nick schifrin has more now on the european response, with a key european diplomat. >> schifrin: joiningss the crisis in ukraine is emily haber, the german ambassador to the united states. ambassador haber, welcome to the "newshour". earlier we heard president biden said he believes putin decided to invade. n.a.t.o. officials tell me they fear invasion could come tomorrow. do you agree? >> we have been briefed and informed and been sharing information along allies with the n.a.t.o., with the united states throughout these past weeks. there's no day when we don't exchange information about the latest knowledge and the latest assessments. so, given the monumental military buildup around ukraine, which is the biggest concentration of military forces since the end of the cold war, we have severe grounds for worrying about a massive threat. >> reporter: the pretext, of course, is what many people here have been talking about. we showed earlier what separatists in donetsk in eastern ukraine have what they called a car bomb in the capitol of donetsk. is this a false flag, that will precede some

nick schifrin has more. >> schifrin: french president emmanuel macron's dual meetings with russian presidentr putin yesterday in moscow and ukraine's president volodymry zelensky today in kyiv aimed to find common ground that could help de-escalate tensions in the region. so, what is the french president's vision for solving this crisis? for that, we turn to philippe etienne, france's ambassador to the united states. ambassador, welcome back to the "newshour". do you believe, after president macron's visit to moscow and kyiv, that we are on the path of deescalation and diplomacy? >> thank you for having me tonight, nick. well, at least the visit is an important one. the visits are important because those dialogue will be necessary to find the path to deescalation. and there was a third visit in germany after kyiv where president macron met with president duda, president and chair, and chairman shuttles and the chair mern to have the e7. so they all went together in berlin. all this shows there was a unity, a coordination alliance between europeans and americans to go for a deescalation to ha

>> schifrin: and when the choir started, it wasn't a solemn song. they sang a call to arms, a battle hymn for ukraine. for zelensky, the billion battls both military and politically. zelensky was an entertainer, who was a comedian who spoke in russian. today he is inspiring the country against russia. two weeks ago, judy, his approval waiting was 25%. toy it is 91%. >> woodruff: wow. nick, we saw the interviews you did with so many ukrainians trying to reach the border. what about when they get to the border, how hard it is to cross in both directions? >> schifrin: there are six border crossings across the 1600 mile ukraine-poland border, and for 30 years of independence, those crossings were quiet and peaceful toll today. what we saw was thousands of ukrainians trying to get out. it looked like they were in cages because they were behind high fences. they were setting fires to try to stay warm because they had to sleep there overnight. there were dozens and dozens of children and no bathrooms. for the few going in the other direction, from poland i

nick schifrin begins our coverage. >> schifrin: in a european capitol, the full weight of the russian military. the u.s. calls the initial phase of a full-scale invasion with russian helicopters flying low over residential rooftops and at the outskirts of kyiv to seize a military airport, military vehicles pouring too southern ukraine and russian troops taking over the chernobyl nuclear site on their way to sack the capitol. ukraine and u.s. say the russian military is advancing from belarus on a movement toward kyiv, from the south in russian occupied crimea an from the east into country ekd second largest city harkiv. this san unexploded rocket and the aftermathf a direct hit on a residential complex. in this city of 1.4 million the only safe place was the subway where children distract themselves as their parents fear for the future and loved ones hold on tight. >> it is normal people who don't want war who suffer. we want to thrif in peace, to go to work, build our family, develop our country. we just want a peaceful sky over our heads. instead of hiding with rats in holes. >> sch

without safe games, there would be no games. >> schifrin: it's not only inside the games. maintains one of the world's strictest testing schemes and lockdowns. just last month, because of a few hundred cases, 20 million chinese were ordered to stay in their homes. >> they simply do not want to give up what they already have achieved. >> schifrin: yanzhong huang is the council on foreign relations' senior fellow for global health. he says china sticks to the zero-covid policy not only because it's kept cases relatively low, but also for politics. >> they use th to showcase the superiority of the-- its political system, the chinese model-- and if they give up, you know, that's tantamount to admitting that they have failed, and their system is no better than the u.s. >> schifrin: but the system requires harsh lockdowns. last month in xi'an, a city of 13 million in central china, this woman was refused care for two hours. she was eight months pregnant, and miscarried. in another video, a woman says her father had a heart attack and died when he was blocked from all of the city

nick schifrin begins over coverage. >> schifrin: today, president biden laid down a warning to russia, and a rallying cry to america. >> let there be no doubt: if russia commits this breach by invading ukraine, responsible nations around the world will not hesitate to respond. we do not stand for freedom where it is at risk today, we will certainly pay a steeper price tomorrow. ( soldiers chanting ) >> schifrin: biden spoke just a few hours after, with great ceremony today, russian soldiers loaded tanks onto flatbeds, for what the russian military called relocation away from ukraine's border. >> ( translated ): units of the western and southern military districts that have completed their missions a will start moving backo their garrisons today. >> schifrin: but military analysts say these tks were already away from the front, and it's not clear where they're going. they represent only a tiny number of the more than 100,000 russian troops deployed all around ukraine's southern, eastern, and northern borders. president biden id today those troops could still invade. >> we have not yet

nick schifrin again begins our coverage. >> schifrin: in kyiv today, all rise for ukraine's presidentymyr zelensky. this is ukraine's national security council. and today they seemed to all rise to the challenge, and possibility, of war. >> ( translated ): thetate of emergency will be introduced across the entire territory of the country, except the donetsk and luhansk regions. >> schifrin: national security advisor oleksiy danilov announced a new war footing that could increase checkpoints and curfews, allow the government to seize property and billet soldiers in homes, and ban demonstrations and strikes. >> ( translated ): we have said many times that the main task of russia is to achieve its goal of internal destabilization. this decision was taken to prevent these actions. >> schifrin: the decision taken by zelensky. up until now, he has downplayed the threat. but last night he called up some reservists, and today, alongside polish and lithuanian counterparts, said the military was prepared. >> ( translated ): i know clearly without any forecasts how our army will act. and believe

nick schifrin has the story. after french president macron's meeting with russian president putin today? what are the prospects for easing tensions? and how are these talks viewed by the rest of europe? for that we turn to heather conley, president of german marshall fund of the united states, which focuses on improving transatlantic relations. she was a state department official on european affairs during the george w. bush administration. so we heard from vladimir putin today during his press conference with emmanuel macron and put inside that some of macron's ideas could represent future diplomatic steps, is that the sign that the prospects of a russian invasion of ukraine has been lessened? >> nick, it's really unclear. we're not entirely sure what proposals president macron was bringing to moscow. he said in an interview before his departure for moscow that he was looking for a so called new balance between sovereignty and peace. president macron has been really investing in his personnel relationship with v

again tonight, nick schifrin begins our cerage. >> schifrin: it has been 81 years since the world witnessed, a city of 2.8 million, under large-scale attack for the first time since it was sacked by nazi germany. this apartment complex hit, not by a russian missile, but by the remains of a russian plane, shot down by ukrainian defenses. ( siren ) and as sirens blare above, exhaustefamiles filled metro stations that double as bomb shelters. they fled their homes with only what they could carry, including furry friends, and the prized possessions that help a people under siege maintain their spirits. as is ukraine's military. it shot down this russian aircraft, and a senior u.s. defense official says russia i“" not advancing as far or as fast as they believed they would be”" ukrainian military command and control remains intact, and president volodymyr zelensky hit the streets and social media to urge defiance. >> ( translated ): we defend our independence. that's how it'll go. glory to our defenders, both male and female. glory to ukraine! slava ukraine. >> slava ukraine. >> schifrin: but al

and european response to russia's moves, nick schifrin is back with two views. >> schifrin: thanks judye a deeper look at the situation with stephen hadley. he was national security advisor during the george w. bush administration. and andrew weiss. he served during as director for russian, ukrainian, and eurasian affairs on the national security council staff, and as a member "newshour". so we just heard from deputy treasury secretary andrew weiss. let me start with you. do these russian banks have exposure to the u.s. financial systems and does targeting russian oligarchs and sovereign debt have any impact? >> let's talk about what vladimir putin uses to fund his economy. he sells raw materials on global markets for dollars, so every day russia sells 4 million barrels of oil. oil right now is fluctuating around $100 a barrel. that is a remarkable cash flow president putin is able to harness for whatever person and money is always fungible. since 2014 crisis, the russian economy, broadly speaking, has taken the reliance it once had on foreign capital markets and basically tossed it asi

actions >> schifrin: u.s. officials say one helicopter that took part in the raid, went down with a mechanical problem. u.s. forces destroyed it nearby. but otherwise a senior u.s. official said “everything ran according to clockwork.” officials said they confirmed al qurashi's location in december, and president biden provided the final order on tuesday morning. last night he watched the raid unfold in the situation room, briefed live by defense secretary lloyd austin and joint chiefs chairman mark milley from the pentagon. pentagon spokesman john kirby: >> they're leaderless today. and at's a significant blow. this is not something that we believe isis is just going to be able to get over real quickly and real easily. >> schifrin: al-qurashi became a senior isis leader in 2014, and took over in 2019 from abu bakr al baghdadi, after he killed himself in a u.s. raid in the same pt of syria. officials calll-qurashi a“ driving force” behind what the u.s. calls a genocide of the yazidi ethnic minority in northern

officials tell our nick schifrin, they fear the war could stt next week. and nick joins me now.ck, what led to today's more stark language? >> schifrin: as you say, judy, russia has deployed one of the largest forces seen in europe in the last 50 years. and according western and u.s. officials, in recent days, the u.s. saw those forces increase their readiness for a possible invasion, and u.s. officials became convinced that the timeline is being accelerated into next week. so, those facts combined led s. and military officials to brief their nato allies, and three western and u.s. officials told me that president vladimir putin had made the decision to invade. but now, national security advisor jake sullivan was asked about my reporting by amna nawaz, and he said putin hadn't made that call just yet. >> we e not saying a decision, a final decision has been taken, by president putin. what we are sayi, is that we have a sufficient level of concern based on what we are seeing on the ground, and what our intelligence analysts have picked up, that we are sending this clear message.

nick schifrin again starts our coverage. >> schifrin: near the line of contact between the ukrainian military and russian-backed separatists, this morning a shell pierced the wall of a kindergarten classroom, that on tuesday, had been full of five- year-olds and their teachers. this morning, they fled from what the ukrainian government called separatist shelling. the u.s. fears a russian attack like this could be the first shot fired in a wider war that's about to start. >> we have reason to believe that they are engaged in a false-flag operation to have an excuse to gon. >> is your sense that this is going to happenow? >> yes. not-- my sense is this will happen within the next several days >> schifrin: secretary of state antony blinken made a last- minute visit to new york to reveal new intelligence about a possible russian pretext. >> it could be a fabricated, so- called terrorist bombing inside russia, the invented discovery of a mass grave, a staged drone strike against civilians, or a fake-- even a real attack using chemical weapons. russia may describe this event as ethnic clea

though it is not easy, we are aware of it. >> schifrin: but his message was mixed.wing a meeting with hungarian prime minister viktor orban, putin also said recent u.s. and nato documents disregarded his demands. >> ( translated ): we are analyzing written responses from u.s. and nato, received on 26 january. we didn't see an adequate response to our three key demands: preventing expansion of nato, the non-deployment of strike weapon systems near russian borders, and returning the military infrastructure of nato in europe to the positions existing in 1997. >> schifrin: in fact, the u.s. rejected those demands, and even today showed off american jets in nato member estonia, just a few hundred miles from the russian border. instead, the u.s. is offering to discuss with russia mutual limits on eastern european exercises, like these in poland, and missile deployments, by reviving the defunct intermediate nuclear forces treaty, or i.n.f., that banned an entire class of nuclear weapons. senior u.s. officials said that's what secretary of state antony blinken and russian f

nick schifrin begins our coverage. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> schifrin: on a day the u.s.feared would bring a new war, ukraine celebrated a new holiday. on “unity day,” ukrainians held a 600-foot long flag and rallied around the national anthem, titled “ukraine is not yet perished.” >> ( translated ): it signifies the unity of the whole country under our flag, under our anthem. it is "no" to war, "yes" to peace. >> schifrin: but ukraine is also readying for war. its air force released video today of russian-made jets training near the northern border with belarus, to target practice targeting columns of tanks. and ukrainian tanks trained nearby. president volodymyr zelenskyy watched with his commanders, before inspecting american anti-tank weapons and addressing his troops. >> ( translated ): thank you for your skills, for protecting our country. when i look at you, i'm confident in both today and tomorrow. >> schifrin: but u.s. officials remain worried that tomorrow, or any day, could bring russian invasion. just across the belarus border, russia continued its own exercis

nick schifrin starts our coverage in belarus, on the belarus-ukraine border. >> schifrin: with tanks, artillery, missiles capable of and its most advanced jet, russia's belarus military exercises, are the largest since the cold war. it's a display of military might, near the border with ukraine, and just a few hundred miles from kiev. and past the sailboats off annexed crimea, russian ships, hold naval drills. ukraine's foreign ministry today said those ships make black sea navigation virtually impossible, and are part of russia's "hybrid war." meanwhile, ukraine's defense ministry, prepared in case of a shooting war. just north of crimea, soldiers practice securing an enemy- occupied building. ukraine uses drones from nato- member turkey, that have successfully targeted russian tanks in previous conflicts. ♪ don't you need somebody to love ♪ and to a rock soundtrack, a show of american and to a rock soundtrack, show off americ javelin anti-tank missiles that senior u.s. officials say are now deployed to key transit points. but at the same time, diplomacy continues. in berlin, mid lev

begins our coverage. >> schifrin: with the stroke of a pen president putin claimed are redraw the map of europe, recognized the sech proclaimed republics for nearly eight years partially controlled by rushan backed separatists. tonight prorussian ukrainians wave russian flags after putin called ukraine a coony with a puppet reg eem and warned of further fights. >> we demand those who took over and to immediately stop combat activity otherwise the responsibility for continuing the blood shed will lay on the shoulders of the ukrainian regime. >> and tonight there is worry that blood shed is already beginning, putin ordered a quote peace keeping mission. president biden imposed sanctions on anyone doing business in rebel-held areases and a senior administration official warned of further penalties if russia invades. inside rebel held territory with local cameramen filming authorities have evacuated 30,000 mostly women and children and called up men young and old to be ready to fight ukraine. russian forces are backing them up. u.s. officials tell pbs newshour at least one-third of russia

as nick schifrin says, u.s.ans and allies may be sparking a new and more brutal invasion. nick: if worn ukraine is about to begin, u.s. officials say can start like this in the eastern city controlled by russian-back separatists. local authorities showed off a car destroyed by a bomb. authorities allowed local camera to film residents fleeing across the border into russia. a military leader of the separatist republic blamed the ukrainian government. >> the armed units of ukraine are deliberately trying to instill fear and panic among civilians of our republic by targeting vital infrastructure. nick: open-source researchers say this video, partly recorded today, was actually filmed to test two days ago and president biden called their claims deceptive and pretext for russian invasion. pres. biden: these are consistentith the playbook russians have used before, to set up a false justification to act against ukraine. i'm convinced he has made a decision. nick: russian president vladimir putin said the ukrainian gov

foreign affairs correspondent nick schifrin has followed the events of this busy day. pres. biden: i'm delighted to have the chancellor re today. reporter: across nearly 5,000 miles, from the white house to the kremlin. french president emmanuel macron met with russian president vladimir putin and expressed hope war could be averted. putin called the talks "useful." >> some of his ideas and proposals, about which i think are too early to speak, but i think these ideas could form a basis for our further joint steps. reporter: and new german chancell olof scholz met with president biden, and tried to present a united front. >> he has the complete trust of the united states. germany is one of our most important allies in the world. there is no doubt about germany's partnership with the united stes. >> it is important that we act together, tt we stand together, and weo what is necessary together. reporter: but the unity rhetoric doesn't match the whole reality. germany prevents fellow nato members from sending german ammunition to ukraine. and germany refuses publicly threaten t

pbs newshour, nick schifrin.ser look at the new sanctions, the biden administration announced today on russia and how will this -- all this could affect the u.s. economy, we are joined by the deputy secretary of e treasury department. thank you very much for joining us. let's start with the sanctions on these major russian financial institutions. whom do these sanctions hurt and how does it hurt them? dep. sec. eyemo: thank you for having me. these sanctions for black american and the kremlin, one institution is the institution the kremlin has used to project power within russia. the second is an institution to project power outside russia by funding the defense ministry. the president's charge was to use our sanctions to have an impact on russia, while mitigating impact on the united states and our european allies, which is what we did today. judy: the president also announced sanctions, punishments on five so-called elite individuals. we understand three of them have already been sanctioned. how will this influ

ni schifrin reports on a war on truth, and why mexico is unable to stop it. >> schifrin: to report onn, cartels, and violence in mexico, is to risk your life. 49-year-old photographer margarito martinez, killed by gunmen on january 17, outside his home in tijuana. one week before, in veracruz, jose luis gamboa, stabbed to death. in michoacÁn on january 31, cameraman and editor roberto toledo, shot to death. and on january 23, broadcast journalist lourdes maldonado lopez, found murdered in her car. back in 2019, she warned mexico's president andres manuel lopez obrador, her life was in danger. >> ( translated ): i come here as well to ask for your support, help and justice at my workplace. because i even fear for my life. >> schifrin: today, lopez obrador announced three people had been arrested in her murder, but of the 133 journalists killed since 2000, more than 90% have gone unpunished. and, when journalists recently held a vigil, the names and faces of their murdered colleagues filled the gate in front of the interior ministry. and to discuss this, i'm joined by from mexico city b

nick schifrin begins our coverage good -- coverage.nt biden warned russia and raleigh cried america. pres. biden: let there be no doubt if russia commits this breach by invading ukraine, responsible nations around the world will not hesitate to respond. we do not stand for freedom where it is at risk today, we will pay a steeper price tomorrow. nick: he spoke a few hours after russian soldiers loaded tanks onto flatbeds for what the russian military called relocation away from ukraine's border. >> units of the western and southern military districts that have completed our missions will start moving back to their garrisons today. nick: military analysts say the tanks were already away from the front and it is not clear where they are going. they represent a tiny number of russian troops deployed around ukraine's southern, eastern, and northern borders. president biden said the troops could still invade. pres. biden: we have not yet verified the military units are returning to their home bases in russia. indeed, our analysts indicate th

foreign correspondent nick schifrin begins our coverage. nick: in northwest syria, this is all that's left of what u.s. officials call isis in iraq and syria's effective command center and where, overnight, u.s. special operations forces conducted a raid that ended in the death of leader abu ibrahim al-hashimi al-qurashi, also known as hajji abdullah. pres. biden: last night's operation took a major terrorist leader off the battlefield, and has sent a strong message to terrorists around the world: we will come after you and find you. nick: senior u.s. officials say, when u.s. and mostly kurdish allied troops arrived, they announced their presence to capture al-qurashi. instead he detonated a bomb, collapsing the top floor and killing his family. pres. biden: he chose to blow himself up, not just with a vest, but to blow up that third floor rather than face justice for the crimes he has committed. nick: after daybreak, local cameramen filmed the building's second floor, where u.s. officials say a senior isis lieutenant and his wife fought ba

for the pbs nehour, i'm nick schifrin. a closer look at the ukraine crisis, we're joined by republican senator james risch of idaho, the ranking member of the foreign relations committee. senator, welcome back to the newshour. we heard antony blinken saying what the russians say is different from what they do. is that what you are seeing, the russians claim they are withdrawing when they are not? >> it's good to be with you, judy. i would put it more plainly than the secretary of state did. he is the secretary of state come of the head diplomat. the russians lie. i don't know how they can tell the worldhey have no intention of invading and they have amassed the largest invasion force the world has seen in decades. look. the world doesn't believe it. nobody wants war. everybody would like to see and avoid it. the ukrainians i think are in a different position than they were when russia went into crimea. at that time poland was showing the ukrainian people had an on view -- unfavorable view of russia. today that is reversed.

again tonight, nick schifrin has our report. >> reporter: near the belarus- ukraine border, russia is preparing its troops. jets. and tanks. u.s. officials say those troops are in a heightened readiness compared to even a few days ago, and fear a military campaign could start any day. until then, there's still diplomacy. in kyiv, president volodomir zelensky hosted german chancellor olaf scholz. >> ( translated ): further military aggression against ukraine would have serious political, economic and geo-strategic consequences for russia. >> reporter: on monday, germany sent additional soldiers and vehicles to lithuania, to bolster nato's eastern flank. but germany has refused to provide ukraine weapons. and in public, scholz will not threaten the russian/german gas pipeline nd stream 2, if russia invades. >> he should sanction north stream 2, so putin would not be able to blackmail europe with energy. >> reporter: scholz will meet russian president vladimir putin tomorrow. today, russian foreign minister sergey lavrov told putin diplomacy was still possible. >> ( translated ): but sti

days earlier she crashed at a giant slalom event schifrin has won 47 world cup races in slalom, the mostf any skier. she's expected to compete in three more events next week. we're looking at those images there. the side of the slope. she stayed there for 30 minutes, shoulders slumped, shaking her head then she spoke out, too, in her press conference she was so emotional, still so in shock about what happened. >> it was tough to watch i mean, like you said, frances, that and the wreck occurred within the first 50 yards. i mean literally right at the top. but she's still got a chance more events to come. let's hope it's better that was a tough way to end it for her. we'll look forward to future races. frances, thank you. >> you're welcome. >>> you can see that snow is tough to turn on it's a lot of chunks >>> as we head to break, we continue to watch facebook's parent company meta. that is an ugly chart, no matter how you slice it down 35% it's now worth less than nvidia, no knock on nvidia, but facebook's come down more on the markets as futures, they're up nicely. we're glad you're up w

nick schifrin begins our coverage.s been 81 years since the world witnessed this, kyiv, under attack for the first time since it was sacked by nazi germany. hit noty a russian missile but the remains of a russian plane shot down by ukrainian defenses. as sirens blair above, exhausted families fill metro station's that double as bomb shelters. they fled homes with only with a could carry, including friends and prized possessions that help people under siege retain spirits. as is ukraine's military, they shot on this russian aircraft and a defense official says russia is not advancing as far or as fast as they believe they would be. the military command and control remains intact and let of -- president zelensky hit the streets and social media to urge defiance. >> we defend our independence, that's how it will go. lori to our defenders, glory to ukraine -- glory to our defenders, to ukraine. >> but all was not well. russian soldiers pouring in, pot on this camera before they try to pull it down. troops in the south are