The Lead with Jake Tapper

Just moments ago President Biden insisted that the U.S. is not pushing for regime change in Russia even though he does not that Vladimir Putin should remain in charge. How much weight will his words carry? Rep. Michael McCaul of the Foreign Affairs Committee joins to discuss. Plus, a federal judge says former President Trump and one of his lawyers likely committed a crime by trying stop the electi...

CNN visits a children’s hospital in Ukraine and meets an 11-year-old girl shot in the face by Russian soldiers while trying to escape Putin’s war. Plus, an exclusive interview with the woman who was in charge of protecting America from cyberattacks. Why the threat from Russia is unprecedented.  To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad ch...

President Biden says NATO has never been more united and that Putin was betting on the exact opposite. This as he warns there will be a response if Russia uses chemical weapons. Plus, with all eyes on Russia and Ukraine, North Korea's Kim Jong-un just tested a missile that could reach the United States. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about y...

A theater sheltering innocent civilians and a children’s hospital are some of the targets of Russian strikes turning Ukrainian neighborhoods into dust. Also, President Biden is about to land in Brussels for what could be some of the most important meetings of his presidency.  Plus, a handful of senators are going all in to attack Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, accusing her of being soft on crime as...

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Reports of bombs dropping every ten minutes in one strategic Ukrainian city with an arts school bombed and hundreds possibly trapped. Now, the U.S. warns Russian forces could get even more desperate. Also, there could be history on the hill as the confirmation hearing begins for the first African American woman nominated to the Supreme Court. Plus, a Boeing 737 crashes into the mountains in China...

Smoke fills the sky from Russian attacks in Lviv, 43 miles from the western border of Ukraine. These Russian strikes close to Poland continue to intensify. Then, President Biden walks a diplomatic tight rope as he talks to the president of China to persuade him not to send military and financial aid to Russia. Plus, for one Ukrainian fighting to save his country, it isn’t dying that scares him, it...

Giant letters painted outside of the theater said in Russian, “children.” They said it twice. But, that did not stop the Russian military from targeting the building which sheltered more than a thousand people. Now, survivors are emerging from the rubble. Plus, it’s spreading in Europe and Asia with the Omicron subvariant here in the United States. Did the government lift all the pandemic restrict...

The U.S. is sending more military equipment and millions of dollars in aid after President Zelensky made an emotional appeal to congress. But, it’s still a "no" on a no-fly zone. Also, buying a house or getting a car loan is about to get more expensive as the federal reserve does something it has not done in four years. Plus, a college campus is in shock after nine people are killed in a crash on...

Kyiv is now in a mandatory curfew as Russia’s unrelenting siege targets more innocent civilians and a city official in Mariupol says the Russian military is taking hostages inside a hospital. Plus, we now know what happened to that brave woman who snuck onto Russian state television to protest the war. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about yo...

Russian shelling continues to pummel Ukrainian citizens, cities, and towns. Two U.S. officials tell CNN that Russia asked China for military and economic help in their invasion. This as the U.S. national security adviser meets with a top Chinese diplomat. Former Deputy Secretary General of NATO Rose Gottemoeller joins to discuss Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling. Plus, she opened her home to a Ukrain...

Another Ukrainian city has fallen to Russian troops as U.S officials say Russians are making advances. This as fears grow around the world that Putin may be planning to use chemical weapons. Then, we talk to one mother about how the pain at the pump is much worse for some families. Plus, former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr joins to sound the alarm about his former boss’s temperament. To learn...

Mass graves are emerging in Ukraine as Putin continues his bloody assault. New and intense video shows what officials claim are Russian tanks being taken out by the Ukrainian military. Yet, in another Ukrainian city, so many people are being slaughtered by the Russians they are using trenches to bury them. Also, 1982 was the last time prices in the U.S. jumped this much. The cost of basic necessit...

Ukraine says Russia bombed a children’s hospital leaving a catastrophic scene in the wreck of a horrific air strike. Rep. David Cicilline of the House Foreign Affairs Committee answers if he thinks the U.S. should participate in a no-fly zone. Also, with fuel prices in the U.S. soaring above $4 a gallon, is any relief in sight? Colorado Governor Jared Polis joins to analyze the cost of gas as Bide...

After days of targeting towns, shelling homes, and slaughtering civilians, the Russian government is now proposing a new cease-fire. This as Putin claimed it would take only days to complete his “operation in Ukraine.” But, almost two weeks in, the 40-mile long Russian convoy hasn’t really moved. Plus, between 2,000 and 4,000 Russian soldiers have been killed. So, where does the invasion stand? To...

The horror of war is on full display for the whole world, with innocent Ukrainians running for their lives amid more evidence Russia is indiscriminately targeting civilians, many of whom are trapped. Plus, Putin's invasion is having a ripple effect on American wallets, with gas prices just a few cents away from hitting an all-time high. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit...

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations today said the world narrowly avoided a nuclear catastrophe. Video shows Russian forces fired upon Europe’s largest nuclear power plant as they moved to capture it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian tanks also fired on the plant, potentially putting millions of live in danger. Foreign Affairs Committee member Rep. Adam Kinzinger join...

The United States is trying to ramp up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin by slapping a new set of sanctions on a new group of Russian elites. The goal is to maximize the impact on Putin and Russia while minimizing the harm to the U.S. and our allies around the world. President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili joins to layout Putin's new plans and answer if Georgia could be the next c...

The Pentagon said the Russian push toward Kyiv and the Russian military’s massive 40-mile long military convoy are currently stalled due to a combination of logistical issues and unexpected resistance from the Ukrainian people. But, the Pentagon press secretary John Kirby also said the U.S. does believe that Russian forces are currently regrouping. Senator Bob Menendez joins to answer if he thinks...

A series of explosions were just heard around the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. This latest attack comes as Volodymyr Zelensky sends a message to the world and the United States in an interview with CNN from a bunker in Kyiv. The Ukrainian president says the war is about more than bombing and missiles. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about...

Explosions rocked Kyiv, Ukraine this afternoon. Air raid sirens are becoming a familiar sound in Kyiv just as the Biden administration warns the Russian military could take a “more aggressive approach” to capturing that capital city. Mark Esper, former Defense Secretary under President Trump, joins to answer if he thinks Kyiv will fall to the Russian military.  To learn more about how CNN protects...

Despite courageous efforts by Ukrainians to defend their country, CNN sources familiar with the latest US intelligence say Kyiv could fall under Russian control within the next few days. That grim assessment comes as the White House plans to join its allies in imposing sanctions on Vladimir Putin. CNN correspondents in Ukraine's capital city report from the scene, with one describing the situation...

Jake Tapper and a team of CNN journalists spread out across Ukraine provide in-depth coverage of the unprovoked and violent Russian invasion. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the United States warns Ukraine that a full-scale Russian invasion is "imminent," CNN obtains new videos that show a further build-up of Russian troops and tanks, and the Pentagon says 80% of Russian forces are at a forward position ready to go, adding that Vladimir Putin has two dozen warships and special forces prepared to attack. And Russian state media reports that, according to a spokesman...

President Biden punishes Vladimir Putin with economic sanctions and Biden is warning there is worse to come if Putin takes even more of Ukraine. Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper joins to answer if Biden’s sanctions will stop Putin from annexing the entire Donbas.  Plus, gas prices are already soaring. Now, the Russia and Ukraine crisis could send even more prices surging.  To...