this is cnn breaking news. hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm michael holmes coming to you live from lviv, in ukraine. and russian forces appear to be moving closer to kyiv with a concerted push from the east. heavy fighting reported in several towns near the ukrainian capital. here, ukrainian forces trying to free a town that is currently being occupied by the russians. the fighting, as you are about to hear, is intense.

new satellite images, meanwhile, reveal significant damage to an industrial district just north of kyiv. another picture, showing a supermarket destroyed by fire. and here, we see that the massive russian convoy north of kyiv has been largely dispersed. to where is yet unclear but the british defense ministry reporting more russian forces are being sent in to encircle key cities. and a u.s. official says russians are relying more on long-range bombardment missile launches and air strikes. now, global condemnation is growing for russia's air strike on a children's and maternity hospital in the southern port city of mariupol. the mayor there calling it genocide, and the u.s.

ambassador to the united nations saying it's a war crime. three people were killed in the at attack, more than a dozen others were wounded. the city is encircled by russian forces even from the sea and the red cross says food, electricity, and medical supplies are running out. the situation they say is quote increasingly dire and desperate. now, the u.s. vice president kamala harris on a visit to poland came under some criticism as she stopped short of calling russian air strikes a war crime. >> we are also very clear that any intentional attack on innocent civilians is a violation. and i have no question the eyes of the world are on this bar. war and what russia has done in terms of this aggression and these atrocities. >> meanwhile, talks in turkey between the top russian

diplomats produced no breakthroughs. though, a lot of people were surprised. the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov even denying that russia had attacked ukraine. now, ukrainian forces are putting up stiff resistance as we know to the russian military. but outside of the capital, they claim they have destroyed a tank column that was on its way to kyiv. cnn's matthew chance reports. >> reporter: the aftermath of fierce fighting east of the ukrainian capital. this is what you get when you invade ukrainian land, they say, as russian forces attempt to encircle kyiv. ukrainian military says it's defeated an entire regiment of russian tanks and liquidated its commander. drone video captured the armored column in the city being attacked and destroyed. the latest battlefield win in what is proving, for now, to be a determined ukrainian stand. but on the diplomatic front,

stalemate. despite the highest-level talks since this russia-ukraine conflict began, foreign ministers meeting in, ukrainian officials tell cnn the russian side appeared unwilling or unable to make a deal. >> we also raised the issue of a cease-fire. 24-hour cease-fire to resolve the most pressing humanitarian issues. uh, we did not make progress on this since it seems that there are other decision makers for this -- for this matter in russia. >> it's these gut-wrenching scenes in the ukrainian city of mariupol provoking wide international scorn. maternity hospital devastated by russian forces according to ukrainian officials, killing at least three people inside, including a child.

horrific images are circulating, like this one, of pregnant women blooded in the attack. still, the russian foreign minister is insisting this was a legitimate strike on a far-right ukrainian militia. not a war crime. >> at the meeting of the u.n. security council, our delegation presented facts about this maternity hospital having long been seized by the battalion and other radicals and they have driven all the pregnant women and the nurses out of it. >> reporter: but in cities across ukraine, trapped civilians are desperately escaping the fighting. these, the latest scenes from irpin, north of kyiv, where the city's mayor says nearly half the population has already fled. with no peace in sight, ukraine's capital is emptying as russian forces advance. matthew chance, cnn, kyiv. now, the top-u.s.

intelligence official is dismissing russian' allegations the u.s. is developing chemical weapons in ukraine. national intelligence director avril haines testifying before senators on thursday -- a day after the white house slammed those accusations as false, and said they could be part of moscow's strategy to accuse, first, before using similar weapons themselves. haynes said the allegations are signature russian propaganda. >> we do not believe that ukraine is pursuing biological or nuclear weapons that we've seen no evidence of that. and frankly, this influence campaign is completely consistent with long-standing russian efforts to accuse the united states of sponsoring bioweapons' work in former-soviet union. so, this is -- um -- a classic move by the russians. >> ukrainian president zelenskyy echoing the u.s.' sentiment on thursday. have a listen. >> translator: they accuse us.

again, us, that we are allegedly developing biological weapons? allegedly, we are preparing a chemical attack? this makes me really worried because we have been repeatedly convinced if you want to know russia's plans, look at what russia accuses others of. >> now, president zelenskyy also denying ukraine has developed any kind of weapon of mass destruction. concerns are growing about ukraine's nuclear power plants taken over by russian troops. ukraine is now telling the u.n.'s atomic energy agency, it has lost all communications with the chernobyl plant. on wednesday, it lost its external power supply which is needed to cool its used nuclear fuel. the u.n. nuclear agency says it cannot confirm reports that power is now back on. nina dos santos has more. >> reporter: first, russia seized chernobyl, site of the world's worst nuclear meltdown.

a week later, europe's largest nuclear plant. now, with power cut from chernobyl and more than 200 plant workers held hostage, alarm bells are ringing. >> this was terror at a new level. ukraine has 15 nuclear plants and the russian military has forgotten chernobyl and the world's tragedy. >> we cannot go on like this. there has to be clear understandings or clear -- clear commitments not to -- um -- go anywhere near a nuclear facility when it comes to nuclear -- to military operations. >> reporter: some have called the targeting of such sensitive infrastructure a war crime. do you think these nuclear plants are going to be targeted, specifically? >> they are extremely callous. they don't give a damn about civilian casualties but i would be surprised if they were going to deliberately target with missiles or artillery, nuclear power plants. although, you know, with a sociopathic president putin,

anything is possible. >> it's energy extortion, nuclear energy extortion in this case. and it also is extortion of the ukrainian people because it is going to harm their ability to gain, eat, have electricity. this is a diabolical maneuver by vladimir putin. >> reporter: ukraine is home to 15 nuclear facilities, with two taken already, russian forces are now approaching ukraine's second largest nuclear site in the mykolaiv. >> as a means to control the power supply to ukrainian cities and towns as a way of, in turn, controlling all aspects of -- of -- of ukrainian society. trying to put a stranglehold and a squeeze on ukraine's civilians. >> reporter: nuclear power makes up almost a quarter of ukraine's overall energy mix after coal and natural gas. most of which, ultimately comes from russia. but oil has also been hit. ukraine posted these images on tuesday of fires at oil depots

in the northwest of the country. the jury is out for now on what russia's end game is with ukraine's energy infrastructure, especially its nuclear sites. ukraine tells the iaea that radiation levels at these plants appear to be normal. but western nerves have been rattled. nina dos santos, cnn, in london. joining me now from mclean in virginia, douglas london is a retired cia operations officer and author of the book "the recruiter, spying and the lost art of american intelligence." and on that subject, i want to tap into your intel expertise. it's good to see you again. you -- you co-wrote a fascinating article in the hill about the role of intelligence in the context of this war, and particularly about what the community calls human intelligence. how important is that? how lacking has it been perhaps when it comes to russia and vladimir putin? >> thank you, michael. well, the war in ukraine

illustrates what i write in my book. the human intelligence, the information you get from sources, people on the inside, has become even more important as technology has evolved. intelligence isn't perfect because it's incomplete. it's like looking at a jigsaw puzzle where you have only parts of the picture apparent to you. we are watching russia move all its weapons and its machinery into belarus and around the borders. but we couldn't tell from those pictures what it meant. what putin's decision was going to be. whether he was going to invade and how far he was going to go. you see the intelligence to which that american officials have referred. they use descriptions of confidence. we have high confidence that russia plans to invade, and seek to decapitate the capital. that, i believe, is a reflection of multisource information, including human, which tells you what you are looking at, gives you context, and gives you a sense of interpretation of what it is and what the meeting is and what's still to come. >> yeah. you -- you have had a long history, as we said, in the intelligence community. held many roles.

so, in the context of ukraine, what -- what was fascinating, particularly early on? was the u.s.' tactic of releasing apparently classified intel to head off possible russian plants for false-flag operations and so on. how unusual was that in the world of intel? declassifying things like that? >> it's really unprecedented, the amount of information that was declassified from apparently real intelligence. we have seen the khashoggi report. we have seen the information on russian meddling. those are finished products that had gone through analytic review and good deal of scrutiny before it was made declassified. here, we have the president's secretary of defense releasing almost daily information that seems to be coming in a stream of information. we haven't seen that since at least december of 1980 when we tried to pull off the then soviets who were planning to invade poland. i don't necessarily think it was done with the belief it was going to preempt putin's invasion. i think we were pretty confident he was going do it. i would like to think it was more to prepare the battlefield,

to create public opinion pressure on our allies, on governments, and nato and the g7 to unify as we have. so i think in that extent, it's been very successful. >> hmm. yeah, that's an interesting take on it. i -- in -- in the bigger picture, does there need to be a bigger investment in human intelligence, human and resources? has that ball been dropped in this high-tech age? >> technology is such that it works both ways. and people could use it to manipulate images, manipulate collection of voice recordings that we might even pick up. so, i think that the agency, particularly cia -- my old employer -- were so focused on counterterrorism for a while, that they were likely underinvesting in what they needed. but we are able to transition and pivot now as we see fully from the intelligence that we've heard and read being declassified. but there's still some work to

do. technology is great. and we need it. but it's not going to tell us what's going happen. and it may not actually tell us the truth about what we are looking at. >> yeah. yeah. you know, there's been a lot of talk about putin's state of mind. um, but for the u.s. to assess that, that requires assets on the ground, doesn't it? people if not with him, close to those who are able to offer an assessment. that's been uniquely difficult when it comes to putin, hasn't it? >> well, putin's trajectory if you look at it in hindsight probably makes a lot of sense. he has been talking about the error that was the collapse of the soviet union, not recognizing ukraine as a sovereign independent country for -- for a while now. but understanding his calculus is understanding who he is listening to and what the intelligence is he is getting. and you really do need an insider for that because from his aims and from the way the war's been executed, it would seem that it doesn't even meet his own objectives, which would suggest that he's not been getting the best intelligence

himself and whether it's a matter of him being less rational. maybe, it's really more of a case of he is not getting the right information and those around him in his circle aren't willing to tell him the truth as it really is. >> yeah. not a way to run an operation, is it? doug, good to see you, my friend, douglas london in mclean, virginia. great insight there on the intel aspect of all this. all right. we are going to take a quick break. when we come back, hundreds of foreign students caught up in the crossfire after the russian' bombardments. ahead, cnn speaks to some of them as they got safely through a newly opened humanitarian corridor. >> what was going through your mind when you were sheltering in that basement? >> i just saved myself. i -- i'm ready to die. i'm gonna die now. certified turbocharger, suspension and fuel injection. translation: certified goosebumps.

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the humanitarian crisis growing in ukraine shows no signs of slowing down. according to the united nations, more than 2.3 million people have fled this country, so far. nearly a million and a half of those, to poland alone and hundreds of thousands of others of course to nearby countries. ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy explained how the country had been evacuating civilians in danger over the last two days. >> translator: humanitarian cargos were also delivered. hundreds of tons of food, medicine. we are doing everything to save our people in the cities that the enemy just wants to destroy. taking into account the work of humanitarian corridors in the previous two days, we have already evacuated about 100,000 people. >> among those trying to get to safety are foreign students who had been stranded in a town a

few-hundred kilometers east of kyiv. cnn's scott mclean with their story. >> reporter: this is what relief looks like for hundreds of foreign students who have been trapped in sumy, ukrainian city under constant russian bombardment. they say their exhausting journey to safety took more than 24 hours. >> i don't think i will ever forget this in my whole life. it will -- it will just be in my mind. >> reporter: a student from mauritius was one of hundreds who spent days sleeping in an underground bunker, hoping and praying the bombs would let up. they didn't. what was going through your mind when you were sheltering in that basement? >> i just say to myself i -- i'm ready to die. i'm going to die now. >> really? >> yeah, because when you hear that bomb explosion, you just freeze and you start shaking. >> reporter: the evacuation of the students who are mostly from india, china, and countries in africa came after intense diplomatic efforts to get them

out to safety and tense negotiations between russia and ukraine to open a humanitarian corridor out of sumy after days of failed efforts in other cities. >> how will i get out of this place? and even if i get out of this place, will i survive the journey out there? because we had in sumy, the russian army was surrounding the city and all of ourselves. >> reporter: when the buses finally left, the students were prioritized in the first convoy. local authorities say subsequent convoys were held up because of fighting on the outskirts of the city. it took 11 hours along the indirect corridor, past roads of military vehicles. then, they were quickly put on a train bound for lviv. arriving some 15 hours later. >> we have been here ukraine. we are also going to fight. >> reporter: these students from nigeria are headed to budapest by bus where their embassy will

help them from there. some say they are planning to go back as soon as the war is over. >> i spent six years in this country. and it's just -- it's a wonderful place to be. ukrainians are -- they are -- they are going through all of this trauma in their country but they are still able to look out for us, as foreigners. and a lot of us are grateful for that. >> scott mclean, cnn, lviv, ukraine. the u.n. expects millions more to flee ukraine in the days ahead as hundreds of thousands of refugees are arriving all across europe. in portugal, hundreds arrived in lisbon and were welcomed by a delegation led by the country's president. and the red cross greeted ukrainian arrivals in paris. the agency has set up a welcome center at a paris train station. says it's already taken in more than 7,000 refugees. now, neighboring countries, such as poland, romania, and moldova are now trying to figure out how to house the thousands of people pouring across their borders every day.

and that's a hard thing to do when you can't be sure how many more are coming. cnn's miguel marquez with more on that from romania. >> reporter: the refugee crisis, deepening. >> just my bag just thinking what i need. and maybe about two hours. >> reporter: anna, from mykolaiv in southern ukraine, a city hammered indiscriminately by russian rockets and artillery. she had two hours to pack up her two kids, her mother, and her children's godmother. two hours to pack. no idea if she will see her husband, grandparents, or country again. >> in my heart, i said i think that ukrainian will be free and everything will be okay. but who knows when? >> reporter: trying to get from bucharest to friends in poland. one story, of millions. families now being torn apart in ukraine and across europe.

>> we will see people who are without capabilities, without possibilities, financial possibilities, who are running from war. they are running for their lives. taking just very few things with them. and sometimes, even without documentation. >> reporter: the speed at which ukrainians are transformed into refugees, increasing exponentially. as russia continues punishing attacks on civilian and military targets alike. >> we don't know what is coming, and how many people are coming to bucharest. as far as we know, the people coming here are only -- a few of them remain in romania but we don't know how many people will come so we need to be prepared. >> reporter: romanians not just waiting to receive ukrainian refugees. now, they are collecting and organizing massive amounts of humanitarian supplies, all to be shipped directly to ukraine. >> they need drugs and we have specific list of what kind of drugs. they -- they need medical kits. and they need food that can be

preserved. >> reporter: did you ever think you'd be in this situation? >> no. i mean, a war in 2022 -- it's unbelievable. >> reporter: miguel marquez, cnn, bucharest, romania. newly released images showing tremendous devastation and suffering in that ravaged city of mariupol. can those who survive the bombardment survive the severe shortages? we will have that and more after the break.

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threat with heavy fighting on several sides of the city. western defense officials warn russian forces are moving closer. some, just kilometers away. but some satellite images we can show you there. they show north of the capital which we are told now is isolated by russian troops. that's how it's been put. the ukrainian military claiming some victories, though, like the destruction of a russian tank regiment in the region just east of kyiv. the british defense ministry says it appears russian troops are now focused more on encircling major cities, as opposed to gaining new ground. and that massive russian convoy we've reported on over the last days -- that was stalled outside kyiv. well, it's been largely dispersed. redeployed, it would seem, and you can see here on a map the growing amount of red marking the presence of russian troops, especially to the east of the capital. that is a fairly new development. now, a u.s. official also

warning russia is increasing its use of long-range missiles and mobile -- mobile launches which have been hitting the port city of mariupol and hitting it hard. its mayor accusing russia of genocide, and launching a war against humanity. he says no aid has been able to reach the city for six days, and that some 400,000 people are being held hostage. the ukrainian emergency service building in mariupol was shelled on thursday. now, a day earlier, as we reported, a blast damaging a maternity and children's hospital, killing three people, setting off global condemnation. russia denying any responsibility, and has called the attack -- wait for it -- staged. well, after talks with his ukrainian counterpart, russia's foreign minister claiming the hospital had been taken over by ukrainian radicals, as he put it. yet, provided no evidence of that. >> translator: at the meeting of the u.n. security council, our

delegation presented facts about this maternity hospital having long been seized by the battalion and other radicals and they have driven all the pregnant women and the nurses out of it. and set up a base for the ultra radical battalion of ukraine. >> well, a warning for you now. these next images in our report might be difficult to watch. i am sure they will be. they show some ukrainian civilians harmed by the relentless attacks on mariupol. cnn's phil black with that story. >> reporter: when you hear a ukrainian city is under siege, cut off and under bombardment by russian forces, this is what that means. no one knows how many people have been killed in mariupol. but it's too many to allow the care and dignity that usually comes with death. relatively few images have escaped mariupol since the siege began. these were captured by ap

photojournalist who says he saw around 70 bodies buried in this trench over two days. they arrived wrapped in whatever people could find and use. plastic bags. and this shows why it is likely there are many more. mariupol suffering from above. before and after satellite images reveal extraordinary devastation. in commercial and shopping areas, residential neighborhoods, too. russian munitions are steadily wiping out this city. it's already unlivable. there is no food, water, or power. ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy says a child in mariupol has died of dehydration probably for the first time since the nazi invasion. during a meeting in turkey, the ukrainian foreign minister says he asked his russian counterpart for a humanitarian corridor to allow people to leave mariupol. >> unfortunately, minister

lavrov was not in a position to commit himself to it. but he will correspond with respective authorities. >> reporter: that means sergey lavrov has to ask his boss. but russia's top diplomat was comfortable repeating russia's explanation for bombing a maternity hospital in mariupol on wednesday. the russian version says there were no patients or staff in these buildings, just soldiers. this was the reality. captured in the moments immediately after the blast. an obviously pregnant woman is stretchered from the site. another hurt, bleeding, walks out carrying what she can. russians often honor the bravery and determination shown by their own citizens who were besieged by nazi forces in the second world war. now, russia is inflicting that same suffering on the people of mariupol.

phil black, cnn, london. and i will have more from ukraine a little later this hour. but for now, let's go to paula newton who is standing by there in atlanta. over to you, my friend. >> thank you, michael. now, fighters from around the world have gone to fight for ukraine but there can be downsides to having an international fighting legion. we will take a look at both sides. that that's coming up. at adp, we use data-driven insights to design solutions to help you mananage payroll, benefits, and hr today, so you can have more successs tomorrow. ♪ one thing leads to another,, yeah, yeah ♪ stuff. we love stuff.

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on thursday, u.s. lawmakers from both major parties had harsh words for the biden administration. this, after the u.s. refused to let poland send fighter jets to a u.s. airbase in germany for possible transfer to ukraine. now, the white house believes putting the u.s. into the mix would risk a broader war between russia and nato. and now, let's keep in mind, ukraine is not a member of nato. despite that, the senators say it is time to do more.

>> there is bipartisan support to provide these planes. it is disappointing to see the reluctance on the part of the administration and it's coming across as indecision. >> i believe there is a sentiment that we're fearful about what putin might do. and what he might consider as an escalation. it's time for him to be fearful of what we might do. >> so, the biden administration says the u.s. and other nato countries have sent anti-tank and anti-missile weapons to ukraine. now, the number of foreign fighters volunteering to fight for ukraine has grown now to 20,000. that's according to ukraine's defense ministry which created the special unit called the international legion. 52 countries are represented, they say, in that group. and there is also word, of course, that russia is trying to recruit syrian fighters and others to join the cause. now, those joining the fight for ukraine say it's about helping those in need.

>> nervous to be honest. but the same time, it's not about me, it is about the people suffering there. so when you see the images, you see the people here right now, you understand it's you are not suffering, it's more about them. >> i was in iraq and, yeah, just a few months. and then, flew home. my kids. hadn't seen them for a while and basically said, yeah, i'm going to ukraine. >> we are here because of the war crimes that are being committed. obviously, the president asked if we can help and i started to think about it. and then, i started to read the war crimes and that's when it gets sickening. >> colin clark is the director of policy and research and has just co-authored a piece in "politico" entitled foreign fighters are heading to ukraine, that's a moment for worry. he joins me now from pittsburgh, pennsylvania. and good to see you, and have you weigh in on this because it's been of interest to so many

who have been watching this conflict now. i mean, how could the presence of foreign fighters change the character of this conflict on both sides? >> sure. well, thanks for having me and it's an important issue and it's one that is picking up steam as -- as the days and weeks go by. foreign fighters traditionally can change the ideological tilt of the battlefield. they can make the conflict more bloody because when you have extremists showing up, you have people that are willing to go beyond the pail, particularly in this case, when you have the russians committing war crimes, people are going to feel compelled to defend the ukrainians. and to, you know, this is war. people will be engaging in some pretty extreme acts of violence. when you have foreign fighters in the mix, that makes it more complicated. >> yeah, and you're categorical saying, look, this introduction of foreign fighters from whichever side will likely increase the duration and lethality of this conflict. why is that? and specifically, how

significant is it that there are now these reports on both sides, not just the volunteer legion that ukraine says that they have that could possibly be 20,000 strong but the fact that the russian side may be bringing in fighters or mercenaries from chechnya and syria? >> well, we know this from -- from research. i mean, personally, i have been part of a team that's conducted research looking at every single insurgency from the end of world war ii to 2009 and so we see trends and patterns that emerge over time. one of them being, when you have external forces, namely foreign fighters, introduced to the battlefield, it prolongs conflicts. um, hence the duration part. and the lethality goes up and it makes them bloodier and so it's really -- you know, as you mention, there is volunteers flooding into the ukrainian side. it now looks like russia in a -- in a desperate attempt to increase its manpower is looking to bring in a group which is russian mercenaries but also mercenaries from the battlefield

in syria. >> you know, this is a menacing development i think the way you put it. and the way you say your research bears out. and yet, on the ukrainian side, there's been extraordinary backing i would call it because if you look at even the governments of the uk and denmark, um, they are saying that, look, if you want to go to ukraine, it's a personal choice. now, i will say, other governments have said please stay home. and yet, how do you think that tacet backing will -- could actually be -- be a danger? >> well, it's going to encourage people to go, number one. number two, it's going to be perceived by the russians as, you know, people from nato countries engaging in conflict on the battlefield. here is a question. what happens when the first american or belgian or german gets captured alive by the russians and held as a pow because the way things are going now, that seems an inevitability. you then have some -- some, you know, pretty dangerous

situations thus with the proliferation and social media the battlefield, propaganda we are get nting into some really complex and i think, you know, situations that are likely to escalate the conflict and -- and not to actually dampen them. >> and to the point about escalation, you know, everyone is still hoping that sooner, rather than later, there would be an eventual compromise or cease-fire. does the presence of -- of these -- whether they're mercenaries or volunteers -- does that complicate things in that sphere as well? >> well, it does because that is another issue with having volunteers and foreign fighters come in. they typically have a far more global outlook and we have seen this over time. whereas, the people involved in the conflict have a more local or parochial objective. meaning, ukrainians are fighting for ukrainian statehood and sovereignty. whereas, people coming from, you know, argentina, japan, serbia, wherever, may be influenced by left-wing, right-wing, whatever types of ideology.

and so, you know, they -- their -- their ideologies may be actually at odds with a compromise. they may be there with nefarious intentions we don't know. so when you have this many people, numbers at 20,000 now and that is growing, foreigners flocking to the battlefield. there's been somewhat of a media blackout. it just makes for a bit of a witch's brew and unfortunately, that's going to lead to pretty negative second and third order consequences. >> yeah. well, you are certainly introducing, you know, some very complicated and new developments in this conflict as if we didn't have enough already. colin clark, really appreciate you weighing in. >> thanks for having me. now, dancers for the kyiv city ballet are, in fact, stranded away from home. after the break, how they are adjusting and how they're finding ways to support ukraine's fight from afar. with quality that's guaranteed for life,

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welcome back. the uk government has sanctioned a russian oligarch who is also the owner of the british football club chelsea. roman abramovich was added to a list of sanction individuals to, quote, isolate russian president vladimir putin after the invasion of ukraine. just last week, abramovich had announced plans to sell the club. well, now his assets are frozen and transactions are prohibited. but the government says chelsea will be given a special license to continue football operations. well, it started off as a quick tour, but now members of the kyiv city ballet are stranded abroad, helplessly watching ukraine fight the russian invasion from afar. cnn's jim biedermann meets with the dancers, many of whom say

they want to go home. the 34 dancers of the kyiv city ballet troupe practiced and trained for weeks before coming to france on tour. but no rehearsals could have prepared them for what happened the day after they arrived in paris. their country was being invaded, and they found themselves with no direction. in the days that have followed, they've nearly completed their scheduled tour, but stranded abroad now, they face an uncertain future. director the director says all of his troops, some as young as 18 years old, want to go back because of families and friends who are now under fire at home. but he knows how dangerous that would be. >> the most good thing they can do is dance, to show ukrainian heart, to show ukrainian culture from the state to show it to

audience. to share our culture. and we call ourselves warriors for the stage. >> reporter: but if they are warriors, they are warriors practically without uniforms. the dancers came here expecting only a brief tour with only the costumes for the nutcracker performance, and no scenic backdrops or stage props. for now they'll continue performing around france, but borrowing everything, right down to replacement ballet shoes. olga pastrnak and mikhail, two of the ballet company's star performers have toured abroad before. but this is different. neither can stand being apart from their families, knowing that they are increasingly under the russian boot. >> at this moment, i understand that i'm safe here, but still i want to return home. >> reporter: olga says there are times when she steps off stage

and breaks into tears. >> all my family is in ukraine. what am i without my family? nothing. sometimes i feel like i'm ashamed because i'm here. i want to help them. >> reporter: but as the mayor of paris said at the ballet's fundraiser, create creativity in form of resistance. the french are hoping the company say stays, lending them what they need and giving them a dance home at one of the most prestigious theaters in paris. the dancers from kyiv closed out the program, not dancing, but singing the words to the ukrainian national anthem. the kind of cultural identity and patriotism vladimir putin wants to crush. but in their own small way a thousand miles from home, the dancers are helping to keep it

alive. jim bittermann, cnn, paris. >> and that's all the time we have this hour. thanks for spending some time with us. i'm michael holmes. i will be back with much more from lviv in just a moment. we hit the bike trails every weekend

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this is cnn breaking news. >> and welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm michael holmes in lviv, ukraine. thanks for your company. and from the country's capital, russian forces appear to be closing in with a new offensive from the east. new satellite images revealing that long russian military convoy to the north of kyiv has been largely dispersed to where as yet unclear. but russian forces are moving in from an airport in the northwest about 15 kilometers, or nine miles from the city's center.