1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,040 Speaker 1: Job mission with Jones and Amanda. 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 2: Scary time. So much has happened over the last seventy 3 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:08,600 Speaker 2: two hours. A battle between Russia and Ukraine is intensifying 4 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,799 Speaker 2: by the minute. As it stands, hundreds, if not thousands, 5 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 2: are dead. Channel seven senior reporter Chris Reason is on 6 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:17,480 Speaker 2: the ground in Ukraine. Is with us now for an update. 7 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:21,239 Speaker 3: Hello, Chris, Hey, Amanda, how are you guys? Hey, Jasy 8 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:21,920 Speaker 3: well good? 9 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: Thanks Chris. What about you over there in Ukraine? 10 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, we just hear. Are you okay? Are you safe? 11 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 3: Yeah? God, yeah, absolutely, we're fine. We're fine. I keep 12 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 3: thinking though about the extraordinary number of people here who've 13 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 3: had their lives turned completely upside down after an invasion. 14 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 3: Course of one hundred and ninety thousand Russian soldiers marched 15 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 3: across the borders last Thursday and basically just whacked Ukraine. 16 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 3: And it hasn't stopped whacking Ukraine and completely ruining lives. 17 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 3: I've sat on the borders last Thursday watching thousands of 18 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 3: people flee in the highway. Six lanes it should be 19 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:07,919 Speaker 3: three west and three east, All six lanes were going west, 20 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 3: and there were people in those cars crying. There were 21 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,679 Speaker 3: women in there with their children, who'd left their husband's 22 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 3: partners behind to fight back on the east in the 23 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 3: capital Kiev, and it was just heartbreaking scenes. And then 24 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:24,200 Speaker 3: as I tracked west and finally got here to the capitol, 25 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 3: and you talk to people about what's happened, about what 26 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,680 Speaker 3: is going on, and they're in absolute disbelief. They can't 27 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 3: and they were in denial for weeks that this would 28 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 3: actually happen. It did happen catastrophically on Thursday. It is 29 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 3: happening now and it will continue to happen. I can't 30 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 3: see this wrapping up anytime soon. This is going to 31 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 3: be a quagmire that goes for years. It's a catastrophe 32 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 3: here in u Crack. 33 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: What would have happened if they just stay, say all 34 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: those people just stayed in their houses and the Russian 35 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: soldiers came in. Are they throwing people out of their houses? 36 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: Are they blowing up their houses? Or are they shooting people? 37 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 3: Yeah? Absolutely, and with absolute impunity. It's a random terrorizing 38 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 3: tactics the Russians seem to be using. They're bombing kindergartens 39 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 3: and orphanages. And yesterday we saw the first high rise 40 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:15,520 Speaker 3: residential tower get targeted by a missile that we went 41 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 3: and visited ourselves. It took out the top five floors 42 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 3: seventeen to twenty one, twenty two and it's just gaping 43 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 3: bite out of the side of the building. Now, someone 44 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 3: was in that flat, you know, someone was sitting there 45 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 3: watching TV, watching soccer or something on a SAT. Day 46 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,239 Speaker 3: afternoon and a missile comes in through the window. Two 47 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 3: people dead, four injured. The entire block now probably have 48 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 3: to be demolished. So there's hundreds of lives just stopped 49 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,080 Speaker 3: right there. Why would they target Why would they target 50 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 3: a civilian building to terrorize? There's no other Those rockets 51 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 3: and those missiles are so accurate these days, they don't 52 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 3: make mistakes like that. So you sort of look at 53 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,799 Speaker 3: situations like that and you go why, you know why. 54 00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 2: And it seems, Chris, we're hearing this morning that Putin's 55 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 2: threatening the use of new to your weapons. He's put 56 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 2: his weapons on high alert. What does this do? 57 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 3: Well? It certainly raises the tensions, It escalates everything very dramatically, Amanda. 58 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:14,639 Speaker 3: I mean, it absolutely stunned the international community when he 59 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 3: used those words, and he did it publicly. He did 60 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 3: on a television address with his General sitting beside him, 61 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 3: and I've got to say a couple of them look 62 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 3: a bit stunned as well as you said it putting 63 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 3: his nuclear de center force on combat ready status. Now, 64 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 3: in the twenty plus years Putin's been in power, he's 65 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 3: never resorted to doing something like that, And you know, 66 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 3: is he going to press the red, big red button. 67 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 3: I don't think he is now observed. I think he is. 68 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 3: But this raises tensions to an unprecedented level. It has 69 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 3: implications too. Now, if everyone, every nuclear based in Russia 70 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 3: and every nuclear submarine suddenly on combat ready, then America's 71 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 3: got to go and suddenly do the same thing. You 72 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 3: have that stabilization between the two forces, and then you've 73 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 3: got the whole frightening prospect of someone making a mistake 74 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 3: and everything going off. You know, it is an extra 75 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 3: an insane move, a damage moved. The world is criticizing 76 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 3: it deeply. He says he's doing it because he feels 77 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 3: threatened by the NATO comments over the last week and 78 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 3: because of the impact of these sanctions that are really 79 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 3: going to start biting from Monday open business tomorrow in Russia, 80 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 3: and they're saying it's going to smash the Russian economy. 81 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 3: These are the words, These are the actions of a 82 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 3: man whose back is up against the wall right now. 83 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,280 Speaker 3: He's watching his war in Ukraine not going to plan. 84 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,160 Speaker 3: He hasn't won any city yet. It's a zero sum 85 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:33,600 Speaker 3: game everywhere he's not yet taken care of. That's been 86 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 3: an absolute stalemate that city surround At the moment, it 87 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 3: probably will form, but it hasn't gone the way he 88 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 3: wanted to speed he wanted to. He's frustrated and look 89 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 3: what he's turned to. This is day four, guys, and 90 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 3: he's talking about nuclear weapons. 91 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: And it's all about pride for him, because he wants 92 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: to go back to the old days of the USSR. 93 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 1: And he wasn't happy with how Gorbachev and Yeltson handled 94 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,839 Speaker 1: handed over Ukraine and broke up the USSR. So this 95 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: is a pride thing that looking at pretty much for him. 96 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,599 Speaker 3: Yeah, and he's and it's been to me interesting little 97 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 3: back channel stories going on. The Americans briefing the US 98 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:13,599 Speaker 3: press about the status of his mind right now, a 99 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:17,480 Speaker 3: little bit unstable. You know, something's happened to him recently. 100 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 3: They're not giving the full details, and that CIA's got 101 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 3: some sort of intelligence but we're looking at a guy 102 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:24,359 Speaker 3: who wants to go back in time create some of 103 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 3: that Soviet empire, put more of a distance between him 104 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,359 Speaker 3: and the West. He's watched since ninety ninety one, the 105 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 3: fulls Soviet Empire, so many countries and that old warsaw 106 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:38,200 Speaker 3: pack block go European become European Union members, become NATO members, 107 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:42,520 Speaker 3: and that he's feeling his empires just disappearing. He's feeling 108 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,760 Speaker 3: the West is surrounding him. He didn't want Ukraine to 109 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 3: go the second biggest country in Europe, massive forty four 110 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 3: million people, and he's basically looking at it going I 111 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 3: want to hold onto this one. I don't want it 112 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 3: to go the way of the West. And so this 113 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 3: is what he's done. But he could have played a 114 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 3: really bad card here. This could be the end of 115 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 3: It'll be fascinating to watch. 116 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 2: Well, there's still potential piece talks tonight, aren't they between 117 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,599 Speaker 2: Russia and Ukraine? Do you think? And Belarus when anything 118 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:09,160 Speaker 2: happened there. 119 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:15,280 Speaker 3: Locals I'm speaking to here are completely pessimistic about that. No, 120 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:17,479 Speaker 3: the talks have never got anywhere before and they don't 121 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:21,159 Speaker 3: expect these ones will. But it is if they're talking. 122 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 3: I mean, that's got to be welcomed. And they've did 123 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 3: you know, Selenski, the President of the Ukraine, has said yes, 124 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 3: let's make it happen. There was a lot of conversations 125 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 3: about where to make it happen, that you want to happen. 126 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:32,480 Speaker 3: I couldn't go to Russian to make it happen. The 127 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:34,359 Speaker 3: Russians wouldn't come to Ukraine to make it happen. So 128 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 3: they need a third party place. They don't trust Belarus 129 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:40,159 Speaker 3: anymore because it's been helping Russia. So they've chosen guys 130 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 3: that the border. They're going to do this meeting on 131 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 3: the no man's land of the border between Belarus and 132 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 3: Ukraine and have these talks. And I guess right now, 133 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 3: especially when nuclear weapons are being discussed, with hope more 134 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 3: than ever that they get to some sort of resolution. 135 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,040 Speaker 1: Can we just have a break, man, come on and 136 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,559 Speaker 1: we're going through a pandemic. Can't we just like, can't 137 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: we come on? Come on? 138 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 3: Well? 139 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: Chris, thank you for reporting for us. Keep your head down, mate, 140 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 1: stay safe, Thank you very much. 141 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 3: Always well. Pleasure to talk guys, any chance to see it. 142 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: Thank you. Chris. Channel seven Senior reporter, Chris reason crossing 143 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: from Ukraine 144 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 2: Jonesy and Amanda's gamination