♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, after a week of hell, ukraine still unbowed. forging traps and weaving camo. >> we are creating nests to hide our military forces from snipers. >> the new fear, social media showing protesters fighting for control of europe's largest nuclear reactor. >> it's incredible to see the fortitude of the ukrainian people, to be able to put their bodies without weapons to try and prevent them to move forward to take over their country. swiped. the allege tinder swindler. >> i hate him. it's so horrible. >> handsome and with seemingly endless wealth. >> this guy comes up on my phone. and you can see that he lives a

very different life than what i'm living. >> accused of bilking women of their money. the new twist in the international saga.

♪ thanks for joining us. tonight, loud explosions once again reported from kyiv.

ukrainian cities under attack. and under siege by russian forces as the world watches in horror. here's abc's senior foreign correspondent ian pannell. >> reporter: juju, there are increasingly ominous signs that this battle is closing in on many of the cities around ukraine. at least five of them look like they're surrounded or at least semi-surrounded, including the second-largest city of kharkiv potentially taken. if so, that certainly would be the largest city. what we're seeing is a change in tactics, really. if in the initial stages what we saw was a ground invasion mainly led by infantry, by special forces what we're now seeing is increasing aero bombardment often hitting civilian areas. >> thanks, ian. bombs hitting civilian targets like a university in kharkiv and various apartment buildings that led the international criminal court to announce it was opening an investigation into possible russian war crimes in ukraine.

as the u.s. warns the humanitarian cost will only grow. the bloodshed and body count rising. ukrainian officials say over 2,000 people have been killed since the russian attack began one week ago. >> these aren't military targets. they are places where civilians work and families live. this is shameful. >> reporter: but a menacing 40-mile-line of russian tanks and military vehicles on the approach to kyiv seems to be making little progress. >> the northern push by the russians down towards the south, towards kyiv, remains stalled. >> reporter: to some extent, they're stuck in the mud. >> the reason they're staying on the road is because the ground is wet. it's the springtime. the thaw is coming in. and tanks and wheeled vehicles hate the mud. they bog down in the mud. so it's actually good for the ukrainians because it makes the russians easy targets to pick off. >> reporter: resistance on the ground apparent.

video circulating on social media showing hundreds blocking the road to europe's largest nuclear power plant, forming a line more than a mile long. plant officials denying russia's claim that its troops control the facility. >> it is the first time a military conflict is happening amidst the facilities of a large established nuclear power program. >> it's incredible to see the fortitude and the patriotism of the ukrainian people, to be able to put their bodies without weapons in front of these vehicles to try to prevent them to move forward to take over their country. >> reporter: everyday civilians girding for a fight. my colleague, matt gutman, was at a machine shop in lviv where it's the sounds of the war effort that get your attention. >> we have a guy from i.t., an economist, and a mechanical engineer? >> yes, yes. >> now you're making steel traps for russian tanks? >> yeah.

to stop them. >> reporter: that hedge of barricades and these spikes, they're weapons of defense. across town an art gallery turned makeshift manufacturing site. hundreds of young people, mostly women, ripping fabric, cutting strips. those fast fingers weaving camouflage. >> we are creating nests to hide our military forces from snipers and different russian forces. >> reporter: before the war, bodana was a college instructor. now she oversees this wartime worksh workshop. >> you will stand in front of the tanks with your bodies? >> yes. i don't want to live in the country under russia. >> reporter: it's a different kind of fight being waged in the children's hospital of ukraine in kyiv. the staff risking their own lives on behalf of the more than 190 kids under their care. since the war began, many of them are hiding underground in the basement. it's not just the sick here but the wounded. 13-year-old vova was badly injured when the family car came

under attack. his father and cousin were killed. now he fights for his life in intensive care. his mother agreed to let us film. she wants the world to see the horrors inflicted on the children. >> i believe in victory. i believe maybe in f■uture, tomorrow maybe, next week, or next month. i see some coming. >> reporter: as the war enters this dangerous phase, the refugee crisis only increasing exponenti exponentially. 1 million people have now fled ukraine, according to the united nations human rights council. for the most part, ukraine's neighbors welcoming the refugees with open arms, a warm drink, and a hug in moldova. in slovakia, a chance to watch cartoons. small comforts to ease the pain. but some refugees say they

haven't received as warm a welcome. some nonwhite refugees fleeing ukraine have reported discrimination from extremist groups patrolling border zones. my colleague marcus moore spoke with visitors at a makeshift refugee center outside a bus station in poland. >> when you left, was it easy to leave there? how did you get to this point? >> once we're leaving, we're letting the women and the children go. the policemen, the police in ukraine, were taking some men. we say, how is it possible? you just say only women and children. now you are taking ukrainian white people. why? are we not people? like them? >> reporter: pyra has been li living in nipro, ukraine, for

nine years. he fled war in the congo to come to europe. now a refugee once again. >> what should people know? >> think about people, especially black. because it's not easy. it's not easy for us all. now, now in poland -- please, please just help us. >> reporter: the united nations high commissioner for refugees speaking out today at the u.n. >> at this critical juncture, there can be no discrimination against any person or any group. >> so i'm picking up some stranded refugees just right outside the border with ukraine. >> reporter: yet amidst the crisis, some who need help a few days ago now able to turn around and help others. >> i don't know, it's a feeling. i've got to do what i can, right? >> reporter: juan tec, an american teaching in kyiv, left ukraine last friday. the 32-year-old made the difficult decision to flee

ukraine with his wife and 2-year-old son. >> we have really good friends expecting us in krakow. they're really sweet, say we can stay as long as we want. >> reporter: encountering miles of gridlock on their escape. >> we made it. finally, we made it. >> reporter: now three days after arriving in poland, juan is back at the border. >> saudi arabia that -- >> reporter: this time to pick up another family who's also floo fleeing the war. >> day's over, almost. mission accomplished. i was able to pick up our friends near the border. yulia and her two daughters, sasha and jenea. very lovely family. and i brought them here, over to krakow. and thankfully, gratefully, we have incredible people like lisa here. >> hello. >> she's offered her apartment. so yeah, this world is magical, believe it or not. this is how we get together.

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♪ he may have seemed like the ideal match. but that's not how it worked out. he's now accused of stealing thousands from women he dated. abc's will reeve and the case of the alleged tinder swindler. >> reporter: he was handsome, charismatic. and seemingly wealthy beyond

measure for for celia, it was an easy decision to swipe right. >> this guy, simon, comes up on my phone. you can see that he lives a very different life than what i'm living. he had some selfies, a picture in a nice car. you could see that it was a private jet. just an overall package. >> reporter: she says she was immediately swept off her feet by simon la vive into a high-powered world of luxury. >> his aura, charisma -- >> reporter: after all, most fifth dates don't end in a trip on a private jet. >> texting my friends like, i don't know what's going on. started feeling this guy is actually nice and funny. yes, someone that i can date, and maybe have something with. >> reporter: but her dream of finding mr. right went horribly wrong. >> i hate him. he's so horrible. >> reporter: celia says simon told her he was an israeli

millionaire, nickname "prince of diamonds." but he wasn't who he said he was. instead, she alleges he defrauded her out of about $200,000. >> sorry, it just comes, i can't help it. it just -- it's just so painful. because i hate myself. i just hate that i did this, you know? >> reporter: simon is now the subject of a new netflix documentary "the tinder swindler" which depicts him as a flashy world traveler accused of meeting women on the dating app with the intent of wooing them. >> he said we had a special connection. >> it felt like stepping into a movie. >> reporter: this week the latest twist in this surreal saga. the family of the israeli diamond mogul leviev filing a private complaint against simon, alleging he falsely posed as an heir to their fortune. >> they never met him, they have no acquaintance with him. totally not connected to the

leviev family. alleges simon deaud, cheated, conned, falsified, and hurt women, men, and businesses world wide using the family's elite reputation. >> the family has nine children, so it is possible that not everybody knows the names of every child. >> this complaint is just a starting point. the next space would be discovery, having him show up to court, maybe even potentially making arguments that could either open up himself to more liability or, as he is hoping, close those avenues down. >> reporter: a representative for simon told abc news, simon believes the family is just trying to insert themselves in the narrative for publicity after the show's success. born shimon hyatt, simon was convicted in israel on four fraud charges in 2019, which were unrelated to celia and the other women featured in the netflix documentary. he was released after serving five months of his 15-month sentence.

celia, one of simon's alleged victims, sat down with my colleague, james longman, back in 2019. she says her relationship with simon started out innocently enough. >> this is the first time i felt, i really like him and it seems he really likes me back as well. you like the feeling of being liked. >> reporter: she said simon told her his job as a diamond dealing kept him traveling constantly s modern-day love letters in texts, video messages, voice recordings. >> i wish you a great and a beautiful and a successful and amazing day as you, kisses. >> reporter: simon went to london when heck, but more often than not he flew her to where he was, always alluding to an element of danger in his job that kept him away. jetting from city to city on private planes. she says simon lame claimed to be under perpetual threat from unknown nefarious enemies, a hazard, he said, of wog in the diamond business. so there's nothing making you think this isn't real, he's

fake? >> oh no. no, no, no. >> good night, my love, i miss you so much. i can't wait to see you. >> reporter: soon there was another strange element to his story. she says he asked her to extend her line of credit to him so that plane tickets, hotels, and dinners would be booked using her name, keeping supposed enemies thrown off his trail. celia says she relented because simon promised to pay her back, but the repayments from simon were nowhere to be seen, despite his insistence they were on the way. >> amounts he needs to be able to function for a week is just so much. it's never just a few thousand for us normal people. that is a lot of money, but for him it's not a lot of money. >> how could you have trusted him to take out that amount of money? >> it's like, of course he has the money so he will pay me back. you didn't even think that it was a problem when you were taking up the loans, because you were so sure that the money

existed. >> apart from anything else, you loved him? >> yeah. i think that's the hardest part of it. like, when i realized that he wasn't who he said he was. it was the love aspect. the person that i thought that i new and loved, he had just done this in the most evil way. >> reporter: suddenly celia's dream romance was crashing down around her. >> two guys from american express come to you, they said, that's him, that's the guy. they told me they had had long investigations on him already and that i was a string of four, five women. i almost wanted to throw up. everything just came crashing down at once. i had to be put into a psychiatric ward because of suicidal thoughts. i didn't see a way out. you lost your boyfriend, and not only he dumped you. he never existed, he was never a boyfriend. >> reporter: meantime, simon telling us in texts he is

innocent. there is nothing here, just a loan between friends that went south. she agreed to loan me money and she swaerd before we were able to pay it back. they used me for my life. they got expensive gifts and everything, in other words, gold diggers. when i ask help they agreed to help, and they know that i have some problems. i didn't run from no one. nowadays, as for simon, he's no longer on tinder. >> i'm not a fraud, and i'm not a fake. people don't know me. so they cannot judge me. >> reporter: recently speaking out to "inside edition," denying the claims made against him in the netflix doc. >> these women make some very serious allegations against you. they say they were conned and threatened. >> they weren't conned, and they weren't threatened. >> are you the son of a billionaire diamond mogul? >> no, i am not. and i never presented myself. >> reporter: the levive family attorney telling us they plan to file a civil suit against simon seeking damages. >> this large diamond family, they're not really needing this money. they're saying they're going to actually present this money and give it back to the victims of

simon levive. >> our thanks to will. up next, a message of solidarity for the people of ukraine. ♪ ♪ people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible... with rybelsus®. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin

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metropolitan opera opened the first night of verdi's "don carlos" with this. ♪ the ukrainian national anthem. the performers learning the lyrics just hours before from one of their own, 24-year-old baritone vlad bulayski, who sang from memory. his hand on his heart. his family still in ukraine tonight, and the audience stood in unity. the met announcing this week it is severing ties with musicians and organizations that support putin.

and we should note that given the scale of the crisis, so many people are asking tonight where they can send support. you can learn more at unicefusa.org/abc. that's "nightline." see you right back here tomorrow, same time. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america. in new york city, ♪ ♪ there's always something new to discover. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪