possibility of blessings, and pope francis indicated that there could. this document the pope has indicated in the past, that the church must be more welcoming to gay people and must find ways of recognizing their relationships. this is -- this is why this ruling is so significant. >> significant indeed, christopher lamb, thank you very much. to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." erin burnett out front starts right now. hamas releasing new video of hostages as israel finds the biggest tunnel network and all eyes are on that growing number of attacks in the red sea. rudy giuliani just hit with a new lawsuit and it is from the same two election workers who

he's already on the hook to pay nearly $150 million. the election workers' attorney will be outfront. he was hired to find voter fraud. he's speaking out tonight right here. what did he find? let's go out front. good evening. hamas releasing new hostage video and this new video which the idf calls a criminal terror video shows three elderly men pleading for their release. one of the men is an 84-year-old man. i spoke to cooper's son last month shortly after his mother who had also been kidnapped was freed from hamas. >> we know that my father is alive. definitely, you know -- he's uninjured two weeks ago. and he knows that she was

released. >> and yet he is still captive tonight. this video comes at a very perilous moment. the cia director met with israeli and qatari officials in an effort to try to free more hostages. there's talks that it could be constructive. the world saw the death of three hostages while raising white flags by israeli forces. they're death underscoring the deadly risk endured by unarmed civilians in gaza. a mother and daughter was killed outside of a church in gaza. they were on the holy family perish and they were walking to the sister's convent when they were shot and killed by a sniper. the idf disputes whether anyone was killed. but the biden administration is stepping up pressure. lloyd austin traveling to israel to tell israeli alerts affecting civilians is a moral duty and

strategic imperative. the biden administration wants to see israel scale back its invasion. they want them to focus on precise missions. and we do have something i want to share with you tonight on that. a new image of a tunnel tonight. you can see how wide it is. these images come from both the idf and reuters journalists who were there to witness it. the tunnel spans 2 1/2 miles. it reaches more than 160 feet underground and equipped with electricity, ventilation and communication systems. it goes close to the israeli border and can be used for large forces to move. you can see this isn't a narrow thing at all. its discovery comes as this war is spreading beyond israel's borders. another iranian-funded militia claiming responsibility for an attack on a ship in the red sea. the uss kearney responding to the ship's distress call. over the past two months, houthi forces have been involved in a

number of attacks along the red sea, hijacking, drones, missile attacks on commercial ships. it's adding up to a lot of ships rerouting, taking longer to get where they're going to go. these attacks are taking a toll on the world because 90% of the world's commerce moves by ship, 10% through the suez canal every day. never mind things like oil and electrified natural gas going through that passageway every second. today natural gas spiking. we're going to have much more on these attacks in just a moment. i want to begin with will ripley. you were in southern israel just a few miles from gaza and what did you see? >> you know, erin, we were working most of the day within a stone's throw of the fence that divides israel and gaza and you did not need a map to know when we were getting close to gaza because there was a massive spoke plume that was rising up from that embattled area and, in

fact, every few minutes, as we were driving and then even louder on the ground, we heard very loud booms. this was the sound of outgoing israeli artillery landing theoretically on the people of gaza which makes you wonder what the conditions must be like for them. they are both above and even blow ground. >> reporter: beneath the rubble of gaza, a massive underground labyrinth. videos from the israeli military claim to show the biggest hamas tunnel in gaza. 2 1/2 miles long. up to 164 feet deep with electricity, ventilation and communication systems. the idf says the tunnel is wide enough for a large vehicle, even a makeshift railroad. cnn cannot independently verify these videos, claiming to show what the idf calls hamas' strategic infrastructure. hundreds of terror tunnel shafts throughout the gaza strip. the idf on a mission to locate

and destroy dozens of routes. hamas made the claim of building more than 300 miles of tunnels under gaza, tunnels for smuggling goods, launching attacks, storing rockets and ammunition. and israel says hamas command centers hidden beneath homes. >> a tunnel that was used for terror. >> reporter: for three israeli men held hostage in gaza, a sign of dep per ration to the end. a white sheet and a plea for help with leftover food. it reads, help, three hostages. a message either missed or ignored by israeli soldiers who shot them down from a distance. all three shirtless waving a white cloth. the men holed up in a building in gaza city. it's not clear if the hostages were abandoned or managed to escape before the fatal confrontation.

the idf admits the killings broke their rule of engagement adding pressure on israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu to secure the release of around 129 remaining hostages amid growing international calls for a cease-fire, a truce israel says would only strengthen hamas. as every day people suffer on the streets of gaza, social media images show crowds climbing on aid trucks, a sign of growing desperation, amid a mountain of a humanitarian crisis as the number of dead in gaza approaching a staggering new milestone of 20,000. that number just gives you chills and yet that is the reality in gaza right now. and also the reality these new serious questions, erin, about how the idf is operating on the ground. the fact that these three israeli hostages came out shirtless waving a white cloth, two of them were shot instantly. the third who went back, sought

shelter and came out again, waving a white cloth and was shot and killed before the forces realized he was israel. you wonder what is happening to the countless civilians dying in gaza, erin. >> yes, we do. thank you very much. will ripley in tel aviv. outfront now, daphne is an expert on hamas tunnels and the author of "underground warfare". i appreciate you taking the time, professor. when you look at the passageways of the tunnels, we're looking at them, they're much wider than what we've seen before. as opposed to the very narrow pathway of the other images that we've seen, wide enough for vehicles, the idf says wide enough for a railroad, electricity, ventilation, all of this. you spent a decade of your life studying tunnels like this, this

entire system. what do you see here? >> i see a tunnel that looks a whole lot like the tunnels that north korea has dug into south korea. this is what i see. i see something of a much higher level of sophistication, which you described, much wider, more resistance, stronger, not just the -- by hand, but actually with the use of sophisticated civilian boring equipment. we're talking about tunnel warfare on a different level and i see also in addition to the influence of north korea, the large tunnel, enabling a massive invasion and infiltration into the country, i also see the hand of iran here which is a country that has deeply buried facilities. it's different from what hamas has done with its underground tunnel network, but you can see that with iran's help, hamas has

been able to dig deeper and better. >> so, you know, you talk about the equipment, heavy boring equipment that would have been used. i know the idf has shown images of construction on this tunnel. this tunnel where it's located, we understand, according to the idf, it ends just about 1,000 feet before -- from the israeli border, a specific crossing, actually, on the northern israeli/gaza border. when yo u take into account what the tunnel is, possibly be used for a large-scale invasion, and where you see it, then what does that layer of context tell you? >> so a couple things. i think you put it very well. it raises a lot of questions. the first thing that i can tell you is that i am sure that this is not the only tunnel of the like that hamas has. not all hamas tunnels look like this one. but i presume that it has a few

dozen, i would say, of such -- kind of like more heavy duty tunnels. and now the next question that comes up is, okay, what does hamas really intend to do with this tunnel? it's a very important military asset that was well concealed and came very close to israel's border. i see two options, number one, this is a tunnel that was actually used -- or some portion of it or some variation on this tunnel was used on october 7th itself to enable this massive infiltration of over 3,000 hamas fighters. these are some of the numbers. we don't know the exact number. we know it's a high number. and to go on foot into israel, i find it -- i would fight it surprising that i didn't use any kind of cross border tunnels. maybe this was one of those. another order of questioning would say, okay, this wasn't used, then what was hamas' plan? was it to use this tunnel and make it operational because it's

obviously quasi operational right now and make it usable during the war, during the oe operation to carry out another infiltration or more kidnappings and killings? it's either one of these two options. because of exactly what you said, the fact that it's coming close to israel's border, i see two scenarios, and i presume that israel will uncover in the coming days more such tunnels. >> thank you so much, professor. i appreciate your time tonight. >> thank you. all right. as i mentioned earlier, the war is widening now. there's a growing number of iran-backed houthi attacks hitting the red sea which is a crucial shipping route for everything. everything you order on amazon, oil, gas, you name it. general, i appreciate your time. looking at the map here, this has been a huge number of incidents since october 19th when this really started at

scale. missiles, drones coming from houthi missiles intercepted in the red sea. that is going on here? >> well, let's do a little bit of perspective first, if we can, erin, first of all, as you indicated, suez is here, red sea, another choke point, and then you have the gulf of aden into the indian ocean here. there's 1300 miles between yemen and israel and yemen has done a swarm of drone attacks as you've indicated in the direction of the eastern mediterranean, going after u.s. military vessels, naval vessel that is were there. they were intercepted by other u.s. vessels that were in this area. when you look at where the attacks have taken place, again, as you've described, essentially in this area right here, what's important to notice is that most of these attacks really affect the distribution of commercial

traffic through the suez and red sea and the indian ocean. that has a huge effect in terms of decisions that are being made in terms of what's being shipped where. this is clearly what iran is trying to do. the houthis are sponsored and funded by iran. iran now is taking a very strong strategic effort in order to move this fight into gaza. and that, again, is not surprising to any of us. what we're seeing right now in terms of where the houthis are, here's yemen, this portion of yemen is this northern portion of yemen, especially, is where the houthis are located. if you go back to this map, again, this is the portion right here, so their ability to intercept with a degree of precision all this traffic is indicated right there for you as well. >> and so, general, the big question, of course, is, as you see this and maybe there's even going to be a need for more u.s. support, how capable are the

houthis of escalating this even more? they've been aiming, but you could see an absolutely horrific incident happening. >> absolutely. the key thing is, yemen has the initiative. the houthis have the initiative to fire when they want. they know when the traffic is coming through. all the passages that come through the suez are declared. they're in receipt of that information. it's not a mystery. they know what's coming, when it's coming. they can prepare what they want to do. the key thing is, how do you get ahead of that? how can the united states and its partners in the region really put a punishing blow against the houthis to eliminate, to disincentivize their activities that they're taking on right now? >> thank you very much. general marks, thank you. next, breaking news, rudy giuliani hit with a new lawsuit with the two women he's been ordered to pay nearly $150 million. also breaking, greg abbott

sig signing a bill to make it a crime to enter texas through mexico illegal. and pushing back on putin. soldiers and their families demanding that they be sent home from ukraine. takes a lot of courage to do that and it's a story that you'll see first outfront.

breaking news, rudy giuliani sued again, just days after giuliani was ordered to pay $150 million for defaming two georgia election workers, the same election workers are suing giuliani again. ruby freeman and shaye moss who repeatedly threatened and intimidated as a result of giuliani's lies about them, have asked a judge to permanently stop him from doing that. it all comes as there are growing concerns and questions about how giuliani will pay the women any money given his deep debt and mounting legal problems. katelyn polantz has been working her sources today. you found so much out. let's start with this new lawsuit. what exactly does it do and is it likely to succeed? >> erin, these two women, ruby freeman and shaye moss, they are going to court because they want rudy giuliani not just to pay them, but to stop lying about them. that's what they're doing right

now. they initially won that verdict last friday for $150 million because of statements rudy giuliani was making of the 2020 election. before 2021, up until 2021, and then the lawsuit happened. now because rudy giuliani in the middle of that trial went outside the courthouse and doubled down on saying he had evidence, that he believed that he was still telling the truth about these women, lies about what they had done after the election as absentee ballot counters, they're going back to court and they're asking the judge, very likely the judge who oversaw his trial and is very familiar with everything that giuliani has been saying and doing related to this case, not showing up, losing in front of the jury, not taking the stand in his own defense, that judge is very likely to be looking at this too, this new lawsuit where they're seeking this court order. here's one of the statements that giuliani made on steve

bannon's podcast, on saturday, the day after the verdict about ruby freeman and shaye moss and this situation. >> a single piece of evidence that many americans have seen about how these women acted, that would have been totally contrary to their unrebuted, uncorroborated testimony. he called it a sham of a trial, that's one of the statements that giuliani made that is women are asking the judge to look at and see if they can get an order from the judge saying stop talking about these women and lying about them. >> i know the attorneys are seeking to collect this money. it's unclear if giuliani has any money to pay them. you've been looking into this. what have you found? >> they are moving very fast.

ruby freeman and shaye moss' legal team, they're a skilled team. and they're moving fast to collect the money that they can. so giuliani has been very public in the past several months saying he didn't even have money to fight this lawsuit that these two women brought against him and now he has a lot of debts. i mean, it's very substantial. when you look at them all stacked up, $146 million, just under that $150 million is what he's going to owe moss and freeman, attorneys' fees, other lawyers that he knows $1.4 million to. they're suing him for that separately. and then he had all of these unpaid phone bills that went through court. he has a lot of debts. that said, even though he has debts, ruby freeman and shaye moss are going to try and get at least some of the money they can out of him. at least a piece of it. and they are counting what he has. they have already identified, he has a manhattan co-op that he's

trying to sell for more than $6 million. it hasn't sold yet. i just looked. but he has a condo in florida. they're going to try to grab that. they're going to try to get access to some of his bank accounts and he said in court his a new newsmax contract. how much he gives them remains to be seen. >> and the order of creditors. they want to move quickly to get ahead of whether it's the phone company or the lawyers who are demanding fees, all those other creditors. thank you very much for breaking all of those numbers down. i want to bring in the attorney for shaye moss and ruby freeman. let me start there where katelyn finished. i know you're trying to basically circumvent an automatic 30-day delay to collect the money. you want to collect it as soon as you can because you see the numbers. $57,000 in unpaid phone bills, that's not good for paying any

portion of $146 million that he owes your client. how much money realistically do you sthink ruby freeman and shae moss are going to get? >> we asked for all of his records that would show exactly what he has and he never produced that information. so as you just heard, i mean, we know he has a co-op in manhattan, he is a condo in florida, it appears he may have other substantial assets. we're looking at all of those potential sources of money to go after, to make sure that mr. giuliani pays what he rightly owes. >> can you give clarity when you say other substantial assets? is there anything that you may be aware of that you're able to share of substantial assets? >> well, there are things that have been publicly reported. for instance, donald trump posted at least one and maybe multiple fund raisers for

mr. giuliani over the summer that were a million dollars a head. we don't know where the money went. he has a legal defense fund and we're learning in real time of additional assets and that stuff i can't yet talk about. >> i'm curious about that, though, of course, about those additional assets. more to come on that. soon after you won the verdict, giuliani trashed the ruling as unfair and he went on to say this about your clients. i'm sorry. we don't have the audio. what he says there, these women who claim to be -- it must have cost 8 to $10 million, 15 to 20 lawyers in the courtroom. this was not for them. he had gone on, trashing the ruling, denigrating the judge. how does this play into your new lawsuit against giuliani? what do you actually want to get out of that? >> well, as you just heard, the big difference between the new

lawsuit and the lawsuit that just resulted in the verdict on friday is that the new law seeks injunctive relief. in this law lawsuit we're looking for an injunction that would stop him from making these specific kinds of claims about ruby freeman and shaye moss. we know mr. giuliani doesn't seem to care about court orders. the utility is significant. so among other things, an injunction can stop anyone who is in active concert with mr. giuliani or any of his agents from violating a court injunction. in addition, an injunction is something that other people cannot assist mr. giuliani in violating. there's real teeth to an injunction. and we think it's going to be a powerful remedy and we're very serious about making sure that mr. giuliani finally stops spreading his lies about

ms. freeman and ms. moss. >> thank you. i appreciate your time. next, the software engineer who was hired by trump to prove widespread voter fraud is now finally speaking out. he's going to tell you what he uncovered and tell you why he wants to share it now. ken block is my guest. breaking news, you're looking at a live picture of a volcanic eruption in southwest iceland. lava right now. hundreds of feet in the air, imagine it. 4,000 people have been safely evacuated. but this is what's going on right now. we'll haveve more comiming up.

tonight, fake electors in

court. six pro-trump fake electors pleading not guilty today in the state of nevada. they face felony charges for signing onto a false slate of trump electors. one of the indicted is the state republican chairman who introduced trump at his nevada rally last night. trump calling him and some of the fake electors great patriots. jessica schneider begins our coverage outfront. >> that is six votes certified. >> reporter: the six nevada republicans charged with serving as fake electors for the trump campaign in 2020 in state court monday morning all pleading not guilty to two felonies, one count of forgery and one count of filing a false record. it's central to the felonies each is facing. trump lost by 33,000 votes with joe biden winning the state's

six electoral votes. but they signed false certificates saying trump won. we tracked down some of the fake electors before they were charged. >> no comment on any of that. >> reporter: they all refused to talk. the leader of the alleged fake elector scheme is the current nevada republican party chairman michael mcdonald. >> donald j. trump! >> reporter: trump was praising him over the weekend. >> a tremendous man, a tremendous guy. gets treated so unfairly. he loves this country and he loves this state. nevada gop chairman michael mcdonald. he's a fantastic man. >> reporter: in court -- >> not guilty. >> reporter: -- mcdonald joined all of his fellow defendants. the judge set a trial date for early march and prosecutors will hand over hard drives with evidence. nevada is the third state to

file criminal charges in connection with the trump campaign's fake elector plot. it was carried out in seven states and prosecutors in michigan, georgia and nevada have charged more than a dozen fake electors. their lawyers in court appearances and court filings have insisted that their actions were meant to give trump the ability to contest the results of the election in court. but state prosecutors argue their months-long investigations show it was purely intentional fraud. >> these charges are the culmination of a long and careful investigation into these actions taken in the aftermath of the 2020 election. >> reporter: and cnn has learned that several of the nevada fake electors are still active in state politics. two of them have been making their way across the state of nevada actually educating voters about the 2024 electoral process, that includes how the caucus process works. and when cnn asked jim about

that irony of fake electors educating voters about the process, erin, he declined to comment. >> jessica, thank you very much. and this fake elector scheme as it was taking shape, team trump was trying to prove widespread voter fraud over and over. and one of the people they turned to was ken block. ken is outfront with me now. i really appreciate speaking to you. i know you took your time to figure out if it was the right thing to do for you to speak out. but you were hired by team trump to investigate voter fraud. and you were focused, i know on the six key swing states, one of which we were just talking about, arizona. so what was the bottom line from everything you looked at, ken, did you find the widespread fraud they wanted you to find? >> well, thank you for having me on and good evening. no, in my job looking for voter fraud for the campaign, we didn't find any -- we didn't

find enough fraud to have impacted the result of any election in any of the swing states that we take a look a look at. but the campaign asked me to look at claims of fraud that other people were making and these claims were coming in fast and furious in the 30 days after the election. my team looked at approximately 15 or so claims, every one of which we were able to prove was false. >> every one of which. i mean, as you say, you were inundated. at one point, maybe a theory a day. coming in from everyone in trump's orbit. can you talk at all about which claims standout to you or when you look back on it now, when they throw the ball into your court, which one of them really stands out to you now? >> well, i mean, they were all quite different, honestly. they all stood out for different reasons. at the end of the day, if i was

going to classify the different fraud claims, some of them were i believe honest efforts by people who didn't understand what they were looking at. they misinterpreted data. others were literally college professors bringing forward complicated mathematical theories that claimed to prove that in one state or another state there was massive amounts of fraud. and those took a lot more work not only because i had to hack my way through pretty dense mathematical theorem, but at the end of it, i had to discuss with groups of lawyers and campaign s consultants and other people who had no idea what i was going to be talking about to describe in laymen's terms why this claim on its face must have been accurate because where it came from was, in fact, false.

>> right. i know that has to have been a hard part. you were subpoenaed, ken, by the special counsel, jack smith and the doj investigation also by district attorney fani willis in the georgia investigation. you know, one of these is how you and i originally spoke. last spring when we had a conversation. so what did investigators want to know from you? >> so in both of those legal matters, i'm what's called a fact witness. i was subpoenaed for all of my communications in any form with the trump campaign in both of those legal matters. that's been so far the extent of my involvement with both of those investigations and now legal actions. we'll see what developments from this point forward. but so far, i've not had to appear in front of a grand jury personally. it's all the materials that i created have. >> trump today, three years

later, he is still continuing to put these theories out there and to tell people they are true and people still believe them to be true. millions and millions and millions of people. here he is just in recent days. >> i got 75 million votes. i have -- and that's their count. okay, which is a phony count. any time you have mail-in ballots you have corrupt elections. they cheat like hell. it's the only thing they do good is cheat on elections. >> you said to us, ken, something that i -- seemed to be profound, never have you believed that finding so little in the way of fraud would mean so much. how do you feel when you continue to hear trump put things out there to a believing public in many of these cases that you know are not true, that you yourself investigated? >> so what's happening now is we're seeing individuals and

organizations creating a lot of noise about voter fraud, trying to bring forward a new proof that voter fraud has occurred. and all of these efforts while they claim to be bringing forward proof, aren't providing proof of fraud. fraud is something that is detectable, something that's quantifiable, and ultimately something that you can verify. just the other day, there was a poll that purported to provide proof that 20% of all the mail ballots that were cast has some form of fraud attached to them on -- based on the foundation of a telephone pole poll conducted by a robot. not by a human being. tens of millions of people received this information, they desperately want to believe that president trump improperly lost the election and they're ready

to believe it and they're ready to take action if asked to help correct what they believe is a wrong and one of the main reasons that i'm out here with this book talking about my experiences in looked is to provide the direct evidence i was paid to look for this fraud. i was paid to vet the fraud in preparation for these cases to go to trial. this was four a group of attorneys within the campaign who were serious about their jobs and they did their due diligence. that's what i was performing for them. i was providing due diligence. i found nothing. reported that, they took that information, accepted it, reported it up the line to mark meadows who was the chief of staff at the time, mark meadows then communicated the findings that there were no fraud to the oval office. so it's -- has to be told.

this story needs to be told. people need to understand what really happened in terms of fraud. and to try to understand what actual fraud is as opposed to hearsay evidence which is most of what people are being told is evidence of fraud. >> ken, thank you very much. i appreciate it and i do want everyone to know that your new book coming out is called "disproven". it will be released early next year. and next the breaking, the texas governor signing a controversial bill that makes it a state crime to illegally cross the border. plus russian soldiers fighting in ukraine speaking out with a message to putin that it is time to send them home.

breaking news, texas governor greg abbott signing a bill that makes entering texas illegally a state crime. local law enforcement has the ability to arrest migrants. we're in brownsville, texas, tonight. >> they're poisoning the blood of our country. >> reporter: former president donald trump's hard-line immigration stance echoed in texas where governor greg abbott signed into law the bill.

it creates a new state crime for illegal entry into texas. gives local police the power to arrest and judges the power to remove violators. >> the problem is far more than just numbers. >> reporter: after multiple attempts, the controversial measure passed a republican-led legislature. >> it's un-american -- >> reporter: but not without a fight by the democratic minority that erupted into this on the house floor. >> you don't understand what you do to your community. >> reporter: after republicans cut debate short. >> and y'all don't understand that. y'all don't live in our [ bleep ] skin. >> reporter: that is a state representative from houston. an american with mexican roots. he says he fears sb-4 will lead to the racial profiling of latinos across texas. >> why do we and those who look like me, have to carry our passport around. >> reporter: they said there was no need to safeguard the measure

against racial profiling. texas has not determined the cost of sb-4. come governments fear it's an unfunded unfunded mandate. brian birdwell voted against the measure saying it's unconstitutional. >> we're setting a terrible precedent for the future by invalidating our obedience and faithfulness to our constitution. >> i think sb-4 is completely constitutional. >> reporter: for americans outside of texas -- >> representative wally. >> reporter: he warns it could be used to overturn the ruling on arizona's 2012 so-called show your papers law which upheld that immigration is a federal function. >> this is their road map. now that they have a much favorable supreme court -- >> it's not in conflict with the precedent set. >> reporter: as for wally who lost the fight against the law but was one of the strongest voices against it -- >> it fills me with pride

because i've had elderly people tonight tell me that they were proud that somebody stood up for them, stood up for somebody who didn't have a voice. >> reporter: now i asked governor abbott point-blank if he's trying to overturn arizona versus the united states. again, that is the 2012 u.s. supreme court decision that upheld that immigration is a federal function. governor abbott first said he believes that sb-4 stands alone. this is constitutional. and then he said, quote, we also welcome a supreme court decision that would overturn the precedent set in the arizona case. erin, only hinting a yes to my question. >> absolutely. thank you very much in brownsville tonight. and next, putin's men on the battlefield are speaking out in a rare show of dissent. something everybody to hear about. they're saying they're in pain and want to come home. special report only here next. live pictures out of southwest iceland where a volcano has just started to

erupt.t.

tonight, to bring their sons and husbands home from the battlefield. even some soldiers are speaking

out and matthew chance is "outfront" tonight in moscow. >> on state television, russian troops are on the rampage. advancing, seizing land, they say. pushing ukrainian forces back. they're new soldiers. don't seem to know what to do. says this russian commander. her concern over the plight of russia's own mobilized troops is beginning to stir. ordinary families with men serving in ukraine and pleading for them to return. we just want our husbands and sons to come home says this woman. the brave call in a country where dissent is barely tolerated. but the partial mobilization of russians which began last

september was always an unpopular move. as men were bussed into military service. hundreds of thousands more fled the country to avoid the draft. those sent to ukraine are still there. men like alexander who says he was drafted in january this year. now, he wants home. we're all so tired, he says, in this social media post. our backs and knees hurt. no one cares about money or the benefits, he says. we just want to be allowed home. everyone really wants that. the kremlin is in no mood to ease off this war. with u.s. aid to ukraine blocked in congress, theres's a feeling here western resolve may

crumble, bolstering putin as he stands virtually unopposed for yet another presidential term. that which divides us must be put aside, putin insists in his first campaign speech. russia will be sovereign or not there at all, he adds. among putin's hard line supporters and there many, the prospect of his continued reign is being celebrated. we don't need any other president, one of them shouts. but new year's celebrations elsewhere are muted. bring my husband back. bring my dad home say the festive messages on this tree. the year is drawing to an end. but russia's conflict in ukraine drags on. erin, and as ukraine is now

warning that it will cut back on its military operations because of a dropoff in international aid including from the united states, russia is doubling down saying it's going to step up its activity on the battlefield until such times as president putin says all of its war aims have been achieved. >> all right. thank you very much. matthew chance, he is live in moscow this evening. and breaking news next. live images out of iceland. a volcano as i speak, erupting. lava spewing hundreds of feet into the air. these are live images and we'll be right back.

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