but, wolf, i'm okay. especially considering what the people here are dealing with. this is nothing to deal with. but speaking of reporting i am so proud of the reporters here on cnn, cnn international reporters who travel all over the world and do this kind of work all the time and they don't always get the recognition for it. everyone from our ed lavandera to channe amanpour, too many to name. i don't want to leave anyone out. everyone here on cnn international and it has just been, i have been amazed to watch them kick into gear. fred pleitgen, everyone. amazing reporting that they do and again this is what they do every single day they are out here risking their lives and covering the world >> i couldn't agree more. all the years i've been at cnn, i've been watching them. they risk their lives, they are courageous and people don't

always appreciate how dangerous these assignments can be. >> how dangerous and how they do it and when this happens they just kick right into gear and like they are on auto pilot. i wanted to give them some love and appreciation not only from me but from the world who is watching them cover this with elegance and dignity and showing the folks here dignity as well. thank you so much. enjoyed the program. this is "don lemon tonight" here in western ukraine in lviv. this is our breaking news. ukraine's president tonight removing two top generals calling them traitors. >> and today another decision was made regarding anti-heroes. i do not have time to deal with all the traitors but gradually they will all be punished. >> we'll have more on that in just a moment here on cnn and we have no video tonight russian-backed troops firing rocket propelled grenades in

mariupol. nato warning russian forces are not withdrawing but repositioning and the pentagon says there is no indication those forces are going to be sent home so the question is, what will putin do next? president biden saying president putin may be isolated and even putting some advisers under house arrest. >> there is a lot of speculation. but he seems to be, not saying this with certainty, he seems to be self-isolated and there is some indication that he has fired or put under house arrest some of his advisers. >> the president is also saying he is skeptical that putin will withdraw all of his forces from around kyiv and that skepticism

is warranted when you see what is happening in and around the capital. at least two missile strikes, two close to the heart of the city just today. in the suburb of irpin what the mayor calls conscious shelling, continuous shelling excuse me. half the city utterly destroyed and ukrainian forces say even now it is still one of the most dangerous places in the country. towns surrounding the capital the roof completely blown off home after home. any sign of every day lives lived there just blown to bits. look at that video. there are destroyed tanks in the seats in a village near kyiv. that is what remains of a school right there. a few short weeks ago parents sent their children here every day expecting them to be safe. just look at it now. unbelievable. the kharkiv region in the northeast, officials say russian troops have struck 47 times in one day. the southern city of mariupol where russia has already

attacked a maternity hospital, a theater sheltering hundreds of people with the word "children" in russian visible from the sky, and a red cross warehouse. in the wake of that death and destruction, buses that were meant to evacuate some of the remaining residents reportedly held at gun point by russian forces just today russia saying now it will reopen the humanitarian corridor from mariupol to zaporizhzhia tomorrow. more than 100,000 people are still inside mariupol. i want to turn to cnn's fred pleitgen in kyiv and kaitlan collins at the white house this evening. fred, i'll start with you because we are getting new video out of kharkiv showing the aftermath of the intense shelling and also hearing about intensifying air strikes in kyiv. what do you know? >> reporter: yeah. don, the situation in kharkiv is one we've been reporting about quite a bit. it has been catastrophic for a very long time because the russians are essentially trying to encircle that city and have been attacking with heavy

weaponry for an extended period. you were just talking about the fact that the local authorities say the city was shelled 47 times throughout the course of the day. we can see some of that video. just the flames out of the impact craters. what we're hearing from local authorities that it was not just 47 times that the city was shelled today but they had more than 380 rocket impacts that happened so a lot of this is going on from multiple rocket launching systems and that is one of the reasons why you're seeing the big flames and the big craters because they're not just using the smaller version called the grad rocket but also a very heavy rocket launcher apparently, again according to authorities in kharkiv called the smarch system which can shoot 90 kilometers and 300 millimeter rocket so a very powerful weapon. as you can see it is being used in an urban area the ukrainians say and also that there is fighting in other towns around

kharkiv, one of the big focal points of the russians which could also be an indication of their focusing more of their, or shifting more focus toward the east of the country as they seem to be having a lot of trouble around kharkiv. those two missile strikes that took place apparently were precision missile strikes using possibly caliber cruise missiles. those impacted not far from where we are right now. certainly many of the windows were shaking as the missiles struck so the capital is very much under assault as well, don. >> kaitlan collins at the white house, president biden is revealing new information about how isolated vladimir putin is. what do you know about that? >> reporter: he is echoing the intelligence assessments that show putin is very isolated. something the white house believed happened as a result of the covid-19 pandemic basically. his circle grew a lot smaller but they think that is affecting

his decisions and causing a lot of tension between the president and his top military advisers to where they believe as president biden told us earlier today he believes he is firing his senior advisers or placing them under house arrest because he is so displeased with what has been happening in ukraine because of course remember going into this the u.s. had assessed putin believed they could take kyiv in about 72 hours. obviously that has not happened. they have tried. it has been fruitless for them so far. so the white house believes there is a sense of frustration between the president and his military advisers, that he is not really getting the full picture. the president did today when talking to us add a caveat saying this isn't hard intelligence or hard evidence this is just information and intelligence that we've gathered but it does paint a picture of what they believe is happening inside russia and something that has been confirmed by other governments' intelligence agencies including the british foreign secretary saying today putin is frustrated, he didn't know they had conscripts in ukraine. those are the enlistees of course. he didn't know that russia

accidentally shot down one of its own aircraft. things of that nature that are obviously critical to knowing what is happening and getting a complete picture of what is actually happening on the ground and therefore causing this tension between him and his top military advisers, don. >> you know, we've been talking about the cities, irpin you just visited today, a city getting pummeled by russian air strikes. it is horrific. tell us what you saw. >> you're absolutely right. this is one that is still getting very much pummeled by russian strikes, by russian artillery. you see some of the video we filmed today. just look at the destruction there in irpin. it is not only rocket artillery fire and regular artillery fire that is hitting that place. it is also fighting that took place. we have to keep in mind that just a couple weeks ago the russians held almost the entire city. this is really where the assault on kyiv was halted. you'll remember that when this war started the russians moved

very close to kyiv in a very short period of time and this is where the ukrainian forces confronted them. what you see there by the way, some of that was russian tanks that the ukrainians and then there is a fuel truck that the ukrainians say they disabled and completely destroyed. so that is where the assault was halted and if you look now, there are some residents there, really not many, but also a lot of dead bodies still in that area. the authorities there are starting to bring some out. it seems as though there is going to be a lot more. and the mayor of the place says he believes about 50% of the buildings in irpin have been destroyed. to us that seems like he is under estimating things. we saw very few buildings still even somewhat intact. so it is a place where there is a lot of devastation, a place that is still being fired on especially by artillery but at the same time also a place of big pride for the ukrainians fighting there because they had this gigantic, goliath army coming at them. they were out gunned, in many

cases out manned, but they took a stand and are pushing the russian forces back. one thing we did notice is that morale among the ukrainian fighters, the soldiers on the ground there certainly was very high and they say that they are going to continue and push the russians even further back, don. >> oh, boy. it is just heart breaking. kaitlan, the president making an announcement regarding the strategic oil reserves i think gas prices, lowering gas prices. it is an historic action isn't it? >> reporter: it is the biggest release since this strategic reserve was created in the 1970s and this is the way americans are being most directly hit by what is happening in ukraine. it is raising gas prices so president biden is taking this step today and announced they'll release this million barrels a day for six months so ultimately about 180 million barrels of oil they will be releasing. experts say it is only going to have a modest impact on gas

prices. we asked repeatedly today when do you think people can see the effects of what the president is doing here? they didn't really want to put a date on it because they don't seem to think it is going to be that much and industry experts have said they do still think you'll see the record high prices this spring and summer though maybe not as high as they were going to be. the president can only control gas prices so much. it is a global market that sets the price but this is a step president biden can take. they are hoping other countries will join in and take steps in releasing from their emergency reserves as well. it is an acute problem the president is facing obviously causing political issues for the president because even if he only has limited tools people still hold him responsible for it. and the midterms are coming up this fall. the thing is, i think that really stood out the most from what the white house was saying odd is they don't think this problem is going away any time soon. because they've got this six months of these reserves coming out also calling on companies to ramp up domestic production but they say obviously that is not

going to happen in days but would take months to change. >> thank you. know safe. i'll see you both very soon. a senior u.s. defense official telling cnn russia is focusing air strikes on kyiv, the donbas region, and here is what the ukrainian president said about this tonight. >> translator: the situation in the southern direction and in the donbas remains extremely difficult. russian troops are accumulating the potential for strikes. powerful blows. >> joining me now former nato supreme allied commander general wesley clark now a cnn military analyst. general, good to have you on to help analyze some of this stuff. you heard president zelenskyy saying ukrainian military is doing everything they can to stop the invaders.

what is the most effective thing they can do to fight back? >> they need more equipment. first they need air cover. they've got a few aircraft left. maybe less than 50. they need those migs brought in. they need tanks, artillery, lots of munitions. what we have given them so far -- it's worked really well. infantry moved out from kyiv and you see the results. >> we lost your audio. can you repeat? >> sore. we've given them essential equipment. we need to give them the counteroffensive equipment. we don't actually have it. our allies have it in europe. poland has it. bulgaria has it. the ukrainians are asking why can't we get access to the tanks

and artillery and so forego that the polish and bulgarian army seem to, they are willing to give it to us and they want the united states to back fill it. why can't we get that? because ultimately it is not enough to push the russians back. those russian forces are holding there for a reason and they'll be back. you have to have the offensive means -- and annihliate them. that is the way mobile warfare is fought in eastern europe. >> thank you. i didn't mean to interrupt you. but what you are saying is very important and i want our viewers to hear every word. also tonight president zelenskyy is saying that he is removing two top generals because he doesn't have time to deal with all traitors. during war time that is a gut punch. what happened? >> i don't have the inside details, diop. i will try to find those.

we've known from the beginning there were always some people in the ukrainian government, maybe the armed forces, maybe in the intelligence who worked for and report to the other side. it is just natural because the long relationships and i'm sure the ukrainians have their friends in the russian forces. and when they can identify they have to be taken out. it seems to me that is what president zelenskyy has done. >> general, some are questioning whether russia has a central commander on the ground in ukraine. you and others have noted this. it seems they're running their military campaign out of moscow. is that why we see what we see happening here on the ground? >> i think that is exactly right. it's run actually by mr. putin. this is the russian model. he's adopted stalin's model. stalin ran world war ii himself. he was the decision maker. he created around him something called the staff.

they did what he wanted. maybe they gave him advice but he was the decision maker. i think mr. putin is the decision maker here. don, he think he's gotten some bad advice. of course people are going to lie to him because that is in the russian system. they all lie to each other. they know they lie to each other. and yet when they discover it of course they are angry about it. that is the flaw in the russian military ethic. it's been there for a long time because in the russian system if you admit you made mistake you are the first guy to get shot for it so everybody covers up everything. it is just the way it's always worked in russia and from my discussions with the ukrainian officers who served in the soviet army it was still alive and well in the 1980s. that is theethos of that army. putin is the man in charge. he is listening to the generals but he is measuring those generals and the shake-ups are inevitable. he is going to find people he

doesn't trust or maybe they implemented his decision wrong or he made a bad decision and they get the blame but that is what happens in the russian military. it happened to stalin at the beginning of world war ii. he fired a lot of people. that's the way it works. >> general, i forget the day that they call it when they authorize the draft for the people who just turned 18 but putin has authorized the draft of more than 134,000 russian citizens into the army. the defense minister claims they won't be heading to the hot spots but clearly, he can't be trusted. i wonder what impact that could have on this war. i am being told by people here i am interviewing who are in contact with the russian soldiers, either at check points and they are saying it doesn't appear the russian soldiers' hearts are in this. they are telling them they are

here because they are ordered to be here not necessarily because they want to be. can you talk to me about that please? >> a lot of these russian soldiers that came in were lied to. they thought they were going on an exercise. they didn't know they were actually going to war. and some of them are conscripts even though moscow says they aren't. these are not motivated, well led soldiers. they want out. but one thing about the russian military i think they all understand. if you surrender, and you're then repatriated, you're going to be viewed as a traitor or a spy and going to be eliminated. in world war ii the soviets killed thousands of their own returning prisoners of war. because they didn't trust them. this is simply the way it works. so these first waves of russian soldiers are not motivated, not disciplined as well. the draftees that come in, they may not be trained and able to

fight for a while. but putin is aiming for a long run in this. he has started a purge just like stalin did before world war ii. he's tightened up internal security. he is arresting and eliminating dissent ers, shutting down opposition newspapers, blocking the press, the media. he is in this for the long term and according to the polls the russian people don't know it is any better and think it is a great thing to attack ukraine. and so eventually there will be higher motivation either because of the propaganda or because of the point of a gun they know they have to succeed or die. so this is a temporary thing. maybe it'll work. maybe the ukrainians can win just because of this. but past records and mr. putin indicate to me otherwise. this is a blip or a pothole but it is not the end of the

conflict by far. >> general, thank you. i am so glad, i wanted our viewers to hear every word you have to say. it is so valuable. we appreciate you joining us. russian ground troops stalled near kyiv but from the air attacks are only increasing. cnn's christiane amanpour is there on the front lines right after this. (music throughout)

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tonight u.s. defense officials saying russian officials are ramping up air strikes on kyiv and suburbs. president biden says he is skeptical of russia's claim it is withdrawing its troops from the area. in one town northeast of the capital near the front line russian forces didn't leave. they were pushed out or killed by ukrainian fighters who are vowing to stand their ground if russians come back. more tonight from cnn's chief international anchor christiane amanpour. >> reporter: the first thing you notice approaching the front northeast of kyiv are the lines

of villagers waiting for humanitarian handouts. they receive a bag of bread and basics to get them through these difficult days. the first week of the war a shell hit us near the greenhouse. we barely survived says this woman. we had help from strangers around us. they gave us bread and canned food. we wouldn't have managed otherwise. no one here knows when this war will end or whether russia still has designs on kyiv. the front line is about a mile away. for now an uneasy calm prevails ever since the ukrainian defenders stopped the russian advance here. it was february 28th they say day four of the war. they want to show us how they did it but first we have to clamor over the bridge they downed to see the armored column they managed to take out. the liriver bank is littered wi their remnants.

the russians found themselves unable to cross the bridge and unable to reverse in time. ukrainian forces tell us none of the soldiers inside survived. a little further up the road two tanks have been virtually smelted, blasted almost to smither ooens. a veteran fighter proudly tells us this was his handy work. we all here have one role, to keep the enemy off our land, he says. first thing they did after seeing the village they started to shell houses just like that. they didn't see us. they didn't know we were here. so they just started to work on houses. and so i took the tank in my sites and i fired a rocket and good-bye to him. the destroyed vehicles are stamped with an "o." the ukrainian officers here tell us this identifies them as russian units that entered from belarus to the north. this is the officer who commanded this operation. as for now, looking at previous fighting we've had, i can tell you we are trained better he

tells me. we have stronger morale and spirit because we are at home. they are afraid but they go because they're made to. he has been battle hardened ever since the first russian invasion in 2014. he says his side has enough weapons, ammunition, and determination to win. i can tell you i'm almost sure the russians are regrouping and not retreating he says. besides, we are preparing ourselves to go forward. we're not preparing just to defend here. u.s. and british intelligence say putin seems to have, quote, massively misjudged this situation. and, clearly, over estimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory. this old lady tells us, i have seen one war and here we go again. i wish putin would go away. the people of this land remain stalwart and the soldiers remain dug in hoping they can continue

to with stand whatever putin has in store for them next. president zelenskyy made his 17th appearance to a world congress, world parliament addressing belgium and asking as he does for more weapons and more help. they absolutely need it. in the meantime, we just don't know what the future is going to be, how putin will redirect and redeploy the forces. will it lead to a stalemate? will it lead to an ongoing war of attrition? and concerningly according to the allies anyway the polish prime minister told me today that despite the sanctions putin isn't quite yet feeling the heavy pain, the ruble he points out, is doing quite well against the dollar. don? >> christiane, thank you very much for that. talks between ukraine and russia picking back up tomorrow while ukraine wants the u.s. to deliver more weapons and faster. i'll talk to president zelenskyy's chief diplomatic adviser right after this. personality testsyou cae and social media quizzes.

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russian air strikes intensifying in the donbas region of eastern ukraine where we're told putin's forces are shifting their focus. ukrainian officials in the area are bracing for the worst. here is what the governor told cnn's erin burnett earlier. >> translator: basically all the

territory is being constantly shelled by heavy artillery. they use any possible means of heavy bombardment. they use cruise missiles. grab rocket launchers. they attack us from the air with airbornes and war planes. >> joining me now the ukrainian president zelenskyy's chief diplomatic adviser. thank you so much for joining us. really appreciate it. cities across ukraine are under intense fire and u.s. and nato officials say the donbas is going to come under renewed assault. ukraine is making new requests for equipment including drones, anti-drone systems, and more missiles and u.s. officials say they are moving aid into a country as quickly as possible. do ukrainian forces have the supplies needed to fight back? >> well, yes. we need the supplies and without the supplies it will be much harder for us to do on the

ground but definitely we need much more supplies and you mentioned some items i will add to these tanks, very importantly the equipment to defend our skies. as you well know nato countries together -- that is why being realistic we please demand our nato nations some weapons for ourselves to protect the skies. antiaircraft warfare system, antimissiles warfare system, and fighter jets. with this equipment we will be able to defend the skies while we're doing more good on the ground with additional supply of the grounds munitions we will be very quickly moving to the victory. >> president zelenskyy says that the negotiation with russia is only words. have the russians made any concessions and what can you accomplish during those talks?

>> well, the russian delegation have our proposals on the table. so we will -- last round we presented the draft ukrainian treaty, an international legally binding treaty on security guarantees for ukraine. security guarantees by major international powers such as uk, u.s., germany, turkey. so russians have these proposals and took it back to their capital for consultation or whatever. we are hoping they will be coming back with a constructive proposal but you have to understand that real negotiations can be held only on the level of presidents. for the time being my president is ready for such noegotiations. unfortunately this is not the case for putin. he all the time looks for some excuses not to have these talks.

he is still hoping for some victories on the ground which will enable him to be more strong in his position during the negotiations but we are sure this will not happen so he will be, he will have no major victories on the ground and that is why it is high time to sit at the negotiating table with president zelenskyy and possibly participation of international leaders such as president of the u.s. and other world leaders. >> those negotiations are tomorrow. we'll see what happens. are there any circumstances in which ukraine would be willing to give up territory, igor? >> no, not in any case. we will not give up any single inch of ukrainian territory. we will not trade ukrainian territory. all ukrainian territory should remain ukrainian. >> putin has said ukraine is not even a real country so do you think he will ever sit down with president zelenskyy? >> well, it is his usual mantra which he is speaking for all the

years he is in power that ukraine is a failed state, that the biggest tragedy for centuries is the collapse of the soviet union so his dream is to return ukraine back to the russian orbit. so definitely he has these goals but any war, any aggression, and this is a real aggression, really war of russia against ukraine should have a peaceful settlement. yes we are hopeful that together with the national community, that is why i make it stress, the national community should push on him to sit at the negotiation table. we appreciate the position of many world leaders who suggest mediation efforts, who suggest us bringing him to the negotiation table. with the help of the international community hopefully he will be there. >> what is the most important thing the world needs to know about what is happening in your country? >> the world needs to know in the 21st century in the middle

of europe it is not only a war it is uncivilized war when the russian armed forces wage warfare not only against the military infrastructure, not only against ukrainian soldiers but mostly against ukrainian women, ukrainian children, ukrainian civilians so once again you have to understand, you have to realize sitting by your tv or computer, you have the war in the middle of europe. ukraine is able to stop the aggressor in ukraine. otherwise if we together will not stop the aggressor in ukraine this aggression will spread to further european countries and who knows? maybe to other countries as well. so please let's together stop aggression by sanctions, by weapons, and the political support of ukraine. >> thank you so much. we appreciate you appearing on the program. be safe. >> many thanks. i spoke with igor just before this program. next, a powerful personal story

from a family you've gotten to know on this show. he is an american. she's ukrainian. her family was trapped in the destroyed city of mariupol for weeks. they tell me the harrowing story of their escape, next. you don't want to miss it. because the sleep number 360 smart bed is really smart. it senses your movement, and automatically adjuststs to help keep you both comfortable all night. it's also tempmperature balancing, so you stay cool. it's so smart, it knows exactly how long, how well and when you slept. sleep number takes care of the science. all you have to do is sleep. and now, save 50% om the sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed. only for a limited time. to learn more go to sleepnumber.com cal: our confident forever plan is possible with a cfp® professional. a cfp® professional

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i want to turn now from southern ukraine and the key port city of odesa which is bracing for a possible attack by russian forces. cnn's ed lavandera is there. ed? >> reporter: don, here in southern ukraine, residents are anxiously watching what is happening with russian forces in the north of kyiv as we've been reporting these russian forces believed to be moving into belarus north of ukraine to regroup and refit and get resupplied. everyone here is paying close attention to the fact that all

of the talk seems to suggest these forces are regrouping to renew their attack and push into eastern ukraine. at the early onset of the war it was believed that these forces would try to make their way down along the southern coast of ukraine toward odesa where we are. this is a key port city. losing the city for ukraine would be a devastating loss. it would essentially mean that ukraine is a land locked country. so there is a great deal of concern as forces have been in that contested area of the donbas region, a concern that they would be able to move, continue moving down the coast line. so far in recent weeks the russian forces have been stalled out about half way between here and mariupol the city that has been so besieged. so that is what they're looking at. the real question here is the timing of all of this. where do things stand and how long will it take russian forces to regroup and refocus their energy on this part of ukraine?

we've also heard from the united kingdom minister of defense tonight saying that some 2,000 russian soldiers were going to be repositioned from georgia to focus on the eastern part of ukraine as well. so a great deal of troop provements. not a lot of trust in resident here who don't really believe what russians are saying publicly so they're really monitoring where the forces are going and trying to figure out the timing of all of this. don? >> all right. ed lavandera, thank you so much. we'll be right back. at morgan stanley, a global collective of thought leaders offers invnvestors a broader vi. ♪ we see companies protectingg the bottom line by putting people first. we see a bright future, still hungry for the ingenuity of those ready for the next challenge. today, we are translating decades of experience into strategies for the road ahead.

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so i really want you to settle in for this one. okay? are you watching? a family whose story i've been following from the start of the war. and i got to meet them all today. reunited after surviving what everyone who's been through it has called hell on earth. so let me explain this. you may be remember joe ramers. if you take a look he's all the way on the left. he's an american in ukraine there with his wife dasha who is ukrainian. they first came on this show to talk about their own escape from kyiv when putin's invasion began. but dasha's family had been trapped in mariupol, where russia has unleashed its most brutal and indiscriminate attacks. so next to dasha that is her father, oleg. he was taking care of hospice patients and didn't want to leave them behind. and on the far right is dasha's uncle, gennady, a pastor of a church in mariupol full of people who needed him. for weeks joe and dasha had been

living in agony with oleg and dasha's mother and gennady, all living in hell. but they didn't want to leave march yup ol which they still call the best city in the world. to them it was. to putin it was a target. and if mariupol is hell you can guess who they think is doing the devil's work there. they finally had to leave or risk falling into the listen ve carefully to what they went through and how they feel about this war. at times they seemed shell-shocked. at times they seemed okay. but tonight at least this one family in ukraine is together alive and safe. >> so you're waiting for three weeks for them to come. >> yeah. and we knew that every day the situation is getting worse in the city from what we understood from the news. so yeah, that part was hard. >> are you watching the news and the pictures of mariupol and thinking -- what were you

thinking? >> i was -- we were watching everything, every channel we could find. every page on instagram. what i was thinking, i don't know, sometimes you have hope. sometimes you think i'll never see them again. so just -- yeah. mixed feelings. >> when you were able to communicate with them, what were you >> we were trying to make them try to go out of the city. most of the time they would ask what's going on here. >> part of the reason for not going i think was -- and they can answer this better. but was concern about if it was possible to leave but also they felt responsible to care for basically between two different churches where people were sheltering there were i think more than 50 people total, a lot of whom were elderly women they were caring for. i know oleg was going back and forth between churches almost every day i think through the shelling and everything. >> oleg, why did you stay? why didn't you get out

immediately? >> translator: we worked for the blue cross mission, and we took care of hospice located at the outskirts of the city. when the shelling began the area was heavily and often under fire. so we had to move closer to the center. and we were taking care of elderly women. hospice patients. we moved our patients closer to the center. and when we lost our water supply and electricity in the city, we started an open fire and brought food there for these people. we used a big 30-liter cauldron to cook. and power generators to produce electricity for the other people to come charge their mobile phones and devices. we were providing food for approximately 40 or 50 people daily. >> so you have to understand he worked for this mission but his brother is a pastor of the church where they were hiding. so he can maybe tell you more about this part. >> what are you thinking about now? it looks like you have a lot on

your mind. >> translator: i'm trying to learn how to smile. the pace of life there is completely different from what you can see and feel here. it was not normal life but survival mode because you had to give hope to those who were losing it or who were suffering from breakdowns. and even though it was hard for yourself to be in these conditions and as the pastor of a church it was not possible to give up and i needed to try to hold it all together, it has changed me forever. we talked a lot about how the only hope is in god. and as we were in this situation, our only hope was god. >> and now? >> i continue living line that. it was an internal change, a big change. i continue living like that. my teaching is what i truly believe now. god was protecting me. >> did this make him question his faith at all?

or did it strengthen his fade? >> translator: faith just leveled up. i thought i had faith, but when i had nothing else i just realized it's really big. >> did it ever feel like wasn't real? did he ever think he was going to wake up from a nightmare? >> when they were bombing us from the planes because it was hard to believe the bombs were floating down so easily, i witnessed horrible things. i told myself i see it and it's really happening. >> what was the ultimate decision, deciding factor for them to come? because they didn't want to leave. they wanted to help all of these people. why did they ultimately decide to come, to leave? >> translator: there was one day when i went out to call my son and he said leave the city. and i just couldn't do it to my wife. i would never forgive myself if something happened to her. >> he's looking at his brother.

he's worried about his brother. what is he thinking? >> translator: we were together. we shared our problems. big past. >> what are you thinking? >> translator: next question. >> you're looking at him almost in tears. he's looking at his brother. and i can tell he's worried because he's studying him. and he is thinking about a million different things as this is going on. >> mm-hmm. >> translator: i left on the 23rd. my house was destroyed and my garage and car. the church we were living in was shot by a tank and destroyed. i didn't want to leave because i would be the last person to leave the church as a senior worker. but there was a moment when a child center director came to me. he's a man of big faith. and he told me, leave mariupol for a month or two because you will be put in a cell because everyone knows your pro-ukrainian position. >> do you feel guilty about

leaving? >> a little bit. for the members of my church that i could have taken on foot, but we were under fire. >> are you going to go back? >> the longer i stay here the less likely. how can i live with people with a different understanding? >> do you want to go back? >> translator: i would love to return to mariupol when it is under ukrainian control. i would happily come to rebuild the city. >> what do you think of the russians and putin? >> translator: biden was asked about putin and called him a butcher. i agree with him. >> translator: putin doesn't understand what he is doing. he is just a tool in the hands of the devil. >> what would you say to him? what do you want him to know? >> translator: i would like him to come to mariupol and see how people lived and died. i would love him to experience that. russians are starting to believe

in their own propaganda lies. i had a heated discussion with a russian officer. he was convinced that they had come to help us. he said he would free us from the nazis. i looked into his eyes, and he believed it. i told him i was russian and i've never seen a single nazi in mariupol. he was surprised. >> what did he say? >> translator: that he has seen nazis at that checkpoint. they checked us for tattoos. and that's how they checked for nazis. >> how many checkpoints? >> translator: 12 checkpoints. >> and you had to do it every time? >> translator: it was only russian military checkpoints. they said that they were mobilized. they didn't choose to go to this war and they were made to do it. and it wasn't their choice. >> what was -- how many people left with them? >> seven people were in the car with us. >> were they worried they weren't going to make it? >> translator: three times we

were under fire. as we were leaving a checkpoint, shells were exploding everywhere. people dove into the field and covered their heads. one person was hit by shrapnel three cars ahead. >> did they have food? >> translator: i didn't have time to gather food. we only had flatbreads and two cans of fish. the whole journey took around five days. >> did you feel like this was hell? like is this ever going to be over? when is this going to be over? >> translator: it was like a different reality. taken out of your normal life. it was new. it was a state of not knowing what was going to happen. >> once you got here, once you saw them, what was your reaction? >> we were waiting for them. glad they're here. >> i think in all of human history there's never been a guy who was more excited to get a call that his in-laws were