hello. warm welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm max foster in london following breaking news about the war in ukraine just ahead. >> we believe that moscow may be setting the stage to use a chemical weapon. >> the fighting getting fierce. russians are getting desperate. >> i think if russian president vladimir putin is sick, nothing will stop him. >> murderous dictate, thug. >> i warn everyone who tries to join the occupiers. >> this will be the worst decision of your life. this is cnn breaking news. >> friday, march 18th. 4 a.m. in washington, 10 a.m. in ukr ukraine. at least one person is dead and four others wounded after debris from a downed russian rocket fell on a residential building

in kyiv, ukraine. a fire broke out and a dozen people had to be rescued according to ukraine's emergency service. first responders are working now to put out the fire. the mayor of lviv, ukraine, says several russian missiles hit. large clouds of smoke coming from the direction of the airport. the work at the plant is being stopped and no reports of casualties there. ukraine's armed forces say six missiles are fired at the city with two of them intercepted by air defense systems. lviv is largely being spared. that could be changing as russia takes aim at supply routes from nato countries to the west of ukraine. now we'll have a live report from scott mclean in lviv in just a moment. meanwhile, dozens of people have been killed in russian attacks in the past 24 hours elsewhere in 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. kharkiv's mayor says a rescue worker fighting the fire was killed. another russian attack on a nearby school and arts club killed 21 people according to local officials in the southern coastal city of mariupol. survivors are emerging from the bombed out theater. more than 1,000 people were sheltering inside when it was hit by russian bombers. it's not clear how many people survived that. u.s. president joe biden will speak with his chinese counterpart, xi jinping. on thursday mr. biden said some choice words or had some choice words for the russian president, vladimir putin. >> vladimir putin has launched an unconscionable war against ukraine, against the very

pillars against international peace and stability. putin is paying a big price for his aggression and the public are standing together against a murderous dictator, pure thug. >> ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. >> translator: it is challenging, very, and we do everything absolutely. our army, police, scs, humanitarian convoy, church, all our people. we will not leave and we will not forgive. you will be free. >> cnn has correspondents positioned around the world covering the story from every angle for you. we'll have reports from london, brussels, hong kong and orlando,

florida. we begin with scott mclean live this hour in lviv, ukraine. lviv, scott, had been seen as a safe haven for ukrainians. doesn't appear that's the case anymore. >> yeah, that's right. there had previously been a military strike about 11 miles or so from the polish border, about 25 miles from the city of lviv. this is the first time we've had any kind of bomb hitting within city limits. let me just tell you where we are right now, max. just beyond this wall here is the airport runway, actually, the tarmac. this road leads along towards that area. where you see that press van coming out as well, just beyond that there's some train tracks that run along here. of course, where you see the traffic, that is a bridge that you can get a good vantage point. we were on that bridge earlier and we saw smoke in the

distance, not in the near distance, i should say, from a building there. it was thick, black. it seems to be starting to dissipate now as i can only imagine they're starting to put out the fire since this hashed happened some four hours ago or so. now this, we understand, is a bus depot in the area. people here would have heard it and this whole area has been filled with police, military and territorial defense folks since this happened really. they're sort of restricting where exactly we're allowed to go. we were allowed to cross the bridge earlier, and on the other side of the bridge there's actually a checkpoint there. i was here a couple of weeks ago, max, this is a bridge that they were paying particularly close attention to. the reason why is because they figure that this would be an obvious target for russian bombs. it runs over rail tracks. it's sort of a choke point in and out of the city and it is literally right next to the airport as well. so we understand that the

building hit here was some kind of aircraft repair factory. it's note clear if that was the intended target or something else. it fits with the pattern especially given what we've seen in other cities. now here in lviv targeting specifically airports, airport infrastructure. this obviously matches with the pattern. the worry here, max, of course is that lviv, the point that you've made clear, has been a safe haven for a lot of people fleeing violence in other parts of the country. and people have come here and felt extremely safe. life goes on pretty much as usual. the worry is that this will send a whole wave of people headed towards the border. i've spoken to a couple of people since i've been here, all of them men, older men who would likely be able to leave the country now. none of them even after this seem interested in going. one of them said i could go to poland, but it's not better

there. another says why should i go anywhere? people are making this cost-benefit analysis whether to stay or whether they should go. for the moment, assuming these targets stay at or around the airport, perhaps a lot of people will gamble that life in the rest of the city will be relatively safe, max. >> we're looking at the images from the airport and the smoke bubbling up from there. the assumption many analysts are making here is these are attacks on the infrastructure which western countries have used to supply ukrainian military as opposed to a wider attack on lviv right now. what are your thoughts? >> reporter: yeah, i mean, that's something the russians have said before, something that they've said that foreign weapons coming into the country would be fair targets. foreign soldiers, mercenaries they called them would be fair targets. in fact, the russians when they hit the military base west of

the city of lviv, where the russians said they had hit a large cache of foreign supplied weapons, something the ukrainians have denied. to your point, max, you're absolutely right. it is entirely possible they are trying to go after certain weapons. it doesn't seem at least at first glance there were likely any in that area. we understand there were six missiles fired, two shot down by air defense systems. even there is a danger there. for the last two days in kyiv we've seen the remnants of missiles. there's an ambulance going across the bridge there. we've seen the remnants of those miss sthiels have been struck down hitting apartment buildings in kyiv. in both cases they have been deadly. even if they're working they should, there is still very much a risk. max. >> scott mclean in lviv. thank you very much. one of the most horrific

events in the war this month. this month a russian airstrike hit a ma tternity hospital in mariupol. killing 5 and injuring dozens more. cnn investigation found no evidence to support the allegation by russia. >> translator: kharkiv. now mariupol. despite being an apparent war crime, medical facilities have been repeatedly hit by russia since its invasion of ukraine. hit a new justification. for mariupol, russia set the stage days before the attack happened. >> translator: the armed forces of ukraine have set up a fire position there. >> translator: expelled patients

from the maternity hospital. >> reporter: there was zero evidence any soldiers were at the hospital. instead it was pregnant women injured and distressed. 17 people including children, women, doctors were injured. since then at least five people have died. cnn built a model that revealed civilians were using the hospital and therefore it was not a justifiable military target. this satellite image hours before the attack shows cars parked outside. this is the crater left behind. war crime investigators truth hounds say it is consistent with a 500 kilogram high explosive bomb. just miles away this reads children's diagnostic unit.

it housed children with immune diseases a among other diseases. 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're hearing is of one of the survivors who came to associated press and gave birth shortly after. >> reporter: another here seen stretchered out died alongside an unborn baby. they have epitomized the tragedy and yet even their suffering has been questioned with russian officials claiming on twitter and news programs that they must be active.

>> this soenl one woman rushing down the stairwell. he or she changed clothes and she is being brought on the stretcher. >> you are showing this to me. >> yes, this is not zblefd why are you showing it to me? why don't you show it to the united nations? >> foreign minister returned to the original line. this attack was justified. >> translator: this maternity hospital had already been seized by the azoz hospital. all the pregnant women, nurses, service personnel were already expelled from there. >> reporter: as these attacks continued, cnn is tracking each one. in total we have verified 14 incidents across ukraine. the world health organization meanwhile has confirmed at least 31. with each hit, the ability of people in ukraine to get medical help during this conflict is

made more and more difficult. cnn, london. >> with every passing day the scars of war are evident across ukraine. in kyiv they're assessing damage from an apartment building hit by a russian missiles. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy visited patients at this kyiv hospital on thursday. i want to get some perspective on what's happening. we're joined by dr. con stand teen popecheck, a surgeon. thank you for joining us. >> hello. >> just describe what you're dealing with currently there. how would you articulate the work? >> well, actually, thanks to our army, ukrainian. it is much better situation than in mariupol and other cities already captured by russians so

really it is more or less quiet. we hear bombing effects but no russians are in kyiv. the main problems are not with even the rocket attacks but other hospitals already occupied by russians. there we see bad things, what they are doing with people, with children, with sick people, aged people. it's really awful. just to remind we are not bad people. pure evil. the evil empire we are fighting.

there are many civilians who have trauma. not really the numbers of combatants. >> how are you able to do your work? have you got the supplies? presumably you have some supplies and they're running out. the pattern of your day, how does it even work? >> well, we have a shelter where bombing patients can go there. those patients who cannot go are transported and our surgeons will stay with our patients. it is really hard to work psych

lodge he canically because we have been in the hospital since the war begins. we eat here. we sleep here. waiting for critical situations when we need all of this stuff. from the other point, thanks to all good people who help us with the supply of medications, it is a little bit harder to get everything we need, but if you have information, there is great support from inside the country and all corridors. so we get everything we need to -- probably with some modifications, logistics.

>> are you able to tell us -- are you just dealing with civilians or are you dealing with military? >> both. i am not allowed to say the numbers. >> i think -- the reason i ask that question is it speaks to the bravery of everyone working these hospitals to not only put your lives on hold but by treating the military you're also making yourselves a target. >> all hospitals in ukraine are targets. like now, targeted hospital i think more than 40. other hospitals also a target here in the first week of the w

war. we can compare this to syria and oleppo. they attack hospitals, patients, machines. they attack schools, not our military forces. why? they want to make a psychological province in our people, but indeed what we are feeling is hate but what we want is victory. aleppo, during the last days we are trained how to deal with the

attack. now we understand it is absolutely real that we will face the problem -- the same problem that syrians faced during russian chemical effects in syria. if we are ready now versus later in the situation. >> dr. costantine, incredible work and our thoughts are with you. we'll be back in a m moment. imbruvica is not chemotherapy-- it's the #1 prescribed oral therapy for clcll, proven to help people live longer. imbruvuvica can cause serious side effects, which may lead to death. bleeding problems are common and may increase with blood thinners. serious infections with symptoms like fevers, chills, weakness or confusion

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>> translator: i think if all countries woke up and helped us, then some solution would be found. otherwise, i think if russian president vladimir putin is sick, nothing will stop him, neither peace negotiations or anything else. >> refugee numbers are growing. poland alone has taken in nearly 2 million of them. refugees have been describing the dangerous conditions they've been escaping. >> in our markets we have no food. we have no water.

it's very bad situation in kharkiv. >> they bump but not so big numbers. we go because it's dangerous for children. >> they're calling to the u.n. more than 3.1 million people have fled to other countries. a massive flow of refugees. they haven't figured out what to do with them. romania has been working to scale up services. >> reporter: who are all these people? >> translator: 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 86-year-old who had arrived. she survived world war ii, now she's in an apartment in central romania with her daughter and lots of friends and a cat named moosha. 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 plus stop the war. not far from drag cue la's capitol is preparing for refugees. business development center and a brand-new apartment building in the new part of town. >> the main challenge is how to scale it up. this is only the first wave of refugees. >> reporter: this woman is here with her two daughters.

>> how do you feel being here? >> perfect. >> other than perfect, she says, they gave us medicine and new beds. they if he had us. then added, it's very, very, very good. the city of rashov, preparing for even more refugee hots mayor will need more support and possibly stay for offering and discussing solutions how to inat the great them. the city providing thousands of meals to locals. 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 we can see it on their faces and i think that's really important. >> tatani a&m irala, mother and

daughter 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 mclaiv the planes were flying, flying, flying. she has a simple wish. in my old age i only wanted peace and prosperity, she says. then added, i like everything to be okay, but for now it's not. miguel marquez, cnn. if you'd like to help people go to cnn.com/impact. our breaking news coverage continues after this break.

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welcome back. i'm max foster in london. one person is dead and four others wounded as debris from a downed russian rocket fell on a building in kyiv. dozens of people had to be rescued. this was the scene earlier in lviv in western ukraine. six missiles were fired into the city but two of them were intercepted according to city officials, they struck near the airport but did not hit the airport themselves. no casualties have been reported. a huge fire broke out at this market in kharkiv when it was hit by russian shells. a rescue worker reportedly died

battling the blaze. 21 people were also killed on other attacks in the city. and in mariupol we're hearing reports survivors emerging from the devastation of that bombed out theater. authorities say more than a thousand people are taking shelter inside but it's not clear how many survived. u.s. and nato officials don't know exactly how many russian troops have been killed in ukraine but it's believed to be in the thousands and much higher than the kremlin had expected. it could weigh heavily on russian morale as the military offensive appears to stall. let's bring in cnn's natasha bertrand. first of all to you, natasha. it's hard to estimate. we are apparently seeing reinforcements being brought in to support those russian troops. what do we think about casualty numbers? >> reporter: what u.s. and nato officials are telling us, max,

the estimates vary widely because there is no precise way to count the number of casualty figures. it's difficult to have that visibility. one intelligence expert has found 7,000 russian soeldsers have been killed in combat since the war began almost a month ago. these estimates vary widely. some say 3,000 killed and others place it as high as 10,000 russian troops killed. the bottom line is thousands of russian soldiers have been killed since the war began, far more than anything vladimir putin had anticipated. the real impact is not only, of course, that it's creating this stalled momentum for them, it's also contributing to morale really, really sagging among the russian troops we're told. the pentagon, nato, they both have antidotal evidence that

they have not been able to achieve their military objectives. we are getting information that russian troops are abandoning their equipment because they don't understand what the military objective here is. this is having a lot of impact on the progression of the russian military operation in ukraine. we have seen it has stalled very significantly, especially when it comes to kyiv. they have not been able to make the kinds of advances that they had hoped for. they were hoping to take kyiv in just a matter of days. but the russian losses here are very, very significant regardless of the exact number we're getting because even the lowest estimates, max, place it in the thousands. it's important to note the russian leaders are still all in. their morale is still pretty high. they still assess that vladimir putin believes he is able to

take the whole of ukraine, max. >> natasha, thank you. security officials in london are telling me the same thing. they're inexperienced and that's part of the western campaign and they want that message to get through. what are the russians saying about morale being low? >> they are very much looking to advance a military operation. we've seen these devastating attacks on civilian infrastructure. there are serious concerns that russia could be advancing despite the challenges. this is something we've seen before straight out of the syria playbook. we saw russia continuously indiscriminately targeting the infrastructure and denying these are military bases or used for

military officials. we saw that earlier in your show the attack on mariupol on the maternity hospital. sheltering civilians indicating it was effective and there were children inside. quite frankly we've heard denials from a spokesperson who really echoed some of the remarks we've heard from previous years, the russian attacks on syria. >> 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. >> cnn has verified these attacks have happened. we've heard that from nato and other western officials. they continue to push forward this narrative, they are not targeting civilian areas and

cities, they are targeting ukrainian military infrastructure. >> it's interesting, isn't it, this pr wa that's unfolding. it seems that the russians are quite unnerved by the way western officials are briefing cohesively. they've also got this authenticity on the side of the ukrainian leaders as well. >> absolutely. we haven't seen the western leaders come together in this show of unity in previous conflicts, particularly taking syria. russia was heavily active in targeting civilian infrastructure. there was some division within nato seeing this has unnerved the russian authorities. they've been hugely popular. >> thank you very much, indeed. now a u.s. citizen, james hill, is one of president putin's victims as well. hill was amongst several people killed when russian artillery

opened fire on cities in chernihiv. >> reporter: bombing has intensified. that was the last quote from american james hill before his death. he had a chilling account of his last dayness ukraine. intense bombing. still alive. limited food. room very cold. >> at one point a missile went by him and landed at a distance. >> reporter: according to his family, hill was waiting in a bread line with several other people when they were gunned down by russian military snipers. his body was found in the street by the local police. hill was in chernihiv with his partner ira who was ukrainian and battling ms. >> he was not going to leave ira's side. >> we're hanging in there.

very cold inside. food portions are reduced. bombing and explosions most of the night. hard to sleep. people getting depressed. in his post he describes feeling helpless, hungry and cold while narrating a war. intense bombing last night for two hours. it was close to hospital. machine gunfire could be heard. it stopped just after midnight. hill even encouraging political action posting this on march 7th. for my american friends and relatives, please pressure your local representatives to expedite american visas for ukrainians, especially for families with children and skilled workers. >> my brother was helper that people find in crisis. >> reporter: but while he wanted to help others and find a way out, it was too late. >> we don't know where my brother's body is so that kind

of closure the family won't have right now. >> reporter: cnn, los angeles. phone call taking place a few hours from now could have big consequences. the leaders of u.s. and china will take up the issue of chilled relations and the war in ukraine, that's just a ahead. with fragrance t that's always fresh, never overpowering. air wick. connect to nature. do you h have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. wehought we had planned carelly for our retirementbut we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. 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.

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>> translator: we do not need 13,000 killed russian soldiers. we did not want this war. we want peace. we want you to love your children more than you fear your authorities. >> that will likely be echoed in a call between the u.s. president and his chinese counterpart today. the call comes at a critical time. russia wants china's help on the invasion of ukraine. if russia gets that help, china's chilly relations with

the u.s. could get much colder. kristie lu stout joins us. we don't know what russia's view is. what are you hearing? >> reporter: yeah, that's what's needed right now is clarity. we've been monitoring chinese state media. they say xi jinping and joe biden will exchange views. according to the white house, they will talk about managing competition and of course talk about russia's war against ukraine, two issues that are not being mentioned in chinese state media. in the run up to the upcoming phone call between biden and xi, they are making assertion that russia is seeking economic help from china and economic help from china. it's a claim russia and china have denied. the biden administration is lacking at what is china's position. go back to february, the summit

in beijing where you had russian president vladimir putin and xi jinping. monday in lviv you had china's top diplomat shake hands with ukrainian officials and declare china would never attack ukraine and would help economically. then we had ministry of foreign affairs official and the russian ambassador. china is holding this position, up playing both sides. analysts say going into this phone call china will play this as a knew the thrall third party. listen to this. >> so neither what was leaked with russia or ukraine, tried to present itself as a neutral third party and communicating with the u.s. about the unfairness and talking about

sanctions. >> reporter: we heard that china's position with regards to ukraine is, quote, fair and objective. max. >> kristie, thank you. a thousand people are fleeing ukraine and returning isn't easy. we'll talk to one man who flew thousands of miles to get his sister out of the country and into the u.s. some home fragrances can be... overwhelming. air wick fresh new day fills your space with fragrance that't's always fresh, never overpowering. air wick. connect to nature.

europe's first planetary robot to search for life on mars has been suspended. they were on track to leave for mars in soept of this year but sanctions into russia's invasion of ukraine has made that impossible. europe says they deplore the tragic consequences of russia's action. the biden administration is looking for ways to help ukrainian refugees join members in the u.s. in the meantime, the journey can be difficult. cnn's randi kaye talks to one

man who had to jump through several hoops to bring his sister into the u.s. >> i felt like being here is not very helpful. i've got to go. i've got to be there. >> reporter: just like that alexander mergot bookds a ticket from florida to ukraine. she was living 90 miles from kyiv when the russian bombs started to fall. how worried were you? >> kind of shaking all the time because you want to be there, you want to support her, you want to help her. you want to somehow protect her. >> reporter: he made a plan with her to meet her in poland. he left his home in poland. she drove 14 hours to a border crossing and waited another 14 hours to cross over into poland. her husband stayed to fight but finally she managed to get to poland's airport and that's where she reunited with her

brother. without his help getting her a visa, she would be stuck in poland. it wasn't easy. first he tried the embassy in poland. >> i stood at the united states embassy. doesn't matter if you are from the united states or not. what 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. these are pictures of other family members alexander helped find safety, 12 in all. 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 none of us should ever see.

all those people coming out crying. i've seen people not be able to hold on. it's really emotional. i know i'm not able to go there now, help them from inside and fight. >> it's okay. >> seeing all of them out there being so strong and it's just heartbreaking. i didn't expect to see my country. >> reporter: despite the emotional toll, alexandr wasn't leaving without his sister. he tried one in krakow. they landed last night in orlando. the first time she stepped foot on u.s. soil? >> will you go back? >> absolutely. first thing i can do. we have to. we have to go back. they need us.

they need support. the infrastructure needs to be rebuilt. it'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, you know, being able to have my sister. >> reporter: and while marisha didn't speak much english in our interview. she surprised us. >> thanks for all people, all country who help my country and my people. >> randi kaye, cnn, orlando, florida. tv series featuring volodymyr zelenskyy. before he was a politician, he was an actor. he played a high school teacher who becomes the ukrainian president. a speech he makes about

government corruption goes viral. the show first aired in 2015. he became president four years later. it can't be easy for ukrainian children fleeing their homes with their families but one volunteer is trying to give kids a much needed laugh. this israeli greets children with a plush toy and fateful touch. the smile says it all. he wants to take their minds off the crisis. >> for me, the purpose of all is to give them some kind of a break of the seriousness of everything, to bring them a smile and also when i create the first reaction, i can get the mothers to come over and get more food, water, toys, clothes, anything they need. just to give them kind of relief and understanding that they are on the safe side, they can continue and i'm here to make

them happy ier, just for a bit. >> this border crossing is the main entry point for many refugees coming into the country. thanks for joining us here on "cnn newsroom." i'm max foster. our coverage continues with christine romans. you're watching cnn. i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brainin performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger.r.

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5 a.m. in new york. thanks for getting an "early start" with us. i'm christine romans. laura jarrett has the day off. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. we begin with breaking news in lviv where so far the city in western ukraine has been largely spared from the relentless bombardment of russian forces but this morning six missiles were fired towards the area. one hit an aircraft repair plant close to the city's airport. you can see the smoke and hear the sirens wailing. it happened right on nato's doorstep. the plant had been shut down. no one was hurt. here's how one resident described the scene. >> translator: there were some explosions. i heard the noise and i looked right away and i saw a column of smoke rising. >> reporter: even with bombing you feel safe to stay here?