good morning, it is 4:00 a.m. in new york, and 11:00 a.m. in kyiv, ukraine, and here ses what we know right now. we are hours into the russian air assault on ukraine, this morning, missiles targeted at least four cities. the country is now under a state of marshal law.

fear is gripping ukraine, large groups outside the central train station in kyiv carrying suitcases and the highway as we have been showing you is at a standstill with luns if not thousands of people trying to flee to the west, away from russia's border. this mass exodus is under way, despite pleas from the government for people to stay home and for the embattled port city where crews captured long lines at atms. >> joining me now is nbc news correspondent erin mclaughlin in kyiv, ukraine, i'm curious about the ukrainian government, where is president zalenskyy right now, where are his senior leaders what is he saying to ukraine's people? >> well, a few hours ago, i managed to reach president zelenskyy's spokesperson, i pressed him on exactly where the president is right now, he would not respond to that, the last we

heard from president zelenskyy is in the form of a video message posted to social media in which he was appealing to the people here, to remain calm, and appealing to the military, essentially, to fight for their country. this, as people here are terrified. they are hiding in the metro stations, pictures distributed of women and children, seen crouching sort of in the corners seeking shelter as the air sirens ring out this morning, long lines at atms, traffic jams to leave the city to the western portion of the country, which is seen as safer, but really at this point all eyes are on the border crossing, which is the intersection between ukraine, belarus, and russia, and according to an adviser to the interior minister, some 50 tanks were seen crossing that border and that's significant because that border crossing is about a three and a half, four hour drive away from the capital, and

that's where a regular car, obviously it could take longer, for a tank, and we have been trying to reach out to government officials, asking what the ukrainian military is going to do to respond, asking for where they think those tanks are going, we have yet to hear a reply. this, as we're beginning to learn the damage from those strikes that happened in the small hours of the morning, missile strikes, according to an official from the interior minister striking airfield and military installation. an adviser to the mayor of kyiv, the pictures, the still images of a military base struck by missiles in the overnight hours as people are beginning to survey the damage, preparing for the worse, declaring martial law for the whole of ukraine and distributing small arm, guns to

regular civilians to be able to defend themselves, katie. >> erin mclaugh lin, thank you so much. quite a scene there. let's bring in "the wall street journal" chief foreign affairs correspondent, also in kyiv, ukraine, and i see you're on the streets right now, tell me what you're experiencing. >> well, you know, people are out on the streets again. the shopping centers, people are stocking up on food, on water, on essentials, on cigarettes, and kind of a realization that war has started, as it is beginning to sink in. on the main street of kyiv, they're now signing up men, people are signed up, joining the ranks, to repel a russian invasion. other than that, in the restaurant, the coffee shops, are all bustling, and people yesterday were there yesterday but now em >> i can you show us around a little bit. can you talk to somebody for us,

not to put you on the spot, but it would be interesting. >> well, as you can see, everybody coming in behind me is coming out with shopping bags, this is a supermarket here and people are stocking up, carrying all they can. >> is there a sense of fear there right now, is there a sense of, do people want to sign up, and fight for their country out there? >> well, some do, others obviously have to care for the families, for the children, and a lot of others are flee together western part of the country, but many a-great many are staying here in kyiv, and they just, the atms are still working, small lines at atms, but people are willing to cash out and there haven't been any air strikes in this city for about three for four hours so people are cautiously venturing

out and going about their lives. >> is there an expectation they will see tanks rolling into the city? we were talking about the tanks rolling over the boarder from belarus about, a three or four hour drive. that was three hours ago. obviously tanks move slower and it will take some time but do people expect to see russian tanks in ooh kyiv? >> the ukrainian army is resisting and there are defenses in kyiv, it is a big city, and what we have seen is that the force is protecting the parliament and the government installation, and that yesterday, they were wearing normal uniforms and today, armor and helmets and the city is being protected and different from yesterday. >> ukraine has called up its reserves and quite a wide age range, 18 to 60 years old. have you met anybody who has been conscripted? >> yes, when i talked to people,

obviously, a lot of the people were called up, people who are veterans of the wars in the pro-russian forces, and they know what they're doing. >> i don't know how long you have been in ukraine but what can you tell me about what happened -- >> for a month. >> for a month? >> yes. >> got it. >> but you are the chief foreign affairs correspondent for "the wall street journal," what you can tell me about the way that ukraine rehabilitated to the oustering of the pro-russian president back in 2014, and what that could mean for how ukraine and kyiv is going to react to the russians today? >> well, there's very little support for russia, and russia's president here in kyiv, and back then, in 2014, the president, who decided that russia would be ousted by a popular president,

hundreds of thousands of people in the streets protested, and it is very different with tanks, but ukrainian forces have received weapons, and here especially in an urban environment, in the city, russia targeted ukrainian airfields and that advantage is somewhat offset by their environment, so that would probably be the best strategy of the ukrainians. >> our colleague erin mclaughlin, was reporting earlier in the bomb shelters and that kyiv has been, or ukraine has been working as quickly as it can to dust off some of the bomb shelters which many of them are located in the underground stations in kyiv. have you seen people using them this morning? >> i think the way some people are going underground station, the underground stations are

very deep under ground, like the new york subway, but you know, they haven't seen any air strikes in built-up areas of kyiv so far, so as long as the air strikes and missile strikes are confined to installations on the edge of the city, people will not feel the need to be there just yet. >> the ukrainian parliament allowed ukrainian citizens to carry guns in public. they passed this yesterday. have you seen anything like that? >> there are about 700,000 ukrainians with firearms in a population of 40 million, and firearms have made their way here from the donbas area but now the ukrainian prime minister said this morning, that any citizen who wishes to do so can just go to the military unit and get weapons as far as their own

defense force, standing up to prevent -- >> can i ask you a personal question? >> sure. >> what do you plan on doing? how do you plan to stay safe? >> we'll see hour by hour, i guess. >> spoken like a journalist, we'll see hour by hour. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> do stay safe. >> thank you. let's bring in the the vice president of the kyiv school of economic, and i do apologize if i mangled your last name, oxana -- >> you did great, thank you. >> okay, good. tell us, how are you feeling right now? >> i'm feeling quite confident and calm, because i was raised during all my life under the pressure of an enemy, and that eventually, even after the independence, they will try, this and my grandma told me that

they will try, and there will be a war, and russia will never give up. so i have been preparing for this for probably all my life. >> what are you going to do? are you going to stay? are you going to take up arms? do you have a family out there? how do you plan on keeping them safe? >> well, i have a family cottage on the western part of ukraine, in the countryside, but i'm not going to use it. i did plan it. i like staying in kyiv. as long as i can. and i think i will be safe, because well, i've been dealing with the security issues, in the area, in ukraine, and globally,

for a long time. i have studied the defense agenda for ukraine and actually working with european/american lynn for years, that it is going to be a big war, and unfortunately, this war, everybody was actually blind and in denial, because people didn't want torque the establishment, the political establishment, they didn't want to see the approach of this war. so in principle now, i will do what i can do the best way, i'm helping the minister of defense,

the command of defense, i am also doing a lot of staff work with local communities to keep them calm, to give them information, so i'm prepared to do whatever i can do best. >> let's talk about sanctions, president biden is going to announce a new tranche of sanctions later today. what do you want to hear from him? >> well, of course, the sanctions are very important, because this is something that can actually deter and contain russian aggression. so the sanctions have to be extremely severe, and because you see that russia is going to deploy a lot of force, just to keep ukraine under control. so it's going to, it should be -- it's not my particular

business to tell what to do, but in principle, i understand that it should be swift, it should be sanctions on russian financial systems, so something that could disconnect russia from the world and from the opportunity to continue the aggression. >> how is ukraine going to be able to handle the economic fallout? we've seen lines of people lining up at atms, trying to take their money out of the banking system, here's a video of it right now. there are economic effects to conflicts beyond this, global economic effects, is ukraine going to be okay? >> we see natural reaction of people, and of course, except for the military infrastructure

that putin has for himself, the specific target, and very important target is our calmness and our self-esteem and our ability and our trust in our institutions. so of course, when people first, they woke up, i woke up, actually, this w-this understanding that russian missiles are attacking not specifically here but military infrastructure around kyiv, so the first reaction is actually to run away. and to take money, and to take food, and to go as far as you can. but in principle, the russians are surrounding ukraine, and the attacks are taking place actually around the border, and

the physical infrastructure, the airport, even in far western ukraine, it's removed from the territory, so in principle, what i'm telling people, there is no place to run and there is no place to hide, and you have to be calm, the calmness today is our weapon, and being ready to stay, and next, after this natural reaction of running, what russia has said, what putin has said, people will abandon their houses, and then the bands can come and the protests can start, and the target in this case is the regime, and the government, the institutions, of ukraine. so that's why, i think, that the first wave, the natural wave of course, of natural reaction of human beings, to hide from the

threat, and to secure, after this way, people will, a lot of people will come back to kyiv, and a lot of, even though they stay, a lot of people stay, i really see right on the highway, that goes to the west, so i can see the cars that are heading to the west, but i'm sure that all of them will come back and those will stay, they will be prepared to maintain the order in the city. >> there's gridlock, the lines are long, oksana, you're staying, thank you very much for joining us, and we wish you well. >> thank you. coming up, we want to take you back into russia to show you how the invasion is playing. we have top line from morning television, in moscow. stay with us. rning television, in moscow. stay with us

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joining me now is nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley in ukraine, what you are hearing about reports of tanks rolling near the area? >> well, we've been seeing some images on social media showing tanks on the outskirt about 25 miles from the russian border and no surprise that they would make it here so quickly, we haven't yet started seeing them here in the center of the city, but we have gotten some reports from the ukrainian military, the general staff, of the armed forces, says, four tanks were burned on the bypass road, here and the 50 russian soldiers were killed in an area of a town called happiness and that another plane of the russian

armed forces federation, and that makes five planes of russian planes that were shot down. and we are only hearing reports from the ukrainian military, and we have no sense of what the russians are saying so if you only listening to the ukrainians, they are winning the fight and i find that very unlikely, since we haven't gotten a full report, we're need to be careful about getting more information from the russians but at this point, we are looking at this battle from a peephole provided to us from the ukrainian military, it is just impossible for us to make a fair assessment of the battle. if some of those videos that are coming out on tiktok, and social media, of russian tanks and russian armored personnel carriers slowly gently lumbering through the countryside are true, it makes it seem as though they're moving through this countryside unresisted. and that would be, you know, a very interesting part of this battle showing that they are moving very, very quickly,

through the countryside, and through this city, around this city. we also have seen almost no one on the street, as i reported to you earlier, except for a massive police presence, that spanned out all over town. and it's hard to see how the police would put up much of a resistance to the russian army, i believe they're probably out there from preventing people from looting and taking advantage of the chaos. >> it is hard to have eyes on what is happening and so used to social media and realtime and given the misinformation and disinformation out there especially surrounding this conflict, it's hard to say what is real and what is not and it hasn't been verified by an official source, and i find it interesting, matt that we're hearing these snippets from the ukrainian government about their quote-unquote wins on the battlefield, the tanks that they have taken out, the helicopters they've shot down, what do you make of their selective release of information?

>> i mean, look, hey, maybe it's true, maybe those are all victories for the ukrainian military and maybe the russians haven't gained anything at all, i highly doubt that's the case. given the lopsided nature of this conflict and given the very frank comments that i've heard from former and current defense officials, it just doesn't seem likely that this the battle is going in the way that we're seeing and hearing from the ukrainians. especially if given the fact that this opens with a pummelling from the air across the country, in cities like here, in kyiv, the capital, and far south in odessa, but it is just impossible to check on this stuff. the ukrainians have said that they haven't seen what must be a dramatic amphibious landing of russian troops to the south of odessa around the crimea area that was annexed by russia back in 2014, if the russians have managed to make a daring

amphibious landing in odessa, it's hard to imagine that the ukrainians have the upper hand. even though they keep saying over and over again in these reports, we are defending ourselves, we're doing a good job, we're beating back the invaders, and i just don't see it, maybe i'll believe it in a couple of days, if we get a real sense of how the battlefield looks, and reports from the russians, that's what we need to get a real sense. >> we have some idea what the russians are reporting right now. matt bradley, thank you very much. let's go to nbc producer, nbc news producer in moscow, and matt, we have some headlines from russian tv this morning, russia 24, breaking defense ministry, the border guard service of ukraine does not show resistance, breaking defense ministry, service men of the armed forces of ukraine are leaving their positions, en masse, breaking service men of the armed forces of ukraine abandoned their weapons, military targets are hit with

precision, that's a lot different from what we're hearing from ukraine as matt bradley just reported. >> that's right, we're hearing basically counterclaims to everything we've been hearing from the ukrainian defense minister and it's interesting because they're very much trying to capture a certain area here of this operation, remember this began with a very early morning declaration, of a special military operation, especially a kind of liberation of ukraine but don't call it war, you're not hearing that anywhere in the russian media, they're being very selective how they're presenting this, and you will hear, we're watching a talk show, on one of the russian state channels, and saying things like very soon russian forces will leave ukraine, ukrainians will be free to choose their leadership, reiterating that ukrainian

soldiers are abandoning their positions en masse. and they're saying, they're coming into the russian military, giving ukrainian soldiers the opportunity to surrender before being fired on. but also, denials. that ukraine has taken out any russian aircraft, killed any russian southerlies or, soldiers or any domestic tanks, it is a domestic operation that is costing nothing and important to pay attention to as it moves forward, we're not sure about the accuracy of what we're hearing from the ukrainian, likewise from the russians, and they are going i think to try to make this look as cheap as possible. and i wanted to talk about something else that has come out, and a sense that maybe not everyone is on board with this but who might actually speak up against this, alexey navalny, the arrested opposition leader happens to be in court today on another trial that presumably, when he is found guilty will add

up to 15 years to his term, used his opportunity on the stand to stay this, and you won't see this on the russian state media but what few independent outlets are left are carrying it, i'm against this war, i believe the war against rush russia and ukraine is a way to distract citizens from the problems that exist in this country, from the degradation of the economy, and it will have a huge number of victims and impoverish destinies and basically saying everything that is said about the russian government. a voice for you. >> just in case you looked at the screen, you were talking about alexey navalny, the russian dissident in court and saying about russia, we are showing you president zelenskyy of ukraine, in kyiv right now, addressing the ukrainian people, he is speaking in ukrainian, and

once we get a translation on what he is seeing, we will bring that to you, so just give us a moment to get that translation. matt, what about imagery? we're hearing these headlines. what sort of imagery is being shown in russia right now? >> very little. very little imagery being shown from any of this. we've seen -- >> what do you think of that? and i ask you that -- >> sorry to interrupt, bought we've seen a ton of russian imagery about the troop buildup and all of the video that we have comes from russian defense, why are we not seeing so much now? >> it's an interesting question. i suppose i don't really know the answer, i think one reason, one easy reason is that the state media doesn't want to show what is actually happening in this operation, because i just find it hard to believe that this is happening without any casualties or losses to the russian side at all. this is something that russians are very, very sensitive to, you

know, because this is a conversation we've been having for a long time, they are they casualty-averse, a lot of people are, that's how societies are but there is a strong imagery, kind of memories of the war in afghanistan, the soviet war in afghanistan, and also chechnya as well, so there is definitely a clear effort to not show any kind of loss of life, that this is a bloody conflict, because so many russians consider ukrainians to be brotherly people, they see them as one, and to they will be sensitive to those images if they come up. and also, you know, we know that, we saw the buildup, that there were things that the russians were bringing to the table, pretty advanced electronic warfare kits, so it's possible we're seeing jamming in some of the areas where this is happening, but i have to be clear, i just don't know why.

>> that is the power of controlling state media, you can show what you want to show and with the very headlines, ukraine does not show resistance, and the like. matt, in moscow, thank you so much. and we're going to take a quick break. again, we're getting dualing information from ukraine and russia, ukraine talking about the successes on the battlefield and the tanks they have disabled and the helicopters they've shot down, meanwhile again in russia, it's all about how ukraine is showing no resistance. laying down their arms. fleeing their positions. don't go anywhere. we'll be right back. tions. don't go anywhere. we'll be right back.

it is now a little past 4:30 a.m. in new york. 11:30 a.m. in kyiv, ukraine. ukrainian's president zelenskyy just addressed his country for the first time since the russian air assault began, he asked people to spread honest information, and said he will issue weapons to anyone who wants them.

meanwhile it is very clear the capital city of kyiv there is gridlock on the highways, with hundreds if not thousands of people trying to get out, if after a round of explosions rattled the city this morning. and this is the scene in the port city in eastern ukraine, long lines of people, waiting to get cash, out of the atm. we've also learned of a first casualty, a bombing killed six people in the city, in the region of odessa, in southwestern ukraine. seven people are wounded, and 19 more are missing. in response to the attack, ukraine's president ordered martial law choicing schools and placing hospitals on high alert. and ukraine's defense minister wants quote anyone who is ready and able to hold a weapon to join the country's defense forces. as for the united states response, president biden will meet with g-7 leaders this morning to impose severe sanctions on russia. president biden will also

address this nation later this afternoon. let's us bring in the ukrainian journalist in kyiv, so president zelensky just spoke, he said the enemy has suffered serious losses, clearly trying to boost morale, in ukraine, also telling people that anyone who wants a weapon should come get one. what do you make of his address? >> first of all, i should probably say that it was not his first address, he had been addressing every single hour, it was a short remark, since the very moment of the attacks, that was quite expected, there were a lot of other things, the president called people to stay home and those who want to fight, i heard the discussion that should also say, and i'm talking to the people all over the country, it's over the border, 2,000 meters long, and

the routes of the civilian casualties, there are civilian casualties but in terms of the defense, it is not what we expect, it is something that we expected, to be honest, it is something that we should bring in, we're he told, so the primary targets where the military, the military targets, the warehouses, it's not really you can defend them with the ground troops, we know that some of the air defense system worked, and yes, there should be some ground troops moving over the border, still for all the hours, while reporting, to the people also in the conflict line, we know that some cities are, we can't say that ukraine doesn't resist, it does, but overall the stories show they're largely in control, of course, russia, this should be a shocking event for the whole world, because there is no reason for this war. it's madness. so we see how the people

proceed. shops are open, schools are closed, and hospitals, they are looking at the country, which is as big as france, so there are different place, and we understand for different supporters, it is very hard to imagine what is happening in a different part of the country. >> a very good point, we do have reporters stationed throughout the country but again we're not getting every indication of what is happening, because as you said, the country is so large, and our apologies, as the first indication that we've gotten of president zelenskyy addressing the nation, but thank you for keeping us honest on that. what can you tell us about the reporting currently from the front lines, in the donbas region in eastern ukraine? we've gotten reports from the ukrainian government talking about taking down helicopters, and disabling tanks, we're also

hearing from the russian government that ukrainians are laying down their weapons, and they're abandoning their posts, that russia is meeting no resistance. what can you tell us about the reporting that is coming out? >> that is definitely not true. the country has shown, you know, like who is winning, it is still happening, we know about a couple of towns, which would claim to be taken, and they're tiny, but they were not. and we're also cautious, because of an announcement about marines in odessa, and it is not true, and the resistance, exactly in the conflict is there, and officials have said about possible casualties, of course, it's up to them to keep the bravado there, it's there, but it's not that, and that should be part of the strategy, but talking to different people, there is no doubt that they're really, really fighting back. >> so in your estimation, i know

the government has said that anybody who wants a weapon can get a weapon, i know that they called up reservists between the ages of 18 to 60 which is a wide range, and they have also said to individual citizens that you are going to need to fight, that this is a war that all of ukraine must wage, and paraphrasing there, what is your sense of the ukrainian people and their willingness, outside of the military, to wage this war? >> so look, over the last days, and months, there were polls, where more than 50% of ukrainians were ready to resist, you know, and the figures were growing up to 60, and just given an example, this week, at the moment, when the, when there was this quasi-republic, the ukrainians gathered, supporting the army, the people just want

to understand what they can do, there was no emergence of call to army, or conscription, but if there is a moment, there is a moment, and i know that the people are ready, who will be included, and it is not a call upon everybody yet, it feels like that would be enough people. >> what is the feeling toward the west right now in ukraine? >> the question is, you know, the president zelensky said for a lot of time, at least a number of the foreign leaders who he has spoken to, i think there would be always a question that should be more people are speaking about the, no-fly zone, over ukraine, so the russian jets won't be there. or drones. but there are calls for tougher

sanctions for all of the support in the defense. and in the financial support, so the calls are there. i don't know how to assess, is it enough? i've seen a lot, words of support, from a lot of people, globally, including the politicians, but i think the actions are already, i know it takes like hours to develop the actions, but we are preparing for this, we have announced it might happen for quite a long time, and there is a calm, that if there was a plan, could it be enforced already now? >> do the ukrainian people still want to join the eu? do they want to be a part of nato? what's the feeling toward more closely aligning themselves with the west? >> look, it's very strange to us, for the people, after four hours of the, you know, like probably the most horrible events of our decades, what do

they think of nato, but it's like, i feel the people have a huge solidarity, they're even more clear about, you know, that it's not a hoax, it's not just a theoretical threat of russia's attack, and to defend, and it is not a moment where you really discuss that, but the support was growing, and what has been announced, talking to people, they are becoming more and more determined. >> very interesting. natalia, thank you so much, for joining us, and we do wish you well. >> bye. we're going to take a very quick break. stay with us. we have peter baker when we come back. stay with us we have peter baker when we come back

i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price?

also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information.

let's bring in nbc investigative reporter, dan, you've been watching the military movement, what is the risk here for a miscalculation? >> you know, hopefully remote, but it can't be ruled out. you have very serious fire power, now, being unleashed by russia, long distance missiles, aircraft. and you have u.s. forces very nearby, in poland, and in romania, and in the baltic countries. and so as this conflict unfolds, we don't know how it will evolve, and there is the possibility of some kind of misunderstanding especially given the really tense nature and the distrust now, the nature, the bad relations now between moscow and the west, so there is that possibility of some kind of incident. at the moment of course, there are no u.s. or nato troops in

ukraine, and at the moment, the war is contained inside ukraine. but you can't rule out some kind of misunderstanding or miscalculation as this unfolds. >> what we're looking at right now is some of the damage in kyiv, and it appears to be the remains of a missile, dan, you tell me, you know this stuff better than i do. >> well, this is what the u.s. and other governments were predicting, that russia would come down hard, like a hammer, with all its missile arsenal and its artillery, all sorts of fire power, it has all around the border of ukraine, to damage and inflict a heavy toll on ukraine's military before they even move in with a large number of land forces. and the biggest risk, i think, at the moment, for ukraine's military, is so many of their troops are lined up in the east, on that front line, for the past eight years, and there is a risk

now, that russia, through this air-raids and bombing raids, could then swoop in from the west, and the north, and trap ukrainian military on the front line in the east and possibly capture them. so a real big dangerous moment now for the ukrainian armed forces. >> dan de luce, thank you very much. let's go peter baker, white house correspondent, it is a few minutes before 5:00 a.m., much of washington if they got any sleep last night is starting to wake up, what are you going to be watching out for as this day unfolds? >> well, i think the first thing anybody wants to watch for of course is president biden and how he handles this. he issued written statements last night, spoke with president zelensky by phone, we haven't seen him in person and he plans to come out midday after consulting with the other leaders of the g-7 nations.

this is a huge test for him, a huge challenge to the international order and it is up to president biden as the leader of the free world to try to rally a global response in unprovoked aggression. it reminiscent of the end of the cold war when iraq violated kuwait's sovereignty, and president bush then rallied the world against that kind of aggression and pushed iraq back and now we too have east union on our side and it makes it so volatile and so dangerous, because obviously any confrontation with russia even though american troops are not currently in ukraine, don't plan to be in ukraine, anything could get out of control and that's why it is a dangerous situation beyond even ukrainians. >> what is your impression of vladimir putin right now and the speech from last night or this morning where he warned anybody who might interfere that bad

things would happen, i'm paraphrasing poorly, but he also mentioned casually that russia is a nuclear nation. >> yeah, he's reminding everybody that russia is one of the two nations perhaps the three nations in the world that could basically unleash, you know, a holocaust with a snab of a finger and he has that power in his hand and so he is in fact you -- in a way of saying this is my conflict with ukraine, stay away and do not get involved and president biden and the european nation does not plan to get into a military conflict with russia for that reason alone if nothing else, but again, you know, when you start this kind of thing, and that kind of neighborhood, you never know what can happen. there are european, and american troops, all around ukraine and the country, and anything could happen by accident that triggers some sort of a more dangerous and volatile situation. what you saw with putin's address, last night, and with the last couple of days is, a

man who thinks he's at war with history and wants to re-write the history of 1991 when the soviet union collapsed and doing it through force. >> he said that the greatest tragedy in recent history is the fall of the ussr, the breakup of the soviet union. peter baker, thank you so much for being with us. i know you've gotten very little sleep if any today, but we appreciate all of your expertise. all right, right after the break, "way too early" with my colleague begins. don't go anywhere. colleague begs don't go anywhere.

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condemn the aggression that you launch on my people. there is no purgatory for war criminals. they go straight to hell, ambassador. >> that was ukraine's ambassador to the united nations, w