In this “Face the Nation” show moderated by Margaret Brennan:
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken
- Oksana Markrova, Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA
- Representative Adam Schiff, California Democrat
- Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
- Kurt Volker, Former Ambassador to NATO and Special Representative of Ukraine
Click here for full transcripts of “Face the Nation.”
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m Margaret Brennan. And today on Face the Nation: The President of Ukraine makes an urgent request for help and warns this morning of imminent war crimes, while Russia is bombing the south and east, targeting populated areas. President Biden’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, joins us from the region to update what the US is doing to help.
Meanwhile, with Russian forces just 20 miles outside the capital Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling for more firepower. We will ask the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, what they need and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, what the legislators can offer.
In addition, we will hear from former US Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker how the Western Alliance is mobilizing to deal with its biggest threat in decades. And as the fighting causes the largest refugee exodus in Europe since World War II, we will receive the latest from UN refugee commissioner Filippo Grandi. Everything is ahead of Face the Nation.
Good morning and welcome to Face the Nation. We have seen with growing horror how Vladimir Putin’s commotion over Ukraine continued. The death toll on both sides is incalculable at this time. The news and images of the region add a surreal quality, devastating a world that is still struggling to recover from a two-year global pandemic.
Russia’s economy and the Russian people, in turn, have suffered a series of blows, from the crippling sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies to the growing list of large corporations leaving the country. But Vladimir Putin has refused to back down.
Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Congress for more help, including fighter jets. And today he has repeated the request for an air exclusion zone, a request that the US and its allies have rejected, for fear of a direct confrontation with the Russian army.
Let’s start in Kyiv with Charlie D’Agata – Charlie.
CHARLIE D’AGATA: Good morning, Margaret. The last word of the International Red Cross is that the effort to evacuate up to 200,000 residents of the southern city of Mariupol has failed again for the second day in a row. The two sides blamed each other for breaking a temporary ceasefire with a new fight.
(Start VT)
CHARLIE D’AGATA (voiceover): Residents of the besieged city of Mariupol have endured some of the strongest bombing by the Russian army since the invasion began.
(HEALTH WORKER SPEAKING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHARLIE D’AGATA: Doctors Without Borders describes the humanitarian crisis as catastrophic and that civilians are in desperate need. The city hospital is overflowing.
A man rushes in, grabbing his 18-month-old son wounded in bombings. Doctors frantically try to resuscitate the child, but they can’t save him.
(CRYING WOMAN)
CHARLIE D’AGATA: Her mother bursts into tears. Elsewhere, the brutal attack has only intensified, destroying everything in its path. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned today that Russia plans to bomb the port city of Odessa, while renewing its request for a no-fly zone.
(PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHARLIE D’AGATA: Contrasted by President Putin’s warning to the West that any country declaring a no-fly zone would be seen as an enemy fighter.
(MAN SPEAKING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHARLIE D’AGATA: With Moscow now banning all media coverage of the war in Ukraine, Visa and Mastercard have joined the growing number of international companies suspending operations in that country. Although Russian troops are approaching major cities, Ukrainian forces continue to put up fierce resistance, claiming to have shot down a Russian fighter jet, and the Ministry of Defense is distributing a video of a Russian attack helicopter fired from cel. Even in busy cities like Kherson, anti-Russian protests and demonstrations are already underway.
(DRAWINGS)
CHARLIE D’AGATA: Residents face armed Russian soldiers, and yet the more determined the resistance, the more devastating the response of the Russian army.
(VT final)
CHARLIE D’AGATA: This morning, Pope Francis rejected Russia’s claim that it was a military operation, saying it was a war, that it was giving rise to rivers of blood and tears. Here, a Ukrainian delegate says that a third round of peace talks will take place tomorrow with his Russian counterparts: Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Charlie D’Agata in Kyiv, rest assured. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin has been closely following the Russian army’s march on Kyiv. And now he joins us. David, the US had been projecting that Kyiv would fall in a few days. Is it still what they expect?
DAVID MARTIN: No. Russia’s attempt to overthrow the Ukrainian government has clearly failed. The Russians stagnated. But we must remember that they are stagnant, but this is not a spent force. We saw satellite photos of that convoy stuck on the road in the northwest of Kyiv. There is another convoy east of Kyiv, which is a column of tanks, almost a division of tanks. They ended up there when they ran out of gas, they literally ran out of gas. But now they have rested. And you can only see that it seems a matter of time before this push from the northwest and this push from the east come together in a circle.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And what happens when Kyiv is surrounded? Because the United States has set pretty clear lines for what it will not do. If Ukraine gets these fighter jets they want, will that make a difference?
DAVID MARTIN: Sure, it will make a difference, but will it be decisive? I do not think so. The Poles who are the country that is willing to transfer these MiG-29, on paper, have 27 MiG-29. We don’t know if the 27 are ready for battle. But most importantly, we do not know how many pilots Ukraine has left. Because, in air combat, it is the shortage of skilled pilots that usually comes to you before the loss of aircraft.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The U.S. has been dumping – say my sources – only Stinger missiles, anti-aircraft weapons and anti-tank weapons. Is that what completely depends on Ukraine right now?
DAVID MARTIN: Well, they have their own forces with which they started the war. But they had limited stockpiles of ammunition. I mean, Russia essentially has a myriad of ammo, because they can carry things from the inside. And all these anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles Javelins and Stinger, come ashore. But if Russia manages to encircle Kyiv, how will supplies pass?
MARGARET BRENNAN: I haven’t been told yet: Of all the U.S. officials I’ve asked, I haven’t heard the clear answer to the question of when all these sanctions will really affect their military and what’s going on in the field. When will we see an impact?
DAVID MARTIN: I don’t think we should have sanctions to have an impact on fighting in Ukraine. What we have to count on is that the Russians have shown that they are not very good at maneuver warfare. The art of maneuver warfare is to gather all your forces, ground, air, at a point of attack. And they just seem incapable of doing that. Planes are flying here and ground troops are trying to advance here. So they are attacking slowly. And the Ukrainians, because they know the terrain better and because they fight for their country, are able to stop them. If they act together, the laws of physics will apply here and they will only be able to crush the Ukrainian resistance.
MARGARET BRENNAN: David, thank you very much for your vision and for your report. We now turn to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in Moldova this morning. Mr. Secretary, good morning.
ANTONY BLINKEN (US Secretary of State): Good morning, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Vladimir Putin has said that sanctions are tantamount to a declaration of war. They are affecting their economy, but they are not stopping their army. When will sanctions stop the fight?
SECRETARY ANTONY BLINKEN: Margaret, the impact of the sanctions is already devastating, and that’s probably why she said what she said. But at the same time, we continue to see President Putin bend over backwards and engage in this aggression against Ukraine. This continues. And I think we have to be prepared, unfortunately, tragically for this to continue for a while.
MARGARET BRENNAN: NATO has said that none of its 30 members are willing to establish a no-fly zone. President Biden has made it very clear that he has no interest in this or in the combat troops. But what else can the United States do here? If, for example, the Polish government, a member of NATO, wants to send fighter jets, get green light from the US, or are you afraid that this will increase tension?
SECRETARY ANTONY BLINKEN: No, that has the green light. In fact, right now we are talking to our Polish friends about what we could do to meet their needs, if, in fact, they decide to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians. What can we do? How can we help ensure that they get something to fill the planes they are delivering to the Ukrainians? We are in very active discussions with them about this. Look, I’ve been in Europe for the last few days working closely, as always, with our NATO allies and partners, the European Union, the G7 countries, and together we continue to take steps to increase pressure on Russia through additional sanctions, all of which are being actively discussed and will be implemented in the coming days, in addition to taking further steps to give Ukrainians what they need to defend themselves from Russian aggression.
MARGARET BRENNAN: How does Vladimir Putin convince you that this is not a regime change? How do you get it to go backwards?
SECRETARY ANTONY BLINKEN: For us, this is not a change of regime. That is, the Russian people must decide who wants to lead them. And look, like I said, this is the challenge. Vladimir Putin continues to press this aggression. That’s why I say I’m afraid this could go on for a while. But it will end and end with Ukraine imposing itself, because, even if Putin has the capacity, because he can, the manpower, the equipment he has that he can use can continue to crush them in an incredible way. Brave and resilient Ukrainians, winning a battle is not the same as winning a war. Taking the city is not the same as capturing the hearts and minds of Ukrainians. What they have shown with extraordinary courage is that they will not be subject to Vladimir Putin’s will to … and they will be under the thumb of Russia. So whether that takes another week, another month, another year to play, it will be. And I know how this will end. But the question is: can we finish it sooner rather than later, with less suffering than before …?
MARGARET BRENNAN: President Zelenskyy has repeatedly said that these may be his last days. If Russia kills him, what will be the consequence? And are you working on a contingency plan to support a Ukrainian government without him at the helm?
SECRETARY ANTONY BLINKEN: The leadership that the president …
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