freedom is priceless. it's worth fighting for, for as long as it takes, and that's how long we're going to be with you, mr. president. for as long as it takes. >> thank you. >> what a moment. what a day. we are so glad you are with us here. good morning, everyone. i'm poppy harloe here with sara

sidner in new york. this is cnn this morning. kaitlan collins is anchoring live in warsaw, poland. she has some new reporting. let's cabibegin with you, what you hearing? >> obviously, we are learning details about the details, what happened behind this visit. how the white house is planning this. it was obviously kept secret until president biden was on the ground. he was actually on the ground for some time before we had the white house confirm that he was there, but we're learning that it was months of planning that actually went into this. only a handful of aides from different agencies that were involved in this. obviously, they wanted to keep it an incredibly close hold, because it is such a sensitive visit. what we're learning from the white house is that it was last friday when president biden made the final decision that yes, he was going to be going into this active war zone, right around the anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine. that's when he decided to go. he went in with an incredibly small contingent. typically, the president can take over a dozen staffers with him somewhere. a huge security contingent, but

we are now learning that he went with a small medical staff, a photographer, only ae with him,s the president was going in, meeting with president zelenskyy, and that's a meeting that involved a briefing from president zelenskyy's team on what they believe they're going to need in the coming months. what that is going to look like, and what they'll need with that expected russian offensive that's supposed to happen this spring. we're covering all angles of this morning. clarissa ward is live in kyiv. phil mattingly is here in warsaw with me. chief national correspondent correspondent jim sciutto is standing by in washington. clarissa, i want to start with you, because you're on the ground here. you're on the ground in kyiv, adds the president was making that visit there. he got that briefing from zelenskyy's team. what is the message he's hearing from them? what are they saying that they need and that they need now? >> well, the message that they've been saying over and over again, which was reiterated again today, kaitlan, is that

they are deeply appreciative and grateful for the support, but that they desperately need long-range artillery, fighter jets, heavier weaponry in order to finish off this war. there has been a real concern that the fighting in bakhmut and the east of ukraine particularly has not been going very well, with russia just willing to sacrifice the lives of thousands and thousands of its soldiers and young men, who are fighting there. and ukraine really struggling to maintain the momentum that they had gained from various successful counteroffenses, that they had towards the end of last year. it was an exceptional moment. i will say, kaitlan, we were watching to see president biden and president zelenskyy walk out of this historic church here in central kyiv. they came in to the main square, st. michael's square here. you can see there's a lot of

journalists still around. a lot of people have been coming to take photographs. those are russian tanks that have been destroyed in battle here. and they came out, linked up with two ukrainian soldiers who were carrying wreaths, and then they walked solemnly behind those two ukrainian soldiers and went over here to lay the wreaths and you can see, probably, if we look, one of them with the ukrainian colors, and then the one beyond it with the u.s. flag. president biden and president zelenskyy then stood together. they embraced. president biden then got into the extremely large motorcade and left. the whole thing happened in the space of ten minutes. five minutes inside the church, five minutes outside the church. air raid sirens began wailing just before they exited the church. so it was somewhat of a tense moment. you can imagine the level of

planning that went into it, as you just alluded to. but the feeling on the ground, i can't stress to you enough. i've been talking to lots of different people from different walks of life, and they say over and over again, this was amazing. this was a wow moment for peo people. it caused a little chaos in the city. traffic was completely cut off, particularly in these central areas, but there's gratitude for the support, and also, i think, a much-needed boost of morale to see the president come here. and that really delivers a message, not just that we support you, but that you've got this, you can do this, and we will be with you in it until the end. >> jim, let me bring you in here, the question now, after president biden said to president zelenskyy, you know, whatever it takes, is, well, what does that really mean, in terms of additional long-range missiles, in terms of f-16s, if the u.s. is going to provide that. so there's the question of what

the u.s. will do, jim. but there is equally the question of what's china going to do. this is another area of your expertise, given what secretary of state blinken said over the weekend, about real concern that china may be providing or about to provide russia with lethal support. >> it's a great point, poppy. that was quite a moment this weekend, because for a year, we're nearly a year into this war now, just a few days shy, china has not provided that support, and the u.s. has been watching very closely, and to hear from the u.s. secretary of state that they now believe china is considering providing lethal support to russia would be a marked qualitative change for that, well, growing alliance between russia and china, and quite an aggressive move by china, given how badly the war is going for russia, but one that it would seem would lengthen the war. folks are looking for light at the end of the tunnel here. the ukrainians, as clarissa was noting, they feel that they're just shy of being able to win this. that they just need a few more weapons, a few more categories

of weapons. longer-range rockets and missiles, fighter jets, et cetera, they're getting tanks. they feel that they're just shy of winning this thing and bringing it to a close. for china to come in might very well lengthen it. now, president biden did come to kyiv with something, as you will often see on visits like this, and that is an aid package that includes javelin missiles, more ammunition. ukraine has been burning through that very fast, but not the fighter jets, this sort of next category of weapons that ukrainians are asking for now. the finer point i would just make is that, is that this is a visit to a war zone by a u.s. president unlike one we've seen really for decades. i mean, to go to iraq and afghanistan, those were significant moments for bush and obama, but those were war zones with the u.s. military in action and at least in the field they were going, activating some sort of control. it was quite a decision by this

president to go to kyiv in wartime. >> jim sciutto, thank you for that analysis. i know you've been there since before the war started and have been there on and off ever since. let's go now to phil mattingly, who is also following the president and is in poland at this point in time. phil, i'm curious what you're hearing, not just from the white house, but we're already seeing some reaction from the gop. and representative scott perry said this in a tweet, breathtaking that president biden can show up in ukraine to ensure their border is secure, but can't do the same for america. are you hearing anything else from other members of the republican party that are so stinging, perhaps petty? >> you know, i think today will be a really good day in terms of -- a really effective day in demonstrating where people stand

on this issue and those who are taking it from a serious perspective, i think to some degree, right? and that's not in any way to mark in a pejorative those who have questions about the united states support for ukraine, the scale of the support, just how much is gone over the course of the last year, but it does get to the point where there is an element, and it's not just republicans, there are some democrats as well, there is an element that has significant concerns about the scale of assistance that has gone to ukraine. and there's an element within that element, that doesn't care about it at all, but they like the political issue and they want to use it as an attack line. that's what you heard in the tweet that you read. the broader group that have concerns, would like it to be better accounted for, would like more of it to be directed back to the domestic front, that is an element that i think, one, has vice inside the republican comments in the house, in particular, but perhaps is more reflective of the american people in the fact that we have seen support for this war, while it is still significant, it has

started to wane over the course of the war. the broader point, though, is on a bipartisan basis, when you look at the members of congress that matter, that make decisions, that hold chairmanships, to a person, regardless of party, they are supportive of the u.s. support for ukraine. they are supportive of the scale of assistance, jaoftentimes, th are driving the administration to move faster on the scale of what they're willing to consider and send. and i think that the president's visit, as much as this was a message to the world, as much as this was a message to ukrainians, it's also a message to the american people. the administration knows that support for this war and their ability to continue to push for u.s. assistance to this war only lasts as long as the domestic political support lasts. they know that it has dropped somewhat. they know it is still maintained in a majority basis, and they understand that the critical leaders inside congress, regardless of party, are very much behind them on this. however, it is incumbent upon them to continue to show, one,

that it's effective, two, that there's a broader purpose here, and three, give the american people a reason to continue supporting it. so this is a very long way of getting back to your origin point here, where there will be political backlash to this. whether it comes from members of congress that matter, i think, is what you should pay most attention to, but the purpose of this was just as much to speak to the domestic audience, knowing that support on the home front in polling politically is just as important, given how long this is likely to last as it is the message to the world. >> also a huge message to president putin, who is about to come in front of his own country and address the state of the union there. it is a remarkable timing, as well. thank you so much to clarissa, jim, and phil. let's now turn to the russian perspective on this. >> fred pleitgen joins us from moscow. we've learned kaitlan's reporting, and kevin liptak.

hours before the president left on this unannounced visit to ukraine, they informed the russian government of the plans that he would visit the ukrainian capital for, quote, deconfliction purposes. what's your sense about that and the sense you're getting being on the ground in moscow? >> first of all, it's all over russian media, this president by president biden to ukraine. the russians are saying, they're in a war not with ukraine, but against the west and specifically with the united states. and there are some commentators saying that right now. saying that president biden on the ground there shows this is a war between russia and ukraine. this is certainly something that feeds into their narrative. and also very important with the fact that president vladimir putin of russia is set to give a giant speech here tomorrow, which everyone sees in moscow as

key. they're trying to rally the russian navy behind. as far as jake sullivan saying that they informed. russian media is talking about that. they don't have anything from the kremlin specifically, but there are some hardline russian military journalist out there that are angry about this and saying that vladimir putin should never have allowed president biden to come to moscow. and one that says that president biden could go to bakhmut without seeing any trouble from the russian military. there is some criticism of vladimir putin. but if you look at some of these hard-line reporters, hardline commentators, a lot of them feel that vladimir putin needs to be even tougher, even more brutal than he has been so far. but i think it is absolutely key to point out to our viewers that right now, from the perspective that we're getting here in

moscow, there is absolutely nothing to indicate that vladimir putin is anywhere near backing down. in fact, it seems to us as though the russians are doubling down. and certainly what we expect here, this entire week is a lot of patriotic narratives coming from the russian president. and certainly him trying to rally the russian nation. and they believe that in the long run, they will be able to overpower the ukrainians and they also believe that they'll be able to outlast the united states and european allies. so that's something that's really important, i think, to keep in perspective. that right now the russians nowhere near backing down at this point, guys. >> fred pleitgen live for us in moscow. thank you very, very much. and kaitlan, having covered the biden white house so closely, i think this reporting that you and kevin liptak had is fascinating, that the president decided friday, thought the risk was manageable, according to jake sullivan, and instructed his team to make it happen. despite changing circumstances. >> it's all about the risk here.

the secret service is probably not thrilled about this trip. this is something that the president said when he was here in poland, about 11 months ago, he said he wanted to go to ukraine, but they had told him that it just wasn't doable, they, obviously, being a reference to the people that are tasked with protecting his life. it is significant for him to go into this active war zone. there's barely any embassy staff there. there is no u.s. military presence there. and so to have him go and not even go on air force one to take a ten-hour train ride, it is a big decision for the white house. i thought it was interesting that jake sullivan said that the president knew he was only going to have a little bit of time on the ground. he wanted to make the most of it with president zelenskyy, was really focused whon what that conversation would look like. >> i think it's really significant. you talk about the fact that he's on the train. we know, when i was there, the trains were bombarded by russia, knocked off the tracks, blown up. so there is a real concern here that if they knew where he was, exactly, you know, they could

have done something really, really aggressive. thank you so much to you, kaitlan, there in warsaw. now to some other news. this morning, jimmy carter is in hospice care in georgia. this comes four months after he celebrated his 98th birthday. carter has lived longer than any other u.s. president. he's had several issues in recent years, and our cnn's ivan mcken is joining us life from plains, georgia, where he is resting comfortably with family. >> reporter: good morning too you, sarah. as we were driving into plains yesterday afternoon, the first thing that we saw was a man on a step stepladder, painting a large peanut statue. this was a prop that was part of carter's 1976 presidential campaign. and he told me, he's been meaning to get out here for weeks to touch up this statue. but felt a real sense of urgency

in the wake of learning about carter in hospice care. to get this done out of tribute and honor to him, that is how this town is responding. carter just an immense sense of pride in this community for him. we are within spitting distance of where he went to school. we're very close to a train depot that was actually also the site of his campaign headquarters. and we're not far from his family home. a home that he built in the 1960s and continues to live in today. so, a lot of pride here that the 39th president from this town, but also, many folks here really just praying for their neighbor. take a listen. okay. so that was -- okay, so we don't have that sound bite there, but we did speak to michael dominick, who recalled that the former president was a frequent

staple at community events, and was a deep man of faith. and it is that faith, sarah, that the carter family and the residents here are leaning on during this difficult time. sarah? >> eva mckend, thank you so much, and i think no one will ever look at president carter and not say that he was perhaps the most effective post-president that we have ever had, especially with his work with habitat for humanity. >> right. and peace around the world. >> right. >> we'll have a lot more on him, ahead. officials in east palestine, ohio, say the air and water are safe after the toxic train derailment, but residents there say the way they feel proves otherwise. we'll speak to one woman who lives just miles from where that terrible crash site is and how her family is feeling this morning. also, the latest on president biden's surprise visit to ukraine. kaitlan will speak with a top white house security official live from warsaw, poland.

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support your immune system with a potent blend of nutrients and emerge your best every day with emergen-c welcome back. norfolk southern ceo alan shaw heads back to ohio today, after one of his company's trains carrying hazardous material derailed two weeks ago in east palestine, ohio. that led to a controlled burn of chemicals, creating contaminants and really scaring residents there. they're now questioning if it is safe for them to live there, to drink the water, what it means for their kids. our jason carroll reports. >> reporter: two weeks after the norfolk southern train derailment and the controlled release of chemicals by the company that followed, residents in the east palestine, ohio, are increasingly worried about what's in their air, water, and soil. >> when we think about the

chemicals that we know have been released, they are known c carc carcinogens. vinyl chloride is a carcinogen. we have to look at the health impacts to our vulnerable populations. >> i'm senator doug mastriano, i'm south of east palestine, ohio, ground zero -- >> reporter: public health concerns now shared by a former gubernatorial candidate and current state senator in the neighboring state of pennsylvania, doug mastriano. >> look at these chemicals. look at these colors. it has kind of a butane smell to it. >> reporter: the governor of ohio says air quality tests in more than 500 homes showed no detection of contaminants. officials say that public water is safe, while private well water users should stick with bottled water for now. despite those guarantees, the toxic chemical spill is still causing uproar and criticism directed at norfolk southern. >> everything that's happened here, all the cleanup, all the

drilling, all the testing, all the hotel stays, all of that is on norfolk southern. they caused it. there's no question they caused it with this derailment. >> reporter: in addition to the thousands of fish found dead after the derailment, cnn has learned that two horses are being treated for smoke inhalation after the controlled burn, according to the pennsylvania department of agriculture. standing by their decision, norfolk southern ceo says the burn was the right thing to do. >> i think we did what we needed to do in order to prevent an uncontrolled explosion. >> the federal government has deployed medical experts to help assess health concerns. people in this community have been reporting problems such as rashes and nausea. the cdc also confirmed that it will send a team to assess public health needs. but that is not stopping what some are calling the biden administration's slow response to the disaster. on sunday, transportation secretary pete buttigieg responded with a letter to

norfolk southern's ceo, writing, major derailments in the past have been followed by calls for reform and by vigorous resistance by your industry to increase safety measures. this must change. and poppy, starting tomorrow, the church that you see behind me will be the site of a clinic that's being set up so residents who are experiencing symptoms can come here, get themselves checked out, ohio's governor says that this is being done out of an abundance of caution, but also to meet the needs of the people here in the community. >> jason, just before you go, and thank you for that reporting, what's the reaction been to folks on the ground to that open letter that alan shaw, the ceo of norfolk southern wrote? >> reporter: i have to tell you, there is so much distrust here on the ground. people can say what they want, but one woman that i was terterks i texting with over the phone, she said, words, at this point,

quote, mean nothing to her. what they want to see is some action. and when it comes to action, they're just not believing what the federal and officials are saying about the water in the air being safe and what the people here on the ground believe. poppy? >> jason carol, thank you again for being on the ground with that reporting. sarah? >> thanks, poppy. joining us now is kelly exotic, she lives in east palestine and recently bought her home there. it's just a couple of miles from the derailment site. thank you so much for coming on cnn this morning. can you first tell me -- >> thanks for having me. >> -- the easiest things. we want to know how you're feeling. >> the headaches, when you're home are pretty much nonstop. they're awful. also, if you're outside for more than 15, 20 minutes, you start feeling the congestion, heaviness in your chest. i take showers. we have well water.

my skin burns. it's really devastating. >> that is completely awful. so you said headaches are pretty much nonstop, you said when you take showers, it feels like the water is burning you, and that's not from the heat. that's from something you think in the water, one of the chemicals there. >> absolutely. >> and people have complained of nausea, rashes, do you believe the officials, whether it is from the train company or from the government that say, everything's fine, we've tested it, the water is fine, we've tested it. >> the problem is, the testing methods that they're using, you know, they're pulling a 250-millimeter sample. you just -- you can't find what you're not looking for. and water and contamination, they're never in equilibrium. and this testing method is just, it's not going to get an

accurate read. they're going to read false for non-detects every time. >> it sounds like you're frustrated, just like anyone would be. you just purchased a house. we know what kind of burden that puts on your shoulders. can you give me a sense of what you saw in your property. you saw some pictures on your property after all of this happened. what did you and see what did you take pictures of? >> we have a 14-acre property with a creek that runs through our woods. two days after, we're finding oil through the creek -- or i should say, an oil sheen on top of the water through the creek. i don't know if you have a video of the bubbles. they were all through the creek. now, a normal, healthy ecosystem, from the breakdown of organic matter will get a foamy, bubbly stance here and there in the creek. this is a totally different kind of bubble. this is a gaseous substance,

we're in the sure what. but that was all through the creek, as well as a lot of sludge. >> you like many residents there are extremely concerned, as you should be. we all know the story of erin brockovich. we all know the story of the history of lying that has happened by, whether it be corporations or the government itself. but i want to ask you this. are you satisfied in any way with the communication that you've been getting from either state officials or federal officials, like the epa? >> no, it's been absolutely pathetic. the fact that this soaked in and burned for two straight days before they decided to even do anything about it, and then they did their controlled burn? where was the epa for that? i'm sorry, but the epa should have been involved from the minute this train derailed. they said they didn't know what chemicals were on that train. that was a complete lie, because anybody that works with

chemicals knows that they have a complete manifest as to what and where those chemicals are and how much. >> they're certainly supposed to. and we will try to get to the bottom of that for you. i have spoken ad nauseam with the epa administrator michael regan, who has been trying to deal with water issues across the country. and so we will try to get on the phone and get some answers for you. i do want to read norfolk southern's statement. the ceo said, we are working closely with ohio environmental and health agencies on the long-term plan to protect the environment and the community. we are going to do the work thoroughly, completely, and safely. do you believe them? >> no. it's little, too late. the damage is already done. we'll see the repercussions of this for the next 10, 20, 30 years. you know, our property values are plummeting. our health -- who knows what's going to happen. the two days of it just smoldering and letting off those

gas into the environment before the controlled burn, before they evacuated anybody, i believe the damage is already done. and there's not much they can do about it at this point. >> kelly, i want to say to you, from us here on the show, we're really sorry what you're going through. i know it's got to be extremely stressful for you and the family. and i hope this all gets sorted out in a timely manner, because these are really concerns, and you know, americans are suffering, trying to deal with all of this. kelly, thank you so much for joining us on "cnn this morning." >> thank you. have a good day. >> you too. ahead, more on president biden's visit to ukraine and the new round of aid that was just announced. the significance and how it could shape the war. retired brigadier general steve anderson will join us next on "cnn this morning."

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since russia invaded. the president walked the streets with ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy as you heard air raids blaring across the city. we are now learning that president biden decided only on friday to make that final call that yes, he was going to ukraine. he had been huddled with aides in the oval office discussing the security issues he would have to take. they did notify the kremlin hours before the president arrived in kyiv so there would be no miscalculation. the president said it was important for him to be in ukraine on and around the one-year anniversary of putin's invasion to pledge u.s. support for ukraine, saying it will go on as long as it takes, poppy. >> kaitlan, thank you. for more on the state of the war as it approaches a few days away from that one-year mark, retired brigadier general steve anderson

joins us now. he served in the u.s. army for more than 30 years -- >> i can't hear anything, i'm sorry. >> general anderson, we're sorry. can you hear me now? >> i can't hear anything. >> okay, we will get back to him in just a moment. let's fix that little technical difficulty. sarah, to you as we try to -- let me bring kaitlan back in. kaitlan? >> reporter: as we wait to fix his audio issues, i'm very interested to see what he has to say about all of this, given that this is a trip that does involve a lot of planning. and what the white house is saying is that it had actually months of planning behind this and there still is risk that the president had when he decided to take this trip. what the white house says, sarah, poppy, they decided that it was a manageable risk that they could take here. that it was something where they felt he could go into ukraine, at a point they believed it was safe enough. he only went with so few people, and that is very rare for a presidential visit. >> he is the commander in chief. and ultimately gets to be the decider of what happens. but, there is nothing safe about

ukraine. there is nowhere safe in ukraine. but he got in and out. >> he did. yeah. >> let's go back to our retired brigadier general, steve anderson. can you hear me now? >> i hear you fine. >> we apologize for that. thank you so much for being here. given all of your experience, your reaction to president biden's commitment this morning to the ukrainian president to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes. what does that need to mean now in terms of tactical weaponry, does it need to mean long-range missiles? does it need to mean f-16s for ukraine to win? >> yes, it does. it means all of the above. this is a great show of leadership by president biden. i mean, good leaders always go to the sound of the guns. this is significant. but the united states needs to make a decision. are we in it to ensure that the ukrainians simply not lose? or are we in it so they can actually win? in order to do that, we've got to be able to do that to surge a lot of equipment forward. they need more aircraft, drones,

more long-range thrartillery. and something that hasn't been discussed much, they need logisticses. we've given them a lot of great equipment that they can't maintain i've heard from great reports from the theater that only half of the equipment we've given them is fully mission capable. they don't have the maintenance training or the repair parts. so we've got to be able to surge that forward, particularly if we want them to actually win. >> one of -- to do that, you have really been advocating for the biden administration to authorize u.s. contractors into ukraine. explain why that is so critical in your view? >> well, it's absolutely critical, because you've got to have u.s. and nato expertise on the ground to be able to train them on how to use this equipment. they don't know. they're smart, resourceful, industrious people, but we've got to train them. they have to have the repair parts. now, we've got 800 contractors supporting the state department, running all over ukraine, which is great. why can't the defendant of defense do the same thing?

it would not represent a significant escalation and it's a kind of capability that they've got to have in order to conduct diefensive operations t win this war. >> that's your view. the risk calculation from the white house would be, what would that signal to putin in terms of escalation? >> well, if it's not risky enough for the president to go visit kyiv, i mean, come on. we had 120 contractors killed in iraq and afghanistan. and that's a terrible thing. but if we're willing to shed blood there, this is a far more existential threat to our nation. we simply must win this war. the ukrainians must prevail or the entire world order as we know it will change. >> that's what we heard from the president this morning, certainly there in ukraine. retired brigadier general steve anderson, thanks for your expertise. on another international front, north korea is escalating tensions in a really big way. what we're learning about its latest missile test, coming up.

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i love this segment. as you get ready to start your day, here are five stories you need to know. president biden making a surprise and historic visit to

ukraine this morning, in a striking show of solidarity, just days before the one-year anniversary of russia's invasion into ukraine. the president met with ukrainian president zelenskyy and announced a half-billion dollars in new aid. >> also this morning, tributes pouring in more former president jimmy carter after it was announced that he will be receiving hospice care at his home in georgia. this comes four months after he celebrated his 98th birthday. carter suffered several health issues in recent years. >> north korea launching two ballistic missiles into the waters off of its east coast this morning. it's the country's second test launch in three days. and it comes after a strong response to u.s. and south korean joint military drills. comedian and actor richard belzer has died at the age of 78. he died at his home in france. he was best known for his detective character on several tv shows like "law & order: svu"

and "homicide: life on the street." >> that's a wrap! >> it is over! >> yes, that is a jaw-dropper. bam! that's matt mcclung, the nba slam dunk champion dazzling other players in salt lake city for the all-star weekend. i wish i could have been there. chris, maybe you could take me. the 6'2" point guard flew through the air and stunned with his gravity-defying dunks. only many my dreams. >> i loved seeing that. and it was like -- was he in the g-league before? >> i don't know where he came from with that? >> but he has arrived. >> now he has arrived. the five things you need to know, all day on cnn and cnn.com. don't forget to download the five things podcast every morning. you can find it wherever you get your podcasts. kaitlan? yeah. a lot going on here this morning, including back here in warsaw, poland, where we're waiting on president biden's arrival. we'll talk more about his

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for the fighters on the front lines. >> well, yes. thank you. i've been actually to the front lines in kherson region, and that was very significant that i saw flag of ukraine, that ukrainian military had the flag of the united states. though there are no american military here on the ground fighting for us, there is definitely the spirit, the belief in american spirit here. we definitely know that every american appreciates freedom as much as every ukrainian. i was working with the president for 25 months. i know that when president biden already was, you know, coming into power, president zelenskyy was mentioning when i was working there and after that he wanted president biden to visit ukraine really a lot. like, that was his personal desire. and president biden selected such a significant moment. this is the moment before the first year of the war, russian

war against ukraine. but also the president's day, right, in the united states. here in ukraine, we have a jog that there is no better place to celebrate the president's day in ukraine than there is no better company than with president zelenskyy. let me mention that every ukrainian is almost celebrating this visit for the reason that the last american president who is coming to ukraine was president bush in 2008 and that was a completely different country. that was the country before all those critical reforms that we have done to join the european union. but also it was the country before the war. and now we see that president biden selected the most crucial moment actually in the history of ukraine to come here. believe me, this is the most significant way to show the support by the united states. >> and only a few hours that president biden had on the ground there. his aides said they wanted to

make the most of it. that he wanted to make the most during that time in the room with zelenskyy. what's your sense of the urgency of zelenskyy's message that he had for president biden? >> well, definitely the most important point here is that president zelenskyy underlines that he wants to see the peace in ukraine this year. and he mentioned this publicly, too. and there is this logistics that needs to be negotiated with a partner. how to make this peace come so that we do not lose, so that democracy actually wins but the peace is here, people don't die, ukraine is back to its territory, you know, recognized by the international partners. and there are a lot of questions that are needed to be discussed. so definitely this was on the table. and definitely the most important thing is that ukraine is -- will we be able to make the counteroffensive so successfully that we regain all

our territories? crimea and donbas, part of the kherson. so how will this counteroffensive look like? are we prepared enough? what we will need more for this. so these questions are really crucial for the ukraine's victory and survival. >> yeah. those are major questions going ahead of what that looks like. if there is a negotiation. the former press secretary to president zelenskyy, thank you for joining us this morning. >> thank you for having me. ♪ and we'll be right back in a moment with more coverage.

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moment. austin butler won the best actor award for hivis biopic. after the ceremony, butler told the press, i feel honored to have been welcomed into the family. sit a bittersweet time. and this one very close to home for us, another big win at the baftas, the cnn film navalny won best documentary following the assassination attempt on russian president vladimir putin's fiercest critic alexny navalny. it's an extraordinary film if you haven't seen it. >> i have seen it twice and cannot recommend it more. i hope it wins a lot more. that does it for us. cnn's coverage of president biden's visit to ukraine continues right now. ♪ good monday morning to you i'