hang on, vladimir.ery difficult circumstances when it comes to polling, but when it finds repeatedly that a very clear majority of russians support putin's ukraine policy, you're telling me that's nonsensical and meaningless, are you? stephen, i understand that it's yourjob to ask questions like this, but i'm sorry — this is an absolutely senseless question. how can we talk about opinion polls in a repressive dictatorship, when people go to prison for expressing views that differ from the views of the government? i'll give you just one example. a few months ago, a man in moscow named yuri kokhovets received a five—year prison sentence for responding to an opinion poll question saying that he's against the war in ukraine. they've tracked him down, they've arrested him, they've put him on trial and they sent him to prison for five years, for responding to an opinion poll... now, i know those stories as well as you, vladimir, but is the only conclusion we can draw, then, that all dissent, all attempts to o

but while vladimir kara-murza expected to die in vladimir putin's gulag, just as his friend and fellowst year, last august, kara-murza found himself suddenly released as part of the largest prisoner swap since the cold war. after two years in prison, vladimir and evgenia kara-murza and their family were welcomed to the white house by president biden, and vladimir kara-murza has been working steadily since his release, lobbying the west to take stronger action against putin and vladimir and evgeniya kara-murza. join me now. and i just said this to you privately in the green room. i will say it to you again. it is such a relief to see you, because the last time i saw you actually sitting exactly in the position we are now, i asked you why you would even think to go back to russia. number one, why on earth did you go? and how surprised were you when you were released? >> well, look, i'm a russian politician. a politician has to be in his or her own country. cannot be any other way. i mean, we did found out during covid that a lot of professions can be done remotely or by zoom, but politic

same thing with vladimir putin and it was even worse when he met with vladimir putin. he said well, russia has told me they haven't interfered in our elections when our intelligence committee had told them that russia had. so he was deciding very publicly with our adversary on the international stage. that is dangerous. speaking with leaders is important, but you have to do a lot of diplomatic round work to get it where you are actually having a fruitful conversation. guest: on the north korea front, i agree that talking without gaining is for the birds, so to speak. but actually achieving a cessation in nuclear and long-range missile test was more than we had gotten. so yes, perhaps scraps, but not nothing. i do think the instinct to actually engage with these adversaries is of critical import. i do hope that trump with at least test their mettle. guest: can i say something about venezuela? post: rich in sout korea to massachusetts said our national security depends in pa sharing information with our allies. given trims famously careless approach to protecting classif

we all remember that. about vladimir putin. we all rememberthat. but about vladimir putin.er that. but when you go back and look at his record in the first term when he was president, not that long ago, he was actually pretty tough on putin. he authorised javelins when obama wouldn't. he kept the sanctions in place over crimea. he also was the one who shot down the pipeline. let's fast—forwa rd to shot down the pipeline. let's fast—forward to where we are now. he is saying i'm not going to be pushed around. he is sending vladimir putin into the war, we are going to face severe consequences. it's really game on is what trump is saying today. really game on is what trump is saying today-— saying today. he's been very clear. saying today. he's been very clear- he _ saying today. he's been very clear. he wants _ saying today. he's been very clear. he wants to _ saying today. he's been very clear. he wants to see - saying today. he's been very clear. he wants to see a - saying today. he's been very| clear. he wants to see a deal made. what could that look like from the perspecti

i too kind towards vladimir putin, for example.- too kind towards vladimir putin, for example.amused when people say - putin, for example. i am always amused when people say that, l amused when people say that, because let's not forget that donald trump is the only president of our last for that vladimir putin did not invade another country. he invaded georgia under bush, ukraine under obama, and then again it ukraine underjoe biden. i think that peace through strength will come through, this war has gone on for way too long. hundreds of thousands of ukrainians have died and it russians have died, and nobody can say what the end goal is here. so the winners will most likely be the soldiers and civilians who are not going to continue to be killed. i think peace negotiations do need to happen, and i think he is going, he is already working on that. whether he says i will solve it in 24 hours, i don't know. but what we do know for sure is that there is a lot more diplomacy that is going on then went on with the biden harris administration, who, from my understanding, had very litt

pollution, a bit of an odd one, given his affection for vladimir putin that he's expressed in the past, in his reluctance to push back against some of the driver put ins um claims and etc. they, they seem to have a strong friendship. and so it seems a bit unusual, but what we know is that he does want to end 4 and conflicts. and so it appears that he seems in a hurry to do so. now we do know that prior to the novel ration, they have a phone call where they said that they would have a relationship. it was, it wasn't their mutual interest. we also know. but at the same time, vladimir putin has also been making phone calls and, and having conversations with china and iran, which of course, are us adversaries. so perhaps to hedge his bets, donald trump is pushing vladimir, putting a bit to kind of show whose side is really on. and that's why he's saying it might be time to make a deal kind of to show where his alliance is really are. and so that is why we're seeing this on the keels of the fact that we also know. but on monday that just shortly after is an operation b. u. s. president also

that is why we will engage with china, we have to challenge them, not to throw their lot in with vladimirutin and second to be taken seriously by our opponents and allies and we must put our money where our mouth is. that starts by facing the facts. donald trump and jd vance are simply right when they say that europe needs to do more to defend its own continent. it is myopia to pretend otherwise with russia and the march and so this government will lay out a clear pathway to reaching 2.5% of gdp on defence. this is a figure unless we forget that the last labour government met and has never been met by the tories since david cameron's cuts and withjohn healy, we will lead and we will challenge to convince all of our nato allies that rising defence spending is a strategic necessity. and third, we must forge closer partnerships with the global south because the world is larger than the north atlantic and mediterranean, we cannot divorce the euro atlantic from the indo—pacific and the kremlin has spread its tentacles across the world spewing out misinformation on every continent. dispatching

that vladimir putin source, there's no such countries rushed here to the neo cons. they only say vladimir putin, but that president put and didn't have achieved his objectives. but what they do is they personally assigned the objectives that vladimir proven wanted. and then they say they say by and they put, wanted to take the the 1st day and he didn't do it therefore, and they go forth with them for with some absurd premise. and i would argue that the countries in asia and around the world have learned from ukraine, they've, they've learned that the united states, we have the neo cons, the fascist, as i call them, that are in a significant position of power in the leadership of this country. have been for some years that they will utilize your country for cannon fodder, and they will walk away and leave you dead, impoverished and, and destroyed. and i think the world and other countries are learning exactly what happens by looking at ukraine when you go along with these lunatics offload details on any of us stories to check out websites onto dot com is always good

donald trump threatens russia with high tariffs and sanctions if president vladimir putin does not end the war in ukraine soon. and an amber alert, as the met office warns of winds of up to 90 miles an hour and a risk to life when storm eowyn hits the uk this friday. and coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, can manchester city get back on track in the champions league? we're going to get the latest ahead of their match against paris saint—germain. hello and welcome to the bbc news at six. the duke of sussex has claimed a monumental victory, after being given an unequivocal apology and substantial damages from news group newspapers for "serious intrusion" into his private life by the sun. it comes at the end of his five—year legal battle with the owner of the sun newspaper and the now—defunct news of the world. prince harry and the former labour deputy leader lord watson alleged thatjournalists from news group newspapers used illegal means to intrude into their private lives. lord watson has said they're preparing a dossier for the metropolitan police. our home and lega

interest in defending europe and american interests from russia and vladimir putin. now, the sudden reversal is welcome, because i think it's very important that our secretary of defense understand how critical nato is and that it's stronger now than it was in the last -- anytime in the last since it was formed probably. we now have 32 members of nato. but mr. hegseth's 11th hour conversion to understanding the importance of our allies and partners raises questions about what he really believes. we asked in our questions for the record about nato, and we didn't get much of a response. now, if i had had the opportunity, i would have also brought up ukraine and mr. hegseth's head-spinning contradiction on this matter. just as america's national security interests are not to be trifled with, neither should be our commitment to defending democracy and the international world order, and any inconsistency in that committee -- let me start that again because this is really important. any inconsistency in our commitment to support our allies and partners, to support democrac

assad is a liability for vladimir putin.m his warm water port in syria, he no longer buys his weapons or backs his worldview, you know, that it'sjust the imperialist west and somehow russia is not imperialist and it is just trying to protect itself. and assad has lost all the value that putin even saw in him, so pressuring russia and pressuring putin to give assad up is something that is very realistic and can be done. i don't want to see assad poisoned off in some apartment in moscow. i want to see him come back to damascus, where, in damascus, a syrian court can try this dictator for the horrific genocidal massacres that he's perpetrated. ahmed al—sharaa, the leader of hay�*at tahrir al—sham, was, until very recently, seen by much of the western world as a jihadist terrorist, a man associated with islamic state—style militancy. why do you now place so much faith in his ability and willingness to move forward with a free syria, committed to equal rights for all? well, first of all, it's not just now, all of a sudden, you kn

putin in russia.— and he's very close vladimir putin in russia.is also touching - putin in russia. indeed, and as steve is also touching on, - putin in russia. indeed, and as steve is also touching on, any| steve is also touching on, any credible opponents are annex i or in prison, we werejust hearing from our correspondent in warsaw which says that when he said that the opposition leader has been at a protest march: fellow belarusians not to give up hope of change. is there any hope for critics of president lukashenko that they could be —— there could be a democratic process in the country one day?- democratic process in the country one day? there is alwa s country one day? there is always hope. _ country one day? there is always hope. never - country one day? there is always hope. never say . country one day? there is - always hope. never say never. it is possible. lukashenko is mortal, he may think otherwise but he is and it depends what happens with regards to the russian war in ukraine, and whether there is a possibility that ukraine is able

as we are moving forward and trying to figure out how we continue to help ukraine fight off vladimirmple answer is that we should not be digging into our own pockets, we should be taking vladimir putin's money and let him pay for it. as you mentioned, we came up with what i would call a halfway measure, we said, ok, we have frozen this money, we are going to give ukraine in the interest on this money. but the interest on this money. but the interest on this money is simply not enough. we are in a situation where either the taxpayers are going to have to pay, or putin is going to have to pay so it seems like a pretty obvious thing to me and the mps that are holding this debate that blood me putin should pay. that is what this is all about. it's notjust take an interest but taking the full amount of the money. the uk government _ full amount of the money. the uk government says _ full amount of the money. the uk government says that it is acting already in at the correct legal framework. so, acting already in at the correct legalframework. so, do correct legal framework. so, do you cor

vladimir putin seems to be ready to talk.nch coming after trump threatened actions and tariffs and vladimir doesn't end the war. trump saying this on social media. this would never have started if our president. easy or hard way and the easy way is always better. it's time to make a deal, number lives should be lost and putin apparently couldn't agree more. >> i couldn't disagree with him if he had been president in 20 2020, the crisis that emerged in ukraine in 2022 could of been. >> a little manipulation. joining me now, ceo head of the president's intelligence advisory orders in job. your thoughts about where we are at. the president will biden to the russia ukraine war and these are the toughest he's had on vladimir putin. >> you couldn't have said it better that was playing. the president knows what he's dealing with, he's always been sensible and said from the very beginning before they made up the whole russia collusion hopes the president said you got to get them to the table and talk and that's where democrats for ye

donald trump has said he will be talking to vladimir putin.ll donald trump perhaps come to ukraine to meet president zelensky. will he make big gestures? one of their hopes in ukraine is that as president trump is now styling himself as a strong leader, the hope here is that means he will not want vladimir putin to be able to claim a win in war. thank you. something donald trump was extremely vocal about during the campaign was the threat china poses to the us economy. talking a lot about tariffs. so what has been the reaction so far from china? let's go live to beijing where i'm joined by stephen mcdonell, our china correspondent. let's start with that. was much attention given to the inauguration where you are? there has been a mixture of chinese people tuning in and others not paying any attention. the fact of the inauguration happening has been reported in the press here. as you would expect, some engaging in it and others not really. it is interesting that when it comes to china and tariffs, he did say i will impose swingeing tariffs on c

the president said he is keen to meet vladimir putin.ut he has been taking a more confrontational tone. he has warned on social media that he will be forced to impose more tariffs if the kremlin won't deal. and he told leaders at the world economic forum today that they need to cut the price of oil to force the russians to the table. if the price came down, the russia ukraine wari would end immediately. right now, the price is high enough thatl the war will continue. you got to bring down the oil price, you're . going to end that war. putin's spokesman, dmitry peskov said they are "waiting for signals that are yet to arrive". their team at the un say they want to see what president trump wants in the deal before taking any further steps. the ukrainians are warming to the idea. starved of resources, by europe's flagging supply lines, a ceasefire, pending negotiation could offer welcome relief. asked for his reaction to donald trump's warning to russia, the ukrainian foreign minister had this to say. it was a really strong message, and str

know, first initiatives is going to be having this call or maybe a meeting with russian president vladimir putin. what would you encourage him to say on that call? >> handle handle off georgia, hands off the caucus that is an interest of the western countries it cannot become again a dominated region dominated by russia. it has to be a region that exist on its own. and that has been for history, for centuries has been a place for different civilizations meetings, and it has been a place where european values are always been at the center stage and country that society is a vibrant civil society that wants to be part of the community of

all right, the rest of the president vladimir putin is answering questions from a russian journalist in the criminal. and we're going to take you to that now and have a listen that excites president's. so you didn't have any statements caught you at a hutch, just because it's on this subject sized something else. carlos have come to, i'd like to say that russia another refused to 3. and you're not sure of enough dumpster somebody to contact the united states ministration, to, to contact the end of the house for no fault of us that. so the previous administration may choose to jump them for sure to communicate. i've always had to deliver a business like relations with a previous us presidents. that's where very business law comes pragmatic and most currently a model. you said, well it's just a slap. so there was a, just the trust and well when your dishes and the good when you, if we had been the president of virginia, what could you just know the victory wasn't stolen from him in 2020, maybe the training crisis that arose in 2022 is going to be something that is better than that. you

same thing with vladimir putin and it was even worse when he met with vladimir putin.said well, russia has told me they haven't interfered in our elections when our intelligence committee had told them that russia had. so he was deciding very publicly with our adversary on the international stage. that is dangerous. speaking with leaders is important, but you have to do a lot of diplomatic round work to get it where you are actually having a fruitful conversation. guest: on the north korea front, i agree that talking without gaining is for the birds, so to speak. but actually achieving a cessation in nuclear and long-range missile test was more than we had gotten. so yes, perhaps scraps, but not nothing. i do think the instinct to actually engage with these adversaries is of critical import. i do hope that trump with at least test their mettle. guest: can i say something about venezuela? st: rich in south korea to ssachusetts said our national security depends in part on sharing information with our li. given trims famously careless approach to protecting classified in

same thing with vladimir putin and it was even worse when he met with vladimir putin.id well, russia has told me they haven't interfered in our elections when our intelligence committee had told them that russia had. so he was deciding very publicly with our adversary on the international stage. that is dangerous. speaking with leaders is important, but you have to do a lot of diplomatic round work to get it where you are actually having a fruitful conversation. guest: on the north korea front, i agree that talking without gaining is for the birds, so to speak. but actually achieving a cessation in nuclear and long-range missile test was more than we had gotten. so yes, perhaps scraps, but not nothing. i do think the instinct to actually engage with these adversaries is of critical import. i do hope that trump with at least test their mettle. guest: can i say something about venezuela? post: rich in sout korea to massachusetts said our national security depends in pa sharing information with our allies. given trims famously careless approach to protecting classified in

the us president elect says that he's arranging a meeting with the russians vladimir putin to discuss the war, new crane. and donald trump, the threats of a trade war, ways on the consumer and business sentiment. in china, the in depth analysis of the days headlines. what are we supposed to read painting through the use of basically you miss all by russian informed opinions. finally, after over a year of genocide, the i c. c has come to this decision is critical debate to the difference between china and most of the rest of the world is a china plans long term inside story do conferences and meetings like cop $29.00 and others make a difference on out as the era of the racing, the damage close to the precious gross lots of chillies is being reversed with one of the world's biggest conservation projects. they're pretty emblematic of the pedagogy and snap, if they're plentiful and they're calm like this one is. then you know that the system is coming back and that they feel no surrender. and that's why you know i, for 3 wilding patagonia on, i'll just say era. the challenge is here with

vladimir kara—murza, in washington dc, welcome to hardtalk.

this is a man who has publicly praised vladimir putin, who is sceptical about continuing support for of donald trump as someone who likes to do a deal, likes to get things done, someone who has pledged to end this war quickly. and the hope here in kyiv is that as soon as donald trump realises that vladimir putin is in no mood whatsoever to negotiate in any meaningful way, vladimir putin thinks that he's winning this war, then perhaps donald trump will swing his support behind kyiv and flood ukraine with weapons, allowing it to bring the war to an end quickly. canadian media are reporting that prime ministerjustin trudeau could step down in the coming days. the globe and mail — quoting sources close to the matter — said mr trudeau may resign as leader of the liberals ahead of a party meeting on wednesday. it follows months of pressure to resign, including from more than 20 members of his own party. awards season is getting under way in hollywood, with the 82nd golden globes ceremony kicking things off in beverly hills. the brutalist took a slew of awards, including best drama, best di

yes. present elect. donald trump says he's arranging a meeting with ross as vladimir putin to discuss the war and ukraine. he made the statement a week and a half before his integration. one of the trump campaign from us is, was the end of the conflict within 24 hours of taking office. the present leg says, present wants to meet the russian state media quits the kremlin, saying no former meeting has been requested. those of jabari has moved from mosca, according to the kremlin spokesperson dmitri pest golf, the russian president vladimir putin, is ready, willing and able to meet with us president elect donald trump once he takes office after january 20th. the dimitry pest golf comments also went on to say that these are positive a indicators coming from the upcoming uh, administration, taking over the white house. and they, russian position regarding its uh, uh, stands in the war. and ukraine has not changed, but the russian president vladimir putting does not have any preconditions for 80 meeting that would come in the future with us president elect donald trump. now if such a meetin

they only say vladimir putin, but that president put and didn't achieve his objectives. but what they do is they personally assigned the objectives that vladimir proven wanted, and then they say they say, go ahead and they put, wanted to take care of the 1st date and he didn't do it therefore, and they go forth with someone forward with some 3rd premise and i would argue that the countries in asia and around the world have learned from ukraine, they, they've learned that the united states, the neo cons, the fascist, as i call that are in a significant position of power. and the leadership of this country had been for some years that they will utilize your country for cannon fodder, and they will walk away and leave you dead, impoverished and, and destroyed. and i think the world and other countries are learning exactly what happens by looking at ukraine. when you go along with these lunatics. the most go has a full set of nice homes by key up to points. and the russian defense industry work is in the you are in a sample region that's according to the s s b, which is quot

so that's the last that the mon, you started corresponding with president vladimir putin 3 years ago, as well as what the children have done bass and began collecting humanitarian a for syrian refugees. and residents of don bescedy. how did you come up with the idea to help those in need of why i did change the feelings? hey, any child, especially considering that terrorism is now present on by the way it has, it is the same terrorism that was in syria and killed syrian children. now this terrorism is killing the children of dumbasses and that i collected my clothes, personal savings and toys and sent them to the tools moved on boston, drew pictures for them. i wrote matches to the soldiers in don't bass, who are fighting terrorism. so what do the children have dumbass swamped? they just want to return to the homeland and feel the stomach piece. so showing the neighbor that had it so that was it, your idea that your parents supported you in or did the initiative come from that? this was my idea together with my friends parents involved in the head. we decided to help syrian refugees a

are us present elect donald trump says he's arranging a meeting with brushes, president vladimir putin to discuss the war in ukraine. he made the statement a week and a half before his in occupation. one of tom's campaign promises west end of the conflicts within 24 hours of taking office. of president elect says pretend wants to meet, but fresh and state media quotes the crm and saying no formal meeting has been requested yet. dosage a battery has more from moscow. according to the kremlin spokesperson dimitry pest golf, the russian president vladimir putin is ready, willing and able to meet with us president elect donald trump once he takes office after january 20th. the dimitry pest golf comments also went on to say that these are positive a indicators coming from the upcoming uh, administration, taking over the white house. and they, russian position regarding the, it's uh, a stands in the war, and ukraine has not changed, but the russian president vladimir putting does not have any preconditions for 80 meeting that would come in the future with us president elect donald trump. now

while announcing plans between the incoming us, the president and vladimir, put plus a slip out, parliamentary delegation comes to moscow for talks to get russian gas flowing to the you again after you brain and shut down friends that well, that's the some european politicians cried foul over the continent smiling energy crisis. i then started to put it very clearly once again, the sanctions have nothing to do with morality. they have nothing to do with human rights. they have nothing to do with miles. they are simply an economic stimulus program for the us economy the lives in moscow. you're watching archie international. i'm rachel ruble. with a look at the top news stories from around the world. the civilians are being safely evacuated, a deeper into russia from a key front line done bescedy taken by moscow's troops. some citizens of 2 or i'll have a describe the now former ukrainian occupation as lawlessness. that's top many atrocities ortiz more. i guess the of imbedded with russian ships to free the city is the 1st international correspondent reporting from the ground. there it is. early

um and in everything we see it is quite clear that vladimir put in with that the impression to regroup and then have another go, maybe know that ukraine but of another country. so we have to sustain those sanctions. are you sure about that? how these guys really don't seem to know much about what's going on in either the, you or russia. they're trying to micro manage both when they really can't even macro manage anything property without a blowing up in their faces. block professionals have been squabbling over whether to extend russian gas sanctions, for example, all while importing record amounts of russian to outline g. in the 1st 50 days of this year. the european union's economy minister also just said recently at the devil's world economic forum in switzerland, the use sanctions on russia are working. and how does he know that? well, because there is an industrial decline and a 21 percent interest rate, he figures, but hey, who knows? he says, because, well, russia stop publishing statistics, but only because they're trying to hide how bad it all is. he says, yeah, because you re

today marks exactly two years and 11 months since vladimir putin invaded a sovereign country. and donald trump still doesn't know who is responsible for this war. >> he shouldn't have allowed this to happen, either. you know, if he's no angel, he shouldn't have allowed this war to happen. >> he shouldn't have allowed the war to happen. he's no angel. he's talking about volodymyr zelensky. trump thinks zelensky is to blame for putin's imperialism, for putin, moving troops into ukraine despite thinking ukraine is to blame for its own invasion. trump now claims that he will tariff russia into a peace deal. here's what he just said in an interview with fox. >> i put out a truth today that's really strong and i mean it. and if they don't do that, i'm going to put massive tariffs. do what if they don't settle this war soon. like almost immediately i'm going to put massive tariffs on russia and massive taxes and also big sanctions. and i don't want to do that. you know i love the russian people. they're great people i don't want to do that. but we've got to get this war ended. and if

today marks exactly two years and 11 months since vladimir putin invaded a sovereign country. have allowed this to happen either. you know, if he's no angel, he shouldn't have allowed this war to happen. >> he shouldn't have allowed the war that happened to happen. he's no angel. he's talking about volodymyr zelensky. trump thinks zelensky is to blame for putin's imperialism, for putin, moving troops into ukraine despite thinking ukraine is to blame for its own invasion, trump now claims that he will tariff russia into a peace deal. here's what he just said in an interview with fox. >> i put out a truth today that's really strong and i mean it. and if they don't do that, i'm going to put massive tariffs. what if they don't settle this war soon? like almost immediately i'm going to put massive tariffs on russia and massive taxes and also big sanctions. and i don't want to do that. you know i love the russian people. they're great people i don't want to do that. but we've got to get this war ended. and if they don't make a settlement like fast. >> what a great idea. big sanction

about coercive steps towards vladimir putin.said more negative. >> things about. >> putin in the last. >> couple of days than he said in ten years. >> that's new. that's different, right? >> he's destroying his country. >> but then. >> we have. >> to address. >> the facts. >> as you hinted at. >> when's the last time you bought. >> something from russia? >> what tariffs. what tariffs are we going to put on? we don't. >> buy goods from russia so we have nothing. >> to tariff. second, on sanctions i applaud that he wants to do more sanctions. but as you. >> said. >> we've put. >> other sanctions in place already. and the revenues that are most central. and the technology that is most central for supporting putin come from china. so that means we have to put secondary sanctions on china. >> to stop. >> them from buying russian oil and gas and to stop. them from. providing the russian. military complex with technology. i hope he can do that. i fear he cannot. i have to ask you this because you were in the diplomatic side of the worl

plus, the president is pushing for an immediate meeting with vladimir. >> putin as. >> he tries to pressure russia to make peace with ukraine. cnn is live in moscow. with reaction from the. >> kremlin. >> welcome to our. >> viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the situation room. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> and we begin with breaking news up on capitol hill. the u.s. senate clearing the way for a confirmation vote on defense secretary nominee pete hegseth, despite new cracks in republican support for one of president trump's most controversial cabinet picks. cnn anchor and chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins is standing by over at the white house. but first, let's go to cnn's chief congressional correspondent, manu raju, up on capitol hill. manu, you have new reporting about hegseth and a payment he made to a woman. >> that's right. wolf. a 2017 incident where he was accused of sexual assault. hegseth was not ever charged in an incident. he has long denied that episode, but we have known that he had reached a nondisclosure agre

i think the conversation between president trump and vladimir putin, which people are now talking about be absolutely critical, which is the trump administration prepared to put pressure on vladimir putin to persuade him to bag his gains and bring this war to an end. —— bank his gains. i think it will only happen if the us shows russia that if it does not stop the war, american aid to ukraine will increase substantially and that is a promise not yet made. there is a potential there. one thing thatis a potential there. one thing that is motivating trump is he wants to be seen as a peacemaker, a president that can force others to do deals. he knows that the people he is trying to persuade our hard men who only respond to very credible pressure. so that is a test. if the us cuts off aid to ukraine, then in the coming weeks and months, russian military advances are likely to accelerate and this will be a majorforeign policy accelerate and this will be a major foreign policy loss to the united states and a blow to president trump's credibility. it is an open question as to whether he is prep

and president trump says he would like to meet with and talk to vladimir putin. he's always been so many hoped aid in that discussion who believes conversation is a good thing. even with our adversary for here is the russian deputy u.n. ambassador response to this. he says it is not merely a question of ending the war, its first and foremost a question of addressing the root causes of ukrainians crisis. so we have to see what does diehl mean in president trump's understanding? how do you read that? >> yeah, the story putin has told the whole time was this somehow said nato would invade them which is ludicrous. that's an echo at least of that. they are going to chart shows try to create space they know there is a new leader and america and there will be real consequences, "serious ones as i think presidential alluded to to their economy if they do not bring down the violence and actually bring a settlement. i think the deputy u.n. ambassador knows exactly what they're up against and i think he is looking for a bit of space they so they can see how they will respon

right here in austin international donald trump right there, saying he is setting up a meeting with vladimir putin and of the ukraine conflict needs to come to an end. that's as bite and pump even more money and weapons to key it before he rides on. fidget a sucks. 10 people, a dad, an open fire. we think los angeles leaving behind that right. the edge of savings of an apocalypse. california is the leadership is planned for the response to the public class, the size of local firefighting equipment, and a lot of it was shipped off to ukraine at 11 on i'd like to ami chief the lead the nation bringing hope to locals. well, pledging to defend the country from is riley aggression. in the program, we visit ancient unit scope. heritage side, which took a beating and with the idea of home box, which is behind, as you can see, what is a locally as well because so these are the ancient roman ruins that sits the world average is a netscape world, however, just size, but it will say, well, who the site for me is why people involved one of the city of the whole this friday is already moving foss with al

thank you very much- _ us president donald trump has urged russia's vladimir putin to make a deal toculous" ukraine war or face new tariffs and sanctions. in a post on social media, president trump said, "we can do it the easy way, or the hard way". russian ambassador to the un dmitry polyanskiy responded saying, "we have to see what does the �*deal�* mean?" here's our north america editor sarah smith. applause donald trump has enormous ambitions that include ending the wars in the middle east and ukraine. my proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. that's what i want to be. he had claimed that on his first day in office he would end the ukraine war. 0bviously that didn't happen, but he is making clear he wants to see a peace deal asap, threatening that russia will pay a high price if they don't enter negotiations. he posted on social media... meeting mr trump in new york just after the election, ukrainian leader volodymyr zelensky said he thinks the new president could be decisive in ending the war, and he knows he really has no choice but to start negotiating. zele

president trump used to boast about his great relationship with vladimir putin and insists russia woulde if he had still been in the white house. but now he seems to be rapidly losing patience. without american—supplied weapons, ukraine could not continue theirfight. mr trump had said he would stop paying for ukraine's defence, but hasn't yet moved to cut their funding. he does think, though, america is paying too much compared to other nations. one thing i do feel, the european union should be paying a lot more than they're paying, because under biden, i mean, we're in there for $200 billion more. now, it affects them more than it affects us. we have an ocean in between, right? a little thing called an ocean. 0n america's southern border, donald trump has introduced strict new immigration laws that have banned refugees and asylum claimants from entering the us. last year, he said he would close the border. now he's sending 1,500 troops to stop what he calls "an invasion of aliens". and he's changed the law to make it easier to detain and deport illegal immigrants already in the united

vladimir putin, among — of deterrence. vladimir putin, among his _ of deterrence.alculations, one compilation he took going to ukraine _ compilation he took going to ukraine was that the europeans would _ ukraine was that the europeans would complain, perhaps hit him with sanctions and write some strongly— with sanctions and write some strongly worded letters but ultimately would not be able to do anything effectively because of how— do anything effectively because of how much they depended on russia — of how much they depended on russia and in some cases continue _ russia and in some cases continue to depend. i believe france — continue to depend. i believe france is _ continue to depend. i believe france is the third leading player— france is the third leading player into russian energy in the world and i think a couple of other— the world and i think a couple of other european countries followed behind, so there is still— followed behind, so there is still significant dependence, and that dependence is a tremendous amount of leverage that vladimir putin holds on

donald trump says a meeting with russian president vladimir putin is being set up. let's bring in our east asia government editor. significant if this is indeed happening. how do we characterize this? >> it's one of the issues trump has wanted to deal with. we still don't really know a lot about what is going on or if something has been set up at all. trump said if that it -- that if a meeting were to, it would come after the inauguration. there is no set date or time, just this announcement that he is looking to have the meeting. they met previously when trump was previously president and there's been an opec -- opaque nature about some of these meetings. the new york times reported that trump took the notes of the interpreter and did not allow the interpreter to speak when anything can happen in the meeting and there's been this close to nature of the meetings and information has been closely controlled. >> what does it mean and where does it leave ukraine? >> yeah. ukraine is definitely a key part of this. on the campaign trail trump pledged to end the war in ukr

and he will say vladimir, i just want you to quit killing people.ell donald, if i have to quit killing people. i don't know what i'll do for a hobby anymore. we'll get you a new hobby. quit killing people. >> ambassador kalizad goes onto be president george bush's ambassador to iraq and afghanistan. >> in no other country in what i have experienced representing america in war zones and the world. only in america something like this could happen. >> this week, president trump issued several executive orders. one of them resulted in 1600 afghans who had been cleared to resettle in the united states having their flights canceled. as the trump administration considers the fate of our afghan allies why is it important to highlight kalizad? >> he is a fascinating person who has served us with remarkable ability. he represented a possible future afghanistan that in 23 years we failed to create. >> against that backdrop. do we continue to have a special obligation to the afghans who served with our military in afghanistan? >> i think if there are people who