♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, united front. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy makes a historic visit to washington, the wartime leader meeting with president biden at the white house addressing a joint meeting of congress. >> may god forever bless the united states of america. merry christmas and happy, victorious new year. >> thanking americans for their support and the new patriot missiles in his arsenal. >> president horrors of war. ukrainian women accusing russian soldiers of using rape as a weapon, speaking out for the first time. we go inside the investigation

on the front lines. can they get justice? and stanley tucci. we sit down with the beloved oscar nominee as he transforms into real-life music mogul clive davis in "i wanna dance with somebody." ♪ with somebody who loves me ♪ >> we is such a legend and you want to get it right. >> telling the true story of how whitney houston's star was born. >> he knows that fast, that's the greatest voice of her generation. do you struggle with occasional nerve aches in your hands or feet? try nervivenerve relief from the world's #1 selling nerve care company. nervive contains alpha lipoic acid to relieve occasional nerve aches, weakness and discomfort. try nervivenerve relief. bye, bye cough. later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! not coughing? hashtag still not coughing?! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm. it's comeback season.

♪ thank you for joining us. i'm trevor ault. we begin with a historic visit from ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy who met with president biden at the white house and earlier tonight became the first wartime president to address congress since british prime minister winston churchill. zelenskyy shared a message of thanks for u.s. military support which now includes patriot missiles and struck a note of optimism about the russian assault ukraine is facing. >> it's a great honor for me to be at the u.s. congress and speak to you and all americans. against all odds and doom and gloom scenarios ukraine did not fall.

ukraine is alive and kicking. [ cheers and applause ] >> 300 days of war have taken a toll on ukraine. there are concerns this christmas about heat and electricity, and on the front lines, stories of brutality are emerging. that includes accusations of rape and fears sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war. abc's tom soufi berg reports from ukraine. >> reporter: it's a sinister scene. a window into the actions of russian soldiers. the sickening squalor inside this former family home which putin's men occupied, hard to take in. >> everything left months on. this is still a crime scene. >> reporter: the alcohol they consumed before allegedly hunting down local women, forcing them here, and subjecting them to unimaginable horror.

>> reporter: victoria revisiting that very house. she and her friend, natalia, say they were forced here by two russian soldiers in the dead of night. the soldiers' first names clear in victoria's mind. >> reporter: the women telling their story together for the first time of how they were raped here by two armed men. they asked us not to show their faces and only to use their first names. >> reporter: march 9th, russian troops have been in control of victoria and natalia's village for two weeks when they tell us soldiered who had visited before

came looking for them again at gunpoint. >> reporter: victoria and her neighbor, natalia, forced to that house which the soldiers had occupied. >> that case is as strong as you can usually find. >> reporter: lawyer and war crimes expert wayne joer dash has read ukrainian prosecutors' files relating to the alleged double rape. >> two women raped by two soldiers at the acquiescence of their commander. their accounts are incredibly corroborative, even though they are independent.

i think the evidence is very strong. >> reporter: ukrainian police seen here gathering evidence at the scene. they've left empty bottles of alcohol, cigarette butts. this is all evidence because prosecutors say they've been able to collect samples of the suspects' dna. but first, prosecutors are working with victoria and natalia to try and identify the accused. victoria showing us photos of possible suspects on her phone. telling us one of the men in the photos feels familiar, but it was a dark night in every sense. she says she cannot be sure. >> reporter: it's one case of many.

the team at human rights watch uncovering evidence that russian soldiers have used sexual violence as a way of interrogating detainees. >> one case, we heard of a woman who had been held and raped numerous times while she was also being electrocuted, also being regularly interrogated and asked for information. >> reporter: the psychological torture, she says, is too common. like when a 16-year-old pregnant girl was raped by a russian soldier and called into his commander's office. >> he then told her that he wanted her to have sex with him as well. she broke down emotionally from the reality that she might be raped again. then at some point, the commander leaned in and hugged her and told her, oh, this was just a test, this was a test to see if you were telling the truth because i thought you had actually wanted to have sex with the soldier. for me, that story and what she was put through a second time was absolutely horrific. >> reporter: one war crimes case

in ukraine relating to sexual violence has already gone to court. but ambassador clint williamson who's leading u.s. efforts to assist ukrainian prosecutors believes there will be many more. >> well over 100 cases of rape that are known. the numbers are almost certainly much higher than that. it's difficult for victims to come forward and talk about these crimes. >> reporter: in zaporizhzhia in southern ukraine, a safe place run by volunteers so victims can make that hard decision to speak out. but it's hard, especially in cases of extreme trauma. >> reporter: this team of psychologists and trauma specialists are helping victims who have escaped from the russian-occupied part of their

region. and they say around half of the victims of sexual violence they have interviewed are men. >> if you look at what the ukrainians are dealing with right now, u.s. support is critical. international support. >> reporter: with 30 years of experience, ambassador williamson knows how hard a war crimes investigation can be. >> what you're having to do is determine which military unit was in a certain location on a certain day. and then who was is commander of this unit? go up the chain of command. there are a lot of different aspects to war crimes investigations that make them more difficult to do. >> reporter: work to identify

the suspects who allegedly raped victoria and natalia in this village near kyiv is still ongoing, but theirs is a murder case too. nata natalia's husband, alexander, protested when the russian soldiers tried to take her away, and they shot him dead. can i ask you how you feel towards the russian soldiers that did this to you and your family? >> reporter: after the attack, natalia left ukraine and travel here with her son to austria. she's still haunted by what happened. her husband is buried back in their village in ukraine, and natalia, a victim raped at gunpoint, feels guilt.

>> reporter: from areas in kyiv to parts of kharkiv and kherson, whenever a region of ukraine has fallen under russian control, there's evidence soldiers have raped and abused. but according to experts, the jury is still out on whether the russian military has deliberately used rape as a weapon of war. >> we still have very limited visibility on what's happening, but the reports that we've had is that these crimes are occurring in certain areas in a systematic fashion. they appear to be targeted. they appear to be part of a strategy of russian forces to terrorize the population. >> we'd really have to see evidence that this was a top-down policy where the military was actually calling on its forces or encouraging its forces to carry out rape. we haven't seen evidence of that, but i think it is so

important that every single individual case of rape by a russian soldier, that it is treated as a war crime. war crimes should be investigated and prosecuted. >> reporter: prosecuting the russian soldiers who forced two women to this house and allegedly raped them will be hard. even if the suspects are identified, then the chances of those soldiers being in ukrainian custod are slim. but victoria and natalia are seeking justice the best they can. >> our thanks to tom.

up next, stanley tucci as clive davis in "i wanna dance with somebody." the story of how whitney houston got her big break. ♪ oh i wanna dance with somebody ♪ ♪ i wanna feel the heat with somebody ♪ ♪ yeah i wanna dance with somebody ♪ ♪ with somebody who loves me ♪ e that geico has been offering savings for over 85 years. that's longer than the buffalo wing's been around. dozen wings. and did you know that geico... offers mo - [coughs] motorcycle insurance? [laughs] my lips are burning. [gecko laughs] no, my lips are actually burning. geico. over 85 years of savings and service. see how much you could save at geico.com it's too hot. oh, this is too hot, mate. detect this: living with hiv, i learned i can stay undetectable with fewer medicines. that's why i switched to dovato.

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...make the future brighter, for all of us. happy holidays from wells fargo. ♪ next, actor stanley tucci. he's bot a verti awd- a hs costarng iewioic about the late pop star whitney houston and the legendary record

producer who discovered her. abc's michael strahan sat down with the star. >> people are mesmerized by you. they dress up like you. they want to be like you. you were in "gq" italia? what did they name you? >> sex symbol. >> reporter: one of hollywood's most beloved actors. with roles as diverse as the sassy nigel in "the devil wears prada." >> all right, everyone, gird your loins! >> did someone eat an onion bagel? >> reporter: the eccentric host in "the hunger games." >> welcome, welcome, welcome to the 74th annual hunger games! >> reporter: now coming back as music industry giant clyde davis. >> i know how to sing. ♪ oh i wanna dance with somebody ♪ >> reporter: who famously discovered whitney houston in a new bio-pic dedicated to the star, "i wanna dance with

somebody," starring naomi ackie. >> maybe? >> maybe. it's got to have a hook. >> a hook? >> yeah. >> he handpicked you for this role, i have to say you are unbelievable. what is it like for you to play a music mogul, a legend? is that extra pressure? >> you do feel pressure. one, because the person's alive r. two, becaus he is such a legend and you want to get it right. >> when i watched it, i thought i was watching him. >> did you? >> i really did, and i've known him for quite a while. >> well, that's good. that's good, that's what i want to hear. >> reporter: a successful career spanned decades, working with the likes of aretha franklin, bruce springsteen, alicia keys. he december covered janis joplin. i interviewed clyde in 2017 and he spoke about how much he wanted to get this film out there, how much he wanted everyone to know about whitney. why do you think he was so eager to share her talent and share her with the world? >> this is a guy who at that

point had fostered and shepherded so many brilliant people to stardom. he knows that fast, that's the greatest voice of her generation. >> reporter: this year will mark over a decade since whitney houston's untimely death. but her legacy lives on through those who knew her best. did that help you with the extra resource of knowing these are people who know the real story? >> without question. i mean, to be able to talk to clyde, i learned so much. not just about him, about that incredible relationship that they had. >> i don't feel that they're allowing you to sing strongly enough in this picture so that we understand why your character is such a huge star. >> he was almost like a father figure to her. how were you able to develop that relationship with naomi ackie? >> she was the easiest person i've ever worked with. she's a brilliant actress. when she does the singing, you're just completely blown

away. ♪ and the rockets' red glare ♪ >> did you feel like you were watching a star being born? >> yes. i did. look, i've worked with a lot of actors over the years. i've worked with too many actors over the years. and when you work with somebody like that and you're just like, wow, how do you do that? >> the art is divine. and the food is out of this world. oh my god, it just melts in your mouth. >> reporter: lately, one of tucci's biggest roles has been in the culinary world as host of his cnn show "searching for italy." you're quite a fixture in the food world now. >> yes. >> did you expect the reception? >> i did not anticipate this reaction. i'm thrilled. i thought, why can't we take italy and just break it down region by region? nobody's ever really done that before. >> i've learned so much. >> i thought i was just going to learn about food.

>> it's an education? >> yeah, i wanted it to be somewhat educational because italian food is the most-loved food in the world. do you ever talk to someone, "i don't like italian food"? no one has ever said that. >> have you ever thought about leaving acting completely and switching over to food completely? >> no. no. >> good. that's what i wanted to hear. >> i need a steady diet of one thing -- it's better to switch it up. >> reporter: cnn just last week announced it was canceling the show after two successful seasons amid cuts to their original programming. tucci told jimmy fallon he was looking for another home for his sow. >> will there are a season three? >> yes, i hope this will be. unfortunately, cnn has canceled all of their original programming. so hopefully we'll end up on another streamer, network, we don't know. >> reporter: despite some health setbacks, the star says he keeps looking forward. >> last time we spoke on "gma," you opened up about your battle with oral cancer. how are you now? >> i'm fine now.

i can't eat everything, still. you know, when you have the high-dose radiation that i had, there's collateral damage. so your salivary glands are compromised. your throat is compromised to a certain extent. >> did you learn anything about yourself through that experience? >> i learned that i don't like being sick. i learned that i'm very impatient. not that i didn't know that. and i learned that i love life. >> our thanks to michael. up next, a santa who's making sure every christmas wish goes answered. eww, the toilet sneeze. every flush spews harmful bacteria onto surfaces. that when touched, can quickly spread throughout your home. help stop the spread with microban24. with it's long lasting shield, it's the only leading brand proven to keep killing 99.99% of bacteria on surfaces for up to 24 hours. so, no matter what your family touches, be confident you're protecting them with microban24. don't just sanitize it, microban it.

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finally, somer special wies washington, maryland. >> my christmas wish, i want all deaf children in the community, all over the world, the united states, to be able to have access. >> deaf and hard of hearing children able to communicate those all-important christmas lists to santa through the use of sign language, putting a smile on their faces and ours too. that's "nightline." you can watch all of our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you