example, we absolutely saw it. we saw the numbers go up with the holidays. it is possible we'll see that with flu. but, again, this is such an unusual year to get the flu this early. >> bottom line, get a flu shot, right? >> yes, it's not too late to get a flu shot. >> to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." you can always follow me on twitter and instagram @wolfblitzer. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. "outfront" next, a deadly arctic blast. more than two dozen people are dead as a devastating blizzard unleashes some of the worst weather winter to hit new york. some died or trapped in their cars. and it is not over. plus, border surge.

new numbers on the unprecedented number of migrants along the u.s./mexico border. i'll talk to an official from one border city about what's going on and what they need. and new audio into "outfront" of putin's forces turning on each other as there are reports of a strike on a military base deep inside russia. let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm sara sidner in for erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, worst winter storm ever. that's from new york officials describing this christmas weekend blizzard that pummelled areas upstate. and the death toll is rising, at least 27 deaths across the region now being blamed on the storm, surpassing the death toll from a historic blizzard 45 years ago. >> it was just a horrible situation, the worst storm i've ever seen. it's the first time any of us can remember situations where we

felt truly helpless. >> the blizzard burying buffalo and other parts of upstate new york under more than 4 feet of snow. and the region still bracing for even more snow overnight. at this hour, these communities in red are still under a total driving ban. roads across the regions littered with hundreds of cars submerged in snow. state police are assisting crews with search and rescue operations, including going door to door to check for stranded drivers. the acting superintendent of new york state police sending this message to anyone even thinking about hitting the roads. >> it's a very selfish act, to be honest with you. in the beginning we asked people to stay off the road. now i'm telling you, i'm directing you to stay off the road. that's what you can do now, stay home. >> you heard it there. and promising new york governor kathy hochul that she will have the full force of his

administration to help the state recover. it's not just new york. check out this video from edgewater, new jersey. it's crazy. drivers unable to use their cars for days because they are frozen solid in ice. the blizzard also wreaking havoc on travel nationwide, more than 7,000 u.s. flights delayed today, and more than 3,700 canceled, including more than two-thirds of all southwest airline flights. we've got the storm covered from all angles. miguel marquez is in rochester, new york. and lucy kafanov is at denver international airport. we will start in new york. miguel, you were supposed to be in buffalo for us tonight. but the roads are so bad, you couldn't get there, correct? >> reporter: yeah. buffalo is literally socked in. no one getting in, no one getting out, except for some essential personnel. and then it takes massive vehicles to do that. buffalo seeing a storm like they

have never seen. 27 people so far dead in erie county, new york. and authorities are concerned there will be more. an unprecedented storm, devastating and deadly, hitting western new york. >> we now have what'll be talked about not just today but for generations, the blizzard of '22. >> reporter: parts of buffalo pummelled with up to 43 inches of snow and hurricane-force winds. and the death toll of at least two dozen people in the area. >> this can there's going to be a lot of welfare checks. and unfortunately i have a bad feeling about that. i think that that toll is going to go up. it's just gut-wrenching. >> reporter: erie county, new york, brought to a literal standstill with people trapped in their homes and cars. >> this is the first time in buffalo fire history that they could not respond to emergency calls because of how severe the conditions were. >> reporter: county officials sending in specialized trucks to rescue the rescuers. >> i couldn't see two feet in

front of my vehicle. and we had to rescue deputies. we brought in snow bmobiles, ut, atv. you can imagine what happens to the public when emergency vehicles are stuck. >> many residential roads are still impassable with vehicles abandoned in the middle of the street. >> we have had snowplows, major snowplows and rescue vehicles, i saw them myself in ditches buried in snow. >> reporter: officials urging residents, stay home. >> stay off the roads so we can continue to rescue people, get them safe, and make sure that the roads are clear so that we can reopen our community as soon as humanly possible. >> reporter: buffalo under a driving ban, but that hasn't stopped some from taking advantage of the situation. police have made arrests for looting. videos on social media shows looters at work, merchandise being carried out on foot.

>> people who are out looting when people are losing their lives in this harsh winter storm is just absolutely reprehensible. >> reporter: all while thousands of homes and businesses are still without power. one family who lost their heat tried to make it to a hotel on christmas. >> you couldn't see anything. you couldn't see a stoplight. you kind of just had to drive through the intersection praying basically. >> reporter: their prayers answered by airport firefighters who were able to rescue the tisdales along with dozens of other trapped drivers. >> those guys were amazing at the fire house. they treated us with nothing but open arms. >> reporter: amid all the horror and all the difficulty that authorities are having in the buffalo area, we should point out that over 500 people have been rescued. and there is some good news if there is any good news in this. thursday and friday the

temperatures are supposed to go up to 40 and 5 de0 degrees by friday. and then there will be a big melt. >> now let's go to tom sater. buffalo already buried under 4 feet of snow. what do the next few hours and the next day look like for the city? i know you're from there so give us the lowdown. >> he was just mentioning the big melt. and i think that's going to come with a world of problems as well. we're looking at massive pipes breaking, and some of these are going to be large water main breaks. the weight of this on roofs is going to cause problems. we've already heard from the medical examiner that some of the fatalities are from cardiac arrest. shoveling the snow alone, your heart is beating faster than average. and as horrific as it's been in buffalo, the cold extends out to the west. p 50 fatalities nationwide.

it got down to minus 50, minus 60, and minus 70. watertown and surrounding countries, buffalo is under advisory. not much falling in buffalo now, and the bright colors of white turning gray. so it's lightening up there in watertown as well. paducah, kentucky, it is snowing right now. this is the amount of snow that has fallen. so with this amount of snow, this is multifaceted. it wasn't about the snow, they can handle the snow. they just had 36 inches last month, it's the wind. we want a warmup, but we don't want it to warmup so fast like we had that arctic freeze so fast. this is going to cause problems not just with water main breaks. but with so much snow and ice. and then you toss rain on top of this, on top of -- this is going to be over 50 for buffalo. but you have rain in the forecast for saturday, sunday, and monday, and your temperatures are near 50, in the

low 50s, it's going to be a long week. hopefully we won't see as many water main breaks, but the urban flooding is going to be widespread. >> tom sater, i think that sigh said it all. thank you so much for that update. "outfront" now, on the phone, buffalo mayor byron brown. mayor brown, thank you so much for taking the time out. i know your time is precious. i'm sure that you're tired. can you tell us just right now at this moment what the situation is where you are now? >> thank you. i just finished touring the city with the police commissioner looking at conditions and also going to visit first responders, police officers, state troopers, members of the national guard. we thank them for the work that they are doing. there have been people working around the clock with a major focus on protecting life and safety. we've made a lot of progress

today. the conditions improved today. we did not have the same wind speeds that we had been experiencing on friday and saturday where we had extreme blizzard conditions. we were able to reach all of the stranded motorists in the city of buffalo and rescue them literally hundreds stranded in the city. we have been working to respond to emergency medical services calls and working with our power company national grid to assist them in restoring power to our residents who have been out of power at the height of the storm, there were over 20,000 people without power in their homes. my home included. now that number is under 8,000, and we continue to work diligently and aggressively with national grid to help them get

to locations they need to reach to be able to restore power. >> mayor, is your power back on? >> my power came back on as of 1:00 yesterday morning. >> okay. i'm glad to hear that. the death toll, it's really disturbing. it's already eclipsed the death toll of the buffalo blizzard in 1977, a historic blizzard. i understand that you were a student at buffalo state college during that storm. if you were to compare these two storms, what would you say about the two of them? >> no. all of the experts are saying that this storm has been more harsh than the blizzard of '77. we have gotten all of the elements of a blizzard. wind speeds reaching gusts as high as 79 miles an hour. sub-zero temperatures getting as low as minus 22 degrees.

whiteout conditions with zero visibility, blowing and drifting snow. some areas, snow drifting up to over 6 feet. roughly 4 feet of snow that has fallen in the city. so, all of those issues combined, people are saying make the blizzard of 2022 more harsh than the blizzard of '77. >> all right. thank you so much, mayor, for joining us. good luck, and i hope that the people of buffalo are able to dig themselves out of this, those who have lost loved ones, we send our prayers. now let's go to lucy kafanov at denver international airport. this is a time lapse video showing just how long the line is for southwest airlines passengers. goodness, trying to rebook flights. we have all been there in some capacity at some point in our lives. lucy, you've been talking to some of those travelers.

what are they telling you now? >> reporter: sara, no one is happy about this situation. denver airport leading the nation, unfortunately, in terms of flight cancelations. more than 460 flights canceled today alone. the bulk of those, at least 414 southwest airlines. and you showed that time lapse. that was several hours ago that that was filmed. look at the line right now. hundreds of people waiting here. southwest crews were passing out water and snacks. folks were being handed snacks so they could eat because they have been here for hours. some people have been here for days, in fact, trying to get their flights rescheduled, trying to get money back. people are incredibly frustrated about this. we spoke to one gentleman who's actually been here since december 21st unable to get a new flight on southwest. he's going to a different airline. take a listen. >> the first night we came in, there was really bad weather.

and southwest said our flight was canceled because of the weather. and then we have had three flights since the 21st canceled. and no one can tell me why. i will never fly southwest airlines again and i will tell everyone i know never to fly southwest airlines again. you just can't leave people stranded for eight days and just say it's the weather. >> reporter: and that's just denver. this is having cascading effects all across the nation. more than 3,700 cancelations, nearly 70% of those southwest flights, more than 6,800 flights delayed. southwest did issue an apology, several apologies actually today. the latest statement offering a, quote, heartfelt apology for what they're describing as, quote, operational challenges. they say, quote, we recognize falling short and sincerely apologize. of course that's going to be cold comfort there for the thousands of passengers trying to get home. we know already, it's monday right now, for tuesday already

over 1,600 southwest flights are expected to be canceled, according to flight aware. this travel nightmare is not close to coming to a finish. sara? >> thank you so much, lucy there. anyone who has traveled would get anxiety just looking at all those bags jumbled up there. "outfront" next, desperation, families continue to stream across the u.s./mexico border only to find frigid temperatures and overcrowding on the u.s. side. the arrivals are overwhelming american border towns. we take you to el paso. plus, breaking news. incoming republican congressman george santos breaking his silence finally tonight after he was caught lying about his resume, including attending columbia university and working at citigroup. also, china about to drop its strict covid restrictions on travel. why now when the country is being hit with a wave of deadly infections? it followed me everywhere. so i c consolidated it

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pandemic-era policy that allows officials to quickly expel migrants at the border due to public health concerns. and it's leaving thousands of migrants in flux. camila bernal is "outfront" in el paso. >> reporter: a dream come true in the form of a hula hoop, toys their parents say they would not be able to afford in native venezuela. an opportunity for his children, says this 30-year-old, who left his country more than three months ago with his partner and four children. in november, they made it to the u.s. and turned themselves in to immigration authorities. they sent us back, he said. and because they're not legally married, the two got separated, and after about a week in a detention center, they ended up in two different cities in mexico. elvin's partner caroline says she was told they were being sent back to mexico because of

title 42, which allows border agents to immediately expel migrants, citing covid-19 concerns. and this is what they say led them to an illegal crossing 20 days later. i wanted to cross legally, says caroline, but as a family, they felt they had no other option. it's a desperation felt by many here. and, as a result, they end up on the streets during a cold front in el paso. the city accommodates those who have documentation taking more than 400 people into this makeshift shelter in its convention center over the holiday weekend. others ending up in washington, d.c. outside of vice president kamala harris' residence. >> the majority of them are planning to, you know, stay in d.c. or head up to new york. >> reporter: while it's not clear who is responsible for sending these migrants, texas' governor greg abbott has been

busing migrants to northern states since april. these migrants were bused from texas to d.c. on christmas eve. some wearing only a t-shirt in 18-degree weather. for elvin and caroline, the final destination is chicago. they say they want to apply for refugee status, find work, and provide for their four children. and every single one of these migrants has a very similar story. for the children in my story, it was the hula hoops. for the boys that are out here tonight, it is the nerf guns, pizza. their parents told me all we want is a bus out of here and to get to our final destination. in terms of that other bus that took those migrants to washington, d.c., governor greg abbott, confirming through his office that this is part of his effort to get those migrants to other states. sarah? >> and the white house is calling it cruel.

thank you so much, camila bernal there in el paso. "outfront" now, the deputy city manager in el paso. thank you so much for joining "outfront." can i first talk to you about what it looks like in el paso? i have heard from several different people there that el paso is simply overwhelmed. what does that mean exactly? >> so, what it means is unfortunately we have people who are staying out in the streets. we have had it just as the rest of the country, we've had that cold spell this weekend. >> there is growing frustration about the white house's handling of this situation and calls for president biden to come to the town and see what's going on. here's a member of the el paso city council. >> she needs to come down here and really see the destruction, really see the chaos, really see people living on the streets. it's really bad. >> i spoke with claudia rodriguez earlier this week.

and she was just emphatic that more has to be done. is it the visit from the president that is -- that you want the most? or is it that you want the federal funding, or both? >> you know, the visit is just for the visual so they can understand the depth of what's happening here. and i'm not talking about looking at it from the customs and border patrol side but from the local side and what it's actually doing here in our own streets. that's the visit. when you talk about funding, funding allows us to do operationalize what we've been doing without having to take it from our local tax dollars, which is going towards public safety and public health, and those dollars are short already and they've already been identified for a particular use. so funding will not buy our way out of it. what's most needed is to get that visual, that understanding of how many people we're talking about, how many people are actually flowing through. and then working at the policy level to make the changes in the way we process people coming

into our country. something has to be done different. when we're talking a thousand. 1,500. 2,500. they're saying if title 42 goes away, we're going to see about 5,000 apprehensions a day right here in el paso. when you start looking at that and think about the number of people who are going to be released through this community, it's unmanageable for every community, much less el paso with our moderate-sized airport and a couple of bus terminals. we just can't keep up with the flow. >> yeah, you don't have the space to house and feed folks and do all the medical things that may need to be done. you called early for a state of emergency declaration in el paso. i understand that the mayor resisted that at first but ultimately did declare a state of emergency this month. and the city council unanimously voted to extend it. has that made anything change? has that made it easier in any way to manage the situation? >> well, what it does do is it allows us to operate what we're operating. so we actually have the

convention center operating as an emergency shelter. we've set up over a thousand beds. we're having an average of 450 people a night spend the night within there. it's this emergency declaration that allows us to operate this way. it allows us to take buildings that weren't designed for overnight stays and utilize them in this manner. with that, we're also able to acquire a couple of school buildings that have been shut down. so we're actually in the process of getting them ready to open them up as additional shelter space when title 42 is lifted. >> all right, thank you so much for joining us from el paso. we appreciate your time. >> thank you. and we have some breaking news. embattled incoming republican congressman george santos admitting now that he lied about aspects of his resume. but insisting he's, quote, not a criminal and that he intends to serve out a full term in congress. santos speaking with wabc radio

and the "new york post" says that he's, quote, embarrassed after big discrepancies in his education and job history were uncovered. melanie zanona is "outfront" for us. melanie, this is the first time that we've heard santos speak after all of these details came out that show that he was indeed lying, now he's admitting it, correct? >> reporter: that's exactly right. he did put out a statement blasting the "new york times" report when this first came out. but now he really is breaking his silence and admitting to lying about key parts of his resume and his job history. he said that he did not actually work for citigroup or goldman, even though he previously said he did. he now is saying that he worked for them through his company. but he chalked it up to essentially a poor choice of words. he is saying that he didn't graduate from any college or university even though he previously claims he earned degrees from new york university and baruch college. that he admitted was false. he said a lot of people

embellish their resumes or sort of twist their words and i'm guilty of that. but making it seem like it's not a big deal. he also did not address a number of other questions that were raised by the "new york times" and other publications including questions about his charities, questions about his heritage and claims that he made about his heritage. he also has questions raised about his financial disclosure reports and whether he filed all the proper protocols in terms of disclosing his finances. i don't think this is going to staunch the bleeding or quell the calls for him to not serve in congress. and so far gop leaders are silent, but i suspect that will be very difficult when they return to congress next week. >> is there any explanation as to why? or was he just saying it's not a big deal? >> well, he did say it's not a big deal and he also said he felt embarrassed and perhaps felt pressure to embellish his resume. but he is about to be a member of congress, so this is a big deal. he is going to face pressure to answer even more questions as he

assumes the congressmanship. "outfront" next, ukraine right now warning of what it's calling a massive retaliatory strike from russia after three russian soldiers were killed not in ukraine but deep inside russia. plus, president biden is about to begin the new year with a government that hasn't been this divided in more than a hundred years. what does that mean going forward? our harry enten is standing by with all the numbers for you. it was just so easy to find a car within my budget. i'm just happy i w was able to pick this baby. good on yaya! we'll drive you happy at carvana. i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, d looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford,

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even revealed their squad's positions on the battlefield. it is yet another example of the turmoil and disorder that's plaguing russia's military. take a listen. >> translator: we caught 20 more of our guys trying to desert last night. you want to know how? they were just walking along the road. we didn't shoot them, we took them back in. their case was handled today, and the commanding officers took them away. as it turns out, they revealed our positions. they're totally [ bleep ]. all of them are volunteers. and now a war tribunal awaits them. and now they're driving after us like a bat out of hell in that tank. >> that's quite revealing. this as three russian soldiers were killed. will ripley is out front for us in kyiv.

will, what more can you tell us first about this incident deep inside russia? >> reporter: sara, the ukrainian air force is falling just short of claiming official responsibility for yet another drone strike deep inside russian territory. but they're certainly not denying it either. a spokesperson saying that this is a, quote, consequence of what russia is doing, meaning the bombing of civilian infrastructure targets that caused blackouts for millions of people across ukraine in the dead of winter. we know that at least three russian service men were killed on monday in the western port city of engels. we also know this is the second attempted drone attack on this area which has a strategic bomber air base making it an attractive target obviously. russian state media claiming that this drone was shot down, cnn cannot independently verify that. president putin getting a lot of skepticism here in ukraine and around the world for his claim that he's ready to negotiate about acceptable solutions to end this war. of course he's not really ready to negotiate, analysts say, certainly not on ukraine's terms, which is that, among

other things, he'd pull out of crimea, which was illegally annexed back in 2014, an adviser to president zelenskyy says that moscow just doesn't really want negotiations, but they want to avoid responsibility. also, the ukrainians think that putin might just be wanting to bide time to help give his troops more time to regroup and train those hundreds of thousands of conscripts, some of whom were assembled in belarus where they've been engaging in joint training drills with belarusians. he's warning of dark times ahead, especially in the coming days before the end of this year. ukraine is bracing for russian retaliation potentially for the drone strike. there was pretty heavy shelling down in southern ukraine over the weekend that killed at least 16 people in kherson. more than 70 russian artillery shells were filed. dmitry medvedev, the former president of russia, actually met last week with chinese president xi jinping. and china is throwing their support behind russia.

medvedev saying that this disgusting fascist regime in kyiv must be removed and demilitarized before russia ends this war. "outfront" now, retired air force colonel cedric leighton. he is a cnn military analyst as well. this ukrainian drone that we're about to look at was finally shot down in a city nearly 400 miles from ukraine's border and into russia. and this isn't the first time that ukraine's been able to penetrate pretty far inside of russia. what does that say about russia's air defenses? >> well, sara, good evening. what it tells me is that the russian air defenses have a lot of holes in them and a lot of vulnerabilities. and it means that the ukrainians can exploit those vulnerabilities and do things potentially like going after the base of engels, which is russia's main strategic bomber base in that area. >> now, you heard earlier, i

want to get to that russian soldier in that intercept, that we played just a bit ago. and he was complaining that 20 russian volunteers were caught walking down a road trying to desert the battlefield. but not before they gave away their fellow soldiers' positions to the ukrainians. what does this tell you? because there are a couple things in there. first of all he says we didn't shoot him, which indicates they may have shot others. and second of all, he says 20 more people. what does that tell you about what's happening to russia's military inside ukraine? >> well, it's certainly worrisome for russian commanders. it tells me that morale is basically in the trash for these russian units. they don't have any area in which they can really fight for here. they don't believe in the cause. and they are really not willing to stick their necks out not only for the russian regime but also for their fellow soldiers. and that's why they're leaving and they're walking with their feet. >> colonel leighton, thank you so much for your expertise and

bringing your analysis that's important as we watch this war that has gone on now for more than 300 days. "outfront" next, we take a look at some of the key moments that have defined ukraine's fight from our matthew chance who has been on the front lines since day one. plus, the u.s. now with a government that has not been this divided in more than a century. what could that tell us about 2024? harry enten will have more. the pain. emerge tremfyant®. with t tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 16 weekeks. the majorityty of people saw 90% clearer skin even at 5 years. serious alallergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®. ask your doctor about tremfya® today.

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it's normal. with calhope's free and secure mental health resources, it's easy to get the help you and your loved ones need when you need it the most. call our warm line at (833) 317-4673 or live chat at calhope.org today. president joe biden expected to sign a massive $1.7 trillion spending bill this week, wrapping up 2022 with a major victory. but the hard work is only just beginning. biden entering the new year with a government that may be as closely divided as it has been in a century, and a country mirroring that division.

that's according to the person sitting next to me, senior data reporter harry enten. how lucky are we to have you. let's start with the basics here. so, the democrats have performed better than expected, gotten quite a few things passed during the biden administration. they gained a seat in the senate when everyone thought there was going to be a red wave. but the margins are still very slim. why? >> yeah. the margins are still very slim. when i was looking back over these midterm results over the last few weeks as i was doing my christmas clearing out of the spreadsheets, what i noticed, look at the governors, look at the u.s. senate, look at the u.s. house. neither party holds more than 52% in any one of those different bodies or in the governorships. and i look back. this is the first time in at least a century in which no party holds more than 52% in the house, the governorships or in the united states senate. and i think it reflects a country, if you look at the polling, that is so polarized. and this election i think really showed that that that

polarization. >> that would be 1922, before world war ii. >> correct. >> things were divisive then as well. the partisan divide is evident in the results of the recent presidential elections, obviously. president biden besting former president bush by just under five points in 2020. sorry, i said bush. boy, i went way back. i was thinking the '80s and, '90s. president trump. has this always been the case that there's always been such a tight margin like that? >> really it's a reflection of how divided we've been in the last few elections. we have had single-digit margins in the last nine presidential elections. that is the longest streak for single-digit margins ever since we recorded the presidential popular vote two centuries ago. we're talking 200 years. we have closer elections now than in any point in the 200

years that we've been recording the presidential popular vote. >> that's pretty incredible. if we're looking ahead now, 2024, quickly tell me, are we looking at another close election again? >> if you match president biden against ron desantis or former president trump, we're looking at a very close election, and, again, a very polarized electorate. that's been the lesson going all the way back since 1988. it's going to be close. >> harry, we will wait to see. but i believe you. "outfront" next, russia's war with ukraine has raged for more than 300 days now. and next our matthew chance breaks down the key moments from ukraine's fight. doctors are overwhelmed with patients that they no longer have time to eat or drink in china. we're live in beijing.

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tonight, president zelenskyy offering a message of hope to his country, saying they have withstood russia's invasion for ten months now, and they will continue to do so. zelenskyy saying, quote, we'll endure this winter because we know what we are fighting for. we believe that tears will be replaced by joy, despair will be followed by hope, and death will be defeated by life. >> reporter: when the invasion first began, i was standing on top of the roof of a hotel in the center of kyiv, the ukrainian capital, basically on television, having a conversation with a bunch of colleagues about how it was unlikely that vladimir putin, even though he had built up tens of thousands of forces on the borders of ukraine to the east, how unlikely it was that he was going to take that step, cross

the rubicon, and launch a full-scale invasion, is on the hands of the ukrainians who resist. i tell you what, i just heard a big bang right here behind me. and it was a really shocking experience because not only was i having to report on the bombardment of kyiv, but i also had to radically recalculate what was going on, what was happening in this country i've been covering for so many years. oh, there's another one. i've got a flack jacket right here. let me just get it on. those first hours after the invasion were pretty frenetic. we didn't know what was really going on. there were all sorts of reports about russian paratroopers moving into positions around the city. there was one particularly worrying report that airborne russian special forces had moved into an air base north of the

ukrainian capital in an area called gostamel. it was the antanof air base. these troops you can see over here, they are russian airborne forces. i started chatting to that commander. i said, look, give me an idea of what we're seeing here, where are the russians, i said. and he said to me, what do you mean? he looked really confused. he said what do you mean where are the russians. and i said i'm going to go live in a minute on cnn. i want to tell people where the russian forces have gone to. and he looked at me and he said we are the russians. and at that point we suddenly realized that we had come face to face, we crossed the front line inadvertently. and so it just shows us now for the first time just how close russian forces have got towards the center of the ukrainian capital.

i think what was most amazing, most surprising, i suppose, about those first few days was the level of resistance that we saw, that we witnessed by ordinary ukrainians as well as the ukrainian military, of course. but we saw ordinary ukrainian people pick up weapons, defend their streets, their buildings, their yards. >> i didn't think i would join this unit just two days ago. i thought that, you know, i don't know how to handle a gun. >> reporter: and i remember looking down and they had a crate full of and bottles filled with gasoline and rags on top that they were going to throw. and russian forces as they came. i asked the russian guys, did you make these? he said, no, we didn't make them. it's the old women in the apartment blocks that are making them.

they're delivering them to us. and it just really, you know, ran home what a multilayered sort of defense that russians were confronting. they thought they were going to walk into the ukrainian capital and take it over without a fight? mine what a massive miscalculation that was. you know, within a couple days of the invasion, we traveled to just a short distance from the capital a bridge where there had been a battle. just an hour or two before we got there. right within the past few hours, there has been a ferocious battle here on the outskirts of kyiv and this is one of those russian soviet era vehicles which is completely burned out. this is a bridge and access point to the northwest of kyiv, the ukrainian capital. and the russian column that has come down here has been absolutely hammered. so that was a very, very disturbing moment in the conflict. but it was also very profound in

the sense that it just showed russia's calculation of sending a light armored columns into ukraine to take the capital, to decapitate the ukrainian government was not working. and it was not just not working but it was devastating to the russian arms forces. i think one of the most incredible aspects of this conflict so far has been the dramatic transformation of president zelenskyy, the ukrainian president, from an actor and comedian to politician and president and turned iconic war leader. i managed to speak to him. i was one of the first journal usts to speak to him in his bunker in central kyiv. >> it's very important for the people in the united states to understand that despite the fact that war is taking place in ukraine, it is essentially for values in life, for democracy, freedom. therefore, this war is for all the world. and that message should be sent

far and wide from ukraine to people in the united states so the they understand what it is like for us here. what we're fighting for and why support for ukraine matters. >> and it's incredible that president zelenskyy from very early on knew that he had to make this war much broader in its impact. it wasn't just -- it couldn't just be a war that ukraine was fighting. it had to be a war that the rest of the world, at least the rest of the west was invested in. i think 2022 will be remembered as the year that russia threw itself into the abyss, was held into the abyss by putin and his extraordinary war in ukraine. not only is the country facing a potentially devastating military defeat with tens of thousands of dead if not more, but also it's

facing economic catastrophe. >> that was our matthew chance who has been covering this wore from both sides, inside russia and on the front lines in ukraine. out front next, a surprise move by china which is getting crushed by covid again. the country suddenly lifting its strict covid travel restrictions. so what's happening? here's how tommy lost 30 lbs on noom weight. i'm tom. noom helped him use psychology to lose weight. the mindful aspect made me feel

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tonight's china's 180 on zero covid continues. the country announcing it will end all quarantine requirement a and other restrictions for international travelers entering poll china, a policy first put in place three years ago. major development as china battles an unprecedented wave of infections now.

we're out in front in beijing. can you tell us about all these change? >> this is huge. the changes are in major move towards formally dismantling zero covid and the country is scrapping the quarantine arrivals. to understand why this is such a big deal, with very to look at where china has been. the country has been severely limited, who can go in and out of the country with district border controls. nights are very limited and expensive. all the arrival has to go through garn teen in government facilities. i went through multiple ones myself including a 21-day government quarantine earlier this year. we're talking about harsh quarantines here. no opening your door except for food pickups and covid tests. a huge amount of stress to get back in the country. a lot remains unclear even with the changes. we don't know how many flights will be allowed to enter the country or how easily chinese nationals will be allowed to

travel ouchlt officials said they will gradually restart outbound tourism in an orderly manner but it depends on the international situation. and now authorities also said this policy is part of china downgrading its covid management. previously covid was manage the as a class a disease. on par with cholera or the plague which was justification for the draconian zero covid measures we saw for years. >> china's national health commission is also no longer reporting daily covid case numbers. why is that? >> so they haven't given any official explanation. but this does come after there was widespread criticism and ridicule over the unreliability of the official data. so in the first 20 days of december, guess get this health authorities reported less than 63,000 covid cases. but leaked documents from china's top officials showed very different internal estimates. almost 250 million people may

have caught covid in that same time period f correct, that estimate which cnn cannot confirm, that means this is the largest covid outbreak to date globally. but that information was not made public by chinese authorities. china has also so far only reported a small handful of covid deaths for this entire month. but what we see at crematoriums tells a different story i saw body bags piling up in metal containers, workers loading more coffins. in scenes like that are playing out across the country and the medical system is under intense pressure. sarah? >> wow. that is really disturbing. the pictures that you and your photographer were able to gain. thank you so much for joining us. i appreciate you getting us the information. and ""ac 360"" starts right now. more than four days into one of the worst holiday storms on record, make no mistake. it is not over