gunfire. while he s got the world s attention, president putin is flexing his military muscles. drills at the weekend may be only war games, but fear is still growing in the west that russia s army is preparing for something real and imminent in ukraine. the us have proposed talks between the two presidents to try to avoid that scenario. president biden has made very clear that he s prepared to meet president putin at any time in any format if that can help prevent a war, and, as long as, even if the die is cast, until it s settled, until we know that the tanks are rolling, the planes are flying and the aggression has fully begun, we are going to do everything we can to prevent it. but moscow still hasn t confirmed if they ll take part. putin is due to chair an unscheduled meeting of the russian security council later today. the political wrangling continues, but, for some, the fallout is already real.
ukraine. the ukraine insists war can be averted through diplomatic and other nonmilitary means. while we believe president putin has made the decision that the die is cast, until that die settles and until the tanks are actually moving, planes are actually flying, bombs are actually dropping, we will do everything we can with diplomacy and deterrence and dissuasion to get president putin to reverse the decision we believe he has made. and part of that is making very clear what he risks in terms of sanctions. joining us now is steven lynch, democrat from massachusetts. he s also chairman of the national security sub committee which held a hearing on the crisis in ukraine last week. thanks for being with us this morning. and i just wonder what you think the chances are of this biden-putin summit actually happening good morning, brianna. thank you for having me.
president biden has made very clear that he s prepared to meet president putin at any time, in any format, if that will help prevent a war. and as long as even if the die is cast, until it s settled, until we know that the tanks are rolling, the planes are flying and the aggression has fully begun, we re going to do everything we can to prevent it. to set the terms for a putin biden meeting, their respective foreign ministers will speak on thursday. but the white house says any proposed summit will only take place if russia has not invaded its neighbour. in recent days, in eastern ukraine, russian backed rebels and government forces have accused each other of violating a ceasefire. following the killing of two ukrainian soldiers, now russian backed rebels there say two civilians have been killed in shelling by government forces. russia is helping evacuate women and children from the eastern breakaway regions it controls,
not any more leaving the fear of war hanging over its nearby border with ukraine. but after a series of phone calls, the french president says the us president and president putin could meet to discuss the crisis, offering hope of a peaceful solution. president biden has made very clear that he s prepared to meet president putin at any time, in any format, if that will help prevent a war. and as long as even if the die is cast, until it s settled, until we know that the tanks are rolling, the planes are flying and the aggression has fully begun, we re going to do everything we can to prevent it. to set the terms for a putin biden meeting, their respective foreign ministers will speak on thursday. but the white house says any proposed summit will only take place if russia has not invaded its neighbour.
will help prevent a war. and as long as. even if the die is cast, until it s settled, until we know that the tanks are rolling, the planes are flying and the aggression has fully begun, we re going to do everything we can to prevent it. to set the terms for a putin biden meeting, their respective foreign ministers will speak on thursday. but the white house says any proposed summit will only take place if russia has not invaded its neighbour. in recent days, in eastern ukraine, russian backed rebels and government forces have accused each other of violating a ceasefire. following the killing of two ukrainian soldiers, now russian backed rebels there say two civilians have been killed in shelling by government forces. russia is helping evacuate women and children from the eastern breakaway regions it controls, claiming kyiv is planning an attack there.