Hannity: We are witnessing the acts of an 'evil, murdering, maniacal' dictator
'How many more children do you need to see dead?' Hannity host asks, urging Russian officials to stand up to President Vladimir Putin.
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," March 7, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: All right. And, Tucker, thank you.
Welcome to HANNITY.
And again, we begin with a FOX News alert tonight. New evidence that Vladimir Putin is targeting innocent civilians, men, women and children, as Russia's invasion has now stopped. It's a grinding halt.
Now, horrific images show men, women, children being murdered right there in broad daylight in the streets. But the Biden administration still refuses to do the one sanction that would actually have the most impact and that's block the importation of Russian oil.
Now, this is the average price for a gallon of gasoline is now officially higher than ever. But instead of increasing America's production of natural energy of which we have an abundance of, Biden is now begging -- and we'll get into detail -- Iran and Venezuela and Saudi Arabia and OPEC, which has already rejected him numerous times to fill that void, all while telling you the American people just simply pick up an electric car at the dealership.
And per usual, Joe Biden is mismanaging this entire crisis in the worst way possible. Frankly, it's humiliating. It's embarrassing on the world stage.
And tonight, the people of Ukraine, they're putting up a serious fight humiliating Vladimir Putin along the way. But the cost, the human toll of this war has been and continues to be horrific.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
HANNITY: Here with the very latest of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and all the inside out of Pentagon is our very own Jennifer Griffin.
Jennifer you said -- I said in the very beginning, this was likely going to be very ugly, it's getting seemingly uglier by the day.
JENNIFER GRIFFIN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It really is, Sean. Russian forces continue to be bogged down and they are relying on longer-range artillery which is having a devastating impact on Ukraine's civilians. Putin has now committed nearly 100 percent of his pre-stage combat power, firing 625 ballistic and cruise missiles since the start of the invasion, that's an additional 25 missiles in the past 24 hours, mostly short and medium range from mobile positions inside Ukraine, according to the Pentagon.
U.S. officials say there is no consideration being given to setting up a no-fly zone which would have to cover 230,000 square miles and would put the U.S. at war with Russia. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered an additional 500 U.S. troops to Europe. KC-135 refueling tankers and air defense systems to Poland and Romania. There are now 100,000 U.S. personnel deployed to Europe, about 19,000 more than when Putin began preparing to invade Ukraine.
The Biden administration is looking at ways to backfill and provide F-16s to Poland so that the Poles can fulfill a request from President Zelenskyy for dozens of MiG-29 fighter jets which Ukrainian pilots know how to fly. But a senior U.S. defense official says no decision has been made adding that President Zelenskyy still has most of his fixed-wing aircraft intact.
Outside the Russian embassy in Washington, D.C., protesters have renamed a section of Wisconsin Avenue President Zelenskyy Way. It's not clear however, Sean, that there are any Russian diplomats inside left to see it - - Sean.
HANNITY: All right. Jennifer, thank you from the Pentagon tonight.
According to the U.N., 1.7 million Ukrainians are now refugees, millions more are desperately attempting to leave the country, and for good reason. Viewer warning here, what you're about to see is extremely graphic and it is extremely disturbing and these are the sights and the sounds of Vladimir Putin's war and the targeting of men women and children.
Because at the direction of this thug dictator, Russia has begun now shelling residential neighborhoods, homes, apartment buildings, leveling entire towns. The human toll is almost impossible to count at this time, and it's very hard to watch. At times, Russia will agree to a ceasefire in order to allow civilians', quote, safe passage out of the war zone and then he's targeting those very same civilians moments later with indiscriminate bombing attacks.
Now, this is an image of an entire family including two children apparently murdered in one such attack. This is a picture from the first lady of Ukraine showing a father desperately rushing his 18-month-old baby to a hospital after a shelling barrage. That little boy is now reportedly dead.
And look at your screen, we are witnessing a mass casualty situation before our very eyes and for what? To fulfill the selfish territorial dreams of an evil, murdering, maniacal, megalomaniac dictator? Does anyone around Putin and his inner circle, generals, advisors, do you actually believe this is a good thing or you're just following orders, and making that your lame excuse?
As I've said, before there's one way to stop this war. And if anyone around Putin has a backbone, a soul, a conscience, guess what, they need to do -- get him out of power by any means necessary. And I say that unapologetically for you liberal critics out there.
Now, how many more children do you need to see dead before you get to that position?
Meanwhile, Putin has reportedly even sent death squads into Ukraine to assassinate President Zelenskyy and his family. So, as far as I'm concerned, what goes around will come around and Vladimir Putin should watch his back.
And by the way, why are we still importing Russian oil? America needs to pause here because Vladimir Putin is literally selling energy to our country, every NATO ally country, especially Germany, and Western European countries, and he's making billions of dollars every single day.
And in this country, we were energy independent. Joe Biden inherited energy independence. We were net exporter of energy when he became president. In fact, he gave that up.
Also, we have a 100-year supply of oil and gas at a minimum right here in the U.S. Some people say up to 200 years. But instead of tapping these, you know, real natural resources abundance that we have, the Biden administration is now begging other countries that don't like us to produce more oil to ease the pain at the pump when we could be going into business with Texas and Oklahoma and Alaska.
And over the weekend, U.S. officials, they actually traveled to Venezuela to work out a deal with vile dictator Nicolas Maduro there.
And meanwhile as we speak, diplomats are attempting to open up America to more Iranian oil shipments. That's right, the mullahs of the Iran that say, death to Israel, death to America, as part of this madness, insane, brokered nuclear deal that they're trying to do, and by the way, a deal brokered by Russia.
You can't make this up in a spy novel. This is by definition insanity. It is weakness on a level that I've never seen in this country before, and it is extraordinarily dangerous that we want to partner with the countries that hate us the most when we have the natural resources right here in this country to not only take care of our needs but the needs of our allies in Europe.
And tonight, there's also speculation that Biden may soon make a presidential trip to Saudi Arabia to beg them to increase their oil production. In what world does any of this make any sense? We have enough oil and gas to supply the U.S. and our allies for a hundred years.
So, to all you climate cult alarmists in the Democratic Party, I have a question that no one's been able to answer. Tell me what the difference is if you get a -- how does it impact Mother Earth differently if you drill for oil in the United States or Venezuela or Iran or OPEC countries or Russia or here? If anything, it is more environmentally responsible actually to drill right here at home.
But get this, the Biden -- as Biden begs the world to produce more gas and oil and energy, prices are shooting through the roof. And there's another solution, according to a small town mayor turned Biden's transportation secretary.
And according to good old Mayor Pete with his vast array of experience, Americans still struggling to fill up their gas tanks just need to go to a dealership and shell out sixty thousand dollars for an electric vehicle. I'm sure they can afford that too. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Clean transportation can bring significant cost savings for the American people as well. Last month, we announced a $5 billion investment to build out a nationwide electric vehicle charging network so the people from rural to suburban to urban communities can all benefit from the gas savings of driving an EV.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: This is the same guy nonchalantly said after the Keystone XL pipeline workers were fired, oh, we want you to just go get another high- paying union job. Well, they actually had skill specific issues that that are not applicable elsewhere, oh find another job. Oh, okay, another high- paying job. Great advice, Mayor Pete.
Now, today, Vice President Harris, genius that she is, said it's time to transition to green energy. Is that why they refuse to drill here, drill now, so Americans can save money. Can you be that -- can you be any more out of touch than that?
Elon Musk, by the way, brilliant, genius, he is in his own right, somebody I think is very interesting and an incredible entrepreneur, founder, CEO of the electric vehicle giant known as Tesla, he's calling for more domestic energy production and by the way against his own interest because he says extraordinary times need extraordinary measures.
Look at this Rasmussen poll. Seventy percent of Americans agree but the Biden administration is just too afraid of the radical socialist climate alarmist cult that is the new Green Deal socialist party. And instead of standing up to these radicals, the administration would rather you the American people pay more for everything rather.
He could stand up to his own party and say, these are extraordinary times, we need to once again be energy independent. He has that option. He refuses to even talk about that option.
Instead, we have a 40-year high of inflation, all the food you buy, all the gas you put in your car, all the money you spend to heat and cool your home, everything you buy in every store costs more because Joe cares more about his new Green Deal Socialist Party than he does about the American people. It also rather import oil from Russia, Venezuela Iran, and OPEC and beg and plead and get on your knees rather than being energy independent here, being our best national security interests as well.
Just so the U.S. can transition away, their words, from domestic fossil fuel production. Now, tonight, we should be negotiating with the governor of Texas, the governor of Oklahoma, the governor of Alaska. As a matter of fact, we don't need to negotiate. All we need to do is say go, produce as much energy as you possibly can and we shouldn't be talking to dictators on other continents.
We should restart the Keystone XL pipeline. We should open up those auctions once again. Exploration on ANWR once again. We should end the ban on exploration in federal lands and simply do whatever it takes to dramatically ramp up our production of oil, natural gas and liquefied natural gas.
But does Biden do any of that? No.
So, when Joe says he's willing to do anything and everything to bring down the prices of you know a gallon of gasoline, just know he's lying straight to your face.
Now, take a look at this exchange between our own Peter Doocy and Jen Psaki from earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Would President Biden ever undo his executive order that stopped the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline?
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Are you suggesting that would solve the gas prices issue?
DOOCY: Well, do you think that that would maybe affect prices faster than getting the whole country off of fossil fuels?
PSAKI: I actually don't think it would. Keystone was not an oil field. It's a pipeline. Also the oil is continuing to flow in just through other means. So it actually would have nothing to do with the current supply imbalance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Here with reaction, White House correspondent Peter Doocy.
What she didn't mention there is that the administration not only shut down Keystone but auctions for drilling exploration in states, shut down Alaska drilling, other domestic drilling, and put all sorts of regulations and a hold on any new production. So she wasn't being honest with you, Peter.
DOOCY: Well, that's the complaint. But the White House keeps telling us there are 9,000 unused oil leases on public lands go ask oil and gas producers. Why they are not tapping into them?
And when our colleagues have reached out to these oil and gas executives, that's exactly what they say. The reason that they're not going into the ground right now is because the regulations are too burdensome and those are regulations that Joe Biden put into place during his first week in office.
But this White House is very sensitive to the fact that prices are going up and they do say that they are going to try to protect consumers from higher gas prices. But there's a new study out tonight from Yardini Research that says it's going to cost the average family this year more in gas and one thousand dollars more in groceries because of inflated prices.
And something that I reminded or asked the press secretary about today gas prices were steadily rising even before Russia invaded Ukraine, and that is a reality that the economy with all this aside was struggling and prices were rising. And what lies ahead and how high it might go, how high gas prices might go, they won't say.
HANNITY: Can we get an explanation -- are they acknowledging what's been reported in many look places. Pete Buttigieg acknowledging that it's part of the Iranian nuclear deal that would unlock tens of billions of dollars that are held under sanctions, that would allow the Iranians to go forward with the nuclear program that doesn't include any place, anytime inspections, but would include the U.S. importing oil from Iran?
What about this delegation with Venezuela, have they given you any answers on those questions? Why would we beg OPEC because they've rejected us now numerous times? Why would we beg Iran? Why would we beg Venezuela? Have they given you an answer on that?
DOOCY: Some limited answers. The big picture here is that they just see a fossil fuel-free country. It's something that Biden promised to do. It's something really important to progressives in the Democratic Party and that's what they're going to try to do.
They did confirm to us today that Biden officials are talking to counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Iran. And while we don't know the details about the Iran nuclear deal and where they're at with that, we do know that the United States and Russia are sitting on the same side of the negotiating table.
The Iranians won't talk to the U.S. directly. So the Russians are the go- between, and when I asked Jen Psaki about this, she keeps saying that she thinks or they have assessed it is more important to try to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. So that's why we are teamed up with the Russians and --
HANNITY: Okay --
(CROSSTALK)
DOOCY: -- while we're condemning them everywhere else.
HANNITY: Peter, I want to be clear. I want our audience to understand this. They want to fossil fuel free America, okay, but they're willing to sit down with some of the most hostile actors and radical mullahs in Iran, and dictators in Venezuela, and countries in the Middle East, OPEC countries, many that don't like us, and Russia who just invaded a sovereign country. It's okay to import oil from them.
How does that make us any less fossil fuel dependent or fossil fuel free as you say?
DOOCY: That's a great question and we are still trying to get to the bottom of that. But we've noticed a big change here at the White House just since the end of last week. They had been saying that cutting off the Russian oil imports would just be too disruptive to the global market. They're not saying that anymore.
And so it seems like as Putin keeps going, Biden might be getting closer to doing that and again, they've already warned that the prices are going to go way up. But now, there are Democrats joining Republicans on the Hill saying this has got to be the next thing. We're not sending troops, at least do this. So stay tuned for that.
HANNITY: All right. Peter Doocy, great job as always. You're like the only one in that room that asks more questions. We appreciate it.
Anyway, here was reaction, former energy secretary, Texas governor Rick Perry.
Governor, I asked you last time. I said if we include oil, include gas, include coal, you said, well over a hundred years worth of supply. With new technology for example, microwaving shale or oil, is it possibly even much longer than that?
RICK PERRY, FORMER ENERGY SECRETARY: Potentially and you when you add small modular reactors in there, it's for longer than the anyone has a look into the future.
Sean, we knew this was coming as soon as we saw the Biden administration start putting a stop to our fossil fuel production in the United States. We knew that the Russians were going to use energy as a weapon. We talked about it ad nauseam over in Europe when we were delivering American liquefied natural gas. We were basically calling it freedom gas and it's exactly what it was.
We're seeing the reality of reckless disregard of reality and that's what this administration is doing -- reckless disregard for reality. The reality was when you gave the Russians the weapon of energy, they're going to use it. And let me tell you, I'll give you a great example.
Alex Novak was the former minister of energy. I met with him while I was his counterpart at the Department of Energy as the secretary of energy. And he has now become the deputy prime minister, and he literally said yesterday I believe that if sanctions were put into place, that they would cut off the gas into the European Union exactly what we told the members of the European Union that they would do if they finished that Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
President Trump stood up, you know, had the gumption and the vision to say, we're not going to do that. We're going to stop that. We're going to sanction these folks if it goes forward and it stopped. And it gave Europe a real taste of independence from Russian pressure and now, they're back in the sights of Putin and he's squeezing the trigger.
HANNITY: Let me ask you. Governor, Mr. Secretary, let me ask you this, you just heard Peter Doocy say that the left has -- they want a fossil fuel- free America. So they're willing to not -- they're forcing America to negotiate with some of the most hostile regimes in the world. We're literally now in the middle of a war importing all this energy from Russia. We're now apparently negotiating even with the mullahs of Iran that chant often "death to Israel, death to America".
Now, we're going to go to the dictatorship of Venezuela. They've already been rejected by OPEC over and over again to increase production. We're going to allow Americans to suffer a 40-year high of inflation and have a weaker national security because of our dependence on foreign energy. Can you tell me how any of that makes any sense in any way to you?
PERRY: Negotiating with mad men is not a good look, and that's exactly what we're doing. This administration does not -- either they have -- again, this is a reckless disregard for reality. The reality is Maduro, the ayatollah, the Iranians, they're not going to negotiate in good faith with us. The Russians are going to do every thing they can to put us into the greatest pickle that they can put us in and China sitting on the sidelines are somewhat on the sidelines watching this and deciding whether or not they're going to attack Taiwan.
I mean, we're getting into a real mess here, Sean, and this administration doesn't seem to be doing anything in the reality side of it because reality is this, stand up, Mr. President, and admit you were wrong. Push back on your woke left climate crazies and say, you know what, folks, your plan just wasn't going to work.
And American energy producers, we're going to remove the regulations that are stifling you. And don't be confused about standing up and Psaki saying we got 9,000 permits like that matters. Those oil and gas individuals, when they know that they can make a profit, they will be out there drilling.
But they know they can't today because the American government, the federal government is their enemy. And until the message is sent, listen, we were wrong, please come back and start drilling for the oil and gas that we've got in this country and bring America and the rest of the world that's on our side back to energy independence.
And we can do that. We just need the signal from the federal government that we're not just going to strangle you.
HANNITY: I can't believe the times we're living in.
Secretary Rick Perry, boy, we really could use you back as energy secretary. Thank you for being with us, and we could use the oil and the natural resources of your great state of Texas.
All right. You're all seeing it, gas prices higher than ever, likely continuing to rise. Let's not forget who predicted this exact scenario. You might recall this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: And gas prices, you like that two dollar gas, right? How about five dollars, six dollars and seven dollars, darling, let's sell the car. It's a little bit too large. Let's get a compact. Biden's plan is an economic death sentence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Joining us now, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
I never thought we'd see the day that a country is invading an innocent country, killing men women and children, and we don't have the moral courage to stop importing oil from that country, and see the need to produce it ourselves. No, Joe Biden would prefer to talk to Russia, Venezuela, Iran and OPEC.
Why do I think that's a dumb idea, Congressman?
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): It's beyond dumb. It's harming Americans.
When you sit back and you look, President Trump was right. You know what's so ironic? The first city to hit five dollars a gallon was Nancy Pelosi's home city of San Francisco.
He was not only just right about the fuel and the costs rising up, he warned Germany and Europe about Nord Stream 2.
And then we had Biden use his administration and his power to lobby U.S. senators to vote against sanctioning the Nord Stream 2. And now, what we find what Biden has been doing time and again, harming our ability.
And you know what President Biden says? Buy American. That's what he said in his State of the Union. He believes in buying American except American energy.
God has blessed this nation with these natural resources. Why wouldn't we want to make America stronger and the world safer? Why does Joe Biden only want to deal with the worst people in the world?
And when you care about the environment, know this: that American natural gas is 41 percent cleaner than Russian natural gas. And we can supply it to them. We can supply it to America. We could be more than energy independent. We could be energy dominance.
And you know last week, Sean, we put on the floor, the Republicans, America energy independent from Russia and 220 Democrats voted no.
I'm going to promise the American people this: we're putting it back on the floor this week and let's see if these Democrats will do it again.
HANNITY: All right. That was my next question. Can you not peel away at least five Democrats? Is there a Democrat in Texas, a Democrat in Alaska? Is there a Democrat in Oklahoma, is there a Democrat in Ohio, Pennsylvania?
There's got to be some Democrat -- West Virginia, Joe Manchin has been very outspoken. He agrees with us on this.
Any -- he can't get five or six Democrats to say, uh-uh, we are going to go back to the policies of energy independence and we're not going to talk to the world's dictators and grovel before them for the energy needs that we can supply for ourselves?
MCCARTHY: You just need five in the House. We gave them the opportunity. Two hundred and twenty said no.
We're going to do it again this week, and it does exactly what you talked about earlier, the XL pipeline.
You have to know this as well: the Biden administration uses regulations to stop this. They have six permits sitting with the secretary of energy right now to be able for LNG to release to export that to other countries.
And it's not just Joe Biden. It's all the Democrats. Gavin Newsom, California can produce -- be one of the greatest producers of any state. But he has been shutting down the wells in California.
You look at Colorado. The Democrat governor there as well -- they have used it in the basis of their philosophy and they made America weaker, but they are harming people around the world.
And the answer to this administration is to go to Iran or go to Venezuela? That's appalling to me, and that is wrong from any single American in this country.
HANNITY: They're compromising our national security, and they're making these horrific countries very, very wealthy, and the American people are suffering dramatically, financially, with a 40-year high of inflation in large part because of the energy issue.
Congressman, please keep us in the loop on these efforts to try and get some Democrats on board and see if you can't push this through. We appreciate it.
All right. We have more developments on the ground in Ukraine, including reports of two Russian planes being shot down.
Here with the very latest is FOX's own Trey Yingst.
Trey, over the weekend, I'd read in a number of places. I guess it wasn't as many, as many as nine Russian fighters have been taken out of the sky and a couple of helicopters as well. Any truth to that?
TREY YINGST, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the Ukrainians have been quite successful in shooting down Russian aircraft, both planes and helicopters. Officials here in Kyiv are claiming tonight they shot down two planes over the skies of the capital. The fighting is getting a lot closer to this city, Sean. We've heard air raid sirens earlier in the night and even just a few moments ago a large explosion very close to where we're standing.
There have been artillery units shelling the outer rim of this city and many of the communities not only here in the capital but across Ukraine are getting hit heavy with Russian shelling in Chernihiv and Kharkiv, two of the northern cities in Ukraine. There's some significant destruction you can see in these images apartment complexes and residential areas totally destroyed by the Russians as they try to advance deeper into this country.
And the story this weekend that really grasped the world, people were tuned in seeing the devastation on the ground was Irpin. It's a small town about people outside of the capital of Kyiv, and we were there on Saturday and there were thousands of people evacuating. Well, on Sunday, a shell fired by the Russians hit four civilians and killed them instantly.
We went back there today and the tension there, Sean, as this was erupting, gunfire in the distance, Ukrainian troops running from snipers and shells landing all around these civilian locations. And that's what's happening not only here but across this country.
And so, the coming days are expected to be quite bloody, but we heard tonight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again doubling down, saying he will stay here and he will fight on behalf of his people. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (translated): I stay here in Kyiv, at Bankova Street. I don't hide and I'm not afraid of anyone. I will stay here as long as it's necessary to win in our patriotic war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YINGST: A third round of talks was held today between the Russians and the Ukrainians, but there were no major developments. The Russians keep saying they are going to respect humanitarian corridors but then they shell those very pathways for civilians to flee.
So the reality on the ground is that civilians are still very much in danger, and the Russians are not respecting these temporary agreements -- Sean.
HANNITY: All right. Trey, thanks for your reports. And I know you've been working very hard. Thank you for all you're doing.
We're also learning more tonight about the evacuation routes that Ukrainians are taking in the effort to flee their country amid Putin's continued shelling against Ukraine and yes targeting even innocent men, women and children.
Here to explain much more, we go to Bill Hemmer. He's at the big board again tonight.
Bill, a lot going on.
BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Sean, good evening to you.
I listened to Trey's report, I can bring a little bit of life to you on the map behind us here about what were happening. They did have these talks earlier today and the Russians offered these humanitarian corridors for folks in Kyiv, and Sumy and Kharkiv and Mariupol, to allow them to leave.
The problem is a lot of those roots as Trey mentioned, they led to Russia or Belarus, and that was simply a non-starter. This story down here on Mariupol is really -- it's staggering when you think about it. This is a battle now, Sean. It's been going on for well over a week.
There's no power. They're running very low in medicine. There are reports about operations being conducted without anesthesia. There's no phone service. People wandering around this town asking people if they know so and so who knows so and so is related to a family member across town, are they still alive?
The Ukrainians describe the fighting in this town as medieval. Now, Sean, when I left you on Friday night, you know, we talked about the Russian forces coming out of Crimea, and they got as far as the town of Mykolaiv and it seems over the last hours, yes there is progress for the Russian army in the south, but there is limited progress over the past 48 hours and that was noted at the Pentagon as well.
Not, a lot of action on Odessa just yet. Remember, this is Moldova. Moldova's here and this is Transnistria now. Okay, keep that in mind. There are at least 1,500 what Moscow calls peacekeepers troops in this little strip of Moldova.
You can see what they're trying to do, Sean. They're trying to link up the southern route here. And if you close off the Black Sea, the economy, what's left of it today anyway in Ukraine is shut off from the rest of the world. So, we'll watch that story also.
Up in the northern part here, near the capital city, I think a couple developments here, see this little shaded area, Sean, here with the red and white stripe, it's largely countryside and segments of the Russian army have moved West from their location toward the capital city of Kyiv.
So, you're going to have a look -- they don't hold the ground here, but again there's been very little resistance for the Ukrainian army, easy for the Russians to move. We're watching this development up here.
I'd watch this little sliver down here, talked about that nuclear plant from last week, where there's another nuclear plant just north of this little location we've denoted here on the map.
Talk about escape routes? How do you get out of here, right, Sean? Everything in yellow is a train, everything in blue is a roadway.
Sean, you were talking about Irpin a moment ago, that was last week, over the weekend, where you had two adults and two children who were killed by a Russian bomb, they hit them. They were trying to make their way on this road to get on this train and come in to keep as an escape route.
The other town is up here in the northwest. I remember last week we had that drone video of that town. If you want to take that road out of town, you have to go through an air that's been absolutely leveled and devastated by the Russian army, and you ask yourself, why you're living in fear right now based on some of the reports here.
Sean, on Friday, you wanted to know how far the city center is from Irpin, it's 16 miles. You wanted to know how far the airport is from the city center, it's roughly 20 miles. This we believe now is the route of the convoy that is still stationary 40 miles to the north and west and it is still there and the Pentagon said today they believe there are no tanks necessarily in this -- this convoy, but it is supply vehicles that was destined you think now for the airport which was the original idea for the Russian military. Invade the country, take the airport, bring the troops in from the north and establish your base at the airport.
To this day, on day 12, Sean, that has not happened for Moscow, day 13 tomorrow.
HANNITY: Bill, let me ask you one more question on the convoy because it's important. I can't really understand, A, why the convoy stationary has not been taken out and, B, why they're not moving. It doesn't make sense to me. Any insight?
HEMMER: I agree with you on that. I think there are 10 different theories, just like there was a week ago.
What I am told is that a lot of these drones from Turkey, the TB2, it is thought that they are running low in supply, perhaps they're even out, because if you can do an armed drone in the air, you could take out that convoy this afternoon or even tomorrow but that hasn't been the case. So that's one theory on the case.
The other idea on behalf of the Russian military was -- well, how would you get miles of vehicles all stacked up. There was some reporting over the weekend that suggested these were different military units that got backed up on the highway because they had problems with their equipment or they ran out of fuel or they needed more food and supplies, and one group is running into the other which really gives you a bit of imagination right now for how this Russian military can or cannot operate.
HANNITY: Well, it's good, watching this one thing unfold, if they make it to Kyiv, in my view, I hope pray I'm wrong, it would be a massacre. If they get taken out, it would be a huge win for the Ukrainian side and this -- they seem to be sitting ducks, why that hasn't happened I guess is anybody's guess.
HEMMER: Sean, if you want to hear something interesting just you're going to be locked into this when it happens, okay? When Kyiv is under siege, you're going to want to know a lot about this capital city. It's the Dnieper River. It's like their mighty Mississippi, okay? It is wide. There are -- there's a number of bridges that cross.
The west side of this river, that's really the historic area that was built up. The east side is more residential, but if you blow these bridges, and you're the Russian Army you got to come from both sides and take the town there is no other way to do it in that case, Sean.
HANNITY: All right. Bill, you've been doing phenomenal, trying to make this understandable for everybody. Thank you, at the big board tonight.
Remember, the last two times Putin has invaded Ukraine, Joe Biden was in the White House and it's Biden's weak diplomacy, failed energy policy, failed economic policies that frankly has emboldened this dictator thug. Of course, the mob and the media, they'll never let facts get in the way of another excuse to try and blame this on Donald Trump.
Just listen to Whoopi Goldberg. It's not even worth playing at this particular point in time. She's claiming that Donald Trump if he was still in office he would have just given Ukraine to the Russians, we all know that's true.
But the American people, they're not buying any of this lunacy because the Harvard Harris poll finds that the vast majority of Americans get it and believe Putin would not have invaded under Donald Trump. It was Donald Trump who sanctioned Nord Stream 2. The waiver was given by Biden.
Joining us now, he's the South Carolina senator, Lindsey Graham is with us.
Senator, you're still under fire because you said you hope people around Putin -- and I said the same thing --
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Yeah.
GRAHAM: That they have a conscience and a soul, and they are witnessing a mass murder of innocent men, women and children, and -- let's just say do the right thing by whatever means necessary.
But more and more, everybody I meet is telling me that you're right, I'm right. Mark Levin who's going to be on in a minute is right.
GRAHAM: Right. Well, I tell you where I'm not under fire, and that's in South Carolina. I spent the weekend at home.
And let's just say this: only thing I got going for me is 90 percent of South Carolinians believe that Putin is a war criminal, the biggest war criminal of the 21st century, and he needs to go.
So I want to be crystal clear about this. When you record the history of these times, I think Putin should have gone a long time ago. If he gets away with this, he survives, China will invade Taiwan, Iran will break out for a nuclear weapon, and the rule of law means nothing.
So, yes, I want the Russian people to take this man out. I don't care if we put him in jail in The Hague or somebody kills him. He needs to go. He's a war criminal.
And Senator Schumer called me about an hour ago. I have a resolution that supports the war crimes investigation against Putin in The Hague, he is now on it. I believe I got 90 votes plus in the United States Senate to support and --
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: How many senators privately are telling you they agree with your assessment that he needs to go by any means necessary?
GRAHAM: Every one of them I've met today.
So here's the deal: what's provocative is to say that the biggest war criminal of the 21st century can stay. What's provocative is to let him get away with killing these kids you see on your television.
So how do we break the Russian people away from Putin? If you look at the Russian economy as a boat, let's sink the damn boat. The sanctions we've imposed thus far have created holes in the boat. But there's a pump, it's called the oil and gas industry. It pumps out the water and the boat stays afloat.
If you crush the Russian oil and gas sector, there's no pump left, the boat sinks. So, let's sink the Russian economic boat by imposing sanctions on oil and gas now. Let's end the misery of the Ukrainian people and free the Russian people.
There is no easy way out of this. Putin needs to go. We need to crush the ruble, and we need to keep supplying weapons to the Ukrainians.
HANNITY: We need it to stop.
GRAHAM: And when it comes to the Biden administration, Sean, they're a day late and a dollar short.
HANNITY: Well, I'll tell you, Joe Manchin agrees with you. We have 51 senators --
GRAHAM: Amen.
HANNITY: -- that would vote to stop importing oil, I believe, and that needs to be passed in the House as soon as possible.
Senator, good to have you. Thank you.
Joining us now, host of the number one show on Saturday -- on Sunday night, "Life, Liberty, and Levin," I call him the great one.
You know, Mark, there really is evil in the world. At heart, you're a professor and a historian in many ways. You're one of my best friends, and I'm looking at history repeat itself. And if it plays out the way history has in the past, it's not a pretty ending.
MARK LEVIN, HOST OF "LIFE, LIBERTY & LEVIN": No, but how about we have history repeat itself the way it did under Ronald Reagan who crushed the Soviet Union economically and did in fact supply enormous amount of weapons all over the world to the enemies of the Soviet Union? Whether it was in Angola and Africa, whether it was in the Middle East, whether it was in Afghanistan, wherever the Soviets were -- Reagan would put up opposition to him.
And it's funny thing, it didn't create World War 3. Now, I'm a little concerned about the Putin wing of the Republican Party, the Putin wing of the media, and the Putin wing of the of the Democrat Party. Biden is a disaster he's weak he's not doing the things that are needed for the Ukrainians to win.
And this is what's bothering me -- why is it that the Ukrainians have to lose? Why is it that the Ukrainians have to have their cities destroyed? Why is it that we're all sitting and just waiting for the Russians to go in and take out Kyiv and kill their president? Why is that?
I've never seen anything like this in my life. They want MiG-29s. That's what their pilots are used to flying. We and our allies can give them MiG- 29s. They want some F-16s that they've flown. It's our oldest jet but our most ubiquitous, we should give them some F-16s to fly.
We don't have to be in charge of any no-fly zone. We don't have to send American troops into Ukraine. And why do people think that this coward Putin who's hiding now in some bunker is going to use nuclear weapons, I don't get that.
If he was going to use nuclear weapons, he doesn't need us to provoke him. He can use nuclear weapons tomorrow. He can use whatever he wants tomorrow, but he hasn't and he's not going to. And neither is that Lavrov that -- that long in the tooth crackpot foreign secretary of his.
So they're not going to use nuclear weapons, first and foremost, because they don't want to die. They want power.
And then what? What if we do lose Ukraine? We, the free people of the world. What he may go into Poland, he may go into other countries along there? What are we going to do then?
Then he has a head of steam, then he brings in NATO. So Ukraine is critical to the American people. Ukraine is critical period.
These people need more javelins. They need more drones. They need those fighter jets and they may be able to stop Putin.
Now what if Putin stopped, what happens to him then? Then he doesn't get the empire he wants. Why is it assumed he'll lash out? Maybe the people there will lash out, maybe Lindsey Graham who I happen to agree with 100 percent is correct, some general, somebody will step out and tap him on the shoulder or tap him some other way and move Putin out of the way.
I was on my own show Sunday night, "Life, Liberty, and Levin," with Commander Richard Kemp (ph) of the British forces at one in Afghanistan. He said, I don't understand this argument about Putin, don't take a Putin, be the first time in history of war we didn't try to take up the lead of history like that.
By the way, nice of you to put Putin over the top of my head, hope he doesn't stab me on the top of my head. But anyway, so here is the thing, we have taken out leaders of the world in the past. We have taken out generals in the past. People have heard of Yamamoto during the Revolutionary War, Washington gave the orders to so-called snipers at the time to try to take out the generals and so forth.
Putin is hiding, but Putin has a hit out on the president of Ukraine. He is got his Wagner group, which is a bunch of thugs. He's got the Chechens. Their hit groups are out. There have been three attempts on Zelenskyy.
So, I think what Lindsey Graham has said, what you said, what I've been saying on my radio show, it isn't controversial at all. What happened is the language and the debate has been controlled by the Putin wing of our society.
This guy is an assassin. He's a mass murderer. He is a plotter. He's now doing things that endanger America.
And China is thrilled. China wants a weak NATO. China wants -- China has a much more powerful military at this point than Russia does. They got an economy that's multiple times the size of Russia.
So when they hear people in our country shaking in their boots, what we need is prudence. We need to be smart. We need to be wise and so forth, not rush into a war situation.
But on the other hand, I think the way we are creating this situation is quite lousy. Putin is not a 10-foot tall Amazon.
HANNITY: And then he's going to -- then Joe Biden is begging, let's see, Venezuela, Iran, still buying oil from Russia, and OPEC. Mark, and doesn't get any more nuts than this.
By the way, your show last night was phenomenal. Great job as always.
The great one, Mark Levin, Sunday nights 8:00 p.m., right here on Fox.
All right. Straight ahead, Newt Gingrich will join us and we'll get his reaction to all the latest developments as we continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: Tonight, Biden's weak diplomacy is failing. He refuses to take aim at Russian oil. He is still importing it, making Putin and Russia rich again. He is creating a massive threat to our national security in the process.
Here with reaction, former speaker of the House, FOX News contributor, Newt Gingrich.
Really two questions for you. What should America be doing to help the Ukrainians fight for themselves? I don't want a one American boot on the ground and I know you don't. And secondly, maybe you can tell me -- you are a historian, you are a professor, like Levin, you can explain why we're not producing our own energy resources but we're begging OPEC, the Saudis, the Venezuelans, the Iranians, and still importing energy from Russia. Because I can't figure that out, I would fail that class.
NEWT GINGRICH, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, let me say, first of all, your conversation earlier with the Congressman McCarthy was really important. Congress has a responsibility here. Congress should step in and literally make it impossible to spend any money implementing an agreement with Iran that is being, by the way, negotiated by the Russians in the middle of our condemning them for invading Ukraine. This whole thing is crazy.
Second, Congress ought to pass a law repealing all of the Biden anti- American energy provisions and establishing a very aggressive liquefied national gas program to help Europe get away from the Russians by giving them an alternative.
Third, we should make sure that all the weapons the Ukrainians need to get to them.
And fourth, we ought to declare that war crimes and treaties really matter. We are watching war crimes, and there absolutely should be a commitment that we want to go after Putin and his key people, because they are ordering, deliberately, war crimes, including the killing of children, the killing of women, the attack nuclear reactors.
We cannot -- I mean, we live in a world that is lawless, and the most vicious and evil people dominate, or we live in a world where the rule of law prevails and there are boundaries, and when you step beyond those boundaries, you suffer significant consequences.
But in terms of the administration's policies, let me say first of all, I think it's a pathology. I think these people are nuts. I think that they are basically anti-American.
The idea that you would say, Venezuela's fine, Iran is fine, Saudi Arabia is fine, but now Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oklahoma, boy, they are dangerous. You have to say to yourself, this is a psychological problem in the Democratic Party that they actually dislike their own country so much that they would rather buy oil from dictators, like the murderer who is in charge of Venezuela, or the Iranians with the leading terrorist organization in the world rather than from Americans.
I mean, it is truly crazy. I think it is the craziest thing since Buchanan allowed the South to take over federal arsenals in 1860. This is a remarkably anti-American policy.
HANNITY: If we all agree -- and I believe we can't put a boot on the ground, America doesn't have the appetite, we can't solve the worlds problems, but we can help out an innocent country, a sovereign country, what would you suggest America and NATO allies and Western European allies ought to be doing?
GINGRICH: Look, I mean, first of all, the courage -- I wrote a recent piece in the bear, the lion, and the bunny rabbit. The bear is the Russians, just as it was under Reagan. The lions have turned out, to everyone's shock, to be Ukrainians. The bunny rabbit is sitting in the White House being pathetic.
The Ukrainians have proven, if we'll get them the right weapons, they are going to beat the Russians. They're not going to play to a tie. They're going to beat them. They're going to drive them out of the country.
Putin cannot stand six months or a year of losing troops, having recently major general shot by a sniper. The other day, 30 Russian tanks were surrendered in one day to Ukrainians. Our job is, get them the equipment, figure out a way to get them the MiG-29s, get the lawyers out of the way, if the lawyers object too much, send them home, or offer them a chance to join the Ukrainian international brigade, announce that Americans can go and serve as volunteers as we did in China, for example, against the Japanese.
I think they're more enough people willing to fight and they just need the equipment to do it.
HANNITY: I agree 100 percent. Actually, I thought people were premature in saying the insurgency and the Ukrainians fighting back maybe not -- may not have been as successful as it is. I'm beginning to believe they can win like you.
Great point. Mr. Speaker, thanks for being with us.
More HANNITY after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right. Unfortunately, that's all the time we have left this evening. I think there's only so much aggravation I can take for one hour. I never thought America would, in the middle of a war like this, be importing oil from Russia and begging Venezuela and Iran and OPEC when we have more than we can produce here at home. It's insanity.
Anyway, our thoughts and prayers are with the Ukraine people.
Let not your heart be troubled, Laura is next. See you tomorrow night.
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