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President Obama Working the Phones for Ukraine; Kerry Says All Options on the Table for Ukraine; NATO Ambassadors Meet on Ukraine; Crimean Naval Chief Defected; 106 Million in the Path of Winter Blast; Declaration of War in Ukraine?; Ukraine Accuses Russia Of Declaring War; NATO Ambassadors Meet On Ukraine; U.S. Explores Its Options In Ukraine; 106 Million In Path Of Winter Blast

Aired March 2, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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


DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Video from Crimea shows unmarked crews moving in. Their uniforms have no identifying features but their license plates are marked Russia. The Black Sea Fleet actually.

Russia has had the international community on edge since President Putin yesterday got parliament's OK to send troops into Ukraine. Right now NATO ambassadors are meeting on the crisis here in the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has strong words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: It's an incredible act of aggression. It is really a stunning, willful choice by President Putin to invade another country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, he called it an invasion. And now the talks shift to how to calm everything and everyone down before this escalates even more.

We have live coverage around the world. Michelle Kosinski is live in Washington, at the White House. Erin McLaughlin is live at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Ian Lee is live in Ukraine's capital city Kiev.

This hour the White House is trying to add to pressure on Russia. President Obama reaching out to allies by phone one day after he spent 90 minutes on the phone with the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski joins us now.

And, Michelle, the White House, what is the mood? What are they saying?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Deb. It has been a busy weekend. We were just told that President Obama has been actively working on this today. He's been briefed by his security team. And as you mentioned, later on he'll take calls with allies. The UK, Poland and Lithuania. But earlier today, it was Secretary of State John Kerry who's been making the rounds doing interviews and using very strong words. I mean, yesterday he called Russia's actions an invasion, an occupation. Today an incredible brazen act of aggression. He said these are not the actions of a G-8 nation. If it persists, then other nations won't participate in the G-8 meeting in Russia.

Now some lawmakers have been calling for a stronger response because already we've seen the U.S., Canada and now the UK pull out of the preliminary meetings leading up to the G-8. But some of them said why not something like immediate sanctions? Well, today Kerry said that is a possibility that none of that is off the table. And we could very well see things like asset freezes and visa bans imposed against Russia in the near future.

Here is another clip from Kerry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: I think all options are on the table. There's no question but that Russia needs to understand this is serious. This is a time for diplomacy. Nobody wants this to spiral into a bad or worse direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSINSKI: And he really didn't mince words. He said, I mean, you don't just invade a country under what he called a trumped up pretext of protecting your own people in that country as Russia has said it is doing in Ukraine.

Kerry said that now is the time for diplomacy. That Russia has many options available to it other than what it has been doing. But if this continues, then there will be serious diplomatic repercussions -- Deb.

FEYERICK: You know, and, Michelle, you hear him say that this the time for diplomacy. And yet the impact on the U.S., because of its allies, the European Union, which gets a lot of its natural gas from Russia and travels through the Ukraine, the whole -- the conversation the president is having, is he trying to build a coalition? Is he simply trying to get everybody on the same page about what this diplomacy might look like? Are they going to shut Russia out?

KOSINSKI: Well, I mean, the isolation of Russia is really the main repercussion that everyone has been talking about now. That nations will choose -- already we're seeing, as we said, not to participate in preliminary meetings with the G-8. I mean, just picture it, if Russia holds the G-8 in Sochi, that's a big deal for it on the world stage. Well, if countries like the U.S. do not show up to that, that would be impactful, it would be considered harmful to Russia.

Of course all of this is harming diplomatic relations. So by getting together with allies and talking about what can be done, for example, organizing sanctions against Russia, sure, it does make a much bigger impact. Will that affect Russia's behavior, that's another question -- Deb. FEYERICK: Absolutely. Especially coming off the Winter Olympics and also the Paralympics which are right now taking place.

Michelle Kosinski there for us at the White House. Thanks so much.

Well, Canada is adding to the pressure on Russia. Prime Minister Stephen Harper recalling his ambassador to Moscow and he's following Washington's lead by suspending Canada's preparations for the G-8 in Sochi. Mr. Harper says that escalation can lead to, quote, "ongoing negative consequences" for Canada's relationship with Russia.

Now to Belgium where NATO ambassadors are meeting today on the crisis in Ukraine.

Erin McLaughlin is live in Brussels outside NATO headquarters.

And, Erin, do we know what's going on in these meetings, what meaningful action NATO is considering taking?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Deb. Well, we're waiting to hear for some sort of statement from this morning's meeting. But so far officials here in Brussels looking to calm things down, to ease some of these tensions.

The North Atlantic Council, which is the primary decision making body for NATO met for over four hours today comprised of some 28 ambassadors. Ukraine was the topic of discussion. We're still, as I mentioned, waiting for a statement out of that but the NATO secretary- general had this to say before those meetings began. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: What Russia is doing now in Ukraine violates the principles of the United Nations charter. It threatens peace and security in Europe. Russia must stop its military activities and its threats.

Today we will discuss their implications for European peace and security and for NATO's relationship with Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: Currently under way a meeting of the NATO Ukraine Commission. Now that is at the request of Ukrainian officials. The commission was actually established in 1997. It was designed to improve Ukraine's defense capabilities as well as strengthen ties between Kiev and Western Europe. So that meeting currently under way. We don't have a timetable as to when that will end.

But we do expect the Ukrainian ambassador to speak here in Brussels following that meeting. So, so far the messaging coming out of Brussels is one of easing tensions, calming things down as well as establishing a NATO support for Ukraine's sovereignty -- Deb.

FEYERICK: All right. Thank you so much, Erin, for us there. You know, the hopes of the Ukrainian people turning so suddenly with this invasion by Russia.

All right. Thank you. We'll check back with you a little later on.

Ukraine isn't waiting for the White House to do something. Kiev is mobilizing troops and calling up reservists. But at the same time the government meanwhile is a crucial part of its power, its Navy, which may have abandoned Kiev.

Ian Lee is in Ukraine's capital and joins me from there.

Ian, the Navy, they seem to have sided now with the Russians.

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Deborah, this has been a lot of drama recently here in Kiev trying to figure out what exactly is going on. What we heard initially was that the Ukrainian naval chief, Denis Berezovsky, said that he was defecting to the Republic of Crimea. This was -- would be a big blow to the Russian Navy.

But later we found out from a member of parliament here in Kiev that, in fact, he was dismissed from his position before he defected to the -- to Crimea. What we're hearing from the parliamentarian is that this -- the former Navy chief ordered troops to step down, to lower their alertness level, basically limiting their capabilities.

Well, the troops there realizing what was going on informed the Defense minister. He investigated the situation and then relieved the Navy chief of his command. Then the Navy chief then defected over to the, quote-unquote, "Republic of Crimea," what it's being called now. And before that happened a new naval chief was put in place.

Now this is what we're hearing from the -- the parliament. You know, it's hard to tell who exactly is telling us the truth at this moment, because you just get so much going on here. But it does bring into question the readiness of the Ukrainian forces. There are -- we are being painted a picture of a united military force. And that is what the Ukrainian government here is saying. But when you have a high defection like that you -- you're just hearing from both sides what they say is going on -- Deborah.

FEYERICK: Absolutely. You have to keep in mind, it's one Ukraine, but it's two government. The one -- the new one in Kiev and now the new one in Crimea. And both of them seem to be fighting for the sole -- whoever is there, including the military.

All right, Ian lee, thank you. Appreciate that.

Well, despite some tough talk, the U.S. doesn't seem to have many options in the Ukraine. We're going to be speaking with someone who just came back from Kiev who says the real problem is growing paranoia in that man, Vladimir Putin, and the Kremlin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Folks in California got a lot of rain which they desperately needed because of the severe drought there but the heavy rain also caused mudslides and creeks to overflow. And that's how four hikers got stranded for eight hours yesterday at Malibu State Creek Park. It took more than 30 rescuers to save those four hikers. A chopper immediately spotted the hikers early this morning.

Getting them was not easy. It was pitch black like what you're seeing right there. The creek was swollen and the water rising. Rescuers used flashlights on their helmets to search and find the hikers. Fortunately no one of the hikers or rescuers were hurt.

Well, the storm started as a low pressure system in California but now it's developing into a major winter storm that could hit 106 million people. Take a look at that just sweeping across the country. And that's the satellite photo from NASA. You can see this monster storm covering at least half of the United States.

It is pact with freezing rain, snow, and ice ready to hit folks in the Midwest, southeast and northeast.

Our meteorologist Karen Maginnis has more.

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Deb, it is the winter weather we are so weary of but it's just not giving up. And in the forecast we take you a broad sweep across the country, all the way from the Ark- La-Tex, into the Central Mississippi River Valley, then the Ohio and Tennessee River Valley, and the mid-Atlantic, and portions of New England as this area of low pressure treks our frontal system in New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Richmond, Virginia, the outer banks of North Carolina.

This is what we're looking at in the Midwest where we're tracking that storm and the icy roads all the way from Kansas City into the boot hill of Missouri stretching on over towards Memphis. And then by Monday look how much snow we're expecting.

Ironically the further north you go the snowfall totals are going to be less but New York City, two to five, Washington, D.C., five to 10? Now any little adjustment as to the placement of that area of low pressure could determine those snowfall amounts but ice is the big issue. And for the airports and for the interstate, it is going to be treacherous, the bull's eye right here in the vicinity of Memphis coming up over the next 24 hours.

And temperatures they are unbelievably cold. As much as 20 degrees below normal with daytime highs in New York only in the mid-20s. Back to you.

FEYERICK: All right. Bundle up and get those supplies.

Karen Maginnis, thank you.

Well, I want to go straight to CNN's George Howell. He's in Louisville, Kentucky.

And, George, this bad ice storm is hitting there in just a couple of hours. Do you see a lot of preparation or people going and getting (INAUDIBLE), getting groceries, just sort of hunkering down for what they are about to be hit with?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Deb, certainly. And not to overuse the cliche but that -- the phrase the calm before the storm is what we're seeing right now. In fact this place where we are now where you see the snowplows back there, no activity right now. But here in the next several hours as conditions deteriorate, we do expect to see a lot of plows starting to move. We know that they have 170 snowplows -- pieces of equipment here in the Louisville, Kentucky, area to deal with the snow.

And I want to show you what's back behind me. That's not snow, obviously, it's a lot of salt. This is what they will use to start clearing the highways. What we're expecting over the couple of hours, obviously the rain will continue to come down then the rain will turn to sleet and then we'll start seeing snow in this area.

We know that Louisville itself could get anywhere up to eight inches of snow. So they are saying that this could be a very strong storm system for them. They are taking preparations, getting ready as it comes in.

FEYERICK: A lot of kids out there, hoping for a snow day.

All right, George Howell, clearly, we're going to keep tracking this. A lot of people expected to be affected by this.

And there has been some tough talk from the White House on Ukraine. But what options does President Obama really have?

Up next we're going to hear from someone who's faced the Russians before at the negotiating table.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, we are waiting for the NATO secretary-general to read a statement there in Brussels, Belgium. He's expected to do that momentarily, and once he does that, we will bring that to you live. But right now we're going to turn to a couple of experts who've been watching the situation.

Tough talk from the White House on the Ukraine crisis really doesn't seem to be having much of an impact. Russia appears to be in control of Crimea and the Ukrainian prime minister has said it is a declaration of war splitting the Ukrainian country.

Now President Obama is reaching out to allies while he scrambles to figure out what is the next move for the United States.

Well, let me bring in Julia Ioffe, she's a Russian born senior editor at the "New Republic," and also Kevin Ryan, he's a retired U.S. Army brigadier general and a former senior Defense atache in Moscow.

And, Julia, I want to start with you. President Obama and President Putin spoke for an hour and a half last night. Was there anything substantive, do you think, that came out of this conversation? JULIA IOFFE, SENIOR EDITOR, NEW REPUBLIC: You know, I read the readouts of -- both the White House readout of the call and the Kremlin readout of the call. My impression was that the two men were talking past each other. President Obama not talking about not going to G-8, Putin was talking about ultranationalists using power in an illegitimate way in Kiev.

When I asked a senior White House official if the two men were, in fact, talking past each other, the official told me that my characterization wasn't far off. So that doesn't give you very much hope, does it?

FEYERICK: Well, definitely not because that means that each are -- each side is sort of entrenched in what they see as the right thing. And with Putin obviously that raises some big questions.

Brigadier General, I want to ask you, in terms of what is going on with the military, Ukrainian military did not respond to that invasion in the south, in Crimea. Do you think that would have escalated the situation even beyond what it is now?

BRIGADIER GENERAL KEVIN RYAN, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, it certainly would have been a bad decision for those units that are based on the Crimea, Ukrainian units there, because they would have been overwhelmed by a much larger force. And today we would have a much unstable situation because Russians would have killed Ukrainians and maybe Ukrainians would have killed Russians, and that would have been even worse.

FEYERICK: And when you look at the two sides, is this technically a fair fight? Can the Ukrainian military, which really inherited a legacy of Soviet era weapons, can they actually go up against the Russians, especially since the Russians are so entrenched in that area because the whole Black Sea Fleet is there?

RYAN: Yes, well, I think in terms of the Crimea, that the situation is already established and can't be changed by any Ukrainian military action. There are a couple of small Ukrainian units that are stationed in the Crimea but they are basically surrounded at this point.

And in terms of eastern Ukraine, I think that the Ukrainian military, even though it is a professional and capable and effective military is much too small to outlast a much larger Russian military. The Ukrainian military is in a very bad position vis-a-vis Russia right now. And Russia can do what it wants if it elects to do so.

FEYERICK: And I'm going to ask both of you this.

Julie, I'm going to start with you. The order which allowed Putin to send troops in there after the fact, that's a different story, not only authorized force in the Crimea but also in all of Ukraine. What does that suggest to you?

IOFFE: To me it suggests that this might not be over with just the ceasing of the Crimea. If you look, for example, at what Russia today, that Kremlin propaganda channel, the English language Kremlin propaganda channel is reporting today, they are reporting southern and eastern Ukrainian city councils are not recognize saying -- what they say is an illegitimate government in Kiev.

There was a map that going around the Internet today about -- marking all the places in the Ukraine where cities had raised Russian flags. And you see the entire south and the entire east. I'm sure Putin is watching this in the Kremlin and licking his lips. I don't think it's going to stop with the Crimea.

Unfortunately given what has happened leading up to this in Syria, in other places in the world, Putin knows that he can basically take eastern Ukraine from Kiev and not be punished for it. You know, Western leaders not showing up to the G-8, I think that's a price he's very much willing to pay.

If anything, it feeds into this paranoid vision that he's foisting onto the Russian people that the West is out to get him, that the West is out to get the Russian people wherever they are. So I think there's unfortunately he's pretty much checkmated the West.

FEYERICK: And, General, the question to you then, playing off with what Julia just said, and that is, first of all, America clearly not looking particularly strong based on historical precedent standing up to Russia. But also do you potentially see Russia as annexing Crimea? And if so what does that mean to U.S. interest? Why does this matter to the United States?

RYAN: Well, the annexing of Crimea, either outright or, say, by virtue of the Crimea declaring some sort of independence from the Ukraine and then creating a special relationship with Russia, in either case, it really doesn't threaten the United States in any way or NATO in a direct military, strategic sense.

The problem is that what Russia is doing is establishing footholds if we look back to western Georgia and Abkhazia and now potentially into Crimea, there's -- there are other disputed areas in Moldova, the Transnistria region, eastern Ukraine, et cetera. So this is a kind of slow creep that could be happening on behalf of the Russians.

FEYERICK: And then quickly --

(CROSSTALK)

FEYERICK: Go ahead, Julia. Go ahead.

IOFFE: Yes, one thing I wanted to mention is this isn't coming out of nowhere. Not only Putin but many Russians and Soviets of his generation don't really believe in these borders. There are people in eastern Ukraine who don't believe that Ukraine is a real government. There are people who believe that -- it's a huge generation that believes that Russia, Belarus and Ukraine are really all one country and that they have been artificially split in the post Soviet era.

FEYERICK: Right.

IOFFE: So -- I mean, I don't want to go -- I don't want to get crazy here. But, you know, it could very well --

FEYERICK: They can't get over it.

IOFFE: Yes.

FEYERICK: They can't get over the breakup is pretty much what you're saying, if I understand you correctly --

(CROSSTALK)

IOFFE: No, it's not -- it's not the breakup. It's not the breakup because they don't feel this way about Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan, for example. They feel this way specifically about Ukraine and Belarus. That are brotherly Slavic nations.

FEYERICK: They belong.

IOFFE: United by religion, by language, by culture.

FEYERICK: That's right. Both of you, thank you so much. Julia Ioffe and Kevin Ryan, we appreciate your time. We'll check back with you a little later on. Thanks so much.

Well, President Obama has been working the phones. He's been talking to Vladimir Putin, now calling he's U.S. allies. He's looking for support. We're live for you from Moscow and Ukraine coming up next. We're getting ready.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: We're following all the new developments for you on the crisis in Ukraine. President Obama being briefed today by his national security team. He's also expected to call U.S. allies. In Ukraine, the country's newly appointed navy chief has been accused of treason.

Today he declared his loyalty to the pro-Russian leaders of Crimea and said that he's not going to take orders from capital city, Kiev, that's now pro-western. That comes just one day after he was appointed to the job by those people in Kiev.

Well, NATO ambassadors have been meeting today on the crisis. NATO secretary-general said that Russia's actions are threatening peace and security in all of Europe. Today U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described Russia's actions sending troops into the peninsula as nothing more than just an invasion. That's called point-blank.

Ukraine calling it a declaration of war. It's worth mentioning that all of this is happening while athletes from around the world prepare for Paralympics in Sochi, Russia. Those Paralympics, which include U.S., starting on Friday.

CNN has the story covered from every angle, correspondent, Phil Black is live in Moscow, senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman, is live in the city of Simferopol in the Crimea region of Ukraine. We are going to go first to Phil Black in Moscow. Phil, what is the situation there? What are you hearing from the kremlin?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest announcement from the Kremlin is confirmation that President Putin spoke with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel about the situation in Ukraine. These are two world leaders that have famously had some testy conversations in the past. We don't know the German side of this conversation, but according to the Kremlin, President Putin made the point that he believes that Russian citizens, Russian speaking Ukrainians are under threat from ultranationalists in the country.

He believes given the extraordinary situation that Russia's actions so far are entirely appropriate. Meanwhile here in Moscow, we've seen a big gesture of support for the president's actions in getting involved militarily in Kiev, some 20,000 people on the streets rallying in support of the Russian government and in support they say of their Islamic brothers across the border.

In Ukraine, a much smaller protest, about 50 people or so who oppose the Russian policy at the moment was broken up by police. They were arrested and detained for violating public rules -- Deb.

FEYERICK: What was incredible is that the deposed president, there's a warrant out for his arrest now. His estimated net worth is $12 billion and he has no legitimate business except being a politician. He's now in Russia. Is there anything to the claim that in fact he remains the legitimate ruler? Again, you've got two governments, one in Kiev, one in Crimea. Is there any legitimate claim that in fact he's still the president of Ukraine?

BLACK: Well, I think the Russian view of what took place in Kiev is that a democratically elected president and government was deposed. That he believed that right wing nationalists, the mainstream opposition and even European governments, even the United States, conspired together to arrange this overthrow of the democratically elected president.

That said, Russia has given shelter to former President Viktor Yanukovych. He is in Russia. That he has personal protection here, but there has been no sign from the Russian government that they are prepared to back him up, to support him, to try and reinstall him as president or support him in his claim that he is the one true elected leader of Ukraine.

FEYERICK: And so interesting because the paralympics are taking place in Sochi starting Friday. So we've got a lot of athletes who were in that region. Just quickly, any indication that they are pulling out?

BLACK: Nothing from the athletes so far, but the British government has indicated, the British prime minister, David Cameron, said he's not comfortable with the idea of British government ministers traveling to Sochi for the Paralympics. The Paralympics obviously not as prestigious internationally as the Olympics were for Vladimir Putin.

But if this becomes a more widespread snub of this event, that's not something he's going to appreciate. It could be a beginning of a more widespread sense of isolation for Russia. We already know United States and Britain again have already said that they are pull out of the setup talks in Sochi leading up to what is supposed to be the G-8 Summit of world leaders in Sochi in June.

FEYERICK: All right, Phil Black for us there in Moscow, thank you so much. We're going to turn now to Ukraine, get a view from Crimea, Ben Wedeman is there in the city of Simferopol. Ben, earlier, the Ukraine leadership accused Russia of declaring war. You're there. You saw some things that were happening. Tell us what you experienced.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we did today was we went down to a base about 20 kilometers south of the capital of Crimea. It's the base of the 36th brigade of the Ukrainian army. What we saw there were hundreds of armed men in dark green camouflage uniform surrounding this base of the 36th brigade. Of course they don't have any insignia. Their vehicles don't have license plates.

You speak to anybody on the spot there and they will tell you these are Russian troops. The Russian troops are surrounding this base, where we saw Ukrainian soldiers inside the gates, they are vowing not to give up. Not to surrender to the forces on the outside.

In the late afternoon we saw as many as 10 large military-colored trucks arriving there bringing more reinforcements to the forces on the outside. We assume, of course, they are Russian forces. This is just one of three standoffs taking place outside Ukrainian military installations involving these soldiers we presume are Russian.

Now, we also saw there were civilians there. Some older men bringing Russian flags to voice their support for what we assume are Russian forces saying that Crimea should be a part of Russia. There were also Ukrainians there, women singing and praying for the Ukrainian soldiers inside the base.

One woman saying we have sons the same age in the military, and we're very concerned for them. But there was not any violence. There's not even any violence among the crowd outside. But certainly a good deal of attention -- Deborah.

FEYERICK: Absolutely. All right, Ben Wedeman, we're going to be checking in with you a little later on in the broadcast. So much we want to know, including whether Ukraine will pull the lease it now gives to Russia to actually be at that naval base.

Well, the situation in Ukraine has Washington's undivided attention. But what options, if any, does the administration have. We're going to explore the tough decisions it is facing and that lie ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: We are heading to NATO right now. Take a listen to the secretary-general.

ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: NATO allies have agreed a statement, which sets out our position. We condemn Russia's military escalation in Crimea. We express our grave concern regarding the authorization of the use on the Russian federation on the territory of Ukraine. Military action, again, Ukraine by forces of the Russian federation, is a breach of international law.

It contravenes principles of NATO Russia Council and the partnership for peace. Russia must respect its obligations on the United Nations Charter and the spirit and principles of the organization for security and cooperation in Europe on which peace and instability in Europe rests.

We call on Russia to deescalate tensions. We call on Russia to honor all its international commitments, to withdraw its forces to its bases, and to refrain from any interference elsewhere in Ukraine. We urge both parties to immediately seek a peaceful resolution through dialogue, through the dispatch of international observers under auspices of United Nations Security Council or the OEC.

We emphasize the importance of an inclusive political process in Ukraine based on democratic values, respect for human rights, minorities, and the rule of law, which fulfills the democratic aspirations of the entire Ukrainian people. Ukraine is a valued partner of NATO and a founding member of the partnership for peace.

NATO allies will continue to support Ukrainian sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and the rights of Ukraine people to determine their own future without out interference. We have just met in the NATO Ukraine Commission at Ukraine's request, and we intend to engage with Russia in the Russia NATO Council.

Today NATO made clear that we stand by Ukraine as a valued partner and we stand by the norms and principles of international law. And with that I'm ready to take your questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there any country that considers the option of demanding Article 4 activation because of the threat to civility and peace in Europe, and the initial step. Thank you.

RASMUSSEN: No one has requested to activate Article 4 at this stage. Obviously, we have ongoing confrontations, actually NATO allies consult on a daily basis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does it mean --

FEYERICK: That was the secretary-general of NATO saying that, in fact, he wants Russia to honor the commitments and withdraw its forces, which are now spread out through Crimea to withdraw back to the base where it belongs and the only place it is legally authorized to be.

Our chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, joins us now from New York. Jim, what are the options for the United States and what are the interests that signify that the U.S. should be involved?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Let's start with options first. Secretary Kerry was actually very explicit, more explicit than any administration officials have been so far in public about what is on the table here. We heard in the last couple of says this idea of not going to Sochi G-8 conference, but Kerry went further. He said for one, mentioned the possibility of expelling Russia from G-8 entirely. That's a bigger step than just not showing up at their conference in Sochi. That's a big step on the table.

He also mentioned asset freezes of Russian businesses and banks. This is interesting. Senator Bob Corker was on air yesterday, Republican senator discussing some of the measures that are being considered on Capitol Hill. He mentioned this kind of thing, too, sanctioning Russian entities or individuals.

Remember, you know, Russian businesses do a lot of business through the international financial markets, you know, concentrated in New York and London. If you could cut off some of that, deny access to some of those major companies, the oil exporters for a time. That would hit Russia right in the pocketbook. That's a very powerful tool that Secretary Kerry mentions that they are considering.

He also mentioned the possibility of U.S. businesses pulling back. But you know, big picture, as U.S. officials have been telling us the last 48, 72 hours, all of these measures are in two categories, the diplomatic and the economic. No one is talking about military measures as of yet.

FEYERICK: All right, we've got so much we want to talk to you about. We're going to come back to you later on in the show. We do want to find out really why Ukraine didn't see this coming and for all intents and purposes why the U.S. didn't see it coming either. All right, we're going to a break. See you on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now, singing is just a love of mine, so for now, I'll keep that way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Singing has always provided Bania with a release as she chose the world on a tennis circuit. Admits her enthusiasm can get the better of her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes I have long days and get back to the hotel late. There are few times where I started singing and then just suddenly got caught up in it, and then we are singing for like an hour, and then I got a phone call from the front desk. Usually they are a bit perplexed. You know, they are like, somebody has been worried that there's somebody singing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: More than 100 million people are bracing for yet another major winter storm. Satellite photo says it all. Where is the United States? You can see the storm. Well, most of the country has disappeared underneath it. It already has proven deadly in Denver and Minnesota. Now folks from the Midwest and the northeast are preparing hopefully for the worst. Our Alexandra Field is in Philadelphia. Alexandra, this has been a coast-to-coast nightmare. Has it started where you are?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a never ended might mare this winter, Deb. We are seeing a little bit of rain and we know is going to turn into snow and sleet. Plenty of reasons to complain. In Philadelphia, this city has already had more snow this winter than Boston and New York and, yes, even more on the way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): Mudslides, a major avalanche, 100 car pileup. A wild mix of weather across the country right now potentially impacting millions coast-to-coast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not really looking forward to the snowstorm coming up.

FIELD: It's all too familiar for road crews, an incoming winter storm. Snow plows across the country are on standby waiting for this latest round of winter weather to hit. People aren't taking any chances with this storm. Popular items like milk and bread are in short supply at this grocery store. The mad rush of people stocking up before the storm leading to these long lines at the checkout counter.

Snow on the ground has already led to a couple of frightening scenes. This is an avalanche in Montana. The snow knocked a home completely off its foundation. Rescue crews and neighbors used chainsaws, shovels, even their bare hands to try free the people trapped inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The people are showing up with shovels and we all just jumped in behind the house and started shovelling the snow out of the way.

FIELD: Three people, including an 8-year-old boy were found and rushed to the hospital. In Colorado, check out this chaos on the interstate. More than 100 vehicles caught up in a series of crashes on a stretch of Denver highway all because of slick conditions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything was fine. We weren't going that fast. Then everything went out of control.

FIELD: One person died, more than a dozen hospitalized. The road closed for hours while crews cleaned up the mess, but some were able to have fun in the snow. Playing outdoors in Chicago, soldier field was transformed into an ice rink so Blackhawks could host the Pittsburgh Penguins. More than 60,000 fans braved 17-degree weather, blistery wind and snow to watch the home team win 5-1. It's not snow, but rain causing havoc in California.

Check out what the choppy surf did to boats in the Pacific Ocean near 1A. High winds and heavy rains led to powerful waves. One of those waves powerful enough to crash into this restaurant. Seawater soaked the inside of the building. Windows were smashed, the patio flooded. The owner says some of its employees were hit by the wave. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the fellas was taken down the walkway in front of the windows. He went through the door to the patio that had just been washed out by that same wave.

FIELD: Everyone who got hurt is expected to be OK.

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FIELD: So many people waiting for spring to finally come. This city has seen about 5 feet of snow this winter. By this time tomorrow we should be able to say about 5-1/2 feet. We will go to a break right now. We'll have much more coming up on the NEWSROOM right after that.

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