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Early setbacks suggest that a shift to even deadlier tactics may be imminent. Boston tells Yahoo News that the plan seems to have caught someone off guard. Despite a number of reported strikes on both strategic and civilian targets, the Russian military has yet to leverage its most effective weaponry, and is almost certainly prepared to unleash more violence. Yahoo News explains what to expect in the coming weeks.

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The United States should start planning for a Berlin-style operation to save the people of Kyiv from Russian encirclement and consider the deployment of NATO troops to western Ukraine, said a member of congress.

We are going to have to face some tough choices in the coming weeks. The introduction of NATO troops would be very risky and could lead to a direct confrontation. Russian troops on the border of Poland, Romania and Hungary as well as the complete elimination of the Ukrainian state are possible alternatives, according to Malinowski.

An edited transcript of the conversation between Malinowski and Skullduggery was hosted by Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman.

We have all been horrified by the savagery of the Russian attack on Ukraine. After the bombing of the nuclear reactor and the use of cluster bombs against civilians, are we doing enough to stop Putin?

I don't know if he can be stopped. I know that he can be made to lose, I know that we can ensure that he and his regime are defeated and that the United States and our allies come out stronger and more united. Two weeks ago, I had a list of things I wanted the Biden administration to do. Most of those things have been done by them. We will have to face some tough choices in the coming weeks. There are some decisions we haven't made yet that could be forced on us by Putin.

Daniel Klaidman: What are those tough choices?

In the coming days and weeks, imagine a completely surrounded Kyiv. We are getting supplies in and out right now. If it is completely blockaded, do we launch a Berlin airlift, where American military aircraft are flying in supplies to the people who are defending that city? It would be in line with Biden's policy. It wouldn't be shooting at the Russians, it would be daring them to shoot at us, and of course it would be very, very risky.

Why wouldn't they shoot at us if they were trying to cut off supplies to the city and we were flying them in?

They didn't shoot at us when we were in Berlin because that would have started the war. The rules of the road between the United States and Russia set during the Cold War are that we can fight each other with proxies but we don't fight each other directly. We need to be bold. The Berlin airlift was successful in a practical sense. It was a huge moral and psychological victory for the United States when it got food to Berlin who needed it.

Do you know if the Biden administration is considering that?

They are aware that we may face this kind of circumstance. I raised it with Wendy Sherman, the deputy secretary of state. We need to be bold. It is a new world.

Tom Malinowski
Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J,, at a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in September 2020. (Stefani Reynolds/Pool via Reuters)

Isikoff wonders if Putin is a rational actor.

If you asked me a few years ago, I would have said the man is evil, but rational. Ruthless, but not disconnected from reality. I'm having second thoughts about that because he seems to have deceived himself about what the people of Ukraine have become over the last 10 years, how united they are in believing in their own national identity and independence. He seems to have believed his propaganda, with disastrous consequences for himself and his country.

Isikoff: If he is not a rational actor, how does that change the way we do things?

He wants us to believe that he is capable of anything, but he also wants us to not take certain steps to protect Ukraine. I think it would be irresponsible for us not to take into account the possibility that he might do incredibly dangerous things. I don't think he starts a nuclear war over humanitarian aid deliveries.

You said that this is a new world. What would you tell Americans who are half a world away?

When Hitler seized part of Czechoslovakia in 1938, it was a small country half a world away, but I think we understand now that it opened a Pandora's box, that once you establish. The world's borders are artificial. We are back in the world that led to the Second World War once borders are up for grabs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin via Reuters

Isikoff: Before the invasion, you met with President Zelensky. Over the last 10 days, have you been surprised by the strength of the Ukrainian resistance or by the way the Russians have gone in?

I'm impressed. I'm inspired. I'm not surprised. When we were in Kyiv a month ago, every Ukrainian I spoke to said they would fight. It felt real. They are motivated. They are protecting their homes. They are protecting their freedom. They are protecting their families. The Russians are disorganized and demoralized. When Putin lies to his generals, they have to lie to their troops. No one was in a position to tell the Russian soldiers that they were going to a foreign country that would fight for them.

Isikoff wondered if the Russians were afraid to tell the truth to Putin because they didn't know how strong the resistance would be.

It's a lie. When you have a government that is based on lies, it will happen. In the Kremlin, the dictator doesn't get intelligence briefings from people who tell him what he doesn't want to hear. This is a dictatorship. Russia has not had a one-man dictatorship since Stalin.

How worried were you about the attack on the nuclear plant?

It seems to me that they could have easily destroyed it with a bombardment. Maybe it was an attempt to frighten us and the Ukrainians by getting close to the plant.

Isikoff said that if Putin is in fact the most powerful dictator in Russia since Stalin, it raises the question of whether he can be deposed.

Putin's behavior is driven by the knowledge that he can be deposed. He fears that Ukraine is close to Russia in history and culture and geography because the people deposed a corrupt and authoritarian leader. The Ukrainians set an example for the Russians. He wants to destroy the place. He is paranoid about it. It is very difficult.

The war against a nation might be over if Russia succeeds in taking over the country. The insurgency will just be starting. What role should the U.S. play? Is it too dangerous for us to be training on the ground in Ukraine?

There are two things here. The Russians may be able to defeat the Ukrainian army in the cities that they are attacking, but there is no way that they can govern these places. Who is going to follow the government in Kyiv? Civil servants aren't going to go into their offices. There is no police or military force in Ukraine that can enforce the orders of the government. If the Russians stay in force, they will be targets because they are hated so much by everyone there.

What should we do about it? What happens to western Ukraine is one of the big questions. The Western policymakers assumed that the worst-case scenario was that Putin would not try to go as far as Western Ukraine, but that he would take the cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv. This is the most Western-oriented part of the country. All bets are off right now. I think he wants to take the whole thing. I think it raises more serious questions about a Western military intervention if he goes for it. The United States would have to shoot at Russians from the start. If NATO allies put a force in western Ukraine, would we consider drawing a line and telling them not to go there? We are going to have a divided Ukraine like East and West Germany during the Cold War.

Journalists visit the site of a rocket attack launched by Russian invaders
Journalists visit the site of a rocket attack launched by Russian invaders that hit the Vasylkiv Professional College in northern Ukraine. (Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Isikoff: Are you suggesting such a course right now?

I think it's something we have to think about.

Isikoff wondered if the U.S. could put troops on the ground in western Ukraine to deter the Russians.

It would have to be guaranteed if we did this by the U.S. air power in that part of Ukraine, but I think we need to think through the risks and benefits of having a NATO force.

There would be no risk of a shooting war if the Russians were present in that area.

Imagine if they took Kyiv and even Odessa. They are going to get battered. They are not going to be in a position to take on a Western military after that. The only thing they have is the nuclear option. That is the scariest part. Policy makers would have to ask if they would start a war under those circumstances.

Isikoff thinks that is a big risk to take if we are talking about whether the Russians will start a nuclear war.

It is a big risk. The Russian army could be on the Polish border, on the Hungarian border, or the complete elimination of the Ukrainian state.

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