you raised ukraine, and obviously, there have been a number of questions around what's happening in ukraine and russia's failure to comply with minsk and there was a period where there were some countries in europe that didn't seem to appreciate the extent to which this was a failure on russia's part and viewed it more as a failure of ukraine. i wonder if you can talk about where we are with respect to how the eu is viewing minsk, too, at this point. and what more we can do to put pressure on russia to comply. >> as i said in my opening, senator, i think we are cautiously optimistic that the eu countries will again roll over sanctions at the end of june because they see what we see, mainly that minsk is far from being implemented on, in any of its components. we have intensified our own diplomacy after the president's meeting in hanover with president ohaund and chancellor merkel to support what those countries are doing to try to get minsk fully complied with. they are pushing on two fronts, both to negotiate a fair political decentralization deal, which does not cross over the line of cre

you raised ukraine and obviously there have been a number of questions around what's happening in ukraine and russia, russia's failure to complain with minski 2, there were period where some countries in europe didn't appreciate extent failure on russia's part and viewed it more as failure of ukraine. i wonder if you could talk about where we are respect to how the e.u. is viewing misn sk-ii and put pressure on russia to comply? >> i said we're cautiously optimistic that the e.u. countries roll over sanctions at end of june, they see what we see, minsk is far from being implemented in any of its components. we intensified our own diplomacy with the president's meeting in hanover with president hollande and chancellor merkel to support what those countries are doing to try to get minsk fully complied with. they are pushing on two fronts, both to negotiate a fair political decentralization deal for dannbas which does not cross the line creating a permanent cats paw or enclave of russia in in ukraine. we are trying to commit the russia made in the osce pull back, and weapons. at one point i

and return of ukraine's sovereign border. even as we defend nato territory, we're also looking to reduce the vulnerabilities and increase the resilience of those countries across europe that face pressure from moscow. to help ukraine, the yithes has committed over $600 million in security assistance, we've trained 1,700 ukrainian conventional forces and national guard personnel, we provided artillery and countermortar ray tar, over 3,000 secure radios, and a number of other pieces of equipment to help ukrainian troops successfully resist further advances and to save lives. to continue our work across europe and eurasia and strengthen democratic institutions, fight corruption and build the resistance of our partners, we have requested $787 million in f.y. 2017 focusing on our priorities on those countries that are most vulnerable to russian pressure. our programs and advisors focus on improving governance, squeezing out graft and fraud, strengthening justice systems, improving election standards, hardening border security and

a french man is arrested in ukraine with an arsenal of weapons. authorities say he planned to attack the european football championship this week. we are finally getting to the end of the u.s. presidential primaries, the last big prize for hillary clinton and bernie sanders is california. and famed cellist yo-yo ma is bringing musicians from around the world. we're lucky enough to get a private rooftop performance. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. authorities in ukraine say they have thwarted a plan to attack a major sporting event starting in france which week. a man was arrested while trying to crots the border between ukraine and poland with a van full of weapons and explosives. officials say he was motivated by far right views and a grudge against his government's immigration policies. our kiev correspondent has the details. reporter: a french man caught on camera in a sting operation by ukraine's security service. officials claim he was planning several terror attacks to coincide with the useo 2016

whether crimea, ukraine, inf, syria, georgia, they don't see the consequences. when we ask them to take a tough position, they don't see the reason why they should because they know the united states is not going to follow through. and that's hurting our leadership around the globe. and it's hurting our ability to rally our allies to our side and to create the kind of rules-based order that we need to in order to counter the behavior of china, the behavior of russia. and so i guess a couple questions. in your testimony you state that quote, we have worked with russia to remove syria's declared chemical weapons, to prevent iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, to contain the nuclear threat eminating from the dprk, north korea and to negotiate and implement the new s.t.a.r.t. treaty. obviously i think you would agree the nuclear threat in north korea has not been contained is that correct? >> it has not. >> so what is it that we're actually getting russia to accomplish? are they following through with implementation of united nations resolutions 2270, the sanctions

then, of course, the war in ukraine. once again, an attempt to distract the attention of the population and to sofidify the power of the regime which might be threatened otherwise. it is important to bear in mind, the ukraine revolt was seen by mass demonstrations. the biggest demonstrations taken place in the post-soviet era in response to the parliament elections in 2011. those demonstrations continued 2012 before finally teetering out. but it was not long afterwards that an even more massive demonstration, organized or rather inspired by similar issues, took place in ukraine. and ukraine is a country which has a dprat deal in common with russia -- great -- including the fact many ethnic russians live there and many people are mixed ukraine and russian origin and the differences are not that difference culturally. the cultures are close, history is common is so on. >> sir? >> yes, i know you concerned with russian internal politics here. but something like the attack has international implications because we have schoo

that is according to the security president in the ukraine.hey arrested a 25-year-old frenchman identified as a far right person from ukraine, planning to attack mosques, synagogues, and government buildings. i spoke to david stern ngf. -- in kiev. >> we don't know what has been announced by the ukrainian services, the head of the services. this was greeted in some circles with skepticism. we heard accusations of this sort not of this sort but of accusations from security services. domestics are going into great detail. he was caught on the ukrainian polish border at the end of last month. they are only announcing now what exactly he had, which was around 125 kilograms of explosives of tnt, thousands of rounds of ammunition, antitank grenade launchers and detonators. he was planning on carrying out 15 different terrorist attacks in france on synagogues, a mosque. , or was an antigovernment conservatives say he spoke out in opposition to the french , described as open immigration. we do not know much more than that. we are waiting to find more

you raised ukraine and obviously there's been a number of questions around what's happening in ukraine russia's failure to comply with minsk 2 and there was a period where there were some countries in europe that didn't seem to appreciate the extent to which this is a failure on russia's part and more a failure of ukraine. i wonder if you can talk about where we are with respect to how the e.u. is viewing minsk 2 at this point and what more we can do to put pressure on russia to comply. >> as i said in my opening, i think we are cautiously optimistic that the e.u. countries will again roll over sanctions at the end of june because they see what we see. namely that minsk is far from being implemented in any of its components. we have intensified our own diplomacy after the president's meeting in hanover with president holland and chancellor merkel to support what those countries are doing to try to get minsk fully complied with. they are pushing on two fronts both to negotiate a fair political decentralization deal for donbass which does not cross over the line of creating a cat's paw o

in ukraine, it says it has arrested a would-be terrorist on its border with poland. a french national is in custody and his weapons and explosives confiscated. we will take you to kiev and paris. also coming up, germany's president says he will not stand for a second term in a largely ceremonial role. we will look at his legacy and possible political wrangle to find a replacement. and turkey's president launches another attack on germany accusing german m.p.'s of being terrorist sympathizers after they voted to recognizing the killing of armenians 100 years ago as a genocide. welcome to the program. we begin with an alleged plot to unleash a wave of terrorist attacks at the european football championships in just five days. sporting venues were targeted along with mosques and synagogues. the alleged aim, maximum mayhem and loss of life. ukrainian authorities say they have thwarted this plot, arrested a french right-wing extremist and confiscated an arsenal frightening in its destructive capacity. reporter: hidden camera footage of the suspect shows him packing a smal

>> well, all i can tell you is we have deterred further land grabs in the ukraine. that was a real risk when we first started with sanctions, that they would try to run all the way to kiev. i can tell you russians are openly talking now about the pain of sanctions including when we work with them on the minsk thing. so they know what it is going to take to get these sanctions rolled back and it's their choice whether they want to do what is necessary. >> how about crimea? how come we no longer hear crimea minged? is this defacto, something we accept as reality or does that continue to be a part of our conversations that crimea should be returned rightfully? >> senator i mentioned crimea in the opening. secretary mentions it every time he speaks publicly in russia. we will maintain the crimea sanctions which are significant, both u.s. and e.u. until crimea is returned rightfully to the ukraine. >> when they took over crimea, there was sense, i thought it would be a boondoggle for the russian government, it would cost them a bunch of money to maintain the area. has in

it's ukraine. it's crimea. it's georgia's fault because they aren't quite as western as we want them to be. therefore we haven't been able to do everything to help them. i know we've got westernization issues in georgia. we've got an invasion that occurred. and sovereignty territory being possessioned in violation of a 1972 agreement with russia. we're talking about all this other stuff at the same level of the invasion issue. i'm sorry to take issue with that but i really think. >> no question, we cannot blame the victim. we have to strengthen these countries so that they can resist economically, politically and security terms. >> sorry, thank you. >> soon coons. >> assistant secretary new land, i had an opportunity to meet with the russian ambassador to the united nations earlier this year. you mentioned the difficult balance between cooperating the russians on a number of important areas, some of our bilateral treaties containing iran's aggressive nuclear weapons program and other areas where we have strongl

david: the deputy prime minister of ukraine joins us today.ld the brexit effect ukraine if they vote to leave the european union? you very much for the question. i think the challenges will be not only from the ukraine, but in the u k and and european union, trying to see how they can manage the new situation and define the new europe, so to say. we are keeping our fingers crossed that the brexit referendum while taking place will not result in any deviating position from continuing and going together inside the european union. morewise, that will even challenge the unity of the european union that we so much need right now for top vonnie: madam deputy prime mister, is light years away, not just for you cain -- not just for ukraine . no country is anywhere close to the goals they would need to meet. when do you anticipate it becoming a reality? guest: right now, we are concentrating on doing our homework and implementing the and is is still on a provisional basis, so we are trying to approximate the legal unionork of the european and put into

you might be a situation not unlike what we have in ukraine. a situation of that kind that is more pluralistic would've alford more possibilities. now we have something else. we have a more dangerous regime in a terrorist tradition which makes the situation in russia even more problematic including the fact that the notion which is really fatal for russia's future, for its culture and its people, the individual the individual counts for nothing and it's just raw material to be used or misused in the pursuit of the crazy political goals of the authority. that tradition has been greatly reinforced. that's exactly what russia has to lose in order for it to join with civilized countries which is actually where it belongs. >> i am an evidence advocate and responded. [inaudible] my question is, what you described is happening with the holdings in the bombings in russia. could this be labeled false terrorism. my question would be why are not all the western countries involved in the same thing. i . to dr. paul williams indicating the terrorist attack

we should not do it on ukraine. since the end of the cold war, i think all of us in every administration have believed every european nation should get to choose, have the right to choose its future. nato enlargement was demand driven. a lot of us here in this room worked on this together in the clinton administration and in the george w. bush administration. these countries wanted to be part of the eu and they wanted to be part of nato. we were happy to take the ottoman -- happy to take them in. we filled that security void in central europe left after the collapse of the warsaw pact. imagine where we would be today had we not expanded nato into the baltic states. i think president putin would have his forces right up on the river separating estonia and russia if not over the river. those states would be threatened. it is very important, a very important decision by three american presidents, democrat and republican, to do this. i know a lot of people want to blame us. this is another putin line. if we hadn't expan

it's possible to invade ukraine without consequences.the russian leaders will have to consider the consequences if they launch any type of military action against the baltic republics which, in fact, is not necessarily to their advantage. it's important to bear in mind that in the case of ukraine, what was at stake was a self organizing, anti-criminal revolution of the kind that could occur in russia under the right circumstances. in regimes in which the leaders of power are thoroughly monopolized, there are very few options left for society to reassert itself and establish democratic rule. one of them is the kind of revolt, spontaneous, leaderless, self organizing and driven by the courage and enthusiasm of millions of people that took place in ukraine. for that reason they were important reasons why the russian authorities seized crimea and invaded eastern ukraine. the most important of which was that it was a method of distracting the attention of the russian people from the real lessons of the ukrainian experience and using the lesso

the two leaders discussed the ongoing ukraine conflict. eu imposed sanctions against russia two years ago over its annexation of crimea and its role in the conflict in ukraine. moscow responded with counter sanctions against some european products. earlier we asked our correspondent in brussels whether there was full agreement among the eu members about extending the sanctions. >> the front against russia is still standing, all 20 member states of the european union agreed to prolong the sanctions against russia for at least six months, but there are still questions asked behind closed doors. for example, italy, france, and hungrnagry asking if the sanctis are working -- hungary if these sanctions are working. so now some european countries say we have to come up with another solution. there is also a rift in emerging in the coalition government in germany. the conservative chancellor says that we have to maintain a hard stand against russia, but the foreign minister says we have to ease sanctions step-by-step, and we have to come up with

this would exclude ukraine as a transit point. is there a way to assure the european commission that this is not going to be a bad thing for european consumers and for ukraine to build this direct pipeline, a second one doubling the capacity from russia into germany? >> you know, we are the second largest gas, natural gas buyer in europe, the second largest in natural gas so we are aware that the european tradition of natural gas, domestic pollution will decline in u.k., in the use of so natural gas has to increase. for that, we need additional appropriate manner toism prove and increase the imports from russia. ryan: how do you propose apiecing the commission? gerald: we consider that europe , the supply should increase the way, the path for natural gas from the north, from the south and from the ukraine, we consider that some natural gas hrough ukraine could be useful essentially to supply from countries like slovakia, like hungary or romania. ryan: maybe that's the compromise. meanwhile we have the prospect of a lot of u.s. com

first in cuba, now ukraine.endy rieger has more. ♪ >> reporter: it was a festival of american culture in ukraine. but these men were doing more than singing. they were opening hearts and minds. the gay men's chorus of washington was invited to ukraine this spring by the state department. ukraine has not always been kind to gay people, many report being attacked. >> right away we said this is something we need to do. >> reporter: the chorus sent their ensemble to perform and because of the danger, these gay men were briefed by the state department before they embarked. >> we had to be aware of how we were conducting ourselves. >> in some cases particularly in smaller towns it could be potentially dangerous to walk down the streets holding your lover's hand. >> it made me feel like you're back in these >> reporter: but this chorus knows it is a voice for those who cannot be heard. last year it went to cuba, a country that has oppressed its gay population for decades. and they were heard. now it was time to sing to

because of their invasion of ukraine. so, you know, when you talk about things that are unsavory, this is probably one of the most unsavory issues that i have been involved in in my years here. it was two years ago vladimir putin began his campaign in eastern europe, dismembering a sovereign nation, and today we're facing an increasingly belligerent russian government, and we know that putin continues to occupy ukraine, threatens nato allies, bombs u.s.-backed forces in syria who are fighting against bashar assad's murderous regime. his tactical fighters buzz with impunity, u.s. ships in the baltic putting lives of u.s. personnel at risk. all the while, american taxpayers continue to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to subsidize russia's military industrial complex. now, you don't have to take my word for it, you don't have to take my word for it. here is a letter that i received a few days ago. let me tell you who signed it before -- before i read it. the honorable leon panetta, former secretary of defense. michael

and russia continues and because of that conflict, ukraine is today still a loss with weapons. french authorities have responded, saying they knowledged the arrest but they believe to be in contact with ukrainian officials as they continue to question the suspect there. there are unconfirmed reports that we cannot verify to suggest the suspect's residence in france has been searched and explosives have been found. we cannot verify this detail at this time but this incident will spark concern that isis extremists threatened to target this upcoming euro soccer tournament. just last week the us state department issued a travel alert pacifically mentioning this event and french president francois blonde has warned this threat to the parliament still exists. because that france is deploying 90,000 security staff to protect players and today it announced it will send an extra thousand troops to secure public areas. the euro soccer tournament starts this friday already, goes on for a month with 24 nations taking part but if you think back to the attacks in paris over the last year, fr

force,l have to have have to be willing to do what we talked about it ukraine and other places. then you might be in a position where you can deal with vladimir putin. one of the ways this can be fixed is to talk to the world's nuclear powers, bit -- but it will not happen right now. i agree with my colleagues. it wasn't that long ago that the creek -- key phrase was, trust but verify. razor hands out that the microphone to you. if you can identify yourself. chairman, thank you for everything you have done on behalf of the freedom agenda in the middle east. optionsu be open to that have been considered in the past, working with our arab allies in the region to provide syrian rebels modified man pads that can take down russian ships . that are causing the chaos isis needs to fight them. we would want to put timers scuttle thet would ability to use those after a certain. of time. we do have the capability to this. we have the capability of sitting down with turkey and neighboring states that have probed the idea of a safe sound for the civilian population all across the north. wil

long ago small, nongovernmental organizations from jamaica and nigeria, , sierraa, and bosnia leone, ukraine to my and 20 other countries would never have connected to make a difference in their quest for stronger democracy.

russia and ukraine blame each other.he crash killed all 298 people on board. >>> the list of famous names who will say good-bye to the greatest will smith who received an oscar nomination for his portrayal of the champ will be among the ball payers at the funeral on friday. tributes continue to pour in as his home twroun prepares for the funeral. abc's ryan smith has more from louisville. >> reporter: those closest to muhammad ali remembering a heavyweight with a tender side. his daughter, laila, posting this on facebook, writing, "i was blessed to be touched by an angel. we all were." >> i felt like he was trapped inside of his body, so, i have comfort in knowing that he's not suffering anymore. >> reporter: the champ's youngest son, saying his father is at peace. >> he just wants everybody to be happy and celebrate his life, celebrate his legacy, you know, not shed tears of sadness. shed tears of joy. >> reporter: his funeral plans, as only ali would have it, specified by the champ years in advance. on friday, a proces

ukraine has not always been kind to gay people. being attacked. >> right away we said this is something we need to do. >> the chorus sent its 14-member potomac ensemble to perform and because of the danger these gay men were briefed by the state department before they embarked. >> we had to be aware of how we were conducting ourselves. >> particularly in smaller towns they can be potentially dangerous to walk down the street holding your lover's hand. >> it kind of made me feel like you're back in the closet that you have to hide a part of yourself and hide your feelings. >> reporter: but this chorus knows it is a voice for those who cannot be heard. last year it went to cuba, a country that has oppressed its gay population for decades and they were heard. now it's time to sing to ukraine. ♪ ♪ >> we told the audience it was the gay men's chorus of washington and you could hear a pin drop and the audience went nuts in a good way. >> they were connecting with us, and i think that's what we were brought there to do. >> reporter: durin

and the return of ukraine sovereign border. even as we defend nato territory, we are are also working to reduce the vulnerabilities and with increase resilience of those countries across europe that face pressure from moscow. to help ukraine, united states is committed over $600 million in hundred million dollars in security assistance. we have trained 1700 ukrainian horses in regard personnel and a number of other pieces of equipment to help ukrainian troops against further advances and to save lives. : >> >> to contain the nuclear threat and to negotiate the new s.t.a.r.t. treaty and as you although over the past eight months secretary kerry has leveled the efforts to resolve the crisis in syria to establish the international syria's support group banded agreement on hostilities that has reduced violence even if that is tested every single day they have all required hard-headed diplomacy with russia we continue to call on the kremlin to burying on the regime of casualties to end the humanitarian aid delivery obstruction to th

the suspect, a frenchman, was arrested on the border between ukraine and poland.fficials aren't identifying the man. but they say he wanted to protest against his government's immigration policies and the spread of islam. >>> they're on the verge of entering fallujah. they're encount everything fierce resistance to isis militants. it'll get a lot harder for those punishing airstrikes to continue. tens of thound remain trapped in the city. and isis fighters are opening fire on them. >>> a hero is getting the memorial he deserves. they're building a new home in chevy chase. alibah served five tours in afghanistan and iraq. he was injured when he was struck. this will allow him to perform the routine tasks a lot of us take for granted. >>> to florida now where tropical storm colin is just bearing down on the sunshine state. governor rick scott has declared a state of emergency in 34 counties as the storm approaches the gulf of mexico. the tampa bay region, panhandle, and counties along the atlantic beaches are included in the declaration. so everywhere except miami.

the head of ukraine state security service has been following the man since december, allowing him to purchase five machine guns, two rocket propelled grenades, and other weapons before he was finally arrested. a train crash in belgium has left three dead and several hurt . the accident happened in these late sunday evening. a passenger train traveling at 90 kilometers per hour ran into the back of a stalled freight train on the same stretch of track. the railing two of the passenger train' six carriages. the car was a badly damaged, it was curled back onto itself. in france, several regions are still at risk of flooding, but here in paris things are slowly getting back to normal. the exhibition hall has reopened after being shut temporarily due to the floods. the worst flooding in three decades caused it to burst its banks three days ago. several roads are still closed. we take a look at what went wrong in paris and how a few more days could have made the situation much worse. >> the seine river water level is receding, leaving destruction in its wake. paris proved more vulnerable to

thursday's second game, northern ireland back their first ever win at a major tournament against ukrainend again it was actually suspended for a time. both teams were called as torrential rains and health stones better the stadium. a header northern ireland had very late. seal the deal. 2-0, biggest dork final score. you're watching "dw news." still to come -- >> let me take you on a tour, 40 years after the shootings. it has turned into a vibrant neighborhood with shopping malls and trendy restaurants. it is the mirror of the problem south africa is facing today. poverty, the huge divide between the rich and the poor, and massive unemployment. brent: we'll have more that -- stick around. ♪ ♪ >> welcome back, everyone. a british member of parliament has been shot and killed. jo cox was attacked in her office in northern england. a man has been arrested campaigning in the european union referendum in the u.k. has been suspended. in south africa, 40 years ago today, black students in the township of soweto rose up against white minority rule. many city crackdown and the budget that followe

military experts say people can easily buy weapons in eastern ukraine as fighting between government and pro-russian forces continues. >>> it's time now for a check of the weather. people in the u.s. state of florida are dealing with the start of hurricane season. a tropical storm is delivering severe weather. our meteorologist robert speta has details. >> yes, actually the start of the hurricane season coming rather aggressively this year. this is the third named storm system of 2016. it's tropical storm colin and you can see on theimagery beings the northeast believe it or not. this is the infrared image. low clouds and the center of circulation is towards the west of this bulk of that convection. that precipitation out here and that's where all the problems are right now. you have all this myseoisture a on shore winds combined with our high tide, our spring tide taking place at this time causing all sorts of coastal problems. i'll show you video actually first coming out of gulf port, florida. look at this. this is what we're talking about here, the coastal flooding. the tide gett

now, western sanctions over russia's activities in ukraine. markus: this as russia and its president vladimir putin are trying to perhaps change russia's international image. they are hosting a business for them in st. petersburg -- busine ss forum in st. petersburg. the president of the european commission says that the eu won't drop its sanctions until russia implements the minsk agreement. that agreement, as you may remember, is meant to cease hostilities in eastern ukraine. let's take a listen to jean-claude dunker -- jean-claud juncker. >> this is the only way to lift the economic sanctions that have been imposed. markus: that was john kline juncker. jean-claude he was defending his decision to show up in st. petersburg. he said it was in the european union's interest to keep talking to russia. he was speaking to business leaders. some say it is time to phase out the sanctions. the russian economy saw a sharp contraction last year, contributed -- attributed to lower oil prices and the western sanctions. will hilderbrandt has more. will: r

ukraine sanctions is a good example. it was a heated debate.intaining them to keep pressure on russia, to improve the situation in ukraine, and once britain formally leaves the european union, their voice will be absent in that debate. so, you know, a lot of this is amorphous, general, vague, about partnerships, but that is a specific example where once britain leaves, it will be a setback to u.s. interests. >> and do you think the united states would then be dealing with a german dominated europe? >> well, you know, you put it in terms of german dominated europe, that evokes all sorts of fears and apprehensions, which indeed exist. and that's one of the reasons why germans, and i'm sitting here in berlin and have heard their reactions to this, are uncomfortable. they deeply wanted britain to stay in because they are not entirely comfortable with the responsibility that goes with that leadership and the reactions to it that are very real in other european countries. all of that said, yes, inevitably, this means that the united states, which has

not georgia or ukraine.ry european nation should have the right to choose its future. and nato enlargement was demand have not expanded nato into the balkans he's to separate estonia and russia those states would be threatened if it is very important historically by three american presidents democratic and republican to do this. this is another putin line i don't believe that for a minute so we should be proud of what we have created. >> thank you that is very eloquent. >> i completely agree with the last statement and to reform our president that there was an agreement for it to be taken into its membership and that we violated an agreement we're still looking for that agreement. [laughter] but it is interesting the president of russia. sunni delicate history the same way. but what they might want to consider is to look at the enlargement and the partnership programs because they are lumped together right now. and their two vastly different things. and as they're eligible meeting the requirements for member

they will take on ukraine on sunday.t will be the first major tournament game posted here for almost 80 years. they cannot wait to be part of the action. football fan or not, everyone is talking about it. the atmosphere will be friendlier than ever. together we will have a huge party with the whole world and everyone will be taking part. concerns about safety remain, but residents are refusing to let that stop them from enjoying the championship. there are currently many problems because of the paris attacks, but it's all right. we are all happy to turn is coming here. -- tournament is coming here. and why would they not be, after such a long wait? they will host six matches, including one of the quarterfinals. sarah: perhaps the only upside to the destructive weather conditions lashing the east coast of australia is for the surfing community, which has crowned the new champion. the weight known as cape fear forms just south of sydney and is considered one of the most dangerous in the world. while some veterans were chew

ukraine's economy sank 10% last year.ic state is launching a counteroffensive in the northern province in syria, retaking wide areas they recently lost a government troops. the syrian observatory for human rights says government forces have lost all territories they aa since launching their offensive in early june. david: coming up in the next 20 minutes, brexit is on the mind of investors, but what would actually happen should the united kingdom vote to leave the eu? vonnie: is instagram feeling the heat? the company marks 500 million users. the ceo joins us to talk about increasing competition from snapchat, twitter, and other plant warms. ♪ david: you are watching bloomberg. vonnie: this is your global business report. david: iran has struck a deal for bony aircrafts, the first since sanctions were lifted in january. world's biggest retailer is taking on one of the world's biggest markets. details on walmart's china operations revamp. david: major global investors sound the alarm over a brexit, but what is truly at sta

ukraine is restricted for fear of aggravating him? laterow, i think that is frustration.for my part, the key with dealing with putin and russia is we have to do so from military strength. this is just a baseline. you can negotiate here or there, can have sanctions, do this or that, but he is also watching and listening to the status of our military. lots of things are in trouble in russia, but their military modernization, including their nuclear modernization, is advancing at a pace far beyond ours. so military strength is the key baseline from which we can deal with. rep. royce: and more backbone, rather than backing down. i took a delegation of eight members to eastern, russian-speaking, ukraine and there,o communities different minority groups, and the message from everyone is that, look, we can catch the russian agents they come in here here at the russians are little different than ours. we cannot stop the russian armory. point, theynberry's say, why would you sell as the antitank weapons so at least we can stop the armor? you see citizens throwing sand, taking up p

the backup generators around western ukraine also went down.malware was installed on the operating computers and a system called kill disk was installed which wiped the disks and rendered the computers useless. as a final insult, the power in the power control system itself went off and the operators were literally left in the dark. this was the first major cyber attack of a public utility anywhere in the world. it was sophisticated. it was well-planned. and it was devastating. within a few minutes, 230,000 people in the country of ukraine were without power. that attack could have occurred in kansas city, in san jose, in new york, or here in washington. ever since i have served in this body as a member of the armed services and intelligence committee, i have heard repeated warnings from every public official involved with intelligence and national security that an attack on our critical infrastructure is not possible. it is likely. how many shots across our bow, how many warning shots do we have to endure? sony, the o.p.m., insurance companies

it is true in crimea and ukraine and in some ways in syria.ich we decide to escalate the military operations on the ground, and particularly against the assad regime. >> so you were talking there about when the russian planes seemed to bomb the u.s.-backed rebels there on the ground, and how about the comment that the u.s. is the only super power, and why all of the sudden, pause we know that he is a leader who is always talking up the russian strength, and the position in the world, and trying to restore it to some degree, and why would he say that? >> well, if we are the only s p super power, andb vladimir putin succeeds in projecting a russian power and frustrating the american ambitions, well sh, he obviously in the face of the only super power has a lot of street cred and he is protecting the russian interests, aed it is a paradoxical way it seems to me of demonstrating how effective putin has been in challenging both politically and militarily american influence in some very key hot spots. >> hmm. and let me ask you on the issue of ukrai

and nato troops participating in a massive military exercise in the ukraine. officials are saying that these war games simulate counterattacks against russian aggression. general keene jones me right now. good to see you. >> good to see you, trish. >> a lot of concerns about the whole brexit issue voiced by some in the national security space. the threat is essentially that vladimir putin is out there, continuing his ways, and he wants nothing more than to see a weakened europe. is europe more under threat today because of this than it was a month ago? >> well, this is the beginning chapter of the european union actually coming apart. that's certainly a victory for putin. he would absolutely want that. he and all the other leaders in the kremlin certainly were in leadership positions, not the one they're in now but back in '91 when the soviet union fell apart and putin thought that was the most catastrophic event of the 20th century. so, yes, they would absolutely applaud this kind of disunity. >> but, general, is europe actually weaker because of this? we hea

we were talking about ukraine, the topic that keeps returning.lk about the brexit because increasingly, the polls show this is something that might happen. you have a business that is global and you have what, 300 people in the united kingdom. should we wake up on june 24 and find out that the u.k. has decided to leave the european union, how will that change business for you? >> surely, it is the sovereign right to decide. the i could note that in u.k. consistent energy equality will travel through a stage. europe should follow the example of u.k., how to manage the u.k.'s energy policy. ryan: if you enjoy the energy policy than presumably, you don't see any problem with the u.k. leaving the european union? you have a big interest in the u.k., right? you try to get into the retail business, but got a lot of pushback from the government because you are company with large involvement from the russian state. do you see this changing the u.k. energy market at all? >> the global transaction is going down in an accelerated way. several u.k. companies

i think we should provide legal assistance to ukraine. i think the ukrainians deserve that, and they have a right to defend their country, but that's a policy question. you know, president obama has answered in the negative on that and so we'll have to continue to debate that in our country. on ukraine and nato we have been partners for a long time. we've had a formal relationship going all the way back to when jim and i -- to before when jim and i arrived at nato, and in the last decade. you 'crane has a long way to go obviously to be considered for membership in nato because of the territorial divisions, because of the corruption, because of some of the lapses in democracy so we don't call in this report for ukraine to be admitted next month to nato, but i certainly believe what all of our presidents have believed, and that is ukraine has a right to think about a future with nato, to work towards that future. a time line, of course, who knows. it depends on events in ukraine itself but let me just finish by going back to a point that i

he has the great problem in ukraine and europe now his economy is in almost free fall.his is a guy who is not winning anything. charlie rose: but he is a player in the world. joe biden: he is a player in the sense that he is engaged practically as a practical a dictatororting who's killing tens of thousands of his people. if you call that a player. rose: with respect to russia, you don't want your european allies to think that you are abandoning them in any kind of relationship with russia. but you also have to conversation because of the change in technology and the nature of warfare. joe biden: exactly. for us tolot of sense be resisting russia in its the stans and ukraine and at the same time signing arms-control agreement with them. it made sense to do that. can we cooperate where there is a mutual interest and we are in no way undercutting any one of our allies or our own interests? there will be cases where we are able to do that. for a while it looked like at it is still possible but i'm not very optimistic that the cessation of hostilities in in syria. at the be

crimea is and will always remain a part of ukraine. we cannot allow the borders of europe to be redrawn at the barrel of a gun. immediate end to the russian occupation of crimea. >> the second question, about secretary kerry's plans to visit ukraine. the office of ukrainian president said today that there is a probability that u.s. secretary of state will visit ukraine in the near future. at the nuclear summit. can you confirm these plans? >> no. i have nothing on the secretary's schedule to announce today. if and when we do, we'll certainly let you know. >> are you working on this? >> i have nothing -- i have nothing on the secretary's travel schedule to speak to today. >> okay. >> all right, guys. have a great weekend! >>> and following up on some of the questions you may have heard about that internal document signed by some state department officials protesting u.s. policy in syria, the hill reports that russia is warning the united states against targeting syrian president bashar al assad after a report that u.s. diplomats are urg