The shakeup at the top of Ukraine’s military ranks. President Zelensky dismissing the commander of joint force operations Mr. Zelensky did not explain why or why now, as this leadership shuffle collides with a new Russian offensive overnight. A staggered drone assault. 14 Iranian made unmanned attack aircraft buzzing over Kiev. Ukrainian air defenses say they shot down 11 of those drones in Ukraine, south and east Moscow trying to fracture the line. Russia launching 81 artillery strikes over the last 24 hours. Russia hopes the bombing frenzy chokes off Ukrainian forces in and around block mount and breaks a battlefield stalemate. Let’s begin in eastern Ukraine with CNN’s Alex Marquardt with the latest from the battlefield. Alex, Well, John, absolutely right. A pivotal moment in this fight and as we focus on the fighting in the east. We have also been reminded that Russia continues to try to bomb cities all across Ukraine with drones. Overnight, at least two people killed in the city of criminal Nowitzki, that is in southwestern Ukraine. Very far from the front line. They were both first responders who were responding to an earlier strike by a drone, a so-called double tap attack. Then there were some 11 drones that were sent over Kiev. Nine of those shot down. They were sent in at least two waves. And the air raid sirens in Kiev ringing out for some five and a half hours. A reminder that even as life continues relatively normally in many cities all across the country, there is the constant possibility that those cities may be attacked by drone. But the fiercest fighting, John, is taking place in the eastern part of the country, particularly around the eastern city of back. It does appear that Russian forces, primarily from the Volga mercenary group, are making some progress. They claim that they have taken several villages north of the city as they try to encircle it. Ukrainian forces say that they are standing their ground, that they are repelling attacks. We have not heard any talk from the highest levels of the Ukrainian government about surrendering this city. But President Zelinsky softening his tone on that, saying that he will not defend it at all costs. We’re watching that very carefully. At the same time as this general whose area of command was much of the east, Major General Edward Muscala was dismissed by a presidential decree with little explanation from presidents once his office. John. Alex Marquardt live for us on the ground in Ukraine. Alex, thanks for that update. Let’s get some important perspective now from the former director and deputy director of National Intelligence, Beth Center. Beth, to the point of this shakeup, no explanation. You relieved from duty, a top official in the military command. There has been a purge an anti-corruption purge of late. But no explanation here. Does it come as a surprise? What does it tell you at a time when, you know Russia is picking up the pace of its attacks? Well, there hasn’t been much turnover actually in the Ukrainian command structure. And so, you know, I think these things happen. It could be one of two things either. It’s part of the corruption probe or its dissatisfaction in some way or inability to carry out the orders or the offensive that’s planned. So we will find out soon enough about that. But I think that, you know, making a hard decision in wartime, it’s actually may be a good sign. And so you have over the weekend something quite remarkable. The CIA director publicly talking about a warning to China, talking about what his agency, what the intelligence community has learned about China. Connect the dots for me. You just heard in the lead up. Iranian made drones over Kiev. And now Bill Burns, the CIA director, saying we have intelligence and China don’t do it. We’re confident that the Chinese leadership is considering the provision of lethal equipment. We also don’t see that a final decision has been made yet. It takes a process to even say that some people would say, well, he didn’t say much. But for the CIA director to say that publicly takes a process. Why this is part of a strategy. It’s like an actual policy and strategy by this White House to use intelligence to declassify it, to release it publicly in order to affect the decisions of adversaries. So in this case, it’s designed to deter China. It’s also designed to make sure that the Europeans are onside about the threat that China poses and the threat that China and Russia pose together. So I think it’s going to be very effective when Biden said this weekend. Look, I don’t really think that they’re going to follow through with this. I agree with that, because now that it’s out there and it’s called, it makes it really hard for China to do this because they need the U.S. and Europe economically. We have talked from the beginning of the Ukraine conflict not only about how this Putin process, this and NATO’s resolve in the US was all, but how does President Xi process this? Nick Burns, the ambassador to China, said at an event earlier today that he thinks she is surprised by the strength of the world’s democracies. Is that right? Yeah, I think so. I think so. And I think that this is the reason we’ve seen a shift in China’s approach toward the rest of the world. Instead of the wolf warriors, these diplomats that go to European capitals or in European capitals and are really, really super tough. Instead, we’re seeing a charm offensive trying to put things back together because they need that trade as trying to try to recover from the COVID crisis. So the United States is publicly warning China there will be consequences. Don’t do it. Do not send lethal weapons to Vladimir Putin. One of the Chinese responses, no one, they say we weren’t planning that, which, you know, just take that with a grain of salt, I guess. But number two, they say, well, you’re hypocrites. You’re sending weapons into the battlefield. One of the big questions right now is, will will the West? Will the United States or others send fighter jets? President Biden was asked about this on Friday, and he says not now. You don’t think he needs F-16s now? No, he doesn’t need F-16s now. There is no basis upon which there is a rationale, according to our military now, to provide F-16s. But you’re not ruling it out? I am really not for now. Does that hold? We have seen month by month in this now in its second year beginning the second year of the conflict, a change in U.S. posture and NATO’s posture, other Western allies posture about the the muscular nature of the weapons they will give. Why no F-16s So when Jake Sullivan and others say that they don’t need the F-16s now, that what they really need is more artillery and more of what we’ve been giving them. I agree with that. But I also agree with generals who say the phrase is, you have to be prepared not just to fight the war of today, but the war of tomorrow. And this is where the critics, I think are also right, is you’ve got to put everything in place to get those F-16s there when you’re ready to do so. And so we talked a minute ago about China and its local politics, the internal politics. What about Russian internal politics? Vladimir Putin gives this interview over the weekend. Listen to this. No one it’s dated, if you will. It’s a fantasy of how the world is today. But what does he mean by this We cannot see. They have one goal to break up the former Soviet Union, in its main part, the Russian Federation. And then perhaps they will accept us in the so-called family of civilized peoples, but only separately, each part separately. Moreover, in today’s conditions, when all the leading natal countries have declared their main goal, to inflict a strategic defeat on us so that our people suffer, how can we, under these conditions, not take into account their nuclear potentials Two things jumped out at me. You’re way smarter than me when it comes to how he thinks, so help me. Number one, the nuclear potential nuclear potentials. He waves that flag when he feels it’s in his interest that, well, they have nuclear weapons and they don’t like us. But they have one goal to break up. The former Soviet Union and its main part of the Soviet Union’s been broken up for a long time, at least to use the word former what is he what is he trying to communicate to the people at home there? He’s trying to communicate what the Russians call strategic depth, which means that he’s got this this alliance of former Soviet states, including like Central Asia, that he has under his thumb. And he needs to keep those. And right now, this week, Secretary Blinken is headed to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, those core parts of this former Soviet Union that we’re trying to break away. So, yeah, it’s kind of true, but that doesn’t mean that that’s not the way the world should.
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