OUTFRONT tonight.
We have nukes for that.
That is defeating Naito.
It is a direct threat
from a Russian commander broadcast
on Russian state TV.
He says Russia cannot win the war.
He clearly believes it is fighting
without nukes.
When you a the national resources,
we realize that our resources, of course,
have their limits.
And the next spiral of escalation
can only be
one nuclear nuke was more of a stimulus.
And we don't have the resources
to defeat the Naito Block
with conventional means.
But we have nuclear weapons for that
defeating the Naito Block
with nuclear weapons
that commanders
Cavaliers certainty
about nuclear weapons is chilling.
And it comes
as the war is now on the verge
of a dangerous new phase.
CNN is learning
the United States is now finalizing plans
to send the most sophisticated
air defense systems on the planet
to Ukraine.
We're talking about the US Patriot
missiles that Ukraine,
frankly, has been pounding the table
asking for since the war began.
This system can take down
tactical ballistic
missiles, cruise type militia missiles,
aircraft as well.
Now for Russia, Patriot
missiles have been positioned
as a red line.
The former Russian president,
Dmitry Medvedev,
has warned
Naito against providing
Ukraine with them,
saying that
if Naito
did that,
the Western alliance would immediately
become a legitimate
target of Russian armed forces.
Those are powerful words,
and based on Medvedev's
words, Putin clearly views
this move as an escalation.
All of this news
coming as air raid sirens blared across
all of Ukraine today.
That familiar, now
haunting sound as Putin ramps
up his air assault
with crucial help
from his close ally, Belarus.
And tonight,
there is word of snap
bell Russian
military drills along the Ukraine border.
The country's defense ministry
announcing what it's calling
a sudden inspection of combat readiness.
The military equipment
is also on the move in Belarus.
And remember,
it is a country
where Putin pulls the strings
just four days ago.
Here he is appearing alongside
the Belarussian president,
Alexander Lukashenko.
That is at an economic summit.
And now today,
the Russian military is building
two river crossings
along the Ne'eman and rising rivers.
Big question is whether
this is more saber rattling
or actually something more
in light of the escalation.
It is unclear at this hour.
But what is clear
is that Putin's military situation,
as it is, is growing ever more tenuous.
And OUTFRONT now,
Douglas London, former CIA
counterterror chief
for South and Southwest Asia.
He's a Russian speaker
who served with the CIA
clandestine service for over 30 years.
Tracking KGB agents.
Also with me, retired Army
General Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt,
who is also a former
assistant secretary of state
for political and military affairs.
Thanks so much to both of you.
And, General Kimmitt,
let me start with you.
Ukraine fortifying its northern border.
I mean, those are really powerful images
that Will was able to capture
of those trenches.
The Belorussian Defense Ministry
in a terse statement
announcing these snap military drills.
You've had all these changes
in the military
and intelligence structures there.
What do you think this could be?
Well, I certainly don't think
it's going to be an invasion from Belarus
the way that the Russians
invaded from Belarus.
But we didn't think the Russians
were going to invade either,
logically,
because of the size of the Belarus,
an army.
I think the best they can do
is draw forces away from the south
and away from the center of Ukraine
to lighten up the lines
along the front lines.
I think it's important to remember that
when the Ukrainians
did their counterattack during October,
they actually fainted.
They actually looked like
they were going
from the south
but their main effort was in the north.
So this actually could be a faint
so that the Russians
could actually increase
their fight in the south.
But as for an attack by Belarus,
I just don't see it
making any sense at all.
So, Doug,
the context here, of course, is that
the clock is ticking. Right.
But the temperatures are below freezing,
well below freezing,
and the clock is ticking and independent
Russian news outlet.
You know,
we were playing that conversation
a moment ago. Right.
But an independent news
outlet is reporting
that the wives of mobilized
Russian troops are complaining
and they're complaining
their husbands are getting really sick
from the poor conditions
that they're living under.
This case at a Siberian training camp,
they say they're living in tents
heated by wood burning stoves.
Temperatures are well below zero,
that any medicine that they have,
they actually brought themselves
and that they are not
being properly trained.
I mean, it goes on and on right
This is in the Bicol time.
So this is in a Russian paper.
And then one of the wives says Douglas.
And this is the thing
that really stuck out
to me, quote,
We believe that all this is needed
for a just cause.
We are proud of the guys.
We don't blame the authorities.
So even with all this, even with that
call, we heard
they take all that anger and frustration,
the absurdity of their situation,
they don't turn on Putin.
What does that tell you?
Well, good evening, Aaron.
It's not surprising.
It's been consistent
with what glimpses
we've seen of Russian society,
that they'll complain
about the mechanics
of what's going on in the war.
But they seem to buy into Putin's
narrative that Ukraine represents
a significant threat,
an existential threat,
perhaps that's Nazi fied.
And you don't really see
a lot of popular disenchantment
about fighting Ukraine.
You see more
just complaints
about how the Russians are fighting it.
And you also see
a great effort
to deflect any criticism
directly from Putin.
And putting it on the apparatchiks,
you know, the bureaucracy, the army,
which gives him more latitude.
And General Kimmitt,
as Russia continues to bombard
Ukrainian cities. Right.
You hear those those air raid sirens
across the country.
Barrages of
missiles come in now
with with with some regularity. Here.
CNN is exclusively reporting
that the Biden administration
is preparing to send those that Patriot
defense system,
the most sophisticated air
defense systems on the planet.
That is the long range Patriot
missile system.
What would that mean
to Ukraine's ability
to fight off Russia's air attacks?
Putting aside
that, Russia has said
that that would
be a legitimate reason
to target Naito itself by Russia.
What would it do for Ukraine's defenses?
Well, you do two things.
Number one,
it would significantly alter
the ability of the Russians
to send cruise missiles
and ballistic missiles into Ukraine.
The more important it would be,
it would
bolster the civilian population
inside of Ukraine right now.
Let's be very clear.
Putin is no longer targeting
in the Ukrainian military.
He's targeting the Ukrainian people,
their infrastructure, their electricity.
He is taking the fight to the people.
So putting the Patriot missiles in
in my view, is a wise move
because this deflects and mitigates
but does not eliminate Putin's ability
to take his word
to the people inside of Ukraine.
Doug, last night I spoke with
the recently departed U.S.
ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan.
So this is somebody who
recently saw Putin up close
or he was in that role
for more than two years
under Presidents Trump and Biden.
And he was with Putin directly,
personally in that time.
So I asked him about the speculation
that we all see about Putin's health.
We're showing pictures of him now.
So you can see a difference
if you just look at a picture
in the past two years there.
There is a difference.
And the ambassador told me
that Putin looks,
quote, puffy
as someone who follows Russia and Putin
so closely.
Do you agree with that?
You know, it's hard to speculate
from what we seen outside
identifying illnesses
and the state of health
among national leaders,
particularly those of our rivals
like Putin,
is a major intelligence requirement
for the community.
And I would tell you,
the CIA has vastly creative
ways of trying to get tissue samples
and such to try to get a better look.
But otherwise,
you're extrapolating from open data.
And what does it mean?
What are the consequences
if Putin is ill?
Does it mean he becomes more desperate?
Does it mean that we can look forward
to a change in regime?
And would the change regime
be any better?
Any different?
We're talking about
Putin perhaps
engaging the Belarusians to attack.
Now, here's a country
that within two years
had protests, marches,
of hundreds of thousands of people.
And you'd have to think
it'd be a pretty desperate act
that could actually reignite
the fire in Belarus
to set the stage for its opposition,
largely overseas, to stir
the emotions of folks in the country,
including its military.
So health remains a critical component.
But even if you know the answers,
it's what does it mean to you
All right.
Thank you both very much.
I appreciate your time tonight.