every day you are russia, ukraine, russia, ukraine. have a great day. host: let's go to ethel calling from new york city on the democrat line. good morning. caller: good morning. i cannot believe i am following that call. i am disturbed about the vice president's manner of speaking. i cannot say it myself, she needs elocution of speech. she drives me crazy. she is out there representing us. why doesn't someone tell her she has to speak with passion like the dull thing she is reading. if trump had been president now, we would be sunk. that is my thought for the day. thank you for taking my call, jesse. host: let's go to les calling from dodge city, kansas on the republican line. caller: i have a message for vladimir putin. i think you need some more tanks, vladimir. those kindergartners are very tough. i heard they might even join nato. you better watch out for them kindergartners. they are pretty tough. they might whip you. host: john calling from bedford, new york on the democrat line. caller: good morning. with russia's focus on the ukrainian situatio

the united states and nato are not a threat to russia. ukraine is not a threat to russia. neither the u.s. or nato have missiles in ukraine. we do not, we do not have plans to put them there as well. we are not targeting to people of russia. we do not seek to destabilize russia. to the citizens of russia, you are not our enemy. i do not believe that you want a bloody destructive war against ukraine. 77 years ago our people fault and sacrifice side-by-side the worst war in history, world war ii was a or of necessity. but if russia attacked ukraine, it will be a war of choice, or a war without cause or a reason. i say these things not to provoke, but to speak the truth. the truth matters. accountability matters. if russia does invade in the weeks ahead, the human cost for ukraine will be immense. and the strategic cost for russia will also be immense. if russia attacked ukraine, it will be met with overwhelming condemnation. the world will not forget that russia chose needless death and destruction. the united states and our allies and partners will respond decisively. today

let's start with the president set to speak on russia and ukraine. eamon javers standing by with what we can expect >> kelly, as we wait for president biden, we are also hearing from president putin russia over the last hour or so. putin said his country is recognizing an expanded version of two break away regions in ukraine. using definitions from 2014, which includes a key port city with access to the black sea russia says it is now going to evacuate its diplomatic staff from ukraine we are hearing from a senior administration official in the u.s. that the thursday meeting between secretary of state tony blinken and foreign minister lavrov is now in, quote, real jeopardy that means any sit down between the two presidents is also unlikely at this time. meanwhile, france's foreign minister says european you know nations unanimously agreed on a set of sanctions on russia as the administration shifted rhetoric, now referring to the russian action as an invasion. that sets the table for an increased round of sanctions on the russian government from the u

the united states and nato are not a threat to russia. ukraine is not a threat to russia. neither the u.s. nor nato have missiles in ukraine. we do not, do not have plans to target the people of russia. we do not seek too destabilize russia. to the citizens of russia you are not our enemy and i do not leave you want a bloody destructive war against ukraine, country and a people with whom you sharee such deep ties in families history and culture. 77 years ago our people fought and sacrificed side-by-side in the worst war in history or the world war ii was a war of necessity. a fresh attacks ukraine it would be a war of choice or a war without cause or reason.r it i say these things not to provoke. to speak the truth because the truth matters. accountability matters. if russia doesn't invade in the days and weeks ahead the human cost for ukraine will he -- and the strategic cost. russia will also be immense. if russia attacks ukraine they will be met with overwhelming international condemnation and the world will not forget that russia chose needless and destruction. invading

we must address what russia is doing right now to ukraine. er the past months, without provocation or justification, russia has amassed more than 150,000 troops around ukraine's borders in russia, belarus, and occupied crimea. russia says it is drawing down those forces. we don't see that happening on the ground. our information indicates clearly that these forces, including ground troops, aircraft, ships, are preparing to launch an attack against ukraine in the coming days. we don't know precisely how things will play out, but here's what the world should expect to see unfold. in fact come it is unfolding right now, today. as russia takes steps down the path to war, and reissued the threat of military action. first, russia plans to manufacture a pretext for its attack. this could be a violent event that russia will blame on ukraine, or an outrageous accusation that russia will level against the ukrainian government. we don't know exactly the form it will take. it could be a fabricated so-called terrorist bombing inside russia. the discovery o

response to russia-ukraine tensions. rst we hear from senator warner. >> i rise today in response to russia's alarming and impending threat toward its neighbor. the independent nation of ukraine. as we speak, vladimir putin continues to ready more than 100,000 soldiers, tanks, artillery, aircraft and missiles along ukraine's border. two ukraine's north in belarus, russia has positioned tens of thousands more troops, nominally, as part of a military exercise. two ukraine's south, russian ships are amassing in the black sea. propaganda and disinformation on the internet and on russian tv channels as part of the russian playbook, we now know very well. the kremlin's intent is to manufacture a pretext for its aggression and sow so divisn the west. russian troops already occupy vast tracts of ukraine in crimea, and continue a quote-unquote low-grade war in easternte ukraine, a war initiad by mr. putin that has cost already over 14,000 lives. ukrainian soldiers have been bravely fighting and dying to protect their country from

resident fellow liana fixed talks about the russia-ukraine conflict. join with your facebook comments, calls, text messages and tweets. washington journal is next. ♪ host: good morning and welcome to washington journal. tensions are rising in europe as russia sits poised on the ukrainian border. troops ready for a possible invasion. joe biden and his administration have been meeting with nato allies and the ukrainian president in hopes of stopping vladimir putin but no one knows yet what russia's next move will be. president biden will meet with the national security council on the ukrainian crisis as u.s. officials try to broker some kind of solution with russia. our question to you this morning, what should the biden administration's next steps be? we open regular lines this morning. that means republicans, you can call (202)-748-8001. democrats, your number is going to be (202)-748-8000. independents, you can call (202)-748-8002. you can always text us at (202)-748-8003 and we are always reading on social media on facebook at facebook.com/c-span, on

but only if russia did not invade ukraine. now that we see that the invasion is beginning, and russia has made clear its wholesale rejection of diplomacy, it does not make sense to go forward with that meeting at this time. i consulted with our allies and partners. all agree. and today i sent foreign minister lavrov a letter informing him of this. the u.s. and i personally remain committed to diplomacy, if russia is prepared to take demonstrable steps to provide the international community with any degree of confidence that it is serious about de-escalating and finding a diplomatic solution. we will proceed, in coordination with allies and partners, based on russia's actions, and the facts on the ground. but we will not allow russia to claim the pretense of diplomacy at the same time it accelerates its march down the path of conflict and war. there's no question what has happened here, we see how russia -- we have all seen how russia has relentlessly mobilized despite intensive efforts by others, including the u.s., to engage t

and russia and verification of the border. ukraine expects russia to disagree commitment which will become a major input into these resolution efforts. it is more than urgent now is about 1000 russian troops have been deployed in the vicinity of ukraine for this. we know the statements by the russian officials, although verification and proof are required. unusual military activities on ukraine borders as russia denies to explain violation of the document in confident the security building measures, has a detrimental, economic, social impact on ukraine already. regardless of russia. the military buildup on the ground has been coupled with a blockade by russia of the large parts of the black sea under naval exercises. this had made allocation and international shipping extremely complicated, causing serious challenges for the major ukrainian ports. all of these actions sit into the concept of the hybrid war against ukraine. but this information and cyber attacks have other important components. for instance, the most recently russia pu

i understand -- i am not concerned about russia invading ukraine. that is not where i'm coming from. the way i see it is, if we are so poised to stop russia from invading ukraine, sanctions is the best path forward especially it would hurt their economy and make their people mad at their government. i do not understand why we are not sanctioning harder and not trying to sanction russia. host: we are expecting more sanctions to be announced today. the question right now that is been decided is whether president biden and european allies move forward with that full, what they are calling a severe package of sanctions targeting a wide array of the russian economy, whether they do that now or hold that back as a stick in case russian tanks start rolling through ukraine toward kyiv. caller: president zelensky has said, if we are so sure that they have a kill list, a hit list, that they are ready to do some world war two stuff of putting people in camps, why are we waiting? it does not make sense to me. host: that is steven in indiana. this is alex in cali

there are still well over 100,050 russian troops in ukraine. russia has moved troops closer to ukraine's border. russia's vessels are moving in the black sea, south. missile cruisers and submarines. russia has supplies on their -- russia has supplies and blood on their border. you don't need light unless you are starting a war. last week at the united nations close -- security council --. dramatically staged, conveniently on camera for the russian public. and now political provocation of sovereign ukrainian territory and independent republic. a clear violation of international law. president putin signed authorization from the european parliament for the ukrainian territory. this sets the stage further for russia to try to justify military action. none of us should be fooled. none of us will be fooled. there is no justification. further russian assault remains a threat in the days ahead. it is russia alone that bears responsibility. as we respond, my administration is using every tool to protect american businesses and consumers from rising prices at

and unlike russia, ukraine has upheld its commitments under the minsk agreement designed for a cease-fire in the donbas region. nato is defensive and is no threat to russian territorial integrity. ukraine is not asking for us to fight this war for them. they are asking for increased military lethal assistance to help them defend themselves should russia make a mistake and invade ukraine again. and they are a it was a treaty. where yiewkan agreed to give up their nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees, from russia, the united states and the united kingdom, that we would all respect the independence and sovereignty of ukraine and refrain from the threat or the use of force against ukraine. these are commitments that must be honored. i know there's a lot that this country on congress are divided over today. we see it played out on the floor and media constantly. i will tell you, republicans and democrats alike are united in backing ukraine in this crisis. that's why it's so important my colleague from new hampshire is on the floor with me today. she's been a stall ward. we trave

joe: the question is how will the pipelines run through ukraine? if russia was supplying a third of europe's natural gas, now it is 20%, you wonder how long that lasts. how are the railways going to look in the next few weeks moving anything around ukraine? that is a question. what other ports going to look like in the black seat? -- the black sea? these are things people are trying to figure out. in conversations i've had with traders, asking them, what does this look like now? one of the things they keep telling me is, we are still waiting for the dust to settle. we don't actually know what tomorrow looks like. we don't know what the plan of russia, of putin is here. do they continue -- if you look back, crimea annexation, that was basically a one month and one week long situation. is it a month-long or do we? have things close down here? the problem is people, even traders who are dealing with the physical on a day-to-day basis, don't quite know yet. part of the reason we saw prices fall today was because, in a big situation, and a lot of the sanctions pe

i remember when russia seized crimea and went into eastern parts of ukraine. ere were a number of news reports that putin was trying to suppress the stories coming out about russian troops who are going home in body bags because there is discontent in russia about what was happening there. if he continues with this effort, he is going to see that again and there is going to be concern among the russian people, this is not a democracy, it is a dictatorship, he still has to pay attention to other people of the country want. i think the effort needs to continue, hopefully we continue to get the budget moving in congress. hopefully we get the sanctions package done in a way that will show we are acting together against russia in support of the efforts of the united states and the transatlantic alliance, and he will ultimately decide not to invade. but if he does, we better make sure he pays the cost of that because this is a dictator who does not understand anything except our -- power. he needs a bloody noise -- nose if he continues to bully the countries of europ

ukraine's military posture has always been defensive, they want to be left alone. unlike russia, they've uphold the minsk agreement, and it's no threat to russian territorial integrity. it's important to note that ukraine is not asking us to fight this war for us, they're asking for lethal military assistance to help defend themselves should russia make a mistake and invade ukraine again and they're asking us to abide by commitments we have made. in 1994 after the berlin wall came down, ukraine signed what's called the budapest memorandum. it's a treaty where ukraine agreed to give up nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from russia, the united states, and the united kingdom. that we would all respect the independence and sovereignty of ukraine and refrain from the threat of use of force against ukraine. these are commitments that must be honored. i know there's a lot that our country and this congress are divided over today and we see it played out on the floor and in the media constantly. but i will tell you, republicans and democrats alike are united in backing

i wonder if nato members could have a conference with ukraine and russia to try and resolve the situation in terms of resolving a colonial separation and self-determination in these provinces of the ukraine. now in the crimea, there was a plebiscite after russia invaded. we are now in the situation we are going to be dealing with lots of real invasion. the crimean people rose up and revolted against ukrainian rule and russia came in to support them. the plebiscite showed crimea being overwhelmingly wanting to be part of russia. and you have similar situations in the eastern provinces. could a conference be held to separate the borders in a proper way? i understand some men like war. all it would take is some commander on either side to misjudge, make a mistake and we could have an all-out war when in reality no one really wants one. guest: and thank you for this interesting point. to the point about the colonial background of this conflict. the russian president has published an article in july last year where he argued that there was a historical unity between ukraine and russia that spe

has moved troops closer to ukraine's border. russia'saval vessels are maneuvering in the black sea toward ukraine's south, including assault ships, missile cruisers, and submarines. russia has moved medical equipment and supplies and blood to their border. you don't need blood unless you are starting a war. last week, at the united nations security council, a major increase in military provocations and false flag events along the line of contact in the don bus. dramatically staged, conveniently on camera for the security counsel to grandstand for the russian public. and now, political provocation recognizing sovereign ukrainian territory of so-called independent republics. a clear violation of international law. president putin signed -- sought authorization from the russian parliament to force military force outside of russian territory. this sets the stage further for further provocation by russia to try to justify further military action. none of us should be fooled. none of us will be fooled. there is no justification. further russia

first, let's take a closer look at those break away regions in ukraine and russia. that have been recognized as independent. reminders of war are everywhere and done yet. and new hans. the 2 provinces lie an eastern ukraine, on the border with russia. both declared independence after the revolution in 2014, which most in the region did not support separatists voted to join russia and have fought ukrainian forces for control ever since. around 4000000 people live in what's called the don bass region. it's known for heavy industry and coal mining and it's large, russian, and russian speaking population in the main city done yet. banners read, we are russian. moscow has handed out hundreds of thousands of russian passports. but life is tough. caught in the middle. many who can have left most pensioners are stuck. others fight ukraine estimates. there are around $35000.00 separatist troops and accuses moscow a filling up their ranks with russian soldiers. in 2015, i cease fire signed, immense, helped, and full scale fighting but the conflict has dragged on, leaving more

russia matters to him. he has a strong belief that countries like ukraine belong to russia's geo global space. does not want to be the russian leader who lost, in his mind, and ukraine. he does not see these as independent countries. people like him are from a generation of leaders whose formative years were in the soviet union so they remember when all of this was one country. to them, states like ukraine are not independent, not sovereign, and he sees ukrainian government as a puppet state of the united states. he does not really see ukraine as being an independent country making its own decisions in that sense. leaders can be rational but not necessarily reasonable and there is a difference between those two. they have a calculus, means and ways and the like, of how they are going to get where they are going. he is very emotional about the subject. he is rather emotional and angry about it and i think it's very clear from his writing on the subject that he feels that russian policy, namely his -- he is not willing to let ukraine become -- integrate with the west, join the west. he's not will

president biden has promised swift action if russia invades ukraine. eatedly denied it has plans to do so. russia -- oil pushing towards $100 a barrel. let's bring in maria tadeo and will kennedy. a weekend of hectic plumas a come -- hectic diplomacy, inconclusive. >> the thing that kicks off the whole frenzy as a report on friday suggesting a russian attack is imminent and could be as early as tomorrow and it would target the ukrainian capital. the white house did not confirm the date. this sent everyone into a spiral . over the weekend, we had macron on the phone with putin. he said an honest and sincere dialogue could mean there is -- means there would be no escalation. this is for the weekend. the point of action now is the trip from olaf scholz going to russia tomorrow. the first time they will meet face-to-face. and the focus will be on how far germany is willing to go when it comes to the economic punishment knowing the german economy will also be hurt and the nord stream 2 pipeline. this is the first opportunity he would have to make it clear to

what, what especially important they did it when there was talk going on in bella was between russia and ukraine. and what is more you, hark you as a big street and the now with russia and sell in with one and shell. and because i know here the shell and goes on and people cannot go outside and we are running for food supplies and the musical supplies. so actual is a big street. it is on the verge of humanitarian at the store. but that's what russia bring here, because now and so, and it's on and the supply and food is impossible. i have seen here today the long line of people who wanted just to buy a loaf of bread because it's a shortage of it. right now. maria from your point of view, then if you can't access food, but you're also saying transportation is down, you're stuck inside. what are your plans in the coming days? are you going to buckle down and stay in? hark, if well as personally for me, i will for sure, because i feel very angry about the russian troops come in to ukraine. i want to defend my home and want to fight with all those ukraine nouns who are now in the territorial defense,

we begin this hour with breaking news in the russia/ukraine crisis. the u.s. has intelligence indicating orders have been sent to russian commanders to proceed with an attack on ukraine. that is according to two u.s. officials and another source familiar with the intelligence. president biden has wrapped up a rare sunday meeting of the national security council in the white house situation room. cnn has learned the latest u.s. intel according to these officials says russia has poured 75% of its conventional forces within striking distance of ukraine. it is surrounded on three sides and now a disturbing new development from belarus to the north. russia is extending its military drills there. they were supposed to end today. the kremlin cites a weakened spike in violence in eastern ukraine. ukraine says russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country violated the ceasefire at least 74 times just today. moscow, in the meantime, continues to encourage ukrainian citizens to evacuate from the east and cross over into russia. the u.s. and its allies fear

on europe and the eyes of the world are still on the 10 situations along the boulder between russia and ukraine. despite signs of a possible de escalation, russia had amassed heavy weaponry and well over a 100000 soldiers.

the united states and nato are not a threat to russia. ukraine is not a threat to russia. her the u.s. nor nato have missiles in ukraine. we do not -- do not have plans to put them there as well. we're not targeting the people of russia. we do not seek to destabilize russia. so the citizens of russia, you are not our enemy. i do not believe you want a bloody destructive war against ukraine, a country and a people with whom you share such deep ties of family, history and culture. 77 years ago our people fought and sacrificed side by side to end the worst war in history, world war ii was the war of necessity. if russia attacks ukraine, it would be a war of choice or a war without cause or reason. i say these things not to provoke, but to speak the truth, the truth matters. accountability matters. if russia does invade in the days and weeks ahead, the human cost for ukraine will be immense. the strategic costs for russia will also be immense. if russia attacks ukraine, it will be met with overwhelming international condemnation. the world will not forget that russia chose need

ukraine and its assault on the principles of the un charter. the facts are clear. russia has invaded ukraine without provocation. and without justification, russia has rained mis aisles and rockets.

announcer: president biden gave an update of the situation between russia and ukraine. this is just under 10 minutes. good afternoon. today i made two vital calls, as i have been making for some months now. two vital calls on the situation in russia and ukraine. first was to a bipartisan group of members in congress currently representing the united states along with vice president harris at the munich security conference. the second was the latest in a series of calls over the past many months with our nato allies and european union. updating them on what is likely to happen in ukraine in the coming days, to ensure that we continue to remain in lockstep. that is the european union and nato. despite russia's efforts to divide us at home and abroad, i can affirm that has not happened. the overwhelming message of both calls was one of unity, determination and resolve. i shared with all of those on the calls what we know about a rapidly escalating crisis in ukraine. over the last few days, we have seen reports of a major uptick in violations of the cease-fire by russian bac

the world is watching as russia invades a sovereign neighbors country. ukraine is fighting back, even accusing russia of genocide, over matched and alone for now, ukraine is mounting a surprising defense. whatever sanction that u.s. threatened did not deter vladimir putin, putin, is intent on recreating the old soviet union. fox news correspondent trey yingst on the ground in kyiv. reporter: russian defense minnist he said they hit over a thousand military targets, they don't mention anything about civilian infrastructure. we know that yesterday an apartment in kyiv was hit with a russian missile, killing at least two people, and injuries 6 others. and at an oil depot also hit. you have nearly 3 million people living here. that is not to even mention people who have seen the russian aggression in recent days across the country, following the invasion, we have seen civilians who can go west to lviv and polish border trying to get walker from the bombing campaign, there were air sirens ringing out in kyiv, and gunfire in the does stance. -- distance there are new

we begin this hour with breaking news in the russia ukraine crisis. troubling new satellite imagery showing intensified movements of russian forces near ukraine's northeastern border. this is according to colorado based max r. also tonight, cnn learned the u.s. has intel that says russian commanders received orders to precede with an attack on ukraine according to two u.s. officials and another source familiar with intelligence. there is a national security counsel in the white house "the situation room". ukraine is surrounded on three sides and now there is a disturbing new development from belarus to the north. russia is extending its military drills there. they were supposed to end today. the kremlin cites a weakened spike in violence. russian backed separatests in the russian part of the country violated the seize fire at least 74 times today. moscow continues to encourageac the east and cross over into russia. they fear the rising tensions will be used as a pretext for russia to launch an attack. cnn is mobilizing it's people and experts around th

he believes russia will attack ukraine in the next few days. the kremlin is accusing the u.s. n will meet with russia's foreign minister next week. >>> and a judge ruled that former president trump and his oldest two >>> our top stories this morning -- president biden will host a call today with nato allies in hopes of defusing the russia/ukraine situation. he believes russia will attack ukraine in the next few days. the kremlin is accusing the u.s. of fear mongering. secretary of state antony blinken will meet with russia's foreign minister next week. >>> and a judge ruled that former president trump and his oldest two children, ivanka and donald jr., must testify in a new york civil investigation into his business practices. they must provide records and sit for depositions within 21 days. lawyers for trump are expected to fight the decision. state officials accuse the trump organization of taking part in misleading practices to secure loans, tax benefits, and insurance coverage. >>> "consumer reports" is revealing its top cars of the year. elise preston tells us which ones m

it's also been fierce fighting between russia and ukraine forces and several cities. and at a military airports, mia kia weapons being distributed among people who want to fight back russia's foreign minister says moscow is not going to occupy ukraine. secular, rob says the criminal wants to restore democratic order. you ins refugee and can see says the violence has displaced a 100000 ukranian. a european union leaders have agreed to impose sanctions that targets 70 percent of the russian banking market, as well as major state on companies. after close coordination with the white house there be submitted for approval at a meeting to be held in brussels. but the sanction stopped short blocking russia. when the belgian based swift global payment system banks worldwide use it to make secure across the board of payments. britain is pushing to block russia, but the u. s. and you are so far opting not to us president joe barton saying the decision could be reconsidered. dominey cane, join me live now from berlin. so dominic, what's at stake? why is the e u at this point, sta

stands prepared to respond if russia invades ukraine. >> this is about more than russia and ukraine. this is about standing for what >> reporter: russia claims it's beginning to withdraw some of its forces from the border but the u.s. has yet to see any signs of de-escalation. >> we have not verified russian military units are returning to their home bases. indeed, the analysts indicate that they are very much in a threatening position. >> reporter: the u.s. official says russia moved rocket launchers into firing positions. ukraine says it has come under a cyber attack on some government agencies as well as ukraine's largest bank. it's not clear if russia is behind the attacks. the fbi and department of homeland security held a call monday warning law enforcement, military and others to be prepared for cyber attacks that could come in russia invades ukraine. >> if russia attacks the united states or our allies through disruptive cyber attacks against 9 companies or critical infrastructure, we are prepared to respond. we are moving in lock step with our nato allies and partners to deep

ukraine has always been defensive. it's not that offensive going against russia. but russians tend to further undermine and threaten ukraine's sovereignty. the senate has a long history of supporting its independent and democratic ukraine since russia's initial invasion in 2014, congress has provided more than $2.7 billion in security assistance and supported its government in advancing critical reform to help ukraine on its journey to greater integration. i am proud to have been involved in a number of those bipartisan efforts to support ukraine. as senator portman said, we traveled with a bipartisan delegation of seven senators, four democrats and three republicans to meet with ukrainian president zelensky and other officials. we met with the national security team to discuss the russian threat on how the united states can help our ukrainian friends. they share our democratic values and their people are proud of their hard worn independence. it's not just the eastern border with russia, it is the northern border with belarus. so it's been said but i think it's wo

. >> an update on recent tensions between russia and ukraine, nato secretary-general says russia will pay a hard price if they invade ukraine again. despite -- they see -- nato sees no sign. his comments came during a news conference in brussels, belgium. it's about 10 minutes. >> good morning. nato defense ministers will meet today and tomorrow, facing critical challenges for the european security. we have heard signs from moscow about the president committing to dip a medic efforts, and so far, we have not seen any de-escalation of the ground or the country as russia continues its military buildup. we are not receiving any response to our written document or written proposals that we sent to russia on the sixth of january, outlining that we are ready to sit down. to discuss to find a political path forward. we will continue to convey -- we are ready to sit down, and discuss with them. at the same time, we are prepared for the worst. if russia once again invades the ukraine, they will pay high price. and we will continue to expose them to make it hard for them to conduct aggressive a

push fabricated claims warning about ukraine's attack on russia without evidence. all these are consistent with the playbook of the russians have used before, to set up a false justification to act against ukraine. this is also in line with the pretext scenarios that the u.s. and our partners have been warning about for weeks. throughout these tense moments, the ukrainian forces have shown great judgment and restraint. they refused to allow the russians to bait them into war, but the fact remains russian troops currently have ukraine surrounded from ukraine to the black sea in the south and all on its border. we have reason to believe the russian forces are planning to attack ukraine in the coming week, in the coming days. we believe that they will target ukraine's capital kiev, a city of 2.8 million innocent people. we are calling out russia's plans loudly and repeatedly, not because we want a conflict, but because we are doing everything in our power to remove the reason russia may give to justify invading ukraine. make no mistake, if russia pursues this plan, it