you want that face—to—face putin—zelensky meeting.if you want that, first you have to agree "to talk to the separatist leaders in donbas. "and then, when you've sorted out some of the issues "with those local leaders, i'll be prepared "to talk to you." is mr zelensky prepared to go that route? no, this is the red line we will not cross. my president is very firm on that. we all know that it was russia who attacked ukraine. we all know that the key to the resolution of this conflict is in moscow and we are not going to talk with their proxies. russia basically says that, over months, ukraine has been taking provocative actions which indicate that, far from wanting peace, you are looking to provoke new levels of tension. they cite the actions you took against tv channels which are broadly described as pro—russian within ukraine. they talk about the antagonistic attitude you've taken to viktor medvedchuk, who is a powerful ukrainian oligarch and happens to be a friend of vladimir putin. do you regret some of these provocative actions you

. >> ukraine's president zelensky says he expects to meet russia's vladimir putin.on between the leaders has been rising in recent weeks. russia closed access through the straits on saturday. their reports that zelensky is seeking help to achieve peace in their eastern regions. you keynes president zelensky says it is likely he will meet with resident -- the ukrainian president zelensky says it is likely he will meet with the russian president putin to discuss the conflict in eastern ukraine p both sides read the finishing line of an agreement for cease fire. this comes after last week president putin saying that zelensky was welcome any in moscow to discuss bi-lateral relations. putin says he was not prepared to discuss the situation in eastern ukraine. instead, the russians are insisting that ukrainian leadership speak directly to the separatist leaders in eastern ukraine. and that is something that ukraine has so farsh always staunchly refused to do. in all the developers, the ukrainian partisan told the financial times he was looking for western support in order

as i sd, this was the first phone call biden made to zelensky. beyond what the other u.s.fficials were saying, this obviously is a step up. the ukrainians welcome this. it was zelensky not long after the phone call ended made his own statement talking about how welcome this was, how he fel the support of the united states and obviously this is something the ukrainians have been waiting for for some time since biden had become president. brent: the latest in kiev tonight. thank you. in israel, attorneys have called the first witnesses in the corruption trial of benjamin netanyahu. the prime minister appeared in jerusalem court to face charges including bribery and fraud. he could go to prison if found guilty. it comes as israel is struggling to form a new government. >> israel's prime minister did not want to appear in court but he had no choice. the judges insisted on his presence while the prosecution read out the charges against him. he is accused of trying to orchestrate positive coverage in israeli media shared a massive abuse of power. netanyahu nizoral charges, which

zelensky believes it's the only way to end the con flick. cease-fire was agreed to within the following year. the fruits of the minks greementsd brokered by -- agreements brokered by france and germany but in the end, shelling in the region snemp -- never stopped. over 13,000 people have died inspect conflict. >> time for sports. good to see you again. you have all the results from the europa league. what can you tell us? >> the first legs of the quarterfinals are all done and dusted and there were some wonderful individual football on display. manchester united away at bernada with the red devils coming out on tom. he control it would long pass from defense brilliantly to hold off the rear guard of grande and put the ball past goal keeper sill a have in the net. all hutch and purchase in the second half, mostly from the team from span -- spain by friends from the penalty spot. 2-0 the final as they march on to the second leg. the emirates looking to get a results over the team who knocked out the rangers but they were behind in the early sa

zelensky said he hoped to restore the cease-fire by next week. reporter: in a bid to de-escalate tensions, president of volodymyr zelensky met with emmanuel macron on friday. the two spoke with angela merkel by video link. the french and german leaders have been mediators since 2018. >> it's not only our problem. the safety of europe, point all of europe would understand its safety for all europe will move together vertically from worse to direct steps. reporter: the lenski says he is open to meeting with vladimir putin. the ukrainian leader is accusing him of breaking the cease-fire as thousands of russian troops gathered near the ukraine's eastern border as well as annexed crimea. russia insists the soldiers have been stationed as a are result of threatening nato action, accusing ukraine and its allies of propaganda. [speaking foreign language] reporter: an uptick in fighting since the start of the year has seen moscow and kiev blame each other for fighting in the region where conflict between the two factions have left over 14,000 deaths since

that is the message from volodymyr zelensky.e said ukraine welcomes the de-escalation but remains a vilant and observers have been noting russia maintains a large contingent in crimea, still not letting ukrainian warships tween thblack sea, and we don't know how many of these forces are going to be withdrawn. russia has said he would move troops away and hasn't done it. even after the announcement, there will still be a large contingent until the autumn 220 kilometers from the ukrainian border. i don't think people feel the threat has gone away. anchor: jailed russian opposition later alexei navalny has ended his hunger strike. he made the decision after his doctors warned him continuing would threaten his life. he went on hunger strike after prison authorities refused to let his personal physicians visit him. he had developed severe back pain and numbness in his legs. he was detained in january on his return from germany. he'd been receiving treatment there after being poisoned with a deadly nerve agents. -- agent. france hasn'

a few days ago, zelensky paid a visit to nato secretary general jens stoltenberg.stressed that the alliance was the only way to end the war. experts in moscow say that statement would not have gone down well in the krein. >> any cooperation between ukraine and nato, any help from the north atlantic alliance is a red flag for the kremlin. but that doesn't mean that all members of the alliance welcome ukraine's desire to join nato as soon as possible. >> right now, further steps towards membership are not on the agenda. >> a clear statement that give many in russia hope that a war is preventable. the people of the area are ess optimistic, although the pro-russian separatists say they don't want war either. >> if ukraine takes the first step, no one knows where it will end. >> the kremlin is doing all of this to blackmail ukraine and the west. if troops are reinforced, if the escalation continues, even a small provocation will be enough to set things off. with unpredictable consequences. russia's defense ministry says this footage shows recent exercises. if the situat

two years ago on a promise of ending this conflict, something he's failed to achieve, president zelenskypots as he calls them to show his front line soldiers they have political support. but what ukraine really needs, he says, is more assistance from washington, more weapons, more money, and krushly more backing to join nato, the western military alliance, supportive words from president biden biden, he says, are simply no longer enough. >> ukraine need more than >> can i ask a follow-up? you understand if ukraine were to be given nato membership, that might make the country even worse. it would infuriate -- >> i can tell you. i can answer you. maybe you are right. but what now is going on? what we do here, what our people do here, they fight. so what can be in the future? i don't know. but we have independence and we decide where to be or where not to be. to be or not to be. you remember shakespeare. >> reporter: that is, as they say, the question. rather how much support can the ukraine ian president expect in the running drama being played out in this theater of war. john, even the pr

and to push back on the ukrainian president zelensky.et zelensky to make more concessions. guess what? he just raised his hand and said i want to talk to you, mr. putin. let's negotiate. this is a pattern that putin uses often. increase violence, the threat of violence to gain political leverage. that's what he's doing here. >> martha: intimidation, trying to get them to back down. as you point out, president zelensky in a very tough spot here is -- wants to talk. general, thank you. always good to see you. general jack keane. so the push underway by mike pompeo for a return to the trump administration's maximum pressure campaign against iran, which as you know has been coming apart. that's next. this is wealth. ♪ ♪ this is worth. that takes wealth. but this is worth. and that - that's actually worth more than you think. don't open that. wealth is important, and we can help you build it. but it's what you do with it, that makes life worth living. principal. for all it's worth. >> martha: biden white house signalling that its open to conc

have there been actions from president zelensky to take this kind of escalation right now?ident zelensky has been pushing back against russian oriented ukrainians, in particular russian oriented ukrainian oligarchs. and he has also pushed back and closed down some russian tv stations. three tv stations that broadcast disinformation from the kremlin. the other thing president zelensky has done is made it clear his intent in the ukrainian constitution to move toward nato. this is the sovereign right to make these decisions. amna: for years, ukraine has had support. have those four years helped lead to this moment. >> it shifted to some degree over the past four years but only at the very top of the u.s. administration. it was only at the very top that there was any question about the support for ukraine. the state department, defense department, national security council, and the congress, they have continued to support ukraine. it was just this weird dichotomy between most of the government and the very top. yes, confuse people. i think the new administration has made it ver

president zelensky wants ukraine to get nato membership. what do you think needs to happen? need to do? >> this is going to be the first big foreign policy test for the biden administration. and, you know, the fact of the matter is the administration has come out and they've said we fully support ukraine, but in that great piece, and it was a fabulous piece, president zelensky says, look, words are not enough. you know, the ukrainians need additional weapons, additional money, additional support. but i did think his proposal to accelerate ukraine's entry into nato was an interesting one. now it is also fraught with some problems because if they come in to nato, then article 5 applies of the nato charter which means an attack on one is an attack on all. it's worth having this discussion because if ukraine comes in, then we are obligated under the nato charter to support them if the russians invade. >> you say interesting. does interesting mean a good idea? >> yeah, it's an idea that needs to be weighed. the fact of the matter is today we don't have a lot of clarity in terms o

you crane ran president zelensky makes a trip to the eastern part of the country amid growing tensionsia. conflict with

president zelensky of ukraine pleaded with our reporter matthew chance for the united states to help.the united states to push ukraine and nato right now. what happens if that becomes more of a hot order? what happens if the troops cross the border and invade? >> first, president biden spoke with president zelensky and he pledged america's unwavering support for sovereignty and territorial integrity. secondly, he said we would be prepared to continue to provide defensive support to the u ukraine, and third, he indicated to president putin in the call if russia does take steps, the united states will work with its allies to impose significant costs. we're very concerned about the russian military buildup on the border of ukraine. we've seen what's happened there before. we're consulting closely not just with our allies in europe but directly with ukrainians to ensure we stand behind them as they defend their own country. >> it's early in the administration, but we are looking at these actions in afghanistan. we're hearing you talk about russia with these sanctions. what does this tell

the ukrainian president, vladimir zelensky, has given a speech to the citizens of his country to warn the citizens of ukraine that russia may be about to invade again, promising essentially a full scale war and a fight to the last man if that happens. for his part, putin gave a speech today threatening the west, pounding the proverbial shoe on the podium, saying russia's enemies, quote, will regret what they have done more than they have regretted anything for a long time. i'm sure that wasn't at all intended to portray his own upset, his own worry, his own agita over tens of thousands of russians turning out all over that country, more than a hundred cities and towns, to shout things like "putin is a thief," and "russia without putin," and to show their support for the opposition leader alexei navalny who putin has jailed and who is currently apparently starving to death inside a russian prison. tens of thousands of russians turning out in the street today to support him, to demand his release, to demand he be given medical care. and i'm sure putin's actually quite unhinged threats t

today, president biden had his first call with president zelensky and it went very, very differently than donald trump's last call. there wasn't threatening, there wasn't cajoling or an attempt to dig up information but there was apparently some reassurance that america stands by ukraine in its continued efforts for survival, particularly under the attack from russia. >> that's exactly right. and it's so refreshing and frankly after four years of something quite different, it's so novel even to get a readout of a presidential call with a foreign leader and feel good about it. here, president biden, doing exactly what you would expect the american president to do, express solidarity with our democratic ally in the fight to preserve the geographical integrity of ukraine, with russia occupying large portions of ukraine, a very important show of confidence for ukraine at a time when russians are once again amassing troops in and around ukraine, and so a very important message being communicated, and likewise, the president's call with vladimir putin, pushing back against russia's maligne

volodymyr zelensky has been anxious to increase international support, following the recent build—upne's eastern border and in crimea. there have been tensions between russia and ukraine ever since russia annexed the crimea in april 2014, and russian—backed forces seized a large swathe of eastern ukraine's donetsk and luhansk regions — 0ur correspondent jonah fisher reports now from the frontline near marinka, in eastern ukraine. rpg shell. yours, or theirs? theirs. in eastern ukraine, a war that had been dormant is coming back to life. just keep your head down a little bit. this is marinka. just 100 metres separate these ukrainian army trenches from the positions of the russian—backed forces. for the last six years, very little has changed here along the front line in eastern ukraine, but the last few weeks has seen a very dramatic shift in mood, and that's because on the russian side of the border, there's been a massive build—up of both personnel and equipment. they have their trenches over there. news of the troop movements have coincided with a deterioration of the situation on

ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, has been holding talks with the leaders of france and germanyse international support. 0ur correspondentjonah fisher reports now from eastern ukraine. rpg shell. yours or theirs? theirs. in eastern ukraine, a war that had been dormant is coming back to life. just keep your head down a little bit. this is marinka. just 100 metres separate these ukrainian army trenches from the positions of the russian—backed forces. for the last six years, very little has changed here along the front line in eastern ukraine. but the last few weeks has seen a very dramatic shift in mood, and that's because on the russian side of the border, there's been a massive build—up of both personnel and equipment. they have their trenches over there. news of the troop movements have coincided with a deterioration of the situation on the ground. how seriously are soldiers here taking the possibility of russia launching a full—scale invasion? at war, you always have to be serious. or you do not. but, no matter what will happen, we will do ourjob. we will stand here till the e

the ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has welcomed the news.hunger strike immediately. the five physicians, who've been denied access to him in prison, say they've been shown the results of medical tests conducted on tuesday. in a letter published by russian media, they say problems with his kidneys and nervous system suggest that if the hunger strike goes on even for a little longer, they will unfortunately have no—one to treat. elon musk has launched a $100 million prize to coincide with earth day to find new ways to remove carbon and put the brakes on global warming. it comes as many countries mark this annual environmental day in their own way, as mark lobel reports. a dazzling display for earth day. buddhist monks on zoom congregate virtually and 300,000 candles. translation: we came up with the theme - - cleanse the mind, cleanse the world, which is to remind people to cleanse their minds before they start cleaning the world. but time is of the essence as the world gets hotter. if we are to live up to our promises and commitments in the p

zelensky. he says, mr. giuliani is a highly respected man, a great mayor, and i would like him to call you. i would like him to call you along with the attorney general. rudy very much knows what's happening and he's a very capable guy. if you could speak to him, that would be great. and then he says, ambassador yovanovitch is going to go through some things. i will have mr. giuliani give you a call and i'm also going to have attorney general barr give you a call and we'll get to the bottom of it. so he's telling zelensky that yovanovitch is going to go through some things. does that look different in light of what we're learning about the scope of the warrant, that the fbi investigators want to look at those communications about yovanovitch's smearing, reputational damage, and very rushed, urgent, removal from the country? >> of course it does. the warrants through reporting say that he's being looked at for a violation of foreign agents registration act. and why that's important is this wasn't so much the

volodymyr zelensky has been anxious to increase international support following the recent build—up of. there have been tensions between russia and ukraine ever since russia annexed the crimea in april 2014, and russian—backed forces seized a large swathe of eastern ukraine's donetsk and luhansk regions, coloured in turquoise here. a ceasefire was negotiated in 2015, but it remains fragile. 0ur correspondentjonah fisher reports now from the front line near marinka in eastern ukraine. rpg shell. yours, or theirs? theirs. in eastern ukraine a war that had been dormant is coming back to life. just keep your head down a little bit. this is marinka. just a hundred metres separate these ukrainian army trenches from the positions of the russian—backed forces. for the last six years very little has changed here along the front line in eastern ukraine, but the last few weeks has seen a very dramatic shift in mood, and that's because on the russian side of the border there's been a massive build—up of both personnel and equipment. they have their trenches over there. news of the troop movements

a few days ago, the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, made a dramatic visit to the front linesy's army has been fighting with rebels. it was an appeal to the world to help. others are now seeing the need others are now seeing the need for urgency. antony blinken met a ukrainian delegation to discuss the issue, with the promise the us will increase its military presence in the region. nato has called the russian build—up of troops unjustified and unacceptable and want moscow to withdraw them. ~ ., , ., _ them. we are seriously concerned _ them. we are seriously concerned by _ them. we are seriously concerned by ongoing l concerned by ongoing developments, and nato is monitoring the situation very closely. in the recent weeks, russia has moved thousands of combat ready troops to ukraine's borders. the largest massing of russian troops since the illegal annexation of crimea in 2014.- the illegal annexation of crimea in 2014. more than 13,000 crimea in 2014. more than 13.000 people _ crimea in 2014. more than 13,000 people have - crimea in 2014. more than 13,000 people have been| c

clear what russia's intentions are, whether it is try to intimidate, to extract concessions from the zelenskyn exercise, it's not routine, that's for certain. it's not clear what the purpose is of the buildup or whether it's a preparation for a military action. again they're not in any way trying to hide their build up so that would be i think you would probably bet against that but it is just not clear at this point. but what i will say is this, fareed, which is why it deserves close attention because of its scale, but also because the fact is that putin has shown a high tolerance for reckless and risky behavior. whether it be the invasion of ukraine and the takeover of crimea or intervention in the middle east or 2020 election interference, putin has shown a high tolerance for risky behavior. so i think it bears close watching and we need to be clear about what the response would be by the united states and the world if, in fact, he engaged in a military action in and against ukraine which that would include i think a number of -- a number of expanded sanctions. i think continued and expand

when he is talking to zelensky he's referring him to talk to giuliani.ese things. giuliani was a middleman here. i think the president exposure with this and just by the way there could be other things also that the fbi is investigating. we don't know. this would seem like the most obvious thing at least the tip of the iceberg. >> if people try to wave it away and saying we saw it with cohen and never got trump in trouble. is that apples to apples? >> um -- it really depends on what they find. that was -- it was a different violation first of all. that was the campaign finance violation. and one thing that i think we have seen with trump is he is quite good at i think cohen testified to this, getting others to execute plans he wants done. but maybe not without having direct order or paper trails or money trails. so, there could be a lesson there. i think that in many ways we know for example particularly with ukraine because of the impeachment proceedings, he was directly involved in at least some aspect of the angles. end goal. of giuliani's efforts. he

we need additional support in terms of money and weapons and, of course, zelensky is also proposing that the nato alliance which i think are interesting discussions. but if i had to pick the ones out there i would say russia is my greatest concern right now. >> dana: we would love to have you back. we have breaking news. the new book the hero code will do well, lessons from lives well lived. we would love to have you back to talk about all of this. it won't end any time soon. thank you. take you back to the capitol now. the hearse here and the coffin with the remains of capitol hill police officer billy evans being unloaded there now. >> trace: he served 18 years as capitol police officer before he was killed. we are awaiting president biden to come and pay his respects as the congressional contingent will do the same. chad pergram is standing by with us on capitol hill. how does this proceed? >> what you'll notice. i noticed this when i arrived at the capitol today. they had already draped the guard shack where he often stood vigil outside the capitol with a black cloth. to bring the pr

. >> and this morning george stephanopoulos is talking to rochell zelensky about the relaxing of thedelines. they want the vaccine to protect themselves from hospitalizations and death but what people are interested in who haven't been touched by the disease is to get back to normal and in a lot of people's minds is to get rid of the mask. we are excited to say if you are vaccinated, it is safe to take off your mask when you are in outdoor settings. >> you can see the entire interview with the cdc director including what is ahead to relax the guideline coming up on gma. >>> new details in the group that is looking to recall windsor's mayor. they will need to refile their paperwork and start all over. organizers of a campaign to oust mayor dominic capollee incorrectly included his. there is a minor technicicality to recall the mayor who has refused to resign amid sexual assault allegations. >>> san jose's planning commission meet to vote on the transit villnl plan in downtown san jose. the sharks officially came out against this massive project raising concerns about the viability of

this was really triggered by the fact that putin wants to take a stance against president zelensky, whoing an increasingly confrontational rhetoric against russia and he started to engage in talks about nato and that is a clear redline for russia. also, i think president putin really took advantage of this point to show biden, to show the west that this is his backyard and he is willing to really flex his muscles on this front. annmarie: what is the next step in terms of sanctions? are you expecting more sanctions because of the most recent russian aggression? livia: so we have seen a lot of tough talk and certainly the sanctions last week. biden did roll them out. they did not have quite as much fight as one would have thought they could have so they targeted the debt market but it was the primary debt market, not the secondary, and then we saw the usual expulsion of diplomats and nothing really major. there does not seem to be a real appetite to have sanctions that could really have repercussions for global markets. this is in part to restrict oil and gas exports. that would have a ma

i spoke with rochelle zelensky today the cdc director. said getting rid of a mask when you been vaccinated is a liberating feeling. she feels the science proves you do not need a mask outside when you're vaccinated because people are not getting sick who are vaccinated. people are not spreading it who are vaccinated. that is huge. people are not going to the hospital. millions and minds of people getting vaccinated and is working. but the question is, are they going far enough? i like these new guidelines allied to at least play sports outside. but as you pointed out the president still wearing a mask outside and what messages he sending? he is wearing them on zoom calls with other foreign leaders. maybe he does not with them to see his expression i am not sure. but one thing is for sure, if you are vaccinated you are protected. i asked her, kennedy is this an incentive to get more people vaccinated? is that what you're doing it? she denies it. she says the scientist why they are doing it. but she expects the liberating feeling from takin

dan, this is the transcript from the call that put everything in motion with zelensky. he says, i will personally tell you to mr. trump that one of my assistants spoke with mr. giuliani recently and hoping to travel to ukraine and will meet once he comes to ukraine. this is trump? he is a highly respected man. he was the mayor of new york city, a great mayor, and i would like him to call you. i will ask him to call you along with the attorney general jruedy very much knows what's happening and he is very capable guy. you could speak with him that would be great. it rings differently now, dan goldman, and i wonder again, the attorney general is in all these transcripts at the very beginning and the room where it all appears to have happened. >> yes. there was some reporting that in connection to the representation of firtash that they had a meeting with bill barr in the spring of 2019. he is an indicted ukrainian oligarch indicted in the chicago u.s. attorney's office and fighting extradition so there's a close knit community there but bill barr, it kind of escaped a lot

on a complex to ending this, president zelenski says he risk the hot spot.rom washington and more weapons join nato. supported words from president biden, simply no longer is enough. >> ukraine need more than words. >> reporter: can i ask the follow-up on that. that may make the conflict in this country even worse. it would infuriate. >> i can tell you and answer you. maybe you are right but what do you hear and what our people do here, they fight. so what can we do in the future? we decide where to be or where not to be. to be or not to be. that's as they say the question rather how much u.s. support can the ukrainian now expects and the running drama being played out in this theater of war. >> reporter: tony blinken will meet the ukrainian president to discuss russia at the nato headquarters later this week. >> matthew chance, thank you. we'll have more news after this. t understand why. (money manager) because our way works great for us! (judith) but not for your clients. that's why we're a fiduciary, obligated to put clients first. (money manager) so, wh

take a listen to what the zelensky had to say to me. >> reporter: is there a chance that the russiansbe planning an invasion? >> of course. of course. we know it. beginning from 2014, we know it can be anywhere. each day it can be. we are also ready. >> reporter: the ukrainians saying they're potentially ready and dug in for any push by russian forces or russian-backed forces. with the help of the united states and other allies, as well, providing weaponry and training. but what the ukrainian president wants more from president biden. more weapons to help the country defend itself against the russian threat, more money to pay for the soldiers and the expensive campaign in the eastern part of the country, and more support from washington. for ukraine to move closer toward nato, the western military alliance. that's risky because if that were to happen, the russians may react badly. on friday, the russian foreign ministry said in a statement that if there were to be a closer movement, that could have, listen to this, irreversible consequences. >> thank you so much for taking us there wi

. >> nawaz: ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky said yesterday he wanted to meet putin and end the but he warned ukraine would not back down. >> ( translated ): will ukraine stop trying to achieve peace by diplomatic means? no, never! but, will ukraine defend itself in case of something? always! >> nawaz: for more on all of this we turn to celeste wallander. during the obama administration she served as the special assistant to the president and senior director for russia and eurasia on the national security council staff, and as deputy assistant secretary of defense for russia, ukraine and eurasia. celeste wallander, welcome to the "newshour". let me start by asking you about president putin. he has jailed a popular political opponent, rounded up protest across the country, amassed troops on the ukrainian border. what does this sell us now about his hold on power? >> i think that the message from moscow and from president putin is that the leadership is feeling quite insecure at home and abroad, and president putin in his speech today tried to draw a connection between the two thi

the president and his goons were so cartoonishly corrupt, we all had to know names like yermak, zelenskyroversial name in the biden administration is "major." i'm pretty sure yermak was a johnny carson character. "please welcome yermak the magnificent all the way from djibouti djibouti, which is also the name of gary hart's yacht." [ laughter ] >> yes [ laughter ] >> seth: you milked that so hard - i'm going to start calling you yo-yo moo. [ laughter ] so it's very possible there's a ton of evidence on those devices, especially when you consider that an independent judge had to sign off on these warrants against such a high profile figure the last time a raid like this happened to one of trump's ex-lawyers, the lawyer went to jail, and trump was included as an unnamed co-conspirator in the indictment ad not only do we know about the various communications rudy bragged about on television, we also know about his various accidental communications, the ones that weren't supposed to get out into the public. like the time in 2019 he accidentally butt-dialed a reporter for nbc news and could b

the president spoke with president zelensky as you know last week in addition to reassurance to ukrainian officials, we are also discussing our concerns about the increase in tensions and a cease fire with allies. i don't have any discussions with the russians to read out. >> about the president calling vladimir putin a killer. [indiscernible] does the west in general have any influence on vladimir putin? ms. psaki: i think that is perhaps in some way suggesting that just because someone does bad behavior we shouldn't hold them accountable unless it's going to immediately change their behavior. that's not how we see foreign policy or how we see our engagement in the world. i think our focus is on, there is still an ongoing review of weeks not months. we are assessing as it relates to the troubling actions of russia and this russian government. where there will be consequences as the president has conveyed seen and unseen and we hope to have more on that soon. >> to follow up on your answer regarding former president obama. you say they are in touch fairly regularly. can you more clearly d

vladimir putin that they will get a chance to sit down with biden that the president of ukraine zelenskyks to that they are on the same page with regard to russia. so right now, obviously the summit would be very high stakes and come after president biden's meetings with nato and g7 officials in europe. that is what we're being told is that any summit with vladimir putin would only take place after meeting with allies. details are pretty unclear after this important stage. >> that's interesting the sequencing here san important part of the u.s. thinking. you mentioned ukraine's concerns. would a meeting with vladimir putin be conditions based? would the united states require russia, for instance, to remove more of its troops from the ukrainian border before meeting? >> reporter: it's a great question and we really haven't gotten a lot of answers from the white house on this. one big concern looming over a potential summit, of course, is the health of alexei navalny, a leading russian opposition figure who is in jail and his health has been deteriorating rapidly. jake sul vain the nationa

negotiations are going to take place, zelensky has raised his hand a and said i'll talk to you.nato. there are other non-nato states that he's clearly gaining influence over. georgia, where he has troops, belarus, obviously, annexing crimea and also in eastern ukraine. this is what putin is truly about strategically. brian: he wants 1975 again. not gonna happen. let's talk about iran. it looks like we're going to lift certain sanctions, maybe all of them, to get back into a nuclear deal that america didn't want any part of. what's your reaction to that? >> yeah, i don't think we truly know what's happening. we do know this, there's going to be some sanction relief in return for iran coming back into full compliance. remember, the only reason iran is out of compliance is a ploy to get sanction relief to come back in. so this is what is happening. however, what we don't know is this piece: is the biden team holding back on at least a majority of the sanctions or at least half of the sanctions -- brian: right. >> -- and not giving it to them for just coming back into compliance so

are concerned, they have called the ukrainians and it is notjust president biden with volodymyr zelensky will be important to keep sending a signal of support and taking concrete steps as appropriate. for example, the us has not had an investor in ukraine for two years now. i hope the administration is able to move quickly in naming someone to become an ambassador. also, there is pending legislation on security assistance on capitol hill and a signal of support from the white house for that legislation would also be good. house for that legislation would also be good-— house for that legislation would also be good. talking of crimea, i was in crimea _ also be good. talking of crimea, i was in crimea in _ also be good. talking of crimea, i was in crimea in 2014 _ also be good. talking of crimea, i was in crimea in 2014 during - also be good. talking of crimea, i was in crimea in 2014 during the i was in crimea in 2014 during the referendum when russia annexed it. by referendum when russia annexed it. by and watch politically that was a move that works for russia. if it worked on crimea, w

>> precisely what is going on today in the ukraine with president zelensky open comments with respect to his desire to look westward with nato. >> general lyons, want to ask a question about covid. in the early stages of the pandemic, some of the early problems we faced were supply chain issues including ppe distribution, early-stage vaccineed distribution. based off your test on - - testimony trance, has been instrumental to ensure vaccine distribution could have up to the supply chain. as we continue vaccine distribution what are lessons learned we could apply to improve success for another pandemic? >> thanks for the question. i have to say a large portion of the credit goes to the general and the lead at warp speed with the federal government effort. they worked the most of those issues we were a supporting effort. there is a task force now looking from a national security perspective was supplyor chain and implications and that is a worthy effort to understand the source of many of the critical manufacturing and supplies and where they come from and where the supply chain might b