this is cnn breaking news. >> hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. i'm michael holmes here live in lviv, ukraine. president volodymyr zelenskyy is imploring his fellow ukrainians to not let up, to keep the resistance they've shown amid the onslaught of the massive russian invasion ongoing here. in an address to the ukrainian people, he said it is a special heroism to protest when your city is occupied. and he urged them to keep up the

resistance against russia. >> translator: ukrainians, in all our cities where the enemy invaded, go on the offensive. go out on the streets. we need to fight every time we have an opportunity. >> that resistance is on display from one city to another. civilians taking to the streets to voice their anger at russia, and often putting themselves in harm's way in direct confrontation with russian troops. watch this . this is in kherson. you see that man jumping onto a russian armed personnel carrier, waving the flag as he does. the mayor told us earlier the

city is surrounded and russian trans are everywhere. russian troops have made inroads on a number of fronts from practically all sides. we're learning parts of the ukrainian tank factory about 85 miles west of kyiv has been leveled after russian military strikes at the complex. the area has seen intense shelling in recent days. now all of that comes as the temporary cease-fire in parts of eastern ukraine, to let civilians get to safety, is now on hold after allegations russian fighters violated the terms of that cease-fire and started shelling again. russia blaming ukraine. and while speaking to a group of employees from the russian airline aeroflot, an ominous threat from russian president vladimir putin. >> translator: much of what is happening and what we are seeing right now is, of course, a way of fighting russia. and the sanctions being introduced. they are equivalent to a declaration of war now. thank god this hasn't happened yet.

>> ukrainians who have survived a week of heavy bombardment in the northern city of irtin are finally able to flee. the weeks' route a difficult one with many having to travel by foot over a damaged bridge and other obstacles in that war-torn city. as cnn's which are ris sa ward reports, many evacuees visibly shaken, carrying only a few belongings and the unbearable weight of an uncertain future. >> reporter: for seven days, this kyiv suburb has been pummeled by russian strikes. and you can see it in the faces of those leaving. exhaustion, fear, and gratitude to the soldiers helping them flee. this bridge was downed by the ukrainians to prevent russian forces from getting into the city center. now it's yet another hurdle people must cross. there has been a steady barrage

of artillery since we got here, just over an hour ago. and a never-ending stream of people just desperately trying to cross to safety. natalia tells us she was injured just a couple of hours earlier. "we tried to get some stuff out of our apartment and a shell or something hit, and i got hit by shrapnel." still in shock, she dismisses the pain and walks away unaided. others need more assistance. soldiers carry a makeshift stretcher to ferry an elderly woman to safety. president putin has said his army is not targeting civilians, but the exodus tells a different story. everyone steps in where they can, including us. an elderly woman calls out for help.

clearly confused by the chaotic situation. we take one of her bags. so people are obviously incredibly affected by this situation. they're frightened, they're exhausted, they're on edge. they leave behind whatever they cannot carry with no sense of when they will return. a woman approaches, completely overcome. >> she said, "i'm afraid." >> reporter: "for what," she cries, "for what?" this is just one suburb in one city that's felt the wrath of russia's onslaught. artillery, missiles, and fighter jets. "the planes were flying, and i

just covered my ears," olga tells us. she's saying now she doesn't even know where she's going to go next. she has lived here for 45 years. "it was so beautiful, and now it's destroyed. what are they trying to achieve? to bring us to our knees?" but against all odds, ten days into this war, ukraine is still standing. a woman waits to be evacuated, trembling, resilient. "we will overcome everything," she says. for the people here, the journey is just beginning. they're loaded onto buses, to the train station. from there, they don't know where they will go. clarissa ward, cnn, irpin. many observers say the russian president has

miscalculated with his aggression, but he's obviously not been stopped so far, has he? now the british prime minister, boris johnson, set to unveil a six-point plan to end the, quote, hideous, barbarous assault. he is calling for a renewed and concerted effort from the international community as he prepares to meet next week with other world leaders. meanwhile, israel's prime minister is trying to play mediator between moscow and kyiv. while the u.s. secretary of state met his ukrainian counterpart in poland. we'll have a report on that from natasha bertran in brussels. first, prime minister naftali bennett's trip to moscow. >> reporter: this was an unannounced trip the israeli prime minister, naftali bennett, took to moscow sunday morning where he met with russian president vladimir putin for three hours in the kremlin. the diplomatic took place with the blessing of the u.s. administration. the prime minister's office said it was also coordinated with

france and germany. the ukrainian ambassador to israel told me the ukrainians were given a heads-up and were supportive of the meeting. bennett spoke with ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy after the meeting took place, bennett's office said. bennett then flew to berlin meeting with german chancellor olaf scholz. although the flight to moscow was a surprise, it comes after a series of phone calls bennett has been having with zelenskyy and putin the last couple of weeks. zelenskyy has been asking israel to host negotiations in jerusalem because of israel's unique relationship with both countries. while israel has condemned russia's invasion and is providing ukraine with humanitarian aid, bennett himself has been avoiding direct criticism of russia or putin. israel has sought to maintain good relations with russia in recent years because of russia's military presence in syria. israel needs russia's tacit approval to conduct air strikes against iranian targets in syria

which they regard as critical to their security. although pressure has been growing to do more to help ukraine, so far it is maintaining its position, arguing it should be used to help find a solution. hadas gold, cnn, jerusalem. secretary of state antony blinken was meeting with the polish foreign minister and making a trip to the border where 700,000 ukrainian refugees have fled the war since it began. the secretary of state expressed solidarity with the refugees who have fled, saying the world is inspired by how they have fought against the russians. >> what ukrainians are doing is inspiring the world. and the world is united in support of ukraine. and against russia's aggression. and we are working very closely with our polish friends. >> reporter: many ukrainians are continuing to plead with the u.s. and nato for more help, particularly when it comes to

imposing a no-fly zone over ukrainian air space. but the secretary of state said yesterday in remarks from the european union that it does not look like that is on the table at this point because that could create a direct confrontation between nato forces and russian forces over ukrainian air space and potentially spark a much wider conflict. the prospect of sending additional lethal assistance to ukraine remains on the table. they are continuing that, they are continuing humanitarian assistance to the ukrainians. but president volodymyr zelenskyy of ukraine is telling them that he needs more fighter jets, he needs more support, otherwise the russians could win this war. natasha bertrand, cnn, brussels. romeo kotriaski is managing editor of "the new voice of ukraine" and host of "ukraine without hype." good to have you on here. you're an american ukrainian based here in wartime. what is it like to see this happening to ukraine?

>> i mean, it's -- it's utterly devastating. i moved back to ukraine. i was born here, i moved back about eight years ago. and i built my whole life here. obviously, i wasn't counting on my home country basically becoming a war zone. it's been incredibly difficult, i think, for basically everyone associated with ukraine. >> yeah, exactly. tell me about day-to-day life where you are. >> i'm currently in vienst, a little community 300 kilometers southwest of kyiv. vientsa, more or less safe, life here. i wouldn't exactly call it normal, but at the same time it's nothing as nerve rack is as being in kyiv or further east. aside from the curfew at 10:00

and the preponderance of men with guns on the streets, things are more or less all right. stores are open. people are doing their daily shopping, going about their day. so things haven't changed that much. though, again, there are still air raid sirens going off every so often. >> yeah, yeah. as they do here as well. i saw you tweeted that your in-laws' village was being overrun. how are they and the rest of your family? are they safe? >> yeah, most of my in-laws managed to get out. they're now on the right bank of ukraine, so they crossed the dnipro. i'm told it was a marrowing journey that took forever. my father-in-law stayed behind, so we're pretty worried about that. their village is pretty much on the road from sumi to kyiv, the eastern border city the russians

have been assaulting since the invasion, and elements of the russian assault force have actually bypassed it and gone on the highway to encircle kyiv. so he stayed behind. >> i know that you said that the importance of the family property there, he's built that up over many years and didn't want to leave it. you are a journalist. how important do you see your role right now in telling -- in terms of telling the story of what's happening? >> i mean, there are a lot of people in ukraine that have experience a lot worse than i have, and i don't want to overplay my own personal deal or anything in this conflict. but at the same time, i am an english language journalist in ukraine in a time when we're facing massive disinformation efforts, massive psychological operations, actors with their own agendas from every side. so i think my role, bringing

ukraine's voice to the world, bringing objective, accurate reporting in english, is incredibly critical for ensuring that ukraine continues to receive the support that the world has already shown it, and hopefully will increase as time goes on. >> yeah, because -- i mean, even though you are in a relatively safe part of the country, this war is all over the place. you could leave, you could pick up and go to the border and go back to the u.s. and watch this on television. you're prepared to take the risk that staying entails? >> i mean, just like my father-in-law, i'm currently staying in my great grandfather's house that he built following world war ii after getting back from the front, fighting nazis. and i think i see it as kind of a family legacy of opposing imperialism and opposing this genocidal machine that wants to crush ukrainians and spit out

whatever putin has in his head. so i don't really see leaving as an option. this is my home. i set up my life here. i think the role i play currently is important for me to stay. >> yeah, and it's a courageous position and an important position to take. do you think people back home in the states, from what you're hearing, people in other countries for that matter, away from all of this, understand what's happening, the realities on the ground, what it means, how it feels to people here to be going through this? >> i think there's no way to feel what war is like without being in a war. i certainly had no idea of the simple mental strain of existing in a place where war is going on takes on a person. i've made very few trips to the east prior to this invasion.

i never spent any time in mariupol or on the contact line. for me, this is an entirely new and entirely unpleasant experience. i can't imagine people living in more peaceful areas have an inkling of what it's like, and i hope they never do. it is not an experience i would recommend. >> yeah, absolutely. well put. it is an important role that you play. romeo, thank you so much for taking the time. people fleeing the war in ukraine often arrive at refugee centers with little more than the clothes on their back. coming up, we'll take a look at the volunteers who work tirelessly to give them some degree of comfort. lisa here, has had many jobs. and all that experience has led her

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the humanitarian crisis growing as waves of people continue to escape russia's war

here. according to the u.n., more than 1.3 million refugees have now fled this country. thousands making this arduous journey every day, leaving their homes behind, belongings, sometimes family, braving freezing temperatures in the hopes of making it to safety. but countries around the world are stepping up to help. u.s. lawmakers are set to vote on another aid bill for ukraine. >> monday's session in congress with an agenda that includes a $10 billion aid package to ukraine. half humanitarian, the other half military in nature. i can't think of a more powerful inspirational message to take back with us toward that end. with thousands fleeing across border every day, it is taking an army of volunteers to

help them. cnn's sara sidner takes a look at their efforts at a refugee camp in poland. >> reporter: this is a refugee camp of sorts about 20 minutes' drive from the border between poland and ukraine. this is where a lot of people fleeing the war end up after they've crossed over the border. they get into transportation, they end up here trying to figure out what their next moves are. so the fact that there are thousands of people coming through here every single day, there have been hundreds of volunteers that have turned up to try and give them some comfort. these gentlemen are using something from a 1950s to make a very delicious soup, sour soup is what they call it. and they have been working on that. you have a gentleman over here with hot drinks. you have people who have donated, and there's a whole box of toys that kids keep coming up and digging through to the bottom, trying to figure out their favorite thing. because remember, people left

their homes in a panic. many of them bringing only a small backpack or potentially carrying just a small bag, trying to get away from the war. you're also seeing a lot of different kinds of food, things that people can take with them. and people have donated. they have donated all manner of things. because it is frigid, it is very, very cold. so we're seeing things like blankets and little jackets here for children. but all day and all night, we're seeing people flood in here. they are coming generally on these huge buses that one might think are tourists coming from somewhere. but these are the world's newest war refugees coming from ukraine. in an alarming new warning, the u.n. children's fund telling cnn time is running out for ukrainian children to escape. a spokesperson for unicef says a

humanitarian access is becoming a matter of life and death, and the situation just gets worse with every passing moment. >> yes, absolutely, and it's already run out for those children who have been killed in these bombardments. getting that humanitarian access in is fundamentally critical. but opening up those corridors so those people can leave, the people you've seen, your viewers have seen, mothers and children, fundamentally have to leave. i mean, they do everything they can, as you know, to keep a child safe, but talking to moms who spend nights lying on top of the children, not just to keep them warm, because they think that's an extra layer of protection. in this madness, they have to be given safe passage out of there. but of course, for all those others who can't leave, the conflict has to stop. the missiles have to stop. >> if you would like to help people in ukraine who might need the basics of life -- shelter,

food, water, warm clothes -- go to cnn.com/impact. plenty of ways there that you can help. quick break on the program. when we come back, more on our breaking news from ukraine. and a look at why vladimir putin was so determined to invade its western neighbor. we will map it all out coming up. s made fantastic. you can be fresh and fun. bold and classic. cozy and precocious. with 465 fresh, clean, craveable pairings, find a you pick 2 for any mood. enjoy a 1 dollar delivery fee when you ordrder on our app. (driver 1) it's all you. (driver 2) no, i i insist. (driver 1) it's your turn. (driver 2) nope, i think it's your turn. (driver 1) i appreciate you so much, thank you so much... go. (driver 2) i appreciate your appreciation. it fills me. (burke) safe drivers save money with farmers. (bystander) just for drivi safely? (burke) it's a farmers policy per get farmers and you could get a safe driver discnt simply for having a clean driving recd for three years. (drive3) come on! (driver 1) after you. (driver 2) after you. (drivers 1 and 2) safety first! (burke) get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks.

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we're testing the limits of vacation thrills. inversions. zero gravity. velociraptors. (tims) raptors?! woah! (tester) spider-man versus bad guys. let's go. (tims screaming) (tim) awesome! (tester) a dessert (tims screaming) (tester) ontop of a dessert. (tims) oh! nice! (tester) we don't do ordinary thrills. universal orlando. let yourself woah! immerse yourself in the thrills with a hotel and ticket package from $89 per person, per night. restrictions apply. this is cnn breaking news. >> welcome back. our breaking news continues as ukrainian officials accuse russia of shelling evacuation routes out of two heavily battered cities. they say thousands of civilians

still trapped in the southeastern cities after moscow breached a temporary cease-fire agreement to allow civilians safe passage out. meanwhile, the international atomic energy agency says that ukrainian nuclear officials are in contact with staff at the nuclear power plant after it was seized by russian troops on friday. the head of the agency calls the situation sense but says workers are now allowed to change shifts following reports they'd been forced to work at gunpoint. he says the situation cannot last too long. and the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken meeting with ukraine's foreign minister on saturday who is demanding a new round of sanctions against russia. this coming the same day that president vladimir putin warned that sanctions imposed on russia are equivalent to a, quote, declaration of war. the ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy speaking with u.s. lawmakers on saturday asking for a no-fly zone in the

skies over ukraine once more. and more military support too. probably the biggest question about this war in ukraine afof everyone we speak to is, why? why now? why did president vladimir putin invade? why is he so determined to prevent nato expansion? tim marshall explains how old maps may hold the answer. >> to better understand the tensions between nato and russia over ukraine, it's worth a glance at history and a good look at a map. in the cold war, europe was split more or less more or less in two. the nato countries in the west, warsaw pact, under moscow's dominance in the east, but post-cold war wanted to join nato and it's moved up to russia's borders. to understand why russia feels nervous, a topographical map is useful. there's a mountain range running

across europe, the carpathian mountains. from the baltic sea here to where the car pcarpathians star this is flat ground. through that flat ground have come napoleon and the french, hitler and the germans, and many others who invaded russia by that direction, and that makes russia nervous. therefore it seeks to plug that gap by occupying it, or to not, where the ground opens up into flat ground, it wants to at the very least dominate it. in 2014, its reaction was to occupy and then annex crimea, part of ukraine, and its warm water port of sebastopol, which gives the russian fleet access out of the black sea into the mediterranean, from there to the great ocean lanes of war. it also fomented civil war in the donbas region to create a mini buffer zone. to understand russia's strategy

it's not just military aspects and political aspects. it's important to understand the place ukraine has in russia's hearts or in its psychology. russian culture began in kyiv, and it's where what eventually became russia was founded. it moved eastwards across to moscow, but they still know in their collective imagination that the root of their culture is in the heart of ukraine. and putin wrote an essay pretty much about this in which he doesn't recognize these lines on the map, these borders. because as far as he's concerned, ukraine is part of mother russia. that is a psychology that goes quite deep into the russian collective memory. large parts of the country are russian speaking. there's the slavic connection. and there's also the fact that many people are russian orthodox in their religious belief. so while, of course, great power

politics and russia's position ve vis-a-vis nato, europe, comes into this, this is the heart and it plays a role in russian thinking. >> but western sanctions seem to be on the minds of russian oligarchs these days, that's for sure, some scrambling to sell or move their luxury properties around the globe after new sanctions went after their yachts, their villas, and private jets. the latest targets were luxury assets seized in italy worth a combined $150 million. italian police say they confiscated property belonging to five russian oligarchs. two top credit card companies are joining the list of businesses pulling out of russia. visa and mastercard say they are suspending all transactions in russia. thousands of people still leaving ukraine as the fighting continues. when we come back, we'll tell you about foreign students trying to get back to their home country.

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the united nations says more than 1.3 million people have fled ukraine since the start of this invasion. they include foreign students who are now trying to figure out how to get home. cnn's kim brunhuber with more on that. >> i'm very happy to be back home. thank you, nigeria. >> reporter: these are the lucky ones. nigerian evacuees, many of them students, arriving back home after being stranded in ukraine. countries around the world are now facing the difficult task of evacuating their citizens from a war zone. but many students and foreign nationals in ukraine have already made the terrifying choice to leave on their own, joining the mass scramble of ukrainians on trains, taxis, buses, and often on foot heading to alexandria ocasio-cortez's borders to escape the violence. from there, several countries

are coordinating flights occupant region. this relieved student says it was an exhausting journey, but crossing into romania was the hardest part. >> the bus couldn't get to the border because of the lines. we had to walk two hours to get to the border with our bags. then stand about 14 hours in the cold, waiting for them to open the gates. >> reporter: many students said they stayed as long as they could, some in underground bunkers, until conditions on the ground forced them to leave. >> there were a lot of heavy artillery, missiles, bombs. we had to leave because we couldn't stay there. no one could stay there. it was really dangerous. >> reporter: bear hugs and tears greet these evacuees in ecuador. relatives say it's been a long and anxious wait for this plane carrying many students to arrive in quito. one uncle says his nephew told him bombs were falling, and the family was afraid they would never see him again. the perils of the journey made

worse by alleged racial discrimination at the border. some students from africa and asia said they were forced to wait or turned away at checkpoints while ukrainians were allowed to past. >> mostly they'd consider white people first, indian people, before black people. >> reporter: ukraine's foreign ministry denied the allegations on twitter say iing it's a first come, first served approach at the border and the ukrainian government has in the past week helped 130,000 foreigners leave the country. at least one student says he's delaying his trip home, choosing to stay at the romanian border and help others, like those who helped him. >> i decided here to help. you know, show people kindness. everybody needs to help. everybody. we need to coordinate. this is the message. >> reporter: kim brunhuber, cnn. at least 700 students from india are asking to be rescued after getting stranded in

ukraine. they're trapped in the city of sumy about 30 miles, 50 kilometers, from the russian border. and after days of living in limbo, they say food is starting to run out and water, electricity, and heat are out. vedika, thousands of people from india have escaped ukraine and are in the process of getting home. these 700 students are still in sumy waiting for help? >> they are waiting for help. we do know from the indian government that over 20,000 indians have moved out of ukraine, are being evacuated back here to india. but it's those 700 stupes that remain a challenge for the indian authoreds at this point because they are deep in the middle of the conflict zone and that's the biggest challenge indian authorities are facing so far. transport isn't as much an issue as the fact that the fighting is going on right next to the city. we've been being to students the

last week who are in those bunkers and hostels in sumy. they say every time the siren goes on, they have to rush to their bunker. they're really worried for their safety. they've even gone ahead and put out a video for the indian government, saying that this is the last message they're sending to indian authorities to evacuate them. the dilemma for the indian authorities 10 is very clear. it's just one big concern. if you try and pull these 700-odd students out of sumy at this point in time, we could be risking their lives, and that's what they've said yesterday in a press conference by a government official representing the ministry of domestic affairs in india. the other issue these students are having is there's a shortage of water and electricity, because of which there are students who are actually going out and scooping snow into buckets, taking them inside, waiting for them to melt because they don't have electricity 24/7, and they're

drinking that water. listening to what a student had to say to us, this is the video she sent us. >> yesterday, a bomb blast happened near the hostel. and we don't have electricity. and as well as water. so we are taking the snow from here and taking in buckets, we are taking and melting it and bringing it directly without heating it. because we don't have electricity, electric service is not working, so we are not able to heat it. we are barely drinking the snow. we don't know how long we'll be able to go like this. >> reporter: these students have also warned they want to go to the russian border on foot and get there, but the indian government official that was addressing the press conference yesterday has said they need to hold off for a while, they need to be safe, and they've promised that they're talking to russia and ukraine to get safe passage for these students. how long the wait will be, we don't know for now. >> all right, our thoughts go

out to them, vedika sud in mumbai. anti-war protests in europe saturday sending clear messages to president vladimir putin. in munich, about 2,000 people creating a human chain stretching from the russian to the ukrainian consulate. the line almost 4 1/2 kilometers long. in hamburg, some 30,000 protesters taking to the streets, calling for a stop to the war. and demonstrators in paris singing the ukrainian national anthem, holding the nation's yellow and blue flags. in london, the message was this. >> more sanctions for russia! more sanctions for russia! more sanctions for russia! >> protesters in trafalgar square demanding tougher measures against moscow. one demonstrator bluntly explaining why. >> they're not doing enough on the sanctions. it's pathetic. absolutely pathetic.

because they're not taking immediate effect. they need to seize these assets immediately. i'd like to see the proceeds of these assets actually going into a fund which will then be used to rebuild ukraine. >> at a rally in rome, a less somber show of dissent. hundreds waving flags and banners and dancing in solidarity with ukrainians. the message, no to war. that will do it from here in lviv in ukraine for now. let's go back to the cnn center in atlanta and my friend paula newton. >> thank you, michael. we'll go back to you in a few moments. here on cnn, concerns over an american basketball star after reports that she was arrested in russia. that story after the break. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only comomplete hiv treatment you can get every other month. cabenuva helps keep me e undetectable. it's two injectionsns, given by a healthcare provider everery other month.

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growing concerns for u.s. basketball star and two-time olympic gold medalist brittney griner after "the new york times" reported she was arrested in moscow. russian customs officials say they found cannabis oil in griner's luggage upon arriving in new york, the report said, adding that drug-sniffing dogs

detected the possible presence of narcotics in her carry-on baggage. griner could face up to ten years in prison under russian law. starting monday, russia and belarus are banned from international gymnastics. that includes athletes, judges, and other officials from both countries. the decision from the sport's governing body is just the latest since russian forces gathered in belarus and invaded ukraine. it comes nearly a week after russian figure skaters were barred from international competitions. christine brennan is a cnn sports analyst and sports columnist for "usa today" and she joins me now from washington, d.c. christine, i can't thank you enough for really taking us through what has been a lot of sports news related to our breaking news, literally every day as we've been going through this. i want to go first to brittney griner. incredibly delicate situation, and it's hard to know right now how political it could be. what have you heard in terms of

obviously u.s. officials trying to help her and protect her? >> reporter: paula, this story is really troubling. and the fact that she was detained in february, several weeks ago, we're finally hearing about it now, of course, this is one of the big questions. how did that happen? how is it detected sooner, that the united states media didn't find out sooner. but this is the situation. and it is very concerning. she obviously is a big name as you mentioned, two time olympic gold medalist, one of the stars of the wnba. all of these players, most of the w. nba players anyways go overseas to play in the off-season and make more money, and of course that's what she apparently was doing. so, yes, great concern. obviously throw in the fact of putin's invasion of ukraine, and it probably heightens that level of concern even more. the good news is people know. the authorities in the united states know, the wnba, her agent, lawyers, they're on the

case. but a lot of questions, and true uncertainty about the whereabouts and the status, frankly, of one of america's top female sports stars. >> yeah. and i have to point out that it doesn't make counselor services for her from the u.s. embassy any easier when this kind of stuff is going on, when you've got such a conflict. and obviously griner's family must be so concerned at this point. christine, something you've been following over the last few days is how sports has taken such a center stage epithis conflict, right? in unprecedented ways, really. what's changed here? you pointed out in a recent call those russian skaters that were banned it wasn't for doping, what you usually cover, unfortunately, but because of war. >> that's right, paula. i think what we've seen is as much as we hope sports are an escape for society, a chance to unwind and enjoy the fun of and games that we would hope and expect on the playing fields

around the world they are now much more a mirror of our society, a reflection of our society. and that society, of course, has just been rocked by the -- by putin's invasion, russian invasion of ukraine and russia's war with ukraine and the horrors that we're seeing play out on cnn and anywhere else you look or read. and the sports world is part of that world. and so a perfect example i think of what has been going on is the paralympic games going on right now in beijing. originally they said they would allow the russians and the belarusian athletes to compete as neutral athletes. there was such an outcry, paula, there was such concern in the olympic village from all the other nations, they said there were concerns about boycotts, potentially walk outs. those athletes from other nations saying they would not participate if russia was allowed, and that's when the russians and belarusians were banned from the olympic games.

i think that shows everyone the mind-set. while it's tough for those russian athletes who may have done nothing wrong, the fact there are so many other athletes that don't want to participate with them at this point because of the horrors of what we're seeing in ukraine. >> yet some people have pointed out two things. one is they are not politicians, right, they're athletes. so that's one issue. and the other issue is that this is putin's war and do -- and canceling russians, is that really fair? as you and i both know sometimes even these athletes who are playing around the world are not free to speak out. many times they have family back home, and they are afraid of the consequences. >> well, that's true. and we're seeing that for example with the nhl players in the united states. alex ovechkin right here in washington, d.c. where i'm speaking to you from, he's been caught in the cross hairs of this for sure. and the nhl players are the russian players still actually

competing because the ban has been so widespread. it is understandable and sad athletes would be caught in this, but this is our reality when you've got something as terrible and devastating as what putin has unleashed in ukraine. and so the sports world does react. and i go back and think of a generation or two ago of the south african athletes who were not able to compete because of apartheid and because of the bans on south africa around the world from so many nations who were concerned, obviously, and correctly about apartheid. and eventually things changed, and those athletes then were allowed to compete again. but we've seen the boycotts in the olympic games. athletes are often as i said caught in the crosshairs, paula. and, you know, we would hope sports could be -- could be a free -- a safe space away from politics. it's not the case. it's not the case with the olympic games. it's not the case with anything. the reality is these athletes are part of the story, sadly.

and, again, the doping i think one of the reasons so many athletes in sports are willing to ban russians is because of doping. what was the big story at the olympic games just a couple weeks ago? russian doping. so now the russians are out of the figure skating world championships, out of gymnastics, banned in hockey, so many other sports. and also putin cares so much about sports. so this is something one would think he might even look up and say, hey, this is something that would at least register for him because he loves sports so much, and that is being taken away from of course him and his country men and women. >> yeah, one knows, though, he'll blame others for that and certainly in not any way, shape or form implicate himself. we'll continue to follow this story because it's so intertwined with sports now, unfortunately, for many of those athletes. thank you so much for taking us through. really appreciate it. >> thank you, paula. and we take you back to the

ukrainian-polish border now, and the sound of music is however quickly replacing the roar of bombs. now a woman -- listen to this. ♪ a woman there you see her playing the tune for those heartsick ukrainian refugees with the ironically named louie armstrong tune "what a wonderful world." and now we're taking you to the other side of the border, right, in poland where a traveling piano man also greeted weary travelers with songs. some people even played along with him. the war if as i say only for a brief moment forgotten. tal wanted musicians there. i am paula newton. we are continuing with our breaking news coverage out of ukraine. stay with us. we'll be back right after a quick break.

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universal orlando. let yourself woah! immerse yourself in the thrills with a hotel and ticket package from $89 per person, per night. restrictions apply. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. i'm michael holmes here in lviv, ukraine, with the breaking news this hour. and we're learning that much of the ukrainian tank factory has been leveled after russian strikes merchandise this is about some 85 miles west of kyiv. the area has seen intense shelling in recent days. and a new video just coming in from a city on the outskirts of kyiv. you see jets there flying overhead, and then a massive explosion with