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What to know as the war in Ukraine enters its third year · Apple News Today

• 0:00
  [INTRO MUSIC BEGINS]
• 0:04
  Mark Garrison, Narrating: Good morning! It's Friday, February 23.
• 0:07
  I'm Mark Garrison, in for Shumita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
• 0:13
  Coming up, the war in Ukraine enters its third year,
• 0:16
  Haley takes on Trump in South Carolina's Republican primary,
• 0:20
  and how a college basketball team wrecked by injuries
• 0:23
  stayed alive by convincing classmates to suit up.
• 0:32
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
• 0:34
  But first, let's take a quick look at some other stories in the news.
• 0:37
  For the first time in more than half a century,
• 0:40
  a U.S. spacecraft is on the moon.
• 0:43
  And it's the first-ever private-sector moon landing.
• 0:46
  It was built by a Texas company called Intuitive Machines.
• 0:49
  Here's what the moment sounded like.
• 0:51
  [START ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 0:52
  Unidentified Speaker: What we can confirm, without a doubt,
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  is our equipment is on the surface of the moon and we are transmitting.
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  So, congratulations, IM team.
• 1:00
  We'll see how much more we can get from that.
• 1:02
  [APPLAUSE]
• 1:05
  [END ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 1:05
  Garrison, Narrating: Odysseus, or Odie for short,
• 1:07
  will assess the environment at the south pole of the moon
• 1:10
  ahead of NASA's planned crew mission in 2026.
• 1:14
  This weekend, in Paris, Israel is expected
• 1:16
  to participate in more ceasefire and hostage release talks
• 1:19
  with the US, Qatar, and Egypt.
• 1:21
  Discussions earlier this month failed to stop the fighting.
• 1:24
  Diplomats are eager for a peace deal ahead of March 10,
• 1:27
  the beginning of Ramadan.
• 1:29
  That's when Israel says it could launch a major ground assault in Rafah
• 1:32
  if the hostages aren't released.
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  More than 1.5 million Palestinian civilians
• 1:37
  are sheltering there, having fled Israeli attacks elsewhere in Gaza.
• 1:42
  Today, the U.S. and allies are imposing hundreds of new sanctions against Russia.
• 1:47
  The moves come ahead of the two-year mark of Russia's invasion of Ukraine,
• 1:51
  and as questions remain about the death
• 1:52
  of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
• 1:55
  [PENSIVE MUSIC FADES IN]
• 1:55
  President Biden met with Navalny's widow and daughter yesterday in California.
• 2:08
  As the war in Ukraine enters its third year,
• 2:11
  we want to look at where things stand.
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  Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians
• 2:15
  have been killed and wounded
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
• 2:17
  and millions of Ukrainians forced from their homes.
• 2:19
  The U.S. has sent more than $75 billion to Ukraine.
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  It's by far the largest recipient today of American aid.
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  Currently, a bill that would send billions more
• 2:28
  is held up by Republicans in the House.
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  President Biden recently urged lawmakers to pass it.
• 2:33
  [START ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 2:34
  President Joe Biden: We can't walk away now.
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  That's what Putin's betting on. He just flatly said that.
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  Supporting this bill is standing up to Putin.
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  Opposing it is playing into Putin's hands.
• 2:45
  [END ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 2:46
  Garrison, Narrating: I spoke with James Marson,
• 2:48
  the Ukraine bureau chief for "The Wall Street Journal."
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  I started off by asking him about how critical U.S. aid is
• 2:54
  to Ukraine at this moment.
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  James Marson: It's extraordinarily important, for two reasons.
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  First of all, Ukraine is in dire need of more military equipment,
• 3:02
  in particular, ammunition.
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  Russia in recent weeks has managed to advance
• 3:07
  in some places along the front line.
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  They've managed to capture the eastern city of Avdiivka last weekend.
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  And the Ukrainians say one reason the Russians have been able to do that
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  is because the Ukrainians are lacking ammunition.
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  So Ukraine needs it for the practical reason.
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  It also needs it for morale.
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  I think the U.S. has been the most important backer of Ukraine
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  since the beginning of the war.
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  And it's a signal to Ukrainians
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  of continued support from the most important ally.
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  And it's also a signal for the Russians that Ukraine has support
• 3:39
  that will continue to sustain its war effort.
• 3:41
  Garrison: You mentioned the Russian takeover of Avdiivka. How important is that?
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  And can you just give a little more context
• 3:46
  as to why some people are seeing that
• 3:48
  as one of the most significant Russian advances in a while?
• 3:51
  Marson: The main significance of the Russians being able to take control of Avdiivka
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  is that it shows that the tide of the war has turned.
• 3:59
  Ukraine was pursuing a counter offensive last year,
• 4:02
  where it was trying to take back territory that was occupied by the Russians.
• 4:06
  Now, the tide has turned, Russia is now on the offensive,
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  not only in Avdiivka, but several other areas across the front.
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  Ukraine is largely holding the line.
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  But this shows that Russia has the intention,
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  has the capability, to try and push forward this year,
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  not only in Avdiivka, but also elsewhere.
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  On the other hand,
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  the Russians haven't managed to break through Ukrainian lines
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  in such a way that would suggest they can create
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  what would be a catastrophic breakthrough for the Ukrainians
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  and lead to a huge loss of territory for them.
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  I was speaking last week with the head of Ukraine's military intelligence,
• 4:43
  who was saying, "Yes, we acknowledge that we have problems,
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  the lack of ammunition being one, but the Russians have problems too."
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  They have poor quality of military personnel
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  because most of their professional army was destroyed
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  in the first year of the war.
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  Most of the tanks which they're bringing onto the battlefield are old tanks,
• 5:01
  which have been refurbished,
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  and these stocks are going to eventually run out.
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  So in the long run, if Ukraine gets the backing it needs from the West,
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  from the U.S. in particular,
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  the optimal scenario for Ukraine is holding firm this year,
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  degrading Russian forces,
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  and then they'll have the possibility in 2025 to try another counterattack.
• 5:22
  Garrison: As the war enters another year, what's most important to understand
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  about the big picture, the state of things?
• 5:28
  Marson: I think the most important thing to understand about the big picture here
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  is that the point of the war, from both sides,
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  hasn't really changed since February 2022.
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  So, you have Russian President Vladimir Putin,
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  who wants to take over all of Ukraine. He wants to control that country.
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  He has displayed no intention that he wants to stop the war
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  or that he's indeed changed those goals.
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  And on the other hand, you have Ukraine,
• 5:52
  who can see that this invasion is an existential threat to the country.
• 5:58
  In occupied territories,
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  the Russians have murdered Ukrainians who want to be independent,
• 6:03
  who want control over their own country.
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  So there is absolute clarity on the Ukrainian side
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  what the Russians are trying to achieve,
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  and so that's why the Ukrainians have no choice but to fight,
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  even if the U.S. support doesn't come through.
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  [GENTLE MUSIC FADES IN]
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  Garrison: A lot to watch as we enter the next year.
• 6:20
  James Marson with "The Wall Street Journal."
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  Thanks very much.
• 6:22
  Marson: My pleasure.
• 6:35
  Garrison, Narrating: The South Carolina Republican primary is tomorrow.
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  And current polling shows former President Trump
• 6:40
  with a commanding lead.
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
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  Roughly twice as many voters say they'll choose him over Nikki Haley,
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  the former governor of South Carolina.
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  The stakes are high for her. This is Haley's home state.
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  She told "NPR" even if she loses in South Carolina,
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  she has no plans to drop out of the race.
• 6:56
  [START "NPR" ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 6:57
  Nikki Haley: The furthest we've thought is we're certainly are going to go
• 7:00
  past South Carolina, go into Michigan, and go into Super Tuesday states.
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  We haven't sat down and actually thought about what comes after that.
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  But our goal was, look, after Super Tuesday,
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  between South Carolina and Super Tuesday, another 20 states have voted,
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  and that's more of the representation we want,
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  is to let people's voices be heard.
• 7:19
  [END "NPR" ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 7:20
  Garrison, Narrating: Super Tuesday is March 5. More than a dozen states will vote.
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  So it's likely Haley's last chance
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  to pick up enough delegates to pose a real challenge to Trump.
• 7:29
  Despite trailing him in the polls and early losses,
• 7:32
  Haley is still raking in campaign donations.
• 7:35
  So she's got money to keep going after Trump.
• 7:37
  She told "NPR" he's dangerous for the country.
• 7:40
  [START "NPR" ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 7:40
  Haley: It's not normal to go and criticize members of the military.
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  It's not normal to spend
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  50 million dollars of campaign contributions
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  on your own personal court cases.
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  It's not normal to side with a thug like Putin
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  over the allies that stood with us at 9/11.
• 7:56
  And there's so much chaos, we need to bring a sense of normalcy,
• 8:00
  and we need to bring some sanity back.
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  And that's what many Americans want. And that's what I'm trying to give them.
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  [END "NPR" ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 8:05
  Garrison, Narrating: Trump's campaign is hoping that beating Haley on her home turf
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  would finish her run for good.
• 8:10
  At a Fox News town hall, Trump focused on how embarrassing it would be
• 8:13
  for her to get beaten in South Carolina.
• 8:16
  [START "FOX NEWS" ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 8:16
  Donald Trump: She's not working. She's here.
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  She's down by 30-35 points. And everybody knows her.
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  You're not supposed to lose your home state.
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  Shouldn't happen anyway. And she's losing it big.
• 8:27
  [END "FOX NEWS" ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 8:27
  Garrison, Narrating: "CBS News" polling from South Carolina
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  shows how strong Trump's hold is on many Republican voters.
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  People in Haley's home state
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  say they approve of her time as governor there.
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  But ultimately, the vast majority say
• 8:39
  it doesn't matter that she's from their state.
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  Most still firmly want Trump to be president again.
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  [LAID-BACK MUSIC FADES IN]
• 8:55
  We'll end on a story
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  about how a college coach's worst nightmare
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  turned into a dream opportunity for some unlikely players.
• 9:01
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
• 9:02
  Earlier this year, the women's basketball team
• 9:04
  at Texas Christian University
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  went from undefeated to unable to play.
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  Several stars got hurt. Things got so bad so quickly
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  that at one point, TCU only had six available players left.
• 9:16
  The team had to forfeit several games. They just didn't have enough people.
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  With its back against the wall,
• 9:21
  the school put out a call for help to the student body.
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  It held open tryouts in the middle of the season.
• 9:28
  Anyone on campus with high-school basketball experience could come out.
• 9:32
  Coach Mark Campbell told the public broadcaster "KERA"
• 9:36
  the students played hard for spots on their school's team.
• 9:39
  [START "KERA" ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 9:39
  Mark Campbell: They were diving on the floor. They were just beet red.
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  They were competing.
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  It was really refreshing to see the joy and passion
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  for the opportunity they were trying to earn.
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  It was like "American Idol."
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  [END "KERA" ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 9:53
  Garrison, Narrating: At the end of that, they had four new players on the roster.
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  One came over from the volleyball team.
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  For the most part, these were women
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  who thought their basketball careers ended in high school,
• 10:02
  like Mekhayia Moore, who also spoke with "KERA."
• 10:06
  [START "KERA" ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 10:06
  Mekhayia Moore: I was like, "This is probably never going to happen again."
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  The least I can do is get, like, a little taste of college basketball
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  and especially at the D1 level, which has been really amazing so far.
• 10:16
  [END "KERA" ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 10:16
  Garrison, Narrating: She and the others got to go beyond high-school ball.
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  And TCU's team got enough players to keep competing.
• 10:22
  Together, they've managed a winning record and are next in action tomorrow.
• 10:26
  [OUTRO MUSIC BEGINS]
• 10:27
  This week's episode of Apple News In Conversation
• 10:30
  is about women's basketball at the pro level.
• 10:32
  Guest host David Greene is filling in for Shumita
• 10:34
  while she's on maternity leave,
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  and he speaks with WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes
• 10:39
  about just how far women's basketball has come
• 10:42
  since the league was created nearly 30 years ago,
• 10:45
  and what players say still needs to happen.
• 10:48
  Sheryl Swoopes: Just because we're grateful and we're happy
• 10:51
  that we're in this space and we have this opportunity,
• 10:54
  it doesn't mean that we don't deserve more.
• 10:57
  And we also know that we're willing to work for more.
• 11:01
  And that's from every single player that is currently playing,
• 11:04
  every player that has played, and every player that will play.
• 11:08
  Garrison, Narrating: If you're listening in the Apple News app right now,
• 11:10
  that episode is queued up to play for you next.
• 11:13
  Enjoy the weekend, and I'll be back with the news on Monday.
• 11:22
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]