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viewers like you. thank you. announcer: and now, "bbc world news". ♪ ros: this is "bbc world news outside source." as of remain on ukraine's border, america has responded to demands from nato to hold back. >> if russia chooses aggression, it is a path that will lead to massive consequences. ros: prince andrew demanding a trial. in westminster, everyone is waiting for the report that could determine worse johnson's future -- boris johnson's future. >> the coats his ministers who

knowingly leave are expected to offer their resignation, does the prime minister believe that applies to him? >> of course, but i think he is inviting a question about an investigation. i cannot comment. ros: the oldest member of the supreme court will step down. president biden will now have a chance to nominate a successor to stephen breyer. let us start with tensions around ukraine. russia wants the u.s. to give a guarantee that ukraine will never join nato. here is the u.s. secretary of state. >> our response reflects what i said last week. we are open to dialogue. we prefer diplomacy and are

prepared to move forward where there is the possibility of medication, cooperation. if russia deescalate, stops the inflammatory rhetoric, and approaches discussions about security in a spirit of reciprocity. ros: the secretary-general of nato. >> every nation has the right to choose its own path. nato respects a country or a nation whethey decide to apply for nato membership, as for instance ukraine, or when they decide to not apply, as finland and sweden have done. this is about respecting the right for self determination. ros: but the focus is the border between ukraine and russia. over 100,000 russian troops are amassed. we know there are also in neighboring belarus.

this is the mission we -- message we received from the russian foreign minister. >> the u.s. and its allies have abandoned diplomatic rules and have been seeking to undermine our country with sanctions as well as increasing military pressure. they are trying to draw kyiv into provocations against russia. ros: the u.s. embassy in ukraine now urging americans to leave the country, saying the situation was unpredictable. but the ukrainian foreign minister has been playing down fears of imminent invasion. >> the number of russian troops amassed along the border of ukraine and in the occupied territories is large. it poses a threat to ukraine, a direct threat.

however, at the moment, this number is insufficient for the full-scale offensive. ros: economic sanctions are one of the main weapons the west has. in the u.k., liz trust has been outlining what that could look like. >> we are abo to legislate to be able to introduce even tougher sanctions on russia shld they stage an incursion. sanctions would target individuals within the elite, financial institutions, important companies. ros: russia has consistently denied that it is planning t invade ukraine, but it is also said that it would consider taking unspecified terry action unless the west agrees to its demands -- military action

unless the west agrees to its demands. there is no way they are going to do that. let us hear the thoughts and analysis of a former u.s. ambassador to ukraine. >> this is a greater threat. ukrainians do not want to panic. they are not prone to panic. they do need to take it seriously. the west needs to deter vladimir putin. deterrence is coming and farms of military equipment, resupply, reinforcements to nato, as well as harsh sanctions, even on vladimir putin. ros: the analysis of a bbc correspondent in washington. >> they have been telegraphing it significantly. they have put out this paper,

written responses to the russian demands. it is something the kremlin had been insisting on getting. it was delivered by the u.s. ambassador. the americans reject the main russian demands denying nato membership to ukraine, pulling back the nato presence from eastern europe, at least that is what we understand mr. blinken said there had been no concessions made and every principal upheld, but also he elaborated on areas where he thinks there is some common ground they could talk to the russians around in terms of security concerns, missile deployments, confidence building measures. they put it down in writing what they have been telling the russians verbally. ros: in 2014, when russia annexed crimea, the west issued condemnation and sanctions.

but it did not take military action. what are the americans saying about what they might do if russia were to invade this time? >> they are saying that there would be a economic sanctions, sanctions not on the table in 2014 and that would hit the financial and industrial sector of russia hard. the would increase weapon support to include -- to ukraine and they are saying they would both start nato's presence in eastern europe. they have recently put 8500 ips on alert to do just that if necessary. it will not send troops to ukraine. president biden has been clear. ukraine is not a nato member. there is no obligation to do so, and the americans do not want to get caught up in a direct war with the russians. ros: as you talk to the defense

and state department community, how do they categorize this moment? >> thehave been quite outspoken about the alarm they feel, given the kind of deployment they have seen on ukraine's borders. today, a senior u.s. official said indications are that the russians could take military action in the next weeks. ♪ ros: let us update you on u.k. politics. orson johnson hasaid he will not be resigning. the whole the u.k. waits for the publication of the civil servi report on lockdown parties in number 10. boris johnson repeatedly faced questions about these two great inquiry.

here is a little of parliament earlier. >> code says that ministers who knowingly mislead parliament will be expected to offer their resignation. does the pri minister believe that applies to him? >> of course, but i think he is inviting a question about an investigation, about which you know i cannot comment. he will know that i cannot comment. ros: the backdrop is sue grey's investigation into those parties and whether they broke covid rules. her report is complete but has not been sent to a number 10 yet. >> on the first of december, the prime minister told thisouse all guidance was followed

completely at number 10. on the 8th of december, at prime minister told this house, i have been repeatedly assured there was no party. since he acknowledgeshe ministerial code applies to him, will he now reside? >> no, mr. speaker. but since he asks about covid restrictions, let me remind the house and the country that he has been relentlessly opportunistic. he has flipped from one side to the other. ros: let us be clear. the timing of when this report is given to number 10 is up to sue grey. but when the report is published or if it up to boris johnson.

mr. johnson is understood to have made a commitment that he would publish the report in full. >> on the 8th of december, he told this house site will place a copy of the report in the house of commons. his spokesperson has stated that means the full report, not parts , not a summary, not an edited copy. can the prime minister confirmed he will publish the full report as he receives it? >> what i can tell him is that we have got to leave the report to the independent investigator. when i received it, i will do exactly what i said. ros: boris johnson said he will do as he said. two other developments have added further pressure. monday, it was reported he had a birthday gathering during the

first lockdown. number 10's response was mr. johnson was there for less than 10 minutes. on tuesday, police announced they would be investigating whether those parties during lockdown rope the law -- broke the law. >> -- brexit, the cost of living have pushed millions into poverty. the impending tax site hangs like a guillotine. this is nothing short of a crisis. the only route to restore public trust is for the prime minister to go. how much longer will mps let this go on for? how much more damage are they willing to do? show the prime minister the door. ros: boris jon's future is

in the hands of tory mps. for weeks, many have been saying they will wait for the report to be published before deciding what to do next. if they decide to act, 54 of them need to send letters to trigger a confidence vote. even if that happens, that does not mean history jobs and would use it. his cabinet is voicing support. >> there clearly needs to be a change in culture. the prime minister has said that mistakes were made. he has apologized. we need to get the results, to look at the results and fix the issues. but that should not diminish the fantastic work that has been done under this government and prime minister. ros: on the matter of whether boris johnson is being transparent -- >> he has been very open, very

honest, recognizing that mistakes have been made for which he has apologized. keep fully appreciates that he fully appreciates the norm is hurt and sacrifice. we all do. he has made a heartfelt apology. we also need to consider that in this extraordinary past two year period, he has made a number of good decisions. this has been something we have had to deal with as we have going on. ros: the house of commons is finished for the day. on where this goes next, [no audio] >> -- friday is a sitting friday. the business of the house

carries on. ros: let us getore on the whole situation in westminster. >> this is a bit of an unprecedented report. we do not have any set idea of the exact timings. the plan is to allow considerable flexibility when it does, to allow parliament to essentially be suspended for a period of time to allow mps time to read that report before the prime minister gives his statement in response, so that the opposition parties have a fair chance to read it through and scrutinize it. but we do not really have a precedent for it. because it is an independent report, it is separate from government. even speaking in people in government today, the picture is mixed. people are uncertain when it

could drop, something as soon tomorrow, friday, some suggesting week. anyone is saying with any certainty potentially could have two revised that. ros: in terms of the politics, tory mps making a push to get the prime minister to go. >> i it would not say that it has cooled. certainly, the mood has softened since the climax we sought last week when many mps were publicly coming out saying they had sen letters of no-confidence. we are in this little bit of a holding pattern until it gets to the publication of the report itself, but when that report does,, it is going to be a cisive moment for conservative mps not unhappy with boris johnson's handling of this affair. some have made their minds up that they do not want him to

stay as leader of the conservative party. they are waiting for that cover that they need to call for him to go. others do genuinely want to see what exactly is in the report. there has been so much speculation about who was exact at these parties, what the purpose was. the prime minister has already claimed that some of these parties were work events. this report should clarify the nature of these events. once that report lands, we will certainly start to see more people coming out publicly thank whether they want him to stay or go, which is white we have seen supporters privately try to shore up support behind the scenes, urgently trying to meet with different mps who might be wavering to try and guarantee some of that support. ros: state with me. in a few minutes, we turn to new

york, because prince andrew is demanding a jury trial. netherlands, there has been a relaxation of many covid measures. people in the hag have been rushing to return to all of their favorite places. >> this is where so many dutch people spend their lockdown. take a look. they are pretty deserted, because people have other places to go. museums, theaters, cafes, restaurants bars are all open again until 10:00 p.m. people will have to flash one of these. it is a qr code which shows you have either recently tested negative, been vaccinated

against, or recovered from coronavirus. already, there have been rushes to get a hold of cinema tickets after weeks of this lockdown. ros: we are in the bbc newsroom. our lead story is antony blinken has told russia that his country and nato will not bow to russia's demands in ukraine and eastern europe. prince andrew is demanding a jury trial as he seeks to defend a civil lawsuit brought by virginia giuffre. she is suing the duke of york in new york. she says she was traffic by jeffrey epstein, forced to have sex with prince andrew when she was 17.

>> thiis a formal response by prince andrew's legal team to the complaint. he goes through every allegation line by line. he either denies or admits to the assertions. he denies all allegations of sexual abuse with virginia giuffre on the three occasions that she alleges when she was 17. he also denies that she was sent out to prince andrew by jeffrey epstein for sexual purposes. he comments on that notorious photo that exists of prince andrew with his arm around

virginia and elaine maxwell -- ghislaine maxwell in the background. we know in the past, he has questioned whether that photo was in fact dr.. -- doctored. he also questions the fact that they say he threw ghislaine maxwell a birthday party. it goes through these allegations. this is now a legal record of print sandra's -- prince andrew's position. the document says that he wants a document by -- a trial by jury but he still thinks that virginia giuffre is not a resident of colorado that she should not able to bring this case. her lawyers dispute that. there are deadlines this summer

for key parts of the discovery. that is the part where the parties will have to be deposed, sit for interviews, exchange key evidence and documents. a trial could happen by this fall. that is if this does not end in a settlement or another resolution and does go to a full trial. ros: thank you. we are going to stay in the u.s.. the supreme court, the body that guards the constitution and gets to adjudicate on some of the biggest issues, is looking at a change. one of the three justices who make up the liberal wing, stephen breyer, is going to retire. president biden will nominate a replacement while democrats control the senate. he is currently the oldest

justice. justices can serve for life, but he has chosen to step down in june. six of the nine current justices typically leaned conservative replacing justice breyer is unlikely to change the overall balance of the court. here is the assessment from katie barlow. >> justice breyer has served on the court for almost 28 years. he was appointed by bill clinton. he is a very pragmatic judge. he approaches judging to make sure that the law works for people. he is practical in his approach to opinions, but he is now the senior member of the liberal wing. he has written opinions favoring reproductive rights. in his later years, he has been opposed to the constitutionality of the death penalty.

nearly three decades on the court. quite a legacy. he will wrap up his work on the court at the end of this term, which still proves to be a potential blockbuster as the court considers abortion rights and gun rights. ros: those justice breyer may not directly address this, he is stepping down and out because democrats know there is peril coming in the midterms. >> right now, our upper house is split 50-50 with conservatives. there is a narrow window of time for a democratic president be able to appoint and get confirmed his nominee to replace justice breyer. if the democrats were to lose the senate in the midterm

elections, then it is possible that the republicans would block any nominee that president biden would make, similar to what republicans did in the final days of president obama's term when he nominated merrick garland and republicans block that. that is part of the consideration, not something justices talk about, not something i expect justice breyer will make any comment about but the timing indicates that is part of the consideration. ros: you can get further analysis from me and the outside source team in lots of different places -- on the bbc news website or audio versions available via the ebc sounds out. search for my name. that ends this edition of outside source. thanks for watching.

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♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: the rules of business are being reinvented with a more flexible workforce. by embracing innovation, by looking not only at current opportunities, but ahead to future ones. man: people who know, know bdo. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundaon; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from