1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 2 00:00:05,940 --> 00:00:09,060 afternoon , everybody more of you 3 00:00:09,900 --> 00:00:13,460 I see today you're welcome for that . 4 00:00:15,140 --> 00:00:17,362 Um Okay , a couple of things on the top 5 00:00:17,362 --> 00:00:19,529 and then we'll we'll get right at IT . 6 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:21,984 Secretary Austin will be departing 7 00:00:21,984 --> 00:00:24,240 tomorrow on an overseas trip to meet 8 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:26,240 with senior military and government 9 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:28,573 leaders in Belgium Poland and Lithuania . 10 00:00:28,573 --> 00:00:30,629 In brussels of course , he will meet 11 00:00:30,629 --> 00:00:32,518 with allied and defense ministers 12 00:00:32,518 --> 00:00:35,330 across NATO leadership in the defense 13 00:00:35,330 --> 00:00:37,850 ministerial obviously to discuss 14 00:00:37,850 --> 00:00:39,739 Russia's military build up in and 15 00:00:39,739 --> 00:00:41,794 around , Ukraine will also reiterate 16 00:00:41,940 --> 00:00:43,940 The United States commitment to our 17 00:00:43,940 --> 00:00:46,160 allies made article five and continue 18 00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:48,271 the alliance's progress on deterrence 19 00:00:48,340 --> 00:00:50,562 and defense while ensuring the alliance 20 00:00:50,562 --> 00:00:52,284 is prepared to face tomorrow's 21 00:00:52,284 --> 00:00:54,507 challenges in Poland . He plans to meet 22 00:00:54,507 --> 00:00:56,284 with the post President and the 23 00:00:56,284 --> 00:00:58,550 Minister of National Defense to enhance 24 00:00:58,550 --> 00:01:01,230 bilateral cooperation and security and 25 00:01:01,230 --> 00:01:03,510 deepen the polish american partnership 26 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:05,742 which we believe is vital to addressing 27 00:01:05,742 --> 00:01:08,020 today's current threats and challenges . 28 00:01:08,020 --> 00:01:10,242 He'll also get a chance to meet with us 29 00:01:10,242 --> 00:01:12,353 and polish troops that are at the top 30 00:01:12,353 --> 00:01:14,630 of its air base to tour the facilities 31 00:01:14,630 --> 00:01:16,797 there to observe the conditions of our 32 00:01:16,797 --> 00:01:19,840 rotational presence . Secretary Austin 33 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:22,500 will also travel to Lithuania to meet 34 00:01:22,500 --> 00:01:24,500 with the Lithuanian president , the 35 00:01:24,500 --> 00:01:26,389 Prime Minister , the Minister for 36 00:01:26,389 --> 00:01:28,500 National Defense as well . Again , to 37 00:01:28,500 --> 00:01:30,667 reaffirm that the United States stands 38 00:01:30,667 --> 00:01:32,722 with Lithuania and the Baltic states 39 00:01:32,722 --> 00:01:34,611 working together to strengthen uh 40 00:01:34,611 --> 00:01:36,389 Lithuanian armed forces and the 41 00:01:36,389 --> 00:01:38,230 continuing to stand shoulder to 42 00:01:38,230 --> 00:01:39,841 shoulder against threats and 43 00:01:39,841 --> 00:01:43,570 adversaries separately . Uh Secretary 44 00:01:43,570 --> 00:01:45,720 Austin does plan to meet jointly with 45 00:01:45,730 --> 00:01:48,420 his counterparts from Lithuania Estonia 46 00:01:48,420 --> 00:01:51,360 and Latvia uh together uh and he'll 47 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:53,700 have a chance as well to visit with 48 00:01:53,710 --> 00:01:55,821 some U . S . Service members that are 49 00:01:55,821 --> 00:01:58,290 there in Lithuania . On another note 50 00:01:58,290 --> 00:02:00,512 I'd like to announce that the secretary 51 00:02:00,512 --> 00:02:02,970 has appointed dr Erik D Evans to serve 52 00:02:02,970 --> 00:02:06,470 as the chair of . 53 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:10,240 Okay it's not here's I'm missing some 54 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:11,740 some some sentences here . 55 00:02:14,640 --> 00:02:17,930 I'm going to , well we will announce 56 00:02:17,930 --> 00:02:20,152 this later after the briefing . I don't 57 00:02:20,152 --> 00:02:22,319 have all the text of it here . So with 58 00:02:22,319 --> 00:02:24,374 that bob will take questions . Sorry 59 00:02:24,374 --> 00:02:27,950 about that improvising . Mhm . 60 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:30,504 Actually let me see if you have it 61 00:02:30,504 --> 00:02:32,671 there , that's missing there too . All 62 00:02:32,671 --> 00:02:35,210 right I apologize . Um The question 63 00:02:35,210 --> 00:02:37,266 about the Russian build up in on the 64 00:02:37,266 --> 00:02:40,520 border area of Ukraine . Can you can 65 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:43,040 you give a little bit more detailed 66 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:44,984 description of the lay of the land 67 00:02:44,984 --> 00:02:47,860 there in recent days for example have 68 00:02:48,340 --> 00:02:50,930 some of the ground units that were in 69 00:02:50,930 --> 00:02:53,810 larger assembly areas moved into moved 70 00:02:53,810 --> 00:02:55,921 out towards closer to the border into 71 00:02:55,921 --> 00:02:57,866 what might be attacked positions , 72 00:02:57,866 --> 00:03:00,450 other movements over the last 24 hours . 73 00:03:00,450 --> 00:03:02,660 And so yeah so what I'd say bob is uh 74 00:03:02,670 --> 00:03:05,820 even over the last 24 to 48 over the 75 00:03:05,820 --> 00:03:07,876 course of the weekend , Mr Putin has 76 00:03:07,876 --> 00:03:09,931 added military capability along that 77 00:03:09,931 --> 00:03:12,153 border with Ukraine and Belarus . Um He 78 00:03:12,153 --> 00:03:15,290 is exercising his some of his units on 79 00:03:15,290 --> 00:03:17,401 the ground there in the south as well 80 00:03:17,401 --> 00:03:19,623 as as naval units in the Black Sea . So 81 00:03:19,623 --> 00:03:21,790 he continues to add to his readiness . 82 00:03:21,790 --> 00:03:23,679 He continues to give himself more 83 00:03:23,679 --> 00:03:25,790 options . Should he pursue a military 84 00:03:25,790 --> 00:03:27,790 path here ? I'm not gonna , I would 85 00:03:27,790 --> 00:03:29,679 like to refrain from getting into 86 00:03:29,679 --> 00:03:31,846 specific movements of their , of their 87 00:03:31,846 --> 00:03:34,140 troops . Um , I think that's probably 88 00:03:34,140 --> 00:03:36,307 not a wise thing for me to do with any 89 00:03:36,307 --> 00:03:38,362 great specificity . I would just say 90 00:03:38,362 --> 00:03:41,310 this , that he continues to advance his 91 00:03:41,310 --> 00:03:45,310 readiness . Should he choose to um , to 92 00:03:45,310 --> 00:03:47,720 go down a military path here and it 93 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:49,960 should he choose to invade again ? He 94 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:52,190 is doing all the things you would 95 00:03:52,190 --> 00:03:54,590 expect him to do to make sure he's 96 00:03:54,590 --> 00:03:56,950 ready for that option or options . 97 00:03:57,340 --> 00:03:59,451 There's no indication , for example , 98 00:03:59,451 --> 00:04:01,507 that what they have called exercises 99 00:04:01,507 --> 00:04:04,970 have ended in any way or or changing in 100 00:04:04,970 --> 00:04:07,530 any way their presence . I want to be 101 00:04:07,530 --> 00:04:09,420 careful to characterize another 102 00:04:09,420 --> 00:04:11,476 nation's exercises . We've seen them 103 00:04:11,476 --> 00:04:13,753 conduct these exercises in recent days . 104 00:04:13,940 --> 00:04:15,884 Exercises are designed to make you 105 00:04:15,884 --> 00:04:17,940 ready . And that gets to my previous 106 00:04:17,940 --> 00:04:20,051 point . He continues to do the things 107 00:04:20,051 --> 00:04:22,290 that you would expect one to do if , if 108 00:04:22,290 --> 00:04:24,880 one was planning on a major military 109 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,047 action and that is to , to sharpen the 110 00:04:27,047 --> 00:04:28,602 readiness and to add to the 111 00:04:28,602 --> 00:04:30,769 capabilities of his force . Now look , 112 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:34,400 um , we obviously don't want that to be 113 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:36,640 the outcome and neither do I neither do 114 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:38,862 the Ukrainians and certainly neither do 115 00:04:38,862 --> 00:04:41,350 our our NATO allies and Foreign 116 00:04:41,350 --> 00:04:44,260 Minister Lavrov said earlier today that 117 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:46,830 or seemed to indicate that he still 118 00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:49,270 thinks there's oxygen here for 119 00:04:49,270 --> 00:04:52,740 diplomacy . We we would welcome a 120 00:04:52,750 --> 00:04:55,400 pursuit of that path by the Russians 121 00:04:55,410 --> 00:04:58,770 because we to believe that there still 122 00:04:58,780 --> 00:05:01,290 should be and can be a diplomatic path 123 00:05:01,290 --> 00:05:04,120 forward gen john I'm trying to 124 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:06,730 understand . Are you still suggesting 125 00:05:06,740 --> 00:05:09,830 that Putin has not taken a decision to 126 00:05:09,830 --> 00:05:13,760 invade Ukraine ? We still don't believe 127 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,770 that some final decision has has been 128 00:05:16,770 --> 00:05:20,300 made . Communications 129 00:05:20,300 --> 00:05:22,189 continue . And we just heard from 130 00:05:22,189 --> 00:05:24,470 President Zelensky that he's been told 131 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:26,570 that an invasion will happen on 132 00:05:26,570 --> 00:05:28,840 February 16 , which is Wednesday . How 133 00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:32,690 do you Reconcile ? Putin hasn't taken a 134 00:05:32,690 --> 00:05:34,801 decision but an invasion is happening 135 00:05:34,801 --> 00:05:36,912 on the 16th ? Well , I'm not going to 136 00:05:36,912 --> 00:05:36,780 talk about specific intelligence 137 00:05:36,780 --> 00:05:38,447 assessments . I think you can 138 00:05:38,447 --> 00:05:40,502 understand that . We have said for a 139 00:05:40,502 --> 00:05:42,870 while now that military action could 140 00:05:42,870 --> 00:05:45,970 happen any day . Um and you heard from 141 00:05:45,970 --> 00:05:48,920 the National Security Advisor uh making 142 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,142 it clear that it certainly could happen 143 00:05:51,142 --> 00:05:53,142 before the end of the olympics . Uh 144 00:05:53,142 --> 00:05:55,550 maybe even this week . Um We have 145 00:05:55,940 --> 00:05:58,490 shared with our allies and partners and 146 00:05:58,490 --> 00:06:00,670 that includes Ukraine , our assessment 147 00:06:00,670 --> 00:06:02,892 of the information that that we've been 148 00:06:02,892 --> 00:06:05,560 receiving . Um and certainly have 149 00:06:05,570 --> 00:06:07,626 reflected in those conversations are 150 00:06:07,626 --> 00:06:09,459 deep concern about the continued 151 00:06:09,459 --> 00:06:11,970 capabilities that Mr Putin has at his 152 00:06:11,980 --> 00:06:14,860 um has it is back and call ? So I won't 153 00:06:14,860 --> 00:06:17,290 get into a a specific date . I don't 154 00:06:17,290 --> 00:06:19,290 think that would be smart . I would 155 00:06:19,290 --> 00:06:21,280 just tell you that it is entirely 156 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:23,690 possible that he could move with little 157 00:06:23,700 --> 00:06:27,160 to no warning . What will the U . S . 158 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:29,530 Response be at that at that time ? The 159 00:06:29,540 --> 00:06:31,707 Defense secretary is going to the NATO 160 00:06:31,707 --> 00:06:34,250 ministerial are we talking about the 161 00:06:34,260 --> 00:06:36,550 NATO response force being activated . 162 00:06:36,550 --> 00:06:38,772 What would we expect to see ? President 163 00:06:38,772 --> 00:06:40,772 biden has made clear that um should 164 00:06:40,772 --> 00:06:43,350 there be another incursion into Ukraine 165 00:06:43,430 --> 00:06:45,540 that that the United States would 166 00:06:45,550 --> 00:06:48,120 respond swiftly with severe economic 167 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:50,176 consequences ? I won't speak for the 168 00:06:50,176 --> 00:06:53,050 alliance . A decision to activate the 169 00:06:53,050 --> 00:06:55,217 NATO response force is a decision that 170 00:06:55,217 --> 00:06:57,106 the knack has to make . The north 171 00:06:57,106 --> 00:06:59,217 atlantic council has to make . That's 172 00:06:59,217 --> 00:07:01,161 not something that that the United 173 00:07:01,161 --> 00:07:03,161 States would unilaterally call into 174 00:07:03,161 --> 00:07:05,350 being . I will only add this and this 175 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:07,527 is why a couple of weeks ago we talked 176 00:07:07,527 --> 00:07:10,350 about making our contribution to the 177 00:07:10,350 --> 00:07:12,310 response force more ready . And so 178 00:07:12,310 --> 00:07:14,920 we've done that . Uh and uh one of the 179 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,087 messages that the secretary will carry 180 00:07:17,087 --> 00:07:20,070 with them uh to NATO is that our 181 00:07:20,070 --> 00:07:22,403 contribution to the NATO response force ? 182 00:07:22,403 --> 00:07:24,348 Should it be called ? Should it be 183 00:07:24,348 --> 00:07:26,403 activated ? They'll be ready to go . 184 00:07:26,403 --> 00:07:26,290 And just to be clear , your answer to 185 00:07:26,290 --> 00:07:29,110 bob . You do not see evidence that his 186 00:07:29,110 --> 00:07:31,332 forces have moved into attack positions 187 00:07:31,332 --> 00:07:34,370 yet I'm not going to talk about what 188 00:07:34,370 --> 00:07:36,537 specifically were seeing on the ground 189 00:07:36,537 --> 00:07:38,703 when it comes to unit by unit . What I 190 00:07:38,703 --> 00:07:41,060 would tell you is that we continue to 191 00:07:41,060 --> 00:07:44,460 see him advance his readiness um and 192 00:07:44,470 --> 00:07:47,250 improve his capabilities and provide 193 00:07:47,250 --> 00:07:49,780 himself more options . Should he decide 194 00:07:49,790 --> 00:07:52,430 to take another to take military action 195 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:54,670 in Ukraine . Let me go to the phones 196 00:07:54,670 --> 00:07:56,948 here . I promise I'll get to everybody . 197 00:07:56,948 --> 00:07:59,114 I uh , well , we'll be here as long as 198 00:07:59,114 --> 00:08:01,114 you want . Uh , tom Squitieri . Hey 199 00:08:01,114 --> 00:08:03,281 john , good afternoon . Thank you very 200 00:08:03,281 --> 00:08:05,290 much . Um , the US Navy has yet to 201 00:08:05,290 --> 00:08:07,820 pinpoint the exact location and depth 202 00:08:07,820 --> 00:08:09,900 of that F 35 that was involved in an 203 00:08:09,900 --> 00:08:12,110 accident and by extension , has been 204 00:08:12,110 --> 00:08:14,221 able to secure that area in the south 205 00:08:14,221 --> 00:08:16,332 China Sea . You've said several times 206 00:08:16,332 --> 00:08:18,499 from the podium that that the F- 35 is 207 00:08:18,499 --> 00:08:20,499 us property and you have no concern 208 00:08:20,540 --> 00:08:22,762 that other nations or entities will try 209 00:08:22,762 --> 00:08:24,540 to kill for it . What gives you 210 00:08:24,540 --> 00:08:26,707 confidence that the chinese will abide 211 00:08:26,707 --> 00:08:28,762 by international protocols regarding 212 00:08:28,762 --> 00:08:30,873 ownership and salvage given they have 213 00:08:30,873 --> 00:08:32,762 ignored other international court 214 00:08:32,762 --> 00:08:34,984 rulings regarding the south china sea . 215 00:08:34,984 --> 00:08:36,984 Uh , it's it's not about confidence 216 00:08:36,984 --> 00:08:38,873 that the chinese will or won't do 217 00:08:38,873 --> 00:08:41,040 anything tom uh , it is our property . 218 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:43,096 It is not uncommon for us to recover 219 00:08:43,096 --> 00:08:45,207 our property when it is lost at sea . 220 00:08:45,207 --> 00:08:47,207 Uh , and we are making , um , every 221 00:08:47,207 --> 00:08:50,190 effort to do that in this case . And uh , 222 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:52,367 if it can be done , I'm confident that 223 00:08:52,367 --> 00:08:54,422 the United States will be the United 224 00:08:54,422 --> 00:08:56,644 States Navy . We'll be able to get it , 225 00:08:56,644 --> 00:08:58,644 get it done there there on site and 226 00:08:58,644 --> 00:09:00,700 they're working through this in real 227 00:09:00,700 --> 00:09:03,980 time . Yes . Sylvie , thank you , john . 228 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,550 Um , the Russian Defense Minister 229 00:09:07,810 --> 00:09:11,100 Shoigu said this morning that they are 230 00:09:11,100 --> 00:09:13,730 going to end soon or they are even 231 00:09:13,740 --> 00:09:16,860 ending some of the there are military 232 00:09:16,860 --> 00:09:19,880 exercise . So since you say that they 233 00:09:19,890 --> 00:09:23,160 continue to reinforce their deployment , 234 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:26,140 what does it mean ? You don't take him 235 00:09:26,150 --> 00:09:29,930 at his word or it's not relevant for 236 00:09:29,930 --> 00:09:33,690 this ? And I'm not challenging his word 237 00:09:33,690 --> 00:09:36,210 that he's ending exercises . That's uh 238 00:09:36,220 --> 00:09:38,450 that's not the point . The point is he 239 00:09:38,450 --> 00:09:40,500 continues to make ready for an 240 00:09:40,510 --> 00:09:44,440 increasingly large number of 241 00:09:44,450 --> 00:09:46,740 Russian troops along that border with 242 00:09:46,750 --> 00:09:50,000 Ukraine . The fact that they can , I'm 243 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,056 happy that they're speaking to their 244 00:09:52,056 --> 00:09:54,278 exercises . That's a welcome change for 245 00:09:54,278 --> 00:09:56,167 them to be transparent about what 246 00:09:56,167 --> 00:09:58,333 they're doing with exercises that they 247 00:09:58,333 --> 00:10:00,444 haven't been at all transparent about 248 00:10:00,444 --> 00:09:59,690 what they intend to do with this 249 00:09:59,700 --> 00:10:02,580 massive build up . Um It's it's strange 250 00:10:02,580 --> 00:10:04,802 credulity to think that they would have 251 00:10:04,802 --> 00:10:06,830 this many troops arrayed along the 252 00:10:06,830 --> 00:10:08,830 border with Ukraine and Belarus and 253 00:10:08,830 --> 00:10:12,020 Belarus simply for winter exercises . 254 00:10:12,030 --> 00:10:14,600 Um So we still think there's a 255 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:18,490 diplomatic path . Um if if 256 00:10:18,490 --> 00:10:20,712 they want to send a strong signal about 257 00:10:20,712 --> 00:10:23,280 de escalation , they could if if in 258 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:25,169 fact these troops have done their 259 00:10:25,169 --> 00:10:27,280 exercises , they could send them back 260 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:29,447 to their home garrisons and reduce the 261 00:10:29,447 --> 00:10:31,669 presence along that border . That would 262 00:10:31,669 --> 00:10:33,724 go a long way . Yeah . One officials 263 00:10:33,724 --> 00:10:35,724 have warned that a Russian invasion 264 00:10:35,724 --> 00:10:37,836 would be preceded by a series of sort 265 00:10:37,836 --> 00:10:39,780 of preparatory steps . Information 266 00:10:39,780 --> 00:10:41,891 warfare , cyber attacks , instigation 267 00:10:41,891 --> 00:10:43,836 of protests in Ukraine state media 268 00:10:43,836 --> 00:10:43,520 preparing the Russian population for 269 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:45,687 casualties ? Are you seeing that ? And 270 00:10:45,687 --> 00:10:47,798 if so , how specific can you be about 271 00:10:47,798 --> 00:10:49,687 what you're seeing a piece of the 272 00:10:49,687 --> 00:10:52,870 Russian playbook to um , to lay down a 273 00:10:52,870 --> 00:10:55,400 foundation for these military action 274 00:10:55,410 --> 00:10:59,210 with Cyber operations , information 275 00:10:59,210 --> 00:11:01,720 operations . Um , even hybrid 276 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:04,030 operations as we saw back in 2014 , you 277 00:11:04,030 --> 00:11:06,252 know , the little green men . These are 278 00:11:06,252 --> 00:11:08,252 in fact Russian soldiers that are , 279 00:11:08,252 --> 00:11:10,308 that aren't , that aren't dressed as 280 00:11:10,308 --> 00:11:12,960 Russian soldiers . Um , we're on the um , 281 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:16,650 uh , we are monitoring this closely and 282 00:11:16,650 --> 00:11:18,872 certainly on the lookout for the use of 283 00:11:18,872 --> 00:11:21,250 any of these kinds of of of tactics . 284 00:11:21,260 --> 00:11:24,140 Um , I won't speak to specific 285 00:11:24,140 --> 00:11:27,240 assessments . Um , as here today , I 286 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:29,462 would just tell you that we're watching 287 00:11:29,462 --> 00:11:31,573 this very closely and it's one of the 288 00:11:31,573 --> 00:11:33,684 reasons why or in that we've tried to 289 00:11:33,684 --> 00:11:33,670 be open over the last week and a half , 290 00:11:33,670 --> 00:11:36,830 two weeks about the potential for these 291 00:11:36,830 --> 00:11:40,670 kinds of of of of non 292 00:11:40,670 --> 00:11:43,300 kinetic . Um , if you will , that's a 293 00:11:43,310 --> 00:11:45,254 pentagon phrase . I know , but non 294 00:11:45,254 --> 00:11:47,770 kinetic tactics and procedures used by 295 00:11:47,770 --> 00:11:51,330 the Russians , uh , to begin to sow the 296 00:11:51,330 --> 00:11:53,441 seeds for potential armed conflict to 297 00:11:53,441 --> 00:11:56,900 include creating some sort of pretext 298 00:11:56,900 --> 00:11:58,844 that the that the Ukrainians would 299 00:11:58,844 --> 00:12:00,956 react to that , then they could claim 300 00:12:00,956 --> 00:12:03,289 was a threat to their national security . 301 00:12:03,289 --> 00:12:05,570 So , um , I can't speak with 302 00:12:05,570 --> 00:12:09,060 specificity today that of anything that 303 00:12:09,540 --> 00:12:13,280 uh , that is glaringly obvious except 304 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:15,582 to go back to what we said before about 305 00:12:15,582 --> 00:12:17,640 the things we have seen in the 306 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:19,960 intelligence about their preparations 307 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:23,300 for those kinds of non kinetic sort of 308 00:12:23,300 --> 00:12:25,530 low intensity operations that they 309 00:12:25,530 --> 00:12:27,730 could use to their advantage broadly 310 00:12:27,730 --> 00:12:29,674 speaking , you can't say yes or no 311 00:12:29,674 --> 00:12:31,952 foundation is being laid at this point . 312 00:12:31,952 --> 00:12:34,119 I think we've seen them certainly make 313 00:12:34,119 --> 00:12:36,119 it clear that they want to lay that 314 00:12:36,119 --> 00:12:38,230 foundation . I think I'll leave it at 315 00:12:38,230 --> 00:12:40,452 that . Yeah , Megan . If there is any , 316 00:12:40,452 --> 00:12:42,563 any sort of invasion this week , will 317 00:12:42,563 --> 00:12:44,786 that affect the Secretary's schedule at 318 00:12:44,786 --> 00:12:46,508 all while he's in europe , the 319 00:12:46,508 --> 00:12:48,619 secretary is leaving tomorrow morning 320 00:12:48,619 --> 00:12:51,090 for for brussels and the plan is to 321 00:12:51,100 --> 00:12:53,156 stay for the entire time , no matter 322 00:12:53,156 --> 00:12:56,150 what , we'll have to see obviously how 323 00:12:56,150 --> 00:12:58,317 things play out . Secretary is looking 324 00:12:58,317 --> 00:13:00,539 forward to a strip . Looking forward to 325 00:13:00,539 --> 00:13:02,594 meeting with these leaders . Looking 326 00:13:02,594 --> 00:13:04,817 forward to making clear our commitments 327 00:13:04,817 --> 00:13:07,870 to our NATO allies , Jenna john just 328 00:13:08,310 --> 00:13:10,710 you know , what role is china playing 329 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:14,160 in this hole , Ukraine Russian 330 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:16,980 aspect and is the , is the , is the 331 00:13:16,980 --> 00:13:19,080 defense secretary worried about the 332 00:13:19,090 --> 00:13:22,160 role they're playing . Um 333 00:13:23,540 --> 00:13:25,670 we certainly have been watching the , 334 00:13:27,340 --> 00:13:31,120 the at least public 335 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:33,330 burgeoning relationship here between 336 00:13:33,340 --> 00:13:36,950 Russia and china . Um Their 337 00:13:36,950 --> 00:13:39,800 february 4th joint statement 338 00:13:40,940 --> 00:13:43,400 certainly provided further evidence 339 00:13:43,410 --> 00:13:46,990 that china has decided that they're 340 00:13:46,990 --> 00:13:50,740 going to stan alongside Russia 341 00:13:50,750 --> 00:13:54,100 with respect to what what's going on in 342 00:13:54,100 --> 00:13:56,760 europe . And and we would say that 343 00:13:57,340 --> 00:14:01,320 there tacit support if you 344 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,410 will for Russia is deeply alarming and 345 00:14:04,410 --> 00:14:07,570 frankly even more destabilizing 346 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:10,560 to the security situation in europe 347 00:14:12,140 --> 00:14:14,960 nancy . Have a question for you , but 348 00:14:15,340 --> 00:14:17,562 some of the comments the president made 349 00:14:17,562 --> 00:14:19,729 in his interview with Lester Holt , He 350 00:14:19,729 --> 00:14:21,896 said in that interview that he's quote 351 00:14:21,896 --> 00:14:23,896 not told about what commanders were 352 00:14:23,896 --> 00:14:23,860 observing on the ground in Afghanistan . 353 00:14:24,740 --> 00:14:26,518 And I'm just trying to get some 354 00:14:26,518 --> 00:14:28,684 fidelity on that because it would seem 355 00:14:28,684 --> 00:14:30,518 to me that the Secretary and the 356 00:14:30,518 --> 00:14:32,684 Chairman are tasked with communicating 357 00:14:32,684 --> 00:14:34,684 to the President what troops on the 358 00:14:34,684 --> 00:14:36,796 ground are seeing . So could you help 359 00:14:36,796 --> 00:14:36,370 me understand what responsibility 360 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:39,262 Secretary and the Chairman have for the 361 00:14:39,262 --> 00:14:41,040 President not getting essential 362 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:42,984 information from commanders on the 363 00:14:42,984 --> 00:14:45,096 ground on the final days of the board 364 00:14:45,096 --> 00:14:46,929 nancy . What I would tell you is 365 00:14:46,929 --> 00:14:48,929 throughout the month of august , in 366 00:14:48,929 --> 00:14:51,207 fact , well before the month of august , 367 00:14:51,207 --> 00:14:52,760 there was a very robust , 368 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:56,460 steady frequent 369 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:00,490 interagency process , decision making 370 00:15:00,490 --> 00:15:03,620 process . I mean , we started thinking 371 00:15:03,620 --> 00:15:05,840 about and planning for noncombatant 372 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:08,760 evacuation as far back as april and we 373 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:11,360 didn't do that in a vacuum . Uh There 374 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:13,582 was ample interagency discussions about 375 00:15:13,582 --> 00:15:16,210 that as far back as the spring and all 376 00:15:16,210 --> 00:15:19,320 through the summer . Um And the the 377 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:21,431 Chairman and the secretary absolutely 378 00:15:21,431 --> 00:15:24,160 take very seriously there requirement 379 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,360 to provide the Commander in chief with 380 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:29,960 their best advice about how to proceed 381 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:32,200 forward about how the situation is 382 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:35,560 changing . Um And there were many , 383 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:37,838 many opportunities for them to do that , 384 00:15:37,838 --> 00:15:39,838 both in terms of larger interagency 385 00:15:39,838 --> 00:15:42,004 meetings , as well as private sessions 386 00:15:42,004 --> 00:15:43,727 that they have weekly with the 387 00:15:43,727 --> 00:15:45,949 President . Um and they've said as much 388 00:15:45,949 --> 00:15:48,380 in in in testimony , um I would tell 389 00:15:48,380 --> 00:15:50,491 you because I I know what's prompting 390 00:15:50,491 --> 00:15:52,658 the question and I would just tell you 391 00:15:52,658 --> 00:15:55,980 that that commanders at the tactical 392 00:15:55,980 --> 00:15:59,650 level . Absolutely . We're trying to 393 00:15:59,650 --> 00:16:01,761 make the best decisions they could in 394 00:16:01,761 --> 00:16:04,320 real time under incredibly difficult 395 00:16:04,330 --> 00:16:06,710 circumstances . And they were seeing 396 00:16:06,710 --> 00:16:09,910 things through at rightly through their 397 00:16:09,910 --> 00:16:12,030 prism in the moment . There at the 398 00:16:12,030 --> 00:16:14,520 airport there were other perspectives 399 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:17,340 at a strategic level . Um um and I 400 00:16:17,340 --> 00:16:19,562 would tell you that the president has a 401 00:16:19,562 --> 00:16:21,950 much bigger view , a larger perspective 402 00:16:21,950 --> 00:16:24,790 on on what's going on uh than at the 403 00:16:24,790 --> 00:16:27,110 tactical level . And those discussions 404 00:16:27,110 --> 00:16:29,332 were happening here in Washington , D . 405 00:16:29,332 --> 00:16:32,310 C . And there was but certainly in the 406 00:16:32,310 --> 00:16:34,920 month of august literally daily touches 407 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:37,087 between the secretary and the chairman 408 00:16:37,087 --> 00:16:39,253 and leaders on the ground there at the 409 00:16:39,253 --> 00:16:41,364 airport . So the information flow was 410 00:16:41,364 --> 00:16:45,210 was was was strong . Um And but at no 411 00:16:45,210 --> 00:16:48,040 time . Uh did the National Security 412 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:51,930 Council try to stop an evacuation or 413 00:16:51,930 --> 00:16:55,790 slow it down or gum up the works ? Um 414 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:58,170 The leaders on the ground certainly 415 00:16:58,170 --> 00:17:00,780 we're working under incredible pressure . 416 00:17:00,780 --> 00:17:03,390 And certainly as they gave these 417 00:17:03,390 --> 00:17:05,557 interviews for this investigation , do 418 00:17:05,557 --> 00:17:07,612 we doing that ? Honestly not knowing 419 00:17:07,612 --> 00:17:09,723 that these documents were going to be 420 00:17:09,723 --> 00:17:11,890 made public . So they were very candid 421 00:17:11,890 --> 00:17:13,834 about what they were seeing at the 422 00:17:13,834 --> 00:17:16,001 strategic level . There were different 423 00:17:16,001 --> 00:17:17,557 perspectives uh interagency 424 00:17:17,557 --> 00:17:19,668 perspectives that were also factoring 425 00:17:19,668 --> 00:17:21,834 into the decision making process , but 426 00:17:21,834 --> 00:17:24,001 there was no effort in here in D . C . 427 00:17:24,001 --> 00:17:26,168 Um to slow down or stop the evacuation 428 00:17:27,430 --> 00:17:29,652 And just to follow can tell us what the 429 00:17:29,652 --> 00:17:31,819 status is on evacuating their families 430 00:17:31,819 --> 00:17:34,750 from the August 29 . That work still 431 00:17:34,750 --> 00:17:38,000 continues Nancy . Um obviously not at 432 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:40,560 the speed with which we are satisfied 433 00:17:40,580 --> 00:17:44,190 but uh but we haven't lost focus and we 434 00:17:44,190 --> 00:17:47,790 haven't diminished our strong desire 435 00:17:47,790 --> 00:17:50,770 to to get them to get them to safety . 436 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:53,902 You think it's days away , weeks away , 437 00:17:53,902 --> 00:17:56,069 months . I would be I'd be reticent to 438 00:17:56,069 --> 00:17:59,760 give you an estimate if 439 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:03,351 if we had total control it would have 440 00:18:03,351 --> 00:18:06,100 been months ago . But I I just don't 441 00:18:06,100 --> 00:18:08,211 have an estimate for you . I can just 442 00:18:08,211 --> 00:18:10,890 assure you that it's not been forgotten 443 00:18:10,900 --> 00:18:13,150 and that there's a deliberate concerted 444 00:18:13,150 --> 00:18:15,220 effort to do the right thing by by 445 00:18:15,220 --> 00:18:17,276 those family members and get them to 446 00:18:17,276 --> 00:18:19,690 safety here in the United States . Yeah , 447 00:18:19,860 --> 00:18:23,360 let me go to the phones . Uh 448 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:28,380 Jeff Vogel , thank 449 00:18:28,380 --> 00:18:30,436 you . The United States is certainly 450 00:18:30,436 --> 00:18:32,436 taking a number of precautions that 451 00:18:32,436 --> 00:18:34,980 indicate it believes war is likely 452 00:18:34,980 --> 00:18:37,360 including closing the embassy in 453 00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:40,040 Ukraine . Is there any chance that U . 454 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:43,420 S . Troops in europe uh might be or 455 00:18:43,430 --> 00:18:45,597 excuse me ? Is it possible that europe 456 00:18:45,597 --> 00:18:47,652 might be part of the combat zone tax 457 00:18:47,652 --> 00:18:49,652 exclusion in which troops in europe 458 00:18:49,652 --> 00:18:52,690 would not pay taxes on their pay , Jeff ? 459 00:18:52,690 --> 00:18:54,746 The president has made clear that US 460 00:18:54,746 --> 00:18:56,912 troops are not going to be fighting in 461 00:18:56,912 --> 00:18:59,150 Ukraine . The troops that we have added 462 00:18:59,150 --> 00:19:01,770 to the already 80,000 that are based in 463 00:19:01,770 --> 00:19:04,330 Europe are going to reassure our our 464 00:19:04,330 --> 00:19:06,230 allies and our partners to deter 465 00:19:06,230 --> 00:19:08,174 aggression against the alliance to 466 00:19:08,174 --> 00:19:10,397 conduct some joint training . So I know 467 00:19:10,397 --> 00:19:13,670 of no decision or no no need 468 00:19:13,940 --> 00:19:16,910 uh to change the parameters of the 469 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:19,490 european theater with respect to combat 470 00:19:19,490 --> 00:19:23,260 zone tax exclusion . Um 471 00:19:23,270 --> 00:19:24,780 Mike breast the examiner . 472 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:30,180 I'm Mr Kirby , thank you . How many 473 00:19:30,180 --> 00:19:32,347 people are , How many civilians is D . 474 00:19:32,347 --> 00:19:34,402 O . D now believe were killed in the 475 00:19:34,402 --> 00:19:38,130 abdullah rate ? I would tell you , 476 00:19:38,140 --> 00:19:40,360 we when we briefed this out , 477 00:19:42,050 --> 00:19:45,850 We indicated that a total of 478 00:19:45,850 --> 00:19:49,820 seven individuals were killed , Two of 479 00:19:49,820 --> 00:19:51,987 them of three of them . Of the seven , 480 00:19:51,987 --> 00:19:55,500 of course the were mr 481 00:19:55,500 --> 00:19:58,000 Abdullah , uh and then his lieutenant 482 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,150 on the second floor as well as his wife 483 00:20:01,150 --> 00:20:05,000 who uh was in fact the combatant . So 484 00:20:05,010 --> 00:20:07,121 of the seven that that we have talked 485 00:20:07,121 --> 00:20:09,066 about , We know three of them were 486 00:20:09,066 --> 00:20:11,760 combatants . Uh And that's the that's 487 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:14,260 the estimate that we have right now . 488 00:20:14,270 --> 00:20:17,980 Um but we have certainly seen numbers 489 00:20:17,980 --> 00:20:20,200 higher than that . Um And we're not in 490 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:22,200 a position to dispute those numbers 491 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,570 because we didn't stay on site for more 492 00:20:24,570 --> 00:20:27,560 than two hours , as was the plan . Um 493 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:29,727 And we're not gonna certainly rule out 494 00:20:29,727 --> 00:20:32,050 the possibility that in that explosion 495 00:20:32,050 --> 00:20:34,470 on the third floor additional uh 496 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:36,258 individuals , whether they were 497 00:20:36,258 --> 00:20:38,258 combatants or not , can't say since 498 00:20:38,258 --> 00:20:40,202 that explosion happened before our 499 00:20:40,202 --> 00:20:42,424 troops got into the building , but it's 500 00:20:42,424 --> 00:20:44,480 not out of the realm of the possible 501 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:46,647 that additional people could have been 502 00:20:46,647 --> 00:20:48,869 killed in that initial explosion um and 503 00:20:48,869 --> 00:20:51,091 buried in the rubble and and you know , 504 00:20:51,091 --> 00:20:53,202 we didn't see them again . We weren't 505 00:20:53,202 --> 00:20:55,424 on site for very long . So seven is the 506 00:20:55,424 --> 00:20:57,536 number that we know of . We aren't we 507 00:20:57,536 --> 00:20:59,702 uh but we do believe sense of humility 508 00:20:59,702 --> 00:21:01,813 here . We don't we don't know . Uh we 509 00:21:01,813 --> 00:21:04,036 can't confirm that there weren't others 510 00:21:04,036 --> 00:21:06,130 that uh that Mr Abdullah decided to 511 00:21:06,130 --> 00:21:09,560 take with him uh when he 512 00:21:09,940 --> 00:21:11,940 Um exploded that device on the 3rd 513 00:21:11,940 --> 00:21:14,360 floor Jenny . Thank you . John 514 00:21:15,540 --> 00:21:18,990 President Biden said he would pursue 515 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,960 diplomacy and deterrence in the 516 00:21:22,740 --> 00:21:26,680 Ukraine crisis . And there's ponder 517 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:29,730 it's the only way they're allies and 518 00:21:29,730 --> 00:21:33,350 South Korea that they support Ukraine . 519 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,680 My occasion is what kind of military 520 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:40,850 support that the U . S . one of from 521 00:21:40,850 --> 00:21:44,030 South Korea . And then our life that is 522 00:21:44,030 --> 00:21:46,500 a question for the south korean 523 00:21:46,500 --> 00:21:49,920 government to answer . Should they want 524 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:53,560 to assist Ukraine in a tangible way ? 525 00:21:53,940 --> 00:21:57,320 Um certainly that I'm sure that the 526 00:21:57,330 --> 00:21:59,441 Ukrainians would would welcome that . 527 00:22:00,140 --> 00:22:02,490 Uh we've noted and I've said before 528 00:22:02,490 --> 00:22:05,810 that many of our other allies and NATO 529 00:22:05,810 --> 00:22:07,643 are also finding ways to support 530 00:22:07,643 --> 00:22:10,780 Ukraine . But excuse me , those are 531 00:22:10,780 --> 00:22:12,970 sovereign decisions that each nation 532 00:22:12,970 --> 00:22:15,137 state has to make for themselves and I 533 00:22:15,137 --> 00:22:17,303 wouldn't get ahead of the South korean 534 00:22:17,303 --> 00:22:19,248 government on this ? Yeah . Yeah . 535 00:22:19,248 --> 00:22:22,960 England thanks . A couple of short 536 00:22:22,970 --> 00:22:26,320 Ukraine follow up questions . Does d o 537 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:28,610 d have any air defense trainers on the 538 00:22:28,610 --> 00:22:32,610 ground in Ukraine . No . Um 539 00:22:32,710 --> 00:22:35,420 does d o d consider a Russian movement 540 00:22:35,430 --> 00:22:38,550 into the Donbass a new incursion ? 541 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:43,000 Yes . And can you elaborate on 542 00:22:43,010 --> 00:22:45,066 what Secretary Austin's thinking was 543 00:22:45,066 --> 00:22:47,140 for pulling the the florida national 544 00:22:47,140 --> 00:22:49,362 guard trainers out of western Ukraine . 545 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:51,418 We said it quite clearly in our 546 00:22:51,418 --> 00:22:53,251 statement it was an abundance of 547 00:22:53,251 --> 00:22:55,473 caution . Again given the mosaic of the 548 00:22:55,473 --> 00:22:57,473 information that we've been getting 549 00:22:57,473 --> 00:22:59,640 over the course of the last 48 hours . 550 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:01,751 Uh And the information we continue to 551 00:23:01,751 --> 00:23:03,918 receive even as early as today . Um uh 552 00:23:03,918 --> 00:23:05,973 It is obviously not the safest place 553 00:23:05,973 --> 00:23:08,420 for them to be . Uh And so he ordered 554 00:23:08,420 --> 00:23:11,300 them uh taken out of the country over 555 00:23:11,300 --> 00:23:13,522 the weekend . Again abundance of safety 556 00:23:13,522 --> 00:23:17,350 and uh an abundance of of of caution 557 00:23:17,350 --> 00:23:20,830 here . I said what two weeks ago when 558 00:23:20,830 --> 00:23:23,020 you guys were asking me about this if 559 00:23:23,020 --> 00:23:25,020 and when he believed the safety and 560 00:23:25,020 --> 00:23:27,242 security of those individuals was going 561 00:23:27,242 --> 00:23:29,020 to be at risk he would make the 562 00:23:29,020 --> 00:23:31,076 decision to remove them . And he did 563 00:23:31,076 --> 00:23:33,560 that court . There's also another small 564 00:23:33,570 --> 00:23:35,792 contingent of other U . S . Military in 565 00:23:35,792 --> 00:23:38,014 the country , not just the reins of the 566 00:23:38,014 --> 00:23:39,903 embassy but you know there's some 567 00:23:39,903 --> 00:23:41,959 special forces there are you can you 568 00:23:41,959 --> 00:23:43,903 say that as of now all us military 569 00:23:43,903 --> 00:23:45,903 forces that are deployed in Ukraine 570 00:23:45,903 --> 00:23:48,070 have been taken out or ordered out ? I 571 00:23:48,070 --> 00:23:50,070 would tell you that there remains a 572 00:23:50,070 --> 00:23:49,740 small amount of U . S . Military 573 00:23:49,740 --> 00:23:51,851 personnel in support of our diplomats 574 00:23:52,020 --> 00:23:53,853 and they remain in the country . 575 00:23:53,853 --> 00:23:55,742 Security guards . Is there anyone 576 00:23:55,742 --> 00:23:57,964 besides them ? I'm just gonna leave the 577 00:23:57,964 --> 00:23:59,687 answer . As I , as I said , it 578 00:24:00,740 --> 00:24:03,550 Secretary ordered 3000 additional 579 00:24:03,550 --> 00:24:05,717 troops to Poland . What triggered that 580 00:24:05,717 --> 00:24:07,772 decision ? You already have deployed 581 00:24:07,772 --> 00:24:10,220 1700 troops a week ago to the country . 582 00:24:10,220 --> 00:24:12,498 What triggered that specific decisions ? 583 00:24:12,498 --> 00:24:14,553 We talked about this at the time ? I 584 00:24:14,553 --> 00:24:16,776 mean , again we continue to see a build 585 00:24:16,776 --> 00:24:18,720 up , continued build up of Russian 586 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:20,553 military forces . We continue to 587 00:24:20,553 --> 00:24:22,776 consult with our allies in this case in 588 00:24:22,776 --> 00:24:24,664 particular Poland . Uh and it was 589 00:24:24,664 --> 00:24:26,720 deemed by both sides that this was a 590 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:28,664 prudent measure given what we were 591 00:24:28,664 --> 00:24:30,776 seeing on the ground , given what our 592 00:24:30,776 --> 00:24:32,887 intelligence was telling us and given 593 00:24:32,887 --> 00:24:34,776 the potential need for additional 594 00:24:34,776 --> 00:24:36,887 capability in Poland , I would remind 595 00:24:36,887 --> 00:24:38,998 you that these 3000 are still part of 596 00:24:38,998 --> 00:24:41,220 the 82nd airborne when we announced the 597 00:24:41,220 --> 00:24:43,670 1st 1700 , I called them an element of 598 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,080 uh and I didn't rule out the fact that 599 00:24:46,090 --> 00:24:48,312 additional 82nd airborne soldiers would 600 00:24:48,312 --> 00:24:50,870 go . The secretary held them in reserve . 601 00:24:50,870 --> 00:24:53,092 He decided that now is the time to send 602 00:24:53,092 --> 00:24:56,200 them . And also we have seen us , 22 603 00:24:56,210 --> 00:24:58,690 arrived in United Arab Emirates . How 604 00:24:58,690 --> 00:25:00,640 do you think these fighters help 605 00:25:00,650 --> 00:25:02,594 Emirati is dealing with the Houthi 606 00:25:02,594 --> 00:25:04,706 missiles . Is there a plan to kind of 607 00:25:04,740 --> 00:25:07,073 join action ? Offensive actions ? Again , 608 00:25:07,073 --> 00:25:09,073 they're gonna be there . These F 20 609 00:25:09,073 --> 00:25:11,129 two's are going to join a range of a 610 00:25:11,129 --> 00:25:13,073 joint coalition and allied partner 611 00:25:13,073 --> 00:25:14,907 combat air capabilities that are 612 00:25:14,907 --> 00:25:16,962 already based across the region . So 613 00:25:16,962 --> 00:25:19,073 they're additive to the airpower that 614 00:25:19,073 --> 00:25:21,296 that we have in the region gen Let's go 615 00:25:21,296 --> 00:25:23,518 back to a question that Jim asked . I'm 616 00:25:23,518 --> 00:25:25,629 a little confused by your answer . Do 617 00:25:25,629 --> 00:25:27,740 you have evidence that China gave its 618 00:25:27,740 --> 00:25:29,930 tacit support to Russia during that 619 00:25:29,930 --> 00:25:31,763 meeting on February four foreign 620 00:25:31,763 --> 00:25:34,870 invasion of Ukraine . The statement 621 00:25:34,870 --> 00:25:36,760 itself reads in our view as tacit 622 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:40,110 support . Yeah . Uh , nobody else in 623 00:25:40,110 --> 00:25:43,280 the room . Yeah . Thanks . I know you 624 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,900 don't want to get into specific truth 625 00:25:46,900 --> 00:25:48,900 number estimates for the Russians . 626 00:25:48,900 --> 00:25:51,122 You're right . I don't guests . Right . 627 00:25:51,122 --> 00:25:53,011 Um , Well , you talked about more 628 00:25:53,011 --> 00:25:55,233 capabilities being brought in even over 629 00:25:55,233 --> 00:25:57,289 the last 24-48 hours last week . You 630 00:25:57,289 --> 00:25:59,511 talked about some of those capabilities 631 00:25:59,511 --> 00:26:01,678 being sustained . Can you say anything 632 00:26:01,678 --> 00:26:03,844 more about what these capabilities are 633 00:26:03,844 --> 00:26:06,067 that are continuing to clone is more of 634 00:26:06,067 --> 00:26:08,400 the same or more offensive capabilities ? 635 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,680 Just broadly speaking , Matt . Um we've 636 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:14,160 talked about the presence as , as 637 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:16,860 providing him combined arms 638 00:26:16,860 --> 00:26:19,280 capabilities . Right ? So its infantry , 639 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:21,280 its armor , its artillery , its air 640 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:24,320 missile defense as well as offensive 641 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:26,542 air . I mean , he's got a lot of combat 642 00:26:26,542 --> 00:26:28,764 aircraft now at his ability . Um , he's 643 00:26:28,764 --> 00:26:30,931 got significant naval power inside the 644 00:26:30,931 --> 00:26:34,640 Black Sea and not lost on anyone that a 645 00:26:34,650 --> 00:26:36,706 good chunk of those ships . At least 646 00:26:36,706 --> 00:26:38,928 half a dozen of them are L . S . Teas , 647 00:26:38,928 --> 00:26:41,340 they're landing ships to with one 648 00:26:41,340 --> 00:26:43,673 purpose and that's to put troops ashore . 649 00:26:43,740 --> 00:26:46,500 Um , He's got special operations 650 00:26:46,500 --> 00:26:48,600 capability . Um he's got cyber 651 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:51,000 capability . Um he's got I . S . R . 652 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,330 Capability . And and over the past 653 00:26:54,340 --> 00:26:56,620 weeks and months he has continued to 654 00:26:56,830 --> 00:26:59,500 add to that . So I don't know that I 655 00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:01,667 would go so glibly is to say well it's 656 00:27:01,667 --> 00:27:03,800 just more of the same but in terms of 657 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:07,330 the menu of options he continues to add 658 00:27:07,330 --> 00:27:10,480 to that across the whole spectrum of 659 00:27:10,490 --> 00:27:13,840 military capabilities . And I think I'd 660 00:27:13,870 --> 00:27:16,690 probably just leave it at that . And um 661 00:27:16,700 --> 00:27:18,533 oh but you you also talked about 662 00:27:18,533 --> 00:27:20,756 sustainment and we have definitely seen 663 00:27:20,756 --> 00:27:24,660 in recent weeks um adding logistics and 664 00:27:24,660 --> 00:27:28,000 sustainment capability so that it's 665 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,650 pretty clear um that if he wants to 666 00:27:31,660 --> 00:27:35,030 um he's going to ensure that he can 667 00:27:35,030 --> 00:27:37,450 keep these troops in the field uh for 668 00:27:37,450 --> 00:27:40,060 longer periods of time . Uh And you 669 00:27:40,060 --> 00:27:42,060 know that's everything from uh from 670 00:27:42,060 --> 00:27:44,810 transportation to uh you know to supply 671 00:27:44,810 --> 00:27:48,720 chains to medical support . Um So we 672 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:51,070 continue to see that that being added 673 00:27:51,430 --> 00:27:54,650 that did that help you Tony What steps 674 00:27:54,650 --> 00:27:56,872 are being taken to make sure the entire 675 00:27:56,872 --> 00:27:58,817 82nd Airborne's immediate response 676 00:27:58,817 --> 00:28:01,039 force now that you're sending to Poland 677 00:28:01,039 --> 00:28:02,983 that they're staying away from any 678 00:28:02,983 --> 00:28:05,206 harm's way in case there is if there is 679 00:28:05,206 --> 00:28:07,261 an invasion with their location , be 680 00:28:07,261 --> 00:28:09,428 pretty much central Poland and nowhere 681 00:28:09,428 --> 00:28:12,150 near border , I'll let the commander 682 00:28:12,150 --> 00:28:14,440 talk about where he's gonna put these 683 00:28:14,450 --> 00:28:17,370 troops Tony they're they're gonna be 684 00:28:17,450 --> 00:28:20,110 sent over there for a range of 685 00:28:20,110 --> 00:28:22,440 potential contingencies . Their multi 686 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,690 mission capable as you know . Um And as 687 00:28:25,690 --> 00:28:27,523 we've talked about if one of the 688 00:28:27,523 --> 00:28:29,634 contingencies are if one of the needs 689 00:28:29,634 --> 00:28:32,580 are to help with evacuation assistance 690 00:28:32,590 --> 00:28:35,600 on the polish side of the border uh as 691 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:37,822 people come across that border , should 692 00:28:37,822 --> 00:28:39,933 they come across that border and need 693 00:28:39,933 --> 00:28:42,156 help , they'll be prepared to do that . 694 00:28:42,156 --> 00:28:41,790 And if that's gonna be the mission that 695 00:28:41,790 --> 00:28:43,957 you're going to conduct , you're gonna 696 00:28:43,957 --> 00:28:46,123 have to be somewhat near that border , 697 00:28:46,123 --> 00:28:48,123 right ? But but again I I won't get 698 00:28:48,123 --> 00:28:50,346 ahead of , I won't get ahead of leaders 699 00:28:50,346 --> 00:28:52,512 on the ground and what they're doing . 700 00:28:52,512 --> 00:28:54,679 But but I do want to just I know we've 701 00:28:54,679 --> 00:28:56,901 said this before , it's worth repeating 702 00:28:56,901 --> 00:28:59,068 there's there's no intention , there's 703 00:28:59,068 --> 00:29:01,470 no plan . Um And there's no approval to 704 00:29:01,470 --> 00:29:03,890 put these troops into Ukraine . They're 705 00:29:03,900 --> 00:29:06,067 they're they're being sent to Poland , 706 00:29:06,067 --> 00:29:08,200 they're gonna stay in Poland plans . 707 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:10,422 You know , you've heard the saying they 708 00:29:10,422 --> 00:29:12,644 could accidentally be drawn in . I mean 709 00:29:12,644 --> 00:29:14,700 they're not going to be accidentally 710 00:29:14,700 --> 00:29:16,644 drawn into Ukraine . May I ask you 711 00:29:16,644 --> 00:29:16,630 what's the level of intelligence 712 00:29:16,630 --> 00:29:18,908 sharing with Ukraine between the U . S . 713 00:29:18,908 --> 00:29:20,908 And Ukraine ? You hinted at earlier 714 00:29:20,908 --> 00:29:23,019 that you're sharing broadly . But are 715 00:29:23,019 --> 00:29:25,074 you giving them a granular technical 716 00:29:25,074 --> 00:29:27,130 tactical intelligence ? I would tell 717 00:29:27,130 --> 00:29:29,297 you that we have been very transparent 718 00:29:29,297 --> 00:29:31,408 with our Ukrainian partners about the 719 00:29:31,408 --> 00:29:33,408 intelligence assessments that we've 720 00:29:33,408 --> 00:29:33,190 been seeing and the things that we've 721 00:29:33,190 --> 00:29:35,520 been seeing in that um in that 722 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:39,330 environment and um I'm comfortable and 723 00:29:39,330 --> 00:29:41,960 confident that it has been of a 724 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:45,790 sufficient level of detail . Two 725 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:50,630 to convince , let's put it that way . 726 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:53,170 Uh Jeff Seldin vo a 727 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:56,807 john thanks very much for doing this . 728 00:29:56,807 --> 00:29:59,029 Uh some questions on Russia and Ukraine 729 00:29:59,029 --> 00:30:01,251 first , was the pentagon aware that the 730 00:30:01,251 --> 00:30:03,362 Ukrainian president was going to post 731 00:30:03,362 --> 00:30:05,690 on facebook today about Russia invading 732 00:30:05,700 --> 00:30:09,270 on Wednesday . And also for weeks , you 733 00:30:09,270 --> 00:30:11,326 and others in the U . S . Government 734 00:30:11,326 --> 00:30:13,326 have been sharing information about 735 00:30:13,326 --> 00:30:15,603 possible Russian false flag operations . 736 00:30:15,603 --> 00:30:17,826 How Russia could launch military action 737 00:30:17,826 --> 00:30:19,992 in Ukraine ? Are there any indications 738 00:30:19,992 --> 00:30:22,330 that the warnings from your podium and 739 00:30:22,330 --> 00:30:24,770 others has done anything to change 740 00:30:24,770 --> 00:30:27,590 Russia's calculus ? And if not , was it 741 00:30:27,590 --> 00:30:30,240 worth it ? And finally , if I may , has 742 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:32,184 the US been asked by any allies or 743 00:30:32,184 --> 00:30:34,184 partners in eastern europe for help 744 00:30:34,184 --> 00:30:36,351 preparing for an influx of refugees as 745 00:30:36,351 --> 00:30:38,518 a result of anything Russia might do . 746 00:30:38,518 --> 00:30:40,740 Thank you . Okay , there's an awful lot 747 00:30:40,740 --> 00:30:44,190 there , Jeff on Mr 748 00:30:44,190 --> 00:30:48,160 Zelinsky is facebook posts . Um , 749 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:51,370 I don't know whether anybody here in 750 00:30:51,370 --> 00:30:53,592 the building was aware of that , Jeff . 751 00:30:53,592 --> 00:30:56,150 I certainly wasn't . But but that 752 00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:58,104 doesn't literally say anything . I 753 00:30:58,104 --> 00:31:00,160 don't even have a facebook account , 754 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:02,350 but I don't I don't know , Jeff . I 755 00:31:02,350 --> 00:31:04,572 mean , I can take the question to see . 756 00:31:04,572 --> 00:31:06,739 Um I would , you know , just point out 757 00:31:06,739 --> 00:31:09,910 that he's he's the president of Ukraine , 758 00:31:09,910 --> 00:31:12,021 he can post on facebook what he wants 759 00:31:12,021 --> 00:31:14,188 and when he wants , he doesn't have to 760 00:31:14,188 --> 00:31:17,030 run that by anybody or or seek approval 761 00:31:17,030 --> 00:31:19,490 from us , um , you know , he's the he's 762 00:31:19,490 --> 00:31:22,540 the leader of a sovereign state . So um 763 00:31:22,550 --> 00:31:24,772 I'll check to see if we had any kind of 764 00:31:24,772 --> 00:31:26,790 heads up but I would frankly be 765 00:31:26,790 --> 00:31:28,760 surprised if we did . And that's 766 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:32,040 perfectly okay . Um on the false flag 767 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:34,560 question . I mean , you know 768 00:31:35,540 --> 00:31:38,630 what I would just tell you is we 769 00:31:38,630 --> 00:31:40,574 continue to see indications in the 770 00:31:40,574 --> 00:31:43,090 intelligence that there that that the 771 00:31:43,090 --> 00:31:45,257 Russians are exploring that option and 772 00:31:45,257 --> 00:31:47,479 I think I'll just leave it at that . Um 773 00:31:47,479 --> 00:31:51,000 on on refugees . Um are the focus of 774 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,167 the troops that are going over there . 775 00:31:53,167 --> 00:31:55,260 As I mentioned in my answer to , I 776 00:31:55,260 --> 00:31:57,280 think it was matt that the multi 777 00:31:57,280 --> 00:31:59,680 mission capable . Um certainly 778 00:31:59,690 --> 00:32:02,670 assistance with evacuation flow is 779 00:32:02,670 --> 00:32:04,850 something that they could do um and 780 00:32:04,850 --> 00:32:07,640 could do quite well and uh they're 781 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:09,251 gonna be working with polish 782 00:32:09,251 --> 00:32:11,810 authorities on on what that looks like . 783 00:32:11,820 --> 00:32:14,930 Uh and how they would handle that . Um 784 00:32:14,940 --> 00:32:18,690 I know of no other efforts inside this 785 00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:21,760 U . S . Troops in europe uh to 786 00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:24,080 contribute to to like operations should 787 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:27,020 they be needed . But obviously uh one 788 00:32:27,020 --> 00:32:28,853 of the great things about the US 789 00:32:28,853 --> 00:32:30,853 military is that it's multi mission 790 00:32:30,853 --> 00:32:32,909 capable is that it's flexible and as 791 00:32:32,909 --> 00:32:35,131 you heard the secretary say when he was 792 00:32:35,131 --> 00:32:34,340 up here a couple of weeks ago , if 793 00:32:34,340 --> 00:32:36,507 that's something we're called on to do 794 00:32:36,507 --> 00:32:39,500 uh outside of Ukraine . You know , we 795 00:32:39,500 --> 00:32:41,611 would certainly be able to contribute 796 00:32:41,611 --> 00:32:44,510 to that kind of mission . Um Your 797 00:32:44,510 --> 00:32:48,170 question though and , pardon me for 798 00:32:48,740 --> 00:32:50,907 for foot stopping again . But you know 799 00:32:50,907 --> 00:32:54,240 it it's a good question . Um but it but 800 00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:56,462 it gets to an outcome here that doesn't 801 00:32:56,462 --> 00:32:58,830 have to be there shouldn't be a need 802 00:32:58,830 --> 00:33:00,719 for evacuation assistance . There 803 00:33:00,719 --> 00:33:02,941 shouldn't be a need for people to to to 804 00:33:02,941 --> 00:33:06,050 have to flee their homeland because 805 00:33:06,050 --> 00:33:08,272 there shouldn't be any invasion of it , 806 00:33:08,272 --> 00:33:10,560 a sovereign state by another nation 807 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:13,260 state next door . Who clearly has shown 808 00:33:13,270 --> 00:33:15,970 aggressive tendencies here and an 809 00:33:15,980 --> 00:33:18,000 alarming build up of military 810 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,430 capabilities and certainly has shown no 811 00:33:20,430 --> 00:33:23,730 sign yet of being willing to deescalate 812 00:33:23,740 --> 00:33:26,170 or an unwillingness to take those 813 00:33:26,170 --> 00:33:28,281 capabilities off the table and to try 814 00:33:28,281 --> 00:33:30,614 and find a real diplomatic path forward . 815 00:33:30,614 --> 00:33:32,892 And I think it's important to remember , 816 00:33:32,892 --> 00:33:35,250 um again , not that this really answers 817 00:33:35,250 --> 00:33:38,770 your question specifically , but um but 818 00:33:38,940 --> 00:33:40,829 should they conduct another major 819 00:33:40,829 --> 00:33:43,140 military action , real lives will be at 820 00:33:43,140 --> 00:33:46,960 risk . Ukrainian lives to be sure . 821 00:33:47,340 --> 00:33:50,840 But also Russian lives this this will 822 00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:53,260 not be bloodless . This will not be 823 00:33:53,270 --> 00:33:56,950 easy . Um and uh and not only will 824 00:33:56,950 --> 00:33:59,180 you see people trying to flee the 825 00:33:59,180 --> 00:34:01,350 country , but but you're going to see 826 00:34:01,350 --> 00:34:03,770 people seriously hurt and seriously 827 00:34:03,770 --> 00:34:05,937 killed as a result of it . And there's 828 00:34:05,937 --> 00:34:09,340 no reason for it . The Russians can 829 00:34:09,350 --> 00:34:11,580 deescalate immediately . They could 830 00:34:11,590 --> 00:34:14,210 easily sit down and take seriously a 831 00:34:14,210 --> 00:34:16,520 diplomatic path forward and stop this 832 00:34:16,530 --> 00:34:19,140 now so that there is no need for people 833 00:34:19,140 --> 00:34:21,140 to have to flee their homes so that 834 00:34:21,140 --> 00:34:23,251 there is uh there are no casualties , 835 00:34:23,251 --> 00:34:25,660 there is no bloodshed . Uh It's it's 836 00:34:25,670 --> 00:34:28,920 it's it's within Mr . Putin's power uh , 837 00:34:28,930 --> 00:34:32,350 to make the right decision now . Um and 838 00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:34,527 obviously we hope to see him do that . 839 00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:37,100 Okay . Thanks everybody appreciate it .