Now for perspective on two big stories of the day, the possible ceasefire in Ukraine and the potential shutdown here in the U.S.,

I spoke a short time ago to Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, who serves on both the budget and intelligence committees.

Senator Warner, welcome back to the News Hour. Thanks for being with us.

Thank you, Amina.

So before we get to the funding of the government,

I just want to ask you because you also sit on the Intelligence Committee to get your reaction

to news today from Russia, where we heard President Vladimir Putin say that he is open to the idea

of a 30-day ceasefire plan as proposed by the U.S. and Ukraine, but he says he has questions about that.

What do you take his remarks to mean? And could there be a ceasefire in this war?

Listen, it would be great if there was a ceasefire, but it can't be entirely on Russia's terms.

And my concern is that Putin was just yesterday in Kursk, which is the part of Russia that Ukraine has actually

gained some foothold in. And I took that as thinking that the Russians were going to push

the Ukrainians out. And the devil, in a 30-day ceasefire, will be in the details. And my

understanding was that Putin had asked for like 80 different conditions.

What we can't do is allow Putin to claim a win out of this because that is not only bad

for the Ukrainians after they were brutally invaded, but it's also bad for all of our NATO

partners in the Baltic countries of Poland because a victorious Putin means there's not going to be

any safety in Eastern Europe for the foreseeable future.

Do you take it as a progress, a sign of progress, that he says he's open to it?

I mean, should President Trump get some credit for even getting a proposal on the table

here?

The fact that they're at least talking, I think, is a good sign, although I've got to tell

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