many congressional republicans are resisting. president biden announced the u.s. will support ukraine for as long as it can, instead of as long as it takes. also tonight, harrowing testimony from the georgia election worker about what the lies rudy giuliani told about her and her mom did to their lives. that and a warning a judge gave him about continuing to spread misinformation. and later, the newest example of how cnn's exclusive reporting on sexual misconduct in the coast guard is getting results, this time on capitol hill. can good evening, thanks for joining us. we begin tonight with ukraine's war to drive russian forces out at a stalemate, and efforts in washing fund that were apparently at a standstill. tonight, no sign yet that president volodymyr zelenskyy meetings today with biden top lawmakers have done anything to break that logjam. house republicans are still demanding a large-scale concessions on migration from mexico, and before agreeing to any new aid for ukraine. a number of them say they oppose it regardless. over on the senate side, republican leader mitch mcconnell does favor more ukraine funding, said it would be, quote, practically impossible to pass a funding measure before christmas, even if the two sides reached an agreement. president biden, in the meantime, said he was hopeful about the chances of that happening, and that is just one of several message he was sending today, as you mentioned at the top he also signaled the limits of what washington may be able to deliver, a difference tween what it takes and what it can. he also warned republicans against giving vladimir putin what he calls quote, the greatest christmas gift they could possibly give him. the president reminded that russian media is already gloating about the aid standoff, and how gop opposition benefits them. >> the host of a kremlin run show, literally said, and i quote, well done republicans. that's good for us, and of quote. let me say that again, the host of a kremlin run show said, well done republicans, that's good for us. that's the russian-speaking. if you are being celebrated by russian propagandists, it might be time to rethink what you're doing. >> well whatever they do or don't do, time is running out. congress breaks the holidays on friday, cnn's mj lee starts off our coverage tonight from the white house. so the president has long said the u.s. is ready to support ukraine, for as long as it takes. was that still his message today, because it didn't sound like? it >> yeah anderson, as long as it takes is the refrain that we have long heard from president biden, when it comes to ukraine. but we heard something a little different from the president tonight. he said the u.s. will continue to supply ukraine with the supplies and the equipment that it needs for as long as we can. this is a really subtle difference, but i think it just goes to capture the immense challenges that the biden administration is now facing, as it tries to continue showing its steadfast support for ukraine, including by approving the supplemental package that includes some 60 billion dollars of additional funding for ukraine. you, know even after president zelenskyy went to capitol hill personally to try to make this appeal to lawmakers, it didn't seem like he was successful in swaying any of the members who are not convinced that this is the right road to take. i think this is a visit that has, all in all, sort of highlighted the very different place that the u.s. is in, and congress certainly is in, compared to the last time that president zelenskyy came here to the white house a year ago, when he really received a heroes welcome. he was invited to make a speech to the joint session of congress, and really got bipartisan and overwhelming support for the ukrainian cause, anderson. >> it's interesting to hear president biden driving home how closely russia is watching the u.s.. >> that's right. you know, in so many ways, i think president biden's speech was actually aimed squarely at vladimir putin. he said right off the top of his remarks that putin is banking on the u.s. to fail in its efforts to support ukraine, and that we must prove him wrong, is what president biden said. and some of the sound that you just played was so remarkable, because the president was basically saying that the issues that we are seeing, the fights that we are seeing over this funding for ukraine taking place on capitol hill, this isn't just domestic policy. and political fighting, he said that the kremlin is watching, vladimir putin is watching. he said if you are being celebrated by russian propagandists, it might be time to rethink what you are doing. there was also another message, not just about russia that is watching, but other would-be aggressors. the president saying that this is going to send a big message to what other sort of bad actors might be willing to do, might think they can do in taking, forcibly, land and territories from other democracies. and that is why this is such an existential fight, that we are talking about, according to the president. >> mj lee in the white house, thank you. and today's visit by zelenskyy came in a day that we had no indication, really of the enormous price that russia has paid for invading ukraine, and human lives. it comes from a u.s. intelligence assessment provided to congress, a source familiar with that assessment telling cnn it says russia now lost 87% of the active duty ground troops that it had prior to the invasion. 87% killed or wounded since the war began. now that said, and it's frankly staggering to even imagine, ukrainian forces are paying a terrible price as well. cnn's anna coren recently spoke with some of them, about how vital western aid has been, and what they fear will happen if it dries up. >> when your hit with the modern weapons, and with the western weapons. of course they are more accurate, and they bring more damage to the enemy. >> i am afraid ukraine will not be able to stand without our partners and allies. so this is the, it's a simple as that. >> if we let ukraine go, if we let putin win, then who will feel themselves safe here? >> i think no one. >> and we are joined now by cnn 's nick paton walsh in ukraine, near the front lines. so nick, president zelenskyy said that his goal for 2024's to, quote, take away russian superiority and disrupt its offensive operations. what are you actually and seeing and hearing about whether he can do, that without more u.s. aid? >> yeah, without f-16s really, i think it's a very long shot that they can reverse. the problem they face in the last counteroffensive this summer, which is without air superiority, they simply could not conduct the kind of pace of warfare that nato had trained them to do, that nato expected them to pull off. now volodymyr zelenskyy, really, unless something magically pops out of the hat at the end of this week, has laid his card's down, made his trip to washington , met congressional leaders, and not come up with the money thatat is deeply n ned byby his frontliline troops. we've seen it in the p past day, a real sense of frustration, anger, concern amongst troops. that, really it's got to be tough to continue this defense, let alone try and take back territory, without the billions they've been accustomed to receiving or being announced every other week or so. zelenskyy comes back, to, to a country, i think deeply anxious about the winter ahead. today, we've seen -- in the south. we saw some of that ourselves in the last 48 hours, civilian areas pounded relentlessly day and night, almost like two armies, duking it out inside the town. even though the russians are across the other side of the river. he also comes back to a nation with experience, cel disruption throughout today, likely ukraine security services say, because of a russian cyber attack, that's impacted air raid sirens here, the air raid alert apps that you get on your phone. you can hear in this town, as you turn the street lights off manually. so, a lot of destruction there certainly. and, to, a political climate, increasingly tense. for zelenskyy as well. his defense minister joked about how the chief of staff here, running the counter offensive had indeed been fired -- a joke indeed, but a sign of the tension between the president and the man who runs the military operations here. it's going to be difficult this winter, regardless of whether or not the money certainly comes out of nowhere. we've had some ukrainian officials are suggesting that doctors, first responders, they may not get their salaries as early as january if the u. s. doesn't stump up money essentially this week. as you say, this is exactly what vladimir putin has been waiting for. western resolve, western unity, remarkably coherent for the past nearly two years on this issue. but it's beginning to crumble, beginning to tie up. the existential issue of whether ukraine can defend itself from russia. and remember, a lot of your, a lot of nato allies of the u. s. desperately need ukraine to do the fight for them here. because if russia is successful, it might get closer to nato's border. and so many ukrainians are deeply worried, that they are beginning to see a winter of infrastructure attacks, and vladimir putin on bolden thinking finally, he is out waited the west. >> nick paton walsh, thank you. more now on the resistance presidents lewinsky is facing from congressional republicans. cnn's manu raju is at the capitol for us tonight. so, what was the response from republicans on congress to the visit? was he able to move the needle at all? >> no, really he wasn't, anderson. even among the staunch supporters of ukraine aid, among the gop, chief among them the senate republican leader mitch mcconnell, still in the same position they were as they headed into this meeting. that there needs to be a deal, over new policies dealing with the u.s. border with mexico, and the influx of migrants coming across the southern border. they want, changes whether it's dealing with asylum reform, or changing how the president grants parole to migrants coming across the, border are putting new physical barriers and the like. a wide range of policies, issues that have badly divided the two parties for years and years and years. but they say that must be dealt with first, before they can greenlight new aid to ukraine, which is why there are real fears, anderson, about the prospects of getting a deal at all. with the divisions that continue to persist on this issue, despite those pleas anderson, republicans said immigration must come first. >> manu raju, thank you. for more on what happens if american aid dries up, we are joined by cnn military analyst and retired army general mark hertling. >> so general hertling, i mean, how serious is this, given the rate at which ammunition is used in this conflict? can you just walk us through what it looks, like if the flow of weapons from the u.s. slows, or is shut off completely? >> yeah, there is a couple of things to talk about, anderson. the first, what your previous reporters have all addressed, and that is, i think i was sitting with you on the 22nd of february in the studio, when i said one of putin's strategic goals was to further divide an already divided united states, and a divided nato. he has so far been unsuccessful in doing this. but i think president biden was absolutely correct. putin is receiving a gift right now from a strategic perspective. from a tactical perspective, all wars, all battles have inflection points. ukraine is at one of those inflection points right now. they cannot afford any kind of disruption in their logistics supply chain. any kind of delay, in terms of a drawdown authority, more ammunition, more equipment, more support, and even the appearance of less support, as mr. putin is seeing right now, is critically important to ukraine. because they can't keep the fight going. as nick paton walsh said. the other thing that's important is, we are entering a new season. this is the winter fighting season. ukraine has been so far successful operationally on the battlefield. they have gained more ground in their counteroffensive. they certainly haven't gained anything they wanted to but, they have gained some. and what you are seeing now is the potential for them to go into a hasty defense situation, and continue to strike long range russian ammo caches, fuel depots, troop movements, which they can do with our help. if we take away the ammunition, while at the same time russia is being supplied with drones and artillery from places like iran and north korea, the fight will become uneven. and again, as mj lee said, this is an existential threat for ukraine. they have to have a continuation of logistics in this fight. >> so what can ukrainians do right now to prepare for potential -- will russia be able to go on the offensive? >> well, they've been trying to do that for the last several weeks, in places -- like we've heard a little bit about that. they had not been successful. russia has attempted to maneuver some of their new recruits into areas where they think they can be successful. so far, ukraine has fought back and defended extremely well, in the winter campaign. but they can't do that forever, especially if they are ammunition supplies are dwindling. europe is continuing to try and bolster the efforts. but truthfully, nato and the united states have learned a big lesson in this fight, that our supply systems have to be more robust than they were at the start of this campaign. and that's a lesson we've all taken away, because of what we saw as a peace dividend in the 1990s with russia, is suddenly exactly the opposite of what russia is doing today. they are executing warfare and other new nato members like romania or the baltics, or croatia, are very concerned about a newly emboldened russia, expanding beyond their territory. and putin has even said that. >> general hertling, i appreciate that. coming up next, rudy giuliani, confronted in court on his election falsehoods. and a warning a judge gave him about repeating them, which he did just yesterday. also, what the former president claiming he is immune from criminal proceedings, someone who is very much part of the story the last time the supreme court was asked to decide that question, john dean. his take on all of that, when we continue. when we left you last night, rudy giuliani had just doubled down on false allegations on the mother and daughter of 2020 election workers, whose lives he has already upended. false allegations he is already been found liable for in federal court. and that's on day one of the penalty phase of since his civil trial ended. a day to include testimony from one of the women he defend, and a warning from from the judge. cnn's brian todd has more. >> powerful evidence in the defamation case against former trump attorney rudy giuliani. the jury hearing threatening voice mails sent to two former georgia election workers. >> [bleep] [bleep] [bleep] [bleep] >> i'm gonna -- >> also, powerful testimony from one former election worker, shaye moss, about how giuliani's conspiracy theories devastated her life, after the 2020 election. moss, telling a federal court giuliani, is quote, crazy lies about her and her mother spread everywhere at the time, and lead to threats against her family. quote, i am most scared of my son finding me and or my mom hanging outside of my house on a tree, or having to get the news at school that his mama was killed. moss's testimony came hours after giuliani inexplicably doubled down on the lies he had spread about moss and her mother, ruby freeman, who is also an election worker. >> everything i said about them is true. >> do you regret what you did? >> of course i don't regret it, i told the truth. they were engaged in changing votes. >> there is no proof of that. and the judge in the civil defamation case against giuliani rebuked the former new york mayor, saying his quote, negative, quite defamatory statements about the two women could support another defamation claim. >> rudy giuliani should know that this is not going to help his cause. it is going to deepen the hole he is in. and yet he keeps digging. >> the judge has already ruled in this case that giuliani spread false information about moss and freeman in the wake of the 2020 election. giuliani has conceded that he did make a defamatory statements about them, but he's argued that the statements didn't cause them any damage, even states like the one he made to the georgia state legislature, telling them moss and freeman were corrupting the vote count. >> they surreptitiously were passing around usb ports, as if they were vials of heroin or cocaine. >> moss and freeman are asking the jury to consider awarding them between 15. 5 million and $43 million, for the reputational harm they suffered from giuliani's statements. and, more for the emotional distress they've endured, which they told the house january 6th committee about. >> i don't want anyone knowing my name. i don't go to the grocery store at all. i haven't been anywhere at all. >> these are public servants, and he's essentially put them out there, and caused them to be targeted by hateful people, by people who are seeking to do them harm. and he has really upended their lives. >> rudy giuliani already owes shaye moss and ruby freeman more than $230,000 for failing to respond to parts of their lawsuit. a few months ago in a court filing, giuliani said he has is essentially broke, because of all of his legal costs. so a judgment against him in this case would put him even further in debt. anderson? >> brian todd, thanks. from several to criminal court, now there is the fallout from special counsel jack smith's push to get the former presidents claim of immunity in the january 6th case on a fast track to the supreme court. now as we discussed last night, this could be a decision if and when it comes, that ranks among the most consequential ever for the high court, in that the question at the heart of it has never been fully settled. perhaps the closest the court came was in 1974, with the u. s. v. nixon, which compelled then president nixon to turn over those watergate tapes. i want to get some firsthand perspective on that from cnn contributor and watergate whistleblower john dean, former nixon white house counsel. >> john, in terms of potential significance, does any prior supreme court case involving -- u.s. phoenix and compared to the immunity ruling that jack smith is seeking in the trump case? >> no. it is a, it is a pinnacle. >> i mean, in the u.s. the v. nixon, the question was whether the president has executive privilege in a subpoena fight, not necessarily immunity from a criminal trial. so is there actual precedent from the nixon case that could or should apply to the trump case? >> you know, there is a little bit of language in the, what they call the dicta, the sort of this remarks, that indicates that the court then certainly thought the president had criminal exposure. but it's not really spelled out, it's never been spelled out, or been fully addressed or fully briefed. >> during watergate, woodward and bernstein, they wrote a special prosecutor leon jaworsky's decision to appeal to the supreme court. saying, quote, it was risky, very very risky. suppose the justices said no? suppose it was an angry? no suppose it was very sarcastic reminder to jaworsky that there is a court of repeals for such reason and that no one receives special treatment. not the president, and not an arrogant special prosecutor, and quote. do you see any potential downsides to jackson's the gambit? >> i don't. i think he is one step ahead. i think he's got a stronger case then nixon had for example, with the tapes. and certainly, that trump has in this case, for total immunity. >> given the dispute over immunity.