1 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:06,470 afternoon , everybody we get organized 2 00:00:06,470 --> 00:00:06,860 here . 3 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:17,490 Thanks . Yeah , we were gone for a 4 00:00:17,490 --> 00:00:19,601 little while . It's good to be back . 5 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:22,300 Okay , a couple of things at the , at 6 00:00:22,300 --> 00:00:25,110 the top . So if you just bear with me 7 00:00:25,110 --> 00:00:27,890 here . Um , I do want to take a couple 8 00:00:27,890 --> 00:00:29,946 of minutes right at the beginning of 9 00:00:29,946 --> 00:00:32,112 the briefing um , to talk about things 10 00:00:32,112 --> 00:00:34,334 in Ukraine . Uh , there's been a lot of 11 00:00:34,334 --> 00:00:37,210 reporting today on withdrawals and uh , 12 00:00:37,220 --> 00:00:39,500 you know , Russian decisions and I 13 00:00:39,500 --> 00:00:41,800 think uh it's really important that we 14 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:44,022 put a little bit of this into context . 15 00:00:44,140 --> 00:00:47,690 So first again , we've seen that 16 00:00:47,690 --> 00:00:50,590 Russia has attempted now for going on a 17 00:00:50,590 --> 00:00:54,080 month to sell this war of theirs to its 18 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:55,960 domestic audience as a quote , 19 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,450 liberation of the Donbas . However , 20 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:02,207 the intensified rhetoric over the last 21 00:01:02,207 --> 00:01:04,530 year and in the lead up to Russia's 22 00:01:04,530 --> 00:01:06,830 invasion , demonstrated that the 23 00:01:06,830 --> 00:01:08,997 Kremlin's real intent was to overthrow 24 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:11,271 the democratically elected government 25 00:01:11,271 --> 00:01:14,110 and to occupy or annex large portions 26 00:01:14,110 --> 00:01:16,840 of Ukraine . The posture of Russian 27 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:19,260 forces around Kiev along much of the 28 00:01:19,260 --> 00:01:22,150 black and the as of sea coasts and in 29 00:01:22,150 --> 00:01:24,039 central and north eastern Ukraine 30 00:01:24,039 --> 00:01:26,400 indicates the geographic scale of this 31 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:28,289 ambition . They've been attacking 32 00:01:28,289 --> 00:01:30,400 Ukraine as we have been talking about 33 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:32,622 now for several weeks on multiple lines 34 00:01:32,622 --> 00:01:35,070 of axis . Russia's intent was to 35 00:01:35,070 --> 00:01:38,040 replace Ukrainian regional and national 36 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:39,873 authorities and create so called 37 00:01:39,873 --> 00:01:42,620 people's Republics , as displayed 38 00:01:42,620 --> 00:01:45,930 recently in Khorasan province . The 39 00:01:45,930 --> 00:01:47,986 rapid advance to Kiev in the initial 40 00:01:47,986 --> 00:01:50,370 days of the war showed very clearly for 41 00:01:50,370 --> 00:01:52,840 all of us that Kiev in the capital city 42 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,007 was a key objective for the Russians , 43 00:01:55,740 --> 00:01:57,940 so we ought not be fooling and nobody 44 00:01:57,940 --> 00:01:59,884 should be fooling ourselves by the 45 00:01:59,884 --> 00:02:02,140 Kremlin's now recent claim that it will 46 00:02:02,140 --> 00:02:04,450 suddenly just reduce military attacks 47 00:02:04,460 --> 00:02:06,690 near Kiev or any reports that it's 48 00:02:06,690 --> 00:02:10,230 going to withdraw all its forces . Has 49 00:02:10,230 --> 00:02:13,150 there been some movement ? Buy some 50 00:02:13,150 --> 00:02:16,510 Russian units away from Kiev uh in the 51 00:02:16,510 --> 00:02:19,160 last day or so ? Yeah , we think so 52 00:02:19,170 --> 00:02:21,610 small numbers , but we believe that 53 00:02:21,610 --> 00:02:24,620 this is a repositioning , not a real 54 00:02:24,620 --> 00:02:27,000 withdrawal and that we all should be 55 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:29,222 prepared to watch for a major offensive 56 00:02:29,222 --> 00:02:31,920 against other areas of Ukraine . It 57 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:34,031 does not mean that the threat to Kiev 58 00:02:34,031 --> 00:02:37,190 is over . Russia has failed in its 59 00:02:37,190 --> 00:02:39,134 objective of capturing Kiev . It's 60 00:02:39,134 --> 00:02:41,301 failed in its objective of subjugating 61 00:02:41,301 --> 00:02:45,050 Ukraine , but they can still inflict 62 00:02:45,540 --> 00:02:47,484 massive brutality on the country , 63 00:02:47,484 --> 00:02:50,650 including on Kiev . We see that even 64 00:02:50,650 --> 00:02:52,817 today and continued airstrikes against 65 00:02:52,817 --> 00:02:55,660 the capital city , Mr Putin's goals 66 00:02:55,660 --> 00:02:58,170 stretched far beyond the Donbas . The 67 00:02:58,170 --> 00:03:00,226 Russian Ministry of Defense's recent 68 00:03:00,226 --> 00:03:02,448 talking points may be an effort to move 69 00:03:02,448 --> 00:03:04,392 the goalpost , moderating Russia's 70 00:03:04,392 --> 00:03:06,226 immediate goals and spinning its 71 00:03:06,226 --> 00:03:08,226 current lack of progress as part of 72 00:03:08,226 --> 00:03:11,510 what would be next steps . But it's too 73 00:03:11,510 --> 00:03:13,677 early to judge what additional actions 74 00:03:13,677 --> 00:03:16,060 the Kremlin may take . No amount of 75 00:03:16,060 --> 00:03:18,320 spin can mask what the world has 76 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:20,320 witnessed over the past month . And 77 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:22,320 that's the courage and the military 78 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:24,431 prowess of Ukraine's armed forces and 79 00:03:24,431 --> 00:03:26,487 its people , which are proving to be 80 00:03:26,487 --> 00:03:28,709 more than what Russia bargained for and 81 00:03:28,709 --> 00:03:30,487 it's unprovoked and unjustified 82 00:03:30,487 --> 00:03:32,431 invasion . Now that prowess is not 83 00:03:32,431 --> 00:03:34,598 accidental . We've talked about that a 84 00:03:34,598 --> 00:03:36,653 little bit . It's partly a result of 85 00:03:36,653 --> 00:03:38,653 the training and the support we and 86 00:03:38,653 --> 00:03:40,820 other allies over the last eight years 87 00:03:40,820 --> 00:03:42,987 have been given to the Ukrainian Armed 88 00:03:42,987 --> 00:03:44,987 Forces , the United States together 89 00:03:44,987 --> 00:03:44,980 with our allies and partners or we're 90 00:03:44,980 --> 00:03:46,869 going to continue to provide that 91 00:03:46,869 --> 00:03:48,869 support going forward to meet their 92 00:03:48,869 --> 00:03:51,091 security needs as they bravely stand up 93 00:03:51,091 --> 00:03:53,258 to this Russian aggression . I thought 94 00:03:53,258 --> 00:03:55,424 it was really important to kind of set 95 00:03:55,424 --> 00:03:54,560 the level straight there on that 96 00:03:54,570 --> 00:03:56,348 because I've seen again lots of 97 00:03:56,348 --> 00:03:58,500 reporting here on the on these so 98 00:03:58,500 --> 00:04:01,080 called withdrawals . Now in other news 99 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:04,950 Balikatan 22 started this week . This 100 00:04:04,950 --> 00:04:06,894 is a longstanding annual bilateral 101 00:04:06,894 --> 00:04:09,117 military exercise conducted between the 102 00:04:09,117 --> 00:04:11,339 US military and the armed forces of the 103 00:04:11,339 --> 00:04:13,450 Philippines . It's a key component of 104 00:04:13,450 --> 00:04:15,672 our alliance cooperation . The exercise 105 00:04:15,672 --> 00:04:17,394 features planning operations , 106 00:04:17,394 --> 00:04:19,561 exchanges and activities that increase 107 00:04:19,561 --> 00:04:21,783 both our nation's military capabilities 108 00:04:21,783 --> 00:04:23,839 to provide for the mutual defense of 109 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:25,839 the Philippine archipelago exercise 110 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:27,728 activities will occur at multiple 111 00:04:27,728 --> 00:04:29,783 locations throughout the republic of 112 00:04:29,783 --> 00:04:31,783 the Philippines and will consist of 113 00:04:31,783 --> 00:04:33,950 three primary components . A bilateral 114 00:04:33,950 --> 00:04:36,172 staff exercise . Joint interoperability 115 00:04:36,172 --> 00:04:37,561 events and combined into 116 00:04:37,700 --> 00:04:39,644 interoperability events as well as 117 00:04:39,644 --> 00:04:41,533 humanitarian and civic assistance 118 00:04:41,533 --> 00:04:45,450 efforts With more than 3800 members 119 00:04:45,460 --> 00:04:47,627 of the armed forces of the Philippines 120 00:04:47,627 --> 00:04:50,610 and 50 100 us service members . This 121 00:04:50,610 --> 00:04:52,920 will be the largest iteration of ballot 122 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:54,976 catan to date . We look forward to a 123 00:04:54,976 --> 00:04:58,190 meaningful productive exercise and uh 124 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:00,256 and we're grateful for that terrific 125 00:05:00,256 --> 00:05:02,200 relationship that we have with the 126 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:04,311 armed forces of the Philippines . And 127 00:05:04,311 --> 00:05:06,980 then last but not least today . The 128 00:05:06,980 --> 00:05:09,640 final COVID-19 response teams in active 129 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,070 duty status who are supporting 59 130 00:05:12,070 --> 00:05:14,292 cities across 30 states completed their 131 00:05:14,292 --> 00:05:16,181 mission at the University of Utah 132 00:05:16,181 --> 00:05:18,540 Hospital in Salt Lake City . Since the 133 00:05:18,540 --> 00:05:20,429 onset of the outbreak , more than 134 00:05:20,429 --> 00:05:22,970 24,000 military members and active duty 135 00:05:22,970 --> 00:05:24,970 status have provided support to the 136 00:05:24,970 --> 00:05:26,803 whole of government effort . The 137 00:05:26,803 --> 00:05:28,914 support included approximately 50 800 138 00:05:28,914 --> 00:05:30,692 military medical providers that 139 00:05:30,692 --> 00:05:32,859 supported hospitals and other civilian 140 00:05:32,859 --> 00:05:34,859 medical facilities . More than 5000 141 00:05:34,859 --> 00:05:36,359 military medical personnel 142 00:05:36,359 --> 00:05:38,248 administering vaccines at federal 143 00:05:38,248 --> 00:05:40,359 community vaccination centers as well 144 00:05:40,359 --> 00:05:42,303 as military personnel who assisted 145 00:05:42,303 --> 00:05:42,230 citizens when they were initially 146 00:05:42,230 --> 00:05:44,640 repatriated back to the us in the very 147 00:05:44,650 --> 00:05:47,380 very early days of the outbreak . In 148 00:05:47,380 --> 00:05:50,060 january of this year , the department 149 00:05:50,060 --> 00:05:51,893 activated more than 1000 service 150 00:05:51,893 --> 00:05:54,004 members in support of the President's 151 00:05:54,004 --> 00:05:55,838 direction to mobilize additional 152 00:05:55,838 --> 00:05:58,060 military medical personnel and of those 153 00:05:58,060 --> 00:06:00,116 service members D . O . D . Deployed 154 00:06:00,116 --> 00:06:02,550 nearly 700 who supported 25 hospitals 155 00:06:02,550 --> 00:06:05,250 in 14 states just from january to march . 156 00:06:05,740 --> 00:06:07,962 The rest of these military members were 157 00:06:07,962 --> 00:06:10,240 on standby throughout that time period , 158 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:12,407 ready to deploy at the request of fema 159 00:06:12,407 --> 00:06:14,573 if they were required . It's important 160 00:06:14,573 --> 00:06:16,684 to note that while the title 10 Covid 161 00:06:16,684 --> 00:06:18,907 19 response may have come to a close as 162 00:06:18,907 --> 00:06:21,073 of this morning , there are still more 163 00:06:21,073 --> 00:06:23,296 than 10,800 National Guard soldiers and 164 00:06:23,296 --> 00:06:25,296 Airmen supporting Covid 19 response 165 00:06:25,296 --> 00:06:27,130 efforts in at least 43 states , 166 00:06:27,150 --> 00:06:29,350 territories and the District of 167 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:31,527 Columbia . And I also want to add that 168 00:06:31,527 --> 00:06:33,638 north com remains postured as well to 169 00:06:33,638 --> 00:06:36,040 deploy more personnel if requested . 170 00:06:36,050 --> 00:06:38,106 And of course the secretary wants to 171 00:06:38,106 --> 00:06:40,161 take this opportunity to pass on his 172 00:06:40,161 --> 00:06:42,106 personal gratitude and that of all 173 00:06:42,106 --> 00:06:44,161 senior leaders at the department for 174 00:06:44,161 --> 00:06:46,383 the extraordinary work that the men and 175 00:06:46,383 --> 00:06:46,120 women of this department have done 176 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:48,730 throughout the pandemic , but certainly 177 00:06:48,730 --> 00:06:51,080 in just the last few months um to work 178 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,240 so hard in support of our of civilian 179 00:06:54,250 --> 00:06:56,480 medical practitioners . And with that 180 00:06:56,540 --> 00:06:58,596 we'll take questions bob . Thank you 181 00:06:58,596 --> 00:07:02,050 john on Ukraine . When you say you are 182 00:07:02,050 --> 00:07:04,760 seeing small numbers of Russian troops 183 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:07,718 moving , you say they're repositioning . 184 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:10,930 Um Would that be quite small ? Do you 185 00:07:10,930 --> 00:07:12,708 mean like less than a battalion 186 00:07:12,708 --> 00:07:16,640 tactical group ? I would uh 187 00:07:16,650 --> 00:07:18,817 this is very early on bob . So I don't 188 00:07:18,817 --> 00:07:20,928 we don't have a number estimate , but 189 00:07:20,928 --> 00:07:23,650 it's certainly not a significant chunk 190 00:07:23,670 --> 00:07:26,670 of the multiple battalion tactical 191 00:07:26,670 --> 00:07:29,340 groups that Russia has arrayed against 192 00:07:29,350 --> 00:07:32,830 Kiev . So we can confirm that we've 193 00:07:32,830 --> 00:07:35,170 seen a small number start to reposition 194 00:07:35,190 --> 00:07:37,357 but I'd really be reticent to get into 195 00:07:37,357 --> 00:07:39,579 an exact number or try to put a unit on 196 00:07:39,579 --> 00:07:41,950 it , it's not anywhere near a majority 197 00:07:41,950 --> 00:07:44,228 of what they have a raid against keith . 198 00:07:44,228 --> 00:07:46,283 When you say repositioning , can you 199 00:07:46,283 --> 00:07:48,506 say , I mean are they moving like north 200 00:07:48,506 --> 00:07:50,770 into Belarus or they repositioning for 201 00:07:50,780 --> 00:07:52,836 what you described is potentially an 202 00:07:52,836 --> 00:07:55,058 offensive somewhere else I would say at 203 00:07:55,058 --> 00:07:57,250 this early stage , we see the movement 204 00:07:57,260 --> 00:07:59,520 more northward . But again , it's it's 205 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:01,320 too early to tell bob what the 206 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:03,610 destination is , what the final 207 00:08:03,610 --> 00:08:06,580 purposes . Um and you know what , where 208 00:08:06,580 --> 00:08:08,636 exactly these troops are going to go 209 00:08:08,636 --> 00:08:11,990 long term , we believe . We believe we 210 00:08:11,990 --> 00:08:14,690 assess that it is likely more 211 00:08:14,690 --> 00:08:16,801 repositioning to be used elsewhere in 212 00:08:16,801 --> 00:08:19,510 Ukraine . Where exactly we don't know . 213 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:21,650 I would just note that the Russians 214 00:08:21,650 --> 00:08:23,983 themselves have said in the same breath , 215 00:08:23,983 --> 00:08:25,706 they're saying they're they're 216 00:08:25,706 --> 00:08:27,928 withdrawing , that they're that they're 217 00:08:27,928 --> 00:08:29,817 reprioritizing the Donbas area in 218 00:08:29,817 --> 00:08:31,761 Eastern Ukraine . So we could move 219 00:08:31,761 --> 00:08:33,928 there again . That's that's a question 220 00:08:33,928 --> 00:08:36,039 better put to the Russian Ministry of 221 00:08:36,039 --> 00:08:37,983 Defense if they'll ever give you a 222 00:08:37,983 --> 00:08:40,206 straight answer . But again , they have 223 00:08:40,206 --> 00:08:39,670 said themselves that they're 224 00:08:39,670 --> 00:08:41,781 reprioritizing that part of Ukraine . 225 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:44,640 Yeah , you mentioned obviously that if 226 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:46,862 they're redeploying , have you seen any 227 00:08:46,862 --> 00:08:48,918 signs that Russia has pulled back on 228 00:08:48,918 --> 00:08:51,084 actually sending supplies into Ukraine 229 00:08:51,084 --> 00:08:53,029 or they still basically continuing 230 00:08:53,029 --> 00:08:55,196 their own convoys of moving supplies , 231 00:08:55,196 --> 00:08:55,160 fuel , food , anything like that ? Or 232 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,327 if they stopped doing that is just the 233 00:08:57,327 --> 00:08:59,382 troops that have basically , again , 234 00:08:59,382 --> 00:09:01,493 very early stages here . They've only 235 00:09:01,493 --> 00:09:03,493 just recently in the last few hours 236 00:09:03,493 --> 00:09:05,493 made this proclamation . So we have 237 00:09:05,493 --> 00:09:07,660 seen a small number begin to move away 238 00:09:07,660 --> 00:09:09,771 from Kiev that's about the most I can 239 00:09:09,771 --> 00:09:11,493 give you . Um I don't have any 240 00:09:11,493 --> 00:09:13,604 information on their resupply efforts 241 00:09:13,604 --> 00:09:15,827 for , for troops that are still arrayed 242 00:09:15,827 --> 00:09:17,993 against Kiev , I would remind that the 243 00:09:17,993 --> 00:09:21,020 Russians still have uh , a significant 244 00:09:21,020 --> 00:09:23,420 majority of their assembled combat 245 00:09:23,420 --> 00:09:25,142 power to include logistics and 246 00:09:25,142 --> 00:09:27,087 sustainment sustainment capability 247 00:09:27,087 --> 00:09:30,610 available to them inside Ukraine . So 248 00:09:30,620 --> 00:09:32,731 just trying to understand something , 249 00:09:32,731 --> 00:09:35,009 if you're talking about a small number , 250 00:09:35,009 --> 00:09:37,064 do you think just what you're seeing 251 00:09:37,064 --> 00:09:39,287 now or do you think there's going to be 252 00:09:39,287 --> 00:09:41,398 more numbers ? Because they're saying 253 00:09:41,398 --> 00:09:43,564 they might be pulling out these forces 254 00:09:43,564 --> 00:09:45,676 to redeploy somewhere else . If there 255 00:09:45,676 --> 00:09:47,787 are small numbers , are they going to 256 00:09:47,787 --> 00:09:47,260 make any difference if they were 257 00:09:47,270 --> 00:09:49,410 redeployed is at the beginning of 258 00:09:49,420 --> 00:09:51,531 something Great question for Minister 259 00:09:51,531 --> 00:09:53,880 Short , I don't know , fatty . All I 260 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:55,880 can tell you is what we're seeing . 261 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:58,200 We're seeing a small number now that 262 00:09:58,210 --> 00:10:00,660 appears to be moving away from Kiev . 263 00:10:01,340 --> 00:10:03,507 This on the same day that the Russians 264 00:10:03,507 --> 00:10:05,729 say they're withdrawing , but we're not 265 00:10:05,729 --> 00:10:07,951 prepared to call this a retreat or even 266 00:10:07,951 --> 00:10:07,940 a withdrawal . We think that that's 267 00:10:07,950 --> 00:10:10,006 what they probably have in mind is a 268 00:10:10,006 --> 00:10:12,228 repositioning to prioritize elsewhere . 269 00:10:12,228 --> 00:10:14,450 And do they still have enough forces on 270 00:10:14,450 --> 00:10:16,339 the ground of around in case they 271 00:10:16,339 --> 00:10:18,780 decided to basically 272 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:21,751 relaunched some kind of attack on the 273 00:10:21,751 --> 00:10:23,973 city . Again , I'm not going to predict 274 00:10:23,973 --> 00:10:26,251 what the Russian military plan is here . 275 00:10:26,251 --> 00:10:28,520 To my , my answer to bob very , very 276 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:30,631 small numbers that we've seen move at 277 00:10:30,631 --> 00:10:32,742 this point , they still have the vast 278 00:10:32,742 --> 00:10:34,798 majority of the forces that they had 279 00:10:34,798 --> 00:10:37,020 assembled around Kiev are still there . 280 00:10:37,020 --> 00:10:38,870 As I've said before , we largely 281 00:10:38,870 --> 00:10:40,981 assessed that they are in a defensive 282 00:10:40,981 --> 00:10:43,203 posture . They have , they have several 283 00:10:43,203 --> 00:10:45,314 days ago stopped trying to advance on 284 00:10:45,314 --> 00:10:47,259 Kiev and sort of took up defensive 285 00:10:47,259 --> 00:10:51,040 positions . Yeah . Thanks . Three 286 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:53,096 questions please . Can you update us 287 00:10:55,260 --> 00:10:57,371 on the number of missiles ? I'll just 288 00:10:57,371 --> 00:10:59,427 ask one more time if that's easier . 289 00:10:59,427 --> 00:11:01,482 That's actually much easier with the 290 00:11:01,482 --> 00:11:03,427 number of missiles that Russia has 291 00:11:03,427 --> 00:11:05,649 launched into Ukraine . At this point . 292 00:11:05,649 --> 00:11:07,927 I don't have an update on the , on the , 293 00:11:07,927 --> 00:11:10,093 on the missiles . You know , they , we 294 00:11:10,093 --> 00:11:12,316 know that they , since the beginning of 295 00:11:12,316 --> 00:11:15,470 this Launched more than 1000 , but I 296 00:11:15,470 --> 00:11:17,748 don't have an exact number . Okay . Um , 297 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:19,704 secondly , does the pentagon still 298 00:11:19,704 --> 00:11:21,982 consider Russia a near peer competitor ? 299 00:11:22,140 --> 00:11:25,560 I think you can take away from 300 00:11:26,140 --> 00:11:28,307 what we talked about yesterday when we 301 00:11:28,307 --> 00:11:30,473 released the budget and we , we talked 302 00:11:30,473 --> 00:11:32,473 about Russia as an acute threat and 303 00:11:32,473 --> 00:11:34,418 that's that's how we're looking at 304 00:11:34,418 --> 00:11:36,529 Russia right now . But that's not the 305 00:11:36,529 --> 00:11:35,880 same as what you've been saying ? 306 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:37,713 You've been saying europe , your 307 00:11:37,713 --> 00:11:39,880 competitors , Russia and china and now 308 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:39,880 we're hearing acute threat , acute 309 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:41,769 threat . So has it changed in the 310 00:11:41,769 --> 00:11:43,658 pentagon still , we , we consider 311 00:11:43,658 --> 00:11:45,602 Russia as an acute threat based on 312 00:11:45,602 --> 00:11:47,769 certainly , but what we've been seeing 313 00:11:47,769 --> 00:11:49,880 happened over the last month . Okay . 314 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:51,824 And then my last question is about 315 00:11:51,824 --> 00:11:54,230 Ukraine's peace proposal . Uh , it 316 00:11:54,230 --> 00:11:56,452 seems like they envisioned some sort of 317 00:11:56,452 --> 00:11:58,350 security guarantee . Uh , like an 318 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:00,471 Article five with NATO with a country 319 00:12:00,471 --> 00:12:02,638 like Poland or Turkey or Canada . Um , 320 00:12:02,638 --> 00:12:04,749 so my question is , does the pentagon 321 00:12:04,749 --> 00:12:06,860 think that's feasible ? Because these 322 00:12:06,860 --> 00:12:08,860 are NATO countries and establishing 323 00:12:08,860 --> 00:12:10,916 some sort of collective defense with 324 00:12:10,916 --> 00:12:12,860 the NATO country would essentially 325 00:12:12,860 --> 00:12:14,860 bring in all of NATO with this . So 326 00:12:14,860 --> 00:12:17,027 does the pentagon find a proposal like 327 00:12:17,027 --> 00:12:19,249 that feasible ? I think we're not gonna 328 00:12:19,249 --> 00:12:19,100 get ahead of where Ukraine and Russia 329 00:12:19,100 --> 00:12:21,740 are on their , on their discussions . 330 00:12:21,750 --> 00:12:25,220 Um uh , this has got to be a 331 00:12:25,230 --> 00:12:27,470 negotiation between Russia and Ukraine 332 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:29,702 and we're certainly not going to get in 333 00:12:29,702 --> 00:12:31,647 the middle of that or get ahead of 334 00:12:31,647 --> 00:12:34,170 where that is right now . Uh , I would 335 00:12:34,170 --> 00:12:36,392 just say a couple of things , Carla one 336 00:12:36,392 --> 00:12:38,614 Russia should negotiate in good faith . 337 00:12:38,614 --> 00:12:40,503 They have an opportunity here and 338 00:12:40,503 --> 00:12:42,781 opportunity that they have missed many , 339 00:12:42,781 --> 00:12:44,892 many times over the last month to end 340 00:12:44,892 --> 00:12:47,003 this war and to do it responsibly and 341 00:12:47,003 --> 00:12:49,226 to negotiate in good faith . So we hope 342 00:12:49,226 --> 00:12:48,980 that they'll do that . But the war 343 00:12:48,980 --> 00:12:50,980 could end today if Mr Putin did the 344 00:12:50,980 --> 00:12:53,360 right thing and actually did withdrawal 345 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:56,060 all his forces from Ukraine and respect 346 00:12:56,060 --> 00:12:58,910 Ukrainian sovereignty . And again , as 347 00:12:58,910 --> 00:13:01,880 for what that settlement looks like , 348 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:03,713 that's really between Russia and 349 00:13:03,713 --> 00:13:05,936 Ukraine . We wouldn't dictate the terms 350 00:13:05,936 --> 00:13:05,610 and we wouldn't want to get ahead of 351 00:13:05,610 --> 00:13:07,943 that process . Let me go back over here , 352 00:13:07,943 --> 00:13:10,970 David , as I understand military 353 00:13:10,970 --> 00:13:14,500 tactics when you retreat , you leave 354 00:13:14,510 --> 00:13:17,200 the forces in place to cover the 355 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:20,920 retreat ? So are the movements 356 00:13:21,210 --> 00:13:24,100 that you're seeing so far ? Are they 357 00:13:24,110 --> 00:13:27,550 consistent with what a retreat 358 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:32,320 from Kiev would look like ? What would 359 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:35,750 it take to convinced the pentagon that 360 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:40,260 rush ahead giving up on its intent to 361 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:43,530 she's key . So too soon to tell on the 362 00:13:43,530 --> 00:13:46,050 first question , David , again , this 363 00:13:46,050 --> 00:13:47,828 is only hours old here that the 364 00:13:47,828 --> 00:13:49,828 Russians made this announcement and 365 00:13:49,828 --> 00:13:53,790 we've only seen a very small numbers of 366 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:55,970 of troops actually just begin to move 367 00:13:55,970 --> 00:13:59,300 away from Kiev . So way too soon to 368 00:13:59,310 --> 00:14:01,750 make a judgment on , you know , 369 00:14:02,300 --> 00:14:05,090 covering forces and and that kind of 370 00:14:05,090 --> 00:14:08,450 thing . Um And I think 371 00:14:09,340 --> 00:14:12,340 ah what would it take for us to believe 372 00:14:12,340 --> 00:14:14,451 it ? I think I'd go back to my answer 373 00:14:14,451 --> 00:14:17,600 to to carla . It would be to see them 374 00:14:17,610 --> 00:14:19,777 take all their forces out of Ukraine , 375 00:14:19,777 --> 00:14:21,832 move them out , get them back to the 376 00:14:21,832 --> 00:14:23,777 home station and negotiate in good 377 00:14:23,777 --> 00:14:27,570 faith . It's it's uh it's just it's 378 00:14:27,570 --> 00:14:29,670 just too soon to know based on what 379 00:14:29,670 --> 00:14:31,726 they've said today , what their real 380 00:14:31,726 --> 00:14:33,670 intent here is here that said , we 381 00:14:33,670 --> 00:14:35,781 don't believe we believe , let me put 382 00:14:35,781 --> 00:14:38,003 it another way that that this is really 383 00:14:38,003 --> 00:14:40,170 more of a piece of repositioning . And 384 00:14:40,170 --> 00:14:43,750 again , we're basing some of that on on 385 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:47,290 the clear indications that they are 386 00:14:47,290 --> 00:14:50,960 reprioritizing in the Donbas , I'm 387 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:53,740 going to take another run at the acute 388 00:14:53,740 --> 00:14:55,962 threat . Russia being an acute threat . 389 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,590 Um So does that change in language 390 00:14:59,590 --> 00:15:02,730 signal a change in Russia's priority 391 00:15:02,730 --> 00:15:05,240 level for the department ? I mean in 392 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:07,296 your summary documents ? It's listed 393 00:15:07,296 --> 00:15:09,184 right after china ? Does it still 394 00:15:09,184 --> 00:15:11,407 occupy the same priority level ? Or has 395 00:15:11,407 --> 00:15:13,407 it gone up or has it gone down with 396 00:15:13,407 --> 00:15:15,629 this new language ? I mean , Russia and 397 00:15:15,629 --> 00:15:18,240 the threat posed by Russia um has 398 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,490 remained a priority here at the at the 399 00:15:20,490 --> 00:15:22,379 department . You know , if you're 400 00:15:22,379 --> 00:15:24,490 asking me to rack and stack it like , 401 00:15:24,490 --> 00:15:28,410 you know , um Um like a baseball card 402 00:15:28,410 --> 00:15:30,466 collection , I'm not gonna do that . 403 00:15:30,466 --> 00:15:33,130 But clearly we assess Russia to be an 404 00:15:33,130 --> 00:15:35,297 acute threat . We've been pretty clear 405 00:15:35,297 --> 00:15:37,519 about that . You don't have to look any 406 00:15:37,519 --> 00:15:39,630 further than what you've seen them do 407 00:15:39,630 --> 00:15:41,852 over the last 30 days to see that we're 408 00:15:41,852 --> 00:15:44,170 justified . And um and and and labeling 409 00:15:44,170 --> 00:15:46,480 them such and again , you said it 410 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:49,700 yourself , it's pretty clear in the 411 00:15:49,700 --> 00:15:51,867 points that we've that we've delivered 412 00:15:51,867 --> 00:15:54,089 since delivering the budget yesterday . 413 00:15:54,089 --> 00:15:57,900 And um and uh and in our strategy 414 00:15:57,980 --> 00:16:00,590 that that Russia remains a significant 415 00:16:00,590 --> 00:16:02,757 issue for the department . Just follow 416 00:16:02,757 --> 00:16:05,410 up on the covid Title 10 Support . And 417 00:16:05,410 --> 00:16:07,700 that ending . Could you just talk about 418 00:16:07,700 --> 00:16:09,720 the conditions that led to that 419 00:16:09,730 --> 00:16:11,897 decision ? The general conditions that 420 00:16:11,897 --> 00:16:14,063 led to the decision to end that to end 421 00:16:14,063 --> 00:16:16,520 the support . I mean , we we were doing 422 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:18,920 this in support of fema uh in the 423 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,340 interagency effort . Uh and um so we 424 00:16:22,340 --> 00:16:24,396 took our guidance from from the need 425 00:16:24,396 --> 00:16:27,970 out there by by fema reduction . Yeah . 426 00:16:27,970 --> 00:16:30,090 I mean , there's just the conditions 427 00:16:30,100 --> 00:16:32,510 are better in the country and the need 428 00:16:32,510 --> 00:16:35,550 for remember what we were doing was 429 00:16:35,940 --> 00:16:38,370 taking the pressure off civilian 430 00:16:38,370 --> 00:16:40,592 practitioners so that they could do the 431 00:16:40,592 --> 00:16:42,970 treatment ? So most of our medical 432 00:16:42,970 --> 00:16:44,803 personnel that were operating in 433 00:16:44,803 --> 00:16:46,748 hospitals . We're not really doing 434 00:16:46,748 --> 00:16:48,914 covid treatment . They were taking the 435 00:16:48,914 --> 00:16:51,081 pressure off other burdens . Um and um 436 00:16:51,081 --> 00:16:53,470 that that pressure was appreciated and 437 00:16:53,470 --> 00:16:56,370 welcomed and has been alleviated and in 438 00:16:56,370 --> 00:16:58,910 concert with discussions with fema and 439 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:01,450 civilian health practitioners . Um uh 440 00:17:01,460 --> 00:17:04,040 we all deemed collectively that now is 441 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:06,040 the right time to to pull back that 442 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:08,262 support . But I want to I want to state 443 00:17:08,262 --> 00:17:08,160 again , as I said in my opening 444 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:10,540 statement , Northern Command stands 445 00:17:10,540 --> 00:17:12,540 ready in case there's more need . I 446 00:17:12,540 --> 00:17:15,170 mean , we can flex . We didn't even 447 00:17:15,540 --> 00:17:17,990 deploy . As I said , all the troops 448 00:17:17,990 --> 00:17:21,250 that we had put on on readiness to do 449 00:17:21,250 --> 00:17:23,420 this mission . So we could flex up 450 00:17:23,420 --> 00:17:25,610 again if needed . I mean this pandemic 451 00:17:25,610 --> 00:17:28,000 as you well know is is a living thing 452 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,300 and and it and it changes over time . 453 00:17:30,310 --> 00:17:32,310 So we're grateful for the ability . 454 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:34,751 We're grateful for the chance that we 455 00:17:34,751 --> 00:17:36,810 had to contribute to this and we'll 456 00:17:36,810 --> 00:17:39,032 stand by and stay ready . And again , I 457 00:17:39,032 --> 00:17:41,320 at the risk of Sounded redundant . I 458 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:43,690 want to also point out the fact that 459 00:17:43,690 --> 00:17:45,801 you still have , you know , more than 460 00:17:45,801 --> 00:17:47,746 10,000 national guardsmen that are 461 00:17:47,746 --> 00:17:49,801 still at it . They're still at it in 462 00:17:49,801 --> 00:17:51,930 the states nancy . Um I'd like to go 463 00:17:51,930 --> 00:17:53,986 back to the repositioning . Have you 464 00:17:53,986 --> 00:17:56,250 seen any territorial losses or newly 465 00:17:56,250 --> 00:17:58,760 contested areas around Kiev for Russia 466 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:01,030 since it repositioned its forces . And 467 00:18:01,030 --> 00:18:03,197 also , have you seen any change in the 468 00:18:03,197 --> 00:18:05,086 amount or type of missile strikes 469 00:18:05,086 --> 00:18:07,308 Russia has launched on Kiev in the last 470 00:18:07,308 --> 00:18:09,530 few days that you feel would be tied to 471 00:18:09,530 --> 00:18:11,641 this repositioning or focused towards 472 00:18:11,641 --> 00:18:13,308 the Donbas . We have seen the 473 00:18:13,308 --> 00:18:16,670 Ukrainians uh push back around key , 474 00:18:16,670 --> 00:18:19,030 particularly in suburbs to the west of 475 00:18:19,030 --> 00:18:21,120 Kiev , where the Ukrainians have 476 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:24,400 retaken ground . Um I don't have a list 477 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:26,470 of the the towns , but we have seen 478 00:18:26,470 --> 00:18:28,890 them retake some territories uh to the 479 00:18:28,890 --> 00:18:31,950 west of Kiev . Um and uh 480 00:18:32,740 --> 00:18:34,851 and as you saw , we talked about this 481 00:18:34,851 --> 00:18:36,890 not about a week ago to the east of 482 00:18:36,890 --> 00:18:39,890 Kiev um where the Russians were on the 483 00:18:39,890 --> 00:18:42,550 outskirts of bravery . And the 484 00:18:42,550 --> 00:18:44,990 Ukrainians pushed them back to almost 485 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,111 more than 50 kilometers away from the 486 00:18:47,111 --> 00:18:49,420 city . So we have seen them do that um 487 00:18:49,430 --> 00:18:51,860 around Kiev again to the west and to 488 00:18:51,860 --> 00:18:54,360 the east . I I don't have a breakdown 489 00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:56,582 of the air strikes that are happening . 490 00:18:56,582 --> 00:18:59,090 I couldn't give you like uh number over 491 00:18:59,090 --> 00:19:01,257 the course of time . It's just that we 492 00:19:01,257 --> 00:19:03,368 do continue to see keith being struck 493 00:19:03,368 --> 00:19:05,590 from the air . So the threat to keep is 494 00:19:05,590 --> 00:19:09,330 not over the the repositioning . Donbas 495 00:19:09,330 --> 00:19:11,552 has not manifested in terms of a market 496 00:19:11,552 --> 00:19:13,663 change and the strikes on the capital 497 00:19:13,663 --> 00:19:16,240 is that I can't quantify it nancy over 498 00:19:16,250 --> 00:19:18,250 over the course of a day or two . I 499 00:19:18,250 --> 00:19:20,306 just I don't I don't have a count of 500 00:19:20,306 --> 00:19:22,583 how many strikes are happening on Kiev . 501 00:19:22,583 --> 00:19:24,694 Um , and we've actually , we've never 502 00:19:24,694 --> 00:19:26,750 given you that because we just don't 503 00:19:26,750 --> 00:19:28,750 have it . But we do continue to see 504 00:19:28,750 --> 00:19:31,250 strikes on Kiev . So it's , we're not 505 00:19:31,250 --> 00:19:33,420 convinced that that the threat to the 506 00:19:33,420 --> 00:19:36,180 capital city has been radically 507 00:19:36,180 --> 00:19:38,347 diminished here by this proclamation , 508 00:19:38,347 --> 00:19:40,402 by the Russian Ministry of Defense , 509 00:19:40,402 --> 00:19:42,760 Barbara . Did you have one Dora ? 510 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:45,920 Thanks . Um , could you give us a sense 511 00:19:45,930 --> 00:19:48,740 of Russian forces are spread evenly 512 00:19:48,740 --> 00:19:50,462 throughout Ukraine or how many 513 00:19:50,462 --> 00:19:52,629 battalion tactical groups that kind of 514 00:19:52,629 --> 00:19:54,629 concentrated against key versus the 515 00:19:54,629 --> 00:19:56,851 east ? And how you've seen that shift ? 516 00:19:57,240 --> 00:19:59,570 Yeah , again , I'm as you know , I've 517 00:19:59,570 --> 00:20:03,170 been very careful not to lay out uh , 518 00:20:03,180 --> 00:20:06,790 Russian operations . Uh , it that's , 519 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:09,230 it's not prudent for me to do it and we 520 00:20:09,230 --> 00:20:11,341 don't have , you know , exact details 521 00:20:11,341 --> 00:20:13,563 of where every battalion tactical group 522 00:20:13,563 --> 00:20:15,670 is . Um , so I couldn't tell you how 523 00:20:15,670 --> 00:20:17,670 many troops are arrayed against key 524 00:20:17,670 --> 00:20:19,837 versus Kharkiv and charity heave . And 525 00:20:19,837 --> 00:20:21,892 certainly in the Donbas , what I can 526 00:20:21,892 --> 00:20:24,003 tell you is that the vast majority of 527 00:20:24,003 --> 00:20:26,059 the , of the assembled force that we 528 00:20:26,059 --> 00:20:28,003 saw against keith is still there . 529 00:20:28,003 --> 00:20:30,226 We've only seen a small number begin to 530 00:20:30,226 --> 00:20:33,420 move away from Kiev , mostly to the 531 00:20:33,420 --> 00:20:35,790 north . Well , watch this over the 532 00:20:35,790 --> 00:20:37,990 course of the coming days and and to 533 00:20:37,990 --> 00:20:40,212 the degree we can describe for you what 534 00:20:40,212 --> 00:20:43,260 we're seeing will do that . We we have 535 00:20:43,260 --> 00:20:46,890 seen even before the Russians said that 536 00:20:46,890 --> 00:20:48,779 they were going to prioritize the 537 00:20:48,779 --> 00:20:51,001 Donbass in the east , We saw them begin 538 00:20:51,001 --> 00:20:52,946 to pick up the pace . They're more 539 00:20:52,946 --> 00:20:55,300 aggressive operations , more more 540 00:20:55,310 --> 00:20:57,610 active campaigning against towns and 541 00:20:57,610 --> 00:21:00,240 villages in the Donbass that continues 542 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:02,407 today . But look , I mean , the Donbas 543 00:21:02,407 --> 00:21:04,518 has been a hot war for the last eight 544 00:21:04,518 --> 00:21:06,970 years . Um and we we we definitely have 545 00:21:06,970 --> 00:21:09,137 seen the intensity pick up again where 546 00:21:09,137 --> 00:21:11,330 that goes , we don't know . We've also 547 00:21:11,330 --> 00:21:14,050 seen the Ukrainians be just as active 548 00:21:14,050 --> 00:21:16,050 in the Donbas and trying to to push 549 00:21:16,050 --> 00:21:18,106 back on the Russians there . Can you 550 00:21:18,106 --> 00:21:20,272 give us a sense of did they , did they 551 00:21:20,272 --> 00:21:22,328 put the bulk of their forces against 552 00:21:22,328 --> 00:21:24,383 Kiev ? Or did they ? Again , I don't 553 00:21:24,383 --> 00:21:26,550 want to give you a breakdown here . We 554 00:21:26,550 --> 00:21:28,772 have been talking now for a month about 555 00:21:28,772 --> 00:21:30,939 sort of three main axes of approach by 556 00:21:30,939 --> 00:21:33,050 the , by the Russians right north and 557 00:21:33,050 --> 00:21:36,090 northeast , uh , Kiev china Haven and 558 00:21:36,090 --> 00:21:38,330 Kharkiv , all really , that whole 559 00:21:38,330 --> 00:21:41,180 northern grouping was really designed 560 00:21:41,190 --> 00:21:43,630 against the capital city . The effort 561 00:21:43,630 --> 00:21:47,060 to cut off keith , then the east , in 562 00:21:47,060 --> 00:21:49,460 the Donbass , which again , um has has 563 00:21:49,460 --> 00:21:51,571 been in a hot war now for eight years 564 00:21:51,571 --> 00:21:53,738 and the Russians poured more resources 565 00:21:53,738 --> 00:21:55,849 in there and then in the south and in 566 00:21:55,849 --> 00:21:58,071 the south , as we've been talking about 567 00:21:58,071 --> 00:21:59,793 um coming out of Crimea , they 568 00:21:59,793 --> 00:22:02,016 basically split to the northwest and to 569 00:22:02,016 --> 00:22:04,182 the northeast to the northeast against 570 00:22:04,182 --> 00:22:06,182 Mario opal , which obviously they , 571 00:22:06,182 --> 00:22:08,404 there's a lot of heavy fighting , still 572 00:22:08,404 --> 00:22:07,440 going on there . You guys have seen 573 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:09,440 that for yourselves and then to the 574 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:11,773 northwest ? Out of Crimea up to Kherson . 575 00:22:11,773 --> 00:22:13,884 And then an attempt , what we saw was 576 00:22:13,884 --> 00:22:16,218 an attempt to take the town of Mykolaiv , 577 00:22:16,218 --> 00:22:18,329 which they have not been able to do . 578 00:22:18,329 --> 00:22:20,551 And as as I think we've talked about in 579 00:22:20,551 --> 00:22:22,662 recent days , you've you've seen that 580 00:22:22,662 --> 00:22:24,773 the Ukrainians are actually Scrapping 581 00:22:24,773 --> 00:22:26,829 it out for Carson as well . So those 582 00:22:26,829 --> 00:22:29,640 were the three Main groupings and three 583 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,520 main lines of effort . They up 584 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:37,490 until recently , uh we we had still 585 00:22:37,490 --> 00:22:39,770 assessed that that was their that was 586 00:22:39,770 --> 00:22:42,870 their plan . Was was to as I said in my 587 00:22:42,870 --> 00:22:44,926 opening statement to occupy an annex 588 00:22:44,926 --> 00:22:47,148 Ukraine using approaches on those three 589 00:22:47,148 --> 00:22:49,203 lines of effort again . Now we think 590 00:22:49,203 --> 00:22:51,800 that they're going to prioritize the 591 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:53,856 east . They have been stalled in the 592 00:22:53,856 --> 00:22:56,230 north . Um and the progress in the 593 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:58,462 early days they had made in the south , 594 00:22:58,462 --> 00:23:00,351 they had made progress . Now that 595 00:23:00,351 --> 00:23:02,351 stalled out . And we again , we see 596 00:23:02,351 --> 00:23:04,296 them prioritizing the east . But I 597 00:23:04,296 --> 00:23:06,518 couldn't quantify that for the entire I 598 00:23:06,518 --> 00:23:08,518 don't have their order of battle on 599 00:23:08,518 --> 00:23:10,740 that , that level of detail . Let me go 600 00:23:10,740 --> 00:23:12,740 to someone on the phone . I haven't 601 00:23:12,740 --> 00:23:16,350 done that yet . Let's see , Courtney . 602 00:23:18,540 --> 00:23:22,180 Hi , thanks . Can you uh talk a little 603 00:23:22,180 --> 00:23:24,124 bit about the president's comments 604 00:23:24,124 --> 00:23:28,060 yesterday when he said that um that 605 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:30,340 U . S . Troops , it seems that US 606 00:23:30,340 --> 00:23:32,570 troops are training Ukrainian military 607 00:23:32,580 --> 00:23:35,750 inside Pole . And what kind of training 608 00:23:35,750 --> 00:23:39,130 are they providing . And how long has 609 00:23:39,130 --> 00:23:41,450 that been going on ? Yeah . According , 610 00:23:41,450 --> 00:23:43,672 I think general Walters dealt with this 611 00:23:43,672 --> 00:23:45,728 pretty uh pretty well at his hearing 612 00:23:45,728 --> 00:23:47,728 this morning in front of the Senate 613 00:23:47,728 --> 00:23:49,894 Armed Services Committee . There is uh 614 00:23:49,894 --> 00:23:52,061 you know , there's some liaising going 615 00:23:52,061 --> 00:23:54,760 on as uh as Ukrainians 616 00:23:54,770 --> 00:23:58,700 uh going to uh Poland for instance , 617 00:23:58,700 --> 00:24:02,570 and they are uh we're 618 00:24:02,580 --> 00:24:04,636 transposing shipments of material to 619 00:24:04,636 --> 00:24:06,858 them . Um and so there's some , there's 620 00:24:06,858 --> 00:24:08,969 some general liaison going on in that 621 00:24:08,969 --> 00:24:11,080 regard and that , and that's what the 622 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:13,136 president was referring to , jenny . 623 00:24:13,136 --> 00:24:15,930 Thank you . Don everybody finished 624 00:24:15,930 --> 00:24:18,263 Ukraine issues , Do you want me to stay ? 625 00:24:18,263 --> 00:24:20,430 And why don't why don't I come back to 626 00:24:20,430 --> 00:24:22,430 you want to do that ? Would that be 627 00:24:22,430 --> 00:24:24,652 fair ? We'll do that . Yeah , I promise 628 00:24:24,652 --> 00:24:26,819 I'll get back to you follow up on this 629 00:24:26,819 --> 00:24:29,041 question of give one more question from 630 00:24:29,041 --> 00:24:31,097 from a military perspective does the 631 00:24:31,097 --> 00:24:34,820 pentagon , I think that um the 632 00:24:34,820 --> 00:24:37,680 Russian forces attempt Russian forces 633 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:39,513 were basically defeated in their 634 00:24:39,513 --> 00:24:41,291 attempt to take Kiev . And this 635 00:24:41,291 --> 00:24:43,513 campaign said that I said as much in my 636 00:24:43,513 --> 00:24:45,736 opening statement , they failed to take 637 00:24:45,736 --> 00:24:49,150 keith , they failed to take keith and 638 00:24:49,150 --> 00:24:50,920 we believe that Kiev was a key 639 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,350 objective for them . Yeah , john use 640 00:24:54,350 --> 00:24:57,590 the word spin in your remarks ? Yes , I 641 00:24:57,590 --> 00:25:00,290 did . Um you talked , you've also 642 00:25:00,290 --> 00:25:02,540 confirmed small numbers leaving . Did 643 00:25:02,540 --> 00:25:04,596 you note those small numbers leaving 644 00:25:04,596 --> 00:25:07,090 before the Russians made public their 645 00:25:07,090 --> 00:25:10,010 proposal today that they know that this 646 00:25:10,010 --> 00:25:12,570 was being done in good faith , in other 647 00:25:12,570 --> 00:25:15,120 words , are the words following actions 648 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:17,231 that you've already seen taking place 649 00:25:17,231 --> 00:25:19,231 and I couldn't give you a time hack 650 00:25:19,231 --> 00:25:21,400 louis exactly like whether it was 651 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,456 exactly the moment that the Russians 652 00:25:23,456 --> 00:25:25,511 decided to announce it roughly , you 653 00:25:25,511 --> 00:25:27,622 know , same day kind of observation . 654 00:25:27,622 --> 00:25:30,640 Um , but we're not taking anything , 655 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:33,240 they say at face value . I'm being as 656 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:35,460 honest with you as I can small number 657 00:25:35,930 --> 00:25:38,340 scene started to move . We're not , 658 00:25:38,350 --> 00:25:41,130 we're not prepared to buy the Russian 659 00:25:41,130 --> 00:25:43,680 argument that it's a withdrawal . Again , 660 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:45,847 our assessment is that their intention 661 00:25:45,847 --> 00:25:48,000 is to reposition forces and bolster 662 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,210 their efforts elsewhere . So the word 663 00:25:50,210 --> 00:25:52,266 spin is accurate to what you've been 664 00:25:52,266 --> 00:25:54,321 describing , what you just described 665 00:25:54,321 --> 00:25:56,210 them uncomfortable with the way I 666 00:25:56,210 --> 00:25:58,154 characterized it , Helene cooper . 667 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:03,670 Hey , thanks Kirby . Um uh , 668 00:26:04,140 --> 00:26:06,580 I want to take another whack at because 669 00:26:06,580 --> 00:26:09,030 I feel like we're , you're describing . 670 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:12,190 It sounds like you are describing . 671 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:14,320 It's been five weeks , almost five 672 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:16,700 weeks now and it sounds very much like 673 00:26:16,700 --> 00:26:19,120 you're describing a failed military 674 00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:21,287 campaign . Would you go that far or is 675 00:26:21,287 --> 00:26:23,509 that too too much . I mean , what we've 676 00:26:23,509 --> 00:26:26,570 seen what we're seeing now , is this a 677 00:26:26,580 --> 00:26:28,850 failure by is it a failed military 678 00:26:28,850 --> 00:26:32,520 campaign ? I don't think we're 679 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:34,576 prepared to slap a bumper sticker on 680 00:26:34,576 --> 00:26:37,120 this thing right now . I mean there are 681 00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:39,130 still people dying , There's still 682 00:26:39,130 --> 00:26:41,297 bombs falling , There's still missiles 683 00:26:41,297 --> 00:26:44,250 flying . Um , and they're still give 684 00:26:44,250 --> 00:26:46,290 and take on the battlefield . So I 685 00:26:46,290 --> 00:26:48,457 don't think we're ready to call it one 686 00:26:48,457 --> 00:26:50,810 way or another here . Um , what I would 687 00:26:50,810 --> 00:26:53,570 tell you is , as I said in my opening 688 00:26:53,570 --> 00:26:56,390 statement , they failed to take Kiev , 689 00:26:56,390 --> 00:26:59,880 which we believe was a key objective . 690 00:26:59,890 --> 00:27:02,160 I mean , and again , you just have to 691 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,327 look at what they tried to do in those 692 00:27:04,327 --> 00:27:06,660 early days to see that they wanted Kiev , 693 00:27:06,660 --> 00:27:09,130 they didn't get it . Um , and in the 694 00:27:09,130 --> 00:27:11,750 last few days they hunkered down into 695 00:27:11,750 --> 00:27:13,972 defensive positions , basically stopped 696 00:27:13,972 --> 00:27:16,028 advancing . And now they're saying , 697 00:27:16,028 --> 00:27:18,139 and we're seeing small numbers move , 698 00:27:18,139 --> 00:27:17,630 move away . So we'll see where this 699 00:27:17,630 --> 00:27:21,520 goes , but step back . They also , you 700 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:24,010 know , failed to take , really take and 701 00:27:24,010 --> 00:27:27,010 hold any major population centers . 702 00:27:27,020 --> 00:27:28,909 They haven't taken Kharkiv , they 703 00:27:28,909 --> 00:27:30,853 haven't taken charity heave . They 704 00:27:30,853 --> 00:27:32,964 haven't taken Mario people . Uh , and 705 00:27:32,964 --> 00:27:35,270 while we assess , they took Carson 706 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:37,890 that's back in play right now . So if 707 00:27:37,890 --> 00:27:40,001 you count maybe bird dancing on the , 708 00:27:40,001 --> 00:27:42,690 on the Azov coast , um , uh , you know , 709 00:27:42,690 --> 00:27:44,801 even that is contested . I mean , you 710 00:27:44,801 --> 00:27:48,170 saw the Ukrainians basically sank one 711 00:27:48,170 --> 00:27:50,560 of their amphibious ships in the ports , 712 00:27:50,780 --> 00:27:53,940 their burdens . So not only do they not 713 00:27:53,950 --> 00:27:55,950 managed to take key , they have not 714 00:27:55,950 --> 00:27:58,228 managed to take any population centers . 715 00:27:58,228 --> 00:28:00,339 And the Ukrainians have been fighting 716 00:28:00,339 --> 00:28:02,394 back very hard . So it's hard to see 717 00:28:02,394 --> 00:28:04,530 how they are succeeding in any one 718 00:28:04,530 --> 00:28:07,810 place except except at the death and 719 00:28:07,810 --> 00:28:09,866 destruction they're causing to these 720 00:28:09,866 --> 00:28:12,032 population centers and to the civilian 721 00:28:12,032 --> 00:28:13,866 population , I mean , and that's 722 00:28:13,866 --> 00:28:17,160 something we can't lose sight of Megan . 723 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:20,390 So about 14,000 troops , you guys have 724 00:28:20,390 --> 00:28:22,530 committed to sending to Europe in one 725 00:28:22,530 --> 00:28:24,697 way or another , either for NATO or to 726 00:28:24,697 --> 00:28:26,752 individual countries . And there's a 727 00:28:26,752 --> 00:28:28,863 few 1000 leftover from who's actually 728 00:28:28,863 --> 00:28:30,919 been sent to , you've announced that 729 00:28:30,919 --> 00:28:32,974 you're going to send , are you still 730 00:28:32,974 --> 00:28:35,252 trying to get up to that 14,000 number ? 731 00:28:35,252 --> 00:28:37,474 You're still looking to source units to 732 00:28:37,474 --> 00:28:39,586 get there and do the peace talks have 733 00:28:39,586 --> 00:28:41,752 any bearing on whether you're thinking 734 00:28:41,752 --> 00:28:41,510 you're going to send more people or not ? 735 00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:45,020 Yeah , it's not it's not like Uh you 736 00:28:45,020 --> 00:28:48,600 know , the 14,000 is a is a goal here . 737 00:28:48,610 --> 00:28:51,160 Um the secretary wanted as many options 738 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:53,382 available to him and to the president . 739 00:28:53,382 --> 00:28:55,327 And so , you know , we put someone 740 00:28:55,327 --> 00:28:57,493 prepared to deploy and we sent someone 741 00:28:57,493 --> 00:28:59,716 forward . Um It is about um it is about 742 00:28:59,716 --> 00:29:02,780 options . Um It's not about a number of 743 00:29:02,780 --> 00:29:05,002 goal , it's it's about capabilities and 744 00:29:05,002 --> 00:29:07,058 making sure that we've got the right 745 00:29:07,058 --> 00:29:09,058 capabilities so um we're constantly 746 00:29:09,058 --> 00:29:11,240 reviewing that . Um And not that you 747 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,296 asked this , but as a as a matter of 748 00:29:13,296 --> 00:29:16,080 fact I can uh I can let you know that 749 00:29:16,090 --> 00:29:19,450 um that you've all been tracking the 750 00:29:19,460 --> 00:29:21,627 Marine Corps exercise cold response up 751 00:29:21,627 --> 00:29:23,682 in Norway . So I can tell you that a 752 00:29:23,682 --> 00:29:25,738 command and control unit from Marine 753 00:29:25,738 --> 00:29:27,920 Air Control Group 28 which is based at 754 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:30,470 Cherry Point has now been repositioned 755 00:29:30,470 --> 00:29:32,748 to Lithuania . That's about 200 people . 756 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:35,207 So they finished the exercise there in 757 00:29:35,207 --> 00:29:39,040 Lithuania now . Um and about 10 758 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:42,160 Marine Corps F 18 Hornets from , 759 00:29:42,540 --> 00:29:45,400 From Beaufort , South Carolina and a 760 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:49,330 couple of Marine Corps C130s um are 761 00:29:49,330 --> 00:29:52,110 now going to be repositioned uh to 762 00:29:52,110 --> 00:29:54,277 Eastern Europe . I don't have an exact 763 00:29:54,277 --> 00:29:56,499 destination right now but they're gonna 764 00:29:56,499 --> 00:29:58,666 be repositioned and that's another 200 765 00:29:58,666 --> 00:30:00,777 personnel . So I mean we're trying to 766 00:30:00,777 --> 00:30:03,110 stay flexible here , which is yesterday . 767 00:30:03,110 --> 00:30:05,054 We talked about some some growlers 768 00:30:05,054 --> 00:30:07,277 coming out of Whidbey Island . It's not 769 00:30:07,277 --> 00:30:06,890 about a number of goal , it's really 770 00:30:06,890 --> 00:30:08,946 about capabilities and it's and it's 771 00:30:08,946 --> 00:30:11,480 based on constant conversations with 772 00:30:11,490 --> 00:30:13,490 with our NATO allies on the eastern 773 00:30:13,490 --> 00:30:15,712 flank . Are those marines NATO response 774 00:30:15,712 --> 00:30:17,934 force committed or they just individual 775 00:30:17,934 --> 00:30:20,090 right now . These are individual 776 00:30:20,090 --> 00:30:23,050 decisions based on available capability 777 00:30:23,050 --> 00:30:25,420 that we had and in talking to our our 778 00:30:25,420 --> 00:30:28,530 NATO allies , I don't um as you 779 00:30:28,530 --> 00:30:30,530 probably saw in the NATO summit , I 780 00:30:30,530 --> 00:30:32,752 mean they announced another four battle 781 00:30:32,752 --> 00:30:32,700 groups and I think the nations are 782 00:30:32,700 --> 00:30:34,867 still filling those out . You know , I 783 00:30:34,867 --> 00:30:36,922 think , you know , we're leading the 784 00:30:36,922 --> 00:30:38,978 one in Poland and other nations like 785 00:30:38,978 --> 00:30:41,144 France I think is leading Romania . So 786 00:30:41,144 --> 00:30:43,478 they're still filling some of these out . 787 00:30:43,478 --> 00:30:45,980 Yeah . Yeah . Um Okay . You've been 788 00:30:45,980 --> 00:30:48,950 patient . We'll go , we'll go , yeah , 789 00:30:50,140 --> 00:30:52,560 I have a bit of a location . 790 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:58,030 Go ahead and be patient . I never I 791 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:00,340 have application about the north 792 00:31:00,340 --> 00:31:03,790 Koreans I C . B . M lunch when north 793 00:31:03,790 --> 00:31:07,650 Korea around . Do I see PM last 794 00:31:07,660 --> 00:31:10,650 week there is a report that the 795 00:31:10,660 --> 00:31:14,090 pentagon refuses to South Korea recast 796 00:31:14,100 --> 00:31:17,610 too , respond immediately to North 797 00:31:17,610 --> 00:31:21,600 Korea , why did Pentagon around 798 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:24,780 with the South Korea refuses to fire an 799 00:31:24,790 --> 00:31:27,170 immediate response to 800 00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:31,330 why did we refuse to fire immediate an 801 00:31:31,330 --> 00:31:35,060 immediate response to this ? I mean 802 00:31:35,070 --> 00:31:37,181 with the with the South Korea and the 803 00:31:37,181 --> 00:31:40,170 United States is supposedly they joined . 804 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:44,430 You're fired training response 805 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:48,080 to North Korea . The Pentagon refused 806 00:31:48,090 --> 00:31:51,730 to two . So it's critical don't do 807 00:31:51,730 --> 00:31:55,730 this because you know , why did you do 808 00:31:55,730 --> 00:31:58,750 that ? Why Pentagon refused to South 809 00:31:58,750 --> 00:31:59,200 Korea ? 810 00:32:03,540 --> 00:32:06,900 General camera US Korea for instance . 811 00:32:06,900 --> 00:32:09,360 I mean Combined Forces commander has 812 00:32:09,370 --> 00:32:12,340 conducted the pentagon but Pentagon 813 00:32:12,350 --> 00:32:16,330 refuses to fire and immediate response 814 00:32:16,340 --> 00:32:20,070 to North Korea . That is a story that I 815 00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:22,191 haven't seen the story . I'm not sure 816 00:32:22,191 --> 00:32:24,191 what you mean by fire and immediate 817 00:32:24,191 --> 00:32:26,524 response . I'm not sure what that means . 818 00:32:27,390 --> 00:32:30,780 But look , so South 819 00:32:30,780 --> 00:32:34,450 korean , they after lunch , the 820 00:32:34,460 --> 00:32:36,620 north scrutinized BM . South Koreans 821 00:32:36,620 --> 00:32:40,460 studied less funding fire 111 822 00:32:40,460 --> 00:32:43,770 minutes later . This is so late 823 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:47,330 because it took it so late to let 824 00:32:47,900 --> 00:32:50,670 you mean the statement that we issued , 825 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:57,490 we we respond in the 826 00:32:57,500 --> 00:32:59,667 in the with the time and the care that 827 00:32:59,667 --> 00:33:01,778 we believe is required based on these 828 00:33:01,778 --> 00:33:04,710 provocations . I mean , it's uh , 829 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:08,290 there's no uh , there's no ill intent 830 00:33:08,290 --> 00:33:10,457 towards our south korean allies here . 831 00:33:10,457 --> 00:33:12,990 I mean , it's a sovereign nation . They 832 00:33:12,990 --> 00:33:16,090 are . And if they want to issue a 833 00:33:16,090 --> 00:33:18,210 response on their timeline and we 834 00:33:18,210 --> 00:33:20,780 certainly respect that . We responded . 835 00:33:20,790 --> 00:33:23,640 I believe . I know we responded in a 836 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,020 way that we felt was appropriate to our 837 00:33:26,030 --> 00:33:29,230 own initial analysis of the launch . Um 838 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:32,530 And look , let's not let's not get hung 839 00:33:32,530 --> 00:33:34,920 up on who's issuing a statement first 840 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:37,087 or whether it's together or whether we 841 00:33:37,087 --> 00:33:39,087 say the right things . I mean let's 842 00:33:39,087 --> 00:33:41,198 focus on the real issue here which is 843 00:33:41,198 --> 00:33:43,253 security on the korean peninsula and 844 00:33:43,253 --> 00:33:45,253 the fact that the alliance is still 845 00:33:45,253 --> 00:33:44,980 really strong . The fact that we 846 00:33:44,990 --> 00:33:46,879 constantly consult with our South 847 00:33:46,879 --> 00:33:48,934 korean allies about readiness on the 848 00:33:48,934 --> 00:33:51,046 peninsula and that we and that we did 849 00:33:51,046 --> 00:33:53,157 make a statement . We did note it and 850 00:33:53,157 --> 00:33:55,268 oh by the way , in recent weeks we've 851 00:33:55,268 --> 00:33:57,660 actually changed the way we're doing . 852 00:33:57,660 --> 00:34:00,070 I . S are there in and around the 853 00:34:00,070 --> 00:34:01,626 peninsula because of recent 854 00:34:01,626 --> 00:34:03,681 provocations by the north . Okay , I 855 00:34:03,681 --> 00:34:06,510 have another one . There's a U . S . 856 00:34:06,510 --> 00:34:09,170 And South Korea are analyzing 857 00:34:10,140 --> 00:34:14,130 North Korea . ICBM is a Hassan 15 but 858 00:34:14,130 --> 00:34:16,570 North Korea claims that it is a Hassan 859 00:34:16,570 --> 00:34:20,420 17 two steps up . Do you know 860 00:34:20,420 --> 00:34:24,270 why this information is so different 861 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:27,780 between North Korea ? I would just tell 862 00:34:27,780 --> 00:34:29,890 you that we we assessed that that 863 00:34:29,890 --> 00:34:32,640 launch was a probable I C B M . Um and 864 00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:34,920 we continue to analyze the test and 865 00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:37,087 close coordination with our allies and 866 00:34:37,087 --> 00:34:39,309 partners to include the south Koreans . 867 00:34:39,309 --> 00:34:41,531 I don't have an update for you . Beyond 868 00:34:41,531 --> 00:34:44,750 that . Mhm . Sure . 869 00:34:45,140 --> 00:34:48,990 So you the 870 00:34:48,990 --> 00:34:51,350 administration often has its 871 00:34:51,350 --> 00:34:53,350 constructed answers about the north 872 00:34:53,350 --> 00:34:55,072 korean missile threat and so I 873 00:34:55,072 --> 00:34:57,790 understand that fully but beyond those 874 00:34:57,790 --> 00:35:00,012 constructed answers . Is there anything 875 00:35:00,012 --> 00:35:02,830 you can tell us about your concerns 876 00:35:02,830 --> 00:35:04,941 about the most recent missile tests , 877 00:35:04,941 --> 00:35:08,000 given the distance and altitude that 878 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,740 the North Koreans achieved , Your 879 00:35:10,740 --> 00:35:13,930 concerns about the threat that kind of 880 00:35:13,940 --> 00:35:16,350 missile capability that they 881 00:35:16,350 --> 00:35:20,000 successfully achieved um poses . 882 00:35:20,500 --> 00:35:22,722 And can you tell us anything about your 883 00:35:22,722 --> 00:35:25,490 latest assessment about potential 884 00:35:25,500 --> 00:35:27,860 activity at their underground nuclear 885 00:35:27,860 --> 00:35:31,850 test site ? I'm not gonna talk 886 00:35:31,850 --> 00:35:33,880 about intelligence assessments . 887 00:35:33,890 --> 00:35:36,060 Barbara , I think , you know that um 888 00:35:36,540 --> 00:35:39,230 and we are still , as I said to johnny , 889 00:35:39,230 --> 00:35:41,397 we're still analyzing this last test . 890 00:35:41,397 --> 00:35:43,730 I'm not gonna get ahead of that process . 891 00:35:43,730 --> 00:35:46,660 Um but we've been very clear about the 892 00:35:46,660 --> 00:35:49,310 threat that the North korean uh 893 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:52,050 ballistic missile program continues to 894 00:35:52,050 --> 00:35:55,230 pose to the region . Um uh and that 895 00:35:55,230 --> 00:35:57,400 includes their continued efforts to 896 00:35:57,400 --> 00:35:59,622 advance their nuclear program . But I'm 897 00:35:59,622 --> 00:36:01,622 not gonna I'm not gonna speak about 898 00:36:01,622 --> 00:36:04,120 intelligence business . We are we 899 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:07,160 remain concerned about uh 900 00:36:08,030 --> 00:36:11,700 the North Koreans uh their attempt to 901 00:36:11,700 --> 00:36:14,220 continue to improve their nuclear 902 00:36:14,220 --> 00:36:16,360 capability as well as their ballistic 903 00:36:16,370 --> 00:36:18,800 missile capability . Um It's 904 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,320 provocative um it poses a threat to 905 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:23,376 security on the peninsula and to the 906 00:36:23,376 --> 00:36:25,487 region , to our allies and partners . 907 00:36:25,487 --> 00:36:27,264 So if you're asking me , are we 908 00:36:27,264 --> 00:36:26,910 concerned about it ? Absolutely . We 909 00:36:26,910 --> 00:36:29,520 are , yeah . one more time . But you 910 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:31,810 just said concerned about their efforts 911 00:36:31,810 --> 00:36:33,930 to improve their nuclear capabilities 912 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:37,010 because every time you test you learn 913 00:36:37,830 --> 00:36:40,720 every time you test you learn . Okay . 914 00:36:41,010 --> 00:36:43,010 But you said improved their nuclear 915 00:36:43,010 --> 00:36:45,460 capability that's different than a 916 00:36:45,460 --> 00:36:49,330 missile . Are you seeing them work 917 00:36:49,340 --> 00:36:51,390 right now , are you saying you're 918 00:36:51,390 --> 00:36:53,446 seeing them work right now towards , 919 00:36:53,446 --> 00:36:55,612 I'm not , I'm not speaking about , I'm 920 00:36:55,612 --> 00:36:57,723 not speaking to to press reports that 921 00:36:57,723 --> 00:37:00,520 I've seen out there about um , about 922 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:03,300 potential future tests , but we know 923 00:37:03,310 --> 00:37:05,421 that this is a program that they want 924 00:37:05,421 --> 00:37:07,532 to improve . And so of course , we're 925 00:37:07,532 --> 00:37:11,190 concerned about efforts to do that last 926 00:37:11,190 --> 00:37:14,560 week . I mean Secretary of Austin 927 00:37:14,570 --> 00:37:18,120 and South korean defense Secretary . So 928 00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:21,580 they have a telephone conversation . So , 929 00:37:21,590 --> 00:37:24,930 do you know what particular talking 930 00:37:24,930 --> 00:37:28,570 about north Koreans , this island or 931 00:37:28,580 --> 00:37:32,150 the further next month trying to 932 00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:34,230 nuclear ? Again , I'm not gonna get 933 00:37:34,230 --> 00:37:36,230 into intelligence assessments about 934 00:37:36,230 --> 00:37:38,520 specifics on the north korean program . 935 00:37:38,530 --> 00:37:40,586 Uh , we read that call out . I'm not 936 00:37:40,586 --> 00:37:42,863 going to go beyond that . That readout . 937 00:37:42,863 --> 00:37:45,650 Let me uh , go to idris from Reuters . 938 00:37:46,630 --> 00:37:48,570 Hey , john , just following up on 939 00:37:48,570 --> 00:37:51,190 Courtney's question about the liaising 940 00:37:51,190 --> 00:37:53,310 with Ukrainian forces when , when the 941 00:37:53,310 --> 00:37:55,477 handover of weapons happens to sort of 942 00:37:55,477 --> 00:37:57,477 define what leasing means ? Is that 943 00:37:57,477 --> 00:37:59,588 sort of a pat on the back saying , go 944 00:37:59,588 --> 00:38:01,810 get them ? Or is it more of a , this is 945 00:38:01,810 --> 00:38:01,750 how you use these weapons ? Could you 946 00:38:01,750 --> 00:38:04,010 sort of define that ? Teresa ? I mean , 947 00:38:04,020 --> 00:38:07,120 it's just general , uh , it's general 948 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:10,800 liaison with them . Um , as these , as 949 00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:13,470 these shipments are , are handed over , 950 00:38:13,470 --> 00:38:15,470 I don't have exact details of every 951 00:38:15,470 --> 00:38:17,526 conversation that's had or what that 952 00:38:17,526 --> 00:38:19,740 looks like . Um , but , but of course 953 00:38:19,740 --> 00:38:23,480 there are interactions , um , as these 954 00:38:23,490 --> 00:38:26,940 Ukrainian soldiers um take possession 955 00:38:26,950 --> 00:38:29,840 of uh of of some of this gear in this 956 00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:31,784 kit . And I really don't have more 957 00:38:31,784 --> 00:38:34,050 detail than that Alex Horton martian 958 00:38:34,050 --> 00:38:35,530 post . Mhm . 959 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:41,576 Yeah . Can you go back to the treats 960 00:38:41,576 --> 00:38:43,687 for his follow up , please ? And then 961 00:38:43,687 --> 00:38:45,576 come back the follow up . Is that 962 00:38:45,576 --> 00:38:47,798 different from training in any way when 963 00:38:47,798 --> 00:38:49,909 you sort of quote unquote liaise with 964 00:38:49,909 --> 00:38:52,060 them ? It's it's not training in the 965 00:38:52,060 --> 00:38:54,030 classic sense that that that many 966 00:38:54,030 --> 00:38:56,252 people think of training , it's I would 967 00:38:56,252 --> 00:38:58,900 just say it's liaising . Go ahead Alex . 968 00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:03,720 Yeah , Thanks . Um , so I'm kind of 969 00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:06,390 curious about what some senior defense 970 00:39:06,390 --> 00:39:08,380 officials told us last week about 971 00:39:08,390 --> 00:39:10,612 indications that the Russians are being 972 00:39:10,612 --> 00:39:12,779 more aggressive in the east . Um , now 973 00:39:12,779 --> 00:39:14,779 that you're a very capable analysts 974 00:39:14,779 --> 00:39:16,779 have looked at it more , um , I was 975 00:39:16,779 --> 00:39:18,668 wondering if you can give us more 976 00:39:18,668 --> 00:39:20,834 details on what those signs are gone , 977 00:39:20,834 --> 00:39:22,890 boss . And have you seen any kind of 978 00:39:22,890 --> 00:39:25,001 intensity pick up , you know , within 979 00:39:25,001 --> 00:39:27,168 the last couple of days , specifically 980 00:39:27,168 --> 00:39:29,334 when it comes to um , they're supposed 981 00:39:29,334 --> 00:39:31,446 movements around Kiev again , without 982 00:39:31,446 --> 00:39:33,720 getting into a blow by blow of Russian 983 00:39:33,720 --> 00:39:36,590 operations . It's not , it's not our 984 00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:39,510 war . It's their war , but I can tell 985 00:39:39,510 --> 00:39:42,630 you we have seen uh increased activity , 986 00:39:42,640 --> 00:39:44,862 offensive activity by Russian forces in 987 00:39:44,862 --> 00:39:47,420 the Donbas going after more towns and 988 00:39:47,420 --> 00:39:51,110 villages trying to uh , That's one , # 989 00:39:51,110 --> 00:39:53,310 two and we've talked about this before 990 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:55,920 making an effort to come south out of 991 00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:57,976 the town called Elysium moving south 992 00:39:57,976 --> 00:40:01,430 and southeast to try to pin down uh 993 00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:03,607 Ukrainian armed forces that are in the 994 00:40:03,607 --> 00:40:05,829 Donbas . It's one of the reasons why we 995 00:40:05,829 --> 00:40:07,829 believe they are fighting for Mario 996 00:40:07,829 --> 00:40:10,840 opal , because uh we believe one goal 997 00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:13,062 of them could be to use Mario pole as a 998 00:40:13,062 --> 00:40:15,118 way to go north and to sort of close 999 00:40:15,118 --> 00:40:17,340 off the Donbas . And again we have seen 1000 00:40:17,340 --> 00:40:20,730 them . Um but without getting into too 1001 00:40:20,730 --> 00:40:22,952 much specifics here , we have seen them 1002 00:40:22,952 --> 00:40:25,000 try to uh to to reinforce their 1003 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:27,240 footprint in the Donbas and that's 1004 00:40:27,240 --> 00:40:29,462 about as far as I'm going to go on that 1005 00:40:29,462 --> 00:40:33,460 Alex . Once the $800 1006 00:40:33,460 --> 00:40:36,940 million US 1007 00:40:36,940 --> 00:40:39,170 continue sending weapons to the 1008 00:40:39,170 --> 00:40:41,170 Ukrainians , even with the Russians 1009 00:40:41,170 --> 00:40:43,226 kind of pulling out from that area ? 1010 00:40:43,226 --> 00:40:45,448 And then secondly , if there were to be 1011 00:40:45,448 --> 00:40:47,281 a ceasefire with the US continue 1012 00:40:47,281 --> 00:40:49,337 sending weapons to Ukraine , I don't 1013 00:40:49,337 --> 00:40:51,448 have any announcements to make beyond 1014 00:40:51,448 --> 00:40:53,503 the president's $800 million dollars 1015 00:40:53,503 --> 00:40:55,670 package . We're working hard on that . 1016 00:40:55,670 --> 00:40:57,892 There's already been several deliveries 1017 00:40:57,892 --> 00:40:59,892 made on that package . Um and we're 1018 00:40:59,892 --> 00:41:02,003 moving out as quickly as we can on it 1019 00:41:02,003 --> 00:41:03,948 and the president has been clear , 1020 00:41:03,948 --> 00:41:06,170 we're going to continue to support , as 1021 00:41:06,170 --> 00:41:05,800 I said in my opening statement , we're 1022 00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:07,856 going to continue to support Ukraine 1023 00:41:07,856 --> 00:41:10,078 for as fast as we can for as long as we 1024 00:41:10,078 --> 00:41:12,244 can , I'm not gonna hypothetically get 1025 00:41:12,244 --> 00:41:14,467 into hypotheticals about ceasefires and 1026 00:41:14,467 --> 00:41:16,633 agreements and all that . Obviously we 1027 00:41:16,633 --> 00:41:18,744 want to see this war end , but for as 1028 00:41:18,744 --> 00:41:20,967 long as Ukraine and the Ukrainian armed 1029 00:41:20,967 --> 00:41:22,967 forces need assistance , the United 1030 00:41:22,967 --> 00:41:22,850 States is going to be there to help 1031 00:41:22,850 --> 00:41:26,330 provide it . Yeah . David , 1032 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:29,470 last week a senior defense official 1033 00:41:29,480 --> 00:41:32,830 said that he'd seen indications that 1034 00:41:33,710 --> 00:41:35,930 Russian troops were coming out of 1035 00:41:36,410 --> 00:41:39,770 Georgia for redeployment to 1036 00:41:39,930 --> 00:41:43,240 Ukraine at the time . He said he 1037 00:41:43,720 --> 00:41:46,960 didn't know where they were going , but 1038 00:41:46,970 --> 00:41:48,914 one assumption might be that we're 1039 00:41:48,914 --> 00:41:51,420 going to the embassy , announced they 1040 00:41:51,420 --> 00:41:54,380 were going to prioritize the bus . Now 1041 00:41:54,380 --> 00:41:58,040 you just said that on the record that 1042 00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:00,480 you've seen them reinforce their 1043 00:42:00,480 --> 00:42:04,010 footprint in the box . So I have 1044 00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:07,020 reinforcements from Georgia . 1045 00:42:08,570 --> 00:42:10,570 I haven't seen any indications that 1046 00:42:10,570 --> 00:42:13,060 troops from Georgia have gone to the 1047 00:42:13,310 --> 00:42:17,130 bus , Jeff , Thank 1048 00:42:17,130 --> 00:42:19,680 you . This may sound like a smart alec 1049 00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:21,736 question , but I assure you it's not 1050 00:42:21,736 --> 00:42:23,847 when the Defense Department describes 1051 00:42:23,847 --> 00:42:26,220 Russia as an acute threat , what does 1052 00:42:26,220 --> 00:42:28,570 that mean ? I'm having a hard time 1053 00:42:28,720 --> 00:42:32,570 explaining it to my readers . I would 1054 00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:35,840 um I would point your readers to what 1055 00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:37,951 we have seen over the last month here 1056 00:42:37,951 --> 00:42:39,970 uh Russia's unprovoked aggression 1057 00:42:39,970 --> 00:42:42,081 against the nation . State that posed 1058 00:42:42,081 --> 00:42:44,248 no threat to them . I would point your 1059 00:42:44,248 --> 00:42:47,590 readers to uh Russian interference in 1060 00:42:47,590 --> 00:42:49,812 elections , not just here in the United 1061 00:42:49,812 --> 00:42:52,230 States but into nations uh in europe . 1062 00:42:52,600 --> 00:42:55,330 Um I would point to uh Russian 1063 00:42:55,330 --> 00:42:58,080 activities in Syria uh to prop up the 1064 00:42:58,080 --> 00:42:59,913 assad regime and to continue the 1065 00:42:59,913 --> 00:43:02,080 bloodshed in that country . I could go 1066 00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:05,540 on and on the the actions of Mr Putin 1067 00:43:05,540 --> 00:43:07,700 and the Kremlin uh and Russian forces 1068 00:43:07,700 --> 00:43:10,230 speak for themselves . And it would 1069 00:43:10,230 --> 00:43:13,560 have been irresponsible for us not to 1070 00:43:13,560 --> 00:43:15,900 address the Russia problem in the 1071 00:43:15,900 --> 00:43:17,880 Russia threat , uh in our national 1072 00:43:17,880 --> 00:43:20,200 defense strategy , or even as we rolled 1073 00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:22,422 out the budget and talked about some of 1074 00:43:22,422 --> 00:43:24,644 the capabilities that were that we want 1075 00:43:24,644 --> 00:43:26,700 to procure and maintain to deal with 1076 00:43:26,700 --> 00:43:29,910 that acute threat . I'll take one more 1077 00:43:30,470 --> 00:43:33,110 case . We're good . Go ahead . Um so 1078 00:43:33,600 --> 00:43:35,600 following along with what David was 1079 00:43:35,600 --> 00:43:37,878 asking , british intelligence has said , 1080 00:43:37,878 --> 00:43:39,933 Russia's Wagner group is deployed to 1081 00:43:39,933 --> 00:43:41,933 Eastern Ukraine is expected to send 1082 00:43:41,933 --> 00:43:43,767 over 1000 mercenaries for combat 1083 00:43:43,767 --> 00:43:45,767 operations . Have you guys seen the 1084 00:43:45,767 --> 00:43:47,767 same thing ? Can you confirm that I 1085 00:43:47,767 --> 00:43:49,822 won't get into specific intelligence 1086 00:43:49,822 --> 00:43:51,878 assessments ? Uh , Carla , we uh but 1087 00:43:51,878 --> 00:43:55,730 I'll go so far as to say that uh , we 1088 00:43:55,730 --> 00:43:57,952 certainly have seen educations that the 1089 00:43:57,952 --> 00:44:01,270 Russians are leaning on private 1090 00:44:01,270 --> 00:44:03,381 military contractors to bolster their 1091 00:44:03,381 --> 00:44:05,548 efforts in Ukraine . I think I'll just 1092 00:44:05,548 --> 00:44:07,381 leave it at that . Okay , thanks 1093 00:44:07,381 --> 00:44:09,603 everybody appreciate it . That's it for 1094 00:44:09,603 --> 00:44:09,020 today .