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The Lead with Jake Tapper

U.S. Warns Ukraine Of "Imminent" Full Scale Russian Invasion; Russian Media: Donetsk & Luhansk Separatist Regions Request Kremlin Help In Repelling Ukraine Forces; GOP Divided On How U.S. Should Confront Crisis In Ukraine. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired February 23, 2022 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:03]

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We're talking about the preparatory moves that we have seen them do in the past and 2014 is a great example of that. And when we look at the kinds of pretextual things they were doing, it seem to me like they haven't updated their play book in a long time, because it's the same kind of stuff. It's claiming that they're the victims, creating false events or not even events but simply, claiming that things happened that never did to paint themselves as the victims. As if Ukraine, which has never attacked anybody, is all of a sudden going to spuriously attack Russia and threaten their national security when there are 150,000 plus troops along the border. I mean, it is ridiculous.

But that is -- that is exactly the kind of plays we've seen them run the preparatory plays. Now, to your point, and it is a fair one, what we've seen them array against that -- along the border, more than 150,000 troops, and significant as I said, combined arms capabilities, that is something we haven't seen them do before.

REPORTER: What do you think they got that factor from? That strategy from? Since they've never employed it in their past adventurisms.

KIRBY: That is a great question for Vladimir Putin. I mean, I'm not trying to dodge the question but -- I'm be trying to dodge the question but we don't know. I mean, we can't possibly get inside his head to figure out, you know, why he's doing it the way he's doing it.

And again, Tom, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it doesn't have to be this way. He can make another choice. Of all the options he has available to him, the one he still has is diplomacy if he chooses and we just haven't seen an indication to do that.

Leonard (ph)?

REPORTER: Hey, John. Two questions. First off, any idea whether or not Russia ahs also used the Wagner group mercenaries as part of this invasion force, or is it strictly sort of mainline Russian army troops?

KIRBY: I have not seen any indications of the Wagner Group being used, but again that's really -- that might be a level of detail we don't have. REPORTER: Okay. Also, go back a little bit in history. Soviet Union

conquered Hungary in '56, rolled through Czechoslovakia in '68. The U.S. complained and made a lot of noise but nothing really happened. What's to -- how will this turn out different from what has happened in the past with their satellite, their former satellite countries?

KIRBY: I was a history major at the University of South Florida, but I don't know that I can answer that one. What -- let me put it this way: what we hope happens is that he de-escalates. And this war of choice doesn't occur. It is difficult, if he chooses to go ahead, and again, every indication is that he will, it's the one thing any student of war will tell you. It is unpredictable once it starts.

It is the old adage, I think it was Eisenhower, right? No plans to rise first contact. It's difficult to know where this will go.

What we believe is that it will involve significant casualties and destruction. And that it will only cause instability on the European continent rather than what most of the world and certainly the West wants to see. Where it goes beyond that, I don't know. We don't know what he has in mind here. I mean, he's pretty much in terms of military action, that's what I mean.

If you look at his speech, he was pretty clear, wasn't he? About the disdain he has for Ukrainian sovereignty. And the false claim that Russia created Ukraine.

I mean, it is pretty obvious that as the Ukraine foreign minister said just when he was here. That Putin wants to erase Ukraine as a nation state. What that ends up looking like long term is difficult to know.

And again, at the risk of sounding like I'm dodging it, I'm not, I truly don't know the answer to your question. It's a good one. I don't think anyone can know that.

It just doesn't have to be that way. It just doesn't have to be that way. He can choose a different path here which is still open to him. That's what I think they would like to do.

I've got time for a couple more. Go ahead.

REPORTER: A country is invading another country just because that country wants to be part of an alliance that the United States is leading, like NATO. Isn't that an indirect threat to NATO and the United States national security at the same time?

[16:05:02]

KIRBY: Well, primarily, it is a threat to the Ukrainian people. And I think, again, if you go back and look at his speech, certainly he's grouched about potential NATO alliance for Ukraine, no doubt about it. But he laid out an even more sweeping alternative reality in his speech, that it isn't just about whether or not NATO -- Ukraine joins NATO.

And as for whether it further threatens NATO, I think that remains to be seen. Clearly, we are making it very obvious that we take our obligations to NATO seriously. That's why we're sending the additional forces. That's why we're bolstering our allies. That's why Secretary Austin was in Europe just last week to deliver that message, so that Mr. Putin knows, and quite frankly, our allies know, too, what President Biden said.

We will defend every inch of NATO territory. Again, we don't want to see it come to that. But if it does come to that, the United States will be ready.

REPORTER: You are really saying the open door policy, you will stick to the open door policy of NATO.

KIRBY: It is up to the alliance and the nation state in question to determine future membership. It is not something that Mr. Putin gets to veto. Period.

Okay. Thanks, everybody.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We've been watching a briefing with Pentagon press secretary, Retired Admiral John Kirby.

And now, we continue with our breaking news coverage because the United States is issuing a new warning to the Ukrainian government that the latest U.S. intelligence points to an imminent full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. American, Ukrainian and other Western officials confirmed to CNN that this warning was presented by the U.S. to Ukrainian leaders in Kyiv, although a senior Ukrainian official noted the U.S. has issued similar warnings before for attacks that did not ultimately materialize.

New videos obtained by CNN show a further build-up of Russian tanks and troops along the country's border with Ukraine. The Pentagon also saying today that 80 percent of Russian forces are at a forward position ready to go, adding that Putin has two dozen warships and special forces prepared to attack.

And moments ago, Russian state media reported that according to the spokesman for the Kremlin, the heads of the pro-Russian separatist regions in Donetsk and Luhansk have allegedly asked Putin for, quote, help repelling the aggression of Ukrainian-armed forces, unquote. This is exactly what has been expected this whole time.

Let's go straight to CNN's Nic Robertson in Moscow.

And, Nic, this is a major development. Not unexpected. The moment that Putin said that he was recognizing these two independent states that are in Ukraine, it became really just a matter of time when these leaders of these independent states would ask Putin for Russian troops to come in.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: This looks, sounds and feels like that pretext for Russian forces to go en masse into those separatist areas. Putin originally talked about those Russian forces going in as peacekeepers. His ambassador to the U.N. today spoke to them as cease fire monitors.

This I think pulls back the veil completely. The two leaders of the two separatist areas, Donetsk and Luhansk, have written to president Putin. This is what President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has just said in the last few minutes, they have written to him, alleging -- and I should say here alleging, because there's no back-up and verification, that Ukrainian forces, they say, have been attacking civilian industrial complexes. They've been attacking schools, they say. They've been attacking hospitals.

And if you watch the litany of, if you will, propaganda videos that have been playing out on Russian TV over the last couple of evenings, you will have seen Russian state reporters reporting on an explosion at a TV station, an explosion, you know, out on a road, an explosion at somebody's house, an explosion at a school.

There is no evidence we've seen, indeed, Ukraine denies that they have fired the missiles or set the explosives that have caused this damage. It does seem now the separatist leaders are using it as a very thin pretext to bring in Russian forces. Again, not as peacekeepers, not ceasefire monitors, but to come help them in the fight as they say to repel Ukrainian forces. This is the moment, as you say, Jake, that many people have been warning might come.

TAPPER: Yeah. And just to note, the West, including President Biden but other Western leaders, have been warning that Russia would stage fake attacks, so-called false flag attacks on themselves so as to create this pretext that you're alluding to possibly being by themselves, that they are using to justify this.

Nic, stick around. I want to go right now to CNN's Jim Sciutto who's in Lviv, Ukraine. Jim, tell us about this new U.S. intelligence that reportedly suggests that a wholesale attack on Ukraine by Russia is imminent.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Jake, as you noted earlier, this is not the first time we've been in something like that heightened state of alert where you have U.S. officials warning of an imminent attack. What has changed in the last several days is that more of them have gotten closer to Ukraine's border, and more of them, in fact, the vast majority of them, 80 percent, according to U.S. intelligence, are now in attack position. So the momentum toward an attack has continued. The force more threatening today than at any point in the crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (voice-over): A further invasion has begun. The Russian military is entering the separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, now recognized by Russia as independent.

KRISJANIS KARINS, LATVIAN PRIME MINISTER: According to the information at my disposal, Putin is moving in additional forces and tanks into the occupied Donbas territories.

SCIUTTO: The U.S. and NATO are warning the Ukrainian government that intelligence indicates a full-scale Russian invasion is about to take place.

Ukrainian, U.S. and other Western officials tell CNN, and the Australian prime minister saying an attack is likely as soon as tonight.

SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Russia is at complete readiness for a complete full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and that is likely to occur within the next 24 hours.

SCIUTTO: The U.S. has given such urgent warnings previously. However, the Russian military build-up has increased in just the past several days. With Russian armor building up near Ukraine's north eastern border.

Satellite images show a new field hospital, as well as additional troops and equipment. This observed in Russia and in Belarus, just 24 miles from the Ukrainian border. A senior defense official tells CNN that 80 percent of the Russian forces near Ukraine's border are in forward positions, ready to go. Some as few as three miles from the border.

KIRBY: Russian forces continue to assemble closer to the border, and put themselves in an advanced stage of readiness to act.

SCIUTTO: The warning comes as the Ukrainian government has put in place a state of emergency for the country. Although Russian president Vladimir Putin claims there could still be a diplomatic resolution --

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Our country is always open for direct and honest dialogue for finding diplomatic solutions to the most difficult problems.

SCIUTTO: Secretary of State Antony Blinken called off a meeting with the Russian foreign minister this week, saying Putin was never serious about diplomacy.

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: His plan all along has been to invade Ukraine, to control Ukraine and its people, to destroy Ukraine's democracy.

SCIUTTO: Ukraine is already feeling the impact of Russia's power play. In recent days, the separatist regions have been firing shells into Ukraine, destroying homes -- a preview of a full-scale invasion that could start at any time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: There has been times in this crisis when there has been daylight between U.S. and Ukrainian officials as to the urgency, the imminence of a Russian attack. The daylight is disappearing. That state of emergency we mission, it includes increased patrols, particularly around critical infrastructure, hear things like power plants, bridges. The reason, Jake, is it is the U.S. intelligence view of this that those will be targets in a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

TAPPER: And, Jim, according to a senior Ukrainian official, U.S. officials warned Ukraine that they're particularly worried about a possible attack on the city of Kharkiv, which is outside the Donbas region which Putin has declared to be two independent states.

Going to Kharkiv, that would be even more of an escalation.

SCIUTTO: Absolutely. It would be outside these fake, independent republics that have now been recognized by Putin. So, even further outside land that is sometimes called disputed, but still lies with inside Ukraine sovereign borders.

And the reason there's so much attention on Kharkiv is because of the mass of forces that Russia has now amassed close to the border, including just a whole heck of a lot of tanks and armor, Jake.

[16:15:09]

I mean, it is a truly harrowing force that Russia has amassed around this country.

TAPPER: All right. Jim Sciutto in Lviv, Ukraine. Thank you.

Let's bring back CNN's Nic Robertson, who's live for us in Moscow, as well as CNN global affairs analyst, Susan Glasser.

Susan, you heard Nic's new reporting at the top of the show. Russian state media is reporting that according to the Kremlin, the heads of the pro-separatist regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, have asked for help repelling the aggression of Ukrainian armed forces, again, the evidence of aggression by Ukraine is thin to none. This is a massively significant and expected development.

SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: That's right, Jake. I think you're right to flag this. This could be the beginning that the U.S. intelligence has warned about. It is certainly consistent with the Kremlin play book. I think we are entering the next act in the play that Vladimir Putin has arranged for Ukraine, unfortunately.

It appears that really, Ukraine is bracing for impact tonight. That is certainly the feeling I get here in Washington. A sense that this is very, very imminent.

Unfortunately, the question is, as you pointed out, you know, would it be broader than just moving in more aggressively and more overtly into Donetsk. But to go beyond those recognized statelets and into Ukraine, the rest of Ukraine itself.

Kharkiv is a major city of a million people. And again, just thinking of the Ukrainian people today, it's worth taking a second and reflecting on a war that they did not ask for, that they did not initiate coming to their country right now because of Vladimir Putin.

TAPPER: And, Nic, we've heard top U.S. officials warning that a Russian tike Ukraine could be imminent. They've been warning it for week.

Does something give this warning that U.S. officials gave Ukrainian leaders in the last 24 hours, something like this warning different?

ROBERTSON: You know, I think it does and so much as Putin has now opened up a way to get into Ukraine, into the separatist areas. I think the fact that, you know, this whole separatists asking for the troops to come in and support them in a battle that is purely of their own construction speaks to that. Speaks to how this is sort of moving to that end point.

One of those separatist leaders, in an interview with a television anchor here, earlier today, a television anchor whom I interviewed a couple weeks ago, who is very, very pro Kremlin. Actually, he faces the threat of international sanctions himself. So this pro-Kremlin anchor is asking one of the separatist leaders, so this additional area, these additional territories that you say are yours beyond the areas currently controlled in Donetsk, the province, and some of it is under Ukrainian control.

The question from the anchor was, what do you want to happen to the Ukrainian forces who are in the territory that you now want and call your own? The separatist leader said, well, they should -- they should just leave the area voluntarily. They should take their weapons with them and leave the area.

I think this gives us another indication that these Russian forces are being invited, not just to go to the line of contact where it is today, to repel so-called aggression by Ukraine. But to go beyond that and seize the territory for the separatists, so that Putin has recognized that it is theirs. That it is currently under Ukrainian control. I think we begin to see the narrative that people were expecting would unfold is unfolding. And I think that's what further creates the impression that these warnings and concerns are very real.

And I would just add as well to the tone that was used by the Russian ambassador at the U.N. today, giving, he said, a warning. I warn you, he said to the other ambassadors at the Security Council, including the U.S. ambassador, that when we go in, we're not going to go in softly into the separatist areas, Jake.

TAPPER: Let me just bring up the map again. People are just getting up to speed in this. So if you look at the bottom right hand corner to southeast Ukraine. You see the yellow and white shaded area. That's the part of Ukraine that is controlled by separatists, pro-Russian separatists.

Now, the entire region you see there is the Donbas region, that includes the Luhansk region and Donetsk region. That entire chunk on the right, that is all of Donbas.

[16:20:04]

And what Putin has done is said, he's not just looking at the part controlled by the separatists. He is saying that entire area, those are two independent states. And the separatist leaders in the shaded area, the yellow and white shaded area, they're now claiming the entire Luhansk region, the entire Donetsk region and saying, Putin, bring in soldiers. We need help. And, Susan Glasser, the question I have is, the head of the Ukraine

defense council said today, our army is ready to respond. But the Pentagon that, Putin now has two dozen war ships, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, special forces, all ready to go.

And to be completely frank, if Ukraine cannot even hold on to that area that is actually controlled by separatists and they haven't been able to hold on to it for the better part of eight years, they can't defend Ukraine by themselves.

GLASSER: No, Jake, that's correct. And I think it's the strong assessment of the United States and other allied forces that there's just no reasonable perspective for Ukraine to actually fight and win a multi-front war with Russia inside their country, given the size of the force that's amassed and it is not just as you point out, in the Donbas, but, you know, across the country that they face the possibility of attack from the Black Sea to those troops in the North, who are in Belarus, only a few hours away from the capital of Kyiv.

So, we don't know yet what the scope and scale of the Russian attack might be, if it comes. But it is unlikely to be confined to the Donbas region. And the Ukrainian military is not in a position to win this.

I asked a military expert the other day just this question. And he said, look, their goal would be to retreat in good order, to see territory in order to do so. But A, there is a limit to the territory. B, in Eastern Ukraine, if you look at the positioning of the forces there, there is a real worry that they could be, the Ukrainian forces could be encircled.

ROBERTSON: Nic Robertson, Susan Glasser, thanks to both of you.

We're following our breaking news. New U.S. intelligence warns Russia could launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine at any moment. Did the Kremlin just announce the pretext for that invasion? We're also taking a look at the Russian oligarchs that the U.S. just sanctioned. That's next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:26:34]

TAPPER: We're back with our breaking news coverage in what could be Putin's possible pretext for a full invasion into Ukraine. Russian state media is reporting that the Kremlin is claiming the heads of the pro-Russian separatist regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, have asked Putin to come in and defend forces.

Also developing today, President Biden is moving forward with the sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. This comes one day after sanctions were announced on Russian banks, oligarchs and their families, including some close friends of Vladimir Putin's. Here to discuss, CNN anchor Erin Burnett who is live in Lviv, Ukraine,

and CNN's national security analyst Beth Sanner, who served as the deputy director of national intelligence.

Erin, let me start with you.

This is a massive development coming from Russian state media. It really could be Putin's possible pretext for an invasion of the entire Donbas, if not the entire country. What do you hear? What do you expect Ukraine will do in response?

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR, ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT: Well, obviously some of our teams have seen some movement in the Ukrainian military. The Ukrainian government's entire response, as you know, Jake, has been to say that they don't expect a war and they don't expect an all-out war. So they have not done the military preparations that would be done if you were preparing for some sort of an all-out onslaught.

That just hasn't happened. That hasn't been the strategy here. So, they called up reservists overnight and they ended up leaving the country, as our Matthew Chance, has talked about, so they would need to be there. We've seen a lot of people here signing up for these territorial defense brigades, as they call them that they just put into effect the beginning of last month. Most of them have not even started practicing.

So that's the reality, Jake. That's reality on the ground. They're not -- they are not ready to fight. It's not a fair fight if you look at these two militaries engaging with each other, whatsoever.

TAPPER: And, Beth, what is your reaction to hearing this? This is what a lot of U.S. officials were worried before the he did certain things like this in Crimea and in the breakaway republics in Georgia in 2008.

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Right. It is absolutely. When you look at the letters, I just saw companies of the letters on Twitter and they are dated yesterday. Prime Minister Mishustin yesterday talked about how they had been

preparing for weeks for the repercussions of declaring independence. This is all planned, all pre-planned. And it is all unfolding, unfortunately, exactly as the intelligence community has laid out.

TAPPER: And, Erin --

SANNER: Donbas, you know --

TAPPER: Go ahead. I'm sorry.

SANNER: No, I was saying, so they're going into the Donbas. They'll start there. They will respond to these provocations, as Nic laid out so correctly. And then it will probably expand from there.

TAPPER: And, Erin, you've reported on the oligarchs who are now facing U.S. sanctions. A lot of people think that it's not enough. It's not enough to dissuade Putin and that seems to be born out with what we're watching now.

What can you tell us about who exactly has been impacted by these sanctions?

BURNETT: Right. So, the bottom line is you're completely right, Jake. It's not enough.

But the U.S. government knows that. I don't think they're trying to pretend that the individuals that they've sanctioned are going to stop anything. I think they were trying to send a signal that they were willing to go much farther.

They sanctioned three individuals, a deputy chief of staff to Putin, the head of the FSB, the internal security service, and the head of a bank, and two of those individuals' sons. But, you know, not broader family members and not a broader list of oligarchs.

I can tell you when -- you know, there are people who are elite and important, and there's also people who are incredibly wealthy and may also be elite and important, right? Oligarchs.

And the reality of this, Jake, is of the top ten oligarchs, if you look at "Forbes", not a single one of them are among those that the White House has sanctioned. And you would have to go way, way down the list to get these individuals. So there's a lot more that can be done if you think this path is a path that could put pressure on Putin internally in Russia.

TAPPER: Beth, does it make sense to hold back sanctions against oligarchs the way that the Biden administration is doing so right now. They said they don't want to shoot all our ammunition right now. They want to give Putin an opportunity to stand down.

I've heard other people argue really, this is not a deterrence at all. We really need to hit Putin and the Russian oligarchs where they live.

BURNETT: I don't believe that any degree or amount of sanctions will make any difference or would have made any difference. That's my perspective.

You know, Putin has a $630 billion piggy bank, a rainy day fund. He has been preparing for dealing with sanctions over many, many years. Russia has enormous amount of sanctions on them now. So, you know, getting in the mindset of Putin, no amount of sanctions is worth his legacy and what he believes to be Russian history that he's setting right.

TAPPER: Erin, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has issued a state of emergency across all the country.

You're in Lviv right now, where there be some emergency tests, right?

BURNETT: Yes, absolutely. That state of emergency that you referred to is slated to formally begin in just under half an hour. That will be an increase in police presence at government buildings and other public places. That's technically what it will mean. But after Zelensky announced that state of emergency here in Lviv, the

city put out an announcement that they would be doing tests to prepare people. Now, Jake, they say they've been spending the last several months as the Russians have built up their troop like losing the grid, losing electricity, all those things they expect to happen.

But today, they practiced, if there is no Internet and there is no television and there is no radio, because Putin has taken all those out, what do they do? Would they drive around in police, in patrol cars, and they speak out in loud speakers. So, they tested that today. As I've been saying, we saw it.

And there was literally at one moment, the police patrol car is going by testing this. They're yelling at people what to do it is a test. Behind is it a trolley with tourists in it. Not many but tourists in it. That's the bizarre juxtaposition that we're still seeing here.

TAPPER: Beth Sanner her in D.C., Erin Burnett in Lviv, in western Ukraine, thanks to both of you. Erin, stay safe.

Be sure to join Erin tonight. She anchors "OUTFRONT" from Lviv, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

We're keeping an eye what's happening on the ground in Ukraine. Here in the U.S., it is not a surprise that Republican lawmakers are criticizing Biden's response to Russia, but some are going even further. A lot further.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:38:23]

TAPPER: In our world lead, the crisis in Ukraine is escalating by the hour. A senior Pentagon official tells CNN that Russia is prepared to invade.

And now as CNN's MJ Lee reports from the White House, the Biden administration announced the toughest sanctions yet on the company in charge of building Russia's controversial gas pipeline to Germany, the Nord Stream 2.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MJ LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Biden White House making preparations for an imminent full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. announcing sanctions on the company and its executives tasked with building the controversial pipeline Nord Stream 2, following on the heel of Germany's announcement to halt its certification. This as the Biden administration is taking aim at the assets of Vladimir Putin's inner most circle and their family members.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will also impose sanctions on Russia's elites and family members. They share in the corrupt gains of the policies and should share in the pain as well. LEE: The State Department slapping individual sanctions on Putin's

domestic intelligence chief, Alexander Bortnikov, Putin's close adviser Sergei Kiriyenko, and Peter Fradkov, the CEO of a Russian military bank. Notably, the sanctions also include those individuals' relatives as part of the U.S. strategy to prevent Putin's closest associates from shielding their personal wealth through their family.

As tensions escalate, the FBI now warning U.S. businesses and local governments to be on the lookout for ransomware attacks launch by Russia.

BIDEN: This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

LEE: President Biden's handling of the Russia-Ukraine crisis prompting sharp criticism from lawmakers.

[16:40:04]

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell saying Russian's aggression is directly tied to the Biden administration's handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan last year.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): I don't believe Vladimir Putin would have a couple of hundred thousand troops on the border of Ukraine had we not precipitously withdrawn from Afghanistan last August. But that's where we are, looking for signs of weakness.

LEE: The former president also publicly weighing in, with praise for Putin.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: And I said this is genius. Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine, of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that's wonderful.

So Putin is now saying it's independent, a large section of Ukraine. I said how smart is that? Here's a guy who is very savvy. I know him very well. Very, very well.

LEE: The White House choosing to ignore those comments from Biden's predecessor.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, as a matter of policy, we try not to take advice from anyone who praises President Putin and his military strategy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE (on camera): Now, in terms of the timing of a potential full- scale attack, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki just that that she is not going to broadcast the potential hour, the day, the moment that this might happen but she did say, the U.S. now believes Vladimir Putin has been improvising, has been adapting his plans based on the U.S. broadcasting his war plans, and he has been caught off guard by the sheer amount of information the U.S. has been sharing.

Of course, all of this so far has not deterred Vladimir Putin from the beginning of an invasion -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. MJ Lee at the White House for us, thank you so much.

Let's discuss with the former White House communications director under President Trump, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and the Republican strategist, Sarah Longwell.

Before I start, I want to take a moment just to delineate between people who criticize President Biden's handling of this crisis and Afghanistan, which is normal political policy debate, and people who are praising Vladimir Putin who is a murderous thug.

So I just don't want there to be any confusion about what I'm talking about because former President Trump called Putin's moves genius and savvy. What was your reaction when you heard that?

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's not surprising. The former president had a soft spot for strongmen, including Vladimir Putin. We saw that throughout his presidency.

But I would know -- I think the former president, as well as other prominent Republicans are taking their pointers from one place, and that's Tucker Carlson's show on Fox News. He has become essentially an arm of the Kremlin and what he is talking about. What he is saying is indistinguishable from RT propaganda.

TAPPER: RT is Russia Today.

GRIFFIN: That's Russia Today propaganda.

TAPPER: And what is happening is these officials who've taken this soft approach and actually praised Putin, they've ended up in Russian propaganda a day later. They know this. They know better.

It's concerning to say the least. But I would say I think McConnell actually put out an extremely strong statement following the threats from Russia. And I think the smarter old school Republicans are in the right place on this. There's a wing of the party that's very scared.

TAPPER: And, Sarah, Congresswoman Liz Cheney tweeted this, quote, former -- about what Trump said. Former President Trump's adulation of Putin today including calling him a genius -- aids our enemies. Trump's interests don't seem to align with the interests of the United States of America.

Aiding our enemies -- by the way, I mean, Liz Cheney is somebody -- Congresswoman Cheney is somebody who uses her words very carefully. Aiding our enemies is a crime.

SARAH LONGWELL, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yeah, and she's right. And, frankly, what's so disappointing is that Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are the only people that are talking like that. I mean, look, the last six years, if you're a Republican like me who doesn't think that Trump is a great person, it has felt like you're taking crazy pills watching this version of the Republican Party. I was born in 1980. I'm a Reagan baby, which means, you know, a baby

of the Cold War. Like this is a total inversion of everything Republicans have ever stood for.

And watching people like Mitch McConnell's comment was strong but he's not condemning Trump. Where are the people condemning Tucker Carlson, condemning Donald Trump, saying we're not going to call him a genius at this time in crisis. It is a fun house mirror of politics watching the way Republicans are responding.

TAPPER: You make me feel old. I want to say for people out there. I was born in 1969. So, I remember the Reagan era very well.

Go Google bear in the woods ad. I remember it as if it was yesterday. A very stark commercial for Ronald Reagan about why he needed to be reelected in 1984, because of the Soviet threat.

GRIFFIN: Right. And I think it's a sad time in our political discourse if people tend to hate their political opponent more than America's adversaries and that's what the Republican Party is doubling down on.

TAPPER: That's what Republican voters feel, according to polls. They hate, I mean, they approve of Putin more than they approve of Biden.

GRIFFIN: By the way, though, that's the direct result of Russian propaganda and disinformation campaigns for years in U.S. politics.

[16:45:03]

They have been driving a wedge in our political discourse for the last decade, and we're now seeing the results.

LONGWELL: But it's also because we had an American president who sucked up to murderous dictators, most specifically, Vladimir Putin. I mean, this is nothing new. He stood on the stage next to Vladimir Putin, and sided against America's intelligence community. And when establishment Republicans said nothing about that, that's when you knew everything was different.

TAPPER: So, the one thing that has surprised me in the last few weeks is former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praising Putin in the last few weeks. And that has popped up on Russia today, and other -- back in Russia. Take a listen to some of the things Pompeo said about Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: He is a very talented statesman. He has lots of gifts. He was a KGB agent for goodness' sakes. He knows how to use power. We should respect that.

Very shrewd, very capable. I have enormous respect for him. I've been criticized for saying that.

(END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: What was your response when you heard that?

GRIFFIN: So Mike Pompeo has a long history as being tough on Russia and respecting Ukraine's sovereignty. I have to say that full stop because I actually -- I knew him in the House and his time as secretary of state. So, that choice of words is bizarre to me because he knows exactly how that's going to be weaponized by the Kremlin to say, look, even America's leaders are praising me and saying what a strongman I am.

I don't understand that. I assume it is trying the cater to this Tucker Carlson America first crowd. But Mike Pompeo has been very strong from an actual policy standpoint on Russia, so the words were very poorly chosen.

TAPPER: What did you think when you saw Pompeo said that?

LONGWELL: I think it is nauseating. I just, listening to somebody like -- he was the secretary of state.

TAPPER: And the head of the CIA.

LONGWELL: Giving -- giving that aid and comfort to our adversaries. Look, I am surprised. Or it's like I'm shocked by all of this and yet somehow not quite surprised.

TAPPER: All right. Melissa and Sarah, thanks to both. I really appreciate it.

Coming up next, we talk to a CNN reporter who has extensively covered the region in Ukraine bringing right now for a full-scale invasion by the Russia military. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:51:34]

TAPPER: And we're back with the breaking news in our world lead.

Ukraine's Donbas region, most of it under Ukrainian control, they're bracing for a possible full-scale assault from Russia right now. Let's discuss this with CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, who is live in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa.

And, Nick, we just learned that the heads of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk Republics. These are the separatist leaders that control about a third of the Donbas region. They have, according to the Kremlin, requested help from the Kremlin in, quote/unquote, repelling Ukrainian forces from the area, even though it is Ukrainian territory.

You've been to Donbas more than any other CNN journalist. Explain to us the significance of this possible pretext?

NICK WATT, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yeah. Essentially, it provides the pretext for a broader Russian assault into areas of Donetsk and Luhansk that are controlled by the Ukrainian military under the pretext of them coming in and being peacekeepers to respect the newly recognized Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics.

Remember that Vladimir Putin clarified it was the oblast, the whole region of Donetsk and Luhansk that he considered to be part of those separatist republics, even though only about a third of them are actually controlled by the separatists.

So, this does two things. Firstly, it puts in sort of a motion now, the possibility. And it is very clumsily choreographed series of false flag events we're seeing in separatist territories. And then Russians response that we may now see, the pretext laid out for Russian troops to cross in and provide that assistance. It also does one thing tactically, too, it focuses the Ukrainian military whose might is mostly in the east with the idea that it may come in the separatist areas. That's where a lot of them in power currently is.

Now, some Western official have been warning that essentially, the strategy here for the Russians is to ensure that the troops of Ukraine in the east are kind of cut off from the capital Kyiv, and therefore, an assault on Kyiv by Russian troops in the north, in Belarus, would be significantly easier. If we continually talk about the east and the separatist areas being where the military action may be, that certainly mean Ukraine can't afford to take its eye off that.

So, that maybe something in play here, too. But really, it's the clumsy choreography, Jake, of the request for assistance, followed by Vladimir Putin saying, okay, well, we have to save from you whatever crimes we believe are being commit against you.

TAPPER: Right. Nick Paton Walsh in Odessa, Ukraine, thank you so much. Good to see you again. Please be safe.

We're following the breaking news. What could be Vladimir Putin's pretext for a full-scale invasion on Ukraine. We're live on the ground in Ukraine and in Russia. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:58:28]

TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, President Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump is in talks to cooperate with the January 6 House Committee, but does that mean she will testify under oath?

Also, more breaking news, new satellite images showing Russian tanks and forces gathering all along Ukraine's borders to the east and to the north. A former general is here to break down what that could mean.

Plus, following Putin playbook, the Russian state media now claiming that the leaders of two pro-Russian separatist regions in Ukraine, play book says they're asking Putin to help them fight Ukrainian military. This as America warns the Ukrainian government, Russia appears ready to launch a full-scale invasion.

Let's get straight to CNN's Matthew Chance who's live for us from Kyiv, Ukraine.

And, Matthew, Ukrainian officials say that they're ready for this attack?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They do, actually, within the last few minutes, I've had one senior Ukrainian official say they're all on high alert, expecting this attack to take place any time soon.

Of course, it follows that the latest warning that has been given by the United States indicating that they're telling the Ukrainian that's their intelligence indicate a full-scale invasion could take place imminently. Very, very soon indeed.

Now, the Ukrainian official that I spoke to sort of cautioned that this had not been verified at this point by Ukrainian intelligence, but obviously, they are taking it very seriously. He did caution as well in the past, there have been several warnings similar to this from the United States which haven't materialized to any attack.