emotions within the western countries. we ll be guided by concrete steps and deeds. reporter: but those deeds and steps seem to point to escalation. these are new images showing troops from russia and its ally belarus preparing for joint exercises near ukraine s northern border. it may be just a distraction, but as russia continues to mass forces, ukrainian intelligence says it now sees this region as a full-fledged russian theater of operation. in other words, another dangerous potential front line. jake, that stark warning from ukrainian intelligence coming as u.s. secretary of state antony blinken arrives in kiev to show u.s. support for the country and to meet the leadership. but frankly, the ukrainians want more than just words from washington. they want military support to help them fight what they regard as an impending russian threat.
president zelensky. the senators say they stressed the u.s. is standing with ukraine and its sovereignty. how effective can all these meetings and support be if ultimately what happens next comes down to ukraine and its standoff with russia? it s better than it used to be, but let s not forget, the russian propaganda for years has been steadily denying ukraine is a failed state. it doesn t have rights to exist. in the last few days, they stepped up their attacks in ukraine talking about even using nukes if anybody interferes with russia s sacred try to take control of this territory. yes, of course it s talk. hot air. but propaganda machine in russia under full control of kremlin and stepping up not only military preparation but also propaganda campaign to back up the forthcoming invasion. i m not sure this decision has
putin didn t hear the message. or it was not the right message to deter putin. and right now, too many wars. and speaking of ukraine receiving american nuclear assistance after invasion, it sounds russian troops enter, who cares what u.s. is going to send. fair enough. i only meant more recently in terms of since you became world famous as a chess master. that s all, but i take your point. you ve been criticizing him for a generation. from natasha s reporting we re hearing that the u.s. might send ukraine s army some military equipment including ammunitions, mortars, javelin, anti-tank missiles. will that help? do you think this all signals an invasion is definitely imminent? look, everything will help but let s not forget the day before yesterday, the foreign
have gone harder, quicker if we could have. reporter: on the world stage, biden reassured allies after the whiplack of the trump era. america is back. reporter: yet the prospect of a new cold war is now an urgent fear. that was not apparent during biden s summit with vladimir putin in june which focused on cyberattacks. a threat overshadowed by russia s aggression toward ukraine. look ahead in three to six months and say, did the things we agreed to sit down and try to work out, did it work? reporter: biden sought to reset the russian relationship. now putin is testing biden and western allies. for all the challenges outside any president s control, one of the most devastating periods of biden s first year was a decision that he made and stands behind. i was not going to extend this forever war. and i was not extending a forever exit. reporter: the swift fall of the afghan government and the chaotic evacuation that followed, including 13 americans
been made yet but it s very, very serious and unless putin recognizes that this time the response will be too costly for him to bear, i am waiting i would expect the worst. and what would that be? what would be too costly for him to bear that the u.s. and nato could warn putin about that would actually have an effect? crippling economic sanctions that would include basically cutting russian gas supply to europe. and going after putin s money, after russian oligarchs that immense fortune all over the free world from baltic states to san francisco. so also you have to put it on paper. it has to be some form of law, just supported by congress, by sent. the administration has to make it clear that it will push european allies. because there s very little