As tensions rise at Ukraine border, U.S. leaders disagree on sanctioning Russia

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• Judy Woodruff:

  Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Ukraine today to meet with their president and high command, as more than 100,000 Russian troops remain deployed on Ukraine's borders.

  In a moment, I will speak with two U.S. senators who are just back from Ukraine to get their views.

  But, first, Nick Schifrin brings us up to speed.

• Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian President:

  Hello. Nice to meet you.

  Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State: So good to see you.

• Nick Schifrin:

  In Kiev today, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met while staring down the barrel of a gun.

• Antony Blinken:

  Today, there are some 100,000 Russian soldiers near Ukraine's borders, and, in that sense, the threat to Ukraine is unprecedented.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Those soldiers are signaling escalation.

  This week, the Russian Defense Ministry released video of troops near Ukraine's border practicing the urban warfare they would launch if they invaded. And now Russian tanks and Russian troops are arriving in Belarus to pomp and circumstance. Belarus calls it a surprise readiness check. A senior State Department official says they arrived in the guise of joint exercises, potentially to attack Ukraine.

  Those troops could be launched from just 200 miles north of Kiev, joining what us intelligence has identified as four additional locations of Russian troops surrounding Ukraine's Eastern border for a total of 100,000.

• Antony Blinken:

  That gives President Putin the capacity, also on very short notice, to take further aggressive action against Ukraine.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Ukraine's not feeling much love, but its military released a slick video granting Russia no grace to a Jefferson Airplane soundtrack. It shows off U.S.-made Javelin anti-tank missiles that senior U.S. officials say are now deployed to key transit points.

  A senior State Department official today said the U.S. would provide an additional $200 million of military assistance, on top to $450 million provided last fiscal year and ongoing U.S. training of Ukrainian forces.

  But, today on Capitol Hill, Republicans urged the Biden administration to send Ukraine more military aid and sanction Russia today.

• Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA):

  Putin doesn't take this president, they don't take his threats, and they certainly don't take his leadership seriously.

• Nick Schifrin:

  This afternoon, President Biden said the extent of sanctions would depend on Russian actions.

  Joe Biden, President of the United States: Russia will be held accountable if it invades. And it depends on what it does. It's one thing if it's a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not to do. If they continue to use cyber efforts, well, we can respond the same way, with cyber.

• Nick Schifrin:

  But while the enemy's at the gates, some Ukrainian guns are pointed inward. Former President and current opposition candidate Petro Poroshenko rallied supporters in Kiev. The sitting government accuses him of treason and funding terrorism, accusations the West believes are politically motivated.

  Blinken today urged unity.

• Antony Blinken:

  Leaders inside and outside Ukraine's government have to put aside their differences in favor of the shared national interest and work together to prepare for what could be difficult days.

• Nick Schifrin:

  But Zelensky suggested the U.S. didn't know what it was talking about.

• Volodymyr Zelensky (through translator):

  Your intelligence is excellent, but you are far overseas, and we are here, and I think we know some things a little bit deeper about our state.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Meanwhile, in Russia today, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told a forum that Moscow posed no threat.

• Sergei Ryabkov, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister:

  We will not attack, strike, "invade" — quote, unquote — whatever, Ukraine.

• Nick Schifrin:

  On Friday, Blinken will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, hoping to forestall an invasion that, despite Russian claims, many fear is inevitable.

  For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Secretary Blinken's trip comes just days after a bipartisan congressional delegation went to Kiev. Their goal was to show American solidarity with President Zelensky, even though U.S. lawmakers disagree on the best strategy for combating President Putin.

  The leaders of that delegation were Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Republican Rob Portman of Ohio.

  And I spoke with them this afternoon just as President Biden's news conference was starting.

  Senator Shaheen, Senator Portman, thank you very much for joining us.

  Senator Shaheen, to you first.

  To Americans, who are right now preoccupied with COVID and a number of things at home, explain to them why it should matter to them whether Russian troops go into Ukraine.

• Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH):

  Well, we don't want to see a reprisal of the Cold War. And, unfortunately, that's what we have begun to see with Vladimir Putin.

  And the fact is, if he does invade Ukraine, it would be the worst conflict on Europe since World War II. That's not good for our allies, and it's not good for America. We want to see Ukrainians, like Americans and other democracies, have the opportunity to determine their own futures.

  And we do not want to give Vladimir Putin and Russia a veto power over what happens in Ukraine in the future.

• Judy Woodruff:

  But, Senator Portman, if the United States is not prepared to send troops of its own into Ukraine, which is what bipartisan leaders are saying is not in the cards, how are the American people to understand why this is a priority for them?

• Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH):

  Well, first of all, the cause of freedom is being fought all over the world, but no place more so than Ukraine.

  Here, you have a country that is sovereign, independent, part of Europe, freedom-loving. They decided back in 2014. They went through a process there where they kicked out their Russian-backed authoritarian government. And they said, we want to be a democracy. We want to follow free markets. We want to be like America and like Western Europe.

  And so now, unfortunately, Vladimir Putin is surrounding them with this massive force that is causing a huge threat to this cause of freedom.

  So, it's not just about Ukraine. It's about destabilizing all of Europe, but it's also about countries all over the world that are watching this, both other authoritarian regimes that are thinking about what they might do in terms of taking over another country's territory, and, of course, countries around the world who are wondering, is the United States and is the free world going to stand up?

• Judy Woodruff:

  So, Senator Shaheen, what more can the United States do?

  I mean, Republicans are saying, as we just heard from Senator Portman, send more aid in now, do more to train the Ukrainian troops. I mean, what more can be done?

• Sen. Jeanne Shaheen:

  Well, we want to continue to show the Ukrainians and Vladimir Putin that we are united, we're united in Congress, and trying to make sure that we provide the support the Ukrainians need, and also that we point out to Putin what the threat of sanctions is, should he take action.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Senator Portman, some of your Republican colleagues are calling for harsher sanctions on Vladimir Putin himself right now.

  How do, though, that that wouldn't embolden him even more, make him angry, make him more determined to go into Ukraine?

• Sen. Rob Portman:

  Well, he's already built up this massive force, over 100,000 troops surrounding Ukraine, more troops going every day, more heavy armaments going every day.

  So I don't — and that's with no provocation. So I agree with what Senator Shaheen said. We need to do two things. One, we need to work with our allies to provide the military assistance that Ukraine needs to defend itself. And we're starting to do that more. And, second, we need to be absolutely sure that the Russians and Vladimir Putin know that, if they should invade again — and, remember, they invaded Ukraine already and took Crimea.

  They also have come into the Donbass and taken Ukrainian territory there, but, if they do it again with this massive force, that there will be devastating sanctions. And the difference between Republicans and Democrats that was played out last week was the timing of those sanctions.

• Judy Woodruff:

  One of your Republican colleagues, Senator Rick Scott of Florida, was saying today that President Biden has been appeasing President Putin and that President Biden needs to grow a backbone.

• Sen. Rob Portman:

  Well, we are where we are. There may have been some things we could have done earlier.

  But we are providing lethal defensive weapons. Again, the president has just chosen to spend another $200 million, $60 million last year. In Congress, I think we will appropriate additional funds. And I think that there's also a lot of unanimity around sanctions should something happen.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Senator Shaheen, I — again, I hear you saying there's unity. But do you also agree with the Republican criticism that President Biden should have done more sooner?

• Sen. Jeanne Shaheen:

  I think the administration has been very engaged with Ukraine.

  And, as President Biden told us this morning when we had a classified call with the members of the delegation who went to Ukraine, he was the one during the Obama administration who worked with Ukraine, who went in, who tried very hard to make sure that we did more at that time to hold Russia accountable.

  So I think he understands very clearly what's happening. That's why all the members of the State Department have been in Ukraine, when — Wendy Sherman, why Secretary of State Blinken is there, and why the president was very interested in hearing what our — what we learned when we were in Ukraine earlier this week.

  The fact is, there is a — there are several sanctions bills in the Senate right now, one of which would put personal sanctions on Vladimir Putin, as well as other members of the military there if — in case of an incursion.

  I think we ought to be able to work out some compromise that allows us to make clear what the threat is should Putin take any action. And I think there are ways in which we can — we can provide additional aid, additional lethal weapons that can show the Ukrainians and Russians that we are intent on doing everything we can to deter this aggression and to hold them accountable should Putin go into Ukraine.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Well, with the two of you standing there together, I can't miss this opportunity to ask you both finally about one other thing, and that is what's on the floor of the U.S. Senate right now.

  That's voting rights. Your two parties are on opposite sides of this issue. I just wonder, from each one of you, what would you say to the other one about why the other one's wrong, why you're right on this issue that has so divided the two parties right now?

  Senator Portman?

• Sen. Rob Portman:

  Well, Judy, I have very strong views about this.

  I think it's been a big mistake for us to spend the last week, including today, on something that, frankly, isn't going anywhere anyway. It's a political exercise. We all know that. But it is basically saying to the American people that elections don't really matter, because they're so corrupt or that there's so much voter suppression. That's just not true.

  Many of the same Democrats who had criticized Republicans about questioning the results of the election because of fraud, and, therefore, drawing into question the legitimacy of elections, are now doing the same thing by saying that somehow democracy is in crisis because we have all this voter suppression.

  And then, finally, of course, because Democrats are doing this in an entirely partisan way, they have no Republican support. In fact, they have a couple of Democrats who aren't supporting it, because what they want to do is change the rules of the Senate that is the one thing that keeps the Senate from being not even more partisan, which is called the legislative filibuster, which just means you have to have 60 votes, rather than 50 votes.

  Without that one rule in place, the Senate would become far more partisan.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Senator Shaheen, you hear Senator Portman saying this was the wrong way to do it, it's partisan, it's wrongheaded, it's hurting the country.

  What do you say?

• Sen. Jeanne Shaheen:

  Well, I think we can all agree that the elections in 2020 were record turnout. Even Donald Trump's own head of elections and homeland security said they were the safest, securest elections in history.

  And that's where the differences lie, because what we have seen, and in 19 states, over 30 states that have — are considering changing their election laws, in response to the big lie that Donald Trump actually won that last election, is what the issue is.

  In New Hampshire, I'm very worried about our Republican-controlled legislature that is unwinding many of the reforms and election laws that have taken place over the last two to three decades. They're trying to prevent young people from voting. That has been struck down once already in the Supreme Court in New Hampshire. And they're trying again.

  They're gerrymandering congressional districts in the state, as well as state Senate districts.

  So, this is really — I agree with Senator Portman that we ought to be able to work together. But, unfortunately, in an effort to try and address what's happening in states across the country to restrict voting, there has been real reluctance on the part of our Republican colleagues to work with us.

  Lisa Murkowski has signed on to the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. But she's the only Republican who's been willing to do that.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Well, we couldn't leave the two of you without asking you about it. And it's a reminder that, yes, there are issues the two parties work together on, but this is one where you remain profoundly, profoundly apart.

  We cannot thank you enough, Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Senator Rob Portman of Ohio. Thank you very much.

• Sen. Rob Portman:

  Thanks, Judy.

• Sen. Jeanne Shaheen:

  Thank you.