into ukraine. russia sees ukraine as part of its own country, and there are long historical and cultural reasons for this. but his red line, of course, he doesn't want anyone ever going into ukraine. and there's been a lot of concerns ukraine is moving westward. that's what initially caused putin to invade crimea in the first place. he's trying to set a clear line here, and this is classic sort of cold war mentality of deterrence and hoping that that sends a clear message to u.s. and other western allies that russia means business. >> all right. we'll see what comes out of that video call. natasha lindstadt joining us there. >> thanks for having me. >>> before his virtual summit with president biden, putin is said to head to india for talks with the prime minister narendra modi. that is kicking off with defense ties expected to be in focus. let's head straight out to new delhi where cnn's veda kasud joins us. goods. what is expected to come out of the talks with russia and indian leaders? >> report

so, if there's going to be a negotiation about ukraine, ukraine has to be at the table. and that's when you bring in the nato/russia conversation, that channel, which is to be on january 12th, that is a place for nato to voice its concerns about russia's behavior, there's a two-way dialogue. and then the organization for security and cooperation in europe brings everybody in and again, there's going to have to be a place for ukraine, a special place for ukraine at the table, if they're talking about some kind of settlement issues in terms of these broader european security questions that effect ukraine. >> we heard the conversation being described as serious and substantial, according to the kremlin, u.s. president said there were no plans of deploying offensive weapons in ukraine. and biden said this to u.s. reporters about the commitment to the ukraine. >> the idea that the united states is going to unilaterally use force to confront russia invading ukraine is not in the cards right now. >> for putin, he warned that tough economic sanctions in response to a russian inv

without ukraine joining nato. and in less predictable way. in more, like, real and long term and less predictable way which have possible western vessels and aircrafts and the army trained to fight russia back. i mean, ukrainian army. so it's not -- it's better nato for russia for moscow. >> so nato would offer some sort of moderating influence, i guess on ukraine. >> well, it seems -- >> just before we go, because i want to ask about president biden's response here. he has warned russia will -- moscow will face consequences if they invade. but those warnings have been, you know, fairly generic. so, how -- what kind of options does he have on the table here? >> those who predict the possible russian strike against ukraine mentioned that there's a perfect timing for putin if he wants to strike. the ukrainian leadership is weaker. president zelensky is weaker than when he was arrested years ago. and the united states left afghanistan. and the worst sanction you can apply against russia are not to buy russian oil and gas, but exactly now, it's v

putin has made his decision on whether or not to invade ukraine, but mr. biden laid out the consequence if he does, which could include strong economic penalties. sources say the video call turned tense at times as the two leaders discussed the tens of thousands of russian troops at ukraine's border. cnn's kaitlan collins has more on the meeting from washington. >> reporter: a high stakes call amid fears of a russian invasion. >> hello. good to see you again. >> reporter: with tensions simmering on the border of ukraine, president biden spoke to russian president vladimir putin for two hours and one minute. >> the main topic was ukraine. >> reporter: the call posing a critical test for bhiden as he tries to avoid a major security crisis if russia invades ukraine. >> we didn't get clarity if that is his intention? >> we still do not believe president putin has made a decision. what president biden did was layout clearly the consequence if he chooses to move. >> reporter: biden warning putin about strong economic consequence and, quote, other measures, but i

so russia has created this capacity to invade ukraine. of course, the u.s. and nato are very, very concerned. but blinken making clear that there still is time for a diplomatic solution, a diplomatic off-ramp to de-escalate this entire situation, isa. >> yeah, its historical context is very important. alex marquart in stockholm, sweden there when the meeting kicks off 30 minutes from now. thanks very much, alex. >>> now, the secretary of state also announced the u.s. is preparing new sanctions against belarus using migrants as political weapons. belarusian security officials used dirty tricks to fuel the crisis at the poland/belarus border. damian sullivan has this for you. >> reporter: the belarusian kgb set up fake accounts on its platform designed to look like activists and journalists as stoking tensions at the border between belarus and poland. here's what facebook said the accounts were doing. these fictitious person as posted english, polish and kurdish about guards allegedly about migrants' rights and make the accounts look realistic, the belarusian

ukraine's not a member of nato. but it does promise, along with its european allies, punishing economic sanctions that are unprecedented, that would go, it says, to the heart of mr. putin's personal wealth and his government and will cause him enormous pain. that's what they're promising. they also say they might, if there's a big invasion, provide some defensive weapons, more defensive weapons to ukraine and nato, if ukraine falls completely under russian control, which i doubt, nato will probably move more troops to its member states that border russia. so that's the quiet decisions, but we don't know exactly what they are, of course. >> yeah. you mentioned equipment that the u.s. might provide. what about intelligence? are they sort of preparing to provide any of that, and would that not be seen as provocative by moscow? >> they are providing intelligence. i mean the big question for america is what do you provide ukraine that helps deter putin, and what do you provide that might provoke putin? and that's a very

there was not planned to be a specific russia/ukraine statement coming from the g7. there was planned a more general all-encompassing statement about the outcome of this meeting. however, there is now going to be what we're being told is a specific statement on russia and ukraine to purposefully show that strength of unity and resolve, we're being told. foreign ministers here are fired up on the issue, that there is full support and agreement about the type of sanctions that could be placed on russia, that these would be quantifiably and orders of magnitude different to the level of sanctions placed on russia, to the point that they could have an economic spill-over and impact on some of the european partners here. so that convergence is definitely arriving as we understand. we've just seen the british foreign center who's hosting this talks, minutes before her, u.s. secretary of state, antony blinken, going into the talks as well. today is not so much the focus on russia, it's more on the asean members who will be joining. there will be focus as well on owe covid an

this comes amid soaring tensions over russia's military buildup near ukraine's border. now russian president vladimir putin is demanding security guarantees from the u.s. as well as nato, including a binding pledge that nato won't expand further east. cnn's oren liebermann has more from washington for you. >> reporter: the biden administration is making it clear that the demands put forward by russia, demands, for example, that ukraine not join nato or about positioning of u.s. forces throughout nato as well as advise and assisting ukraine, these are nonstarters. the administration has made it clear not only from president joe biden, but also secretary of state anthony blinken russia can't make demands of ukraine foreign policy. whether it joins nato or other alliances is a decision for a sovereign ukraine to make. here's what blinken had to say on tuesday. >> one country does not have the right to dictate the policies of another or tell the country with whom it may associate. one country does not have the right to exert a sphere of influence. that notion should be rele

of ukraine which is, of course, a big a ally of russia. you had the ukrainians doing some exercises there. president biden wants to make clear to vladimir putin that any invasion of ukraine is going to be very costly for russia. he didn't spell out exactly what that's going to mean but it certainly seems as though from what we're hearing, for instance from the u.s. secretary of state, that it would mean massive sanctions against russia, much larger than the sanctions we've seen so far. that obviously is something -- is a tool, if you will, the u.s. has tried to use in the past as well. the russians for their part, they're sort of becoming more and more clear on what exactly they want. they do say they think it's a very volatile situation there. they say they believe the ukrainians are the ones that are acting belligerently. the russians are saying essentially what they want is they want guarantees there won't be an eastward expansion of 2345i9 tow and they also say that they don't want or they want assurances that ukraine is not going to b

>> i don't think that for putin, this is about ukraine. ukraine is the last stand, but it's not the stand between moscow and kiev. this is -- this is where putin wants to stop nato's enlargement and the movement of u.s. military infrastructure to russia. i don't think that the invasion just for the sake of invading the country, annexing the country, is in putin's plan. >> and i know that the biden administration is thinking, look, let's make some quick work of what is a crisis, and sometimes there are breakthroughs that can happen with this kind of brinksmanship. we have to leave it there for now. dmitri trenin, thank you so much. >>> right now at this hour, the body of late south african archbishop desmond tutu is lying in state for a second day, and mourners are paying their respects a day before his funeral is held in cape town. that's where we now find our david mckenzie. these are really momentous days for so many in south africa. despite covid and desmond tutu's own wishes, from what i've seen, david, people are really feeling a powe

so nothing about ukraine without ukraine at table. so whatever that conversation, the assistant secretary of state for european and yeurasian affairs has. this appears to be a follow-up conversation to see if they are change their tone, not accepting their points, per se. >> appreciate the reporting, nic robertson in liverpool. thanks so much. and we'll be right back. my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching... the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is the only medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant® with tremfya®... ask you doctor

fred pleitgen the ukraine high stakes summit. fred, let's begin with you in berlin with sanctions already on russia. what difference will more really make? how will it affect these discussions today, do you think? >> reporter: well, i think it's the main tool really that president biden has in his arsenal. certainly the main one he wants to talk to vladimir putin about. and i think the sanctions that the biden administration has been talking about and has really been talking to allies about as well and also ukrainians are far stronger or would be far stronger than anything that we've seen so far, even in the past couple of years with all the things russia has been doing in and around ukraine. a lot of it could lead to some is he vee economic penalties for russia, could make it difficult. but also could quite frankly take a pretty big toll on european countries that have economic relations with russia. one of them, of course, being germany, getting a lot of gas from russia. in jgeneral, these sanctions could have a large effect. t

to the north russian troops are are already on the ukraine border. they fear moscow is preparing to invade ukraine again and today's phone call is presumably to dissuade putin from taking action. cnn's nic robertson joins us from moscow. what is the intel you are hearing, nic? >> reporter: the kremlin isn't laying out a reason why putin asked for the phone call. what we heard from the white house is they remain concerned about russia's continued troop buildup on the border of ukraine. and the message is that if russia really wants to have a constructive and productive dialogue in these talks that are coming up on january the 10th, then this needs to happen in an atmosphere of de-escalation, and the united states says it's not seeing any de-escalation at the moment in terms of the russian troop buildup. and in the past few days, the united states flew a spy plane over ukraine with the ability to look at what russian troops were doing, how they were deployed. russia, of course, said it had withdrawn 10,000 troops. the united states seems to have the vi

it made it very clear it is not going to go to war for ukraine. ukraine is not a member of nato. but it does promise, along with its european allies, punishing economic sanctions that are unprecedented that would go, it says, to the heart of mr. putin's personal wealth and his government, and will cause him enormous pain. >> that was steven ehrlenger of "the new york times" speaking earlier. >>> zrap is taking a big leap forward in the development of ballistic missiles according to multiple sources that spoke with cnn. u.s. intelligence believes the kingdom is making its own missiles thanks to support from china. oren liebermann has this exclusive report. >> reporter: a building arms race in the middle east with chinese fingerprints. these satellite images show the site in central saudi arabia where u.s. intelligence officials se ri ay riyad is bui its own ballistic missiles. u.s. across multiple agencies have been briefed on classified intel revealing multipler large-scale transfers of sensitive missile tech from beijing to riyad. to use burn pit pour rocket fuel show the saudis

they talked about sending aid to ukraine. those are up for discussion as well as economic sanctions which biden said would be harsh on russia if they do make that decision. so we're waiting to see president biden speak to zelensky. we'll see what the out come of that call is, what rea urns shoulds he offers. and he is going to speak with the nine leaders of the countries that are on the eastern side of nato to talk to them about the situation that is ongoing as well. really for the white house, it is a wait and see scenario, waiting to see if putin does heed those warnings from biden about invading ukraine. kaitlan collins, cnn in washington. >>> the body of the late senator bob dole will lie in state at the u.s. capitol rotunda in the next few hours. the outspoken republican died sunday at the age of 98. he was being treated for advanced lung cancer. on wednesday president biden paid tribute to his longtime friend while visiting cancel. he represented dole 35 years. >> for those like me who had the honor of calling him frien

the europeans are very much on ukraine's side here. now, what does that mean, right, support for ukraine's territorial integrity? do not expect to see france pledge french troops, right, send french troops to ukraine in the event of russian aggression. let alone european troops. the europeans and the french in particular who are leading the diplomatic format along with germany and the talks with ukraine and russia, what they want to do as they put it, they are in deterrence mode. they want to prevent any aggression by russia on ukraine from taking place at all. and their main weapon to do that has been to warn russia that it will face severe economic consequence if it is -- if it engages in hostile action to ukraine. they're trying to prevent it in the first place, isa. that is the heart of the matter here and what you are going to hear macron reiterate today. >> cyril vanier in paris for us. fled plotkin, on two separate meetings given the rise in geopolitical tensions. thank you to you both. >>> still ahead right here on the show, an

the russian embassy has no intention of invading ukraine and they say the civil war in ukraine is the thing that's getting hot and explosive. and that's their concern. they're saying that it's britain that's moved troops closer to russia's border in estonia and poland. there are a relatively small number, several hundred tops as part of the nato reinforcement on its eastern flank with russia. so it is a war of words. is russia paying attention to what the g-7 foreign ministers are saying here? absolutely. will we get some more clarity on the strength of that unity and commitment later today? we're anticipating that. >> all right, nic, looking ahead as i mentioned, the u.s. assistant secretary of state who oversees europe and eurasia will be going to ukraine to talk about the military buildup, so what we are expecting to come out of this? >> when president biden spoke with president putin just about a week ago, the conclusion was that there would be follow-up diplomacy at sort of a lower level track. and this appears to be that. very senior diplomat, u.s. secretary of state, is a senio

ukraine from joining nato is the easiest one for joe biden. if they were going to invite ukraine into nato, they would have done it in the seven years since crimea fell back into russian hands. they haven't done so. and there's no indication that i see that nato believes ukraine is ready for that yet or nato is ready to make that commitment to them yet. i think what's going to be more complex is putin is watching ukraine gradually move more and more into the sfees ofsphere of the west and that's what he is trying to stop. >> thank you, david sanger. >> great to be with you. >>> in indonesia, at least 14 people were killed and 1300 displaced after a sudden volcanic eruption left villages covered in ash. at least 13 people right now are still missing. now, the hot ash, volcanic gases and smoldering debris are still a threat to those living nearby. i'm joined now by will ripley who is in hong kong. the volcano is still active, right? it seems like the weather could be hampering rescue efforts. what more do we know? >> there are just a number of f

it is expected to set the stage for the meeting in geneva aimed at ending the ukraine crisis. nic robertson reporting from moscow. >> reporter: the clock is ticking down to the phone call between president biden and president putin. president putin has requested it. the white house says that president biden believes in the diplomacy of leadership-to-leadership conversations, and that's why he is taking the call. but at the same time u.s. officials are saying they're not seeing russia do anything to reduce tensions along the border with ukraine. they say there's still a heavy russian troop presence close to the border with ukraine, and the message that's coming from the white house at the moment is that if russia wants to achieve its aims and get clarity from nato about its intent over ukraine, then it is better done in an atmosphere of de-escalating tensions, that there needs to be a really high-level of engagement for russia to sort of go towards its aims at the january 10th talks when russian and u.s. officials sit down to talk together. we understand that those talks, there

support for the sovereignty and integrity of ukraine. so one of the big questions is whether putin is planning on invading ukraine. the answer to that cannot be known. the president on departure to camp david this weekend was asked what he would do if russia invaded ukraine. he did not answer the question, but he did say this -- >> we've been aware of russia's actions for a long time and my expectation is that we're going to have a long discussion. >> do you accept putin's red line on ukraine? >> i don't accept anybody's red line. >> reporter: one of the big reasons it's so difficult to figure out what's going on with the russian troops is according to a u.s. intelligence report, they're being moved around in a way so as to obscure their motivations. joe johns, cnn, the white house. >>> cnn anchor chris cuomo has been terminated effective immediately. the news came saturday afternoon cuomo was already suspended by cnn. it stems from how he advised his brother, then new york governor andrew cuomo, as the governor was facing sexual harassm

, and that it won't accept ukraine as a member of nato. so there are ambiguities that could emerge in those talks, and it's hard to see how that's going to sit well with russia. this is a diplomatic track, but it's still all about the military. >> in terms of those military movement, what are we looking at now? because obviously there were some withdrawals, but there are some troops left there. what specifically are you looking at in terms of, you know, what the wider world should be alerted to? >> reporter: clarity, clarity that those troops russia said have gone back to base have gone back. clarity on whether or not they took the military hardware with them. when russia went through a military buildup close to the border with ukraine earlier in the year and scaled back after the military exercises that it said were pre-planned and on its own territory, that it's perfectly at liberty to do, which is the same situation that exists now. again, training that was planned on russian territory and from russia's perspective, even if it's close t

support for the sovereignty and intelligent of ukraine. so one of the big questions is whether putin is planning on invading ukraine. the answer to that cannot be known. the president on departure to camp david this weekend was asked what he would do if russia invaded ukraine. he did not answer the question, but he did say this. >> we've been aware of russia's actions for a long time. and my expectation is that we're going to have a long discussion with putin. >> do you see that putin's red line on ukraine? >> i don't accept nine's red line. >> reporter: one of the reasons it's so difficult to figure out what's going on with the russian troops is according to a u.s. intelligence report, they're being moved around in a way so as to obscure their motivations. >>> pope francis is heading to the greek island of lesbos where he's set to meet with refugees in about a half hour. it's part of a five-day trip to cyprus and greece to highlight the plight of migrant in the mediterranean. saturday the pope met with greek leaders in athens. in the birt

shipment of small arms and ammunition has arrived in ukraine. cnn's diplomatic reporter nic robertson is standing by in liverpool. nic, unity between russia and china, is that going to be the central theme here? >> yeah, and russia really dominating the issue. look, and all of the conversations we've been hearing that have been coming from leaders, diplomats in recent weeks, it is about unity. so expect that to be repeated here. and i think a hint of it released in secretary of state blinken's audio play list, songs that he listens to himself when he's traveling this type of summit. top of the list, no surprise "penny lane" from the beatles from this famous city. second on the list, another liverpool anthem "you'll never walk alone." perhaps a subliminal message there, a between-the-lines message for ukraine. they are not alone. that the leaders here want to send russia an unequivocal clear message that if there is an incursion into -- ukraine by russian forces, that are right now we understand amassing more troops from the border, undergoing li

. >>> vladamir putin and joe biden hold serious talks over ukraine. but is the russian president trying to deescalate this tricis or ratchet up tensions with the u.s.? >>> and it's not exactly cold outside with record breaking heat, what happens when winter becomes a season of the past? >>> live from cnn center, this is "cnn newsroom" with john vause. >> hello, everyone. welcome to our viewers in the united states joining us here on cnn international. around the world, the advice is mostly the same, the safest place to see in the new year will be at home surrounded by a small number of people. in many cities, public celebrations have been canceled, scaled back or tougher guidelines. hopes of partying like it was 2019 have been dashed with a surge in covid infections. despite a record daily count of 74,000 infections in new york state, the traditional ball drop in new york city still scheduled, but attendance capped at 15,000, and viewing areas will be off-limits until 3:00 p.m. the seven-day average of global infections is 1.2 million, the highest eve

. >>> with tensions over the years a growing fear that russia is plan an invasion of ukraine. ahead, we'll explain what joe biden is prepared to do to keep that from happening. >>> plus breaking news from the deadly shooting in michigan. parents are now in jail after skipping and going on the run. we'll have the very latest after the break. stay with us. ♪ ♪ ♪ this is how we shine. ♪ find the perfect gift at zales. the diamond store. ♪ [laughing and giggling] (woman) hey dad. miss us? (vo) reflect on the past, celebrate the future. with the season of audi. who's on it with jardiance? we're 25 million prescriptions strong. we're managing type 2 diabetes... ...and heart risk. we're working up a sweat before coffee. and saying, “no thanks...” ...to a boston cream. jardiance is a once-daily pill that can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults who also have known heart disease. so, it could help save your life from a heart attack or stroke. and jardiance lowers a1c. jardiance can cause serious side effects including... ...dehydration, genital yeast or urin

nato secretary says it's unlikely nato would send troops since ukraine isn't a nato member. but europe continues to threaten economic constant kenss. germany threatening to block russia's nord stream 2 pipeline. cnn's melissa bell joins us from moscow. we've seen this diplomatic flurry of activity from both sides around ukraine the last few days but are we any closer to a resolution here? >> you know, ever since the cia director bill burns came out to moscow at the beginning of the fall we've seen all of those diplomatic contacts really increase. as you say, with that frenetic activity we saw last week. karen donfried, the u.s. envoy to europe coming not only to moscow but to kiev. american congressmen coming to kiev last weekend. the ukrainian president heading to brussels to meet with nato and also european leaders. and yet here we are heading into a new week, no closer to a resolution. if anything, kim, the positions on either side appear to have hardened as has the distrust that one side has for the other over exactly what is happening in the ukraine. for the last few mo

nato not to allow ukraine to have membership. and nato not to base military forces on the territory of ukraine. a very steep ask of the united states and of nato. this now appears that the diplomatic track is opening up. all of the tracks are still possible. >> yeah, nic, a lot to try and figure out over the coming weeks with this. i'm glad you're there for us live in moscow. nic robertson for us, appreciate it. >>> coming up, the u.s. is seeing record low and high temperatures from coast to coast. we'll have the latest forecast. that's ahead. >>> heavy flooding in northeastern brazil has left at least 18 people dead and nearly 300 injured. more than 35,000 people have now been forced from their homes, and with the region just in the middle of its rainy season, they're bracing for the possibility it could just get worse. cnn's matt rivers reports now. >> reporter: in the streets of brazil's northeastern bahia state, some are resorting to rafts and jet skis to get around. others can only trudge through the fast-moving waters, loca

he says russia has no intention of invading ukraine, but warns moscow would be forced to take action if it's threatened. meantime, cnn has just learned that u.s. secretary of state anthony blinken will meet with the foreign ministers of russia and ukraine thursday to discuss these growing tensions. cnn's alex marquart has more now on blinken's diplomatic efforts, including his meeting with nato in latvia. >> reporter: secretary of state tony blinken warned there would be severe consequence for russia if there is, what he called, renewed aggression. blinken was speaking with reporters here in latvian capital. he said the u.s. is very concerned about the russian military troop buildup along the border with ukraine as well as increasingly belligerent rhetoric. blinken said russia often pairs these moves with efforts to destabilize a country from the inside. that was in response to a question about an allegation made by the ukrainian president vladimir zelensky about a coup plot against him. blinken said he did not know whether that was true or not, but he did say this. >> we have seen r

did in 2014 when russia annexed crimea from ukraine. ultimately, this phone conversation will be about trying to determine what exactly can be accomplished during those security talks on january 10. the clear goal from u.s. officials from their perspective is dees a calating and having russia draw down forces. jeremy diamond, cnn, delaware. >>> ghislaine maxwell now faces the rest of her life in prison. a jury in new york convicted her of recruiting and grooming teenage girls for her late associate and former boyfriend, jeffrey epstein, so he could sexually abuse them. her family had no comment as they left the courthouse but said they firmly believe in her innocence. here is reaction to the verdict. >> reporter: it was a momentous day for survivors of abuse by jeffrey epstein and ghislaine maxwell, after she was found guilty of five of the six months she faced, including sex trafficking a minor. many of these survivors felt a devastating blow after jeffrey epstein died in 2019, shortly after he was arrested on those federal sex traffic

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it comes as president biden is trying to diffuse the situation between ukraine and russia. he spoke with the ukrainian president on thursday over the grim threat of possible invasion as russia continues to build up forces along ukraine's eastern border. cnn's phil mattingly has more. >> what we know is that the aggression here is on the russian side. >> reporter: president biden moved to reassure u.s. allies as the threat of a russian invasion of ukraine still looms. >> our objective is to make clear the significant and severe economic consequence if russia were to invade ukraine, not just from us, but from the global community. >> reporter: biden seen here in the oval office in the middle of his hour and 16-minute call with ukrainian president zelensky as more than 100,000 russian troops threaten zelensky's border on three sides. >> the president's intention going into this call was to provide an update for president zelensky on his call with president putin and underscore our support for ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. >> reporter: then a call with the le

plans to consult with ukraine during the talks. for more on all of this, we're joined by nic robertson, who joins us live from moscow. these are significant talks, of course. they're on schedule now, and the u.s. continues to say that this is a two-track approach -- deterrence and diplomacy. yet, i think, nic, we should all settle in and get comfortable, right? i mean a substantial troop presence, russian troop presence on the ukraine border, probably something that will be sustained for some time. >> reporter: it certainly seems to be. i mean, look, it appears in essence, if you boil this down, that that troop presence and the concern that it's brought to ukraine and to nato allies is what's brought them to the table with russia. president putin, his deputy foreign minister, his spokesman have all been pressing over recent weeks to get talks going fast. president putin wants to end the ambiguity he sees in nato's position about ukraine. he feels that nato is expanding eastward. that's a threat to russian security in his view. so t

officials are saying they're not seeing russia do anything to reduce tensions along the border ukraine. they say there's still a heavy russian troop presence close to the border with ukraine and the message that's coming from the white house in a moment is if russia wants to achieve its aims and get clarity from nato about its intent over ukraine, then it's better done in an atmosphere of de-escalating tensions, that there needs to be a really high level of engagement for russia to sort of go towards its aims, the january 10th talks, when russian and u.s. officials sit down to talk together. we understand that those talks there will be pentagon officials, state department officials, national security council officials as well. from the russian side we know that there will be a strong presence they say from their ministry of defense. so the context is being laid out here, it seems, ahead of those talks on january 10th, but russia still has a long way to go, you know, if it wants to achieve its aims which already seem a big stretch for nato to concede to. and another point from the white

we've seen this diplomatic flurry of activity from both sides around ukraine these last few days, but are we any closer to a resolution? >> reporter: on the contrary, kim, the brinkmanship -- the war of words seems only to have intensified with on one hand, on the russian side, that list of demands clearly put before not only the united states, but nato during the week. we've heard from sergey ripkov saying, look, these were not ultimatums, just warning. yet, warnings, of course, that the west in the shape of nato in the united states needs to sit down to begin these discussions, these negotiations on the basis of demands by moscow that would simply be unacceptable, either to european partners, to european leaders, to nato, or to the united states. on the american side and on the western side, much greater coordination than anything we've seen before regarding ukraine in terms of its preparation of sanctions, in terms of its intelligence sharing. and in terms of a much more coordinated measure that anything it had before. we've seen activity in brussels, in washington, as well. and we

he says snato should not take in ukraine as a full member. those are some of the guarantees he wants. u.s. officials are saying russia can put their concerns on the table. we'll put our concerns on the table, as well, about this troop buildup and other issues. the u.s. saying we'll be talking on the basis, on the principled basis that nothing about our allies and partners without our allies and partners being there, meaning at the table, that would be nato and ukraine, too. so the u.s. has got its very clear positions on this. they're also saying, u.s. officials are also saying look, we may be able to agree on some thing, but there will be things quite potentially that we'll disagree on. it's very unclear if president putin is willing to accept those kinds of continuing disagreements. he's looking for absolute clarity on nato's position on ukraine and may not be willing to accept ambiguities in these talks. what's also unclear that the 10,000 troops that russia's military said they withdrew over the weekend, they said they withdrew them becau

and nato warn against any further aggression towards ukraine. putin has been demanding security guarantees from the u.s. and nato, including a binding pledge that nato won't expand further east. but he says these demands don't amount to an ultimatum. >> translator: is this an ultimatum or not? of course not. we are hoping for constructive and meaningful negotiations with a visible end in result within a specified time frame, which would ensure equal security for all. >> cnn's melissa bell is following developments, and she joins me now live from moscow. good to see you, melissa. so what is the latest on this rising tension between russia and ukraine, and where might all this be going? >> reporter: well, there is this rising tension, the result of course of tens of thousands of troops on the ukrainian border. but of course with that, the rhetoric, the increasingly aggressive rhetoric not just from moscow but also from nato, from the united states. we heard yesterday not just vladimir putin warn in that televised meeting of the defense ministry th

now tensions over russia's military build up along ukraine's border were on the agenda at the g7 foreign minister's meeting. the g7 nations are warning russia of massive consequences if it takes any further aggression against ukraine. they're warning a threat from russia is real. a representative was part of a bipartisan congressional delegation and spoke exclusively with cnn. he calls for extreme sanctions against russia and said the u.s. must be prepared. listen. >> it is a very difficult situation for us to calculate what putin is going to do, but in my opinion it's always important for you to believe what someone is telling you that they are, and if they are showing you that they want to invade ukraine, they are going to intend to do it, we might as well plan for it and make sure we are helping out ukraine in terms of the capability for them to resist this invasion. >> he says the group is meeting with u.s. to assess the information. >>> u.s. secretary of state antony blinken is in indonesia. he'll work to boost ties as the u.s. looks to counter china's growing influence in the regio

kremlin forces are converging near ukraine in the tens of thousands and u.s. intelligence says at this rate, they could launch an invasion within months. all of this ahead of a virtual summit between u.s. and russian leaders. cnn's matthew chance has details from kiev. >> reporter: russia is planning an imminent invasion of ukraine, diplomacy is being urgently stepped up, with the u.s. and russian leaders agreeing to direct talks via video link. the kremlin say that the virtual summit will take place on tuesday evening moscow time. russia, which u.s. and ukraine officials have deployed tens of thousands of troops, is demanding new security guarantees from the u.s., to stop any further expansion of nato to the east. president putin told incoming ambassadors to russia that he would press his u.s. counterpart for a written, legally binding commitment. take a listen. >> reporter: we proposed to start meaningful talks. i would underline that we need legal guarantees as our western colleagues didn't fulfill the verbal promises they gave. in particular, it is well kn

russia offered an ultimatum to nato to resigned to georgia and ukraine, and nato quickly rejected. cnn's international correspondent nic robertson is standing by in liverpool. nic, unity between russia and china, is that going to be the central theme here? >> reporter: and russia in particular, because it's the most pressing issue at the moment, we have seen over recent weeks, diplomats, leaders, trying to sort of present a united poise to president putin that if you push troops into ukraine, there are going to be consequences. and absolutely that is front and center of takes that began a few hours ago with the g7 foreign ministers, secretary of state antony blinken met last night with the german minister who very recently came to the job in the last few days tying up sort of the commonality and position on what potential economic sanctions can be put in place against russia. of course, energy, the gas, the nord stream 2 pipeline thinking will be front and center. not only china, but afghanistan, we heard them say they contributed $100 million in humanitarian aid. just announced at

the year ends with tensions between ukraine and russia at the highest in years. massive buildup of russian forces along the ukrainian border, fueling fears over moscow's intentions. number four, xi jingping's grip on power titans. >> how he has been able to cement his hold on power so long. >> it sets him up as the undisputed supreme ruler for years to come. >> reporter: and with this, an assertive china. 2021 saw sophisticated propaganda campaigns to reflect criticism over human rights abuses. the arrest of pro-democracy activists and former lawmakers in hong kong and aggressive military maneuvers aimed at taiwan. >> this island is potential flashpoint for what their president calls a fight between authoritarian china and democratic taiwan, allied with the united states. >> reporter: number three -- >> protest rallies across russia in support of detained kremlin opposition activist, alexei navalny. >> reporter: russia's best-known opposition politician, sent to a penal colony, when he dared to return home, five months after a nerve agent attack. >> shortly befor

concerns over russia's military activities on the border with ukraine. cnn's joe johns has more now from washington. >> reporter: plenty on president biden's agenda this week, probably the number one item is that secure video call with russian president vladimir putin. the number one issue on that call likely to be the thousands of russian troops massing on the ukraine border. american authorities say they have a lot of information about it. they even released an intelligence report with a number of pictures of the locations where the troops are massing. what they don't know is what it all means, whether putin is attempting to set up a distraction, or whether he, in fact, is seeking an invasion of ukraine sometime next year. administration officials have said that if putin tries it, there could be a whole round of financial sanctions to make putin pay. joe johns, cnn, the white house. >>> senate republican joni ernst is urging president biden to be very clear and very strong during his call with mr. putin. cnn military analyst retired general weighed in

because putin is looking for this absolute clarity about nato's intentions for ukraine. you know, president biden laid out the scenario of de-escalate, and we can continue and have a productive diplomatic track. that diplomatic track is open, but the entry level for that is de-escalation. and the alternative to de-escalation is -- is sanctions. military, economic, financial. that's the kremlin's readout and they heard that message loud and clear. putin's response to that was, okay. you put those sanctions on us and that's going to cause a huge rupture in bilateral relations, calamities for both generations felt for generations. when it comes to de-escalation, russia's perspective, they said, look. we will do with our troopers what the united states would do with u.s. troops if russia was close to the u.s. border. so there's no indication that either side is backing down at all here. >> yeah. and it does seem as if the solution is further in the offing, and that they will continue talking. i want to ask you, though. putin normally on this issue have backing of majority of

small arms and ammunition has arrived in ukraine. cnn's senior international diplomatic editor nic robertson standing by for us in liverpool. what's going to be the main message these leaders are going to want to come out of this meeting? presumably one of like-minded allies on the same page when it comes to issues like russia. >> reporter: yeah. i think we may get a slight insight into the thinking of secretary of state antony blinken when looking at his spotify playlist for this trip. of course liverpool a city of history, a city of culture, and the fab four, the beatles from this city. at the top of this playlist was penny lane by the beatles. but next on the list is a liverpool anthem, you'll never walk alone, a message perhaps for ukraine because that's the expected message to be delivered from here. i have to say my favorite on that playlist was echo and the bunny men. but maybe i'm just showing my age there, michael. but it is a very serious discussion about russia as russia is seen to continue to increase its troop presence a

and reaffirm their commitment to ukraine's sovereignty. they also called on moscow to dees kacalate to ease tensions. >>> mexico is deploying its national guard to some tourist areas to combat a recent spike in deadly gang shootings. coming up, an expert on how mexico's beaches became war zones. we'll be right back. or fun. daring, or thoughtful. sensitive, or strong. progress isn't either or progress is everything. - san francisco can have criminal justice reform and public safety. but district attorney chesa boudin is failing on both. - the safety of san francisco is dependent upon chesa being recalled as soon as possible. - i didn't support the newsom recall but this is different. - chesa takes a very radical perspective and approach to criminal justice reform, which is having a negative impact on communities of color. - i never in a million years thought that my son, let alone any six-year-old, would be gunned down in the streets of san francisco and not get any justice. - chesa's failure has resulted in increase in crime against asian

concerns over russia's military activities on the border with ukraine. cnn's joe johns has more now from washington. >> reporter: plenty on president biden's agenda this week. probably the number one item is that secure video call with russian president vladimir putin. the number one issue on that call likely to be the thousands of russian troops massing on the ukraine border. american authorities say they have a lot of information about it. they even released an intelligence report with a number of fatherpictures of the locations where the troops are massing. what they don't know is what it all means, whether putin is attempting to set up a distraction or whether he, in fact, is seeking an invasion of ukraine sometime next year. administration officials have said that if putin tries it, there could be a whole round of financial sanctions to make putin pay. joe johns, cnn, the white house. >>> bob dole, a decorated war hero and former u.s. senator republican, has died at the age of 98. now, tributes have been pouring in from all over the world, including

the troop's presence has raised western concerns moscow is planning to invade ukraine. u.s. and russian officials are set to hold security talks on january 10th. >>> meantime a supreme court hearing in moscow is set to resume on whether to liquidate russia's prominent human rights group memorial international. the government accuses the group of failing to identify as a foreign agent. memorial was found bid soviet era dissidents and documents repression during that period. they report on what is at stake if the group is shut down. >> for alexei, this is history. the little thing that survive the gulags and will have been treasured all the more by those who lost everything. >> they want to remember their house. remember the normal life. >> people like gregori, alexei's great grandfather who never made it back from the gulag he was sent to in the 1930s. here in the basement memorial in moscow, he explains it was thanks to the organization which specializes in investigating soviet era crime that he was able to learn the truth about his family and why that matters. history, he s

this conference comes amid tensions over the country's military buildup along ukraine's border which we have been reporting on the show for several days now. and as russia really looks to hold talks with u.s. and nato over security guarantees, talks are expected in the new year. cnn's melissa bell is following all the developments from moscow and she joins us now. >>> melissa, i suspect this might be quite a lengthy news conference as we have come to witness over the past few years. what are we expecting to hear from the president here at this time, of course, of heightened tensions with the west and with nato? >> reporter: well, for the time being you're quite right, this can go on for sometime. the record is 2008 when it lasted 4 1/2 hours with some 80 questions from journalists, isa. it's been going on for just under an hour now, just over half an hour. and so far it's concentrated very much on things like the pandemic, the economy, the soaring inflation that russia is seeing, rising food prices, and salaries. so very much on the economy and how it is impacting ordinary russians.

among the kremlin's demands a guarantee that the ukraine never joineds nato. and a halt of nato activity in former soviet states. cnn's melissa bell joins us from moscow. melissa, so many demands from moscow. what's been the response from washington and nato? >> so many demands, from moscow, kim, you're quite right. a series of demands that couldn't be considered a pick and choose menu, but the west, the united states, specifically, nato with whom russia is demanding, requesting these negotiations begin on the basis of those requests. that, essentially he's saying you have to take them as a whole. clearly, those demands, whether you look at the request that nato confirm. or announced that it will no longer seek to expand eastward. a nonstarter. it's been made clear by washington and also nato. but also the idea that it would be essentially rolling back what is already the case. what we heard yesterday, is that what moscow is requesting is that essentially the architecture that's been in place for several decades now for western security be rolled back, so, for

it also provides $300 million in military aid to ukraine. and the defense bill established a multiyear independent afghanistan war commission to examine the war in afghanistan in the wake of the u.s. withdrawal. >>> we're learning new details aen the chaotic evacuations in the final days of the u.s. war in afghanistan. new data from the office of refugee resettlement shows some 1,400 children were e vac waited to the u.s. without their parents. many of the children tried to flee with their families but got separated in the chaos. u.s. officials say the majority of the children were quickly released to live with sponsors including other family members, but about 250 remain in government custody. advocates say that most of them have no family to live with in the u.s. and for those with relatives stuck in afghanistan, it's unclear when, how, or even if they'll ever be able to be reunited. > well, joining me now to discuss the humanitarian crisis in afghanistan is the u.n. secretary-general deputy special representative for afghanistan and a u.n

we have reports from chicago, washington, ukraine and berlin. >>> we begin in new mexico with a tragedy on the set of the movie "rust," and a star alec baldwin telling his side of the story. the actor emotionally describing the moments last october leading up to the discharge of the gun he was holding, killing cinematographer halyna hutchins and wounding director joel souza. he tells abc news he didn't pull the trigger but he did cock the hammer so hutchins could set up her shot. >> i said to her, in this scene i'm going to cock the gun. do you want do see that? she said yes. i take the gun and i started to cock the gun. i'm not going to pull the trigger. just tilt it down a little bit like that. i cock t