1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,360 JUDY WOODRUFF: President Biden is in Poland today meeting with a key 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:08,360 NATO ally that shares borders with both Ukraine and Russia. Mr. Biden ends his night in Warsaw, 3 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:15,680 ahead of what the White House calls a major address tomorrow in the Polish capital. 4 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:20,680 Meantime, in Ukraine, the horrific toll of a Russian airstrike on a theater in the south 5 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,240 came into sharper and terrible focus. 6 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:29,240 But our Jane Ferguson again begins our coverage with the president's visit near the front. 7 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:31,947 JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: Hey, folks, I just came by to say thanks. 8 00:00:31,947 --> 00:00:34,480 JANE FERGUSON: Visiting American troops in Poland, 9 00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:39,480 the president thanked them for defending NATO's borders, but said their mission was bigger. 10 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,240 JOE BIDEN: Who is going to prevail? Are democracies going to prevail and 11 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:49,240 the values we share, or are autocracies going to prevail? And that's really what's at stake. 12 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:54,240 So what you're doing is consequential, really consequential. 13 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,920 JANE FERGUSON: Mr. Biden also thanked his Polish hosts for welcoming more 14 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:02,920 than 2.2 million refugees, the most of any country neighboring Ukraine. 15 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:07,280 JOE BIDEN: The suffering that's taking place now is at your doorstep. You're 16 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:12,280 the ones who are risking, in some cases, your lives and risking all you know to try to help. 17 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:17,640 JANE FERGUSON: The president also announced more natural gas exports to Europe, at least 15 billion 18 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:23,240 cubic meters. The E.U. buys more than a quarter of its oil and nearly half its gas from Russia. 19 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:28,920 JOE BIDEN: Putin has issued Russia's energy resources to coerce and manipulate its 20 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:33,840 neighbors. That's how he's used it. He's used the profits to drive his war machine. 21 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:38,840 JANE FERGUSON: To punish the West over sanctions, President Vladimir Putin asked that Russian gas 22 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:44,280 exports be paid in rubles, sending European gas prices soaring. The E.U. called it blackmail, 23 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:50,000 but member nations remain divided over a Russian oil and gas embargo. 24 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:57,960 Nearly 2,000 miles away, in the southern city of Mariupol, civilians remain besieged, bombarded, 25 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,840 and now, according to officials, starving to death, as food runs out. 26 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:11,200 For the first time, video emerged from inside a landmark theater, 27 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:15,600 showing survivors in shock after a deliberate Russian airstrike. 28 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:20,600 Following a week spent searching the wreckage, local officials said 300 victims died. 29 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:26,480 For the first time in days, Russia agreed to two humanitarian corridors, 30 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:31,480 including one from Mariupol. But inside the city, hundreds of thousands remain trapped. 31 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:36,760 In this open air prison, they dig graves by the roadside. Viktoria's stepfather was 32 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:41,800 killed two weeks ago. Until now, the cold weather made the soil too hard to bury him. 33 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,600 VIKTORIA, Mariupol Resident (through translator): 34 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:50,600 When the doctor was taking our stepfather to the hospital, this guy took a seat in the car, 35 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:56,000 instead of me. And they blew them up in this car. It could have been me. 36 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:01,000 JANE FERGUSON: Ukraine says Russia is distributing aid in parts of the city it seized, 37 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:03,840 but, for many, it's not enough to stay alive. 38 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:08,840 ALEXANDRA, Mariupol Resident: My husband didn't make it to receive humanitarian aid. 39 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:14,280 He had diabetes. The scarce diet of the last days led him to coma, and he died. 40 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:18,000 JANE FERGUSON: A senior U.S. defense official said today 41 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,880 Russia is focusing its military objectives in the eastern Donbass region. The official 42 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:27,880 said Russian forces don't want to pursue Kyiv aggressively and are taking defensive positions. 43 00:03:28,640 --> 00:03:31,458 A Russian official suggested that was always the plan. 44 00:03:31,458 --> 00:03:35,600 SERGEI RUDSKOI, Head of Russian General Staff's Main Operational Directorate (through translator): 45 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,760 The main objectives of the first stage of the operation have generally been accomplished. 46 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:44,400 The combat potential of the armed forces of Ukraine has been considerably reduced, which makes 47 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:49,360 it possible to focus our core efforts on achieving the main goal, the liberation of Donbass. 48 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:54,360 JANE FERGUSON: But, for now, there are still cross-country attacks. 49 00:03:55,040 --> 00:04:00,040 In Kharkiv, there were explosions near a humanitarian distribution site. To the north, 50 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:05,400 the city of Chernihiv is all but cut off, losing its main road bridge in an airstrike this week. 51 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:14,080 A day after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for global demonstrations, 52 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:19,080 European capitals overflowed with Ukrainian flags and many Ukrainian people. 53 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:21,120 OLANA, Ukrainian Refugee (through translator): Ukraine is my home, 54 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:24,240 and we want to come back to our home. 55 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:29,240 JUDY WOODRUFF: And Jane joins us now from Poland. 56 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:32,080 Jane, so tell us more about this announcement from the Russian 57 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:35,760 military. Is this a climb-down on their part? 58 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:40,080 JANE FERGUSON: Judy, there is potential in that. 59 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:45,080 We have seen them coming out with all of niece statements today talking about how, first of all, 60 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:51,000 the first phase of this military operation, the special military operation, as they call it -- 61 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:56,880 they refuse to call it a war -- has been -- quote, unquote -- "successful" or completed by them. 62 00:04:56,880 --> 00:04:57,920 They have said that they have 63 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:03,560 decimated or massively reduced the capabilities of the Ukrainian military. We know that's not true, 64 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:10,760 that they will be moving on to phase two, which would be shoring up or supporting 65 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:15,800 the Donbass region in the far east. That's the restive separatist part of the country. 66 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:21,480 Now, it is -- there is hope that this could be an indicator that Putin is trying to find 67 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:27,120 some sort of off-ramp to save face. He has to answer 68 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:32,120 to the Russian people for the potentially 15,000 soldiers, Russian soldiers, that are believed 69 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:38,240 to have been killed in this fighting and for the fact that they couldn't take Kyiv. 70 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:43,240 We know from intelligence reports that the initial plan was to try to decapitate the government in 71 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:50,520 Kyiv and replace it with a more Russian-friendly one, that they had much broader plans and 72 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:56,200 ambitions. They invaded this country from many different angles and different positions. 73 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:02,200 So this -- there's a possibility that this could be an attempt to start a narrative which saves 74 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:08,560 face. But don't forget, this is coming from the Russian military. We have heard 75 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:11,120 no such words from Putin himself yet. 76 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:16,120 JUDY WOODRUFF: So it might be too optimistic to think it is a climb-down. 77 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,840 So, Jane, what then are thought to be Putin's other options here? 78 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:24,840 JANE FERGUSON: You're right. It could be too optimistic. We have seen word saying that 79 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:31,800 this -- that they're changing tack, but we're also seeing attacks on cities. Those could continue. 80 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:36,560 Putin still has -- he may not be able to send his troops into those cities to take them 81 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:41,560 over. But he still has missiles and airstrikes that he can continue to bombard cities with. 82 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:48,440 President Biden has also raised again several times now the possibility that 83 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:52,240 Putin could use biological or chemical weapons. 84 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:57,240 And, of course, Russia is a nuclear power. So, for now, although these words might be 85 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:03,800 encouraging for some, there's still so -- there's still the other options, deadlier options, 86 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:08,000 that Biden (sic) could choose to use in the coming weeks and months. 87 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:13,000 JUDY WOODRUFF: So grim that -- to think what Vladimir Putin could do. 88 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:15,840 Jane Ferguson joining us tonight from Poland. 89 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:16,640 Thank you, Jane. 90 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,520 And the "NewsHour"s coverage of the Russian invasion is 91 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,160 supported in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.