>> alec baldwin got a break today. prosecutors downgrading the manslaughter charges against him in the 21 shooting death of cinematographer halyna hutchins on the set of the movie rust. the decision, which also caused the film's armorer, reducing the prison time that they could receive, if convicted by five years. the news continues. the situation room with wolf blitzer starts now. [sirens] >> tonight -- an extraordinary moment in a war at a crossroads. >> when you later, gave stands, and ukraine stands, democracy stands. >> the president of the united states on an unprecedented and dangerous trip into ukraine. as russia's invasion nears one year of barbarism and bloodshed. >> this conversation brings us

closer to victory. >> president biden's visit to kyiv, a defiant review of vladimir putin, as the world asks, when will this war and? how far will the u.s. and allies go to defend democracy on the brink, and what will putin do next in his unprovoked attack on a sovereign state? >> russia's aim was to wipe ukraine off the map. putin's war is failing. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i am wolf blitzer. and this is a special edition of the situation room. president biden is back in poland tonight, after a day that will go down in history, preparing for another momentous day tomorrow, when he and vladimir putin will be delivering dueling addresses, nearly 800 miles apart. president biden traveled under a cloak of secrecy to the capital of ukraine earlier this

morning, the city that russia thought it would be able to capture right at the start of this invasion. but kyiv still stands almost one year into this war. what a dramatic show of solidarity to see president biden standing alongside president volodymyr zelenskyy in broad daylight, right at the heart of a democracy, under attack, with a very audible reminder of the extreme danger that exists around them. [sirens] >> the surprise trip, coming on the eve of a speech by putin to his nation, attempting to justify a second year of bloodshed. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> putin's war and conquest is failing. he thought he could outlast us. i don't think he's thinking that right now. >> so, how will the russian leader respond to president biden, only hours from now? we have team coverage coming up.

we will go live to fred pleitgen. he is in moscow this hour. kaitlan collins is live in warsaw, where the president just arrived. clarissa ward is live in kyiv. sam kiley is joining us from kharkiv. first, let's go to jim sciutto for more on how this very, very secret trip came together. jim, what are you learning? >> wolf, it's a complicated journey from the u.s. capital to the ukrainian capital, which began on sunday morning at 4:15 a.m. here in washington, with stops at ramstein airbase in germany for refuelling, and another stop at a polish airbase. the rest of the journey to kyiv on a train from poland to the ukrainian capital. we should note the u.s. gave a heads up to russia in advance. this is not for russia's convenience, but in effect, a warning to not fire on the ukrainian capital, while the u.s. president is there. we should also note, u.s. air assets were deployed right up to the polish border, careful not to cross into ukrainian airspace. they do not want to come into conflict with russian military resources there. but close enough both for

overwatch for the president's safety, and also in the event that there was an attack, that the president was injured in some way, they would have the ability to evacuate him and quickly. i should note, off the president's small team, there was also a medical team traveling with president biden. that final leg on a train from poland to kyiv, and unusual train trip for a president known as amtrak joe, for all his troops back in here. but this is the path into kyiv that world leaders, u.s. officials, and others have used, the safest, not the fastest route from kyiv to poland, but the safest route. >> a ten hour train ride, not sure -- standby, jim, i wanna get back to. only go to cnn anchor kaitlan collins, joining us from the polish capital of warsaw right now where president biden just arrived. caitlin, i also understand you're getting some information on the presidents visit. update our viewers. >> well, wolf, this has been a trip that they have really been planning for months. of course, initially, the public schedule that the white house put out had president

biden coming to warsaw first. as we all know now, that did not happen. there was that the court to kyiv, as he left the white house, and as jim was noting there, in the early hours of sunday morning. he traveled with a shades down on air force one. he also traveled with the shapes down on the train that he was taking to kyiv, once he had gotten to poland, that was going into ukraine. and it was something that they had been planning for months. but instead of typically going into large groups of staff throughout the agencies inside administration, only a few people were told about this, wolf, because obviously, it's so sensitive and so closely held that it was not something that could be shared widely for planning. and it was last friday the president gathered in the oval office with his top aides, and made the final decision to go to kyiv. he was presented with many security options, what the risks were, what will this look like, and he made the final decision to go. and jake sullivan, is national security adviser, essentially describing that as he believed it, yes, there was a risk. but he believed that risk was worth taking, because of the message that was going to be

sending by going into ukraine just days before that one year anniversary. and i think the idea that they did give the kremlin a heads up just a few hours, a heads up that he would be coming into ukraine is notable. that is not some kind of diplomatic nod from the united states to russia. that, instead, was for deconfliction purposes, which essentially means to avoid the possibility of an unintentional, or intentional, russian strike. that was for the presidents safety why they told them that. wolf? >> kaitlin, president biden and russian president putin, as you well know, are set to give these dueling speeches tomorrow, just ahead of the one year anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine. so, what message do you expect president biden to deliver, given that we actually heard him call out putin directly earlier today? >> he did. he challenged him directly, saying basically he got it wrong. what you thought was going to happen has not happened. that does not mean they are in this ideal scenario. obviously, there are still more,

a brutal war that is being waged in ukraine. but talking about just how far putin's expectations have fallen from what he thought was going to happen, just a year ago. and, wolf, you and i were here in warsaw, 11 months ago, listening to president biden speak in the same place that he's actually going to be speaking tomorrow. and that was when he made that comment about putin, saying he cannot remain in power. of course, still a feeling that the president shares today. but what you are going to see on display tomorrow's president putin will speak first, then you will hear from president biden hours later. it will be to vastly different world views. autocracy versus democracy, this theme that you've seen president biden return to time and time again. that is going to be more of what he is saying tomorrow. but underneath all of that, there are so many questions about what other support that u.s. is prepared to provide to ukraine. you've seen what they've called for, what was not delivered there today. those are going to be the big questions coming out of those two dueling speeches tomorrow night. it will be a remarkable split screen, though. >> it certainly will, and kaitlin, so glad you are there

in warsaw, covering all this for us. right now, i want to bring back jim sciutto, he's got more. jim, how is this latest round of, what, $500 million and u.s. military assistance to ukraine, fit in with a bigger picture, the billions that have already been provided? >> let's look at the headline figure. first line, since the start of the war, close to 30 billion dollars. it's a big headline figure. but when you place in the context of the overall u.s. defense budget in the 2023, 816 billion dollars. that means the aid to ukraine, and we are speaking specifically here of military assistance, amounts to less than 4% of the overall u.s. defense budget. u.s. officials have made the point for that 4%. the u.s. has contributed to really the decimation of russia's ground military capability. let us get into what is the bulk of that aid. a lot of it is ammunition. i mean, 102 million artillery rounds. i was told that ukraine was firing in a day what it takes the u.s. about two weeks to make. i mean, that is the piece of the war at this point. a whole host of anti-tank systems, they have an enormous

effect, particularly the early stages of the war, neutralizing russia's advantage and heavy armor. more recently, the focus has shifted to vehicles. and i want to draw attention to a couple of categories of those. we know the effect of the himars, the howitzers, finally accurate artillery, and rocket systems that have been striking russian forces, even far behind lines. more recently, the focus on abrams tanks were also seeing leah part tanks coming from europe and other partners. bradley fighting vehicle's, why these now? these give ukrainian forces the ability not just to defend territory, but also, they hope to take territory back. there is an enormous amount of hope among ukrainian military leaders right now that with these weapons, striker vehicles from the u.s. as well, they will be able to push back against the russians, and take back some of the territory taken since the first -- well, first year now of this invasion. >> impressive amount of arsenal -- impressive amount indeed so far, presumably, they're gonna get even much, much bigger.

jim, standby for us. i want to go now to the ukrainian capital of kyiv. there, our chief international correspondent clarissa ward is standing by for us. clarissa, despite this new infusion of u.s. and allied military assistance, the ukrainians are still pleading, and pleading, and pleading for more. what can you tell us about that? >> well, they see what is coming on the horizon with this russian offensive, and they want to be prepared for it. they don't want this to turn into a protracted stalemate. and they know that in order to try to precipitate some kind of victory, they say they need long-range artillery, fighter jets, things of this nature. now, we did hear president zelenskyy's chief of staff today alluded to the fact that potentially, some kind of agreement, or some kind of movement was happening with the white house and bank of on, that he said issues are being

resolved, and those that were stuck have been sped up. we don't know specifically what he was talking about their. but as mentioned, these more, heavier weaponry are exactly what they have been looking for, what they have been asking for. in the short term, though, the most desperately needed thing here in ukraine, militarily, is ammunition. according to cnn's own reporting, ukrainians have been burning through ammunition, particularly in the east of the country, in bakhmut, at such a rate that the u.s. and nato have not been able to produce it fast enough to replenish it. so, we did see today a guarantee of a lot of ammunition coming this way. that will be greatly received. but now, the next question becomes, how can they push to extract that heavier weaponry that is more difficult for the u.s. to agree to? we have seen the uk agreeing in principle to start training ukrainian pilots on uk fighter jets, although they then rode

that back and qualify it, saying that it could take years. and that's the real concern, wolf, for ukrainian officials is that they don't have years. >> yes, they don't. all right, there is that, standby. we will get back to you. i want to get back to chip pseudo-right now, taking a closer look at the next phase of this war, we are anticipating rushes spring offensive to begin as the weather gets better so it can expect from putin's next move? >> well, the focus of fighting in recent weeks have been here along the eastern front. and really, they have become the killing fields of eastern ukraine, the casualties on both sides, staggering, sometimes many hundreds per day, both russian forces and ukrainian forces. why? a hailstorm of artillery firing back and forth, rocket fired back and forth along this frontier, with minimal gains, sometimes measured in yards per day. now, the focus in recent weeks has been discussion of a russian offensive, a spring offensive. you've heard a lot of that,

specifically from the russian side. but the u.s. military officials are saying is that that offensive is more aspirational than realistic because the russian military has amassed a large number of forces here, they don't have the quality of forces, the training, and equipment to gain serious ground. perhaps, for another several months. at the same time, ukraine believes they have an opportunity now to push in this direction, and perhaps even crucially, crossed this border with those weapons we have been discussing. the striker vehicles, the bradley fire vehicles, and tanks such as the abrams or leah parts such as from germans or other nato allies, to not just defend this frontier, but take back territory already taken from russia. it's gonna be a brutal, deadly fighting season. the ukrainians think they have the advantage. >> jim sciutto reporting for us. jim, thank you very much. just ahead, so, what happens if china joins in on this ukraine invasion? president zelenskyy offering a

very, very grave warning to the world tonight. how worried is they knighted states of the top of world war iii? we'll have president biden's deputy national security adviser. he's standing by live. stay with us. you are in the situation room. ♪ ♪ ♪ lomita feed is 101 years old this year and counting. i'm bill lockwood, current caretaker and owner. when covid hit, we had some challenges like a lot of businesses did. i heard about the payroll tax refund, it allowed us to keep the amount of people that we needed and the people that have been here taking care of us. see if your business may qualify. go to getrefunds.com.

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with lethal weapons. as u.s. officials warn, china doing so would cross a red line. ukrainian president zelenskyy raised another alarm that china's involvement would risk with the president of ukraine calls world war iii. the geopolitical fault lines deepening further, as china's top diplomat traveling to russia today, while president biden touched down in ukraine. let's get some insight right now from a white house insider, who is directly involved in planning president biden's unprecedented, very dangerous trip to kyiv. john finer is joining us. he served as principal deputy national security adviser to the president. john, thanks so much for joining us on this historic, very busy day. we will get to china in a moment. but let me start with the president's historic trip to kyiv today. the planning took, i understand, months, but the president only made the final decision to go on friday. how did he make the decision to visit what is clearly an active war zone? >> that's right, wolf. the president had been briefed

on the plan, as it came together over a period of months, and again, in recent weeks. he went through all the details down to the kind minute of each movement, each meeting that would take place, and how the security teams and others involved in conducting the trip will manage risk. on friday, he gathered with his senior white house staff, and with his national security cabinet, secretary of state, secretary of defense, intelligence officials, and he talked to the group about the prospect of going ahead with a trip, and ultimately decided to do so, believing the risk was manageable, and believing the message that it would send of solidarity and support for the people of ukraine was well worth going ahead. and, you know, when you conduct a trip like this, you can plant perfectly. but in active war zones, there are always things that can go wrong, or unknown factors that haven't been taken into account. we were very gratified that everything will as it did today. >> was there anything, jon, anyone, advising him not to go?

i asked the question because a former white house correspondent myself, i know the u.s. secret service as always secretive about wherever the president of united states goes? >> so, one thing, i think, that i take seriously is the real privilege of being involved in these discussions, is you don't walk out in front of the tv cameras and talk about who came down, and on which side of the argument. ultimately, everyone was comfortable with the president proceeding, and he has the ultimate decision, he made the decision to go ahead. >> which was the decision? why did you guys make a decision to inform the russians of the presidents trip in advance of it becoming public knowledge? >> something that we discussed for a while, in advance of the trip, and ultimately, the decision was made that security and safety, being the utmost priority, we were better off letting the russians know, so that they could deconflict anything that they were contemplating, because we did not want them to misperceive any unusual activity, and tweet it the wrong way. and so, that was the decision

that was made. we conveyed that information just before the president departed, and again, everything went more or less as planned. >> in regards to china right now, this is a huge issue, you heard president zelenskyy's warning today to china's support for russia, the lethal weapons, could lead to a third world war. does the white house, jon, share those fears? >> well, look, leaving aside that ultimate worst-case scenario, we have been quite clear that we, ourselves, have mounting concerns about chinese support for russia's war effort. secretary blinken spoke to this earlier in the week. and, look, china's, to some extent, trying to have it both ways. they are making a public presentation about the desire to play a role in the primacy, to try to end the war. meanwhile, we have concerns that they may be actually increasing their support to russia. i think our strong view is that china is actually interested in ending the war. they should talk with ukrainians, consult with them about what their requirements

would be for the war to end, and not funneling increasing amounts of support, potentially, to russia. and that could stop this war at any moment, if they desire to do that. >> what action, jon, is the biden administration willing to take, if, if china offers lethal support to russia? >> look, we don't want to get ahead of any decisions. we have been quite clear about our concerns. we have options available to us, but we are not about to sort of lay them out in advance of conversations that we have with the chinese, that we have with the ukrainians, and that we have with our partners and allies, who very much share the concerns that we have spoken about publicly during the course of recent weeks. >> we've seen now this war has shifted the u.s. position on military aid to ukraine, wrapping up to include the patriot air defense missile system, and now, a commitment to send battle tanks. is sending f-16 fighter jets, or longer range missiles, also a possibility? >> the president has spoken of

this, and i'm not gonna elaborate on his comments, but what i will say, we have made decisions about security assistance at every phase of this conflict, that have been tailored to what we believe the ukrainians needed to be successful on the battlefield in that moment. early in the war, that was stinker, anti-aircraft systems. that was anti-tank rounds of javelin systems, and that enabled the iranians to fend off an assault on their capitol, and when the russians were trying to take over the entire country. that shifted into more of an old artillery were in the east, and we've been providing an enormous amount of artillery, so that ukrainians could compete with russians who have enormous amongst themselves during that phase of the conflict. more recently, it's been armored vehicles, tanks, as you mentioned, but also armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, for the next phase of the where, where the iranians would like to go on the fence of themselves later this spring. we are working with them to get the equipment to do that. we are training them on the best way to go about that. and every phase of this is tailored to what we think their

operational needs are, and that is going to continue. >> while i have you, i want to get your thoughts on this. the u.s. today joined more than 30 countries to call on the international olympic committee to reverse its decision last month to enable russian and belarusian athletes to join the upcoming olympic games. why is it important for the united states to take this stance? >> look, i will let that decision of the u.s. olympic committee speak for itself. it's not a policy decision that comes before the white house. it wouldn't be appropriate for me to offer a view on it. but certainly, nothing to contradict anything that they have decided. >> but, do you support that decision? >> i have to look at it more carefully, honestly, before just going out and commenting on it. >> jon finer, thank you very, very much. i know it's incredibly busy day today. thanks for joining us. we will continue this conversation for short down on the road. up next, what will vladimir

putin say tomorrow, after being surprised by president biden today. we're live in moscow's with the russian leaders plans, and address to his people, taking on even more importance right now. and the first and only ukrainian born member of the u.s. congress, with her view on whether the u.s. is doing enough to help her home country. stay with us. you are in the situation room. ♪ ♪ ♪ your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do.

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president biden's historic visit to ukraine. our senior international correspondent fred pleitgen joining us from moscow right now. fred, we are expecting to hear directly from putin tomorrow. what are you anticipating? >> hi there, wolf. one of the interesting things about today is that for the kremlin, we actually heard absolutely nothing about president biden's visit to kyiv. we thought that possibly, the kremlin would react, but it was absolutely nothing. and i think one of the reasons for that is that obviously, the russians are gearing up towards that vladimir putin speech, that is going to happen only about seven hours from now. and i can tell you from being on the ground here, there is a lot of people in russian politics who do believe that that's going to be a very important speech. and that is one that's probably gonna set the stage on how the russians continue what they call their special military operation. now, as far as president biden's visit, though, of course, it was everywhere on russian media throughout the entire course of the day. of course, there were other officials who did comment on it. one of the things that they played on was in fact that

obviously, the white house, as has been mentioned on the show, informed the russians before president biden went. there were some russian officials who criticized that, or some military bloggers who criticize that, but also, some russian officials who said that it showed that president biden needed security guarantees. one of them is dimitri medvedev, the former president of this country. i want to read you a quote from him. he said, quote, biden, having received security guarantees in advance, finally i went to kyiv, and here it is important to know that the west already delivers weapons and money to kyiv, quite regularly, a huge quantity allowing the military industrial complex of nato countries to earn money and steal weapons to sell to terrorists around the world. you can see some pretty harsh words there from the former russian president. but this is really a narrative that the kremlin has been putting out there, essentially saying, look, they are not only fighting against ukraine, but they believe that they are also fighting against nato, and specifically the united states. wolf? >> are there any signs that, at

all, fred, any sense at all that putin may be backing down or looking for some sort of exit ramp? >> well, right now, there certainly isn't at all. that is certainly one of the things that we also expect to hear in that speech from vladimir putin. being on the ground here, speaking to people who are in russian politics, in russian media, russian commentators, none of them believe that right now vladimir putin is anywhere near backing down. in fact, it seems as though he is doubling down. one of the things that the russians still seem to believe is they think they can outlast the ukrainians, but they can also outlast the support that the ukrainians are getting from the u.s. and especially the u.s. is, european allies. so, look for the speech tomorrow to be quite a harsh one, one in which vladimir putin tries to rally the nation behind what he calls the special military operation, where is going to double down on that. and the russians certainly also do believe that that offensive, that seems to be shaping up in the east of ukraine, by those

russian forces, that that is something that will happen, but not necessarily something that will happen in a fast way. they think it could be a slow-moving thing, and that just with the fact that there are so many questions that they can mobilize, that they could, in effect, overwhelm the ukrainian forces that are on the ground there in the long term, because again, they believe that they are simply in it for longer than the ukrainians could hold out. but, definitely, look for a very, very harsh speech from vladimir putin tomorrow, and certainly vladimir putin showing absolutely no signs of backing down or wanting to compromise in any way. wolf? >> all right, fred, thank you very much. fred pleitgen live in moscow, appreciate it. let's continue the discussion right now with republican congresswoman victoria spartz. she is the first and only ukrainian one member of the u.s. congress. congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us. i know you -- you have been back to ukraine many times since this brutal war began a year ago. what message does it send for

the president of the united states, president biden, to make this risky trip to kyiv? >> well, i think it was very important, even though i disagree with a lot of things with president biden, but i think it's very important it. is a very tough war. american people spent a lot of money. a lot of ukrainians are dying. it's a very brutal war. i think for the president of the united states to go there, and to show us support, it's really important. i think the war has been politicized a lot, and i hope president biden does other things that's going to be uniting our congress and our country because we have a lot of politics in ukraine, getting dragged into politics, not very healthy, because i truly believe american people support this, you know, efforts with ukrainian people that they're doing on a bipartisan basis, and too much politics hurts our efforts. >> as you know, a small number of your republican colleagues actually criticize president biden's trip to kyiv today. arguing he should be more focused on drop problems here

at home, like the border, or the ohio toxic derailment issue. what do you say to those republican colleagues of yours? >> well, i think these issues are not mutually exclusive. i think we have some very serious issues that we need to deal and our foreign policy. and we also have some internal issues, including border security. and i hope president biden will try to find common ground with republicans to deal with it because it's a serious situation. we actually have our judiciary committee going to the border in a few days, and try to get attention. so, i think that president biden wants to start governing, and start doing politics, he needs to deal with both of these issues. otherwise, it will be very divisive. and i don't think we should be divided. it's really very harmful for our country what we have right now. we have a lot of drama, a lot of circus, a lot of politics. but i think governing the country that's really need of governing. >> president biden today announced an additional $500 million in new u.s. military

assistance to ukraine. we are talking about ammunition and other weapons. do you believe the u.s. needs to still provide fighter jets to ukraine? >> well, i think, you know, we need to provide whatever it takes for ukrainian people, and ukrainian military, which is amazing brave, and talk, a lot of young people are fighting a brutal battle. whatever it takes for them to win, you know, we always say, we're gonna do this, we're gonna provide this. we shouldn't even think about what we are providing. we need to help the ukrainian people when this war. and we need to make sure that we do it promptly and proactively. we are doing much better now than we did a year ago. but i think more proactive, saving a lot of lives, and saving a lot of money for american people, too. >> at the same time, congresswoman, and i'm taking a look at some of your public statements in recent weeks and months, you have been calling for more accountability. you are also pushing for the u.s. to deliver assistance much faster to ukraine. so, how do you balance that

accountability, as well as the that military assistance to ukraine? >> well, i think accountability actual streamlined logistics, and make sure that the actual aid does get to the right people on the frontlines, because ukraine is a very complicated country, with a lot of infiltration, potential sabotage, a lot of corruption, and a lot of people, you know, that can take advantage of the situation. but also, there's a lot of very brave people fighting for their freedoms. so, the more efficient logistics, the better systems we have set up, then the more oversight we have in reporting back to congress and to the american people, and the more successful were going to be in this effort. and i think efficiency is going to bring us better results. so, i think better oversight will make us much more efficient and more strategic and have better policies. so, i think congress needs to address this. and on a bipartisan basis. and i truly, i'll be honest with you, republicans and democrats did a lot of work to

put pressure on this administration to become better and more efficient and what they would supply to ukraine because ultimately, it is a reflection of the american people. >> but you have expressed some concern in the past about corruption in ukraine. is that right? >> well, i did. and i think -- listen, you know, i was very surprised to see that actually, this is my constitutional duty to make sure that regardless who is in charge, a republican or a democrat, we have to decide on the money that you are spending. and i was very surprised to see that i got criticized from both sides of the aisle because that is what we have to do. and i think putting pressure on the actual administration made it much better. i think we need to do more and see what's happening in ukraine. there's a lot of problems in ukraine with corruption. i have noticed that a lot of people that have been in corruption did not have any consequences. so, them doing what they are doing, it's actually demoralizing for the ukrainian people, the great people that are dying for freedom.

and i think we should put pressure and make sure that we have democratic institution functioning, and make sure that they're not gonna steal their money, and then ask us for more money. that will be very important for us to have. so, we have a long term support of this effort. >> congresswoman victoria spartz, thank you so much for joining us. we will continue this conversation as well. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> so, what does it mean for those who still call ukraine home? the leader of the free world standing with their president in kyiv. cnn talks to ukrainians, including one woman going through an especially painful moment in this war, as our special report continues. stay with us. you are in the situation room. ♪ ♪ ♪ people remember ads with a catchy song. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's a little number you'll never forget. ♪ customize and save. ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ hi, susan. honey. yeah. i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad.

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it is worth fighting for, for as long as it takes, and that's how we're gonna be with you, mister president, for as long as it takes. >> [speaking non-english] >> for many every day ukrainians, president biden's unprecedented visit to kyiv is a welcome show of support, after nearly a year of suffering under russia's brutal invasion. our senior international correspondent sam kiley is joining us right now from kharkiv in ukraine, in the war zone there, with details. sam, what are ukrainians telling you about the presidents trip? what is the reaction? >> well, wolf, i just came from an area, a village in the town of kupiansk which is very, very close indeed to the frontline. indeed, the villages they are getting impounded on a pretty regular and increasingly intense level. and the reaction there was first of all, when we were speaking to people as joe

biden's arrival in kyiv was being made official and public knowledge, just before he was meeting, or as his meetings got underway with president zelenskyy. people, if they were cognizant, or really focused on getting aid that will be distributed, a limited amount of international aid, a lot of it denoted by a foundation. but this, though, was very kind of moving in a sense because for many people, living near the front line, the war is so raw. it is very difficult for them to focus at all on the grand politics. this was the reaction of one elderly woman there. >> did you know that president biden is in kyiv today, the american president just arrived in kyiv today. >> [speaking non-english] >> translator: i did hear yesterday that he was coming, but it would be lukashenko, putin, and biden, right? i saw this on tv yesterday, that they will be meeting. >> no, they are not meeting. he has come to show solidarity

with ukrainians meeting with zelenskyy today. what do you think of that? >> translator: they will be varying my son-in-law tomorrow. they will bring him in a coffin, cast be the war. [crying] -- >> the generalized occurs on the geopolitics that has led to private and personal misery for yet another ukrainian family there, wolf, but we also spoke to one man and he repeated the wider statement, the wider reaction to american international help. give us more weapons, this is what he said. >> what do you think of biden's visit to kyiv today, the american president is in kyiv visiting zelenskyy right now? >> [speaking non-english] >> translator: it is for the best. >> do you have a message for him? >> translator: what would i tell the american president? give us more weapons so we can -- >> now, of course, this area, wolf, is being pounded, as i

said. it is also an area that was liberated in september from the russian invaders. and they are very, very anxious that both the government and the local level that this help they were getting in artillery is a precursor to a more wide and more aggressive russian offensive. wolf? >> stay safe up there, sam kiley, thank you very much for that report. coming up -- this secret and historic mission to put the president of the united states into an active war zone. the truly extraordinary risk for american president, no major american military presence to watch his back, at least not now. how this compares to the legacies of past american commanders in chief, when our special report continues. you are in the situation room. ♪ ♪ ♪ if you have this... consider adding this. an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare. medicare supplement plans help by paying some of what medicare doesn't... and let you see any doctor.

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at carvana >> president biden's historic visit to ukraine marks the first time an american commander in chief traveled into a war zone without a major u.s. military presence there to protect him. our brian todd has been digging to previous presidential trips to war zones. so, brian, how is a top secret trip like this take shape? >> wolf, it involves meticulous planning, than almost entirely in secret. what complicated logistical arrangements, and a little bit of luck will carry them through. >> it was at the height of world war ii, and the conflict still wasn't going americas way. president franklin roosevelt, engaged in the high stakes game of misdirection, tracking journalists into thinking he was taking a train into his home in upstate new york. but he secretly switched trains in baltimore, headed to miami.

then, took a series of arduous plane hops, and ended up in casablanca, morocco. it was january, 1943. the first time a sitting american president rode on an airplane. a trip shrouded in secrecy, so that fdr could strategize with winston churchill. a journey fraught with danger. >> and world war ii, you not only had the possibility of the commander-in-chief being shot down, but the technology was such that air travel was not as safe in the 1940s as it is today. >> some u.s. troops in morocco did not know the president was coming, until he rode past them in a.g.. historians say or zone trips for american presidents have always been complicated, even dating back to the civil war. >> at least 12 presidents have gone to war zones in the past, starting, of course, with abraham lincoln and the civil war there, those famous pictures of him in his top hat, the sitting union soldiers to boost their morale. but it's a big risk. >> lyndon b. johnson went twice

as president. richard nixon, once, to vietnam. while the war there was waging. >> i know when nixon went in 1969, since i got, all these advisers were saying, don't do it, it's too dangerous. >> george w. bush, barack obama, and donald trump, went to iraq and afghanistan to visit u.s. troops. >> is limits would have been very happy to assassinate george w. bush, or barack obama. and so, when those presidents went to kabul and baghdad, respectively, they were taking huge risks. >> when george h. w. bush, as a former president, visited kuwait in 1993, saddam hussein's intelligence service tried to have the iraqi operatives assassinate him, a plot that was foiled. the president have taken risks to boost troops morale, and strategize with other commanders, and sometimes to decide whether a war should even continue. >> i shall go to korea. >> that was quite eisenhower's as president elect when he took

a serious trip to south korea in december 1952. >> eisenhower not only went to meet the south korean leader, but actually took a plane over chinese and north korean positions to get a view himself of the nature of their defenses. as an extremely hazardous trip. >> historian tim naftali says despite the sometimes incredible risks, the roads are very high. but as commander in chief, it is crucial for a president to show their commitment to a fight, and to show that not only to american forces, but also to their adversaries as well. >> it sends a powerful message indeed. president abraham lincoln, we are told, is thought to be the only american president to have actually come under fire at one point. is that right? >> that's right. the extraordinary moment there, july of 1864, confederate troops were assaulting fort stevens, right here within the washington, d.c. boundaries. lincoln goes out to see the battle. he looks over the top of the fortifications. and he almost gets hit with

gunfire. the alleged has it that a soldier told him to get down, you down full. >> interesting historic note. thanks so much, brian todd, reporting for us. we'll be right back with some important notes about a monumental day tomorrow. this is cnn special coverage. ♪ ♪ ♪ all across the country, people are working hard to build a better future. so we're hard at work, helping them achieve financial freedom. we're investing for our clients in the projects that power our economy.

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- [announcer] do you have an invention idea but don't know what to do next? call invent help today. they can help you get started with your idea. call now 800-710-0020. very big day tomorrow, again, president biden delivers a major speech from poland, and russian president vladimir putin gives his own speech, just ahead of the one year mark that this war. i'll be back tomorrow, of

course, in the situation room 6 pm eastern. and i'll be back for another special edition of the situation room, tomorrow night 9 pm eastern. among other, guests will speak live with the former british prime minister, boris johnson who has visited ukraine several times since the war began. and our own christiane amanpour will -- president do that on what he is pushing president biden to do. a lot going on and we have a full, full special report coming up. once again, tomorrow night, 9 pm eastern. to all of our viewers, thanks very much for watching. i am in the situation room. cnn tonight with alison camerota starts right now. a warm welcome to our viewers here in the united states, i'm paula newton, on cnn newsroom. unprecedented how did in secrecy. as president joe biden traveled to kyi