welcome to our continuing coverage of the war on ukraine. and welcome to our viewers around the world and u.s. reporting live from lviv. our breaking news this hour in ukraine explosions and gun battles are ringing out across the country. fierce fighting erupts on the out skirts of kyiv.

you're watching a shoot out by a train station in a village 30 kilometers northeast of the capitol. a local politician says these are chechen immigrants. who fled the war with russia and taking up arms to defend ukraine against the invasion. you hear them saying -- during this battle. cnn can't confirm the information. but we were able to locate the video and verify the authenticity. mariupol more fires and destruction and no mercy for the tens of thousands of people trapped in that city. without food, water or medicine. ukraine government accused russia of stealing a convoy of empty buses heading into the city. kidnapping their drivers and several emergency workers. and then the buses were said to evacuate some of the many

civilians suffering. that was the original mission of the buses. of course they were not able to fulfill it. take a look at these satellite images captured tuesday. they show smoke still rising from a mariupol neighborhood said to be under russian control. these pictures mark some of the only glimpses into the city. since there are reportedly no independent journalists left there. this video showing russian cruise missiles launched off the coast of crimea. that are heading towards ukraine. the pentagon has reported an up tick in naval activity in the northern black sea. as ground battles continue to stall. two hours from now ukraine president will address japan parliament. in his latest effort to rally global support against the invasion. japan is among the countries imposin imposing sanctions on russia.

president zelenskyy asked italy to strengthen sanctions against moscow and any russians responsible for the war. he called on the government to go after their property. their real estate and yachts. and bank accounts. in the battlefield russian forces have been stalled but bombardment of ukrainian cities is leaving widespread destruction. and claiming an unknown number of civilian lives. we have more on the military development. >> reporter: the booms of russian missiles landsing near ukraine second largest city. kharkiv. bore the brunt of so much of the russian onslaught. few places have felt the wrath of russia like the port city of mariupol. now facing an attack coming not just from land but from the water as well. russian ships and the sea now joining the relentless bombardment of the key city. the deputy mayor estimating 90% of the city infrastructure is

destroyed. >> the city doesn't receive any humanitarian aid. without food, electricity, water. continuous bombing. a lot of death and crying. a lot of awful war crimes. >> ukrainian military says this explosion at a mariupol industrial compound was caused by a russian attack. as new satellite images show the city is crumbling. while russian artillery units dig in around it. >> hard working honest city of mariupol. destroyed by the occupiers. and reduced to ashes. it will survive. >> reporter: in the capitol kyiv, loud explosions were heard after yet another curfew imposed this time until wednesday morning. the ukrainian interyear ministry saying air defenses destroyed a russian missile. they claim ukraine was hiding weapons in the shopping center

they bombed. ukraine denies the allegation. at least eight people were killed. u.s. believe the brutal attacks signifies a desperate russian military. almost 10,000 russian troops dead according to report in a russia tabloid. which the kremlin denied. after the report was pulled down the out let claimed they were hacked. asked if russian president vladimir putin has achieved his aim ts in ukraine, kremlin spokesman told this to cnn. >> first of all, not yet. he hasn't yet. and we're speaking about special military operation. that is going on. and it is going on strictly in with the plans. and purposes. that were established beforehand. >> growing sign of ukrainian troops on the offensive. fighting to take back lost territory. pushing russian forces back around kyiv. and claiming to have retaken the nearby town.

they're trying to do the same in the town of which russia pummelled. pushes towards kerr son. near crimea. which had been taken by russian forces forces forced to reposition. while they struggle, u.s. and nato are warning that key russian ally belarus could soon send its forces into the war zone. to help vladimir putin. with the war raging on, ukrainian president zelenskyy continues his out reach to world leaders. >> this morning, i spoke to his holiness. pope francis. he said very important words. i understand that you long for peace, i understand that you need to defend yourself. >> among the growing number of issues russian troops are facing in ukraine, is the cold. according to a senior u.s. defense official, on top of the food and fuel issues, the logistical and communication issues that russian troops are facing at the front, the u.s. is also seeing signs that some

russian troops have come down with frostbite. and had to be taken out of the fight in ukraine. europe is ramping up preparation for an influx of more refugees from russia war on ukraine. ireland deputy prime minister expects 40,000 refugees to arrive end of next month. the government is reevaluating its services to meet this potential demand. and france is preparing housing for at least 100,000 ukrainian refugees. the prime minister vowed to help them better integrate into french society. and the un refugee agency says three and a half million people have fled ukraine. and this is important. more than 6 million others are internally displaced. the un is adding more supplies of things like blankets and hot meals and tents. as temperatures continue to remain quite low. they have been heating up

thankfully over the last several days. in the past 24 hours, volunteers at just one border crossing help pd nearly 3,000 refugees. many of them fleeing the russian bombardment of mariupol. and the sumy region in the east. warning ukrainian towns could run out of the food in three or four days. saying quote, the humanitarian system is entirely broken down. many of the trying to escape are passing through lviv. some of those families spoke with us. >> the children play, parents ponder a fate uncertain as they wait outside lviv train station. a priest tries to keep up spirits with song and dance. volunteers provide a hot meal. almost a month into this war,

and the sheer scale of the movement of humanity is mind boggling. more than 10 million people basically a quarter of the population of the country has been rendered homeless. around lviv a multitude found temporary refuge yuj and the blessing of an air of the ordinary. thoughts are left with those behind. her brother stayed in kyiv. to fight. >> we are praying every day. for my brother,fy all my friend. all have someone to serve in military. father, cousins. husbands. >> her 3 year-old son staying in the stark building set aside for the displaced. >> i couldn't tell him what's going on. he is too small. when he heard bombing he hid under the bed. i told him don't be afraid.

it's thunder. indoor basketball court. >> i'm not so well. who led a choir back home. i'm nervous and worried about my parents. and my friend who has parents in mariupol. whom she hasn't heard from for 20 days. she shows us video of a performance. before the war shattered their lives. the choir has gone silent. the light at the end of this tunnel is reseeding. >> at first part-time thought it would last a week. they said, hang on, don't lose hope. now we hope for the best. prepare for the worst. and so the painful exodus west goes on. this train bound for hungary. this farewell perhaps final. joining me now.

a secretary general of the norway refugee counsel. and humanitarian affairs. one thing that struck me about this crisis is just how quickly it happened. in four weeks we're talking about 10 million ukrainians either became over night refugees or internally displaced in their own country. talk about how much of a response needed to be mobilized very quickly. to address their needs. >> we haven't seen such a on slaut on cities in a long time. we haven't seen three million people being displaced per week. ever i think. it's mind boggling. i was in ukraine just before the invasion, there are also millions and millions now in cross fire. who can't leave. so as a we have to scale up inside ukraine.

that's a number one priority. of course we're also have sent emergency teams to poland to romania and moldova. receiving hundreds of thousands every day. now. but, six million leave the country, there will be 36 million left. and they will be in very difficult situation. >> are you concerned that longer term there might be refugee fatigue setting in? people who helped officially at some point won't have the means or patience. or support to host millions of people in their own communities? >> i hope not. i hope not. the out pouring of generosity in europe has been tremendous. and the volunteers in poland and the other neighboring countries have done miracles. and remember inside ukraine, it's been primarily volunteers

who have helped the neighbors. now, we professional organizations who are on the ground who have aid workers are scaling up. cash distribution. as of this week. we're starting up the collective centers. hot meals. we're organizing convoys from the neighboring countries. that will come more and more. and asked perhaps yes the volunteers will be exhausted. you can't run such an operation on volunteerism. long term. >> this is short term. because you have millions of kids out of school. even if they are warmly welcomed in a country like poland or moldova or anywhere else. there's a language barrier. they need to go to school and continue education. we saw the lost generation that was created by the syria refugee crisis and want to avoid it at

all costs. how do you do that? >> by integration. i think the ukrainian refugees will little by little go to more and more european countries. in my country norway, we're getting thousands now. they're going to small communities where they are becoming integrated. they will start school. and will be able to speak english. which norway can speak. they will return when it's safe there. we cannot give up hope the madness will end and a cease fire. talks and some kind of a peace agreement. >> well, refugees, this is something who people are not familiar with the issues don't always understand. initially is that no refugee wants to be a refugee.

and very few don't have primary goal of the idea of returning back to their home. their community. their towns and their villages. there's been quite a difference in the welcoming of the refugees compared to refugees from the middle east and some of the countries that were adamant they wouldn't take afghans or whatever. this has been a different picture. how do you explain it? >> it's neighbors. now coming here. poland was not very forthcoming to we have to admit the eastern europeans took very few refugees crossing the mediterranean. it was the southern europeans with germany and sweden really. but, at that time the slogan in europe was refugees welcome to europe. welcome to the individual countries. and then within the year, it became much colder and we had the european championship in

barbed wire erection around the borders. i don't think it will happen now. poland has taken more refugees in three weeks than europe took in all of the 2015. the year of the refugee influx. so those countries have to be alleviated from the pressure. the the rest of europe can absorb several million ukrainians refugees. but the longer the war ends, the more exhausted both the ukrainians will be and those who come here. the neighboring countries will be. and less likely it is that people can return short term. because of the there they are destroying cities and homes. of the people who live. >> absolutely. thanks very much for talking to us. i have more from lviv later.

first let's go to atlanta. thank you so much. appreciate it. coming up the russian government has strict control on what information its people can access. we look at efforts to get around vladimir putin's digital iron curtain.

welcome back, everyone. we continue tracking developments out of the ukraine. armed forces are fighting to retake the town of in the eastern part of the country. that is according to a senior u.s. defense official. who says russia moved vehicles there last week. to cut off ukrainian forces in the donbas area from the rest of the country.

and we're seeing fierce fighting in a village northeast of kyiv. a politician who posted this video claims these are chechen immigrants. who fled the wars with russia. and now taking up arms to defend ukraine. cnn cannot confirm that information. we were able to locate the video and verify authenticity. russia war on ukraine isn't just being fought on air, land and sea. it's being fought in cyber space. kremlin tries to spread misinformation and control the news russians access. joining me now -- a lecturer in journalism at university in the kurks uk. research covers media and post socialist countries. thank you so much for being with us. >> hello. good morning. >> so, we know that some russians have been successful breaking through the digital iron curtain.

to learn the truth about russia's war on ukraine. and some instances they are sharing that information and dividing family and friends. many russians not wanting to believe the country would target civilians. how are the younger russians able to by pass sensors and. are they using digital tools? >> yeah. the vpn is the most efficient tool. so get from iron curtain. because the government was implements a lot of measures to put internet traffic under control. happening for the last five years and the high point. they have been able to shut down all the major independent media. or cut access to them. it's not just the young people who want to get access to the independent and verified news. the divide is really between those who would like to get the real information.

not the censored one. not the twisted one. and those who would like to stay in the world of illusion. about russia fighting against the west. >> you have said that russia censorship capabilities have so far allowed the government to control the narrative. inside russia's borders. but you also say that this may change. how and when might it change? could this war be the trigger for the change? >> the war itself is not going to be the trigger. the trigger will be the sanctions. and the lowering standards of life. this is going to be the key trigger. for some russians, not guall. to. >> reporter: to reconsider their position. that will certainly trigger rewards. within certain communities. i also predict that some

journalists will be leaving the media and some journalists will be working to under mine the regime from inside. that usually what happens in the totalitarian regions. >> propaganda saturates television. which is watched more by the older generation. younger russians, you mention some older ones too. but for the most part younger russians get information from social media feeds. where are they getting the bulk of that information? and how extensive is the sharing of the truth about this war? >> again, it's all about eco-chambers. the older generation trying to get access through traditional media. some still go on the you tube. we notice some people in 60 plus age category that go online and watch things.

and interesting that sense you tube is still not banned in russia. russians can get information independently through a variety of sources. young people normally go on social net works. depending on their preference. so some go on the biggest russian social media. which is highly censored and highly monitored by the domestic intelligence services. some use vpn and go on twitter and instagram. and facebook. again those who want to know kind of verified information, go on twitter. again there's a very important source of information called telegram. and telegram channels. again these became one of the dimensions for both pro-kremlin audience to get their information. and opposition audience that are trying to read the news and

messages among relatives. normally it's a battle between platforms. it is a battle between big tech platforms and how russians get the verified information. >> all right. certainly watch to see what happens with this. thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate it. picking up the coverage next from lviv in ukraine. we will hear from the spokesperson for russian president vladimir putin in an interview you won't see anyone else. what he says about nuclear weapons and the war in ukraine. '. what is time? time. time is just a construct. construct. construction. there is a crack. oh god are you kidding me?! oh god... hi, aren't you tired of this? -yes! good days start with good nights. seems like a good time to find out about both. why are you talking like that? is this an ad?

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more now on the developments here in ukraine. senior u.s. defense official says ukrainian forces are battling to retake the town of you see it highlighted on the map. the u.s. believes russian forces moved in to the town southeast of kharkiv to cut off ukrainian forces in the donbas area. from reaching the rest of the country. we have been showing you this dramatic video. which captured an intense fire fight. between ukrainian forces and russian forces. about 30 kilometers northeast of kyiv.

the ukrainian politician who posted this says the fighters are chechen immigrants who are now siding with ukraine against russia. cnn has not been able to verify that report. meantime ukrainian official says food and medical supplies have nearly run out in kersen. russian forces occupy the city for two weeks now. and other developments the port city of mariupol is still the target of relentless bombardment. satellite images offering this most recent view of the widespread destruction. and you can see the smoke is still rising and the after math of a strike. this is the after math of another missile strike on a rail way station. officials say at least one person was killed in that attack. new video emerged showing missiles launched from a vessel located off the coast of crimea. just west of the city.

you can see the intensity of the fighting is not e baiting. kremlin spokesperson admits that russian president vladimir putin hasn't achieved any of his military goals in ukraine. he spoke with cnn amanpour and refused to deny russia could resort to nuclear weapons in ukraine. >> could i quickly ask you, i need to ask you this, the world is afraid and i want to know whether putin intends the world to be afraid of the nuclear option. would he use it? >> president putin intends to make the world listen to and understand our concerns. we have been trying to convey our concerns to the world. to europe, to the united states, for a couple of decades. no one would listen to us. and before it is too late, it

was a decision to launch a special operation. military operation. to get rid of entire russia that was created next to our borders. >> what? to get rid of russia? >> enter russia. ukraine actually ukraine started to be it was formed by the western countries. into russia. >> okay. >> this is the problem -- >> ukraine is a country. sovereign. recognized by the united nations. it's been around for a very long time. i just want to know, i want to ask again, is president putin -- because again the finish president said when he asked putin directly about this, because putin laid that card on the table. he said if anybody tries to stop him, very bad things will happen. i want to know whether you are convinced or confident that your boss will not use that option.

>> well, we have a concept of domestic security. and it's public. you can read all the reasons for nuclear orms t arms to be used. if it's an existing threat for our country, then it can be used. there are no other reasons that were mentioned in that text. >> so you are saying only an exten shl threat to your country. i still don't know i got a full answer from you. and i just i'm going to assume that president putin wants to scare the world and keep the world on hooks. >> all right. the spokes personal the kremlin spokesperson speaking earlier. not a reassuring answer whether or not russia would consider the

nuclear option. our senior international correspondent following developments live from paris. and the reiterating that max mallist set of demands the kremlin set forth from the beginning of this unprovoked invasion. >> and absolutely. and kind of reflecting the paranoia we're hearing from the kremlin. basically and vladimir putin. that no one understands mother russia and no one understands the threat that its under: that kind of paranoia that we have seen throughout the system. and it's important to point out he also said in the interview that they have nothing to fear for the alexei navalny. and yet almost the same time the interview was taking place he was sentenced to nine for years in prison. and hard labor. because of opposition to the government. it looks like it's part of the same crack downgoing on all over the place in russia. the set to extend the very laws

about criticism of the military to criticism of other government sectors. and led the director of human rights watch to say this, the kremlin seem determined to isolate russian society from the outside world. to cut russians off from uncomfortable facts. >> right. and where does that leave the potential here for any kind of negotiation exit from the nightmare? it really sounds as though putin is saying we haven't achieved our goal, we may or may not use nuclear weapons. it depends if we feel a threat. where do you go from here? >> exactly. that's the big question. one thing he said that slightly positive and that is that they are the russian side is going to show up with for the talks the continuing talks which have gone nowhere. with the ukrainians. perhaps there's something going

there. at the moment it really is kind of a grim picture. >> what about eu countries, nato allies. discussing more sanctions. there is resistance coming from some countries like germany to increase sanctions against the gas and oil sector in russia. what more cards can they probably play? they said no to a no fly zone. what more can they do? >> some talk this morning that part of the nato meeting coming up end of the week will include more sanctions president biden will suggest there should be more sanctions against members of the parliament in russia. and other kind of sanctions. they are running out of the options in terms of turning up the heat. short of cyber warfare or short of a real connectic warfare.

the options are out there. no one wants to exercise them. >> thanks. reporting live from paris. that's going to do it for me in lviv. for more i'm turning it over to rose mary church in atlanta. >> thank you so much for your reporting. ukraine president will soon address lawmakers in japan. hoping to rally more support for his country's fight against russia. we will look at what the war in ukraine may mean for tokyo's ties with moscow. when we come back.

welcome back, everyone. japan is among the countries sanctioning russia for its war in ukraine. and talks between russia and japan have now broken down over formally ending world war ii. hostilities. this comes as ukrainian president zelenskyy will soon address the japanese parliament in effort to rally more international support. for the latest, cnn blake is outside parliament. in tokyo. he joins us now live. good to see you. ukraine president set to address japan law maekers. how far might japan go in supporting ukraine? >> japan has already done a lot as far as typically what they're known to do, slow to put forth

sanctions back in 2014 when russia annexed crimea. this time around, things have moved quickly. very much in lock step with the united states and g 7 nations. as you mention, zelenskyy virtual address to japan parliament is scheduled to last ten minutes. in just about an hour we'll be live. as long as the situation in ukraine allows for it. this will be the first such address to a country in asia. since the invasion started a few weeks ago, president zelenskyy has taken time to speak directly to national legislators around the world. thanking them for support and asking people to do more to help. and zelenskyy's previous addresses he's been masterful in his ability to make the current conflict relatable. and appeal to each country's conscience. for example, when he addressed the united states congress, he compared russia attacks to 9/11. and pearl harbor.

and spoke to germany. urging to tear down russia's new wall. echoing the fall of the berlin wall. we expect to hear the same message from zelenskyy in a little more than an hour here in japan. over the past few weeks, in what has beenen usual response from tokyo, we have seen tokyo quickly step up the international role as the invasion triggered a more assertive foreign policy response from japan. response not just aimed at russia but also china. in line with the united states and other nations, japan imposed significant sanctions against russia and belarus. and joined the call to cut russia from the swift banking system. japan is also provided about $100 million worth of humanitarian aid and rules to deliver defense equipment to the ukrainian people. when prime minister heads to brussels here later tonight, to attend a summit, we expect more

sanctions and more humanitarian aid to be announced. rose mary. >> all right. live from tokyo. many thanks for that. the search continues for what caused a boeing jet to crash on a routine flight in china. we will have the latest on the investigation and why officials say answers may be hard to find. you put on your septic system. but rid-x does. in a 21 month h study, scientists proved that rid- x reduces up to 20% of waste build up everyry month. take the pressure off with rid-x.

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welcome back, everyone. the first black woman nominated

to the u.s. supreme court is defending her record amid- tough questions from republican senators. judge ketanji brown jackson has wrapped up her second day of confirmation hearings. she refused to lay out a specific judicial philosophy. she approaches cases without imposing her personal opinions. republican senator josh haully led the attack on her judgment and light sentences. in child pornography chases. he's what jackson told the senator. >> what do yo say to people who say you're soft on crime? or even antilaw enforcement. because you accepted your duty as a public defender. >> as someone who has had family members on patrol and in the line of fire, i care deeply

about public safety. i know what it's like to have loved ones who go off to protect and serve and the fear of not knowing whether or not they're going to come home again. >> jackson returns for more questions in the day ahead. cnn will of course bring you live coverage throughout the day. investigators in china trying to find out any evidence that may help them determine why a boeing aircraft fell from the sky and crashed in the city. of the 132 passengers on board, officials say no survivors have been found so far. they also haven't been able to find the planes block boxes containing critical information on the flight last minutes. at least one person is dead after a massive tornado tore through parts of louisiana. the storm hit near the city of

new orleans. on tuesday night. video taken from the ground shows just how big the twister was. it touched down near the eastern part of the city. leaving behind major damage and some arerere. and adds you can see the tornado flipped cars and shredded homes. search and rescue spent much of the night combing through the debris. earlier, cnn don lemon spoke with the president of one of the hardest hit areas about what he's seeing on the ground. >> we had a large tornado come over the river. started in the south area. and just cut all the way through the lake side. we have multiple homes. we don't know how many. we have some homes that were levelled. we have homes lifted up and put back down on the street. we have one confirmed death.

we have multiple injuries that were reported at the hospital. we don't have a number often that yet. or a number of homes. tonight we're looking at rescue and recovery. fire department and sheriff deputies will be out all night. >> the twister was part of a larger storm system that swept through texas and oklahoma. on monday. that system is making its way east with a tornado watch in effect for parts of alabama and florida. thank you so much for joining us. i will be back with another hour of breaking news coverage after the short break. stay with us. you can sell your n a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realalized 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'n't cancl or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or

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