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
lethal aid in its war against ukraine. it comes the secretary of state anthony blinken met with china s top diplomat this weekend. exchanging strong words two weeks after the u.s. shut down a chinese spy balloon off the carolina coast. earlier today, and i see spokesperson john kirby stress the importance of repairing the u.s. china relationship. the president said he billing to dock to president xi in the future. and he will. we still have lansing on occasion open with china as you saw yesterday in munich. that s important. particularly when there s times of tension like this. you want to avoid the risks of misunderstanding and miscalculation. secretary blinken issued a warning to china about its spy craft to. key house republicans today amplifying their concerns over the blue and being able to fly across the u.s.. the reality is that the administration admitted that after it had shut down the balloon that it should ve been more proactive. in the three subsequent shutd
With me here in ukraine. that does it for me. thank you for watching. casting back here next weekend as our velshi coverage from ukraine continues in our brand-new timeslot, and am to noon eastern. joining me this week through the week evening hours tomorrow 4 pm eastern. tomorrow at 8 pm eastern, i ll be sitting in for chris hayes and all this week. i ll also be in on tuesday at 4 pm eastern for my friend nicole wallace. stuart where you are. alex witt reports begins right now. now. a very good day to all of you from nbc news here in los angeles. welcome, everyone, to alex witt reports. developing this hour. diplomatic tensions are rising between the u.s. and china on multiple fronts. the newest, accusations china maybe supplying russia or may in future supply russia with