February 23, 2023 - Town hall on Russia's war in Ukraine

Our live coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine has moved here.

The US can both provide aid to Ukraine and still help its own citizens, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said when asked about some Republicans opposing assistance in the war.

CNN's Fareed Zakaria asked Sullivan about some Republicans — like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Josh Hawley — questioning why the US is providing so much aid to Ukraine.

Sullivan responded by stating he believes America is capable of being a strong leader in the world while also providing for its own citizens.

"So what I would say to those senators is 'yes, let's do these things at home, but are you saying that America is incapable of also helping to serve a powerful force for good in the world?' I don't think that the American people believe that. I think the American people think we are capable of doing both and at our best that is exactly what we have done," Sullivan said.

Nastya Shvets, a 24-year-old Ukrainian woman, described living through devastating loss following Russia's invasion of her country. The apartment building she lived in with her parents in Dnipro was destroyed on January by a Russian missile. Both of her parents were killed.

She tells CNN's Clarissa Ward that she doesn't understand why Russia would use a weapon meant to take down aircraft carriers on a residential area.

Watch the interview here:

While National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan admitted he "cannot predict the future," he did assert that "Russia has already lost this war" against Ukraine.

"Russia's aims in this war were to wipe Ukraine off the map, to take the capital and to eliminate Ukraine, to absorb it into Russia," Sullivan said. "They failed at doing that and they are in no position to be able to do that as we go forward."

During Thursday's town hall, Lera, a 14-year-old Ukrainian girl, asked if she could rely on Americans to feel safe in her country.

USAID Administrator Samantha Power reassured her the United States is committed to making Ukrainians feel as safe as possible despite living in a time of war.

Power listed ways in how there are precautions taken like bomb shelters and metal detectors to help everyday Ukrainians feel safe.

"We have your backs, we stand with you, not just here on the battle front but in trying to help you feel as much safety as you can when one man and his wicked vision has tried to take that away," Power said.
"We all long for the day where you can walk freely with your classmates, not worry about having to scamper to a bomb shelter, not have to worry about your loved ones or yourselves. When your neighbors and your friends and your family members are not off in some distant country where they became refugees, but they're back home reunited with you and as the president has said, we are with you till the end. We will stand with you," she said.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the US has been keeping a close eye on China and Russia's relationship "since early last February" when Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to China for the Olympics.

He said the idea the two countries becoming "unbreakable allies" is disproven because China "abstained on a UN general assembly resolution."

"They didn't vote with Russia," Sullivan said. "They have been very careful in how they posture themselves publicly and their comments. They have tried to pitch themselves as somehow not standing fully in Russia's camp when it comes to the war in Ukraine."

For context: US officials have said China could be preparing to provide lethal military aid to Russia. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he had not yet seen China do so, but that China "hasn't taken that off the table for sure."

Despite divisions within the country, Americans are united behind Ukrainians, USAID Administrator Samantha Powers said when asked by a Ukrainian mother about the commonality between the citizens of both countries.

"The reflection, I think, of how much commonality Americans do feel with Ukrainians is the flow of support that has been sustained over the course of this last year. It is the bipartisanship in a town that isn't famous for it anymore, but Ukraine has been not only a galvanizing issue, but a uniting issue for our own country, which has been very divided in recent years," she said during CNN's town hall.

Ukrainian mother Lesya Karnauh also had a message for Americans – that she does not want them to believe misinformation about the Ukrainian people.

"I would like to know if Americans see how similar they are to Ukrainians and do Americans understand that we share the same values and we are just like you, we love our families, we love our children. We want to progress and we want to see our children happy and safe. I would like you to know we do not have hate in our hearts and we do not want to take peace from anyone in this world, even though the war has come to us. Please don't believe misinformation about us," Karnauh said.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that F-16 fighter jets – which have been requested by Ukraine – "are not the key capability" for the country's current needs, which is a counteroffensive against Russian forces.

"F-16s are not a question for the short-term fight. F-16s are a question for the longterm defense of Ukraine and that's a conversation that President Biden and President Zelensky had," Sullivan said.

Some background: The most glaring difference between Biden and Zelensky lies in the kind of weapons the US president is willing to provide. The government in Kyiv is ratcheting up its campaign for the West to send F-16 jets and is now getting increasing buy-in from some influential bipartisan members of Congress.

Biden has so far declined to agree to the request, which gets to the heart of a dilemma that defines his war strategy: How far to go to help Kyiv win while avoiding a direct clash between the West and Russia.

Samantha Power, US Agency for International Development administrator, assured that US assistance is properly being used to support Ukraine in the war.

"Up until this point, we don't have any evidence that US assistance is being misused or misspent but, again, the key is not resting on anybody's good will or virtue," she said. "It's checks and balances, the rule of law, the integrity of officials."

For context: Power's comments come as the Republican Party finds itself bitterly divided on Capitol Hill over whether the US should continue aiding Ukraine.

The topic of Ukraine funding will be front and center when both spending fights and presidential politics heat up later this year. Republicans are seeking to rein in spending across the federal government now that they control the House and will have leverage in negotiations to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, while conservatives on the campaign trail are looking to contrast their priorities against Biden’s in the prelude to the 2024 election cycle.

CNN's Lauren Fox and Melanie Zanona contributed reporting.