. warm welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church in atlanta. we are following breaking news coverage of the war in ukraine. just ahead. >> it breaks my heart, hearts of all ukrainians and every free person on the planet. >> russian forces are indeed committing war crimes in ukraine. >> how much more war crime you want to see if you will continue to subserve and not fight against the war. >> if freedom has a name, its name is ukraine and the

ukrainian flag is the flag of freedom today. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. it is march 24th, one month since russia invaded ukraine. this hour u.s. president joe biden is scheduled to arrive at nato headquarters for the first of a series of emergency summits. nato is set to deploy more battle groups to protect the alliance's eastern flank and will send kyiv equipment to defend against biological, chemical or nuclear weapons. the gh g7 and european council will consider more sanctions. president biden will travel to poland to highlight the growing refugee crisis there and he will hold a bilateral meeting on saturday. the u.s. took a major step and formally declared that russian forces have committed war crimes in ukraine.

as russia's attacks increasingly strike civilian targets. we are tracking more reports of fighting on the ground. in the last few hours ukraine's navy says a large russian ship has been destroyed in the country's southeast. this as we see more signs of progress. a senior u.s. official says ukrainians have pushed back russian forces 21 miles in one day. northwest of the capitol cnn teams witnessed this barrage of outgoing fire. ukrainian forces have been fighting to take back territory from russian troops in irpin. the mayor says ukrainian forces now control 80% of the city and we're now seeing the carnage left behind in other ukrainian cities after days of fierce fighting.

niece these are the images coming out of the east of the country where bodies were seen in the streets amid the widespread destruction. we're getting video from the hard-hit city of mariupol. we want to warn you, some of it is graphic. this video was filmed by someone driving through the city and you can see the streets filled with debris as the sound of sporadic gunfire rings out. there is a body near a burned out car, then you see more debris as the driver quickly speeds away. there's even more evidence of russia's relentless assault on mariupol. this time a scene from the air. this drone video showing the absolute devastation left behind by weeks of heavy bombardment. ukraine's president issued this warning about russia's intentions. >> russia is trying to defeat the freedom of all people in

europe, of all the people in the world. it tries to show that only crude and cruel force matters. it tries to show that people do not matter as well as everything else that make us people. that's the reason we all must stop russia. the world must stop the war. >> and for more on these developments we have phil black in lviv, ukraine. kevin liptak is traveling with the president in brussels and natasha bertrand is at nato headquarters. good to see you all. natasha, let's start with you. president zelenskyy, we've seen him. he has been appealing to lawmakers all around the world. how far will nato lawmakers go when they meet to discuss additional support for ukraine? >> reporter: it's so unclear, rosemary. we expect president biden to make an appeal to the nato

member countries to keep sending the lethal equipment so it can defend itself. president zelenskyy is expected to address the nato leader summit virtually. he will be making the plea for more defensive systems they can use against russia. i think it's important to remember this is a very fraught topic because the west did not necessarily anticipate the ukrainian military to remain standing for this long. they expected them to take the view of kyiv. supporting a large ukrainian military for this long has become very difficult. so the question of increasing that weapons supply and even keeping the weapons flowing is going to be top of mind. the ukrainians need antiammunition, antiair systems and javelin, antitank systems. they need a lot in order to defend themselves against the

russians. one of the big questions we've been asking is what the red line is for nato to potentially get involved in the conflict. staltenberg said the use of weapons of mass destruction by russia would result in very severe consequences, something he reiterated when he arrived at nato head quarters, take a listen. >> president putin has made a big mistake. that was to launch a war, to wage war against an independent sovereign nation and ending use of chemical weapons would fundamentally change the nature of the conflict. it will be a blatant violation of international law and it will have widespread and severe consequences. >> so obviously the nato alliance is not previewing what the consequences would be if they did use the weapons of mass

destruction but it's very clear here that this is top of mind for them that they do feel russia given how unpredictable they have been and given how putin might have a propensity to do this, they want to be prepared for every potential contingency, rosemary. >> kevin, what's the extent of the sanctions that president biden is proposing for moscow? how far might efforts go to cover russian energy? >> reporter: well, the president does plan to expand the list of russians that are under sanction while he's here in brussels, including oligarchs, members of the russian parliament. and the president very importantly also wants to plug holes in some of the existing sanctions that would help people who are already on the list evade punishment. now the leaders of the g7, they are starting to arrive here. we saw the french president emmanuel macron arrive. that will be a discussion when

the group meets later today. the whole reason the president came here is to under score this unprecedented unity between the western allies on the sanctions, on this resolve and confronting vladimir putin and more importantly to ensure as the allies reach some of the limits on the sanctions they're able to manage the limits going forward in order to sustain the pressure on vladimir putin. some will be on display front of mind when the president meets at the european council where i am later today and the question of european dependence on russian energy will be a main topic of discussion. president biden has been nudging european leaders to reduce their dependence on energy. the united states banned imports of russian oil and gas. that's something that's a lot harder to do in europe where countries are much more depend derc

dent on it. we're told there has been a very intense back and forth with officials on this topic in the leadup to this summit. yesterday the eu chief did say that she wanted the u.s. to commit to help to provide europe with natural gas for the next two winters. we expect president biden before he departs some help in easing the burden there. another question in all of this is whether it will affect vladimir putin. looking on from moscow at this series of summits, whether he will still see this unprecedented unity that you've seen or where he'll see some cracks somewhere. certainly the president in coming over here hopes to smooth over some of those differences whilf it. as you were speaking of course canada's prime minister trudeau arriving there for this nato meeting. phil, let's go to you. you're there live in lviv.

ukraine's navy says a large russian ship has been destroyed in the russian occupied port of budyansk. >> reporter: you're right. pictures from this morning show there has clearly been a large explosion. the ukrainian navy says a ship was destroyed. it was 7 a.m. that ukrainian military destroyed this ship, damaging two others. they say a few tank was also destroyed and a fire spread to an ammunitions endeavor. what we don't know is how they did it? what weapons did they use to destroy this russian navy

vessel, rosemary? >> extraordinary images there. what other news from across the country? >> reporter: well, it seems that the town of izyim ha the town of destruction there. this is one local man's walking tour through the aftermath of this fighting. he's visibly shocked and disturbed by what they're seeing in izyum. this was the site of a ukrainian counterattack. we don't know what the status of that particular conflict is there. kyiv, around the capitol, we've been talking about ukrainian gains there. counterattacks that have clawed back territory from the russians, notably to the west

and northwest. according to the u.s. defense official we've heard they've made significant gains to the east really pushing russia back a fair distance in one day fighting although the ukrainians are yet to acknowledge any knowledge on that front. >> phil black, natasha bertrand and katheryn liptak, thank you. still to come, a look at western efforts to cut their dependence on russian oil and what that cocould mean for the price of oil. upupload your logo or start your design today at customink.com

we are following president biden's trip to europe where he will speak with nato allies in the coming hours. joining me now to discuss this, timothy garden ash. fellow at saint anthony's college at oxford university. good to have you with us. >> good morning. >> so russia's president putin has certainly been shocked by the solidarity shown by nato and the eu in the midst of his brutal war on ukraine. how critical was this unity in response to putin?

how long will it likely last given the pressures that lie ahead? >> i think unity has been enormously impressive. europeans have woken up with how much they still depend on the united states for their defense. the eu unity has been impressive. unprecedented package of sanctions that you're already se seeing. one is about energy imports from russia. eu member states have paid more than 20 billion euros, $22 billion to russia for oil and gas imports and the eu is divided about whether to stop that, have an embargo. the second is president zelenskyy keeps asking the eu to accept that ukraine will one day be a member of the eu, and i'm

afraid, i think it's a pity, that eu states are still divided on that. there are at least two big divides possible. >> let's tackle that. i wanted to ask you what should come out of the emergency nato sump mitt in terms of sanctions when it comes to russia's energy sector. as you mentioned, there's a reluctance on the part of some nato countries to go that far given they're still buying russian oil and gas because they are so reliant on it. >> roughly 1/3 has a primary energy supply from russia so it's a hell of an ask to say you should stop it overnight. nevertheless, i think and a growing number of people in europe feel that it is just totally unacceptable that 20 billion euros have flowed effectively into vladimir putin's war chest while he's

wagging a war of terror in ukraine. so i think pressure is building up to have an economy on a war footing. a big ask. i think that's what should happen and that would certainly be very, very strong message to vladimir putin. >> right. the u.s. is planning to help in that regard in providing assistance. ukraine's president zelenskyy wants them to go further with a no fly zone and aircraft that he's been requesting. that's not going to happen. u.n. secretary general ian staltenberg said that's not going to happen. how far should they go and how far do you think it will eventually go?

>> everything now depends on the ability of the ukrainians with their openly extraordinary civil resistance to hold off the russians and increase the costs to vladimir putin. the issue i think is not so much the no fly zone which nato is not going to do but things like getting in more anti-attack missiles fast, more anti-aircraft defenses, the more sophisticated anti-aircraft defenses. we simply have to get inasmuch as possible of the most relevant equipment as fast as possible. some eu member states are dragging their feet and others are way ahead in making really enormous military supplies to ukraine. >> yeah, indeed. we've seen that already. timothy, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your perspective. appreciate it.

well, as we mentioned, cutting dependence on russian energy will be a major priority for u.s. and european officials meeting this week in brussels. the white house says there's been an intense back and forth on how to accomplish that. the threat of new sanctions on russia has sent oil prices higher of late and on wednesday brent crude jumped 5% after russia said a major oil pipeline could be out of service for more than a month due to storm damage. two more major companies are cutting ties with russia in protest over the war in ukraine. swiss multi-national nestle says it's stopping sales of nesnesqu and renaud. despite the growing business pullouts, the moscow stock

exchange has reopened for the first time in almost a month. partial trading has resumed in 33 stocks including major names like gazprom, lukoil and vtp bank. the white house calls it a charade. cnn's emma stewart is live this hour in london with more. good to see you, anna. so as we mentioned, moscow's stock exchange partially resumed trading today. how is this looking? is this a charade? >> reporter: you would expect to see a massive selloff here. and in the last day of trade right after the russian invasion of ukraine, you saw the main stock index fall by 33% and yet after lots of western sanctions, after we've seen a real toll be taken on the russian economy and they're trading nearly 10% higher, it was higher than that earlier this morning. why? there certainly is partial

trading today. only 15% of the stocks on the index are actually trading. short selling has been banned. foreign investors are not allowed to sell their shares and that's certainly what she was talking about. he says what we're seeing is a sh raid. this is not a real market and not a sustainable model and it really only under scores russia's situation. what you cannot obscure is the economic pinch everyday russians will be feeling in russia. the high street, the ruble has lost so much of its value and inflation is so high. rosemary? >> as we've been discussing, some european countries are feeling the pressure to stop purchasing russian energy and become less dependent on it which is difficult to do

overnight, and this as president putin is asking for payment for gas in rubles. what all can you tell us about this? >> it's interesting. last week the eu vice commissioner said that actually russia is using europe's reliance on energy against them. they haven't called on the u.s. and u.k. to cut off all ties meaning no embargo there. really interesting last night president putin suggested he wants unfriendly countries, which of course would be the eu and the u.s. to pay for their gas contracts with rubles. that would almost certainly be a breach of contract. he said the announcement to pay rubles is a breach of contract. we will discuss it with our european partners how to deal with it. this is an attempt to try and shore up its ruble which has lost so much of value. it is unlikely that would be

allowed. we get to that issue. europe is so reliant on russia for energy, it's not in a position. >> anna stewart joining us live from london. thank you for that. we're following news from the korean peninsula. north korea has fired a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile into the southeast japan s sea. this is called a serious threat to the korean peninsula and the international community. we'll continue to follow the story. nato says the number of russian soldiers killed in ukraine could be in the thousands. after the break we'll have the latest estimates as to why russia isn't taking calls from the united states.

some home fragrances can be... overwhelming. air wick fresh new day fills your space with fragrance that's alwaways fresh, never overpowering. air wick. connect to nature. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term polic- for an immediate cash payment. call coventr direct to learn morewe thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. our friend sold their policy to help pay their medical bills, and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned we could sell all of our policy, or keep part of it with no future payments. who knew? we sold our policy. now we can relax and enjoy our retirement as we had planned. if you have $100,000 or

more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance.

how not to be a hero: because that's the last thing they need you to be. you don't have to save the day. you just have to navigate the world so that a foster child isn't doing it solo. you just have to stand up for a kid who isn't fluent in bureaucracy, or maybe not in their own emotions. so show up, however you can, for the foster kids who need it most— at helpfosterchildren.com this is elodia. she's a recording artist. 1 of 10 million people that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. and this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students we're connecting throughout the next 10. through projectup, comcast is committing

$1 billion so millions more students, past... and present, can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities. we are just minutes away from u.s. president biden's arrival at u.n. headquarters. we're also following reports of a russian warship attacked in the southeastern ukrainian port

of berdyansk. the large ship was destroyed and we will of course bring you more information on this as we get it. and we should warn you, this next video is graphic. on wednesday the u.s. formally declared the russian military had committed war crimes in ukraine. this video is from the hard-hit city i have mariupol. you can see damaged cars and several bodies. the driver of the vehicle had to speed away when it apparently came under fire. and this is the town of zemtemere west of the capitol. the city of kharkiv lies very close to the russian border and has endured weeks of attacks. the mayor says nearly 1,000 residential structures have been

destroyed. u.s. defense officials say moscow has unleashed 1200 missiles in the past month. despite the assaults the ukrainians are not backing down. nato officials say between 7 and 15,000 russian soldiers have been killed since the war against ukraine started. that number is an estimate gleaned from reports from both sides of the conflict and according to the pentagon, russian military and defense officials have so far declined to engage with their u.s. counterparts. something the pentagon described as critically important. top american officials haven't spoken with those russians since before the invasion despite a functioning deconfliction line between the two countries. russia had no problem, however, notifying the u.s. embassy in moscow that it would expel multiple american diplomats. the move comes after they

decided to expel 12 russian diplomats. nina dos santos joins us. the russian officials refusing to engage with the united states. >> the backdrop is a very interesting report, exclusive report obtained by our colleague, barbara starr who covers the pentagon in washington, d.c., which appears to show a readout of the meeting between the two u.s. defense attaches who remain anonymous and their russian counterparts not that long ago during which obviously one of the u.s. military attaches referred to one of their intermediaries as family in ukraine and they appeared to show exasperation and saying they were very depressed about the situation in ukraine and went off script. it appears there are various

indications that morale is quite low with the russian military. we have the diplomatic tensions between the diplomacy channels between the united states and with russia with russia saying they're going to be expelling u.s. diplomats. all the while it appears as though russian military casualties are mounting by the day although getting a firm picture on exactly how many casualties there may be is quite, quite difficult at this point. some estimates range from between 7,000 to just over 15,000 for the ukrainian army. nato appears to also corroborate this. nato thinks if you account for the number of russian soldiers who are missing in ukraine that may have been captured or wounded, we're talking about numbers that are largely closer to 40,000. if that is the case, obviously that would be a deep embarrassment to vladimir putin.

it would mean that these numbers are far, far more deadly than the first chechnyian war or the campaign in the late 1970s that russia engaged in in afghanistan. the backdrop as well, rosemary, we're also seeing the man in charge of the russian army, the defense minister of russia, he's been missing in action for about 12 days. nobody really knows where he is. there's been question marks over his recent health so lots of questions here about the scale of the casualties on the russian side and also where diplomacy is headed at this point. >> nina dos santos joining us from london. many thanks. if nato's estimates are correct, russia's war casualties after one month in ukraine may be as high as all ten years of the soviet afghan war in the 1980s. cnn's nic robertson has that story. >> reporter: nearly 43 years ago

moscow ordered troops into afghanistan. over the following decade some 15,000 soviet red army soldiers would die there. their war and eventual retreat led to the collapse of the soviet union. today the death toll of russian troops in ukraine could already match those killed over 10 years in afghanistan. 498 dead in the first week of war according to russia's defense ministry and despite no update since, nato officials say after a month of fighting the russian death toll is now as many as 15,000. across dozens of russian cities more than 50,000 people have been arrested for protesting the war. recently anxious parents of troops have gun showing up. putin's achilles heel is the

perception soldiers are dying unnecessarily. it's why his title reporting laws swamped russia with kremlin prop pagan dampt they show off battlefield gains like knocking out russian tanks and capturing russian soldiers. they know what pressure back home got the red army out of afghanistan. what sucked for the soviets in the '80s bass the afghan's determination to fight for the homeland and that the united states provided them with stinger surface-to-air missiles. this turned the tide of the war. russian helicopters were easy prey. they lost air superiority and with it the will to endure high casualties and anger back home. two years after an ignominious

pullout. it empowered the ailing soviet decade and communist rule collapsed. afghan parallels with war in ukraine are clear. like the afghans, the ukrainians are ferociously battling to save their homeland against moscow's army. the u.s. is supplying the afghan army with stinger missiles with success. they're making it that way and they're being very smart how they're marshalling and using their resources. >> javelin missiles are helping keep putin's army at bay. russia's enemy, if not russia, have learned the lessons of afghan war. no one yet predicting the collapse of putin's power. nic robertson, cnn, brussels.

and this just coming in to cnn. russian state media reports that the military is now claiming to have taken control of the city of izyum southeast of kharkiv which has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent days. it cites the russian defense ministry. ukraine though has not yet commented on that claim. back here in the united states the tough questions are over for judge ketanji brown jackson. next comes the vote for the first black woman ever nominated to the u.s. supreme court. plus, any moment now u.s. president joe biden will arrive at nato headquarters nfor a meeting on the ukraine conflict. we'll bring you that live when it happens. do stay with us on cnn.

this is how you imagine your dishwasher. but it may not be as clean as you think. built up grease and limescale could be hiding in your pipes. try finish dishwasher cleaner its al action formula hygienically cleans hidden limescale and grease in. finish. clean dishwasher. clean dishes.

with mucinex all-in-one you've got unbeatable relief from your worst cold and flu symptoms. so when you need to show your cold who's boss, grab mucinex all-in-one... and get back to your rhythm. ♪ don't play around with cold and flu symptoms. behold...unlimited wireless for only 30 bucks. that's pretty cool, but you know what's cooler? saving up to 400 bucks! exactly. and if we really want to take it up a notch... get all that and nationwide 5g included. oh nice shot, send that to me. i got you. break free from the big three and get connected to the nations most reliable 5g network.

get the new samsung galaxy s22 series on xfinity mobile. and right now, save big with up to $750 off a new samsung device. switch today.

u.s. president has ordered flags at the white house and other federal buildings to be flown at half staff to honor the late madeleine albright. the first woman to serve as secretary of state died wednesday after battling cancer. born in prague, czechoslovakia, albright and her family immigrated in 1978. she was appointed secretary of state almost 50 years later by then u.s. president bill clinton. she pushed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and to expand nato. albright championed human rights and female solidarity famously warning over the years, quote, there is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women. albright was a strong proponent of global democracy but in 2020 when then president donald trump refused to admit he lost the election, she noted that even advanced democracies like the u.s. remain a work in progress.

>> democracy is both fragile and resilient and we are seeing both sides at the moment, but the resiliency of democracy and the capability of democracy to correct itself, and that's why there's going to be a lot of work to do. >> u.s. president joe biden issued a lengthy tribute saying in part madeleine was always a force for goodness, grace and decency, and for freedom. the u.s. senate judiciary is expected to vote april 4th on judge ketanji brown jackson -- we're going to go to boris johnson, the prime minister of the united kingdom. let's go to the british prime minister now. >> to help the ukrainians. i think the faster this thing can be over. thank you very much. >> clearly we just missed what he had to say, but boris johnson there. the british prime minister having just arrived at nato

headquarters. they are to have a meeting. 30 nato members will meet and discuss ukraine's war there with russia. of course, russia having invaded ukraine and they are looking to come up with additional military support for ukraine and sanctions as well. the u.s. senate judiciary committee is expected to vote april 4th, as we were saying, on judge ketanji brown jackson's nomination to the court. with republicans lining up in opposition, her confirmation vote will be likely the closest in history. >> reporter: as the questioning of supreme court nominee ketanji brown jackson winds down, republicans seem to be ramping up their criticisms of her judicial record. her sentence ing a flashpoint. she gave offenders supervision

rather than jail time. >> do you think it's a bigger deterrent to take somebody who's on a computer looking at sexual images of children in the most disgusting way. >> no, senator, i didn't say verses. >> that's exactly what you said. >> congress has directed courts to consider various means to achieve deterrence, one of them, as you've said, is incarceration. another as i tried to mention was substantial periods of supervision once the person -- >> so if i could -- >> jackson tried to cut off the questioning when pressed again by ted cruz. >> you sentenced him to 28 months y.? >> senator, i've said what i'm going to say about these cases. no one case can stand in for a judge's entire record. >> okay. but i'm discussing every one of the cases. if you're not going to -- >> senator, would you please let her respond.

>> no, not if she's not going to answer my question. >> an in depth review shows judge jackson mostly followed the sentencing guidelines. and a group of retired federal judges including two republican appointees sent a letter saying jackson's letter on sentencing is entirely consistent with decisions from judges around the country. republicans have not found that reason satisfactory continuing to press their belief that jackson is, quote, soft on crime. >> there's at least a level of empathy that enters into your treatment of a defendant that some could view as maybe beyond what some of us would be comfortable with with respect to administering justice. >> jackson shot back that she sentences in a way that is tough but also compassionate and later she turned emotional. >> you faced insults here that were shocking to me. actually, not shocking. don't worry, my sister, don't

wo worry, god has got you. and how do i know that? because you're here. >> and judge jackson made some news of her own. for the first time she pledged that if confirmed she will recuse herself from an affirmative action case involving harvard that will be heard by the supreme court sometime in the fall. jackson serves on harvard's board of overseers. there was question if she could fairly hear the case. now we know she will not be part of the panel to consider the case. still to come, a norwegian paramedic said he had to do something to help people escape from the war in ukraine. we will have more on the life saving service he and others are offering. infused with natural esessential oils into a mist. air wick essenential mist. connect to nature.

-hey. -h-hi. whoa, nice car. thanks, yeah. i actually got a great deal on it too, although my interest rate is awful. have you checked your credit? i got like a ee score from some app or something like that. but lenders don't even e that score. creditrepair.com has a free credit snapot that can show you exactly what's hapning with your credit score. and killing my interest rates. wellgreat seats though. -thank you. -like really. just knowing your score won't improve it. instead, work to actually fix your credit with creditrepair.com.

♪ i'm getting vaccinated with prevnar 20. so am i. because i'm at risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. i'm asking about prevnar 20. because there's a chance pneumococcal pneumonia could put me in the hospital. if you're 65 or older you may be at increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. prevnar 20 is approved in adults to help prevent infections from 20 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. in just one dose. even if you've already been vaccinated with another pneumonia vaccine, ask your doctor if prevnar 20 could help provide additional protection. don't get prevnar 20 if you've had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. adults with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects were pain and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, fatigue, headache, and joint pain. i want to be able to keep my plans. that's why i chose to get vaccinated with prevnar 20. because just one dose can help protect me from pneumococcal pneumonia. ask your doctor or pharmacist

about getting vaccinated with prevnar 20 today. 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 brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. the international rescue committee says it has the fastest displacement crisis. more than 3.6 million people

have already fled ukraine. there are countless others still trying to escape russian attacks. one norwegian volunteer paramedic makes daily trips to ukraine to help as many people as he can flee to poland. cnn's ed lavandera has his story. >> reporter: air raid sirens no longer startle dedrick. >> the sirens are telling us it's no danger anymore. with that he eases the nerves of a mother and her two children he's picked up at the train station. tonight he will drive them to poland. he struggles to explain how a 27-year-old from norway has found himself driving an ambulance through the streets of lviv. >> that's the most difficult question, actually. >> reporter: he's part of a volunteer team evacuating critically ill hospital patients and refugees from ukraine. >> i wanted to help do

something. not sit at home and look at everything on the tv. >> reporter: most days he drives into poland with an ambulance full of medical supplies and distributes loads to hospitals with grave shortages. want to go live to brussels now. you're looking at these pictures out of brussels where u.s. president joe biden and u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin and u.s. secretary of state antony blinken are attending an extraordinary nato summit to discuss russia's invasion of ukraine. president biden is among those who have just arrived is my understanding. nato leaders would, of course, discuss the ongoing deterrence and defense efforts and are expected to conclude with the announcement of more sanctions on moscow but first president

biden will of course address the gathering. want to go to kevin liptak. we've been watching the arrival of leaders from all around the world to this nato summit and of course the expectations are that they will lend more help in terms of sanctions and military support, but we can't be too high with our expectations, can we? >> reporter: well, no. certainly what the president was hoping for in convening this in-person summit here in brussels was to underscore the unprecedented unity that you've seen among allies up until now. what you're seeing is also that the west is testing the limits of how far certain countries will go in punishing russia and that has to do with the european dependence on russian energy. that's something that the president is expected to discuss later today but certainly what

the president was hoping for was this very dramatic visit. when you think about these types of summits, rosemary, ordinarily organizers have months and months to kind of come up with what the leaders will announce at the end of the summit, the so-called deliverables. this time president biden made known only about a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to meet these leaders face to face in person here in brussels. you've seen the u.s. and european officials scrambling to put together a package of something they can announce at the end of the summit. you see him walking into the nato headquarters alongside the secretary general i ian stoltenberg. they've gathered inside the doorstep of nato. we'll see if president biden stops, that's something of a tradition for leaders to stop there, whether they want to or not. earlier we did see the canadian prime minister. let's just see if he -- he's

walking past the microphones. didn't stop to speak at the microphones walking further into the headquarters alongside the secretary general. the president will want to ensure that these allies are on the same page as they're going forward. one of the things he also wants to do is sort of manage these differences that do exist between the countries to ensure that they're able to sustain the pressure campaign on russia going forward. one of the big announcements we expect the president to say today, bolstering nato's defense posture along the flank both in the short term of the defense battalions being sent to the southern countries along the eastern flank but also in the long term, they're tasking defense ministers to come up with plans to bolster the forced posture on the eastern flank on a more permanent basis to try and really emphasize the commitment to those countries that are closest to russia, that

the defense alliance has their back so the defense ministers will kind of come up with plans there, report back. when nato meets in madrid, they will meet and make a decision then. these are high stakes meetings. high stakes for president biden. high stakes for europe and high stakes for the world. the real question looming over all of this is what the take away will be for vladimir putin. watching from moscow, will he see a united alliance? certainly president biden's goal is to smooth over whatever differences exist and ensure the alliance remains united going forward. >> still got the camera on president biden there with the secretary general. the expectation is biden will push some of these european leaders to become less dependent on russian energy.

very important. let's talk about that because some still paying president putin for oil and gas in russia, but what sort of effort is the u.s. going to make in terms of giving some relief to these nations that really feel that they have no other options? >> yeah. that's going to be a topic of major discussion once the president leaves nato and comes to where i am to the european council, we also just learned the president will meet with the eu chief tomorrow morning here in brussels. something that she said yesterday was that she's looking to the united states to help bolster european gas supplies for the next two winters. really to help wean the continent off of its dependence on russian energy. we expect the difference between the two sides, intense back and

forth between u.s. and european officials about how to accomplish this. you remember the united states actually banned russian oil and gas imports. that's something that is much more difficult here in europe, far more dependent on russian energy and what the president hopes to accomplish when he meets these leaders is to at least get to the same page in trying to head to this direction. you did hear, for example, yesterday the german chancellor say that they can't take steps that would punish their own countries instead of punishing russia so you really do still hear a lot of reticence from the president. the president's goal is to reassure that they are able to do that and provide united states support to backfill these supplies as they make the transition. rosemary. >> the problem is whilst they still buy russia's oil and gas, they're providing putin with a life line, aren't they? >> i mean, they really are and

the united states when they cut off its imports it wasn't -- didn't have a huge effect. the u.s. doesn't import all that much energy from russia. would have a much greater effect if europe follows suit. >> cnn white house reporter kevin liptak many thanks for joining us. i'm rosemary church. thank you for your company and "early start" is coming up next. this is cnn breaking news. i'm john berman in lviv in western ukraine. more coming up from here in a few minutes. i'm wolf blitzer reporting live from brussels, belgium. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. an important day, an historic day about to unfold here just moments ago