powering possibilities™. this is cnn breaking news. hello and welcome to our viewers around the world and in the united states this hour. i'm hala gorani live in lviv, ukraine. it is just past 6:00 in the morning in this western ukrainian city, and we begin this hour with new reports of heavy fighting north of kyiv, the capital. but ukrainian forces say they are recapturing territory east

of the capital, reversing some previous russian' gains. we have some new video from irpin, northwest of kyiv, showing huge clouds of smoke and buildings on fire. you see the extent of the devastation there. the mayor tells cnn the city has come under heavy rocketfire from russian forces, but that ukraine's army still controls about 80% of the town. then in the southeast, we have new video from mariupol along the southern coast showing a downed power line tower. streets littered with debris and apartment complexes reduced to rubble. it is just absolutely scenes of devastation there. russian forces have been pounding this city for weeks. nearly every single building in the area has been destroyed or damaged. and a u.s. assessment concludes ukrainian forces were likely behind the attack on a russian warship in the port city occupied by the russians.

ukraine claims that the ship was destroyed. you see a big plume of smoke and an active fire there, and that two others that turned around in a hurry and left the area were damaged in this attack. now, the fighting in ukraine did not stop while u.s. and european leaders gathered for three emergency summits in brussels. the meetings produced a stern warning to russia against using chemical weapons in ukraine. the u.s. unveiled new sanctions on more than 300 russian lawmakers, and president joe biden said he supports expelling russia from the next g-20 summit in november. at the end of the day, the clear message was that western leaders are united in their support for ukraine. >> putin was banking on nato being split. my early conversation with him in december and early january was clear to me he didn't think we could sustain this cohesion. nato has never, never been more united than it is today.

putin is getting exactly the opposite what he intended to have as a consequence of going into ukraine. >> well, our international diplomatic editor nic robertson is live this hour in brussels. and what a difference one american president makes because we'll remember, of course, under donald trump, so much nato skepticism and criticism of big international organizations and multilateralism. and here, we have a pretty united front from western nato and eu countries, nic. >> yes, this is, you know, a reset, a difference. that's what president biden promised to bring. he promised to be, you know, a -- a standard bearer, if you will, for democracy and has found himself at the center and leading the unity of democracies against an autocrat on the charge trying to overrun a

would-be democracy in the country next to him, in ukraine. president biden came to brussels with that express purpose of making sure that there was unity, making sure that all the efforts that have been put in place so far, like sanctions, like ramping up nato troops on the eastern flank of -- of nato. um, that all of that is continued. that the unity is maintained. that that force that's been put on the eastern flank of nato remains, and that it is -- is continued. further decisions to come from nato on that in june with the leaders' summit in madrid later this year. but i think, you know, you -- you paint the stark contrast where president biden and president trump and we are in an entirely different place. and really, you do have a president of the united states who is leading the sort of democratic world order at the moment. and the message not just for russia to stop fighting this

ukraine, to pull out of ukraine, but for belarus as well not to exacerbate and worsen the situation in ukraine. and a message for china, as well. that they need not to give military and economic support to russia, and that they need to take a position along with the other international -- along with the other democracies in the world. so, this is a much different place, as you say, hala. >> well, it's a united front publicly. but of course, there are some disagreements on the final, perhaps most drastic steps that these alliances can take. one would be imposing a no-fly zone or even a humanitarian assistance zone over western ukraine. we're not there yet. and also, there is this idea of really sanctioning the energy sector as a whole in russia. and you have countries like germany that are opposed to that right now because they truly rely on russian oil, to the extent that -- um -- stopping those shipments would result in,

according to the german chancellor, a real painful recession. >> you have the same message coming from the president of the european council. i spoke also today with the greek prime minister. he said the same thing. there is a limit to the pain that can be put on the populations of the european union. what he alluded to there -- the greek prime minister when i spoke to him -- was, you thknow the potential for unrest and disquiet in populations. he and many of the southern european states are looking for the eu to provide a cap on energy prices at the moment. they need that because they -- it's really hurting their economies. so, the idea that they would willingly worsen that situation by -- um -- by blocking russia's energy, its oil and gas supplies to europe and, thereby, hurting themselves more and putting up those energy prices more. the idea that they would do that, um, it is perhaps, you

know, one of the principal reasons that there weren't those additional sanctions today. so, there are divisions within europe along the eastern flank of nato. they're much more robust. the ideas that we have heard from the polish president that there should be an economic blockade on the land and sea borders with russia. these maximalist approaches from some eu nations and the others, as you say, that are concerned about -- about rising energy costs. that points to divisions within the european union. and then, you have that sense, as well. that the united states suffers less, um, if there's -- if russian oil supplies and gas supplies for europe are blocked. that the united states suffers less from refugees. it suffers less from the humanitarian outfall of what happens in ukraine. and that's partly why we heard president biden saying that the united states will take 100,000 refugees, why the united states will commit, you know, a billion dollars for the humanitarian assistance. but it doesn't, if you will,

really that sense for some nations here in europe that the united states gets to suffer less and that there are gaps and differences. but again, that gets to that point you were talking about before, the importance of president biden's visit. the importance of not being a president, like president trump, and being able to bring and find unity where there is unity. so, you could look at this and say president biden recognized that he couldn't push the eu and nato partners too far, or as far as he would like to go. and i think that is, also, an analysis you can make out from what has happened here, that there aren't a new big raft of sanctions. and that -- and that there are other decisions, um, that could have been taken in terms of military supplies that haven't. and that's because of differences among all the nations here. >> yeah. interesting. angela merkel is gone, so no more female head hes of state at all. i mean, we have ursula von der

leyen, which is not an actual head of state. she is obviously a leader within the eu. um, it's -- it's all men there among the big economies of nato, the nato alliance and the g7. thanks very much, nic robertson, in brussels. the u.s., the united kingdom, and other countries are funneling millions of dollars in armaments into ukraine. ukraine's most recent request is for thousands more anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. but western allies are drawing the line on sending fighter jets. as ukraine's president addressed the nato summit on thursday, he pleaded for a small piece of nato's entire arsenal. >> translator: ukraine has asked for planes so that we don't lose so many people, and you have thousands of warplanes. but we haven't been given any. you have at least 20,000 tanks. ukraine asked for 1%. 1% of all your tanks.

>> well, joining me now from brisbane, australia, is peter leighton. he is a visiting fellow at the griffith asia institute. thanks for being with us. why do you think there is so much hesitation -- um -- on the part of the united states, among other countries, hesitation to provide fighter jets if ukrainian pilots are flying them? where -- what's the concern there? >> i think the concern is, as they say, that -- that nato might be drawn into this conflict. i think that -- that the president's latest call perhaps indicates that there is a change in the war, as well. that the ukrainian forces are -- are starting to take the offensive, and hence the call for additional tanks. >> uh-huh. but what -- what -- i mean, i understand the point about the nato countries not wanting to be drawn into a direct confrontation with russia. but if, for instance, poland, which is supporting the idea, provides fighter jets to ukraine and ukrainian pilots fly

those -- those aircraft. why is that more of a concern than providing, say, anti-aircraft weaponry or -- or rpgs or missiles, that type of thing? >> i think -- i think for the past month, that the -- the nato leadership has been focused on the ukrainians defending their -- their territory. the ukrainians are flying about -- so i understand, about 20 a day with their aircraft, whereas the russians are flying a couple hundred. whether giving the ukrainians additional aircraft would make very much difference is debatable. at the same time, though, nato has decided to -- to put four extra battle groups into -- into the southern nato frontier states. it could be that nato is just about to get serious about resupplying the ukrainians with more than -- than just anti-tank weapons and -- and -- and anti-aircraft missiles, and they are trying to beef up their defenses on the off chance that

russia, at some stage, decides they will hit ukraine's resupply lines. i would, also, say that -- >> so, ukraine -- >> -- that the latest words about -- about the possibilities of the chemical warfare are -- are hinting at some future nato move, as well. >> yeah. i am going to get to that in just a moment. but first, let me ask you about what ukraine is saying it needs in order to enforce its own, quote/unquote, no-fly zone, which we understand nato is not willing to do right now. can they, if they are given enough anti-aircraft weaponry? because there is a difference between a missile that you can, you know, shoulder-launched missile or a weaponry system that you can take low-flying aircraft with with and the type of anti-aircraft weaponry system that you need to hit much higher-flying planes, which the ukrainians don't necessarily have. >> i think they could put up a good air defense zone in the western part of the country. as you say, russian aircraft have to fly very high because

they have effectively run out of the smart weapons, and they are just -- and they are just dropping -- dropping down bombs. so, the ukrainians are clearly getting air defense information out of nato forces. so, they are tracking attacking russian aircraft. it -- it's obviously a judgment call about nato's part whether they feel those extra aircraft would make a difference. at some point, there will be a psychological change, though, where nato feels that they need to -- they need to -- to -- to give them regardless of their concerns over escalation. >> yeah. and, peter, just one last one on the threat of the use of chemical weapons. you started telling us about how nato might be changing its approach to -- to helping ukraine with that threat hanging over -- over the region? >> i think that -- that last night's statement by president biden about that -- that chemical weapons would trigger a response in kind was certainly sending out a red line there.

the u.s. and the -- and the europeans use long-range cruise missiles against syrian forces when they started using chemical weapons against just the forces using chemical weapons. if russia starts using chemical weapons in the ukraine, i think there is a possibility now that nato will use each -- each -- e its military forces for pinpoint attack to in fact take out those russian chemical -- chemical warfare units. >> then, you have what they are trying to avoid, which is a direct confrontation. peter leighton in brisbane, australia, thank you very much for joining us. they are former boxing champs. now, they are fighting for their homeland against the russians. coming up on "cnn newsroom," we speak exclusively to the klichko brothers after the break. and with a clear plan, rayna can enjoy y wherever she's headed next. that's the planning effect, from fidelity.

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falling to the russians, you probably could not find two tougher fighters. kyiv's mayor vitali klitschko and his brother vladimir know how to go toe to toe with an opponent. both are former-world heavyweight boxing champions, and they are vowing to defend their city. cnn's fred pleitgen spoke exclusively with the klitschko brothers. >> reporter: as vladimir putin continues his assault on ukraine, the u.s. believes taking the capital, kyiv, remains russia's main goal. but the city's mayor, former-world boxing champ vitali klitschko vows putin's troops will not enter this town. b we met the mayor and his brother vladimir klitschko, himself a former-boxing champion, in a secret location in kyiv. do you think that you have what it takes to fend them off completely, and that this city will not be taken by russia? >> it's our hometown. we never go to the knee. we don't want to be slaves.

we don't want back to ussr, dictator. we see our country as modern european, democratic country. >> reporter: the klitschkos are on the move 24/7. visiting residential areas shelled by the russian army, sometimes getting emotional when seeing the aftermath of russian attacks. >> putin says he is only targeting military targets. bullshit. sorry. where is military target? >> reporter: comforting those affected by the war, and overseeing the effort to train those looking to confront russian forces. you've really stepped up, and really organized the defense of the city. how did you manage to do that, learn that so quickly, learn it on the fly? >> we don't need to organized. i meet people. very peaceful profession.

actors, musician, doctors. never, ever have idea to take the uniform and take the weapons in their hand. but right now, they in the street and ready to fight. few days ago, one man around 60 years old come to me and ask what i have to do right now? i give him proposal to wait him to my safe zone to west of ukraine. he told, mr. klitschko, my mayor, i don't want to leave my hometown. please, give me weapons. i am ready to defend my family, my lovely kyiv. instead the panic, instead the

demoralization, the people motivate so much and have spirit to defend our future. >> reporter: but they are up against a strong and better-equipped foe, as president biden visits europe to meet nato allies, the klitschkos message is get tougher on putin. what are your demands? what are you guys' needs to continue this fight? >> our will is strong, and it's stronger than any army and any weapon. but we definitely need to close our sky. our civilians and our cities are getting destroyed, and it's continuing while we giving this interview and speaking about it. the fights are still going on. we need supply of the defensive weapons. and you guys just need to stop any economical relation with russia. this way, we will isolate him, make him weaker, and just show

that international law cannot be broken. oil. obviously, the world needs oil and gas. but it's better to pay high price than to pay with lives for that oil. >> reporter: and so, you guys obviously you want a no-fly zone i -- i gather. and aircraft, anti-aircraft systems and the like to beat the russians in the skies. it's one of the most important things, right? >> if you supply us with defensive weapons, we're going to close the skies on our own. we have enough men and women that going to stand for the country, and will defend it as strong, as much as possible and we going to close the sky on our own. we just need the defense equipment for that. >> reporter: vitali klitschko knows joe biden well. the two met in washington, d.c. and in kyiv when biden was the vice president and u.s. front man for ukraine policy in the

obama administration. >> what is your message to joe biden as he comes to europe? >> stay with ukraine. thank you very much for support. support ukraine. with our friends, we are much stronger. it's our future. it's our femreedom. we are ready to fight for that, but we need support for whole democratic world. >> reporter: the klitschkos are international celebrities with massive fan bases in both the u.s. and in europe. and yet, they say for them, there is no other place they want to be than in kyiv despite the dangers. you are some of the prime targets for the russians, you know? to get you. why do you do it? what motivates you? >> it's our homeland. it's our parents here. we grown up. it's our country. it's our home. and simple answer, we have to be here. do you know this expression of roots? our roots are here.

our father that was one of the chernobyl survivors, and he was one of the liquidators in kyiv and he is ukrainian as you could be. our relatives, our friends, every single street reminds us on some memories in life. and that's something that gives you so much strength because the truth is on our side. this is pretty much reminds me like in the fairy tale. the fight between the good and the evil. >> reporter: fred pleitgen, cnn, kyiv, ukraine. >> that was vitali and vladimir klitschko speaking to our fred pleitgen. western leaders are talking in brussels about how to tighten the screws on russia. but the greek prime minister is warning that that may backfire on the eu. his exclusive interview with cnn is ahead.

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well, as the fighting rages in ukraine, western leaders are trying to show that they stand united in brussels. but the greek prime minister is warning about the price tag of sanctions on russia. he gave an exclusive interview to cnn's nic robertson, who joins us again from the belgian capital. nic. >> reporter: yeah, kyriakos mitsotakis is concerned about the rising energy cost in europe at the moment. indeed, he has been a proponent at the european union of trying to find a way to cap those energy costs. not all european union nations feel the same way. he really feels that there should be a much stronger drive for -- for stopping using hydrocarbons and moving towards renewables, like -- like wind,

like solar. um, things that actually greece has in abundance. but that sort of, if you will, undergirds one of the differences in the european union at the moment and as russia potentially puts on pressure on the european union by throttling back gas and oil supplies and european union considers not buying russia's oil and gas as part of a sanctions package, um, this really begins to short of show up some of the differences within the european union. and that's one of the things i talked to him about. but i began by asking him about the mood inside that nato leaders meeting on thursday. >> i -- i -- i am understanding that our world has changed. i think all of us, when we were elected to power, we never contemplated that we have to deal with a war on european soil. this was completely inconceivable. this is exactly what is happening. >> greece has given military support.

>> greece has given not just humanitarian but also military support. we are currently hosting approximately 15,000 ukrainians. we know we have to do much more. but we are a country that we're in the forefront of the refugee crisis of the past. so we are very, very sensitive in terms of making sure that we can provide a safe place for ukrainian refugees, and we will need -- we know that in europe, we all need to do more because the numbers are just going to be overwhelming. >> there's been a lot of talk about possibly blocking imports of oil and gas from -- from russia to the european union. but there are concerns they -- they -- cost of energy in europe is going up. i know that's a concern to greece. you are looking to the european union to find -- to find caps on the cost of energy and a solution for that. is europe -- the european union -- becoming divided under this pressure from russia over the level and type of sanctions it can apply? >> we have put together a massive package of sanctions, unlike anything we have done in

the past. and these sanctions actually do bite. you will see the russian economy contracting by maybe 10%. all the gains that russia has made over the past decade could be eradicated within -- within a year. so, these are very, very significant sanctions. of course, when it comes to energy, we need to be very careful that whatever measures we take don't end up hurting us more than they hurt russia. >> but isn't that the point of sanctions, though? it's sanctions, rather than fighting a war. and the freedoms of ukraine and the freedoms that this war, in s essence, is about, they don't come for free. >> no. >> and that european nations and the united states must expect some economic pain. >> but we are already -- i think we are all already paying -- paying a price. i think we -- we -- we certainly all need to -- to reassess our growth forecast. we're faced with significant inflationary pressures as a result of the war. and energy costs are really hurting, and they are hurting our citizens. at -- at the end of the day, as much as we have allegiance to

support ukraine, we also have an allegiance to our citizens to make sure they do not suffer more than they can actually bear. >> is america getting ahead of the pain europe can bear on this with what america would like to see, president biden would like to see happen? >> i mean the truth is the u.s. is much less dependent on -- on -- on russian gas than -- than europe is. this is a reality, and of course the energy transition now for europe, this is no longer just a climate story. it is a geopolitical story. >> reporter: now, also talked to him about his assessment of president putin's, um, mental acuity, if you will, at the moment. the idea that president putin's officials still leave on the table the threat of use of tactical nuclear weapons, the idea that there are concerns that russia may use chemical weapons. he said that he thought some of that was saber rattling. but at the same time, he said he really hoped that president

putin could understand that there are red lines, bridges to cross from which you cannot come back from. um, he does hope that putin doesn't cross those. um, he is concerned about it but i think it -- it paints that picture that there is still the potential there for president putin to back off, and not be entirely alienated and made a pariah from the international community, although many nations around the table, at nato, at the g7, at the -- at the european -- at the european council leaders' summit today, many nations may feel that. but that is not potentially a united position, yet. there is scope for president putin to back off now, all thou no indication whatsoever that he is going to do it, hala. >> thanks very much, nic robertson, live in brussels. i will have a lot more from lviv, ukraine, at the top of the hour. but firste, let's go to john vause in atlanta. >> hala, thank you.

see you again soon. be for now, we turn our attention to north korea and what appears to be a major escalation of its illicit weapons program. the launch of the biggest icbm ever made by the north and the first such test in five years. this intercontinental ballistic missile was launched vertically, stayed in the air for 71 minutes reaching a maximum altitude of more than 3,700 miles. traveling higher and longer than any previous missile test before crashing into the waters between north korea and japan. if fired on a standard trajectory, experts believe the so-called monster missile could travel more than 8,000 miles. placing over the continental united states within range. south korea responded to the launch with a live fire test of its own missiles from land. a fighter jet and a ship. and along with the u.s. and japan, condemned north korea for violating u.n. sanctions. when we come back, chemical warfare in ukraine sparking all sorts of warnings which are growing louder. warnings have done nothing oh so

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the kremlin may insist the war in ukraine is all going to plan, but the official who is potentially most responsible for the military offensive has all but disappeared. the defense minister had not opinion seen in public for almost two weeks despite being described as the public face of putin's war. a web-based independent news outlet in russia reported he was unwell and after reporters began to ask questions about his whereabouts in recent days, suddenly on thursday, he briefly reappeared on state tv. apparently, attending a meeting but there was no indication when the meeting actually happened. cnn spoke on the issue, who would only say the defense minister is busy. the warpgs from russia to nato, the u.s., and now the g7 are growing louder. the message from the german chancellor was blunt, don't do it. don't use chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons in ukraine. at the g7 summit in brussels, russian' allegations that ukraine is preparing to use

chemical and biological weapons were flatly rejected and after an emergency summit, nato announced it would reinforce defense systems to counter any such attack. the u.s. president continues to insist a russian chemical attack or worse remains a very real threat. >> when the u.s. or nato respond with military action if he did use chemical weapons? >> we would respond. we would respond if he uses it. the nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use. >> cnn security national analyst and a former deputy director of national intelligence for both the trump and biden administrations. she is with us this hour from washington. beth, thank you for being with us. >> thanks. glad to be here. >> so a month into this war, and the russians have failed to achieve their main objectives. the ukrainian resistance has exceeded even the most optimistic assessments. russian military is taking up defensive positions in some places so is it fair to say the ukrainians have won the first

stage? but that only raises concerns about the next stage and what putin is prepared to do? >> well, i don't know if we can really characterize anyone winning at this stage. i mean, certainly they have -- um -- surpassed all expectations. and in that way, they're winning, right? they haven't lost and i think that definitely as a defender, not losing is winning. but really, the danger is that we're entering this new phase of war where we have a stalemate. and -- and it is a more dangerous phase. >> so i want you to listen to nato's secretary general talking about preparations which are being made by the alliance in an event that russia would use chemical or biological weapons. here he is. >> our top military commander, general walters, has activated nato's chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense elements. and deploying additional chemical, biological, and nuclear defenses to reinforce

our existing and new battle groups. >> he added that ukraine will also receive special equipment to deal with a chemical attack. when the talking stops and the doing begins, what does that say about how serious the threat is? >> well, i think it -- it is very serious. i mean, if you look at what's happening right now, the fact that they're actually taking steps to defend against a chemical weapons attack means that to me it's more than just the ongoing russian rhetoric about a potential false flag that the ukrainians might set off a chemical attack against their own people. that is continuing, but there must be more there. and so, i'm guessing, as a former-intelligence official, that there is intelligence that says there is more there even though they don't have anything specific. and so, i think that this is the issue. you know, the summits, the three summits today were amazing in -- in really exposing the genuine

unity. but at the point where russia -- if they are stupid and callous enough to actually set off a chemical weapons attack if they did that, it would put that unity -- the strains on that unity in a -- in a place that we have not seen yet because any response, in my view, would require crossing some red lines. >> yeah, and president biden was very vague in terms of how nato and the u.s. would respond to a chemical weapons attack. i want you to listen to the uk prime minister on the need for ambiguity. here he is. >> i think that if putin were to engage in anything like that, the consequences would be very, very severe. you have to have a bit of ambiguity about your -- about your response. but i think it would be catastrophic for him if he were to do that. >> so, explain the need for ambiguity. why not set everything on the

table? set, you know, the action and the consequences. or they can't do that at this point because there is just not agreement? >> it could be both. i think that, you know, one reason you don't want to put a red line down is that it's very hard sometimes to follow through with those red lines, as we saw with obama in the syrian chemical weapons attack. but i think the other thing is that, as i was saying before, when -- when biden says that he -- it would require a reaction in kind. that doesn't mean that we would use chemical weapons because the united states doesn't have chemical weapons. we got rid of them when the russians were supposed to and they didn't. what it means generally is that you go after the unit, um, that perpetrated that attack. well, that's kind of complicated because if it's dropped by an airplane, those airplanes are coming out of belarus and russia. if you go after a unit, it's going to be a russian unit on the ground. and so, i think any kind of

response that we would do in kind would somehow break the -- um -- the red lines we've already set about the u.s. not being directly engaged. or it might be something like we'll set up the no-fly zone. and if we said that now, people would say, well, why don't you do it now to prevent it from happen happening? without really understandling t that really does put us directly in a fight with the russians. >> very quickly, the u.s. appears to be in the business right now of drawing up the responses in the event of this sort of event taking place, right? >> yeah. for sure. i mean, military's plan all the time but we have this tiger team that the white house set up four days after the invasion. they've gone through all of these. they've got different courses of action as they call them for a range of what these attacks might look like. >> beth, thank you so much. really appreciate your time and your insights. >> thanks so much. ukrainian refugees are finding ways to deal with the

hardships of war. how a simple dance class helping parents and children deal with trauma and loss. that story in a moment. plan at, nina has a plan based on what matters most to her. and she can simply focus on right now. that's the planning effect. from fidelity. allergies don't have to be scary. spraying flonase daily stops your body from overreacting to allergens all season long. psst! psst! flonase all good.

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for all-day comfort and energy. find your relief in store or online. there are so many ukrainian refugees. first there is relief, crossing a border, finally safe from a russian offensive. and then the wave of emotions from sadness, fear, anger, anxiety. no wonder something as simple as means, if only for a moment. cnn went to this dance class in romania for this report. >> reporter: dance therapy for ukrainian moms and their children fleeing war. how was the dancing, igor? >> awesome. >> reporter: you're a very good dancer. >> da. >> reporter: not exactly shy

yegor, 5 1/2 years old. he and his mom are from kharkiv, ukraine's second largest city. suffering indiscriminate russian rockets and artillery attacks since the war started. how are you doing? how is he doing? "i'm playing soldiers," he says. his mom adds, "yes, soldiers. he is always saying air raid." if me and you were playing air raid now, how would we play? "show them how you play," she says. "i'm shooting at a tank, he says, any tank i can hit." how do you explain what is happening in ukraine? "he saw everything," she says. "and now it.

i think he'll play regular games when this over, games like cars and trains." "no, no, says yegor. it will be the same. i like it." they are one of dozens of families being housed by jesuit refugee service and the local children's cancer therapy magic association. >> the mother, they can be tough when they're with their children, but when they come and speak to us privately, they break down. >> you are a very good dancer. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> yelena and sophia, 7 years old, arrived days ago from dnipro. russian attacks have been pushing toward and hitting the strategic dnipro region. the city's population nearly a million. orlova and several of her relatives are now refugees, but not everyone. >> translator: my son is 18 years old," she says. "he has an injured leg, but wasn't allowed to cross the

border. my son is in ukraine." she can barely speak the records. today's dance class a welcome distraction. today this was a stress relief, she says. for two days we didn't eat or sleep and we're grateful to relax. the dance instructor a refugee too. he fled war in cameroon. "i want them to feel joy," he says, "because i know how it is to be in their places. it's very hard. it was very hard for me too." sophia wanted to dance in ukraine, but was too young. today a bit of hope. "my dream," she says, "came true." a simple activity bringing comfort to moms and kids, refugees far from home. miguel marquez, cnn, bucharest.

>> i'm john vause at the cnn center in atlanta. back to hala gorani life in a moment. but we leave you with the music of a 9-year-old playing a message of piece. ♪ ign options. when a normal day is anything but normal, we fit your schedule, with our uniquee tub over tub process, installed in as little as a day. when high quality is the only qualitity that matters, we fit your standards, with a lifetime guarantee. bath fitter. it just fits. visit bathfitter.com to book your free consultation.

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this is cnn breaking news. >> welcome to our viewers around the world and in the united states as well this hour. i'm hala gorani coming to you live from lviv in ukraine. well, there is unfortunately no break in the fighting across the country and around ukraine's capital as authorities report heavy rocket attacks from russian forces. take a look at the latest map. ukrainian forces claim they've recaptured ground east of kyiv, previously occupied by the