happening now, president biden vows the united states skpland the nato allies will not waiver in their support of ukraine. their critical summit here in lithuania ending with a strong show of unity, despite unanswered questions about when ukraine will be invited to join the nato alliance. also tonight, president volodymyr zelenskyy, he returns to ukraine with new assurances from western allays and face to face commitment ifs r president bi biden, but zelenskyy leaves the summit without concrete security guarantees or a time line for nato membership. we re watching all of this unfold here in the situation room. what does it all mean for ukraine s defense against russia s brutal war, i ll ask the ukrainian ambassador to the united states who s joining us live this hour. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world, i m wolf blitzer in vilnius, lithuania, and you re in the situation room. we re live here in vilnius, the capital of lithuania, and t
president was in helsinki standing side by side with vladimir putin defending the russian leader. we ll take you there live. also, right now, wild weather coast to coast from tornados in chicago to flooding in the northeast, and more than 100 million americans under the thumb of a historic heat wave. we have your forecast. plus, setting the stage for another hollywood strike, first writers, now actors, what it could mean for all your entertainment. good morning, it s 10:00 eastern. thanks for being here. i m ana cabrera reporting from new york, and we begin in helsinki where we are just minutes away from a joint press conference with president biden and the president of finland, nato s newest member. let s go there now with nbc news white house correspondent, monica alba. walk us through the presidents day there in finland so far. reporter: well, ana, this is really a historic cap to a week of critical meetings for president biden overseas, and he s here in finland m
but even if the threat is over and it s not at all clear that saturday s turn around was, in fact, the end, what did the flash of descent do to russia itself, not the government or security services but the people. what message did russians get over the weekend? what did they see when yevgeny prigozhin s tanks move toward the capital? what did they feel when his troops reportedly shot down several russian helicopters? that s according to ukraine s air force. what did they hear when vladimir putin called prigozhin a traitor and compared his threat to 1917. we re going to ask masha gessen of the new york. the russia public saw something extraordinary, a choice, it will something that changes russia even if it doesn t alter putin s control in the short term. let s get our reporting and the news from russian tv that vladimir putin will speak tonight. joining me now from moscow is nbc news chief international correspondent keir simmons. so keir, this news that he s going to speak,
police cars. a giant mob forced a cruiser backward down the freeway. lauren has more from washington. good morning, these videos are just as wild as dangerous and dumb. this was a busy intersection saturday night. take a look. oh. [bleep] [engines revving] ashley: at police cars, a crowd swarming and forcing a police car back. one officer was injured, several police cars were damaged. the police department is understaffed from officers on the street and 911 operators. just 60% of calls is answered within seconds. they had to lower minimum job requirements to fill openings. in 2020 the austin city council defunded the police by $150 million. the austin police association tweeted austin policymakers are responsible for the overall safety of citizens and visitors, looked like the wrong decision and they continue to demoralize public safety. austin was one of the safest cities, not anymore. the police budget was reinstated, but not until after officers left. they are strugg
it is sunday, february 19th. welcome to our new home at 10 am. this is saint sofia church in kyiv, ukraine, the capital of this country. it is a beautiful night here. it s a mild night. it s not common to see the city lit up at night for various reasons, including the fact that it has been the target of air raids for almost an entire year now and because russia infrastructure has been hit. the city is lit a night. it s beautiful. it s 5 pm, 6 pm here in kyiv. on friday, we re going to mark one year since russia s unprovoked invasion. i was in ukraine last spring in lviv in the west of the country. they are now back to see what has changed what i stayed the same and what is next for this global fight for democracy. one thing, as you know, i keep saying this that remains the same as that russia continues to rain terror from the skies in the form of missiles and rockets and airstrikes and drones, even here in kyiv both in the battlefield and far away from it in places like i am