ukrainian officials tell us russian forces fired eight missiles near the city, several strikes hitting the international peacekeeping and security center. the military base is located outside lviv, very close to the polish border. right now, officials say they're looking into any casualties. we're also learning that air strikes have almost completely destroyed the infrastructure at an airport in a different part of western ukraine. it comes as russian troops are intense fig attacks across the country. video from a village outside kyiv shows the town virtually obliterated by russian strikes. on saturday, we also learned that seven civilians were killed while trying to flee a different village near the capital. in all, at least 5,079 childrens, including 42 children have been killed since the invasion started, but cautioned the actual number is likely much higher. new developments in the southeastern city of malitapol.

a new mayor has been installed, which is under russian control. we reported that the city's elected mayor who defied the russians were seized by armed men. meanwhile, efforts to evacuate citizens continued saturday. the government said close to 13,000 people were evacuated. in all, nearly 2.6 million refugees have now fled the fighting in ukraine, this as ukraine's president urged citizens to keep up the fight as russia's invasion grinds on. >> translator: we have to stand firm and keep on fighting every night. and every day, we should be fighting for ways to destroy, to harm the enemy in all directions. and also, on the diplomatic front, having tactics and confidence. we will achieve and we will reach what is ours. so that all the occupiers and all the collaborators will know that ukraine will not forget. never. nothing. ukraine will not forget.

ukraine will find them and will call them to responsibility. each and every one of them. >> cnn has correspondents positioned around the world covering the story from every angle, including reports this hour from melissa bell in paris, arlette saenz in washington, and nina desantos in london. let's start with cnn's salma abdelaziz live in lviv. and we've been seeing attacks intensifying, including in the west, very near you. what's the latest? >> reporter: so we're just on the outskirts of lviv, kim. and this is a place that refugees fled to, that they got away from places that were dangerous, thinking that it was a safe haven. but many people woke up this morning to the sound of bombardment. we've heard again from ukrainian authorities, a major base just outside of lviv, one that's been used for peacekeeping operations, one more military

training. one that american soldiers have held joint exercises in with their ukrainian allies. that base was struck today by russian missiles, we understand again, from ukrainian officials. it's unclear what infrastructure damage there is, if any at all. what casualties there may be. ukrainian authorities working to find that out. but it comes as news as yet another location, an airport also in the west struck. this comes after -- friday. we saw an area just 70 miles, 110 kilometers from the polish border also hit. all of this, kim, is extremely worrying. first from the humanitarian perspective, because this is the area that's been considered safe, where refugees can come to and find relative safety. and second, of course, it shows just how expansive this russian offensive is%ing, really stretching from both sides of the border, kim. >> yeah, absolutely. so now, the u.s. is sending in more aid. what more can you tell us about that?

>> so this is key. the u.s. is announcing immediate aid, $200 million worth of education, training, but also, just reading it off here, it's going to include antianti-armor anti-aircraft systems and small line support for front line defenders. the u.s., of course, says this is going to happen as quickly as possible. they want to provide that support until their allies. but here's the concerning part. this comes as russia says it could target foreign weapons shipments. it could consider any convoys, carrying weapons to the ukrainian military, to be legitimate targets. so all of that increases fears that there could be a direct confrontation. and again, we just talked about these military bases, that key military base just outside of lviv, that has been hit today. how do the ukrainian authorities begin to shuttle these shipments in, get these weapons, get the aid they need, the training they need, if air strikes are

happening here? kim? >> thanks so much, salma abdelaziz, really appreciate it. as the fighting grinds on, we've seen ukrainians from all walks of life taking up arms to defend their country. among them, the youngest member of ukraine's parliament. he spoke to my colleague, hala gorani, about how he's been forced to quickly learn how to become a soldier. here he is. >> we've cleared all the incursions we've had in the city in the first week, and now we are basically fighting with the outskirts of the city, trying to keep the western supply routes open, and trying to prepare a capital for whatever comes. again, it is our capital. it is the foundational city for our history. we cannot give up on it in any way. >> now, you're a politician. have you ever handled a weapon? were you in the military? or is this your first time? >> i'm by no means a soldier. i'm a rudiment my soldier at best and trying to learn skills

of soldiering every single day with various people they try and work with in different military units. but the point is that we are organizing, we are organizing in every way we can to try to resist the russians, and whatever they throw at us. >> what is it like going from just living a pretty ordinary civilian life to suddenly%ing the defender of your land, in an existential battle, really? >> well, it's not so much a choice as a reality. we are fighting against the second biggest military in the world, and it wants to destroy our nation, our country. and the point here is that we, we are by no means in the point of a choice. we have to become and learn to be those soldiers that we were not just two weeks ago. because again, it is a battle for our very existence, for our very dependence. >> that was ukrainian parliamentarian there.

earlier, ukraine's former leader, petro poroshenko spoke with cnn. he said that vladimir putin has vastly underestimated ukraine and overestimated his own forces. here he is. >> like putin do three mistake. mistake number one, he overestimate his army. and we ukrainian armed forces demonstrate that. and i'm proud that me as a president create this army in the year 2014. point number two, he underestimate ukrainian armed forces. and point number three, he underestimate unity of ukraine and that he cannot blow up, cannot break our unity. and he underestimate the unity of the whole world. >> that was ukraine's former leader, petro poroshenko there. now, here in the u.s., president joe biden just authorized additional military aid for ukraine after responding to urgent pleas from ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy.

cnn's arlette saenz reports. >> reporter: with the war in ukraine in its third week, u.s. president joe biden ramping up the pressure on russia. >> putin is an aggressor. he is the aggressor. and putin must pay the price. >> reporter: today, the president directing the state department to draw down $200 million in defense services from ukraine. an administration official saying this will include anti-armor, anti-aircraft systems, and small arms, as russia warns the u.s. that convoys of foreign weapons would be considered legitimate targets. biden sending a warning of his own to russia. >> i'm not going to speak about the intelligence, but russia would pay a severe price if they used chemical weapons. >> reporter: but the president remains adamant american troops will not fight in ukraine, on the ground, or in the skies. >> we will not fight a third world war in ukraine. >> reporter: the leaders of france and germany today

speaking with russia's vladimir putin, urging an immediate cease-fire. but russia's bombardment of ukraine is not letting up. russian forces are closing in on kyiv, with the british intelligence assessment finding the bulk of russian ground forces located about 15 miles from the capital. 30 miles west of kyiv, the village of makariv sustaining severe damage. several hundred feet away, the roof of a kindergarten caved in. ever smoke seen billowing from the building. russia also intensifying its attacks. heavy shelling around the southern city of mykolaiv. here, a man seen staring at sky as explosions are seen nearby. up next, the head of the chernihiv region showing the destruction in his city, but the resolve of ukrainian leaders,

including the country's former president remains strong. >> we are not giving up. we are not forgive the putin this type of things. and i am absolutely confident that we will fight in every single house, every single street, and every single quarter. >> reporter: ukraine's current president still pushing nato to impose a no-fly zone over his country, while warning his entire nation has become the front line of the war. >> reporter: this war, a difficult war, has truly united our nation. you're asking me how is the situation on the front line? there's a front line everywhere. >> reporter: the u.s. also looking to keep the economic pressure on russia in the wake of its attack against ukraine. president biden announcing the u.s., eu, and g-7 countries would call for revoking russia's most favored nation status, essentially allowing for the u.s. and its allies to impose tariffs on a host of russian

goods. now, here in the u.s., that will require an act of congress and house speaker nancy pelosi says her chamber will take up a vote on that next week. arlette saenz, cnn, the white house. >> reporter: the humanitarian exodus from ukraine is growing as more and more people leave to escape the fighting. according to the u.n., some 2.6 million people refugees have fled to other countries. on friday, guatemala received eight ukrainians, the first to arrive in central america for humanitarian reasons since the fighting began. so far, germany has taken in nearly 123,000 of the displaced since the invasion began more than two weeks ago. a sports hall was turned into a temporary shelter hosting some of the more than 300,000 who fled to romania. many are sharing details of their escape from war, telling horrifying stories of russian attacks near their homes and warning that putin's aggression might not stop with ukraine. >> i can't speak without tears,

i'm sorry. i'm really sorry for my country. and nobody could expect this, really. this is awful, awful things. they're bombing mykolaiv, it's only 120 kilometers from odesa, and it's painful inside. >> i think that we need more support for our people right now, to stand against this. if ukraine can fall, then next will be europe. because for putin, there is no -- there is no stop. >> so if you would like to help people in ukraine who may need shelter, food, and water, please go to cnn.com/impact and you'll find several ways you can help. ukrainian nuclear plants in the crosshairs of russian military forces. but some experts say capturing those plants is just as calculating as it is frightening. we'll explain, coming up. stay with us.

the chernobyl nuclear plant has temporary power now, after being disconnected from ukraine's power grid in march --

in the march 9th attack. the plant, which hasn't been active since the 1986 meltdown is now powered by generators. russian forces have taken control of the plant, but its ukrainian staff is still working there. in fact, they're living there under the intense pressure of russian guards, and there are growing fears the exhausted workers could make catastrophic mistakes in a crisis. but some experts were horrified by russian military moves near ukraine's nuclear plants. especially after fire broke out during a russian attack on the zaporizhzhia plant earlier this month. there was no release of radioactive energy, but the chief says it was a close call. some experts say russia is going after those plants for a reason. >> reporter: first, russia seized chernobyl, site of the world's worst nuclear meltdown. a week later, it was zaporizhzhia, europe's largest nuclear plant. now with power cut from chernobyl and more than 200

plant workers held hostage, alarm bells are ringing. >> reporter: 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 understanding or clear commitments not to go anywhere near nuclear facility when it comes to nuclear -- to military operations. >> reporter: some have called the targeting of such sensitive infrastructure a war crime. >> reporter: do you think that these nuclear plants are going to be targeted specifically? >> they are extremely callous. they don't give a dam about civilian casualties. but i would surprised if they were going to deliberately target with missiles or to 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's also extortion of the ukrainian

people, because it's going to harm their ability to gain heat, have a 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 oblast. >> it's being used to control the power supply to ukrainian cities and towns, in a way of in turn controlling all aspects of ukrainian society, tryingstrang ukraine 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 zutamir in the northwest of the country. the jury is out for now on what russia's end game 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 nerve have said rattled. nina desantos, cnn, in london. >> for a perspective on this, we're joined by david albright, a former united nations nuclear weapons inspector and is now president of the institute for science and international security. and he joins us from munster, germany. thanks so much for being here with us. we saw in that package, first of all, the ongoing threats to nuclear facilities, whether it be from combat or from, say, a threat to the power supply of a nuclear generator. how fraught is the situation right now? >> well, the situation continues to be very concerning. i mean, i think the national atomic energy agency is very correct in continuing to remind people that the situation is dangerous. and they've weighed out a series

of what they call pillars of proper safe behavior, and at the zaporizhzhia plant, several of those continue to be violated, including one in focus today that the ukrainian operators just don't have the control over the plant that they should have, that they should be making the decisions about the operation, they're under russian military control. they're now are some rosatom nuclear energies there that could perhaps play a useful role. although, fundamentally, the ukrainians should be controlling this plant. it's their plant. they know how to do it. and so i think the situation is problematic. moreover, there's unexploded ordinance that's been found at the plant, near the reactor. because tlafs firefight, according to national public radio analysis that was quite insightful, but it was a much bigger battle than we knew as it was taking place during the day after. and so, unexploded ordinance from tanks and other firing

mechanisms are around the nuclear reactor. >> yeah, it's -- i mean, almost inexplicable that something like this would be happening near a nuclear power plant. and it's not just the threat from combat. you alluded to the workers themselves, some of them operating basically under russian gun point. they're reportedly exhausted. you can imagine they're scared. the danger of human error can't be discounted under these circumstances. >> yeah, not at all. and it's -- and it's -- again, it's one of the problems in nuclear power safety. it's sort of what we didn't anticipate, creates some of the major accidents. this tidal wave in fukushima that was never expected. and now we have war. and it's not over. russian forces are approaching the south ukraine facility. they may be going after other ones. they are valuable assets. these things are worth billions and billions of dollars. and we shouldn't lose sight of

the fact that these nuclear reactors are connected to the russian grid. right now, they've been disconnected. it was part of a test that the ukraine nuclear system was operating on right before the invasion. but they can be reconnected, and russia could drain off the electricity and starve out the ukrainians, quite easily. >> so is that what's at play here? we saw in that piece why putin might be targeting those facilities. basically, you control the power, the country >> it's very hard to speculate, so much is in this fog of war. but i can almost assure that ukraine resources will be exploited, that's what russia did in separatist area of d donbas. if russia itself didn't want the resources, you were willing to let your oligarchs and s

sycophants exploit the region, pay the people very poorly, my exporting resources from the separatist area. and i think they'll do the same thing to the entire ukraine state. >> ukraine's president and his officials have been very vocal about sounding the alarm about a possible deliberate attack on their nuclear facilities. they even warned that putin is preparing a false flag terrorist attack on chernobyl, and blaming it on ukraine, but some of the world's nuclear regulatory authorities were sort of downplaying those dangers. some experts have been saying, those are scare tactics by the ukrainians to gin up more support from the west. do you think those dangers are overstates. that the warnings of a nuclear calamity affecting all of europe are overblown here? >> i don't think that the risk of a major nuclear accident overblown. it's a real risk. and it would come from a war

situation, perhaps, at another nuclear site, where it could just be an ignorant, scared soldier fires off a series of artillery shells or missile rockets that cripple the safety systems of a nuclear power plant. i don't think russia would do it deliberately. but it could happen. i also think that -- i would -- i would be hard-pressed to believe that russia would do a false flag operation at chernobyl. i mean, the problem is that putin has done things that were not expected, that are crazy. stupid from russian interests. and yet, he did them. and so that's -- that's the problem, is that we don't know what to believe. but i personally would be very surprised if russia did a false flag operation at a place like chernobyl, and that resulted in radioactive releases. >> all right. well, certainly, very worrying

for the whole world, as we watch what's unfolding there. really appreciate your analysis, david albright. thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> across time zones and borders, crowds of people are speaking out against russia's invasion of ukraine. coming up, the global demonstrations showing solidarity with the ukrainian people. stay with us. for people who could use a lift new neutrogena® rapid firming. a triple-lift serum with pure collagen. 92% saw visibly firmer skin in just 4 weweeks. neutrogena® fofor people with skin.

and welcome back to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada, and all around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. protests in support of ukraine are going strong in many countries.

thousands of people gathered in kyiv's twin italian city of florence to watch the ukraine president speak on a big screen as flags with ukraine's blue and yellow colors waved above their heads. in the speech broadcast to dozens of european cities holding protests, zelenskyy called for more sanctions against moscow and for a no-fly zone. ukrainians and israelis gathered in televiv to denounce the invasion and chant slogans and many of them had the same message for russia. listen to this. >> just go out of ukraine. just leave those people alone. they're normal people. they don't want war. they don't want anything. they just want independence. >> hundreds packed an historic square in munich with signs saying, stop putin, and putin kills ukrainians, comparing the russian president to the brutal soviet dictator, joseph stalin. during a 75-minute phone call saturday, german and french leaders urged russian president vladimir putin to declare an

immediate cease-fire in ukraine. french president emmanuel macron and german chancellor olaf schultz appealed to putin for a diplomatic solution, but a source said macron was disappointed by the, quote, insincerity of his russian counterpart. the source adds that putin still is determined to achieve his objectives in ukraine. the fact that he's still talking means that diplomatic solution isn't out of the question. melissa bell joins us live from paris with the details. so, based on what we just said there, i mean, it's hard to get a sense of the -- did they actually make any progress here? >> reporter: it's a good question, kim, and one that we ask every time that emmanuel macron has these phone calls with vladimir putin, as he's done regularly over the course of the last few weeks. in the spirit of trying to keep some kind of dialogue going, because beliefs that the french president, that is better than no dialogue at all. the last fall was on thursday.

vladimir putin at the end of which, elysee sources had said that what vladimir putin was putting ahead in terms of proposals was unacceptable to anybody. at this time, no talks specifically of what vladimir putin was requesting from a cease-fire might be considered. but what we did hear from a source, kim, was that gone was the rhetoric of the need to de-nazify ukraine. the elysee seem to see some signs of hope in that. and yet, his tone remains determined and he remains determined to achieve his objectives. the french presidency says that they will continue to speaking to putin. no date has been set for the next phone call. but in the meantime, at the end of that phone call, what the source said is that europeans are preparing to continue ratcheting up the pressure. so what you can expect to see, kim, is next week, europeans meeting in brussels to try to look at what fresh round of sanctions could now be introduced to continue making

vladimir putin's life as difficult as possible. what the source said is that the next round of sanctions would target very specifically, mirror, shadow what was happening on the ground, namely, the latest extractions by ukrainian troops. now, the united states also preparing to apply fresh pressure. we heard that from janet yellen, the treasury secretary, speaking on thursday saying that the sanctions that have imposed so far, and they are considerable, would have a catastrophic impact on the russian economy, had already begun to do so, but that the united states was also going to look at fresh sanctions. we know that a bipartisan bill has been introduced to congress, that looks at how it can introduce secondary sanctions that will penalize any american company that helps russia trade or move any of its 130 billion gold reserves. the pressure continues to come from the west. the hope for any diplomatic

solution, i think, has long faded. but still, these regular phone calls do at least allow the west in the shape of macron schultz to put on with putin and get a sense of where his mind is at. the signs, again, not hopeful. but the channels need to remain open, says the french president. >> quickly, melissa. if these european attempts at diplomacy haven't necessarily had the wanted results, any hope that the israeli or turkish efforts will yield more concrete results? >> look, we had heard some signs of hope from president zelenskyy over the course of the weekend, speaking about those negotiations, between russian and ukrainian delegations. and what he said coming off those negotiations, specifically the ones that have been taking place in turkey, is that they seem to have stopped exchanging ultimatums and look to have begun speaking to one another. so some sense of hope in that. but again, what really matters is in the head of vladimir putin, and for the time being,

the two men who are still speaking to him from the western side don't seem terribly hopeful of making much progress there, kim. >> all right. we'll keep an eye on that. melissa bell, thank you so much. really appreciate it. pro-russia social media accounts are trying to convince the public to question what ukraine and western governments and western news media are saying about the war. cnn's danielle dale has a fact check. >> reporter: pro-russia social media accounts are using false claims about so-called crisis actors to try to get people to doubt the credibility of important, accurate media reporting on what's going on in ukraine. let's look at two examples. >> russian forces quickly overtaking that area. we understand their still in control. >> reporter: this video has gone viral, getting well over a million views on twitter alone. it shows what seems to be a reporter talking about people being killed and injured in ukraine, in front of a bunch of people lying on the ground in

what look like body bags. and then you see one of the people in the bags conspicuously move around, obviously not dead. this video is being used as supposed evidenced that the media televised a phony report about ukrainian casualties. that the media talked about ukrainian casualties but actually used actors that were playing the role of dead war victims for the cameras. but that is not what happened. this video is a multi-step fake. let's break it down, step by step. that anotherage of a reporter talking in front of obviously not-deceased people in body bags. it is not from ukraine, is it not even about ukraine. this is austrian news footage about a protest in vienna calling for action against climate change. the reporter covering the climate protest did not talk about ukraine whatsoever. in fact, this reporter didn't even speak in english. this was a report in the german lang

language. >> so where did that ukraine-related audio in english come from? the maker of the fake just copied the audio from an nbc news report from the first day of the russian invasion. >> russian forces quickly overtaking that area. we understand they are still in control. >> reporter: that is the english-speaking voice of nbc correspondent, cal perry. the audio is not the only thing that the maker of this fake changed from the austrian report. they also replaced the original german-language text at the bottom of the report, which made clear this was a story about vienna, with the ukraine-related text from the bottom of the cnn screen. >> the other thing that went down today -- >> twitter ended up taking down a bunch of copies of this fake, saying that they violated its rules. people are using this clip, too, to make the claim that the media is broadcasting footage of actors rather than real people terrified by war in ukraine. it looks like stage footage of actors, right? well, that's because it

obviously is, but here's the key. this has not been presented by media outlets of footage of people fleeing in ukraine. rather, it is just behind-the-scenes footage of a 2013 film shoot for a low-budget independent sighfy film called "invasion planet earth." the scene was filmed in england, not ukraine. that is a square in birmingham and the flag of the united kingdom. it has nothing to do at all with media coverage of the war of ukraine, it has just been sitting on youtube for more than eight years. now, i'll add one caveat, there are at least a couple of obscure, low-follower twitter accounts that have falsely presented these two videos as if they were from ukraine. but what have spread far more widely are the false claims that ukrainian crisis actors were behind the fakes and that media outlets are broadcasting these quote/unquote crisis actor fakes as if they were real ukraine footage. none of that actually happened. many families are desperate to find out what happened to their loved ones in the military ordered to fight in the war.

coming up, we'll hear from workers of the ukrainian hotline hoping to provide answers in an exclusive report. when we found out our son had autism, his future became my focus. lavender baths calmed him. soso we made a plan to turn bath time into a business. ♪ ♪ find a northwestern mutual adadvisor at nm.com

frank is a fan of fast. he's a fast talker. a fast walker. thanks, gary. and for unexpected heartburn... frank is a fan of pepcid. it works in minutes. nexium 24 hour and prilosec otc can take one to four days to fully work. pepcid. strong relief for fans of fast.

when a truck hit my car, the insurance company wasn't fair. i didid't t kn whahatmy c caswa, so i called the barnes firm. i'm rich barnes. it's hard for people to k how much their accident case is worth.h barnes. t ouour juryry aorneneys hehelpou the insurance company getenwasn't fair.ity y cablele. i didn't know what my case was worth, so i called the barnes firm. llll theararnes rmrm now

the best result possible. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ the olympic gold medallist in skating, oksanna buell, welcome to the yooits. >> that was soongna baiul being honored at the white house. she grew up under soviet rule, but by her teen years, she had won a gold medal and become a professional figure skater, a professional figure skater in the u.s. now, living in the state of nevada, she's using her voice for those back home in ukraine. baiul rallied hundreds outside of las vegas city hall. she's in contact with loved ones back home and she's calling for people around the world to do their part for ukraine.

>> i feel when i speak to ukrainians on the ground, they feel that they want a war, already. that's how they feel. they -- that's why today, when i did interviews with different networks, i wore the white jacket for them. that's the reason why, because they feel they've done -- they're so proud. they're so proud of who they are. >> reporter: baiul says every ukrainian is stepping up to help the war effort from volunteering or sharing supplies. the ukrainian government hotline is aiming to help ordinary russians find their loved ones sent off to war. many of them are desperate to find out what's happened to troops since moscow tightly controls information at home. cnn's alex marquardt spoke with workers at the hotline in kyiv for this exclusive report.

[ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: these are the voices of russians, parents, wives, civilians, desperately searching for answers. calling to find information, anything, on russian soldiers they've lost contact with who are fighting in ukraine, who may be wounded, captured, or even killed. >> reporter: this russian wife, like many others, has turned to an unlikely source for help. the ukrainians. in a ukrainian government building, christina, which is her alias, is in charge of a hotline called "come back from

ukraine alive," which ukraine's interior ministry has gotten over 6,000 calls. christina has asked that we don't show her face. your country is being invaded, but you also feel the need to help these russian families. why? the russian relatives who have called this hotline say they haven't heard from their soldiers since the invasion. the hotline, which russian families have found on social media or through word of mouth gave cnn exclusive recordings of

a number of the calls. [ crying ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> what are some of the calls that stick out to you, that you remember the most? >> reporter: these are the notes from one of the calls. in fact, this call came from the united states. the relative of a young russian soldier trying to find him. she told the ukrainians that his parents are no longer alive, that the grandmother in russia is quite sick.

we have his birthday. he's just 23 years old and he was last known to be in crimea, right before the invasion. now, the ukrainians don't have any information on him, but if they do find him or get some information, they can then call his aunt back in the united states. >> reporter: data from the hotline shows thousands of calls, not just from all across russia, but also from europe and the united states. hello, is this marat? >> yes, it is. >> reporter: we got through to three relatives in the united states of russian soldiers believed to be in ukraine who called the hotline, including a relative in virginia of one who also found the soldier's i.d. and photos on a channel of the social media app telegram, also dedicated to finding the whereabouts of russian soldiers. >> we do realize that all the signs are pointing to that he is most likely, he was killed in action. but we're trying to locate

information, where's the body, if he can be potentially found, maybe hopefully he's alive. >> reporter: is the russian military of defense telling anything to the family? >> family is trying to not get contacted by anybody, just because everyone is so scared in russia. everyone is scared to talk and everyone is afraid of law enforcement agencies tracking them. >> reporter: marina told us her cousin's parents have had no contact with him, no information on whereabouts, or on his condition. >> are they being told anything? >> no, no, they called and tried to find him, but like, no one is answer. is that why you called this ukrainian hotline. yes, that's why i tried to call, yes. >> did you get any information. >> no, nothing.

>> i was hoping he was many prison or something like that, you know that he's still alive. >> reporter: the vast majority of the calls do not result in immediate information for the families. back in kyiv, christina makes clear that the call center isn't just designed to offer answers, but galvanize russians against the war. >> reporter: sympathy for families, but also one more way to try to undermine the russian war effort, as ukraine fights for its very existence. alex marquardt, cnn, kyiv. >> chelsea fc is one of the most successful soccer clubs in the world. now the russian oligarch owner of the club has been stripped of its duties. we'll have details after the break. stay with us.

do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we h planned carefully for our retirement. but quickly realized we needed a wayo supplement our income. our friend sold their policy to help pay their medical bills, and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned we could sell all of our policy, or keep part of it with no future payments. who knew? we sold our policy. now we can relax and enjoy our retirement as we had planned. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit

coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance.

age before beauty? why not both? visibly diminish wrinkled skin in... crepe corrector lotion... only from gold bond.

amid russia's war in ukraine, u.s. lawmakers keep pushing for the release of wnba star brittney griner.

the two-time olympic basketball champion was detainted at an airport outside of moscow last month on drug charges. it's not clear where griner is being held. u.s. house democrats suggests that griner's detention in the war in ukraine aren't coincidental. listen to this. >> the timing couldn't believe worse. i believe all of this even may have been orchestrated. the quicker she is released, the better. you cannot count on the kinds of conditions that she would be subjected to. she wouldn't have been in. i don't believe in any guilt. these are items, it seems, that if it was even true, kocould ha been confiscated and she could have been sent on her way. >> the federal customs agency says a criminal case is underway. >> it was another blow to roman abramovich. the english premiere league has now disqualified him as the club's director. patrick snell has more. >> reporter: both chelsea's

men's and women's teams take to the fields of play on sunday in their first home league fixture since uk government sanctions were imposed on the blue's busy owner, roman abramovich. toms tuckel's men take on newcastle after a tumultuous week for the football giants. >> of course, there was a lot of distraction, another level of distraction, actually, with the changses. and we could feel it, that the players talk about it, are aware of it, and we accepted it. but like i said, i think the rhythm and the excitement and the love for the game, in general helps us. >> reporter: during the nearly two decades of abramovich's ownership, chelsea amassing 21 major trophies, including five premiere league titles and two champion's league crowns. now with his assets including chelsea frozen by the uk, the west london club has been granted a special license to continue paying staff and players, but buying and selling new players and selling ticks

for matches beyond those already sold to fans is not permitted. >> let's be honest here. you know, there's a war going on in ukraine. you know, there's some bigger situations. and yes, it's a big moment for the club, but i believe in giving both sides the time to get it right. >> reporter: on saturday, meantime, chelsea's week of turmoil continuing with news that the premiere league's board has now disqualified abramovich as a club director. though, remember, he had already announced his intention to sell last week. and within the last few days, we've learned the uk government is open to chelsea's potential sale and would consider an application for a new license to allow for it to happen. patrick snell, cnn, atlanta. >> well, that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm kim brunhuber and i'll be back with more breaking news coverage of the war in ukraine right after the break. stay with us.

for rob, it took years to find out why his constipation with belly pain just wouldn't go away. despite all he didid to manage his symptoms... day after day. still came the belly pain,n, discomfort, and bloating, awful feelings he tried not shohowing. finally with the help of his doctor it cacame to be, that his symptoms were all signs of ibs-c. and that's why he said yess to adding linzess. linzess is not a laxative. it helps you have more frequent and complete bowel movements, and is proven to help relieve overall abdominal symptoms belly pain, discomfort, and bloating. do not give linzess to children less than two. it may harm them. do not take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain. especially with bloody or black stools. the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. if it's severe, stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. other side effects include gas, stomach area pain, and swelling. could your story also be about ibs-c? talk to your doctor and say yess to linzess. learn how abbvie and ironwood could help you save on linzess.

hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada, and all around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. i want to get straight to our breaking news. officials in ukraine say at least nine people were killed following russian air strikes on a military base early this morning. ukrainian officials say another 57 people were hurt when missiles hit the international peacekeeping and security center. the military base is located outside of lviv, very close to the polish border. we're also learning that air strikes have almost completely destro