>> good evening. tonight, what's next for ukraine? the ukrainian people in the war for their survival? it's turned into a confrontation between the world 's two largest nuclear powers. a year ago tonight, early morning local time, russian forces began rolling into ukraine for what the kremlin expected would be a quick and easy takeover of the country. what they unleashed instead was the largest land conflict in europe since the second world war, and some of the widespread killing of non combatants since world war ii, as well. >> [speaking non-english] >> she it, she it, shift [speaking non-english] >> stay down! >> all right. [bleep ] >> come on, medic!

>> medic! >> that video of a russian mortar attack on fleeing civilians in irpin came just two weeks into the invasion. since then, we have seen graphic evidence of other russian war crimes, including some recent shootings of civilians in bucha and elsewhere. upwards of 800 attacks on hospitals and other health care facilities, according to the world health organization. and a pummeling of cities like mariupol, where the russian shelling and airstrikes produce residential neighborhoods to ruined escapes. >> according to the united

nations, more than 8 million ukrainians have been forced to flee the country. millions more are internally displaced. later in the program, we will show you the war that's been lived by -- her husband and three young children who are now refugees in this country. and hoping to return as soon as they can. we will also show you the impact, the continuing american and nato support it's had on the war, how much further it might go, and whether the alliance can hold long term. there's also the question of what lessons china may take from it all, as they tighten ties with moscow and the biden administration gets ready, officials tell us, today to step up the training of taiwanese forces to resist any chinese attempt to do what russia has done to ukraine. cnn chief international anchor, christiane amanpour, begins our coverage tonight. she joins us from kyiv. >> christiane, how concerned are the ukrainian officials you've spoken to about increased attacks and russia coinciding with the anniversary and any upcoming offensive? >> well, of course, they're worried and they've been telegraphing about a spring offensive from the russians. it hasn't really manifested itself in any massive way yet, even on the east, although they

continue to pound the east pretty vigorously. and here in kyiv, as yet, with hours to go before the official one year mark, there has not yet been any kind of attack from russia. but the officials are concerned, they've told people in the capital to take precautions, to stay at home, to work from home tomorrow, and all that kind of extra security measures have been put in place around the country. >> what are ukrainian officials saying where they see this going in the near term? i mean, obviously, more aid is coming. it's not exactly what they want, in terms of fighter jets, attack helicopters, long-range artillery. do they think the increase u. s. aid is enough to maintain their defenses against a new offensive? >> they believe that they're going to get what they need,

and they say, if you just look at last year, it was all about weapons. we were pleading for weapons, and we got them. now, our mantra is going to be, speed. we need them quicker, we need them in time, we need them to face the battles. i spoke to a u.s. official under secretary of state for political affairs, who says that she believes the u.s. and nato allies will supply the ammunition and the extra, you know, military equipment that they need, in order for the iranians to be able to launch a counteroffensive this spring. i know that was rather interesting. actually mentioning when and why and what for. >> is there a sense that there's any kind of an off ramp, or what an off ramp would even look like, at this point? i mean, for either side. as, you know, president zelenskyy is expressing interest in negotiations in the past, but obviously, you know, under very strict circumstances. >> exactly. well, look, the u.s. believes that there is no evidence at all at this point of any desire, any credible desire by president putin to enter into

good faith negotiations. tomorrow, we are expecting this highly telegraphed, much ballyhoo chinese peace initiative. we will wait to see what that is. the u.s. is saying, you pulled called yourself neutral, you better not get involved in this fight. we will see what kind of peace initiatives and whom it favors that they would put forward tomorrow. on the ukrainian side, yes, there are conditions and especially conditions that stiffened since the war crimes and crimes against humanity that were committed in bucha, almost a year ago. so, they want basically all russians out of this country. the question is, is that realistic? and more and more analysts and even leaders are saying, it's unlikely that there's going to be a resolution or ukraine getting back crimea, for instance. but what they want to do is give ukraine the ability to fight back hard enough to force russia to a more equitable bargaining position. >> do you hear a lot of concern among ukrainian officials? that you've spoken to about the possibility of china getting

weaponry, giving armaments to russia to fight in ukraine? >> well, they are concerned and they don't want it to happen. the ukrainians are very careful not to say too much negative about china, which professes neutrality, and they hope to influence china to try to get putin actually to remove his forces. probably unlikely. but the u.s. is concerned. they have not yet seen any evidence of actual lethal weaponry being passed from the chinese state to russia. but there is evidence of potential chinese private enterprises, if there is such a thing, of helping some of these groups on the frontlines, either wagner group and others. so, they're concerned about that. >> did president biden's visit to kyiv, meetings with nato allies, do you think it changed the dynamics of the war at all? >> i think it did. it certainly changed the psychology here, in terms of

boosting it, and giving it a real shot in the arm. because the president had not been to this war zone, as we all know, it's unprecedented for a u.s. president in the circumstances. but what he did was wait until this moment to say that, yes, this year has passed and, yes, we are going to still have your back. however long it takes. now, as long as it takes thing, though, is differently interpreted here. they want to see this war and this year. but the u.s. and other world leaders believe that it could take longer, and that they will remain in it for the long haul. >> christiane amanpour in kyiv tonight, thank you. appreciate it. >> thanks, anderson. >> more perspective now looking back and looking ahead. cnn's sam kiley, who's seen it all up close from the beginning, he's in eastern ukraine. also with a, cnn military allergists -- james spider marks. former cia chief of russian operations, steve hall. he is a cnn national security analyst. sam, one year in, what's life like tonight on the front lines in eastern ukraine? >> well anderson, earlier on, the last couple of days, we've been very close to the frontline with the medical team

and american medical team, indeed, a volunteer is very close, about three kilometers, two miles, less than two miles from the front line at a casualty evacuation -- i can tell you it's bitter. it's bitter in the sense that you've got people coming in with -- injuries, there were five dead bodies, very unusual that the ukrainians allow the media to see any -- were in body bags, but they were very symbolic, i think, of the much wider problem that the ukrainians are facing, which is very, very high casualty levels. where there were no official figures, so neither side that one could possibly rely upon. but i can tell you anecdotally, after spending many weeks here speaking to a lot of soldiers who are fighting on the front line, that the casualty rates are high,. competitive with some of the worst elements of the second world war, i would say.

and in that case, the ukrainians really are in a position in which they've only really got, they say, this year to prosecute their war in the way that they want to, in the way that they want to drive russia completely out of their territory. whatever the international community may say later on. they believe they are seeing more of a unanimity in europe and with the united states, in support of that idea. a total withdrawal of russian forces. but on the ground, that translates into this very bitter, bloody battle in which the russians seem to be using artillery to soften up the lions, perhaps ahead of a potential russian offensive. meanwhile, as christiane was readily pointing out there, the ukrainians themselves are planning their own offensive, and they are appealing more and more -- these are appeals that come from every single ukrainian we meet on the front line. please, send us weapons, send

us weapons, now. >> general marks, we've seen the tempo of battle rise over the past few weeks. has the offensive that the ukrainians have been expecting, has that already begun? how bad do you think it could get? >> well, the assessment is that offensive probably is already started. but it's not an offensive that you would expect to see, which is a number of battle tanks and, you know, great artillery advances before armored vehicles. that's not what we are seeing. what we are seeing is what the russians always do, which is just more manpower into a very narrow spot. which is really just a -- so, i think it's fair to say this is the nature. the intensity is high, but this is the nature of this offensive and i think it's important, as sam kiley just said, the ukrainians would be wise to steal a march on the russians, which means where they can,

conduct their own offensive now. put the russians on their heel where they can, so that gives the initiative, no momentum to the ukrainians at a very, very important time. and it gets the russians totally off their stride. >> steve, the united states have been warning that china may be considering providing weapons and other military aid to russia, according to the wall street journal. the u.s. is -- revealing the intelligence that prompted that concern. as a former cia officer, do you think that's a good idea? what would be the benefit of that? >> well, you know, as a former intelligence officer, you know, i'm always a little cautious about that. but there can be advantages to releasing information, as long as, of course, it doesn't compromise sources and methods. or else you don't give more of that information. but it can also be called fake news, all sorts of things by the russians. look, the chinese are in a really difficult position here. russia wants a lot of stuff from them. they kind of become beggars to the gates of beijing. they want weaponry. and other things. they want support as well, but the chinese themselves, although they share an ideology with the russians, they don't like democracy, they've got to be really careful because their

long term plan, of course, is to continue to be an economic superpower. they don't want to be marginalized by the rest of the west, by simply helping the russians. by the way, the chinese were also getting, you know, russian oil and gas at about a 40% discount, so this is a transactional -- they've got to be really careful as to how they play this geopolitically. >> general marks, you said that ukraine would be wise to try to have a counterattack, if they can. a counteroffensive where they can. i mean, if there is a meat grinder going on and russia's throwing troops at it and you're taking high casualties, what is the benefit of having a counteroffensive? >> well, it wouldn't be a counteroffensive. it would be an offensive on their part, which pushes the russians back on their heels. if you can choose the time and place of your engagement, then you've got the initiative. that would alter the dynamics immediately, and tactically, on the field. again, that would be a tactical advantage.

you then need to string together a number of those tactical advantages, to achieve some type of operational maneuver. but again, you're absolutely correct. you have to balance all the dynamics to go into conducting this type of warfare. if the man power is not there, the kid is not there, if the training has not been put in place, then it's truly, you may want to choose to fight another place at another time. >> it's easier, though, for ukraine to do that than it is for russia to do that because of supply lines. >> totally. absolutely correct. russian supply lines have been exhausted. they are that much longer. the ukrainians have interior lines. they can choose, with a degree of alacrity and movement, that's movement, not maneuver, to get to a place where they can hopefully, because it's a home game for them, they will be able to take some type of a flank action against the russians that pushes them back a little bit. >> and steve, finally, you've been listening to vladimir putin speaking out several times over the last three days. what's your take away about how he sees the path forward here?

>> i think his speech struck me, anderson, as a bit desperate. there's a lot of half measures in their. you know, we are suspending -- >> we lost thieves audio. we will have to leave it there. sam kiley, general mark, steve hall, appreciate it. a quick reminder, cnn's fareed zakaria is hosting a cnn town hall at the top of the hour with by national security and international aid officials on the year since russian forces moved into ukraine. be sure to stick around for that. next for us though tonight, alex murdaugh taking the stand in his double murder trial, and it was stunning today. what he said in his defense and the big lie he finally admitted today that he has been telling since the killings. and later, a live report from east palestine, ohio. details on the preliminary ntsb report, which says this train derailment chemical spill, according to the head of the ntsb, was 100% preventable. the house whisperer! this house says use realtor.com

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♪ ♪ fast. reliable. perfectly orchestrated. the united states postal service. >> it was a stunning day in court in the double murder trial of alec murdaugh. mr. murdoch took the stand today, admitted he lied repeatedly. court resumes tomorrow morning with more cross examination of him. the judge tonight denied a defense request to interrupt that testimony, to call other witnesses, and after some of what murdaugh admitted to on the santa day, it's not hard to see why the defense might want to hit pause. our randi kaye was in the courtroom. >> i'm alex murdaugh, and you -- murdaugh. good morning. >> murdaugh, sharing his story

from the witness stand, telling the jury, he did not kill his wife and son. >> just to be clear, were you anywhere in the vicinity where paul and maggie were shot? >> i was nowhere near paul and maggie, when they got shot. >> and after more than a year and a half, murdaugh finally came clean about this key piece of states evidence against him. >> -- >> mr. murdaugh, is that you? on video at 4 pm -- the night maggie and paul were murdered? >> yes. -- over and over, he said he had not seen his family since dinner but that video extracted from his son's phone was recorded just a few minutes between before prosecutors believe the killings happened. -- he had left the candles -- and driven his golf cart to the main course of the property. -- >> there's no way that i had high velocity blood spatter on me.

>> during cross examination, murdaugh clashed with -- lead prosecutor. >> mr. waters just to try to get through this quicker -- >> you may want to get through a quicker. but we are not. so, answer the question. >> evidence presented in court shows murdaugh also travel to his mother's house and -- he explained he was simply trying to locate his phone in his car. >> where were you during that minute? or however long it was? we disposing of murder weapons, alex? were you disposing of bloody clothes? >> no. >> what about that blue rain jacket recovered from the mother's house, one state witness said it had a substantial amount of gunshot residue on the inside. the state suggested that he wrapped up and disposed of the murder weapon with it.

>> the balloon rain jacket, have you've seen it before? >> never seen it before, never touched it, i do not know anything about it. >> several times during cross examination, the prosecutor accused murdaugh of being a little bit tuber hearst with his responses. >> how many times have you practiced that answer for your testimony? >> i've never practice that answer. >> still, in between the evidence, he found some openings to share how much he loved his wife and son. in gruesome detail he described for the jury how he said he found maggie and paul at the kennels after returning from his mother's home. >> i was on the phone with 9-1-1, others trying to attend to maggie. i just went back and forth between them. i knew that i tried to check them for a polls,. i know i tried to turn him

over. he is laying face down and he is down the way he is done. his head was the way his head was. i could see his brain laying on the sidewalk. >> randi kaye joins us now. i'm just stunned by this. just yesterday wasn't buster murdaugh, his son on the stand saying that was not his father's voice on that tape? right down at the kennels? so i'm right about that? >> well buster said it was not. but to ten witnesses have said that vote was. and finally tonight, today, in court -- >> i'll murdaugh lawyers put his son on the stand and asked him, and he said that was not my dad's voice. so so, alex murdaugh's lawyers --

house alex murdaugh been lying to his lawyers this entire time? >> he lied to 9-1-1. he lied to the investigators. he has lied to everyone. he said he lied to his family and he said he kept the lie going, he said, anderson, until -- this is the first time we have ever heard him say that he was down at those candles. that was his voice. >> but i'm assuming -- his lawyers did not even know, when they put buster murdaugh on the stand that he was saying this when he got on the witness stand and this either came as a surprise whenever he said he was going to testify. he must have told them, he's going to say that i've been lying. because they would not have put buster murdaugh on the stand and got him to say something which was not true, right? >> right. i would imagine so. we would have to ask them directly. but certainly, they also did not know if alex murdaugh was going to testify. it and they put buster murdaugh on the stand when they put other people on the stand. so, it wasn't until, apparently, overnight, that he decided he

was going to testify today. >> that's incredible. randi kaye, we will have more of today's testimony and talk about it with legal experts, one defense attorney and the other prosecutor -- we will be right back. hey bud. wow. what's all this? hawaii was too expensive so i brought it here. you know with priceline you could actually take that trip for less than all this. i made a horrible mistake. ♪ go to your happy price ♪ ♪ priceline ♪ hey! did you hear?

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>> we are talking tonight about alex murdaugh -- when he -- helps his case -- and what he admitted that might not. here's another moment from it the one is defense seen likely hope so resonate with jurors. >> on june 7th, 2021, did you

take this gun or any gun like it and shoot your son, paul, in the chest in the -- room in your property of moselle road? >> no, i did not. >> mr. murdaugh, did you take this gun or any gun like it employers and brains out on june 7th on any day or anytime? >> no i did not. >> two takes a day now, -- and former federal prosecutor jessica roth, she now teaches at the university school of law. so mark, just before the break we heard that murdaugh add medic to lying as to his warehouse of the night of the murder. that was his voice on the tape, on the video that his son had sent out right before the killing. how much of that timeline was just a few minutes in between, when he now admits that he was with his wife and son at the kennels where they were killed and when prosecutors believe the killings happened. that is got to hurt us defense, doesn't? >> well over just offense

because, actually, it is indefensible. defense 101, you've got to acknowledge that which you cannot deny and that you know can be proven. so he had to come in and say that he was there because, the one thing that he has, any witness, any juror looks for in a defense attorney and certainly the client is you have that level of credibility. once you lose, it it is very difficult to come back from it. had he denied that that was him, when the rest of us know that it was, he would've lost all of that. he had to admit it, but it definitely pushes the case because it put some very close by, very close at the time. >> i also want to correct something that i was insistent with randy about. i realize now i was wrong, they did not ask buster about his voice on the recording. what they asked buster about, in which i misinterpreted, was about whether murdaugh said they did him wrong, or i did him wrong. that's what they were asking about and for some reason i -- that's my mistake, i apologize. so jessica, he has blamed his

addiction for this lie that he said it is like this paranoid addiction, these thoughts that he had that he lied initially. bail set on the stand that he is very proud of being clean sober now for several hundred days. but he has been lying all during that time as well? >> apparently he has been. i thought he gave the only possible explanation he could give for why he had lied. he had offer an explanation for why he had told that lie initially and repeated, so the paranoia from the opioid addiction i think was the only one available to him. as you said, he also talked about being sober and of the painkillers for quite a period of time and he did not explain why he never went back to the authorities, or why he never went back to his friends and others who he had lied and corrected the record. >> because everybody knew, if it is true that he is on pain pill killers, it's everybody knew that story. it's not like that was a surprise. >> yeah, and i think that one can imagine an explanation as

to why he didn't go back and correct the story with law enforcement. he clearly was concerned about being a target. at the same time, the sudden change of heart about telling the truth, about where he was, it sort of comes across as being at a moment when he could not hide from the truth anymore because of the other evidence about him being present at that critical moment right before the murders. so i'm just wondering how that change of heart that seemed so conveniently timed to match the evidence is going to sit with the jurors. >> he certainly did have his attorneys arguing about whether that was his voice on the tape down at the kennels for a long time. there have been speculation over the past few weeks if murdaugh should testify. do you think it was the right choice for him to testify? >> it is so difficult to know. we are going have nancy do that when they are done across examining him, because they're going to rip him apart on all of this and we talked about the credibility that he will have, no credibility left when he is

done with cross. probably, -- i would not have had him testify because everything that they are going to have it is fodder for the cross examination and they just relied on doubt in jurors and hoping that they like him. >> just in terms of credibility, is the whole thing was that i was lying all this time about financial crimes and all the stuff because of the, drugs but now for the jury they know, oh well he was lying while he was not on drugs and he was clearly, at some point, lying to his lawyers because his lawyers were arguing that that was not his voice on the recording. >> he is taking a tremendous risk by testifying, there is no question. i think that they have made a calculated assessment that it is worth it. perhaps in the hope that at least one juror will either find him credible or will think that his story is plausible enough to create reasonable doubt, and their vie hang the jury. there is a big difference between lying to police

officers, to your family, to your law partners, to your clients, stealing, all of that. and murdering your son and your wife. i think that that is what he is banking on that the jury will see a distinction there. >> just to roth, thank, you mark mayer, thank you so much. the fallout from the toxic train derailment in ohio. why the head of the national transportation safety board now says it was 100% preventable. ake something better? create something new? our dell technologies advisors can provide you with the tools and expertise you need to bring out the innovator in you. i think that's carvana. let's go. let's go. adjusting the amount. adjusting the amount. yes, please. a lot can happen in a moment. whoa. i just bought a car from carvana. like finding your perfect mix of down and monthly payments. finance your next car with carvana today.

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secretary pete buttigieg visited east palestine today calling for more regulations today online on trains like the one that derailed. miguel marquez has more details. >> this was 100% preventable. >> 100% preventable, says the national transportation safety board. today, releasing its initial read on what caused the toxic derailment crippling the small town of east palestine, ohio. >> during this deceleration, the wheel bearing failed. car number 23 derailed. >> the ntsb saying it wasn't overheated wheel bearing on a single rail car that eventually set off a sensor alongside the train tracks, alerting the conductor to stop the train. >> we have no evidence that the crew did anything wrong. >> in all 30 acres derailed, including several transporting chemicals. surveillance video shows sparks and a bright light coming from underneath the train car in salem ohio, about 20 miles from

east palestine. >> three trackside actors picked up increased heating on the car, where the fire eventually started. but it was not until it detector indicating eating of 253 degrees fahrenheit over ambient temperature that the conductor hit the brakes to stop the bright train. >> look at the temperature threshold which indicate immediate action, once an overheated bearing is detected. again, spacing in temperature are set by the railroads and very considerably by railroads. >> it is essentially where the cars are piled up, from here to there. >> secretary of transportation, pete buttigieg, visiting east palestine saying that he could come sooner but it wanted to just drop the cleanup or investigative work. >> we're gonna be here a day in day out, here in your, out making our railroads safer and making sure that norfolk southern egypt's responsibilities. that is a promise i want to take very seriously.

>> buttigieg called for a stronger regulations for trains carrying chemicals through populated areas and in what appears for a nod from former president trump over the current administration's handling of the derailment. both buttigieg and -- called for an end for using east palestine for scornful points. >> enough with the politics. i do not understand why this has gotten so political. this is a community that is suffering. this is not about politics, this is about addressing their needs. their concerns. that is what this should be about. >> miguel marquez joins us now from east palestine. do you have a sense of what investigators are focusing in on as their efforts continue? >> specifically, they are looking at those detectors along the way. it was one about 20 miles, those three indications that they got that temperature was rising and why it was, once it

hit 253 degrees over ambient temperature that it alert the conductor to stop the train, but by that point it was too late. it has just gone through east palestine, they slowed this massive train down, it does take some time to do that, but by the time one car had caught fire and then it caused the effect on those other cars carrying chemicals. so i think they will look at those detectors, or they are, and why it took so long for the conductor to realize that there was a problem, that the train is just stop and there was a fire under one of those cars, anderson. >> miguel marquez, we appreciate it. thank you. much more now on this with environmental advocate erin brockovich and former u.s. secretary of transportation under president obama, republican leyla hood. >> secretary lahood, we see buttigieg and east palestine today. it wasn't too late in going there and how do we think he's

angeles? >> well, i do not think that he was too late, anderson, when i was the secretary and the airplane crashed in buffalo, 49 people perished, i wanted the ntsb to be on the scene, and i did not want to be in the way. when we have pipeline explosions in california and people were killed, i eventually went there, but our pipeline safety people went there first. i think, you know, i think having having fema go, i think probably was the best. and the ntsb, and frankly the rail people were also on the scene with ntsb. >> erin, can you describe the severity of what you are seeing hearing from residents in east palestine? >> while the residents started reaching out to me as early as the early morning of february 4th, just concerned about the trailed rail meant, did i know,

anything what was going on, and as i watched it unfold as we all did it went into an evacuation -- it was at that point that people's frustration really started to come forward. they said after the evacuation orders were lifted they went back, home they were all having breathing issues. children wheezing, they're having strange rashes, bad headaches, their lips were turning blue, their lips were tangling. they were just getting more and more frustrated, anderson, out of fear because they were not getting any answers or directions over what they felt, honestly, what was going on. >> secretary, it does seem like there is a lack of answers, particularly early on and just not enough information given out. from the company certainly. in terms of increased rail safety and stricter oversight of the transportation of toxic chemicals, what can the federal government to? >> i do think that there can be

new rules and regulations, and i think that, while we were at video, tea we propagated some very strong rules and regulations regarding rail safety. the epa propagated some very rules and regulations, and frankly those were eliminated either by congress or by the previous administration. so, the idea that safety and security is not an important issue was not true, certainly during the obama administration and i think some of those were eliminated during the last administration, anderson. that is frankly why, when somebody asked me about trump going to, there for a visit, it is a complete joke. they had the worst safety record of any administration in

the history of d.o.t. and they tried to eliminate safety rules and regulations along with the congress. so, there needs to be more. there is no question about it. >> aaron, in terms of remediation and accountability, there is obviously what the epa is demanding, or folks south, a company is pledging to do in terms of cleanup. on the psychological level, what does it take for people in that community to really ever rest easy and feel confident that the soil and the water are safe after something like this? >> you know, i do not know that they do. i've been doing this for 30 years and that is always a problem. they feel like they are not, seen they are not, heard and it is really important. i watched the videos of drinking the water, and everything is safe, and giving an all clear. it can send a realness leading message to these people. you may be talking about municipal water and that day it could be all saved, but as this

chemical and this video c will sit on top of the water table and begins to move, it could impact well heads. it will impact private wells, and this is something that we are going to have to monitor and set up monitoring systems for possibly decades. you are going to have to set up monitoring systems to monitor for soil vapor intrusion, which will come. and i think it is really important when these kinds of accidents continue to happen that we have some type of monitoring of the public, the residents, the citizens, their children, and their health and welfare because they are so concerned about the future, as we discussed. these things happen and it takes time for it to unfold and the contamination to move out. it is, a serious reminder as we all saw 9/11, and all of those chemicals that came down. was it safe? they said it was safe, and then we learned in the future that

wasn't inaccurate statement. it was not. >> lahood, and secretary. we're appreciate it. the ukrainian mom who we have been talking with for a year.

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when you go tonight, russian troops crossed into ukraine. days later as rockets in artillery pounded kyiv we spoke

to elaine you can ask, ukrainian mom sheltering in a basement with her three children. tonight, an update on her life now. >> we do not know what is really going on, but we had several explosions. and we will now go to the shelter and wait there for what is going to happen next. >> this was all in one year ago. when the russian invasion began, her husband volunteered to fight. >> people keep calm, but of course everybody is worried. >> she moved to this basement shelter with her three young children. >> hello. >> thank you so much for talking with us. >> we first broke just days later. >> have you thought about trying to leave? >> we were talking with my husband, what should we do. there are two scenarios, one is to try to survive. the other is to stay and take the battle. we decided to stay. >> we continued to check in with elena during the early

months of the war. she frequently posted heartbreaking videos on her youtube channel, what is ukraine. [speaking non-english] >> i, it anderson. >> i finally got to meet her in person in late april one reporting in kyiv. >> how are you? >> i am fine, i am alive. it's so nice to meet you. >> during the day, elena felt safe enough to return to her apartment with her children. >> for me to do the coffee, i

need to your help. >> oh my god, wow. may >> maybe she will be speaking, in the show wake up. i do not know. well don anderson, you are doing great. >> elena was determined to stay in kyiv and support the war effort. >> i hope we meet in happier days. >> thank you, anderson. >> this is elena today. she is in the united states, staying in a small town in georgia. >> it is really an amazing, beautiful country. >> back in the fall while still in ukraine, her eight-year-old

daughter was diagnosed with autism. the trauma of war was affecting her mental health, that is when marion's got mcgee, who had seen elaine's videos online, invited her in her family to stay with them in georgia as part of a new ukrainian refugee program. >> thank you for this day, thank you for the food. >> they arrived just in time for the first american thanksgiving. >> he made a speech and said thank you mommy and daddy for taking us here to a safe place and thank you for keeping us alive. thank you for taking us into your home. >> katya is now starting to adjust to life outside a war zone. -- who is six, as discovered the joys of american football. >> he was like, wow. really? you can take the ball into your hands and you can push each other? he fell in love with the game.

>> and -- now 16 months old is thriving. >> this is where they sleep. but please don't look under the beds because under the beds they made bomb shelters for themselves, because they fully do not trust it. >> we took them to an american school, it was online at first. when we came here i did not want to enroll them in any american school because i was kind of sure that we would go back to ukraine very soon at some point, but at some point i realized okay, we have to leave our lives, not just a tear like in a bomb shelter and wait for the roar to be over. >> elena and her family are allowed to stay here for two years and she and her husband have applied for work permits and drivers license. she's grateful to the united states and to marion scott, but it is hard being away from your home when it is under attack. >> iran away from the war to save my children, it is not the

life that i wanted for myself. i want the genocide to stop in ukraine, i want to come back to my country and leave my life in my country. >> i still did not lose hope and humanity, i think there is no alternative but to be brave and to believe in life. >> and to fight for life against darkness. >> such a beautiful family. one family, when, here on the anniversary of this war. we'll be right back.

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oh booking.com, ♪ i'm going to somewhere, anywhere. ♪ ♪ a beach house, a treehouse, ♪ ♪ honestly i don't care ♪ find the perfect vacation rental for you booking.com, booking. yeah. >> a global sign of support for ukraine tonight on the -- on the right, brussels, and in the center, the eiffel tower in paris. a cnn town hall, russia's invasion of ukraine, when year later, hosted by fareed zakaria, starts now. this is a cnn town hall, russia's invasion of ukraine when year later. almost exactly a year ago, missile attacks against the capital of ukraine, kyiv. to most this was a surprise attack and invasion, the ukrainians did not see it coming, nor did the europe