we're going to see more of the european union, president biden and the g7 here in brussels will be perhaps pl

w we'll see if that comes to fruition. >> i want to bring in nic robertson. how is moscow approaching these talks as zelenskyy has said he's open to some key demands, ukrainian neutrality? >> yeah, right now president putin's spokesman is saying this is not the time for zelenskyy to meet with putin. essentially there's not enough common ground. and i think that's what we're seeing. what zelenskyy is saying is that he's willing for ukraine to have neutrality, provided it gets security guarantees, and it's looking to brussels here, nato, the european union to provide those security guarantees along with the united states. but also to make this very significant move for ukraine, it should have the support of the ukrainian people. that should come in a referendum. but he's saying that the terms of the referendum should be such that the ukrainian people feel free to vote. he says that cannot happen while russian forces are still in the country. so what he's essentially saying is russia is going to have to pull back to pre-february 24th military positions outside o

our own nic robertson, he's been there all these years in russia to watch what's going on. he's got strong, strong views. what the future may hold for russia under putin's orwellian rule. (music throughout) meet a future mom, a first-time mom and a seasoned pro. this mom's one step closer to their new mini-van! yeah, you'll get used to it. this mom's depositing money with tools on-hand. cha ching. and this mom, well, she's setting an appointment here, so her son can get set up there and start his own financial journey. that's because these moms all have chase. smart bankers. convenient tools. one bank with the power of both. chase. make more of what's yours. 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 how not to be a hero: because that's the last thing they need you to be. you don't have to save the day. you just have to navigate the world so that a foster child isn't doing it solo. you just have to stand up for a kid who isn

but okay lucy robertson. oh chem. partially for margaret chose kim. i used to live up there, so i'm back in year. i had thought moisten. alexander blossom professional. can you guys, monica b team should not to put my good. yeah. was got all of us emotional mom right out of 45 people who enlisted 40 died. mm. ish, there's those that, that the meal stadium. okay too. but you're with chrome you which you can use up of the was soon going to what i see it almost irish. yeah. come we spend 0 to my students. you bought you ski. what did you see teaching here? all storms like you junior thinking, the chinese person talk. i feel like we had this. so i thought my you ability shane, you push the woke, excuse. you had the national what shall thought that he got a chance of. but anyway, my talk thus was the other. the events unfolding in ukraine are a cause for concern among anti fascists around the world. people live different nationalities and from various countries have gone to don bus. but i served with some great people, the suit of remedy regiments, which w

the sanctions are not having an impact on the war yet. >> all right, nic, nic robertson live in moscowtates and cities announced boycotts of russian goods including vodka. maryland governor larry hogan told reporters, we're not doing anything to support russia in any way or their economy. governor hogan terminated the state's sister relationship with the leningrad region as a symbolic gesture. larry hogan joins me here now. so what does that mean, cutting off any economic relationship between maryland and russia? >> well, so we just -- they are symbolic gestures we're taking, but we think it is important to send a message to russia any way we can. we had a sister state relationship for 30 some years that was started by governor shaffer back in the '90s. we terminated that. we sent a letter to leningrad yesterday saying because of the incursion into ukraine that we were no longer going to have that association. i'm sure it doesn't do much to them, but it is a symbol that the people of maryland are united with people of america and the world, standing up against russia and standing with

our nic robertson in moscow speaking to russians about the invasion, and many saying they are againstt -- but -- but many also believing what they see on russian tv. asking a woman about civilian casualties and she says i am not sure i believe it because there is fake news. there were others who said the same. mike, what do you want the russian people to know? >> main thing i want -- i'd love people to know is that their country is -- is obviously the aggressor. there is no such thing as -- as a military operation that they are being told. there is no such thing as countries or nationalities here, russian-speaking people who need to be saved. um, this is absolute from my personal experience. my girlfriend's father lives in -- in russia. and in this situation, he want literally nothing to do with supporting her or her mom or sister who are right now under fire in kharkiv in -- in -- which is being constantly bombarded. kharkiv right now is like the st stalingrad of that time. and the posture of the media in russia is so strong that the people who are actually from here, they are from u

nic robertson is with us also, along with cnn global economic analyst rhanna. this is unprecedented, this release from the strategic reserves, 1 million barrels a day. how did he get to this point? >> reporter: yeah, of course, he is facing a lot of political pressure at home, as people are feeling those gas prices, the effect of those, and the most direct way that this war is hurting americans here, of course, and so that's why the president was addressing it, though i do want to talk about what he answered in to first question really quickly because he said that putin seems to be self-isolated and he has indications that putin has fired or put under house arrest some of his advisors. now, i should note that president biden added a caveat there, saying he doesn't have hard evidence of that. that is clearly what some of the intelligence is showing, but that is noteworthy because we had heard that putin had felt misled by a lot of his military advisors. there was some mistrust between the two of them, tension between president putin and his top military advisors

i have mostly bars robertson and nuts, just simple things that i could pass as people move to their next location. a man, the daughter of a somali and refugee was summoned to help by family history. an issue that's pretty close to my heart, my dad and his family arrived in the u. s. as refugees from somalia, i am half german. and so i really felt as there was a crisis and people were coming. but i was going to show up because someone did it for my own family. rita is now trying to reunite with her son and western germany. but the trauma we shouldn't days is impossible to forget. via haben urban acton emma in, we'd been sleeping in the basin in ghana. we have an emma. we were constantly urge him. a boom. been there while we're on the donkey tank, driving down the street. i'll just try. it was frightening. and terrible. people were panicking. it was really all, well, let's surprise then that european government are expecting many more desperate people to follow in the footsteps in search of peace. and sport is also moving to isolate russia, football's world and european governing bodies. 5

are answered in the way it is true, ordered that hearing went under bush for one person was mucus robertson in washington a. she used to wash robert up to eat and i had come bill of of so for sure usually was shorter leach than and still a lot of giving up a dish. they did a lot ah, bullish to will, perplexing. but the thought in that in his own was up of the economy is good, which are signal minister to name you can e posley at the by in the village schedule committed to claiming some use to me cisco. but on this a shot he pushed me just the 100. that'll ukrainian as archer, so full name of you, of boston country school. you cuz the tickler, but i put a, you just got senior living, creating its england, douglas pitts, at least the mostly my donnas pitts at least the salute as opposed to grade we up, but the still on the, on the cutter, the premium to complete the does with these ways cancel, school will probably new school and kind of put up as blue coated when you percentage of headphones globally deduced weakness could kind of will to object of pollution. our bus. most people can get a 3