0 hundreds of thousands of covid-19 vaccines to moldova. and millions of dollars of pandemic related assistance. we will invest $18 million in the next year is to help strength and and diversify model this energy sector. where security is vital for your sovereignty. we support the -- lead negotiations. to finalize a settlement to the transaction -- with a special status. and we will seek every opportunity to deepen the ties between our countries. economic ties, educational ties, people ties. because we want our friendship with the people of madonna to grow even stronger. in the face of the global challenges that we face today, we will all gonna be more successful when we go as partners. especially among democratic characters. we like countries that staff -- support inclusive governance for citizens, produce the best solutions for the most difficult problems. so, we will support medulla as we see our priorities. fighting corruption, fighting democratic reform. including in the -- and developing an independent media that can deliver reliable information and can help fight misinformation. as people around the world step up to defend democratic values, moldova is a perfect example of democracy rising to the moment with determinants. this partnership is built on shared interests, and shared values. we are very grateful to moldova for 30 years of friendship. we look forward to the next 30. and on behalf of the american people. thank you again for your generosity towards the ukrainian refugees at this moment for >> democracy and peace. thank you. [speaking foreign language] >> now we're going to take questions from the representatives from the press. we start off with the moldovan media. >> -- i have a question for both miss sandu and antony blinken. in the first ten days of the war, moldova received the biggest amount of refugees from ukraine. again, mid comparison with the population of -- huge effort for our country. can the international community do in order to quickly help out those people? and in order to cease the war in ukraine? >> we'll continue helping our -- out all the people who have to flee from the war. this isn't a challenge. this is exactly the reason why we have requested the international assistance in that shape a financial assistance. to compensate all the expenditures we have in order to help out those people. but secondly, we need mechanisms to re-channel refugees that would like to continue their journey to reach out to other countries. so those requests we have -- and obviously, we also expect specialists that have been involved in the maddening of the situations earlier. people that know how to read -- those are the most important elements of assistance which we are expecting from the international community, as well as from our partners. >> i agree with what the president said. there is a major effort under way involving countries around the world to support refugees arriving from ukraine. but first and foremost, the burden has been on neighboring countries, like the republic of moldova. like poland and others. and are the immediate responders. what we're seeing now is the international community joined in to support these countries and to support that refugees. so, you have the major international organizations, including the united nations in particular, that's bringing its expertise and resources to bear. as i mentioned a moment ago, president biden asked our congress for emergency support to include very significant humanitarian support. to help ukraine deal with the humanitarian consequences of this wars progression, both within ukraine itself, but also in the surrounding countries that are receiving refugees. so, we're bringing our own technical expertise to bear, including here and the republic of moldova. we'll also be bringing resources to bear to help alleviate some of the burden that moldova and other countries are carrying. >> [interpreter] secretary of state, which we do you assess the submitted by the republic of moldovan the application of mueller to join the european union? and for which the united states can help us out in this process. for example, could we expect support in order to strengthen our energy independence, which is michael vital, i think, in order to have true independence in our country? >> thank you. [end of translation] >> i of course can't speak for the european union, that i can say that we very much support moldova's european aspirations and welcome the work that's been done in that direction. this is the will of the moldovan people and we welcome the pursuit of closer ties and greater integration. but ultimately, that process is up to moldova and the european union and its member countries. when it comes to energy independence, i think that's absolutely vital. that independence and energy security is actually critical to maintaining once sovereignty and independence. that's exactly why we are working to support mueller in its efforts to build greater energy so security and diversification. we're doing that with financial support to develop alternatives. we're doing it with expert support, as it happens our new ambassador is an expert in these very issues. so, we'll be working very, very closely with moldova, as we have been already, to help produce greater diversification. greater energy security in the coming years. i think this is something vital to pursue for all countries. and we know also what can happen when any country, this is the case for many, is overly reliant on others that prove in one way or another, prove to be reliable suppliers. so, this is very much the focus of what we're doing together. and is something we'll be pursuing very actively right now and then the months and years ahead. >> [interpreter] -- >> jake, new york times. >> good morning. hello, madam president. thank you for having us. secretary blinken, given that the state department has again urged americans to leave russia immediately, are you considering closing the u.s. embassy in moscow? and regardless, what is the biden administration doing about that detention of american basketball player brittney griner? was this a retaliatory move by the russian government? it was the announcement of her arrest yesterday prompted the new travel alert? and then finally, how seriously is the u.s. considering selling additional f-16's to pull in, so that poland can give its planes to ukraine? and realistically, how quickly can this happen to help against invasion? thanks. >> laura, thanks very much. with regard to the individual you mentioned, there's only so much i can see, given the privacy considerations at this point. let me just say, more generally, when an american is detained anywhere in the world, we of course, stand ready to provide every possible assistance. that includes in russia. as you know, and we've talked about this for a long time, we've been seeking the release of paul we learn and trevor reed, for sometime. both of whom were unjustly detained. we have an embassy team that is working on the cases of other americans who are detained in russia. we're doing everything we can within their rights. we've also advising americans not to travel to russia. similarly, where advising americans in russia to leave. but for my perspective, in times like these is, important that we maintain our diplomatic contacts. that we maintain the diplomatic support, particularly support that we can provide to americans who need it. so, that's what i'm focused on doing. with regard to planes, a couple of things. first, just as a general proposition, over the past year, we provided more than a billion dollars in security assistance to ukraine. more than in any single previous year. we're in very active conversation with ukrainian officials, with the government, president zelenskyy, and others, to get an up to the minute assessment of their needs. as we get that assessment, we're working on seeing what we and our allies and partners can deliver. we are looking actively now at the question of airplanes that pull may provide to ukraine. and looking at how we might be able to back fill should pull and decide to supply those planes. i can't speak to timeline, but i can just tell you we're looking at it actively. >> thank you very much. madam president, what do you see as the implications of russia's invasion of ukraine for moldovan security? and what concrete measures are you hoping to see from the u.s., in terms of support? in addition, if i may, have you seen any changes to the russian troop presence in transnistria? and for secretary blinken, you've been very clear that the u.s. commitment in nato countries, but you've been equally clear that u.s. troops won't fight to defend ukraine. and that context, what kind of assurances can the u.s. actually made to moldova about its own security? >> [interpreter] of course, we do follow -- in transnistria. we don't have information so far -- significant changes. however, this is a subject of high -- i want to remind you that we had troops of the russian federation originally here illegally. it's a vulnerability. we do have information so far which would confirm the intention for those troops to be involved in military actions in ukraine. however, in this region, of course there's no possibility for us to feel safe or secure. especially when we watch what's going on. when we saw all those attacks and the war in ukraine. obviously here within the republic of moldova we try to do our best in order to ensure the safety of the citizens. beyond the security, there are multiple implications for us. there are implications related to the economic -- the republic of all the way used to have a relationship with ukraine. and now all the economic cooperation, like all the companies, the agents, which used to be part of this relationship are being affected significantly. obviously, it is a very difficult now to reach out to get some of our province and investors we. promised our citizens to bring investments to our country by. in the current situation is very difficult. this crisis of refugees places high pressure on our economy. judging by the figures that we have available today, a number of refugees have chosen to stay in the republic of moldova. accounts for 3% of the number of stable populations. just in ten days, we've seen such a significant figure. obviously those figures will go up. i want to repeat, it's a our model duty to help out everybody who needs assistance. and we will help everyone who needs assistance. however, we do need support from our partners in order to be able to help out other people. we do hope that this assistance will come for us as soon as possible. peter we strongly support moldova's sovereignty, as well as the constitution's neutrality. you have seen the response that we have helped to mobilize around the world. to russia's aggression against ukraine. whenever, and wherever that aggression might appear. then we will do the same thing. >> we're gonna continue to listen into this press conference between secretary of state, anthony blinken, and the president of moldova. it is already been news making. talking about the number of refugees, 216,000 brought to that country. they have open arms, some even their private homes. refugees streaming in from ukraine in an increasingly dire situation from people on the ground. also about americans that are being detained in russia. what's the path is on that. including wnba star britney. but the biggest news here is secretary of state saying there are active conversations in the u.s. government about the desperate plea made by zelenskyy that his military needs more power. one of the things being considered, is that poland would stand -- and the u.s. would back giving 68. but putin said it would be a declaration of war. for more on this, let's bring in marion sublot ski, a member of parliament in ukraine, -- and. think you so much for being with us. mary and the vlad ski, if you can please, we all know that the president of ukraine yesterday made a plea to members of congress saying we need more power power. and it has immediately gotten some support from some key members of congress. explain why that so important right now as you try to flush fight russia's incursion? >> the -- of russia's ten times the amount of ukraine. we have greater moral, greater motivation but it cannot compensate for that. we do need to have firepower not to just protect our country, but all of europe. i think it is clear why secretary blinken is in moldova. he thinks that moldova is the next country for russia to attack. month russia already has troops in the breakaway region of -- . and we agree with that assessment. it will definitely not stop with ukraine. we think he is likely to attack mode over this year, then to the baltic states. and members of the european union and nato. and we think, unfortunately, nato will be in direct conflict with russia. we asked not to wait for further escalation, but to give us things now. so least we can contain it on our territory. >> how desperate is the situation? tell us what you can about what's happening on the ground right now and why president zelenskyy said unequivocally, times of the evidence here. >> because russia is using its peer ear amounts of armor, that it bought for the money from oil. and they are striking mostly from the air, our targets. we need some time to bring in enough military equipment to hide them there. currently, more than 90% of ukrainians believe that we will fight them back. because currently, this is a national struggle. and i'm sure will be willing this war beside everything. russian people, they don't understand why they were sent here, this is our greatest advantage. all we need is more firepower. >> so tara, we heard would blinken had to say. active conversations. but what exactly does that mean? and if indeed we can see it playing out in real time on the ground, that time is of the absence. how quickly impaired guns speak can things move? >> this is a numbers game. russia has also last jets in this conflict. but they have a lot more jets lose. so the idea of moving jets forward using these -- to back them, because ukrainians are unfamiliar with them. and then getting as 16th, is a way to get jets forward on to the battlefield as quickly as possible. many logistical questions. how the jets would get into ukrainian jet space where ukrainian pilots can get them and fly them in. but we see this enormous ground swell, this movement. right after to landscapes poke to his members of congress, and a story that was broken by the wall street journal. it really rang home to them. and we see a movement, not only with wall makers in the white house, but also in the pentagon. they said they will not stand in the way of getting these shots into ukraine's hands as soon as possible. >> susan wild, the democrat of pennsylvania had to say after that call with the president of ukraine. take back a listen. >> we all agree on what needs to be done. we are not going to impose a no fly zone. however, we are prepared, 100%, to make sure that ukraine has the planes that it needs. >> and as ministers of latchkey pointed, out tara, this is a concern about europe. and this is a concern now about moldova being the next country that russia puts in its sights. he pointed out the breakaway republic that already has russian troops on the ground. talk about that big picture concern, if you well, and how that fits into the decision-making of the united states. >> i think -- the with the defense department last week. there's two concerns right now. the stability of putin's health, and whether he would seek a nuclear option. and secondly, what is true intentions are. does he actually intend to just take away the breakaway regions. that's false. it seems his true intent was to take on ukraine. but it's opposite him. and we see them edges of potential maps over the last week. the suggesting moldova might be next. that really raises a question for all of europe. is this the -- nato is designed to prevent. and european nations are designed to form alliances and protect each other. and how that time comes now. no one seemed to be prepared for it. >> yes, that's right. we saw that last week. the president of belarus standing in front of a map, and seemed to show the next possible encouraged in that would go into moldova. is there anyone you are talking to on the u.s. side that things that's not a possibility? >> i don't think anyone that i have talked to on the u.s. side says they know what's putin's true intentions are. and the motivation now is to stop it as soon as possible. >> let me ask, you finally, mr. is a vlad ski, because we just heard from the president of moldova, many other countries have like poland in the eu who have said, come in, we'll do everything we can to take care of you. but the humanitarian crisis is clearly growing. the scenes of children who are too sick to be moved out of a pediatric ward in kyiv, and cannot get them medicine they need for cancer treatment. those things are happening. and some of the pictures that we're seeing. would you say to the people who are watching the american people right now, about what you're asking of the united states and why that's so important and humanitarian level as the presence of mulled over the last just said, a moral duty? >> first of all, very grateful to the united states and other places for providing aid to ukraine. we see it in -- public and we see it in the united states. thank you to mulled over. as ukraine and the refugees now make up 15% of their population. unfortunately, this is the biggest humanitarian crisis in europe since world war ii. unless russia stopped. and i called for the u.s., and for the policy makers to do everything possible now, and not to hold back any options in any sort of time. putin's intentions are very clear. he made them public. he will attack ukraine, he will attack moldova. he's lost his mind. he's not very healthy in terms of mental capacity, he really intense and times to resort to brute force. it will go bigger, it must be stopped now. >> ukraine and -- thank you so much both of you. we appreciate your expertise this morning. i want you to get updated on many other developments. the situation is becoming increasingly desperate on the ground. in the southern city of mariupol, the mayor says that life has become a horror. no electricity, no heating, no television connections. hundreds -- of against eastern ukraine right now have the gas turned off because of heavy fighting and fears of an explosion. hopes of a limited cease-fire shattered yesterday because russia plowed ahead with offensive operations, according to uk intelligence. russia's cease-fire in mariupol was likely a plan to reset forces. there is a plan to reopen some of those humanitarian lines today. a cease-fire, let's see how that goes. but ukrainians are not backing down. there are protesters in southern ukraine pushing against a military vehicle we have seen. and uk intelligence is reporting that russian supply lines have been targeted. the latest fighting adding to the growing humanitarian crisis is just now seeing one and a half million refugees fleeing ukraine. that is the number. one and a half million refugees. the largest displacement of european since world war ii. for more on this, we're joined by nbc correspondent live in the western city of lviv. and -- in the border crossing in poland. what do we know about the state of the salt on ukraine? what's the latest? >> chris, i think the big news this morning is the humanitarian corridor and the possible cease-fire. , yesterday when we spoke at exactly this hour we had possible good news that the russian assault on cities like mariupol was going to pause this morning. well, about an hour after we spoke that was shattered. once again, hopeful this morning that families are waki