fighting from our side to make sure that he cannot close the entrances and exits to the city. this is where the resistance comes in. and of course, we will be trying to get into the negotiations. >> we are going to continue this conversation, kira. and be careful over there. we will stay in touch. thanks very much for joining us, ki a is a member of the ukrainian parliament. that's it for me. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. out front next. the worst is yet to come. the pentagon warning putin has a lot of firepower left. u.s. lawmakers just coming out of what we understand was an alarming timeline for when the ukrainian capital and other cities may fall. and putin increasingly isolated. completely, cut cutoff from geysers. world leaders calling him irrational, changed man. this very serious question tonight with everything on the line about has the russian

leader lost any capacity intellectually? plus, my 21 hour journey out of ukraine, a firsthand account of what happens. we talk about ukrainians and the great suffering they are going through. we are going to show what you it takes to get over that border. let's go ut frontal. good evening, i am erin burnett. out front taunt tonight, the breaking news, the worst is yet to come. that is the chilling warning tonight from u.s. officials, who fear a frustrated putin may soon up the ante. and we are just learning what house members are giving being what is called an alarming timeline during a classified briefing. we are going to speak to a lawmaker who just came out of that room t. comes as putin is launching a shock lig more aggressive attack on the capital. it is a frightening assessment given the russian president just had a devastating assault across ukraine in kharkiv. we will show you the video. that is a residential area being bombed in the city of kharkiv. it is second-biggest city in the country. according to the city mayor, nine people were killed, three children. burned alive in their car.

37 others were injured. these are civilians. in a lit-flight address, ukraine president volodymyr zelenskyy calling attack a war crime. in the capitol taal again, sirens ringing out. some of the loudest explosions and rocking that city home to nearly 3 million people. today's attacks come, as things are not going as putin planned. >> what we also have seen is ukrainians resisting quite effectively, um, around kyiv. and continuously. they -- they have made it tough for the russians to move further south. make no mistake, mr. putin still has, at his diz posele, significant combat power. he hasn't moved all of it into ukraine. but he's moved a majority of it. >> that's right. he's moved the majority of it and this is the part that -- that just has to give pause.

even in the fog of war, that you feel when you are there, not knowing what is happening 100 miles away or gnat nearby -- nearby town. the reality the one thing we dough no is there a lot of weapons already in ukraine that don't appear yet to have been used even with the horrors we are seeing, and more coming in. you can see a russian military convoy in this satellite image, consisting of armored vehicles and tanks. that line stretches for 17 miles outside of kyiv and it comes as chaos is on consuming ukraine's went border. it is a country of 44 million people, okay? and when it happened, none of them thought it would happen on this scale, and now you have millions leaving everything behind to flee ukraine. in a moment, i am going to show you firsthand the struggle to get out of the country. you are going to see the people and what they are going through. it is unbelievable. it took us 20 2 1 hours to get to the border with hungary and going to show you the suffering we saw on wait. that number is going to be the tip of the iceberg. right now, though, tens of

millions are staying put, putting their lives on the line to defeat the russians. it is a remarkable show of fortitude and force that has shocked putin. i met these young college men, the other day in lviv, and i asked them would they fight? knowing now that, for them, death is no longer just an intellectual concept. >> be under direct attack of tanks, i will go on streets and -- >> you will go on streets? >> yeah. >> and what about you? how do you feel? >> um, like, i didn't want to live to, you know, to fight for ukraine is very -- is very, i think, [ inaudible ]. >> very, very, very, connected with me. so i -- i think it's -- it's very good to fight for ukraine.

and if i -- if i will need to, i will do it. >> honorable. he needs to, he will do it. of course, they are just barely in the range of men not allowed to leave ukraine. 18 and 19. and i spoke to them a few minutes after we had all come out from what is now those now normal bomb shelter air-raid alerts. >> you would be willing to fight? >> it's a very hard question. i think if we will be under direct attack of tanks, i will go on the streets. >> will go on the streets. that's the baby face just young face. i heard from nikola today. he told me he was volunteering today, making molotov cocktails. he was also helping refugees try to find diffways out of the cou. i am going to matthew chance. and magts you, i know you have been witness to some terrifying scenes on the ground there today. tell me what you saw and the

situation you are facing right now. >> yeah i mean the aftermath of some very significant lobs for russian forces, as they tempt to take the ukrainian capital. the concern tonight, though, erin is that that big column of russian armor you mentioned is making its way to the outskirts of kyiv the ukrainian capital. opening the possibility that vladimir putin intends to launch overwhelming firepower on this city. it comes after some significant losses by russian forces. take a hook what we saw on a strategic bridge to the northwest of where we are standing right now. as russian forces tried to take kyiv. right been the past few hours, that there has has been a ferocious battle on the outskirts of kyiv. this is the frontline in the battle for the ukrainian capital. the russian column that has come down here has been absolutely

hammered. trucks and armored vehicles reduced to twisted metal as ukrainian forces dig in. catching the kremlin and its invasion force off guard. look at this. i mean, what kind of munitions does it take to do that to that car? to a vehicle? you know, i know that i have been to the local ukrainian commanders here, they have been saying that they were using western anti-tank missiles, um, to attack these columns. look. so recent, the battle, this vehicle is still smoking. there is still smoke coming out of it. commanders like alexander of the ukrainian army wouldn't give me his rank or full name. the russians thought they could just march into ukrainian' lands, and a triumphant parade, he tells me, they were mistaken. it will never happen, he says.

>> i mean, look, this is bit of almost a cliche. but obviously, somebody's brought a memento from home, you know, and now it's scorched and lying with the debris of their, in this case, failed attack. an attack that's heft ukrainian forces, who repelled it, confident, perhaps overconfident, that victory can be repeated across the country as russian troops advance. absolutely, ukraine will win this war, alexander tells me. of course, we'll win. the russians will rot here, he says. this vehicle here is obviously from the russian military. it's got the letter "v." tape or in paint. i think that stands for the russian word for east, which implies that these military equipment -- they came from the

eastern divisions of the russian military. saying look, there is evidence. i don't want to show you this too much but there is -- there is a body there. that is a russian soldier lying there dead on this bridge. you can tell they're russian because they have got this -- many this black and red -- and orange st. george ribbon dobed across them, which is a sign, symbol of the russian army. yeah. ammunition. alexander. oh, my god. there is another one there. it's -- it's terrible to see. the grim inhumanity of a war. for the ukrainians and of course the russians, as well. the sacrifice that is being paid by all sides in this, complete waste of life is here for us all

to see. >> you know, matthew, um, as you say, just a complete waste of life. and uh, it's really hard to watch that. and it's hard to imagine them leaving those bodies behind. um, it's disgusting. um, so let me ask you about more of what you saw when you -- you saw that. and you also, while you were doing that reporting on that destroyed column of russian ta tanks, something very shocking happened to you. i want to play it so everyone can see that moment. >> i was crouching down by a grenade there, look, i didn't see that. so let's move away from that. >> live grenade. matthew, you are coming to this after living in russia, living in moscow, and covering that country for a long time. how do you expect russia could respond to these -- these setbacks? and there is no other way to describe it.

this isn't how they wanted it or thought it would go. >> yeah. look. i mean, it's -- it's -- it's hard to predict, isn't it? as always, with vladimir putin, it is difficult to read him. um, i -- i hope -- i hope that, you know, perhaps vladimir putin, perhaps the kremlin and the military leadership there decide that enough is enough. and that they want peace and in fact there are peace talks on the way right now to try and reach some kind of diplomatic resolution to this. but i have to tell you, my gut tells me, the record would indicate, that not instead of backing down, vladimir putin is more likely to double down. and i think we may get the answer to that question been the days ahead. within the days ahead. >> matthew, thank you. i want to go now to the dharm of the house arm services committee of the democratic congressman adam smith who just received a classified briefing on the latest from ukraine. i appreciate your time, chairman.

these images are horrific. it just complete and utter needless loss of life. um, dead soldiers. ukrainian, russian, families that are never going to see those kids again. it's disgusting. i -- i don't know how else to describe it. i know you can't divulge classified information and i know much of many briefing included that but what stood out to you the most? >> i think two things stand out. and one, in your reporting, has been incredible and very helpful. is to show the absolute inhumanity of this. to unite the world against what putin has launched. to put pressure on him from conceivable -- every conceivable angle. to put pressure on him to stop, and make sure he doesn't succeed and there was -- what really stood out to me was bipartisan members of congress making that statement. the second thing is what the military told us was the mission here is to help ukraine, any way we can in this fight. while making sure that we don't get into a war between russia and the u.s. or russia and nato.

that's the fine line that our leaders are trying to walk, and helping the ukraine as much as we can, without get nooting int that war that would expand and add to the inhumanity we are seeing in ukraine right now. >> so one member that came out of that briefing did say that the officials -- there are estimates that were given that are very disturbing for when cities could fall, sorry. they said they were quote alarming. is there anything you are able to tell us on that? >> sure. i mean, it's -- it's -- it's clear that this did not go as well as putin had hoped it would. it is not going along the path that he thought it would. not happening as quickly. the not been able to move through the country as easily they hoped. they are meeting far stiff eer resistance but at the same time, what the briefing made clear is the overwhelming military force as just ow outlined in that 17-mile column, that russia is bringing to bear. the resistance will continue. there are countries united against it. um, but, ni mean the russian

timeline is behind but we are still not auto a poichbt we can they will fail. >> you know, it is amazing. there isn't a single person i spoke to there who wasn't going to fight, whatever the manner they were going to fight was. they were going to be doctors in the hospital, they were going to get guns, knive, be in militias, join the he territorial defense. i see that 18-year-old kid right now volunteering to help refugees and make molotov cocktails. that's how yhe spends his day. and yet, as much as they are willing to fight, there is one thing nobody can fight against and that is a nuclear strike and putin has ordered the deterrence forces nuclear arms to be placed on high alert. are you -- yeah, go ahead. >> i was going to say that is one thing that every leader -- we had, you know, secretary austin, chairman milley, se secretary of state, as well as others and they are very clear that we have a strong deterrent in place. um, so that -- that putin's -- or whatever his rhetoric may be,

i think we are further from that nuclear brink than -- than some of the comments might mean because we have made it very clear that is a line that cannot be crossed but most the analysis is on when certain cities can fall in ukraine. but even after that, even after the russians get sort of initial control of most of ukraine, they are going continue it face a guerilla war for a long time to come putin's hope was ukraine would accept the invasion. that is dlaerl not going to happen. >> what i find shocking about that is spending two week there's, it's blatantly clear therapy going to fight and you think with all the knowledge, and all the intelligence and them being their neighbors that would have been something that vladimir putin would have known 18 months ago. and yet clearly, he was deaf to it. which brings me to a crucial question, chairman, and, that is, senator marco rubio mentioned and he is on the

intellige intelligence committee at the senate. he mentioned putin appears to have a neuro physiological health issues when talking to jake tapper today. this is actually a really, really crucial thing because it lends itself to when you are in sort of deterrence things, it doesn't mean this necessarily when you are deal being a person bhos mentally unstable. does the united states have any sort of assessment that is -- that is accurate on putin's mental health that you are aware of? >> i think it's very difficult to make that type of diagnosis just from watching someone on tv. i think what is clearer is that putin has been surrounded by yes-men. he has been being told what he wants to hear for a very long time. look, i was in ukraine last august and there was a time, prior to 2014, where there were very mixed feelings in ukraine about russia. after 2014, ukraine is anti-russia. and only by getting this -- this watered-down information that putin -- so i amg less qualify on the mental health side but it's clear he has been getting bad information for a long time. >> thank you very much, chairman. appreciate your time.

i always do. and next, ukraine accuses russia of using a vacuum bomb. that is exactly what it means. it sucks the oxygen from the air. sucks the oxygen from a human being's lungs and organs with devastating and horrific consequences. plus, first, the french president and now a top-u.s. senator questioning putin's mental state. the russian leader is increasingly isolated, even now from his top advisers. and the harrowing journey to get out of ukraine. we wanted to witness it. and to see it in our 21-hour trek to try to get to a border. >> this is the main train station here in lviv. it is unbelievably crowded. and most of these people, this is the final stop they could get rest. many of the men are trying to board buses to go to poland. strypaper? luckily, there's biotrue hydratioion boost eye drops. biotrue uses naturally inspired ingredienents. and no preservatives. try biotrue! we gotta tell people that liberty mutual customizes car insurance so you only pay

for what you need, and we gotta do it fast. [limu emu squawks] woo! new personal rord, limu! only pay for what you need. woo! ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ psoriasis really messes with you. try. hope. fail. no one should suffer like that. i started cosentyx®. five years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infection, some serious and a lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reaction may occur. best move i've ever made. ask your dermatologist about cosentyx®. [upbeat music playing] ♪

welcome to home sweet weathertech home. a place where dirt stays outside. and floors are protected. where standing is comfortable. and water never leaves a mark. it's spotless under the sink. and kids can be kids. order your american made products at weathertech.com. ♪

pepto bismol coats and soothes your stomach for fast relief and get the same fast relief in a delightful chew with pepto bismol chews. living with diabetes? glucerna protein smart has your number with 30 grams of protein. scientifically designed with carbsteady to help you manage your blood sugar. and more protein to keep you moving with diabetes. glucerna live every moment

breaking news. new satellite images show russian military convoy on the outskirts of kyiv, i just mentioned to you, 17 miles. well now the images have been updated and guess how long it is? it's 40 miles so more than double what it was. so they have a 40-mile convoy heading towards kyiv. it comes from the satellite company. and they are giving us details about what is in this massive 40-mile convoy. armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and logistical vehicles. it comes as u.s. officials barn russian forces plan to intensify their attack on kyiv. western official tells cnn, though, that putin is, of course, well behind schedule. originally, right, he thought it would fall within one to three

days. he is already used about half the russian forces that were deployed to this legion. out front now, the retired u.s. army major general james spider marks, and general, i appreciate your time and i know you have been going through these maps with us and it's been so crucial to really understand details. so can you, first, start off with where you are seeing the heavest fighting right now? >> yeah, absolutely, erin. the heaviest fighting right now is certainly in the vicinity of kyiv that we have talked about and we certainly have the imagery that portrays that. we will get to that in just a sec. what is also important to notice is that in mthis area, we have gotten some really good reporting from over the border in russia and then some -- some reporting most recently in kharkiv indicating that there has been some significant shelling. let me -- let me take, for a second, and demonstrate for you, again, a built-up area entering into that is extremely difficult for russian forces. ukrainians have a home-field advantage in this days. and case. and what we are seeing is

basically indiscriminate fire. i think what is important to realize is get back to the bigger map, when we start looking at kyiv and we will do that in a little more detail. this is where the russian forces are really going to dbeing down. this is where they hit this viscous, very difficult area to achieve any movement at all. just think of any type urban combat, that type of human terrain is incredibly difficult to try to achieve some success. here is the -- um -- here is the image that you were just speaking about, erin, right up here. this is really what we are looking at is the convoy. what -- this is -- this is not unexpected. when forces are deployed, logistics must necessarily be associated with that movement. >> yeah. >> so where there is combat, you have got to have this tail in order to refuel, to -- to feed, to provide communications, et cetera. and that's what you are seeing with this. >> so, okay. so you have got that to provide that backup which is exactly a

separate point. they failed in a lot of those way, right? run out of fuel. they have run out of food. i mean, there's been some very serious issues that you wouldn't expect of a -- one of the world's supposedly preeminent military. >> this quickly in a campaign, you are absolutely correct. >> so, when you talk about kyiv and you are talking about that now 40-mile dconvoy, where is i going? >> it is going, initially, to the airport which is where they have an airhead established. they came in with some air-assault forces early on and fwh that location, they could fly some resmiupply in. they can fly forces in and also they can come down here, get ready to engage in combat. this is an administrative move. you look at that -- you look at this imagery. this is -- this is just vehicles lined up, back to back. this is what we call target rich. wouldn't it be wonderful if the uca ukrainians had the ability to go o after this convoy and really kind of beat it up as it is moving noog this area. this is not highly protected at all.

so they want to get into this location. dismount and then start conducting operations in here. which will just eat them up. >> right. well now, you understand when all this began, with the invasion, taking out those radio battalions, communications, air force, like all those things so they could move those convoys in. i mean, that was the -- the rationale for that. all right. general, thank you very much. i appreciate your time and i want to go straight to seth jones, director of the international security program at the center for strategic and internatio international studies. so seth, the satellite images show the massive convoy now very close to the center of kyiv. right? they have moved from that suburb. but obviously, facing fierce, fierce resistance. we do understand, though, as part of this, even though the russians use the majority of their military already. we are told by ukrainian official belarus is now prepared to join the invasion directly. just to be clear to people, it certainly appear friday where we were that they were using belarus to -- to fire rockets and missiles into bases. but i am talking about direct joining the invasion, right?

actually using belarusian military. what does that mean? do you believe the worst is yet to come? >> well, i do believe the worst is probably yet to come. if belarusian forces -- ground forces -- enter the war, it would increase the footprint so that the russians and belarusian forces could conduct attacks against cities, including kyiv. and as spider just outlined, we are seeing towed artillery. armored personnel carriers. the general approach in a situation like this and the russians showed in chechnya. they showed it in syrian cities, including aleppo. is a scorched-earth policy as they bring in a maneuver force to take territory. >> so, scorched earth means civilians and when you mention chechnya, i am thinking about a horrific type of bomb i know the russians have used there and the ukrainian ambassador to the u.s. says russia is now prepared -- actually, did use it hear. it is called a thermobaric bomb

and it is a vacuum bomb. our cnn crews sploted flame throwers over the weekend. everyone knows, these are the kind of bombs -- i'm sorry -- that can shoot the actual weapon. and so, people understand what they do, a thermal baric weapon can basically keep structures intact but sucks oxygen out. there is a powerful-pressure wave. and it sucks it out of a human being. basically, sucks the air out of your lungs, organs, and it is horrible and i am describing it this way because it is a horrible way to die and it is used against civilians. they have got them in the country. ukrainians are saying they are using them. seth, is this -- we are going to hear about this with civilians now? >> i think, erin, the broader context here is that the russians have the capabilities, including thermal baric bombs to use -- to lay waste to huge chunks of cities like kyiv if they make that decision. again, the -- the objective here is to get civilians out and? cases to kill them and then to -- to use maneuver forces, ground forces, to come in to

cities live kyiv to then conquer them. i mean, that is the whole purpose. you use standoff weapons. you use thermo baric weapons and artillery barrages and to destroy huge chunks of territory so you can take it by a maneuver element. >> okay. obviously, that is a horrific thing to contemplate and perhaps part of the reason they are in the situation is they failed to do what they thought they weror they were going to do, which was a blitzkrieg sort of thing, right? and putin probably thought he was being welcomed with open arms. obviously, false on every front. but to that front, what we have now started to see is real cracks in the russian military, right? they are not picking up their dead. they are running out of fuel. um, there's been, you know, repairs that have failed on some of their machinery, right? it's -- it isn't what you'd expect from -- from one of the greatest militaries in the world. what do you make of that? >> well, erin, those are all challenges we've seen with the russian military, so far, in ukraine. there are two others that are interesting.

one is they have sent no forces to ukraine's western border. there -- there are weapons p pouring in. there are people coming in to fight with ukraine. there are other military and nonmilitary equipment. so, there's nothing stopping material from coming across the border that will shoot at russian tanks and aircraft. the second issue is that the -- the footprint, the force-to-population ratio is about three to four russian soldiers per thousand inhabitants. that is astronomically low number if they want to hold any territory once they conquer it. it will put russian forces in grave danger of being picked apart by ukrainian insurgents once they do control some ground. >> and they are armed and they are ready. and they were armed before this. they were prepared. thank you very much, seth, i appreciate your time. next, the question that pretty much everyone is asking now. with fear around the world about where this is going to go. what is putin thinking? 'cause what he did isn't rational. and what he is talking about doing isn't rational. and those who know him say he is more isolated and more paranoid

and more reckless. so what is going on? that's just mention the western border and it is a pretty terrifying thing because that western border is the only way people are getting out. see these images? this is what we saw and we can show you the hellish journey that now it is going to be millions of ukrainians are taking to get out of the country. >> an hour and ten minutes, we went about one-half of one mile. so, that means obviously do the math, the distance to the border, it would take us 57 hours to get there at the pace we are going now. do you think a of us will look back in our lives,

and regr the things we didn't buy? (camera shutters) or the places we didn't go. ♪ ♪ ♪ it wasn't me by shaggy ♪ you're never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your discover card. with quality that's guaranteed for life, bath fitter doesn't just fit your bath, it fits your high standards. why have over two million people welcomed bath fitter into their homes? it just fits. call now or visit bathfitter.com to book your free consultation.

as a small business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving with comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable 5g network. with no line activation fees or term contracts. saving you up to $500 a year. so boost your bottom line by switching today. get the new samsung galaxy s22 series on comcast business mobile and for a limited time save up to $750 on a new samsung device with eligible trade-in.

tonight, 520,000 refugees have already fled ukraine since russia's invasion, and those are just the formal numbers. they are staggering. it's from the united nations. it is a number that is rising exponentially, hour after hour. and that's just a fact because every single minute at those borders, people are crossing over. and behind them are tens of thousands of people. poland, romania, slovakia, just some of the neighboring countries that -- where refugees are risking their lives to enter for safety. and they are not spending hours to get there. they are spending days.

sleeping on the side of the road, sleeping in cars. it is something that my team and i saw up close on our journey out of ukraine. it was a trip that would normally, to get to the polish border, have taken us about two or three hours. it took us 21 hours. here is our story. the day began well before dawn with air-raid sirens. those sirens you hear, actually, mark the end of the air-raid warning that we just had. the air raid actually went off while it was still dark, while i was getting ready. had to go to the basement for a little bit. obviously, it was full because the hotel is absolutely full of people fleeing trying to get further west. now, we are load up. few minutes delay because of that and we are about to be on our way to the border. we are in the van at 7:00 a.m. driving through a shellshocked city. city, where many had already fled and other s were arriving n

masse from points farther east. the cold is cruel. there are young children everywhere. exhausted families. most have nowhere to go. their debit anstination, still unknown. this is the main train station here in lviv. it is unbelievably crowded and most of these people, this is the final stop they can get rest. many of the men are trying to board buses to go to poland i will say this is the most diverse group of people that we have seen since we came into this country. some head straight from the trains to the bus depot. so you buy the tickets on the bus? so that's why -- we see a group of women and children. >> how to get bus tickets, trying to get a taxi. they came from kyiv. your whole family?

>> no. >> we separate. we don't know each other. >> don't know each other. >> yeah. >> we met on the train. >> o. and now, traveling together? >> yeah. trying. >> all right. so we can see the -- they are on a similar to an uber app. they are looking at trying to get a car. back in our van, about one hour later, we saw where those ride hires ended. >> we have just come to a complete stop. we are 28 1/2 miles from the border exactly. you hear or see cars going the other direction. now, we understand why. i was wondering why they were there. it's because people are getting to this point, and just turning around and giving up. planning our gas situation. >> the gas here? long gone. now, we know why we have seen abandoned cars. we are stunned. people who have been living normal lives in comfortable

houses and wealthy cities, going to work, to school, days before now with just the choegts on their backs. clothes on their backs. others reducing their entire lives to a suitcase. their baby strapped on strollers, pets, toddlers walking. these people are 30 miles from the border. they may spend nights in the biting cold. >> i wonder if there is anyone who -- >> our team -- here, you see hanna and james didn't have any idea what about about what to do either. there is no answer. >> going to start calling the people we have at least on the other side of the boarder. um, to see if we should try to go to one of the other polish ones. and then, you know, they say they don't have anyone in terms of figuring out slovak or hungarian but hopefully they can look at news reports or something that is somewhat recent, maybe it could help us make a decision. >> right. people posting on social media or something. >> i think it is just, you know,

if we do 3 1/2 hours down there, and then also bad and, you know, which -- which border do we end up -- >> reporter: this woman was hoping to eventually get to germany. so in an hour and ten minutes, we went about one-half of one mile. so, that means obviously, do the math, thedy tans to the border, it would take us 57 hours to get there at the pace we are going now. and the situation at this border crossing, we understand, has deteriorated dramatically. there is a lot of tension here. we just saw a squirmish. someone tried to come in and cut in and come through here to the gas station and literally the car he was cutting off wouldn't let that person in. when you are 57 miles, 57 hours away from the border. it's just -- give s you a sense of how desperate people are. so we turned around. behind us? the end of the line. people here, not yet aware they are 30 miles, and several days, from possibly crossing a border.

this is mark, a career war zone photojournalist. he is filming almost all of what you are seeing here. lines of cars, more lines of cars, lines of cars. a soul-crushing reality. rare moments of what is normal life along the way. but mostly this -- sitting, parked, engine off, waiting at checkpoints like this one. hanna filmed locals building cinder block tires and piling up tires to stop a russian' against. we lost count of the number of checkpoints but one was worse than all the others. so now, we are headed for border crossings either on the hungarian border or slovakian border. the line of cars here, though, is actually for a checkpoint. and this particular checkpoint, we have been in line for almost two hours. and we probably have at least that far to go, all the way up and around that curve and up that hill.

i was wrong there. it took us more than six hours to get past that checkpoint. people fell asleep waiting but no one ever cut around a sleeping driver when the line moved three or four car lengths. they just waited. while there, we talk today people, like alexander, who was trying to find a border where he could drop his wife off. >> does your wife want you to fight? >> no, she actually wants to like not fight. she is like scary and says i cannot like decide it on my own. so, uh, i will try to convince her. >> alexander has a medical degree, and says he can help the wounded in an icu. to him, nothing can be worse than this excruciating wait. >> all this lines and queues of cars, it is actually seems more exhausting and more harder than to actually fight those russians. >> reporter: i also met at the only store in the tiny cluster of houses. >> yes. >> i believe for the peace.

>> reporter: she broke the war news to her family in russia. >> and said what? ukraine? >> in russia. >> but nobody know about news. news with russian, nothing say about it. >> they didn't know? >> with russia, news -- >> the news is controlled. >> not only controlled. absolutely different, and liar. >> by the time we passed the checkpoint, it was howeurs past dark. the roads remote. the curves, sharp. sud lien after so many hours at the checkpoint, it was disconcerting. we didn't see a single car until anywhere near a border. this line is for the slovakian border. that line was at least 14 hours long. it may have been much, much longer. we stopped after 17 hours for our driver to nap.

his dedication to helping us was incredible. of course, he is between the ages of 18 and 60, so he is not allowed to leave ukraine. he could take us only as far as the border, where we unloaded in the frigid darkness. there, we met a family who described, in shock, how they had watched putin's rockets streaking across the sky in one of the attacks. the feeling of knowing the rockets would land seconds later somewhere in their country, and destroy and kill leaving them just shaking their heads at us, without words. >> so this is hungary. behind me, the border. it took us 21 hours to get here. of course, for us, we are now headed home. and for so many people that we saw, afraid, and for now, leaving behind the country they love so much. so for us, it took another four hours. these borders are very remote on both sides so another four hours, multiple flights ending home. the experience was crushing, and

our team found a reservoir of self-control. i am not sure any of us thought we had. never had an specious like that but ki not tell fa size enough how in our minds and hearts, this was so fundamentally different for us than anyone else in those lines. the emotional pain and loss they feel, they are facing an unimaginable and unexplainable loss, and a sudden invasion of their home and attack. and they are leaving, and they don't know if, or when, they will ever come home. next, the warnings about putin's meantling state are growing. people who have followed him for decades say he is disconnected from reality and unhinged. and another oligarch turning on putin. the editor of "forbes" out front next. we have a breaking report with another big name. bill, mary? hey... it's our former broker carl. carl, say hi to nina, our schwab financial consultant. hm... i know how difficult these calls can be. not with schwab. nina made it easier to set up our financial plan. we can check in on it anytime. it changes when our goals change. planning can't be that easy. actually, it can be, carl.

look forward to planning with schwab. schwab! ♪ do you think any of us will look back in our lives, and regret the things we didn't buy? (camera shutters) or the places we didn't go. ♪ ♪ alright, so...cordless headphones, you can watch movies through your phone? and y'all got electric cars? yeah. the future is crunk! (laughs) anything else you wanna know? is the hype too much? am i ready? i can't tell you everything. but if you want to make history, you gotta call your own shots.

we going to the league!

tonight, growing fears about the mental stability of vladimir putin as russia pushes ahead with its invasion of ukraine. one american familiar with the intelligence telling cnn quote putin has been completely isolated partly because of covid. he is now just basically by himself, completely cut off from most of his advicers. isolated geographically. the only people talking to him are sycophants who are just feed his resentment. this after french president

macron, who just spoke to putin again today, told reporters that he found putin changed and isolated when they met in person. that was a meeting where putin sat, you know, at that -- that table. which at the time, was sort of a joke. and now, is -- is a sick and horrible indication of what's so deeply wrong here. out front now, evelyn farkas. evelyn, on top of putin's mental state being a clear question mark. obviously, you now have him choosing to formally put russia's nuclear forces on high alert. they do have 6,000 nuclear warheads, more than anyone in the world. do you think it is legitimate worry that he could actually decide to use nuclear weapons? >> yeah. so, erin, first, about his mental state. i mean, clearly, he is different from the putin that i remember from when president obama was in the white house. the guy who slouched, and was very relaxed and didn't seem this angry, stiff, um, also,

puffy looking although i don't like to comment on how people look. but he does -- >> it is notable. yeah. >> yeah. um, so, that is -- that is just to respond to the first part of your comment there/question. the second part of your question, having to do with the nuclear weapons, i am concerned. i don't want to overstate it because, of course, putting them on a higher level of alert, that, in and of itself, to me seems like political signaling. so it doesn't mean that he is going to use them. he is just trying to demonstrate to the world that he means business, and remind us that he has nuclear weapons. having said that, however, as somebody who studied the russian' military doctrine, i know that their threshold for military use is far lower than ours. they have nuclear doctrine that allows them first use of military weapons to strike an opponent if they think that the existence of the state is at risk. and of course, it will be up to vladimi

vladimir putin to decide that. now, he is not likely to use strategic nuclear weapons. what i worry more about are tactical weapons, smaller nuclear weapons. you can have a nuclear detonation to try to to try to scare your enemy off the battlefield. that's in their doctrine. so that does frighten me. >> marco rubio told jake tapper something earlier today i wanted to ask you aboutm. he specifically talked about putin's mental state and the exact quote, sorry, it's right here, he tweeted i wish i could share more, for now i can say something's off with putin, and he told jake putin has created a system of people not telling him bad news or facts that contradict his performances. he appears to have neurophysiological health issues. neurophysiological health issues. i know nobody wants to armchair psychology here but that's pretty significant that you would hear that from someone like senator rubio who is getting a lot of classified

briefings and on the intelligence committee. >> i'm not a medical doctor. i have a political science degree, doctorate. but what that sounds like is something like parkinson's maybe, now, what that would tell me is not that he's suffering in terms of his judgment per se because of the physical issue. it's more that he might feel like he doesn't have that much time as the leader of russia, which gets back to why he's doing this whole thing, why he's doing it now. the idea that he needs to leave his mark on history maybe because he feels like his time leading the country isn't that long. >> evelyn, thank you. jts and next the russian oligarch, the billionaires inextricably tied with putin, and they are now finally for the first time turning on him. and now, breaking news on another multibillionaire who has turned. and the youngest victims of

puti putin's invasion, the children fleeing their country, not knowing g if they will be able return. do you think any of us will look back in our lives, and regret the things we didn't buy? (camera shutters) or the places we didn't go. ♪ ♪ we need to reduce plastic waste in the environment.

that's why at america's beverage companies, our bottles are made to be remade. not all plastic is the same. we're carefully designing our bottles to be 100% recyclable, including the caps. they're collected and separated from other plastics, so they can be turned back into material that we use to make new bottles. that completes the circle and reduces plastic waste. please help us get every bottle back. never be afraid of your strength. because your body is capable of amazing things the one they said you shouldn't have. the one driven by a power they can't see own your strength and see how far it takes you. tonal. be your strongest.

two russian oligarchs breaking rank with president putin. calling for an end to the war. deripaska is a close ally of putin's also calling for quote clarifications and intelligible comments on russia's economic crisis brought on by crippling sanctions from the u.s. and others, and frankly not even by sanctions. it's a run of russians on russian banks. what's happening is an internal complete crumbling of the economy and civil society in russia, and now another oligarch is turning on putin, according to forbes. out front, i know you've done so much on this and you have more news on this unprecedented move on oligarchs.

>> it came in a letter to employees he never meant to make public. and one of the richest russians came out and spoke against the war and was very clear that the bloodshed has to stop. and now we've counted up to eight billionaires who have spoken publicly, which is really unprecedented. this has never happened before, and really is hopefully a sign of them standing up to him and rallying together to hopefully figure out a way to stop putin. >> well, it's pretty incredible. once they have said it publicly, you can't go back. these things can't be unsaid, they can't be forgiven. it's a hugely significant thing to make that point, and you've got the economy and free fall, as i mentioned, sanctions are part to have, but it's also regular russians sort of responding with shock and autowhat's happening. they're not even able to have their market open, closed for the second day in a rouchlw.

russians are lining up at atms and the big difference between the russians and ukrainians, the rugs are lining up trying to cash out their money and turn them into dollars, and ukrainians are lining up to get ukrainian money because they trust their own money, which i think is a huge statement. do you think it could get even worse in russia? >> i think there were reports that the economy could completely collapse. i think they have ever reason to be very worried about what's going on. and as you talked about earlier in the show about putin's mental health, he's really somewhat unhinged. you don't really know what he's going to do or what lengths he's willing to go to push the economy to its bring. >> luicia, i really appreciate your time, the executive editor at forbes, they have done so much fantastic work on the oligarchs. next, the toll putin's war is having on the most vulnerable. the children of ukraine. per. strypaper? luckily, there's biotrue hydratioion boost eye drops. biotrue uses naturally inspired ingredienents. anand no preservatives.

try biotrue! do you think any of us will look back in our lives, and regret the things we didn't buy? (camera shutters) or the places we didn't go. ♪ ♪ when it comes to cybersecurity, the biggest threats don't always strike the biggest targets. so help safeguard your small business with comcast business securityedge™. it's advanced security that continuously scans for threats and helps protect every connected device. on the largest, fastest, reliable network with speeds up to 10 gigs to the most small businesses. so you can be ready for what's next. get started with internet and voice for just $64.99 a month. and ask how to add securityedge™. or, ask how to get up to a $650 prepaid card.

i want to share one more thing that stood out to me at the ukraine border, and that's the children. they are everywhere. and you know, many had just returned to in-person school monday due to the omicron covid, they just were back on monday,

and wednesday night they're attacked by missiles. they sometimes actually smiled at us, and i wondered could this for some of them, so innocent, seem like some sort of an adventure. what stood out to me was this. they mostly seemed so calm. they were stoic and mostly expressionless. in one case i met a mother and two girls in the bathroom and the mother was weeping uncontrollably as she spoke to me. the girls were aged about 5 or 6 and they were sort of smiling awkwardly, slightly impatient to move on. here's an image that was sent to me from a woman i know, natalia. ten children crammed into the train. her journey on that train was 34 hours to the polish border, should have been 90 minutes. most of the kids are asleep, you see a baby. the peacefulness there defined the chaotic world around them. we can't imagine the trauma and damage being inflicted on these children, fleeing their homes, seeing their parents weeping in almost all cases and this is important, leaving their fathers

behind because they have to stay and fight. they're feeling dread and terror. putin is unleashing an epic of human suffering on millions of children and he owns that. thank you for joining us, our breaking news continues with ac 3 360. it is morning here, 2:00 a.m. in lviv. these are the hours when russian air strikes and shelling across ukraine begin. these are also the hours and case of an especially difficult period in this country, according to the pentagon and lawmakers who received a classified briefing on the situation here. according to one member they were giving a quote alarming, their word, estimate of when the city might feel. the evidence is showing in kyiv and kharkiv russian forcing are reversing to tried and true tactics for russia, brutal tactics, namely surrounding cities and laying siege to them,