hello and welcome to our viewers around the world this hour and in the united states, as well. i'm hala gorani reporting live from lviv, ukraine. the past 24 hours of russian attacks on ukraine have been especially deadly. dozens of people have been killed across the country. authorities in kharkiv say russian shells hit a sprawling market, causing a huge fire with plumes of black smoke that spread to nearby homes. you can see the devastation there on your screens. kharkiv's mayor says a rescue worker fighting that fire was killed. another russian attack on a nearby school and arts club killed 21 according to local officials. in the southern coastal city of mariupol, survivors have started to emerge from the rubble of that bombed-out shelter, which was a theater initially. authorities say more than a thousand people were sheltering inside when it was hit by a russian bomb. it's not clear how many survived

the attack. the city is under siege by russian forces, and emergency services have broken down. so, residents are digging through the debris by hand. and drone footage shows the aftermath of a missile strike on an apartment building in kyiv. ukraine's defense minister says russian forces have made no significant progress around the capital in the past two days. so, for that reason, they have resorted according to him to chaotic shelling. the american president, joe biden, will speak with his chinese counterpart xi jinping in the coming hours with a warning that beijing must not support russian' aggression in ukraine. mr. biden met virtually with the irish leader on thursday, offering some choice words from russian president vladimir putin. >> and, you know, the republic standing together against a murderous dictator, a pure thug

who is waging an immoral war against the people of ukraine. >> well, ukraine's president delivered a stern speech to german lawmakers for not doing more to end the war. volodymyr zelenskyy condemned german businesses with ties to russia, and said that economic sanctions had come too late. he also made reference to the berlin wall and to the holocaust. >> translator: every year, politicians say never again. now, i see that these words are worthless. in europe, a people is being destroyed. >> well, in northern ukraine, near belarus, russian forces have stepped up their bombardment of the city of chernihiv. local officials report at least 53 deaths there since wednesday, including one american. cnn's fred pleitgen has those details. >> reporter: as vladimir putin's

military rains bombs, rockets, and artillery on ukraine, civilians are paying the highest price. scores killed and maimed. in chernihiv, north of kyiv, rescue workers dig out the bodies of an entire family killed when a residential building was hit. dozens more civilians lost their lives in attacks. the ukrainian government now confirming that u.s. citizen james whitney hill was among those killed. i asked chernihiv's mayor to tell me about the situation in his city. >> the intensity of the shelling is increased. it's been indiscriminate, apparently random. we are not talking about certain military infrastructure buildings being bombed. in reality, houses are being destroyed, schools and kindergartens are being destroyed. >> reporter: this graphic video shows the gruesome aftermath of an attack on people waiting in a bread line in the same town. witnesses say at least ten

civilians were killed. russia's military cynically claiming it wasn't them. >> translator: all units of the russian armed forces are outside chernihiv blocking the roads and no offensive actions are being taken against the city. >> reporter: other cities are getting shelled, as well. one of the hardest hit? mariupol in the southeast. several were killed and wounded, mostly women and children, when a maternity ward and children's hospital were hit last week. and then, the main theater where the u.s. believes hundreds of people had taken shelter was bombed. a small miracle, the bomb shelter under the building held up helping some of those inside survive. though it's still unclear how many. authorities say efforts to pull people from the rubble are being hindered by the total breakdown of public services, and the threat of further russian attacks. aerial images show the building was clearly marked as having children inside, leaving ukraine's defense minister i irate.

>> you can see from the maps, from the drones that are around this theater, big letters of children were written so the pilot of the plane, which was throwing the bombs, could see. and still, in spite of that, this monster has bombed the theater. >> reporter: russia has denied it was responsible for the attack and the russians claim they only target military installations. sending out this video of them allegedly destroying ukrainian huh litsers. but the uk defense ministry says the russians are increasingly hitting cities with heavy and less accurate weapons because they are simply running out of precise munitions as the war drags on. experts believe it will only get worse. >> they are very intentionally targeting water stations and power supplies and internet towers and cell phone towers and that sort of thing. in a very deliberate attempt to make it more difficult for the defenders to hold out, and try and force them to capitulate. >> reporter: but despite bringing massive firepower in

civilian areas, the u.s. and its allies say russia's offensive in ukraine has stalled and recent territorial gains have been minimal. fred pleitgen, cnn, lviv, ukraine. joining me now from washington is cnn military analyst and retired u.s. air force colonel cedric leighton. thanks for being with us. so, do you agree with the analysis that russia's ground offensive is stalling? that they haven't taken big cities, and so they are resorting to these cruder tactics that are not as precise and end up really hitting the civilian population hard? >> i do, hala. and, you know, it's -- it's a symptom i think of their failure to advance. when you look at, you know, where they are on the map in and around kyiv, in and around, you know, any of the other major cities, like kharkiv. it's very clear that they are not advancing in the traditional sense. they've been stalled. and the resistance has, i think, surprised them. so, the typical russian answer

to this and historically we have seen it before is to bring up the big guns, literally. in this case, the artillery and a bombing campaign from the air. and that's what you are seeing. and they do want to soften up the population that's remaining in those cities. they want to make it absolutely miserable for anybody to remain there, and it's going to be a very rough and i think a deliberate campaign on their part of intimidation. >> and to -- to achieve what in the end? >> dominance. i think total dominance is what they are trying to achieve, hala. i -- i think vladimir putin wants to subjugate ukraine. i think he wants to take over the territory, and if possible, eliminate as many ukrainians as he can. and that is how we're -- how we're seeing this. i think it's going to be a very brutal way forward if he gets his way, and the ukrainians i

think are realizing this and that it's -- it's basically a fight for not only the territory but their very lives. >> what do the ukrainians need to do? as every day they hold out, a day they can get more arms, more training, and more of a fighting chance against some of that air superiority on the russian side? when i say air superiority, i mean their air force is obviously much larger and they are able to target some parts of especially the southeast and the south of ukraine with deadly even though indiscriminate efficiency. >> right. so yeah, they don't have complete air superiority but they're certainly, you know, far more prevalent in the air than the ukrainians r. so what you are seeing i think here is that they are moving forward. you know, in -- in that way. the russians are but the ukrainians, what they need to do is they need to make sure that they can keep their supply lines open. that they don't let themselves get encircled in a -- especially

in kyiv but any of the other cities, as well. and they need to make very sure that they can have a lifeline of whatever type whether it's, you know, via air or via land preferably to get these supplies back in to them and replenish them. it's -- it's basically, you know, the -- an army fights on its stomach. and this is going to be one of those times that -- when the replenishment of the ukrainian forces is going to be critical to their success. >> an air-raid siren has just gone off here in western ukraine, in lviv. can -- can the ukrainians win this? because we're seeing the russians take a lot of losses in hardware, in vehicles, and in troops. can they win this? and if so, how? >> it's going to be really difficult for them to win outright. but i think there is some historical precedent for the

ukrainians to do very well, and potentially save their country. and i'm looking back at history at finland, you know, what finland experienced 1939-1940 against the soviet union. they were able to maintain their independence with a lot of concessions but they were still able to maintain that independence to a relative degree throughout the cold war. they were, of course, kind of a bridge between east and west, as a result. and they didn't necessarily like that status. but that is something where they can at least keep their independence. that may be not necessarily a desirable path but a possible path for the ukrainians. if they are lucky, the ukrainians can do even better potentially. and with a lot of western help, achieve far more gains in -- in a political sense. and of course, the big card here is also i think this. if there are further fissures in the russian state, then things are going to look a bit different.

and that could, also, help the ukrainian' effort. >> colonel cedric leighton, as always live in washington, thanks very much. it is ten minutes past 6:00 a.m. here in lviv, ukraine, and the sound of air-raid sirens ringing across this western ukrainian city. there are many refugees in this city internally displaced people is the technical term. refugees, if they cross over the border. those numbers are growing as more ukrainians flee out of their country to safety. according to the u.n., more than 3.1 million people have now escaped to other countries. poland alone has taken in nearly 2 million ukrainians. the u.n. says more needs to be done to support the countries dealing with the massive influx of refugees. >> with the current state of refugee outgrowth, the capacity of countries are being tested

and stretched. we can and must do more to support, and we must do it now. >> cnn's miguel marquez is in one romanian city that is having to scale up services as more people continue to pour across the border. >> reporter: who are all these people? friends, fellow citizens, and colleagues, she says, family too. all from donbas in eastern ukraine. refugees after the war there in 2014. refugees, again. some people cross the border on foot, she says. two borders. not everyone is lucky as this 86-year-old who had arrived. she survived world war ii. now, she is in an apartment in central romania with her daughter, lots of friends, and her cat named musha. my childhood was spent during the war, she says, now in my old

age, there is war again. and for what? in the name of all people, god, please stop the war. the medieval city not far from dracula's castle is preparing a thousand beds for ukrainian refugees. those beds, in a hotel in its historic center. a business development center and a brand new apartment building in the new part of town. >> the main challenge is how to scale it up because this is only the first wave of refugees. >> reporter: olga from odesa is here with her two daughters. how do you feel being here? >> oh, very per -- perfecto. >> other than perfect, she says, they gave us medicine and new beds. they fed us. then, added, it's very, very, very good. the city preparing for even more refugees but the mayor believes will need even more support and

possibly stay for a long time. >> if you are a mother with a child, you can come. we can -- we can offer you a job. we can offer and we are discussing about solutions for daycare for children. how to integrate them in the educational system. >> reporter: the city planning the future. but meeting basic needs, too. coordinating with local restaurants providing thousands of meals. today, on st. patrick's day, prepared by dean's irish pub. luck of the irish. >> it's more than just providing meals. we're kind of providing hope to them, and they do need that. and you can see that on their faces and i think that's really important. >> reporter: tatiana and natalia, mother and daughter from mykolaiv, got here only three days ago. if not for the help here, she says, i don't think our nerves could have taken it. there were air raids day and night. we couldn't eat, we couldn't sleep. in mykolaiv, she says, the planes were flying right over

our heads, flying, flying, flying. i can't find words to explain. it's very scary. she has a simple wish. in my old age, i only want peace and prosperity, she says. then, added i like everything to be okay. but for now, it's not. miguel marquez, cnn, romania. and cnn takes a closer look at the russian strike on a maternity hospital in mariupol, which moscow claimed was legitimate. we use modeling technology and video evidence to check that allegation, and you will hear what we found.

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into one of the most horrific events of the war in ukraine so far. on march 9th, a russian air strike hit this maternity hospital in mariupol, killing at least five people and leaving more than a dozen injured. much of the world was shocked by the sheer brutality of that strike. russia said the attack was legitimate because ukrainian troops it said had allegedly overtaken the civilian facility. cnn looked into this incident using modeling technology, satellite images, and witness account as katie polglase reports, there isn't a shred of evidence to support these russian' allegations. >> reporter: kharkiv. melitopol. now, mariupol. despite being an apparent war crime, medical facilities have been repeatedly hit by russia

since its invasion of ukraine. and with each hit, a new justification. for mariupol, russia set the stage days before the attack happened. >> armed forces of ukraine have set up a fire position there. >> translator: expelled the staff and patients from a maternity hospital and equipped combat positions in it. >> reporter: cnn has found zero evidence such military positions were present at mariupol's maternity and children's hospital on the afternoon of march 9th and it was civilians that emerged from the building. pregnant women injured and distressed. city officials say 17 people, including children, women, and doctors were injured. since then, at least five people have died. cnn built a model that revealed many signs that civilians were still using this hospital and, therefore, it was not a justifiable military target. this satellite image taken just hours before the attack shows cars parked outside.

this is the crater left behind. war crime investigators truth hounds told cnn it is consistent with a 500-kilogram high-explosive bomb dropped from an aircraft. just meters away, this sign reads children's diagnostic consultancy unit. according to the hospital website, it housed children with immune diseases, among other illnesses. over here is where people began emerging after the strike. women, heavily pregnant, being carried with arms draped over the shoulders of others helping them get out of the chaos. and here, firemen can be seen running inside assisting people to escape. the internal devastation is significant. the voice you are hearing is of one of the survivors speaking to associated press who gave birth shortly after.

another seen here being stretchered out later died alongside her new born baby. these women's stories have epitomized the tragedy unfolding in ukraine. and yet, even their suffering has been questioned with russian officials claiming on twitter and in news programs that they must be actors. >> this is only one woman rushing down the stairwell. he or she changed clothes and she's been brought on the stretcher. >> you are showing this to me but if you have any real evidence -- >> yes, this is real evidence. >> why did you show it to me? i am just a journalist. why didn't you show it to the united nations? >> while russian foreign minister lavrov returned to the original line, this attack was justified. >> translator: this maternity hospital had already been seized by the azov battalion and other radicals. all the pregnant women, all the nurses, all the service personnel were already expelled from there. >> reporter: as these attacks on

hospitals, clinics, even ambulances continue, cnn is tracking each one. in total, we have verified 14 incidents across ukraine. the world health organization, meanwhile, has confirmed at least 31. and with each hit, the ability of people in ukraine to get medical help during this conflict is made more and more difficult. katie polglase, cnn london. >> not everyone in ukraine has military training or knows how to fire a weapon but those living under russian shelling are finding other ways to support the frontline troops. their story is just ahead.

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i'm hala gorani reporting live from lviv, ukraine. ukrainian authorities say russian attacks against civilians have increased in intensity in recent days. russian shells hit a sprawling market in kharkiv near the russian border. kharkiv's mayor says a rescue worker is fighting this blaze was killed. at least 21 people were reported killed in other attacks in the city. in chernihiv, at least 53 people have died since wednesday. rescue workers clearing bombing debris discovered the bodies of a family of five -- an entire family. the youngest victims were 3 years old. and in the kyiv coastal city of mariupol, survivors have started to emerge from the basement of that bombed-out theater. authorities say more than a thousand people were sheltering inside when it was hit by a russian bomb. it is not clear how many survived the attack. meanwhile, i am hearing some thuds in the distance here. i -- i have got to tell you. russia wants the world to

believe it did not carry out the attack, despite evidence to the contrary. >> translator: the russian armed forces do not bomb cities. this is well known to everyone. no matter how many videos are edited in nato, no matter how many clips and fake photos are thrown in. >> yeah. all right. we are hearing some explosions here in the background. there was an air-raid siren that went off just a few minutes ago. so going to have to wrap it up from my location here and hand it back to atlanta. >> hala, thank you very much. be safe for now and we will catch up with you when it is safe. thank you for now. move on. ukrainians apparently have no illusions right now their backs are against the wall in this war but that's only motivated many of them to fight back any way cnn's salma abdelaziz has their story. >> reporter: at the youth library in lviv, the old adage

rings true. ne here, eager volunteers are cutting old clothing into strips, threading and tying it to large pieces of mesh and making camouflage netting for the frontline troops. lead coordinator natalia tells us everyone here feels a sense of purpose. >> we will be more powerful because each lady, each child, and each grandmother are with our army. >> reporter: 18-year-old maria fled kyiv with her family about a week ago. leaving her cat behind. >> because i don't want to leave my home. >> when you look around you, how do you feel? >> i feel very happy, very strong, and a bit safer and calm. >> reporter: in the war effort, nothing is spared. every single scrap is put to good use. russia might have the more

powerful military, but ukrainians say it's their resourcefulness that will win them the war. in peacetime, andre's workshop makes household furniture. doors. >> reporter: but they stopped making money, and started making anti-tank barriers for checkpoints. did you ever make things for the military before? >> no 'cause now it's necessary to help our soldier, our refugees, and so on and so on. so we look on internet how -- >> you looked up online to figure out how to make it? >> yes. yes. >> and when tens of thousands fleeing violence flooded lviv, this theater set the stage for their most important role -- hosts. these beds that you see here are not beds at all. they're parts of our theater, she tells me. the few at the frontline are supported by the many of us at the rear. creativity and tenacity bolstering a nation's resistance

against a superpower reliant on brute force. salma abdelaziz, cnn, lviv. >> if you would like to help the people of ukraine who are in need, many are in need of shelter, food, water, medical supplies, please go to cnn.com/impact, and there you will find ways to help. in the coming hours, u.s. president joe biden will speak by phone with chinese president xi jinping. their first conversation since russia invaded ukraine. the white house is growing increasingly concerned that beijing is at least considering a russian request for military and financial aid. president biden expected to warn xi jinping any help to russia will come with a cost. now to hong kong, cnn's krity lou stout is standing by and earlier thursday, the secretary of state was kind of blunt about this saying the u.s. would punish china for helping the russians. do we know what that punishment might be? >> yeah, that punishment could come in the form of secondary sanctions. we know russia has been squeezed

by sanctions for its actions in ukraine and relies heavily on china for trade but china has other priorities, namely its own stability and continued economic growth. look, according to chinese state-run media, they are closely watching this upcoming phone call between joe biden and xi jinping. they say that both sides will exchange views, discuss areas of common interest but according to that white house statement released on thursday, it said they will discuss managing competition as well as russia's attack on ukraine. both those issues, interestingly enough, were not mentioned in chinese state-run media in the runup to this phone call, the biden kmadministration has been making these assertions russia seeking china's help economically and militarily. we heard from jen psaki, the white house press secretary who said there is high concern that china could very well help russia and there had been these warnings from the united states of imposing costs should china do so. now, the biden administration is also trying to seek clarity on china's position and it's easy to understand why. if you look at recent events. for example, that summit in

beijing between the russian president and xi jinping when they declared that their alliance had, quote, no limits. there is a picture there of that summit. and then, what happened earlier-this week on monday in lviv. we will bring up the photograph for you. where we had china's top diplomat in ukraine shake the hand of the ukrainian prime minister, and say that china would never attack ukraine and would be willing to provide support economically. interestingly, that moment was not screened on chinese state-run media. and then, you had an event that happened on thursday. a meeting between a higher-up ministry of foreign affairs official with russia's ambassador to china. that moment, not reported in chinese state-run media. china has this position of neutrality and when you talk to analysts about the position it's going to put forward during this phone call, it's going to be this. they will continue to have this position of neutrality. listen to this. >> so neither are leaning towards russia, nor leaning towards ukraine. and instead, try to present

itself as a neutral third party and -- um -- communicating with the united states about china's position and, also, the injustice if u.s. decides to pursue secondary sanctions on china because of its economic relationship with russia. >> so, is china on the side of russia or ukraine? according to yun sun, she says it's both in this delicate diplomatic dance of balance diplomacy. back to you, john. >> you can't walk both sides of the fence for long, they say. so we will see what happens. kristie lu stout there in hong kong. the u.s. war crimes a accusations against russia. up next, why the u.s. secretary of state believes war crimes have been committed.

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across ukraine, the russian military appears to be stepping up attacks on what's called civilian infrastructure. all that means is schools, hospitals, homes are being targeted. even a grand ole theater with the word children spelled out in russian in big letters on the pavement front and back. rescue crews are still trying to

reach those who survived the air strike on the theater in mariupol. hundreds of civilians had taken refuge inside after their homes were destroyed. and once again, the u.s. is accusing russia of war crimes. the secretary of state echoing a similar allegation made by the president a day earlier. the international criminal court has opened a war crimes investigation. not surprisingly, no one has been charged and there are doubts anyone ever will be but secretary blinken made the point that russian actions speak for themselves. >> yesterday, president biden said that in his opinion, war crimes had been committed in ukraine. personally, i agree. intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime. after all the destruction of the past three weeks, i find it difficult to conclude that the russians are doing otherwise. >> the director on the center of democracy, development, and the rule of law at stanford university. she has written or co-edited six books on contemporary russia of the she is with us this hour from toronto. welcome to the program.

>> thanks for having me. >> okay so i want you to hear from an elected member of the ukrainian parliament talking about some of the death and misery caused by vladimir putin and his military so far in ukraine. >> i think that putin has crossed all the red lines possible. we have over 100 children died already and thousands of civilians killed in indiscriminate but sometimes precision fire on civilians. i think this is [ inaudible ] moment when hitler invaded czechoslovakia or poland. >> putin must know what he has done. he must be aware that he is responsible for actions which rise to the level of war crimes. and he is a repeat offender from chechnya to syria to ukraine. he must know he is committing crimes against humanity but at the end of the day, it seems, what, he is okay with that? he just doesn't care? >> i think he sees the world a little differently and remember he's gotten away with those things, as well. so we can call it crimes against humanity. but he really has -- his

perspective would be i did what i had to do against an enemy that were terrorists and i think that is the perspective that he has convinced himself and ukraine as well. >> so just to recap that, as long as he can get away with it, it's not a crime? >> well, there hasn't been any punishment so far for either -- either of those things, right? and he is under sanctions right now by the u.s. for going back into ukraine this time. but those sanctions aren't for purported crimes against humanity, at least not at this point so far. they have been violating ukraine's sovereignty. and so, what happens with attacks on civilians i think is -- is yet to be -- yet to be considered. >> maybe this russian offensive is not going to plan but if groz think and an example, the siege on mariupol is following a similar timeline and tactics. the u.n. described it as the most destroyed city on earth. different war, same tactics,

2016 during the battle for aleppo. this time, syrian soldiers did most the heavy lifting but with the backing of the russians and the russian air force. so if putin is true to form, will we be watching mass murder in the coming days and weeks being committed on an industrial scale in mariupol and then odesa and then to kyiv? >> so i would say that's not impossible and i wouldn't say it's just putin and i do think that's important. because he is not the one who is actually launching those missiles that are hitting ukrainian buildings and killing ukrainian civilians. of course, those are members of the russian military. this is a different military than the soviet military. that was made up primarily of conscripts. this is made up primarily of professional soldiers, um, who are trained on advanced weapon systems in a way that one year conscripts can't be. so it is a different reformed military taking direct orders and being paid to do so. um, so you know, it is -- it is a russian style of war. and, um, carpet bombing is something they have been known to do before. they also did it in the soviet period but even with this

smaller, more mobile force clearly, you know, they are willing to do this. >> if putin is to be stopped, does it all essentially now come down to china? is xi jinping the only person who could convince putin it's time to back down? >> well, they have called one another very best friends. and they have given each other the -- the equivalent of in the united states, you know, presidential medal of honor. um, and they do, you know, speak to one another pretty frequently. um, i know that mr. putin when he went to see mr. xi before the winter olympics just a month and a half ago, um, that was the first foreign leader that mr. xi had seen in two years. so, are they close? yes. they are close in age. they are both authoritarian leaders. they're both kind of bad boys of the international system. um, and there is an interdependence there, so if they were to come down on one side or the other, of course mr. xi would be leaning on the russian side as opposed to the

ukrainian side backed as it is by the west which is a common enemy to russia and -- and china at this point in history. >> katherine, thank you so much. it is a complicated story and one which is just getting more complicated as it goes on. but we appreciate you being with us. >> unfortunately. thank you for having me. >> pleasure. thank you. actor and former governor of california arnold schwarzenegger has made an emotional appeal to all russians in a video posted on social media. the 74-year-old spoke candidly about his father, a nazi and member of the sa, also known as storm troopers or brownshirts. schwarzenegger warned his father had been misled and filled with lies just like the russian government was trying to do with talk of the need to denazify ukraine. >> i don't want you to be programmed like my father. this is not the war to defend russia. this is an illegal war.

your lives, your limbs, your futures are being sacrificed for a senseless war condemned by the entire world. >> right now, there are multiple explosions being heard in the eastern city of lviv in ukraine. earlier, we heard air-raid sirens going off. earlier, our hala gorani who was anchoring from lviv sought shelter in a bomb shelter in that city. um, we -- as we have been reporting, multiple explosions heard at 6:47 a.m. there in lviv. we will have more on the situation in lviv when we come back. you are watching cnn. lavender baths calmed d him. so we made a plan to turn bath time into a a business. ♪ ♪ find a northweststern mutual advisor at nm.com looking to get back in yourur type 2 diabetes zone? once-weekly ozempic® can help. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ oh, oh, oh ♪ ozemc® is proven to lower a1c. most people whtook ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it.

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welcome back, everyone. well, the exodus of refugees fleeing putin's war, more than three million so far and counting. in many cases, families have been torn apart, women and

children leave, but men of fighting age cannot. but when marisha was forced to leave without her husband, she was not alone. her brother had travelled to be with her and help her navigate a long and difficult journey to safety. cnn's randi kaye has the story. >> i felt like being here is not really helpful. i got to go. i got to be there. >> reporter: and just like that, alexander murga booked a ticket from florida to eastern europe to help get his sister safely out of ukraine and the region. she was living about 90 miles from kyiv when the russian bombs started to fall. how worried were you about her? >> kind of shaken all the time. because you want to be there. you want to support her. you want to hug her. you want to somehow protect her. >> reporter: alexander made a plan to meet her in poland. he left his home outside orlando around the same time she left hers in ukraine. marisha drove 14 hours to a

border crossing, and then waited another 14 hours to cross over into poland. her husband stayed to fight, but finally she managed to get to poland's roslov airport, and that's where she reunited with her brother. without alexander's help getting her a visa, she would be stuck in poland. it wasn't easy. first he tried the u.s. embassy in warsaw. >> i'm standing right now in front of the united states embassy. it doesn't really matter if you are from united states or not. all they do is pretty much get pushed away from the door. >> reporter: but alexander kept trying, all the while helping others at the polish border at ravaruska. these are pictures of other family members alexander helped find safety, 12 in all. he says he also helped at least 30 strangers get aid and somewhere to stay. it was all very emotional for him, even though he left ukraine 17 years ago.

what did you see on the ground there? >> things that no one should ever see. it's all those people coming out and crying. i saw people here. and not being able to hold on like they do. it's really emotional. i know i'm not able to go there now, help them from inside and fight, but seeing -- give me a minute. seeing all them out there being so strong and it's just heartbreaking. i didn't expect to see my country -- >> reporter: despite the emotional toll, alexander wasn't leaving poland without his sister. so he tried another embassy in krakow, and was finally able to get his sister a visa. they landed last night in orlando, the first time marisha

stepped foot on u.s. soil. will you go back? >> absolutely. the first thing i'm going to do, i'm just going go back. we have to -- we have to go back. they need us. they need support. all those houses, infrastructure, everything has to be rebuilt. that's been destroyed. >> reporter: how grateful are the two of you to be sitting here together? >> the best feeling, the best thing in the world is being able to hug my sister. >> reporter: and while marisha didn't speak much english in our interview, she surprised us with this message of thanks. >> thanks for all people, all country who help my country. and my people. >> reporter: randi kaye, cnn, orlando, florida. >> just a quick recap of what's actually happening in the city of lviv right now in western ukraine. at least three loud explosions have been heard in the past few

moments. cnn team there, including hala gorani who was anchoring from lviv heard multiple explosions as well. there are reports that a plume of smoke was seen in the distance as well. for the most part, lviv has been spared the worst of russia's military offensive. it's not clear if that is about to change. we'll have much more on the swieg situation hen we come back. hala gorani will be reporting live with the latest. please stay with us. you're watching cnn. ended up has amount of student loan debt. sofi helelped me refinance all my student loans intoto one loan, with one low interest rate, and one affordable monthly payment. not only have i made significant payments to my principal with sofi, i can actually see ththe end in sight and i believe the end in sight is near. so that has really given my family the financial freedom that we need going forward. ♪ ♪

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yeah. the future is crunk! (laughs) anything else you wanna know? is the hype too much? am i ready? i can't tell you everything. but if you want to make history, you gotta call your own shots. we going to the league! this is cnn breaking news. >> hello, everyone. and welcome to our viewers around the world and in the united states at this hour. i'm hala gorani reporting live from lviv in ukraine. just -- i notice i have my glasses on my head. just a few minutes ago, we heard some pretty loud explosions in the distance here, and those came after an air raid siren sounded across the city. we're working on