let me be careful. they have chosen not to send m-29s. right? they have chosen not to send tanks. they draw the line different than what i am and where i would but generally speaking the new kinds of weapons you have, the quantity and the long range artillery they announced two days ago, zelenskyy gay them a list and they delivered. not a lot zelenskyy would say but they seem to be leaning in. weeks ago the government in ukraine quite disappointed how slow the united states and the west was moving. they understand the battle of donbas is where this war could be decided and they want to help the ukrainians as much as they can to win the battle of donbas. michael, the rhetoric used by president zelenskyy is this sort
dismal and a failure and not saying this is a positive situation overall but it has in some ways reset american foreign policy in potentially nobler way with a clearer sense of purpose and secondary to the tragedy that i see no near term conclusion for in sight. claire, i m happy we get to talk to you today. i think something that american viewers wrestle with is the human tragedy, the indiscriminate bombing of civilians which michael crowly s colleague lynsy brought home in a shot of civilians, a family, a mom and 9-year-old and teenage son killed in what was supposed to be a humanitarian corridor
don t think moscow is not noticing that. don t think that putin is not noticing that. we are really in a position to help them with ground munitions and this is largely being fought on the ground. it can make a difference. to claire s point, michael, this is the latest estimate of how it s going and i think it s fair to say that ukraine exceeds the expectations that were held by the west 15 days ago. russia lost hundreds of vehicles. 15 to 20 fixed wing aircraft. estimated 20 to 25 helicopters. current u.s. assessment has as we reported at the top that it will take russia one to two weeks to encircle kyiv. been in that convoy that if it wasn t sinister is comedic.
attack all the more horrifying. thank you so much for being with us from lviv and joining us again with the great reporting and wonderful to see you both. joining the conversation is political analyst claire mccaskill and michael crowly. michael, to you first. it feels like the phase of the effort that courtney is talking about, the accurate dissemination of the intelligence about the amassing of troops on the ukraine border, about ramping up the numbers as putin is saying he was de-escalating. that phase may have ended and now it is a matter of helping to prepare the ukrainians from whatever heinous act comes next from putin and if we should putt the chemical weapons reporting
were to come to that. thank you for staying up late tonight for your reporting. claire and michael, there s already talk in this country and there s a lot of history with presidents of red lines. this is what adam kinzinger tweeted today. what is the red line with putin? what will it take for the u.s. to act? the threat of putin using chemical attacks in ukraine is very real. this is about humanity and doing what s right. what is the reaction to questions about red lines, michael? well, you know, you don t get a specific red line. i think we saw in the obama administration a clear illustration of why government officials don t like to set red lines. they don t want to be held to these boxed in and want