[ inaudible ] no time? big mistake. reporter: jake, that was an assessment that lined one what we heard with his advisers over the course of the last 24 hours. not notably, president putin s announcement came hours before joe biden s speech. just a short time ago, an interview was released where the president called it a big mistake but was confident they could work things out. that underscores a subtext here. u.s. officials make clear this is a reversible position. the treaty goes until 2026. there is time to figure this out. keep in mind, this was the first agreement reached by joe biden and putin at the start of his time in office. it goes to show even on issue where is they thought they could negotiate and reach agreements, the relationship is all but imploded at this point. phil, the president is set to land back in washington in a few hours. what will await him as republicans continue to splinter on the subject of support for ukraine? reporter: yeah, there are
that meeting comes just case after u.s. officials told cnn that the chinese government is contemplating providing putin with lethal military aid. this afternoon, a pentagon spokesperson warned there could be serious consequence it is that happened. cnn s fred pleitgen reports from moscow where putin attempted to drum up support among russians at a military-style rally earlier today. [ speaking non-english ] reporter: russian leader vladamir putin rallying his nation for a tough battle. at an event in moscow, putin s message to the crowd, russian troops in ukraine are fighting for russia s survival. translator: there is a battle going on for our historical borders, for our people. it is led by the same courageous fighters standing here. they fight heroically, courageously, bravely. we are proud of them. three years in their honor.
existential. jake, vladamir putin doubling down on that message once again tonight. he sent out a video message for russian forces, claiming the russian troops in ukraine are figing against what he calls naziism in ukraine. he also promised new and modern weapons for those troops. clearly not the words of someone who appears to be backing down. jake? fred pleitgen in moscow. thanks so much. let s bring in senator roger whitaker, the top republican on the senate armed services committee. you wrote last week the united states was the arsenal of democracy during the second world war. if we fulfill that role again, we will show xi and putin that there are limits to what their partnership can achieve. do you think biden is on track with fulfilling that role with his recent trip to europe? well, let me say i applaud the president for going to europe. they were great words.
putin s unprovoked war remains nebulous. while china and russia strengthened their alliance, joe biden met with the bucharest nine, the countries in red on your screen. let s bring in phil mattingly in the polish capital of warsaw. biden was pressed on putin s latest nuclear saber rattling, but he did not seem to want to talk much about it. reporter: yeah, he did wieig in, but it was clear he wanted the focus to be on those countries he met with today. when asked about vladamir putin s surprise announcement during his hour and 45-minute speech that he would be suspending compliance with the new start nuclear arms treaty, he responded like this. mr. president, any reaction to putin saying he s putting out of new start?
military supplies, reaffirming his commitment to relations with beijing in a meeting china s top diplomat. translator: russia-chinese relations are developing just as we planned. everything is moving forward, developing. we are reaching new milestones. reporter: china has brushed off the u.s. concerns that beijing might be contemplating supplying arms to the kremlin s war efforts, taking a swipe at the biden administration. translator: we would like to emphasize once again that the comprehensive strategic partnership between russia and china has never been directed against a third party, and is not subject to interference and provocation by any third party. reporter: while beijing says it wants a political solution, vladamir putin is drumming up support for his military operation, trying hard to keep the russian population motivated for a battle he deems