welcome, everyone. i'm michael holmes coming to you lye from lviv in ukraine. coming up this hour, russia ramping up its aerial assault on ukraine after apparently taking control of a key city. >> and i'm rosemary church live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta. as the war escalates, one million refugees have fled ukraine in just one week. experts warn the humanitarian crisis may get worse. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> more than a week now into the invasion of ukraine, it appears russia is moving into a more brutal military campaign, escalating attacks on major cities. air raid sirens rang out earlier in kyiv, where it is now 10:00 a.m. you can hear them there. and there was at least one explosion today on the outskirts

of the capital. dramatic images there as fighter jets on wednesday scream overhead just seconds before a jarring blast on the western edge of kyiv. meanwhile, the pentagon says that long russian military convoy north of the capital remains stalled while the kremlin tries to regroup. the ukraine president, who is holed up in a bunker that claimed that some occupiers are fleeing back to russia, and he called the everyday ukrainians resisting assault on his country salvation. >> translator: our military, our border guards, our territorial defense, even ordinary farmers capture the russian military every day. and all the captives say only one thing. they do not know why they are here. despite the fact there are

dozens of times more of them, the morale of the enemy is constantly dragt. deteriorating. >> repo >> now to the south the fall of kherson marked in red on the map. fierce fighting has left dozens of people dead. in ukraine's second largest city kharkiv, russian strikes hit at least three schools and a cathedral this week. no word on casualties there yet. and on the diplomatic front, a new round of talks between russia and ukraine could get under way in the coming hours. expectations, though, of a breakthrough and surprisingly are low. meanwhile, cnn's jim sciutto takes a look at the battle rage ogg tonight ground as russian troops try to take key ukrainian cities. >> reporter: russia's invasion of ukrainian is gradually gaining ground. the mayor of the city of kherson in the south of the country with

a population of 300,000 has said that the city has now fallen under russian control. adding ukrainian forces are no longer present. the devastation inflicted accros ukraine is only growing. russian strikes increasingly targeting civilians. president biden says it's deliberate. russian forces moving on the capital kyiv from the north have stalled due to ukrainian resistance and their own shortages of food and fuel, say u.s. officials. the russian military has increased its rocket and artillery attacks against the capital and other cities. russian forces hit a television tower in kyiv. a school in the city of kharkiv, buildings in a town. >> i'm seeing dead children. i'm seeing hospitals being

bombed. i'm seeing churches being bombed. it's difficult. i'll do anything in my power to stop this aggression. >> reporter: the ukrainian military has not let up its resistance, nor have civilians. here a man waved ukrainian flags in front of russian tanks in kherson. and the west is keeping up sanctions pressure on moscow. >> we're coming for your ill begotten gains. >> reporter: president biden announced a new task force to investigate russian oligarchs during his state of the union address. and today the u.s. announced sanctions on the russian defense industry and export controls on belarus as well. from where russia staged a large part of its forces for the invasion. >> 22 russian defense related entities will be designated, including companies that make combat aircraft, entry fighting vehicles, missiles, unmanned vehicles, electronic warfare

systems, the very systems now being used to assault the ukrainian people. >> reporter: on the battlefield, the ukrainian military has now lost more tanks, aircraft, armored personnel carriers and artillery than russia has. however, by russia's own admission, their losses are mounting as well. the defense ministry claims nearly 500 russians killed. the ukraine says that number is actually nearly 6,000. >> translator: russian mothers are losing their children in a completely foreign country. >> reporter: ukraine and russia are still engaged in some diplomacy. delegations heading to belarus for a second round of talks. but both the u.s. and ukraine remain skeptical that russian president vladimir putin would negotiate for peace. >> we, of course are open to pursuing any reasonable path. but it's very hard to see any path when the bombs are dropping, the planes are flying, the tanks are rolling. >> when he is saying i want peace, this means get your

kalashnikov and prepare to war. >> well, jim sciutto reporting there for us. one million refugees have fled ukraine in just one week. that's according to the u.n. hi commi high commissioner. many crossing the border are unaccompanied children as families are being separated at checkpoints. more than half of those evacuating have fled west into poland. the council president meeting with refugees at a border crossing on tuesday. and he pledged europe would do everything possible to support them. >> our moral task, european task is to be at the front line to support. and that is what all these teams who are here to bring a bit of humanity to the people who are fleeing bombs, who had to leave relatives behind. we will do everything possible to bring help to welcome ukrainians in a dignified way. >> and cnn's scott verplank

joins me now. here live in lviv. i know you were covering the border. it was chaotic there for so long. what is the latest on conditions? >> it seems to be easier to get out of the country. at land borders at medika into poland, the line where you saw people standing in frigid temperatures, there is maybe 150 people waiting in that line. obviously it's going much, much quicker. in cars, you might wait for several hours, but it's a lot easier to sit in a car for several hours than it is to stand outside. that seems to be taking some pressure off of the train station here is. like in lviv, for instance, many people are boarding buses. i've also kept in touch with some of the stranded men i've met at the stations the last couple of days, and most have managed to get out. fairly easy from land crossings, knowing they wouldn't be able to get on the trains. at the stations things are much less chaotic than they've been. it's not exactly a well oiled machine. people are still waiting for trains they're not certain if

they're actually come. but there is volunteers giving food there. there is police officers to help keep things a little more orderly. they are still prioritizing women and children, though it seems that some foreign men are able to get on some trains, at least in limited numbers. and yesterday i met one man who was in line with his wife and older daughter, and he wasn't trying to get on the train. he was ukrainian. but he was just in the line to spend those last couple of hours with his family. anyone who has kids can obviously relate to how that man is feeling. and it was an emotional moment. he walked them right up to the door of the train. he said goodbye to them. it was obviously an emotional moment because he doesn't know when he is going to see them again. listen. >> this is war. and for me it's better that they will be safe. and that's why i have another feelings that i have to understand that they are in safety. >> translator: it is very difficult. i don't feel any emotions.

i hope i'll come back. i don't think it is going to be for a long time. i think everything is going to be fine while we wait, i believe. >> so this morning, he is going to a military recruitment center to enlist to follow his orders to join the military. he is not sure whether he'll be serving here in lviv or kyiv where he is from. he told me, look, of course he is scared. anyone would be scared. but he is not panicking at this point. he still holds out hope that this war could end really at any hour of the day. but he's obviously feeling relieved that he no longer has to worry about the safety of his wife and daughter so he can solely focus on defending his country. >> a huge aspect. god to have you. scott mclane here in l virgin islands with me. joining me now is the press officer for the polish

humanitarian action. and we're going to look at live pictures of the border. we do have a feed coming in. you describe what is happening on the polish side of the boarder in terms of arrivals of ukrainians. how is the system working? >> well, first of all, good morning. thank you for having me. so the situation on the polish side of the border is very dynamic. some time you have people going in big groups. then you have only a couple of people crossing. also, the situation differs if you have somebody to pick you up, like family member or a friend to pick you up to poland or other eu countries. but many people have nowhere to go. so these people go to their section centers where local government is organizing transfer to other cities or places to sleep or even just bunk beds straight in the

reception centers to catch some sleep. because many of the people didn't sleep or two or three days. the state of the people is very different. there are some people who got out very early. there are some people who got out already from the bankers, already from under the fire. so also there is psychological situations very different. >> yeah, look, i can only imagine. it's heartbreaking to hear you say they've left their homes, they've left their country. they get to safety, and then they don't know what they're going to do. tell us more what they're telling you. i imagine they're exhausted. they're understandably upset. what sort of things are you hearing? >> well, listen. nobody leaves home unless the home is the mouth of the shark. so people are telling us stories of fear, of anxiety, of leaving their loved ones behind because

they had to leave husbands and fathers and, you know, also grandfathers behind, because the men cannot get out of ukrainian right now. and also they're telling us stories of very long journeys threw polish border, but for different cities. if somebody comes from east of ukraine or central ukraine, they would pass through different cities first. also, they haven't sleep for a long time. they couldn't eat anything nutritious on the way. they usually have a headache. they have flu. they're also telling us the majority of them, they want to come back to ukraine as soon as possible. >> of course they were already humanitarian needs in ukraine over the last eight years of war. this is really adding to what was already a bad situation, isn't it? >> yes. even before this current war erupted, there were severe

civilian needs. we were working as a humanitarian organization in ukraine for the last eight year, and right now just before the invasion, the needs were estimated to be 2.9 million people in the east of ukraine. right now they are much, much bigger. but the basic, it's the same because access to, you know, to dignity, to humane conditions, to electricity, to water, to psychological help, support. to food, to medical help. so this will grow bigger and bigger. there will be billions of dollars to ukraine and address the needs the next few months. >> i wanted to ask you this. so many ukrainians have told me they never expected this to happen, to be in this position. you work in this field of helping people.

what about you and your organization? could you have imagined a few months ago you'd be helping ukrainians escape a russian invasion? >> well, nobody could have imagined that. but we for the past weeks, we have been preparing for different scenarios with other ngos and international ngos and international donors for some kind of bad scenario. we didn't know for weeks scenario. this is the worst scenario possible. but we were preparing. the other thing is of course the situation couldn't go on for a long time like this for much longer, because it was already going on for eight years. something had to happen. either a very bad scenario like this, or, you know, easing up and maybe, maybe rejoining the country. so really i think something like this had to happen. but i'm very, very, very sorry it had to happen in such a scale and right now and for these

people. >> yeah, it is truly heartbreaking. thank you so much for what you and your organization are doing for the people who do cross into poland. thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. >> all right. for more on how you can help the people of ukraine, go to cnn.com/impact. plenty of resources and information there. much more from ukraine coming up. but first, let's go back to atlanta and rosemary church. rosemary? >> thank you, michael. u.s. president joe biden will meet with his cabinet today to chart out the next steps on ukraine. the latest moves from the white house in response to russia's invasion of ukraine. that's next. oh my goodness... wow, look at all those! you get hungry for more and then you're just l like, "“wow, i'm learning about my family.” yeah, yep. which one, what'd yoyou find? lorraine banks, look, county of macomb, michigan? look at grandmdma... hey grandma! unbelievable.

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coming hours from a meeting that is expected to largely be about the crisis in ukraine. mr. biden says vladimir putin has made a big mistake. >> you thought the west and nato wouldn't respond. you thought they could divide us at home, but he was wrong. and now the free world is holding him accountable. putin is now isolated from the world more than ever. and will continue to aid ukrainian people as they defend their country and help ease their suffering in the process. >> meantime, eu home affairs ministers are meeting in brussels to discuss how to help those fleeing ukraine. natasha bertrand joins me from

brussels a >> so the eu home affairs ministers are meeting today as well as the justice ministers to discuss implementing this temporary directive that would essentially give refugees fleeing the ukraine war this temporary protection inside the union union. it would allow them to work, have access to education, have residency for up to three years. and essentially what it means is there would be a lot less red tape for refugees trying to flee the war. because of the massive influx of people trying to flee ukraine at this moment, the e soviet union overwhelmed at the moment. when that happens, when there is this massive influx of refugees, the eu looks at invoking this temporary protection directive, which increases the coordination among the entire european union and allows for a much swifter process. we know that almost a million people have already fled ukraine. so it's really created a burden on the system that they're hoping to ease in the coming days. that is when they hope the

implement this directive. with regard to secretary of state antony blinken, he will be in brussels friday, meeting with nato allies there, and they'll be discussing upping security assistance to ukraine. more webs, more javelin anti-tank systems, more air defense systems that they hope will allow ukraine to maintain its position over the russias. they need more ammunition. they need more fuel. part of the discussions will be how do we actually get that equipment to the ukrainians given that the airspace is contested at this moment. what interest land routes? how are we going to cooperate all of the member states of the eu that are deciding to sent equipment and lethal aid into ukranl. he will also be discussing the increase of financial penalties on russia with eu foreign ministers when he meets with them on friday as well. there are a lot of obviously moving parts here. and this is a chance for blinken to kind of get together with the ministers and discuss how they

can all be on the same page here. >> all right. and kevin, president biden is holding a cabinet meeting in just a few hours from now. what decisions could potentially be made about ukraine? >> well, rosemary, we don't expect this to be a decisional meeting. but it is an opportunity for the president to collect his team and kind of get on the same page about how they are responding to this crisis. and we do expect this to be the main focus of this cabinet meeting. he only holds them about once a quarter or so. and when you look at the officials who will betable, you the defense secretary. today we learned that the u.s. was sending stinger anti-aircraft missiles to ukraine. and that's something that the pentagon is working on. you'll see the treasury secretary and the commerce secretary. they have been coordinating these sanctions along with other western allies. we did learn that the u.s. was imposing new sanctions not only

on russia, but also on belarus which has been russia's ally in all of this. you'll see the transportation secretary. and it's his department that he is in charge of enforcing this been on russian aircraft over the united states. you'll see the energy secretary. she of course is working on how to mitigate the effect on gas price here is in the united states. and she announced yesterday the united states would join other allies in releasing barrels from their strategic oil reserves. and you'll see the attorney general. and that's something interesting we heard from the justice department today. and it followed on something that the president said in his state of the union, you'll remember. he said he wanted to go after oligarchs and what he called their ill begotten gains. he wants to look for their private jets, for their luxury apartments here in the united states. and the justice department today announced this task force that they're calling klepto capture that will bring together these components of the law enforcement community in the united states to sort of go

after these assets that russians hold here in the united states. now this is all coming as american officials warn that this conflict could be entering quite a bloody phase. one official called it a slow annihilation of the ukraine military. president biden said today he did believe that russia was targeting ukraine civilians. but he did stop short of accusing them of war crimes. rosemary? >> all right. kevin liptak and natasha bertrand. we appreciate it. in a new court filing the january 6 committee alleges that former u.s. president donald trump and right wing lawyer john eastman were part of a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election. the filing states evidence and information available to the committee establishes a good faith belief that mr. trump and others may have engaged in

criminal and/or fraudulent acts. the committee alleges eastman helped to orchestrate the plot and they're attempting to obtain his emails. so far eastman has refused to hand them over, claiming attorney/client privilege. well, civilians in kyiv increasingly in harm's way as russia changes up its invasion tactics. we'll take a closer look at the aftermath of an attack on a tv tower. plus how israel is trying to end the russian invasion of ukraine. we're live in jerusalem with that.

welcome back, everyone. i'm michael holmes live in lviv,

ukraine. we are of course following the breaking news of russia's intensifying attacks as its invasion of ukraine stretches into its eighth day. and it appears that russia has taken its first big prize, the strategic port of kherson. its mayor says the ukraine military is no longer in the city. dozens of people lost their lives in the battle for control of kherson. [ siren ] air raid sirens now a common sound in cities all around the country. this was all over the capital where explosions were heard wednesday night and early this morning. and i want to show you the scene in southwestern kyiv earlier as blasts lit up the sky there. meanwhile, the u.s. says the march of russian forces towards ukraine's capital has slowed to a stand still. that large military convoy on the road to kyiv remains stalled

and not made any appreciable progress in the last 24 to 36 hours. now as more explosions rock the capital kyiv, u.s. officials warn that russian forces are turning to their old and brutal tactics of laying siege to cities while targeting civilians and infrastructure from afar. just like the russian missile strike on a tv tower in kyiv on tuesday, which cnn's alex marquardt reports could be an ominous sign of much worse to come. >> reporter: russia has launched a new phase of this war on ukraine's communication and information. this was the moment a russian missile struck kyiv's tv tower. today we walked through the rubble of the buildings below it. shown around by a man who joined the defense forces just last week when russia 'lanched their invasion. the 38-year-old is normally a

hot air balloon pilot. his wife and daughter have fled the country for safety. the russian rockets on tuzla anded all around rostislav. >> first two, followed by two more. i saw them personally where they were coming from. i was standing next to the wall over there. >> reporter: as russia ramps up its bombardment of both military and civilian targets in ukraine, it warned that ukraine security services, communication facilities would be hit to, quote, suppress information attacks against russia. russia can't help but see that it is losing the narrative. the information war, with the world rallying to ukraine's side and rejecting russia, diplomacy, sports, business, and on and on. in the lead-up to this russian invasion, there was a lot of speculation and fear that russia would try to shut down communications, shut down power and impose a blackout over

ukraine. they have not been able to do that. almost a week into this war. but in hitting this tv tower and announcing they would be attacking other communications targets, that may be changing. while russia claims to not be targeting civilians, tuesday's strike killed at least five, the government says. the deadliest in the city of kyiv so far. near the tv tower was a gym, a fire still smoldering. smoke pouring out of the broken windows, the gym equipment covered in dust and debris. at the garage next door, staff stoically cleaned up glass, broken buildings and threw out insulation. all of this just steps from babin yar with its memorial of the massacre of over 30,000 jews in the holocaust. an area that has seen so much suffering for the jewish people hit by a russian leader who claims to be de-nazifying ukraine. >> this fellow who says he is coming to fight the neo fascists

in ukraine comes and bombs that place which is the memorial to the yous who were killed by the fascists. >> reporter: but the tv tower is still up, now also as a symbol, reinforcing ukraine's resistance against this increasingly harsh russian invasion and standing tall. alex marquardt, cnn in the kyiv region. israel also pitching in to try to mediate between russia and ukraine. israeli prime minister naftali bennett speaking simply with the leaders of both countries on wednesday after ukraine's president asked him last week to help with negotiations. israel has good ties with both moscow and kyiv, but it voted at the u.n. general assembly on wednesday to condemn russia for invading. all right. cnn hadas gold joins me live from newsroom. and hadas, tell us more about these goals and if any progress

was made. >> michael, it was actually the second round of such calls with both ukrainian and russian leaders in less than a week. as you noted last friday, the ukrainian president asked the israeli prime minister to potentially host talks, to be the mediator of both sides in jerusalem. that's because ukrainians no longer peel as belarus where these negotiations often take place is a fair place because belarus is such a close ally of russia. we know that yesterday the first call was with volodymyr zelenskyy. this actually game after zelenskyy put out a statement in hebrew calling all jewish people to support the ukrainians. zelenskyy himself is of course jewish. and according to a senior ukrainian official who spoke with me who was briefed on the call, they said that zelenskyy wanted to emphasize the missile strikes that landed as we heard from alex marquardt in that area of the babin yar memorialed a well as an area call umam which is holy to many orthodox jews. we also know they discussed

security concerns. according to media courts, zelenskyy asked israel to provide ukraine with more equipment. instead it's sending things like medicine and blankets and other humanitarian things. the only comment from the israeli side regarding the call of zelenskyy is they agreed to continue to maintain continuous communication. shortly after the call with zelenskyy, naftali bennett spoke with vladimir putin. now the kremlin said this was at the request of the israelis. the kremlin put out their first readout saying that putin laid out russia's conditions, which include the demilitarization and denazification of the crain state. of course keep in mind that volodymyr zelenskyy, the president of ukraine is himself jewish. he has had family that died in the holocaust. now the israelis did not put out their own official readout of the call. but the israeli media said they would be prepared to help if asked at any time to help end the dispute. israel sees itself as having a unique role as a potential

mediator. they see themselves as part of the tool kit that could potentially bring an end to this conflict. they know also the israeli officials have been in touch with the americans on this. last week they briefed americans both before and after the call with putin. but michael, the pressure is growing on naftali, on the israeli leadership to try and do more to help ukrainians specifically, potentially at some point to try to provide military equipment. so far they're only providing humanitarian assistance. michael? >> all right, hadas, thank you for the update there from jerusalem. appreciate it. and much more from ukraine coming up. first let's head to atlanta and rosemary church. rosemary? >> thanks, michael. russia admits its economy is taking serious blows as companies shut down operations and the west imposes crushing sanctions. we will have the very latest on that, next. ows a moment this pu. ...demands a lotion this pure. new gold bond pupure moisture lotion. 2424-hour hydration. no pararabens, dyes, or fragrances.

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the moscow stock exchange remains closed for trading for a forth straight day after the west imposed crushing sanctions on russia. according to jpmorgan, those sanctions have now sharply increased the chance of a russian default. in the u.s., we are just hours away from a new trading day after wednesday's strong rally on wall street. the dow alone closed up nearly 600 points. we're also seeing the price of oil climb, which of course means increased pressure on gasoline prices. since monday's close, crude has spiked more than 15%. and cnn's anna stewart joins us now from london. good morning, anna. so as russia's financial and trade ties with the world are increasingly cut off, what impact is this having? and just how will the country cope economically? >> form, rosemary. currently, russia's strategy here is to really pull up the financial drawbridge to the rest of the world. it's not letting any capital really leave what is being called fortress russia.

it's built up huge reserves to be able to weather sanctions, but i don't think they took into account how big the sanctions would be and that its central bank would also be targeted. we're seeing the stock market close for the fourth day in a row. capital controls are in place to try to keep western companies from pulling out of the country. and sort of a default on sovereign debt but also corporate debt is looking likely to come. for russians life is getting really hard. services you're used to are all being stopped whether it's h & m stores, apple pay, visa, mastercard, life is going to get really hard for people in russia. >> hasn't yet been targeted. the country still receives revenue for oil and gas. but president biden has hinted that may change. so what could potentially happen and what would be the ramifications? >> yes, because currently, the only sector really not to be targeted at all by sanctions is oil and gas in russia.

and a few weeks ago, that would have been absolutely unthinkable. but that's apparently still on the table at this stage. let's bring you oil prices right now. we're looking at new multihighs. 118 brent. 15 for wti. extraordinary move there's, really. russia is actually struggling to sell oil, and there is a huge discount now on russian oil, around $18 a barrel lower than your general barrel of brent. so what we're seeing here is actually self-sanctioning in a way is already taking place, with refineries not actually wanting to buy russian oil for fear that a, it could be the result of sanctions in weeks to come. but also the fear for tankers operate manage the black sea. also looking at corporates like exxon, shell, ecke very interesting we're seeing sanctions that sanctions for oil and gas could be on the table. rosemary?

>> we'll watch to see what happens with that. many thanks joining us live from london. the russian owner top legendary club chelsea says he plans to sell it. billionaire roman abramovitch made the announcement on wednesday saying the move would be in the best interests of the club, fans, employees and sponsors. cnn's patrick snell has the details. >> reporter: russian billionaire roman abramovitch took control of the club in 2003. now 19 years on, the 55-year-old calling his decision to sell incredibly difficult. in a statement, abramovitch announced he is not asking for any loans to be repaid and i've instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated. the foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in ukraine. this includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery. since taking over, abramovitch

has actually transformed the fortunes of the club whose last top title had come in 1955. amid lavish spending, twice champions of europe and their title drought snapped after half a century. chelsea's women's team now the dominant force domestically. and last year forbes saying chelsea was worth $3.2 billion. compare that to the 233 million paid almost two decades ago. >> the arrival of abramovitch at chelsea in 2003 electrified the english premier league. questions of his wealth persisted. but in football terms there was no question that chelsea were massive beneficiaries, the best managers in european football, the biggest players, the first title in half a century. the positions of chelsea as a big player domestically and in the champions league. under abramovitch, chelsea

lifted all there was to win in club football. without him, the club-faces an uncertain future. >> reporter: his decision to sell chelsea comes after russia's invasion of ukraine. abramovitch has not been sanctioned. he maintains he is not an official political figure for russia. on wednesday, reports of a swiss billionaire wants to buy the blues, though the club not responding to cnn's request for comment on that. while chelsea's players booking their spot in the quarterfinals of the f "a" cup. just one topic of conversation afterwards. >> i think emp decision he takes is the right decision. it's his choice. it's his club. and that's not on me to comment. the guys talk about it. everybody talks about it. it is big news. let's wait and see, hope for the best. >> reporter: abramovitch say he is selling for the fans and in the club's best interest and he is hoping to go to stanford bridge to say goodbye to

everyone in person one last time. patrick snell, cnn, atlanta. and still to come, he has gone from a career in comedy to unlikely politician, and now a wartime leader. a look at volodymyr zelenskyy's improbable path to becoming an international hero.

i'm ukrainian going to fight against russians. this shall not pass. no, i'm never afraid to fight for my homeland. >> the ukraine there defiantly loving poland to come join the fight against the russian invasion. i want to bring you up the date on the latest developments. and some startling images where ukrainian emergency services say a shell hit an oil depot. this was on thursday morning. you can see the result. the keyport city of kherson, meanwhile, appears to have fallen to russian forces. the mayor said ukrainian forces had left and russians had taken over. a huge explosion lighting up the night sky over kyiv several

hours ago. another signal of russia's ramping up all the attacks. massive shelling and bombing in the central part of the country's largest city. kharkiv as well. at least three schools, homes, shops, hospitals, and even a church have now been hit. meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis growing quickly. the u.n. says one million people have now fled ukraine in just one week. now for years, his comedy kept ukrainians laughing. but now ukraine's comedian turned president has become an unexpected leader. whose sacrifice is inspiring people around the world. phil black takes a look at the unconventional career of president volodymyr zelenskyy. >> reporter: there is one really good reason why even in peacetime, many wondered whether volodymyr zelenskyy had what it took to lead his country.

his preparations for the job was pretending to lead his country. in the popular ukrainian tv show "servant to the people" he played another unlikely president. a too mucher suddenly elevated to the highest office after private rant about corruption goes viral. in real life, his political party uses the name of the show as its own. zelenskyy showed his career was all comedy and light entertainment, including playing paddington bear in the movie franchise's ukrainian release. somehow that path has led him to the role of wartime president at a perilous moment for his country. is it fair to say he is a thoroughly improbable war-time leader? >> i think that is fair to say. he is a man of extraordinary

achievements and capabilities. >> capabilities widely noticed through his recent example of leadership. zelenskyy's videos from the streets of kyiv are being watched everywhere. calm, determined, insistent the world must do more. he has provided perhaps the most memorable line of the war so far, responding to a u.s. offer to get him out of kyiv with "the fight is here. i need ammunition, not a ride." >> and you can be sure that that courage is appreciated, has strengthened his own people in their resolve to deal with this act of blatant aggression. >> he could personally make a difference to the outcome, you believe? >> oh, there is no doubt about it. he is now an international hero, a living symbol of standing firm against overwhelming odds. >> reporter: in an exclusive interview with cnn's matthew chance, zelenskyy played down the personal risks and hardship

he is enduring. >> i'm the president of ukraine. i think ukraine is iconic. and i always was sure in it and i knew it always. i knew it, that ukraine is special country. ukraine is the heart of europe. >> reporter: dell has met his firm. he sat across from vladimir putin during talks in late 2019. clearly the junior, vastly less experienced statesman. now putin's forces are coming for him. this moment is revealing zelenskyy's carob as he rallies his people and the world to resist russia's assault and save ukraine's democracy. phil black, cnn, london. >> thanks for watching, everyone, spending part of your day with me. i'm michael holmes live in lviv, ukraine. our breaking news continues in a

moment.

this war was one man's choice and one man alone. >> it's a war of all nationalities. >> silence the guns. >> we want just peace. >> hello and welcome to viewers and all around the school, i am michael holmes live at lviv.