-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com your coverage of the ukraine crisis continues. let's hand it over to wolf blitzer and "cnn tonight." >> anderson thank you very much. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, and this is "cnn tonight." [ sound of gunfire ] >> a series of loud explosions are being seen and heard in and

around kyiv, and there are reports of heavy fighting in a town about 20 miles south of the capital and now in an eastern suburb, as russian forces are clearly closing in. the fate of ukraine is being decided right now, that according to president zelenskyy in a brand-new address to his nation that is under attack. >> translator: this night will be very difficult, and the enemy will use all available forces to break the resistance of ukrainians. this night, we have to stand ground. the fate of ukraine is being decided right now. >> air raid sirens have been blaring throughout much of the night capital, as zelenskyy confirms russian forces are indeed closing in rapidly. the u.s. is concerned kyiv could fall to russia within a matter of days, maybe sooner. the russians have taken over an air base just north of the city and are also advancing along two routes from the north and at

least one of the east. zelenskyy warns russia will use all available forces to break up the resuistance and is advising ukrainians to stand ground, many ukrainians heeding calls to fight however they can. others have escaped the capital and the country, indeed, by the tens of thousands. zelenskyy posted a video earlier to show he's still very much engaged in the besieged capital, along with key members of his cabinet, even though he believes he's the enemy's target number one. this situation is so dire the biden administration believes russia will threaten to kill the families of ukrainian soldiers if they don't surrender. the u.s. has gone so far as to announce it will sanction vladimir putin directly, along with his foreign minister, sergey lavrov, and some russian national security officials. this is a very rare step, indeed, to sanction a world leader, and it follows the european union's decision to do

so. they did so first along with the uk. but putin is showing no signs of backing down tonight. nato's response force has been activated -- get this --or first time since nato was established back in 1949, to defend the alliance. nato's secretary general says more than 100 jets are in high alert in more than 30 locations along with more than 120 ships from the high north to the mediterranean. we have total coverage tonight across coverage as well as in moscow and wherever the breaking news takes us. but let's begin with cnn's alex marquardt. he's in the capital of kyiv. president zelenskyy minces no words. he says kyiv could fall under russia's control by tonight. what are you seeing and hearing tonight on the ground in kyiv? >> reporter: a very honest assessment from president zelenskyy there, wolf. and from all the evidence that we have seen and that we are hearing, he is right. there is growing evidence that

the russians are really coming at this capital city of 3 million ukrainians from all angles. just moments ago, we heard what we believe to be the closest explosions to the city center yet. that is coming from the west, which is directly in front of me. we know that over the course of the past 24 hours, the fiercest fighting in kyiv has been to the north and northeast of the city. our own matthew chance was up at an airfield yesterday that was taken by the russians. we know that russians are marching on the city from the east, and we've just gotten word that there is some fierce fighting also taking place about 30 kilometers or 20 miles to the south. so, really from every different direction, wolf. so, you had that honest assessment from president zelenskyy, but at the same time he says that the ukrainians are putting up a fierce fight. and there is evidence of that. so far the russians have not

made their way into the city. president zelenskyy saying that some -- that hundreds of russian service members have been killed but also admitting that there have been significant losses on the ukrainian side as well. the president has warned that tonight will be a real test -- a real moment of a test for this country and for this city. he said that the fate of ukraine is being decided right now. and, wolf, to give you a sense of where we are right now, not only have reservists for the ukrainian military been called up, there has been a general mobilization of all men from 18-60 years old. anybody who wants a weapon to fight can be given one. and the ministry of defense not too long ago called on ukrainians to put together

molotov cocktails to throw at advancing russian forces. that's where we are right now. there is a lot of pride in the ukrainian armed forces. there is a lot of patriotism and a lot of people saying that they're going to go out and fight. but that just gives you a sense to which the ukrainian forces are outmanned and outgunned. so, we are hearing more explosions in now and around kyiv. we are hearing air raid sirens go off in the city. we are seeing some of -- some flashes in the distance, as those explosions happen. so, mounting evidence, wolf, that this fighting is getting closer and closer to the capital city. >> i take it, alex, the explosions have been getting louder and louder, as they get closer and closer to where you are in the center of the city. >> reporter: that's absolutely right. and the latest ones are, we believe, just a couple

kilometers or mile asws away to west. and i believe we have some video of that. let's take a listen so you can get a good sense of what we are hearing from this vantage point downtown. listen. [ sound of gunfire ] >> reporter: so, that obviously coming the from a resident of that area, again, to the west of the city. and i just -- i just want to re-emphasize, wolf, that we are now seeing and hearing this kind of explosion coming from every direction. that is in the west, we believe over near the kyiv zoo. to the north, which has been the real concern for this city, that is where we have seen the most significant fighting. remember, russian troops coming down towards keyiv from the belarusian border, where tens of thousands of russian forces have

gathered over the past few weeks for what they have called exercises. now obvious that they were gathering for this invasion. we came up from the southern part of -- we came up into kyiv from the south not too long ago. and now we are being told some of the fiercest fighting tonight is taking place about 20 miles from the capital down there just south of kyiv, wolf. >> let's not forget kyiv is a big city, a city of almost 3 million people, heavily populated. and if the russians are attacking all these various areas in and around the city, god only knows how many people might be getting killed and injured in the process. alex, i'd like you to stand by. we're going to get back to you for any new developments. i know this is a dangerous situation. i want you to be very, very safe. if it gets too dangerous, you go to that bunker you know you guys have over there. stand by. we'll get to you soon. in the meantime i want to go straight to moscow.

nic robertson is on the scene for us there. nic, what do you know about russia's plans tonight. ukrainian president zelenskyy says tonight could be the night that the russian forces move into the capital. >> reporter: in one word, ominous. i think that's the best way to describe the plans. the russians have said they've gone in to demilitarize and denazify the country. president putin holds president zelenskyy in absolute -- the lowest regard possible. i mean, he's sort of venomous towards him and the tone and the type of language that he uses. so, there certainly does seem to be enough reason to believe that there will be an effort to topple the leadership, to kill the leadership. that's one part of the tactic. but i think the other very ominous thing that we learned over the past few hours or so was when president putin spoke and he accused the u.s. military of advising the ukrainian military to put their weaponry in civilian areas.

now, this is right out of russia's playbook of operations. if they say, oh, we seem to -- oh, dear, we think that the military's hiding the military equipment in the civilian neighborhood, that tells you the russians are going to go and attack the sylcivilian neighborhoods, despite the fact they were saying the civilians should be safe not 24 hours ago. the other thing putin is doing, he's called on the ukrainian military, the ukrainian people to turn on their own government, completely misreading the situation. so, this is an environment now where essentially president putin has declared open season on civilian neighborhoods to achieve his military victory. where it stops in the city, decapitating the leadership is still the best guess, wolf. >> all right, nic, we're going to get back to you as well. nic robertson in moscow with the latest from there. i want to discuss what's going on right now and bring in retired lieutenant colonel

daniel davis and veteran journalist on russia. she knows what's going on, founding partner, by the way of "puck" news. considering what we're hearing on the news, what we're seeing, kyiv, the capital under siege right now. we're hearing lots of explosions going on in and around the city. how worried are you that the capital could fall? >> well, i mean, based on all the things that are being reported and the things that your correspondents are seeing on the ground there, i think the chances are much higher than i thought maybe even 12, 24 hours ago because the assumption was that the ukrainians were going to fight a little bit tougher and have a slower go and maybe even set up some significant defenses within the city. so far it honestly doesn't look like the ukraine military, as an organization, has been able to even slow down the russians. i mean, i heard some complaints earlier today say that the russian advance was going slower. as your correspondents have just pointed out, they are advancing on the capital from literally every direction.

wherever there's been a pitched battle, the russians win, they put down the ukrainians, and they move completely forward. now, i think that this kind of brings out a point that needs to be brought out that no one's talking about yet. if president zelenskyy sees that the russians are coming and his forces can't stop it, the last thing he should be doing is putting his people in harm's way by telling them to go out and throw molotov cocktails, handing them rifles they have no idea how to use. i think he should be pressing what "the new york times" is reporting that he's willing to negotiate a declaration of neutrality with russia in israel. that's probably all that can save his people at this point. >> what do you think, julia? because i don't think there's any indication at all -- at least i haven't seen any indication -- that putin and the russians are ready to negotiate anything. >> i think that's right, wolf. and although i understand the

concern about people getting killed and that it's -- might feel irresponsible to tell them to make molotov cocktails and shoot ak-47s at russian tanks, i think politically zelenskyy is in a tough spot. what is he going to do? just negotiate and give up ukraine's sovereignty or ukraine's potential membership to nato? i think it's going to look too like he's cutting and running or, you know, conceding defeat before it's absolutely necessary. and it seems like the mood in the country is such that people want to fight. and they want their president to fight. and i don't -- that might be at odds with kind of keeping casualties low, but i think the mood is that they want to stand up to the russian conquerers. >> colonel davis, russia, as you know, is a mass -- what -- nearly 200,000 troops, maybe

190,000 troops, around ukraine. many of those troops are now in ukraine. how much more brutal could this entire assault get? >> well, it could go a lot worse. evidence indicates that this has been a phased approach in that russia did not just, like, roll all these 200,000 vehicles and tanks and other personnel in, but they're doing it in a phased approach to make penetrations. and then they'll bring other, what's called pursuit forces to go through that. that's where you could see rapid rollups. but i do want to point out, officially from the kremlin, they have said after zelenskyy made that comment earlier today, they officially said they are willing to talk about this. and they're actually talking with israel too. but the other thing -- and this is the hard reality. if it's evident that militarily you can't stop russia, then it doesn't matter how brave a face you want to put on there. there's no point in putting civilians in harm's way if the end result is going to be the same. whether you make a negotiation,

whether you even say, hey, i'm going to surrender the capital so it doesn't get hit or you say, no, we're going to fight to end. the end result is the same. the difference is how many people have to die before that. i think the leader has a responsibility to take care of his people. >> this is moving very, very rapidly, indeed. julia, u.s. officials, as you well know, suspect putin's goal is first to topple kyiv, the capital, put his own pro-russian government in place, either arrest or kill zelenskyy, and maybe other cabinet members and their families. ukrainians have become a lot more independent, more anti-russian over the past eight years, haven't they? >> yeah, and in part that's putin's handiwork. the more he wanted to forcibly bring them into his embrace, the more he's driven them away and toward the west. and if ukraine was a country that was much more divided before 2014, putin certainly remedied that.

and these days i don't think ukraine has ever been as unified. you have opposition politicians praising president zelenskyy, even though they used to criticize him. there is a really rally around the flag effect. and i just want to get back to the point about negotiations. i think if we've learned anything from the last couple months is that the russians don't want to negotiate. putin made that very clear in his, you know, speech declaring the invasion. and it's something that a lot of his ministers and officials have echoed. the goal isn't nato anymore. at least not the stated goal. i don't think it was ever about nato and neutrality. he talked about denazifing ukraine, ukraine who has a jewish president and a jewish prime minister. the goal is regime change. i don't know how you negotiate that. and i don't know how, you know, civilian casualties or not, of

course you want to save people's lives. but there is also a political aspect and a kind of -- for lack of a better term -- a spiritual aspect to this. the ukrainians don't want to be defeated before they have to be. and that might be irrational and that might be emotional, but i think emotions are running so high right now. and it's hard to not understand that. >> putin made it very clear in that speech that he gave, he doesn't even regard ukraine as a country. he sees it obviously as part of russia. julia, thank you very much, lieutenant colonel davis thanks to you as well. we appreciate both of your expertise tonight. we're keeping a close eye on kyiv, the capital of ukraine tonight. explosions are being seen in and around the capital. this is clearly putin's war right now. why did he choose to do this right now? we're going to take you to a former u.s. ambassador to nato. we'll discuss as our breaking news coverage continues.

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the breaking news this hour, explosions, many explosions in and around kyiv, the capital of ukraine, coming from several directions. listen to this. [ sound of gunfire ] >> god only knows how many people are being killed right now. are crews are in the capital city. they are among those seeing and hearing those awful, horrendous sounds. we'll go back to our correspondents in just a moment as new information comes in. but i want to bring in my next guest. he says president putin's goal

is bigger, bigger than simply taking over ukraine. he has a larger plan -- we're talking about putin. his plan is to re-establish the former soviet union before the 100th anniversary of the founds of the ussr. we're talking to the former u.s. special representative to ukraine negotiations joining us right now. ambassador, thank you so much for joining us. as we say, i wish we were meeting under different circumstances. we're monitoring this assault on kyiv that's going on right now. how big of a blow will it be if ukraine's capital falls to putin in the coming hours? >> this would be the devastation of ukraine. if the capital falls, i think the country falls. and russia will have successfully taken over all of the country. i think they will leave their forces on the territory of ukraine. they will seize control of the borders of ukraine to the west to europe. and this is one more piece in the puzzle. putin has taken over belarus.

he's taken control of the security services in kazakhstan. he's taken pieces of georgia and moldova, already taken pieces of ukraine. now if he gets the whole thing, this is one more big step in his project of re-establishing the russian empire. >> and recreating the ussr. >> yeah, i think the ussr is slightly different because that had a communist ideology, which putin despices. i think he thinks the leaders of the ussr let the country down because he allowed those countries to become independent, to slip away. and he thinks that was based on a foolish attachment to communist ideology. putin is using nationalism and religion as a way to unify the russian people. and i think he is intended he will reaccumulate the lands but do a better job in holding them together and exercising power. >> you were the former u.s. ambassador to nato, been to nato

headquarters in brussels many times. nato was established in 1949, as you well know. and now for the first time ever, the 30-member nato alliance has activated what it calls its nato response force. nato supreme ally commander says the force is flexible and combat credible. so, what do you say? what's the significance of this historic the move, the first time ever? >> look, well, wolf, this is a good move. it is important that nato show to russia that we will defend nato allies. if they're attacked, we will come to their defense. there will be a direct conflict with russia if they do that. therefore, russia should not touch nato. that's very important. but the problem with this is it doesn't address the immediate issue of russia's attacks on ukraine. this nato response force is not going to be deployed to defend ukraine. it is there to reassure and protect existing nato allies. we need to have more on the

table, what we can do today, tonight, to help the ukrainians fend off this russian attack. >> in the situation room a few hours ago, i spoke with congressman adam kinzinger. he's a u.s. air force lieutenant colonel. he served in iraq and afghanistan. and he told me that to protect the ukrainian citizens, which is in immediate need right now, the u.s. and nato should declare what he calls a no fly zone over ukraine. would that be worth the risk? what's your reaction to that, ambassador? >> i think this is a very serious idea that we should be looking at. maybe not all of ukraine, because i think the closer we get to russian territory, the more we put our own planes at risk of russian ground-to-air missiles that could take our planes down. but if we're talking about preventing airborne attacks or missile attacks against civilian populations in ukraine, this is certainly worth looking at. we did this, if you remember, over the kurdish areas in iraq

when saddam hussein was trying to exterminate the kurds in iraq. it bought them time and allowed them to build one of the most stable and prosperous pieces of territory in iraq these days. i think ukraine needs time and needs support. i would add one thing as well. in addition to a no fly zone over kyiv and parts of ukraine, i would like to see a corridor established, where we are able to continue to deliver supplies and military equipment to ukrainians so they can continue to defend themselves. they've depleted a lot of stuff in the past few days, stinger missiles, javelin missiles. we should be opening up a pipeline to help them, even if we don't put u.s. forces in harm's way. >> those are all very, very strong ideas. ambassador, we'll continue this conversation. thank you very, very much and thanks for your service over these many years. i want to get back to kyiv right now. the ukrainian capital, where russian forces are clearly closing in. is tonight the night?

the capital of ukraine could actually fall? or can the ukrainians actually save the city? cnn is there live. we have reporters on the scene. we'll check in with them right after this.

more explosions if had and around kyiv, the ukrainian

capital, tonight as vladimir putin's war against the country has now entered day three. some of the newest videos coming in, we're going to share it with you as well. i'm going to check in with cnn's alex marquardt. he's in the capital of kyiv now for us. tell our viewers what you're seeing and hearing. what has been going on over these past several minutes? >> reporter: well, wolf, what's really striking is that it is incredibly quiet in the city until that silence is pierced by the sounds of the fighting. we have heard some of the closest explosions to the center of downtown kyiv in just the past hour. it is to the western part of the city just a couple miles or kilometers away. that is -- those are the closest explosions, the closest signs of fighting, as russians look to encircle the city that we have yet seen. now, straight behind me to the east, we are also getting reports of more fierce fighting. and then again to the south.

and now all that is coupled with what we know that the russians have been making their major push coming in from the north. so, this city is gradually getting encircled. wolf, we've heard predictions from the u.s. side that the city could fall in a matter of days. the ukrainian president saying that there's a very decisive moment tonight for ukraine, that the fate of ukraine is being decided right now. and we are seeing the signs of that escalation as we speak, wolf. >> and as you correctly point out it's very quiet until there are loud explosions going on. and once again, i can only imagine how many people are getting killed the in all those strikes. alex, stand by, stay safe, you and your team. we'll get back to you soon as well. and as we watch the capital, kyiv, the situation there unfold, i want to bring in democratic senator ben carney. he sits on the foreign relations

committee. he's been well-briefed by u.s. officials. you just heard that report, senator, from kyiv. do you have any intelligence on the state of play on the ground? how awful is it? >> well, wolf, just about every step here has been predicted. we understand the strength of the russian military, the capacity of the ukraine military to defend itself. we knew that mr. putin had a desire to take over kyiv and to overthrow the government. so, that's not a surprise that we see this campaign taking place. it doesn't diminish the tragedy of the events. the ukrainians are going to fight. the -- mr. putin has really unified ukraine's national pride and their sovereignty. and you're going to see the resistance. we saw today it's not moving as smoothly as mr. putin had hoped. and that's good news. they're seeing the resistance. but we have to be realistic and recognize that from a military

point of view, the russians have put everything they have into taking over ukraine. >> how should the u.s. respond, senator, if russia seizes kyiv, captures, and then kills the president, president zelenskyy. he says he's their target number one. if they do that, what should the u.s. do? >> well, we need to continue to work with our allies. unity is our strength. in working with the europeans, we've been able to impose some very crippling sanctions on those that are the closest to mr. putin as well as to the way mr. putin finances his operations. they're going to be very effective in hurting hum im kee power. we're also seeing popular objections by the russian people themselves, the protesters that are out there. the cost of this campaign, the fact that there's no reason, there's no provocation for this military action by russia.

all that's affecting the popular sentiment within russia itself, which we think could have a major impact on mr. putin. so, we've got to reinforce that. we have to give the ukrainians everything they need to defend themselves. we need to make it very costly for mr. putin, as personal as we can do that, and make sure that the information is made available to all people, including russians, as to exactly how mr. putin is leading that country and leading them in the wrong direction. >> i spoke earlier with congressman adam kinzinger who says that the u.s. and nato allies should impose a no fly zone over ukraine. the former u.s. ambassador volker agreed, at least for parts of ukraine. do you also agree? >> well, i think we need to consider all options except introduction of american or nato troops in ukraine. but to enforce a no fly zone,

you are putting americans or nato forces at risk. and there is always a possibility of a confrontation directly with russia. so, it has to be in a way that is protecting civilian population or a way in which we can try to neutralize some of the activities that are taking place without a direct confrontation with russia. so, it's not easy to enforce a no fly zone, but it is something i think we need to consider particularly as we see the attacks on civilian populations and the casualties mount in regards to civilian losses. >> civilian losses are growing, casualties are growing, awfully hard right now. senator benicarny, thanks for joining us. >> thank you wolf. ukraine's president fears this could be the moment russia takes kyiv, the capital. our teams are on watch right now. they're in the capital.

they're across ukraine. despite the russian bombardment, ukrainians are indeed putting up a ferocious fight to try to save their homeland. we're going to bring in a key member of the ukrainian parliament. she's still in kyiv right now and she has told cnn she's willing to take up arms herself. we'll discuss what's going on when we come back. ♪ ♪ feel stuck with student loan debt? move to sofi and feel what it's like to get your money right. ♪ ♪ move your student loan debt to sofi—you could save with low rates and no fees. go to sofi.com to view your rate today.

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dramatic developments unfolding in ukraine. ukrainians across the country are taking up arms, as russian troops are clearly closing in. one of them is ukrainian member of parliament who is in kyiv, the capital, posted a picture of herself holding a kalashnikov weapon. keira, thank you so much for joining us. tell us why you decided to post that picture. >> because it was super unusual and super crazy for myself to understand and realize that i'm holding a gun and i'm ready to bear arms and i'm ready to go and shoot the other human

beings. and the reason for that change was because russian soldiers are coming to kyiv and russian soldiers are trying to take what is actually not theirs. and it's such a weird switch from your ordinary life when you are thinking that they may come but you are still a member of parliament and you are doing meetings and legislation and talking to people. and then one day you just know that they're coming. and then you have to do something. and that's when you get a gun and then you learn how to shoot it. and then you -- and then you understand that you need to get a group of resistance, which we did. and now we are helping our army to fight russians, to fight russian soldiers that are coming to kyiv and that are trying to take kyiv right now when we are talking with you. >> how intense -- how intense is the fighting in the capital of kyiv right now? what are you seeing and what are

you hearing? because we did hear loud explosions, booms going on throughout the past hour or so. >> so, for the last two days, there has been, like, 11 air force attacks, and they are very often right now. so, for the last couple of hours, we had, like, at least three sirens. so, when we had to go to the bomb shelter and you see the stairs behind me, this is under them, my family and i, we hide here. so, it's intensifying, and there are russian forces in the north and the south of the city. but they are not moving and making great progress. we are throwing them back. and we are actually fighting them very, very hard. in the last two days, there have been 3,000 people of casualties in russian army. so, that's a fantastic result

for ukrainian army. >> do you think putin underestimated the resolve of the ukrainian people? >> i am absolutely sure. he underestimated the readiness of our army, and he underestimated that on every step of the way of his soldiers, they were given really hard resistance. and people are arming themselves. people are fighting them at every inch of our soil. this is what the citizens have to do, and this is what we do. >> did you ever think, other kira, that you and other civilians in kyiv and elsewhere in ukraine would be taking up, learning how to fire a rifle, a kalashnikov in your particular case, because the russians are moving in? >> if you would have told me that three days ago, i would have said, wolf, you are crazy. but now, this is our new reality. and we have to -- we have to do the best what we can in this new

reality. it's war. it's active war that is happening in kyiv now. and we are part of it. and we are not leaving because this is our city. this is our country. and there is no putin soldiers who will be telling us what to do and where to live. >> kira rudik good luck to you, good luck to your family, good luck to everyone in kyiv. it's a terrible situation. i know tens of thousands are getting out of kyiv, going to poland as quick as they can. you're staying put. we will be in touch with you. thank you so much. to our viewers, stay with us because we're watching every move in the ukrainian capital right now, indeed across ukraine, with its president, president zelenskyy warning, this could be the make or break moment in the russian invasion. the horrifying scenes of bloodshed come with equally ugly and false claims from vladimir putin. he's basically claiming that

he's simply fighting neonazis, he says, in a country -- that country, by the way, the leader of that country is jewish, lost family members in the holocaust. and putin is making outrageous claims like that. an expert on russia and ukraine standing by live to join me. we'll discuss we believe putin is using tactics, tactics like those -- this is what this professor says -- of adolf hitler. that's next.t.

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of ukraine. my next guest says these moves hitler-like tactics. we're talking about the yale professor timothy snider. professor, thank you so much. as you know putin is claiming you point out it's not only absurd but actually cruel considering the fact zelenskyy is jewish, the grandchild of h holocaust survivors. talk to us about this. >> this charge of naughtyification is meant to discourage us and confuse us. putin has everything turned around. ukraine is a democratic country not an authoritarian one like russia. it's a multicultural bilingual

society, and that's what makes it unbearable for putin, precisely the fact someone can come out of nowhere and become president. that's what he's punishing zelenskyy for. >> what is his narrative all about talking about putin? what is he trying to achieve his bottom line goal? >> well, his bottom line goal, well, there are two. the first is militarily he wants to come into kyiv, arrest the political and civic leaders of the ukrainian state and get them out of power and try them in some way. and this is where the genocide comes in. he said as much he intends to use the genocide and denaziification language he intends to setup some sort of kangaroo court which would condemn these people to death or prison or incarceration.

meanwhile because he's using the language of denaziification or genocide he's also diluting or t trivalizing or perverting these concepts. >> another awful remark putin made and he's made so many has been ukraine as a sovereign nation shouldn't even exist at all. how dangerous is a statement like that? >> it goes back to your first question. that is straight out of hitler's play book to claim that the democratic neighboring state is some sort of art financial creation that doesn't deserve to exist. the whole basis of international law was that states recognize each other as states. who's big brother and who's a little brother. when you say that a state doesn't exist as he said, when you say a nation doesn't exist as he said what you're doing is

you're setting yourself up as the person who has the right to destroy that state and a right to destroy that nation, which ties together with all of this. because the way you destroy a nation is you invade it and take away its leadership. >> you think he's going to try to capture and kill president zelenskyy? >> yes. i believe that's been the goal from the beginning, and i think it's pretty clear in this language and when you think about trying to stop putin that's the particular thing we should be thinking about. by the way, we should be looking at admiration and courage at volodymyr zelenskyy himself, his sheer physical courage. putin has to be someone 50 feet from the president. zelenskyy under fire stays in the capital, takes videos of himself and stays with his people. whatever happens next that's an example of physical courage which i i think we ought to be remembering. >> thank you so much for joining

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i'm wolf blitzer. thanks very much for joining us. please join me tomorrow for a special two hour saturday edition of the situation room. that begins live at 5:00 p.m. eastern. our breaking news coverage continues right now with don lemon tonight. >> thank you, wolf. we'll be watching tomorrow. this is don lemon tonight. our breaking news, ukraine's capitol city is in the cross hairs tonight, and what's happening there right now is more dangerous, more dire than it has ever been. explosions seen and heard tonight in parts of kyiv itself.