we have western sources telling us, it s falling short of expectations. ukraine pushing back on that. how well do you think ukraine is doing? i think ukraine is doing really well. listen, this is a long-term battle. one thing i learned in war i did three combat tours in iraq and afghanistan no single day is dispositive. one day is different from the next. ukrainians know what they need to do. they have incredible will to fight. we ve given them the tools to do so. we have to give them the time to execute. there s going to be setbacks from time to time. there always are in wars like this. but i believe firmly in the power of the ukrainian people. and we have to continue to stand by them. it s going to be a very long slog. thank you very much. thank you. and coming up, doctorsg psy their patients. we ll discuss the fda s draft guidance on clinical trials with an expert in the field. that s next. stick around. they re both blueue!
ukrainian forces have lost a significant amount of troops and heavy equipment in their assault on russian lines in the east. that is what a senior u.s. official is telling cnn, two of them actually. this is coming just days after ukraine s deputy defense minister said an offensive is taking place in several directions. my next guest is part of a bipartisan coalition that just sent a letter to president biden again urging the u.s. to provide ukraine with fourth-generation fighter jets, that s a move that russia says would bring enormous risks. we are joined by congressman jason crow, he is on the house intelligence and foreign affairs committees. he s also a former army ranger who served three combat tours in iraq and afghanistan, and he is now the co-chair of the bipartisan four-country caucus. a lot of stuff, but i think all relevant to what we re talking about here today. this letter, you re putting a lot of pressure on the president. the president has softened on f-16s a little bit.
in the 1960s, vietnam was facing a communist annihilation. my dad served two combat tours there as a pilot. before he left this earth, i was blessed to record my dad for my best-selling book, nine rules of engagement. i want to share it with you. let me set it up. my dad was off-duty for a night, asleep in his barracks in vietnam. suddenly the eighth division was under attack. he and others fled the barracks and began to run, mortars blowing up around them, the base was taking heavy hits. dad had to get to the command bunker and get fighters into the sky. when it was over, he was injured. doctors told him he could go home and get a purple heart. he said, he was a little salty, screw that, i m still alive. the next time i ll be flying, not in my bunk, scrambling on the ground. he said being an american comes
the best among us to give other people a fighting chance. in the nineteen sixties, vietnam was facing a communist annihilation. my dad served two combat tours there as a pilot. before he left this earth, i was blessed to record my dad for my first best selling book, nine rules of engagement. military brats, guide to life and success. and i want to share a little bit of that with you. let me set it up so my dad was off duty for a night, asleep in his barracks in vietnam. suddenly, eighth division was under attack. he and others fled the barracks and began to run mortars blowing up around them. the base was taking heavy hits . dad had to get to the command bunker and get fighters into the sky. and when it was over, he was injured. doctors told he could go home and get a purple heart and he said he was a little softy. screw that. i m still alive. and the next time i ll be flying. not in my bunk bunk, scrambling on the ground.
i m always a fan of talking and diplomacy, alex. i was an army ranger and served three combat tours in iraq and afghanistan. we don t want a war, so discussions, diplomacy, keeping lines of communication are open are essential first lines of defense for the united states. and there s nobody better suited to disbatch to china than cia director bill burns. he s an exceptional diplomat and exceptional head of the cia. so it was a great move to do that, and we have been doing other things to keep the lines of communication open, because increasingly, there s been danger of escalation, of misunderstanding, as the rhetoric continues to take notches up. we have to figure out ways of reducing the temperature in the room and keeping the discussion going. and the administration is doing that on a couple of different important fronts. a u.s. official telling me he