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viewers like you. thank you. announcer: and now, "bbc world news". jane: i'm jane o'brn in washington, and this is "bbc world news america." warnings of an imminent attack by russia on ukraine intensify. ukrainian president address the nation. >> they telus february 16 will be the day of the invasion. we will make this into unity day. jane: the world anti-doping agency says they are disaointed that a 15-year-old russian ice skater has been allowed despite failing a drugs test.

cube uplands to be a gay, leading gay friendly tourist destination but others fear it is masking a poor human rights record. -- cuba plans to be a gay, leading gay friendly tourist destination but others fear it is masking a poor human rights record. ♪ jane: welcome to "world news america." the ukrainian president has declared wednesday a day of national unity after u.s. intelligence suggested that could be the day that russian forces attacked. in an address to the nation, mr. zelensky said that ukraine wanted peace but also had a wonderful and strong army. the u.s. announced they were moving their embassy staff away from the capital to the west of the country and have warned that moscow is increasing military deployments at the border.

our eastern european correspondent is in kyiv. >> russia is still building up its forces, lining up their potential along the ukrainian border. western governments warning that an invasion could come any day now. volodymyr zelensky address to the nation, assuring ukrainians that the country is confident, stronger than ever. that russia is trying to scare them, but they will not succumb. the talks to diffuse the crisis have been intensifying. today it was theurn of the german chancellor, showing support for key have, looking for ways to get russia to call back its troops. he underlined that that will not be by dropping their right to join nato. >> i am making it clear once again that ukrainian sovereignty

and territorial integrity are nonnegotiable for germany and we expect russia to take clear steps to de-escalate. >> in russia, the foreign minister was shown urging vladimir putin to keep talking to the west. they are all still sounding the alarm. >> we are on the edge of a precipice but there is time for vladimir putin to step back. everyone is engaging in dialogue, conversation to take place and for the russians to avoid what i think everybody, certainly everybody in the u.k. can see is a disastroumistake. >> we can be hard to ignore all of the warming of -- the warnings of all-out war.

even as negotiations of diplomacy continue, so does life here, pretty much as normal. beneath the surface people say they are feeling increasingly nervous now. lacks what we have to say and do, being afraid every hour of our life, we don't want to live like that. we just want to leave. -- live. >> we are patient and hoping for anything. >> we hope that the city will be safe and the families will be safe. >> for now, musicians play on. even school trips have not stopped, as ukrainians still can't quite believe the worst predictions. jane: president putin has long made it clear that he considers ukraine and russia one people linked by history. his desire to keep them witn the russian sphere of influence is threatened in art by the

ukrainian desire to be a part of nato. for more on how it is seen in russia, here is steve rosenthal. >> moscow dismisses all western warnings of invasion is hype and hysteria. if you look at the way the state media has been understanding the ukraine story, you will see that the picture presented to the russian public is the polar opposite of how the west sees things. according to the picture from the kremlin, russia has no plans for in invasion and it is america who is the aggressor and pouring weapons into ukraine and nato who is threatening russia by expanding eastwards. it still doesn't explain why moscow is amassing 100,000 troops right now near the ukrainian border and white has launched large-scale military exercises in the region. what is the aim of vladimir putin? a difficult question to answer.

no one is quite sure. some think it is all about russia trying to force ukraine back into the orbit of moscow. suddenly the objective of the kremlin is much wider. carving out a new sphere of influence for itself in europe. to dismantle the post-cold war european security order and to push nato back. today, with moscow sensing a lack of unity in europe, feeling that america is too busy with problems at home, the resurgent russia may feel that this is the moment to take action. and if there was all-out war with ukraine, how would the russian public react? it's hard to see the public here supporting a large-scale conflict with ukraine. ny russians say they see ukinians as brothe. there are deep, cultural, historical ties. war is the last thing that people want, but it won't be the

public who decides. it will be the president. what happens next? that may depend on whether vladimir putin is willing to compromise over ukraine and european security, even if he doesn't get anything -- everton he wants, like an end to nato enlargement, whether he is willing to reach a deal or continuing with coercive diplomacy. bbc news, moscow. jane: let's bring in the former director for european and russian affairs at the national security council. colonel, thank you very much for joining me. the drums of war appear to be getting louder. where does this leave the diplomatic efforts of the german chancellor visiting moscow tomorrow? >> unfortunately, those meetings are not likely to yield any significant results. at one point there was speculation that angela merkel,

the previous chancellor, carried a lot of weight and potentially had a significant amount of rapport with vladimir putin and might be able to, at that point could have achieved some sort of breakthrough. everything russia says is that they want concessions from the u.s., ukraine, nato in the european union, even prominent states like germany and france are not going to be what ultimately resolves the situation. i think your opening story just highlighted the deep contradictions between like the pursuit of, the platitudes, the rhetoric around diplomacy, the sabr rattling and the enormous build-up to war and those contradictions are playing out in real time, really making it difficult to discern what's going on. jane: so, if this diplomatic

window is closing, what is vladimir putin waiting for? >> there is a reasonable basis to judge that this is all posturing to indicate that all options were on the table and that diplomacy, those efforts were exhausted and it was a failure on the part of the west, that's the way that he and his team will spin the rhetoric. it's also buying time for those last-minute preparations. right now we have to realize that russians are at the jumping off whites. posturing at the border, the last bits and pieces are falling into place in terms of logistics and the major military equipment , now all just -- all but finalized. there is something to be said for buying additional time, aiding the efforts so that

ukrainians who are not prepared for the strikes that start landing, russia could achieve their military objective very quickly. we should take it from the facts on the ground, suggesting that this is leading towards a complication. jane: you mentioned the failures of the west. you over saul policy during the trump administration and you are suing the former president for retaliation anintimidation. president biden has been ou of office for a year. has he done enough in your view to try to deter russian aggression? >> no, i don't the key has. what we have seen in the last months unfolding is a very, very competent effort to build consensus, excuse me, to build consensus amongst the west, amongst the nato community to

respond to russian action, but there hasn't been much in the way of headway regarding diplomacy for russia. they didn't leave much of a door open. they made such stark, maximalist claims. there was no opportunity to work with them. where the biden administration may have fallen short is that they were watching -- marching towards war and the geopolitical landscape in such a way that there should have been more options employed early on to convince president putin that the weakness of the west and the internal divisions of the west did not exist. i think that is where we could have done a bit at her. now we need to focus on the day after. there are sanctions that will go into place, i'm confident of that. we could have to deal with a security crisis with regards to refugee flows and the realities of a major war in europe. that is what we should be

getting ready for. there will be a time to diagnose where we fell short over the past two decades. it wasn't just biden and trump administration's. it was two decades of failure with regards to russia. jane: lieutenant colonel, thank you very much for joining me. jane: the world anti-doping agency says they are disappointed that the 15-year-old russian ice skater kamila valieva has been allowed to compete at the beijing olympics, despite failing a drugs te. the wada's head said that the doping of children was people and unforgivable. they made the decision after hearing and said provisional suspension shod not be imposed. laura scott is in beijing. >> it's worth noting that the panel was tasked with looking at the matter of the apparent

anti-doping rule violation or what happens to the metals that have yet to be awarded one week after the competition concluded. we have had quite a lot of reaction already. the world anti-doping agency saidhey are disappointed by the ruling, said the -- saying that the rules don't allow for exceptions to be made in the mandatory provisional suspect -- provisions managed -- mandatory provisional suspensions. prioritization needs to be that athletes don't come to these events to compete. they are saying that that didn't happen in the case of kamila valieva's sample. the paralympic and olympic committees say they are disappointed and said it appears to be another chapter in the systemic and disrespected regard for clea sport by russia. she is able to return to the ice and has done so today ahead of

competition for tomorrow where she is the favorite. this troubling scandal with a child at its heart is by no means over. jane: you are watching "bbc world news america," and still to come tonight, cuba plans to be a leading gay friendly tourist destination. but not everyone is dancing about it. ♪ jane: n to canada, where the prime minister is invoking the never before used emergencies act give his government more authority in response to the trucker led coronavirus protests and blockades. it comes as police in alberta say they have arrested several protesters and confiscated several firearms. >> if you look at what's happening in the province of alberta, that is somethingo really be concerned about. taking a step back, the more

lasting impacts of these otests along the border crossings is future canada u.s. trade relations. a cornerstone of that is the freedom of goods movement. the development on the west coast comes as there are more developments happening in the province of ontario. the premier of that province has announced that some of the covid restrictions that have been put in place are going to be rolled back. ♪ jane: britain has reaffirmed its sovereignty over the jago silence on the day that the -- jago islands. the marise and government has warned -- maritian government has warned them not to remove

the flag. >> is this idyllic archipelago still british territory and a delegation visiting for the first time put up a flagpole and raised their national flag, perlite -- politely and provocatively staking claim to britain -- two territory held by britain for half a century. >> this being part of mauritius, they deserve to have a flag here. when people come, they know they are entering mauritian territory. >> may saying their national anthem. -- they sang their national anthem. they have worldwide support, the prime minister sending this recorded message. >> as the state announces

sovereignty over the chagos archipelago, mauritius will ensure wide stewardship of their territor >> the mauritians are already acting like it is a done deal, bringing in international experts to map their borders. >> i haven't seen any dryland yet. >> not good news then for the mauritiuans? >> the legal aspects, i will leave them to the lawyers. >> and the lawyers have been busy, winning two victories at the united nations. under international law, britain is illegally occupying the islands. the british and the americans say that their priority is security. if the u.k. surrenrs sovereignty over this strategic

archipelago, before long the chinese navy could be must -- muscling in. the mauritian government says they won't allow that to happen. also visiting chagos today, islanders have been forcibly removed -- islanders who were forcibly removed. though they are not united, they raised another flag in defiance of britain. andrew harding, bbc news, the chagos islands. jane: in india, schools and colleges in a state are partially reopening today, closed for nearly a week because of the protests over the his job

-- hijab ban. six were barred from entering college premises for wearing them. >> there are restrictions on people assembling and protesting outside schools and colleges as they reopen across the state. this university college for women is where it all began when students from classes 11 and 12 raise the demand that they be allowed tohijab be allowed to wear the hijab in their classroom. -- that they be allowed to wear the hijab inside classrooms. the court has said that while the matter is being heard, students must refrain from

wearing religious clothing inside of their classrooms. that demand spent from -- spread from this university to others across the state. non-muslim students wore shawls gathered inside the college and protested the muslim students, after which last week the government decided to shut down all schools and colleges to maintain peace and harmony in the state. jane: in other news, the film director and producer ivan reitman, best known for "ghostbusters," has died at the age of 75. his big break came when he produced the 1978 comedy " national lampoon's animal house." he is said to have influenced a

generation of movieers. the cuban national assembly will soon debate changing the country's family code, which can see same-sex marrge legalized in a referendum later this year. they hope to become the leading gay friendly tourist destination in the caribbean. their fit five-star gay hotel has reopened after the coronavirus lockdown was lifted. activists say that the lgbtq plus friendly hotels contrast sharply with the recent clampdown on human rights on the island. >> there is a new flag flying over one of the luxury cuban hotels. symb of g pde.henttional on a government organized pressed tour of their first hotel aimed primarily at lgbtq tourists, m

e aim was to create a fully safe space for gayisitors. yet cuba has not always be a welcoming place for the gay people there. homosexual men and women were sent to reeducation camps early on in the castro regime. the cuban government hopes that by enhancing their reputation as a gay friendly destination it will help to kickstart their economic motor, so badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. >> it's nice to be in a place where you feel welcome and encouraged to be yourself. we signed a waiver when we got here saying that tolerance is the only way and that if you are not tolerant of people, you will be asked to leave. >> tolerance has been notably absent in cuba. following islandwide antigovernment protests in july, the authorities have clamped

down on all forms of dissent. trials of detainees have been held behind closed doors with the state seeking decades long prison sentences for defendants. a second protest was stopped before could begin. one of the organizers was forcibly kept inside of his home. his attempts to signal to the press outside, silenced. amid such repression, cuban gay-rights activists say that the hotel is an attempt by the state to mask their poor human rights record. >> i would invite the hotel guests to come here and investigate the repreion that we receive as indendent activists and if we try to do any type of protest, gathering, or a report into human rights, we are repressed. i would ask them to see past

that and look beyond the beautiful pictures. >> amid the sharp slump in tourism, cubhas doubled down on the gay tourist dollar. a new hotel is set to open soon and the government is set to put a change to their family law to the people with a referendum on the legalization of same-sex marriage later this year. >> hotel archimedes may be the first of seval gay friendly hotels in cuba. at this particularly sensitive moment, activists say that guests should be aware of the wider humanights context of their trip. jane: it does look romantic, though. and of course it is valentine's day, where greek scuba divers have begun advertising underwater messages and one

adventurous couple has already planned their wedding there. you can catch all the latest news on narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪ narrator: you're watching pbs. ♪ da-da-da-duh-da-da-da♪ ♪ da-da-da-da-da-da ♪♪

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff on the "newshour" tonight, the crisis intensifies-- the u.s. moves its embassy from kyiv as russia aggression toward ukraine destabilizes the region before an expected invasion. then, a controversial decision-- the olympic committee allows a russian figure ster to compete despite testing positive for a banned substance, but withholds medals until further review. and courting justice-- we examine the life and career of one of the judges on president biden's short list for the supreme court vacancy. >> her experience as a public defender, and that is an unusual

addition, and i think a valuable