riot affected so many people, so the task for these new few days will be finding jurors who can set aside what they know happened. >> you may not know his name, but fascinating stuff. thank you, pete. appreciate it. that's going to wrap up this hour. i'm chris jansing. jose diaz-balart picks up breaking news coverage right now. good morning. it's 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart, and we begin this busy monday morning with the violent and intense battle for the future of ukraine. happening right now, talks between russia and ukraine, as ukrainian president zelenskyy pushes for an immediate cease-fire and as russia faces setback after setback, after encountering fierce ukrainian resistance. this as more women and children are waiting for hours, even days at train stations and at border crossings, desperate to flee to safety. the u.n. estimates over 500,000 refugees have already left

ukraine for neighboring countries. we'll bring you the very latest from kyiv and moscow. and we'll talk to the chairman of the senate intelligence committee, senator mark warner, about what's next for the u.s. response to this conflict. also this morning, in washington, president biden is preparing to deliver his first state of the union address, as he confronts yet another crisis early on in his tenure. meanwhile in texas, we're less than 24 hours away from the first primary election day of 2022. some voters are facing new challenges, in light of the state's brand-new election law. we'll bring you a live report from houston. and we begin this hour with the very latest on russia's invasion of ukraine. let's take a live picture of the united nations general assembly, which is about to meet for a rare emergency session to discuss the crisis in ukraine. we'll be keeping a close eye on this meeting and bring you any major developments there. this comes as officials from

ukraine and russia meet in belarus for talks aimed at ending the five-day-old conflict. but ukraine's president has said he does not expect a breakthrough. meantime, russian forces are pushing forward with their assault on ukrainian cities, including kyiv, the capitol. but british defense officials say that russian troops are dealing with stiff resistance from ukrainian troops and logistics failures, including fuel shortages. this was a scene in kharkiv, where ukraine officials have accused russian force of launching a barrage of rockets at a residential neighborhood, killing dozens of civilians. nbc news has not been able to independently confirm that claim. meantime, ukraine's president says at least 16 children have been killed in the past four days. 4,500 russian troops have also died. nbc news has not been able to independently confirm these claims. the ukrainian leader also urged russian soldiers to drop their weapons and leave.

a short time ago, the u.s. expanded sanctions on u.s.'s bank, as crippling sanctions are already taking place and are taking a toll on the russian economy. the russian ruble plunged to new record lows against the u.s. dollar. the stock market closed, and russia's central bank sharply hiked its interest rate, to shore up the ruble and prevent a run on banks. russia is also closing its air space airlines from 36 countries in retaliation for closing their air space to russian aircraft. just over an hour from now, president biden will hold a secure call with u.s. allies and partners to talk about the latest development. one thing they will likely discuss is russian president vladimir putin's decision to put russian nuclear forces on high alert. nato's secretary general talked about the move with nbc's josh lederman. >> it's a reckless and dangerous decision to put their nuclear forces on high alert.

there's no reason for that. nato is no threat to russia. we are increasing the presence of nato troops, u.s. troops, all the european troops in the eastern part of the alliance to make sure that there's no room for any miscalculation in moscow about our readiness to protect and defend our allies. >> with me this morning, nbc's cal perry in ukraine, nbc's matt bodner in russia, not far from kharkiv, and kelly cobiella near the poland/ukraine border. what are you seeing and hearing there, cal? >> reporter: yeah, you have this story line unfolding in the east of heavy fighting and refugees fleeing and soldiers headed that direction. so in the west, here, where i am in lviv, the city is becoming a support structure for all of that. and what we're seeing hear, i'm at a major hospital here in the city of lviv. and what we just witnessed is the first shipment of aid has arrived from germany. we saw medicine and supplies.

oleg, thank you so much for joining me. can you tell me about the importance of this. why these supplies are important? >> this medicine will help us make a better help for our patients, for the victims of the ukraine/russian war. >> reporter: what is it like to be living here in ukraine reunion? what is it like? >> what is it like? we are part of the history. of new history of europe, new industry of the world. >> reporter: you are a physical therapist, yes? >> yes. >> reporter: one day soon, you may be working with soldiers who come here. that's part of this hospital. my question is, are you a doctor or are you a soldier now? >> it seems that we all are soldiers. it doesn't matter, you're a doctor, you're a teacher, or somebody else, first of all, you are a citizen of ukraine, and now we all are soldiers. >> reporter: are you afraid for

the future? >> no. i think everything that will be all right. because we are together, we have a great support from all of the world. we have great sport for our neighbors. from other countries, of europe, from other continents, and we are strong from day-to-day. and we are strong because we are together, like one nation, like one ukrainian nation. but every of our ukrainian citizen is a soldier. we're like one army. >> reporter: i understand. thank you, sir, so much, and good luck, okay? thank you for your time. jose, we are hearing this all over this city. that people are willing to fight and to die here. and we hear it constantly from president zelenskyy, as he gives these morning videos, he's tapped into something that is hugely important. when you talk to people here on the streets, they say, we understand what we're fighting for, we're fighting for our countries, we're fighting for

our homes. but it's not apparent to people here at all what the russian army is fighting for, jose. >> cal, this is so important. because there is such a difference when when you don't find yourself alone anymore. and these supplies that's arriving, cal, is that something that you've been seeing more and more of in these past 24 to 48 hours? >> reporter: it is. and even though it looks like a small amount, every little bit here counts. and that's what we've been hearing here. it's so difficult to get these supplies here. the two drivers who brought these supplies came from munich and germany. they drove across poland to get here. it took them days of waiting to get here, days of working out the paperwork. and as soon as we're done with this live shot, they'll pack up and move on to the next location. they're trying to make all of these stops to try to spread out the aid for exactly the reason you're saying, to make people feel supported. even if it's a little bit. to distribute it equally. this hospital i'm here at will eventually see soldiers.

they're preparing for that, but mentally preparing to see wounded soldiers coming here, and in the case of our friend here, to start that physical rehab right away. >> that's so, so important, cal. cal, meanwhile, tens of thousands of people still trying to leave ukraine by bus, by car, by train, anyway they can. they're walking. what are they encountering once they reach the other side of the border? >> reporter: real quick, jose, before i tell you about that, because that line behind me is moving, these are not people arriving in poland. these are people leaving poland. they are ukrainians going back to their country. many of them are wearing fatigues and they're going back to fight. in terms of the refugees who are arriving, it's been an incredibly difficult journey. we've talked to a number of them over past several days, including this morning. and they're talking about journey times of days, not hours. two, three, four days in some cases, just trying to get to

poland. and we spoke to one man who was waiting for family members arriving -- he hoped, were arriving on a train, and we just -- here's what he had to say about the real difficult wait. >> train by train, i'm waiting when they will be. and i hope they are here. i don't know. i'm not sure. we cannot call, because she does not have roaming. >> reporter: so you can't even communicate? you don't know if they're here or not? >> no, because since they passed the border, they don't have roaming, so we have no contact. >> reporter: so you just stand and wait and look. >> yes. >> and hope. >> and hope, yes. >> reporter: once people do arrive here, poland has said that anyone coming in from ukraine will be allowed in. it doesn't matter which passport you're holding. and we've heard that borne out. we spoke to a couple of nigerian students today who arrived today after traveling for four days

and they said that they were allowed in, stamped in, no problems, to poland. poland has set up a number of processing centers. there's also a huge network, a grassroots network of volunteers who are offering up places to stay, donations, food, clothing, transport to different cities. so you don't, jose, see a large tent city or anything like that here. there are some processing centers where people are staying. but a lot of those people are just melting into the community and staying with people, either relatives or people in poland. jose? >> thank you, kelly. and matt, just thinking of what cal was telling us, about that conversation with oleg, that he says, i know what i'm fighting for. we're all soldiers here. i know what i'm fighting for. and cal was asking maybe how different it is for the russian side of it. what are you seeing and hearing from the russian side?

>> reporter: thank you, jose. we're seeing essentially a completely different picture of the situation. obviously, we're not sure how the russian military engaged in ukraine actually feels about what's going on. but we've got some hints from various sources in ukraine that perhaps morale is not the highest. but back home, here in russia, the message is very, very firmly policed. this is an -- this is not a war, this is a special operation to liberate ukraine. the technical term is, a special operation to protect donbas. obviously, the operation is now countrywide, and we're seeing constant, constant insistence on russian state media, from russian leadership, that basically everything they're hearing from the ukrainians, about strikes and civilian targets want russian losses is a fabrication. we're seeing everything day now, the russian defense ministry spokesman gets on television and gives this very marshaled rundown of how the special

operation is going. you never hear anything about losses or any substantial losses. certainly not in terms of liest. they're admitting to some equipment losses, losses of vehicles, but, excuse me, they are insisting that the operation is going very smoothly. they continue to paint this picture of an inplausibly clean and well-oiled military machine, basically liberating the people of ukraine. you're not going to hear anything about resistance, at least from civilians. they're sort of setting the stage for what they, i think, had hoped would be the case, that they would be welcomed, as liberators. that they're fighting against fascists in kyiv. that they're fighting against essentially roving bandits in the cities. one thing i do want to flag that we started hearing today that i think is a bit concerning is the russians are saying that they are opening what essentially amounts to a humanitarian corridor for civilians out of kyiv. and they're kind of setting a

narrative stage to say that anyone who remains is a militant. jose? >> very, very dangerous. matt bodner, cal perry, and kelly cobiella, thank you very much. joining me now is veronica, executive editor of the new voice of ukraine. it is so nice to see you again. what is it like in kyiv right now? >> it is very quiet, in my district, for the first time since the start of the war. only two loud booms were heard this night, but they were so loud that the windows were shaking, but only two. this is basically it. but we are very disturbed and we are waiting for the results of the negotiations. because i think that -- i personally think that those

negotiations led to nothing. as i've heard that russia keeps saying that this special operation is going on smoothly, while that's not true. we have numerous evidence about russian losses. and they did not seize kyiv, although they claimed that they are going to leave a humanitarian corridor. for civilians. we still can travel, basically, outside of kyiv. could easily, but still, you have to wait in line. >> yeah. veronica, it's amazing when you say, oh, things have gotten better. there were only two explosions overnight. i mean, this is such a horrendous reality that you and so many others are living through. it seems like these attacks may continue. what does it feel like to be living through this moment. to be faced with the terrifying

decisions about whether to stay or to go? >> it's exhausting. i already -- i'm on the edge. emotionally. because now that russia has been cut off, that the skies are closed, that russia has become a corridor, i don't know why they are not retreating. what are they waiting for? they already saw that the ukrainians are resisting. and either they are going to launch bloodshed here and genocide or they're going to go. i don't know what -- how it's going to end and now to the negotiations are possibly over, we are very anxiously waiting

for any details of them. >> and in contrast to when we spoke on friday, you don't feel alone anymore. and you should not feel alone anymore. it's so -- it's so amazing to see the world focused on ukraine and its valiant, valiant fight for independence. and veronika, it's always a pleasure to see you. >> thank you very much. still ahead, from the streets to the store shelves, the many way americans are rallying for ukraine. plus, the latest on what president biden may say tomorrow at the state of the union address. we'll be covering that and a whole lot more. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." re you're watching "jose you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports.the entranc, the surprises they initiate. otezla. it's a choice you can make. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently.

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19 past the hour. this morning in washington, we're learning new details about what we can expect from president biden's first state of the union address tomorrow night. as fighting in ukraine continues, the president will come to the capitol in what punch bowl calls, perhaps the most pivotal moment of his short tenure. joining me now is chief washington correspondent for pbs "newshour," jeff bennett, also an msnbc political analyst. also with us, maya wiley, a civil rights attorney and a former u.s. attorney and an msnbc legal analyst. jeff, what more can you tell us about the mental that americans

can expect from the president tomorrow? >> well, i can tell you, jose, that the speech is being currently rewritten to incorporate what's happening on the ground in ukraine and to also take into account the domestic message that president biden wants to impart to americans, to include just the news this past weekend, his historic choice for the supreme court. the day after president biden will deliver that speech, judge jackson will meet with chuck schumer and so begins the supreme court charm offensive, where judge jackson will have what are known as those courtesy calls. those 35 to 40-minute get-to-know-you selections. where they'll talk about her judicial philosophies. and oftentimes those provide the basis for questions that a nominee is asked during a confirmation hearing. interestingly enough, the judiciary committee, but we do

know that democrats are looking at as a precedent the really month-long confirmation process by justice amy coney barrett. that was the fastest confirmation process in history. but senator dick durbin, who chairs the senate judiciary committee, says that he hopes to have the confirmation wrapped up by april 9th, when they take the two-week break for their easter recess. and one of the reasons why judge jackson has been the front-runner all along is because she is a known quantity. as president biden said, she had been confirmed three times by the senate. she's fully vetted. and president biden has known her for at least five or six years. back from when then president obama interviewed her to fill the vacancy left by the death of justice antonin scalia at the time. and from there, she was included in the name of judges and potential justices, for then president-elect biden during the transition, and she of course was the first black woman that

then president biden evaluated to the federal bench, jose. >> maya, republican senators, meanwhile, at least two, romney and portman, kept the door open, supporting miss jackson's nomination. what does it tell you about the hearings going forward. how could they play out? what would you be watching for, maya? >> i am going to be watching for exactly what you're pointing to, jose. republicans right now are trying to figure out what side of the fence of history that they want to stand on. and that with just this judge who so many republicans have supported in those three previous confirmations in the past, like a lindsey graham, who was publicly sort of suggesting that he is going to ask her some questions that will be challenging, at the same time, you know, i don't think there's any question for many republicans that it's going to be very difficult to knock her from a perch, because her

incredible qualifications and the fact that she has been so heavily vetted. and as we've seen, you know, jeff talked about this charm offensive. you know, what she is going to do, i think, is what she's already demonstrated and shown. she's going to be herself. she's going to be a person of integrity. paul ryan, back in 2012, stated that while he didn't agree with her on every issue, he thought that she was not only a stellar intellect, but an incredibly -- a person full of integrity. that matters a lot when you're looking at whether you're going to take someone or whether you're going to decide, you know, that you're going to treat them with with respect and dignity. so i don't think anyone's going to come for her in a disrespectful way. i think she's too powerful a candidate for that. but how much on the substance are they going to try to make this point that because she's a black woman, she cannot be unbiased, which will be unfortunate, it will be inaccurate, but it will be

something that she will be prepared for. >> and maya, i mean, this moment, how will history reflect on it? >> history is going to reflect on this moment, i think, very positively. particularly for those who support her. because she's going to come through, i predict, this nomination, and she's going to be appointed. republicans don't remember -- have a lot of reason to throw themselves on the stakes of history by going after such a highly qualified black woman candidate. remember when jen psaki said, you know, for all of those who are attacking the president saying that he would pick a black woman, first black woman to be nominated for the supreme court in the history of this country, that she said, nobody criticized ronald reagan or donald trump for saying they would a point a woman. and i think that is an important reflection on what this historic moment should represent, which is a -- an incredible

celebration of the fact that we're a country that now recognizes the high qualifications of a black woman to sit on the supreme court of the united states of america. >> you know, maya, i'm just struck, you said that, and it's so true, but it's important to kind of underline it. we're in 2022 and we're talking about the first black woman to be nominated to the supreme court. 2022. in the history of our country. >> this is america. and we are changing her. >> maya wiley and jeff bennett, thank you for being with me this morning. up next, the chairman of the senate intelligence committee, senator mark warner is with us. we'll be talking about russia's nuclear threat. but first, kyiv residents are holding strong on day five of the russian invasion. they're telling reporters, people are united, not only in ukraine, but across the world. >> no, i'm not really afraid.

i believe the world is on our side and, you know, we were attacked. it's not our aggression, so i believe that we did not wrong and we only defend ourselves. and we only defend ourselves i have friends. [ chuckles ] well, he may have friends, but he rides alone. that's jeremy, right there! we're literally riding together. he gets touchy when you talk about his lack of friends. can you help me out here? no matter why you ride, progressive has you covered with protection starting at $79 a year. well, we're new friends. to be fair. eh, still.

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30 past the hour. the world is rallying in sport of ukraine amid the russian invasion. here in the u.s., where there are more than 1 million ukrainian americans, thousands took to the streets to demonstrate in support of ukraine's sovereignty. joining me now is nbc's senior national correspondent, kerry sanders in doral, florida. kerry, good morning. what a show of solidarity we're seeing across the country. >> reporter: good morning! yeah, and it's a remarkable response from americans. we're in doral in a warehouse here. this is the global empowerment mission. and you can see what they're doing here is they're preparing items that will be sort of personal kits for those who are refugees coming out, things like socks, other items here that they have -- see what this is. this is a dehydration relief kit. the whole idea is, as you see, upwards of 500,000 have now

crossed the border, there is a need to help them. they're literally leaving with the items on their back. kimberly, let me interrupt you. first of all, give me an assessment of the scene of the situation on that border with jim. >> when the refugees are crossing the border, the first thing they see is our booth, and just try to give them a little bit of dignity and restore hope. when you've been walking for three days with one pair of socks and the shirt off your back that you left in, having these necessity kits is the band-aid approach until we get the relocation program and able to get them a plane ticket or a train ticket to whatever they might want to go. >> people donate money in the united states to places like global empowerment mission. and we're used to seeing in crisis like this, very often in natural disasters, where tent cities are set up, people move into these tent cities and wait. you're doing something different. this is an immediate need. what are doing for the coming days and weeks for those that are arriving? >> in order not to burden the

surrounding countries, we're trying to get them a plane ticket to their friends and families. >> so if they have friends or families, say, in europe, rather than just sitting there on the border in a small town, for instance, you guys are in the deep of poland, population 2,800. already overwhelmed by people. >> absolutely. so they come to our booth, get their initial necessity kits, to give them dignity, and then we'll give them a plane ticket or a train ticket to get them on to their next stop, so they have a more longer-term solution. >> and there will be some people who wonder, well, can they come to the united states? as they leave ukraine, can they go to canada? can they come to the united states? >> some will, some will not be able to. there's been an overwhelming response of people offering their homes and venues for them to be able to stay, but the question is, do they have a visa? and you're not in that business. >> correct. >> let's take a look at the video there on the border, where jim has set the tents up. you can see the people arriving.

interestingly, when i spoke to the representative who is there from this organization, he said, families are coming over about one every seven seconds. and that's happening not only during daylight hours, but during the evening. these sort of items here, 500,000 people crossing into the border, it's estimated that there may be well, more than 5 million to 10 million, if it keeps up at this space. so jose, a desperate need to help those refugees and interestingly, americans who aren't sure what to do, are reaching out and making donations to this organization. we're going to put the web address up here, so that folks can see who, if they want to help this organization, that's helping those refugees and it's important to note that this money that is donated can be directed just to the cause. so it's not a case of giving money to an organization and finding the money gets diverted somewhere else, jose. >> and if you're just listening and not watching, global empowerment mission.org is the address that you can reach and help. kerry sanders, thank you very

much. good seeing you. still ahead, senator mark warner on what, if anything, could stop vladimir putin. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." vladimir . you're watching "jose di-bazalart reports.

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and see how far it takes you. tonal. be your strongest. 39 past the hour. today, the state department says it is suspending operations at the u.s. agency in belarus and urging americans to leave the country. it is urging non-essential employees at the u.s. embassy in moscow to leave russia. as reuters citing that russian news agencies reports that belarus held a referendum on sunday that renounced its non-nuclear status, potentially paving the way for russia to deploy nuclear weapons there. joining me now, senator mark warner of virginia, chairman of the senate intelligence committee. senator, it is a pleasure to see you this morning. i want to get your reaction first to this new report. do you have any insight on whether or not russia is thinking about deploying nuclear weapons to belarus? >> well, first of all, belarus

and its authoritarian leader, it totally captured and some of the viewers may recall about a year ago, there were massive protests in belarus from the belarusian population, against the authoritarian leader. putin stepped in. i don't think this referendum that took place over the weekend carries much weight. and i think you will start to see american sanctions, as well, and european sanctions against belarus. putin making this kind of saber rattling, whether upgraing his nuclear capabilities and or potentially deploying these capabilities to belarus, this is not a sign of a guy that's winning. this is somebody that's clearly been caught offguard by the extent of the ukraine existence, by the fact that nato has stayed united. even the swiss, who have always been independent are now

sanctioning russia, as well. so i hope this is simply saber rattling, but we're in uncharted territory here. i still am concerned that while the russians haven't fully thrown all of their forces against ukraine, both military and cyber, i'm still concerned about the potential of a major cyber attack against ukraine, that could actually bleed into poland once you put malware into the wild, it doesn't respect geographic borders. and if they got into poland and shut down nato hospitals, that are on that border, we could be approaching what would be viewed as an article v violation, which means if you attack any nato nation, all 30 nato nations have to respond. so we are in, again, jose, you be charted territory. >> so when you say clearly putin is not a guy who is winning anything right now. and when you see switzerland now sanctioning russian money, where russians traditionally have loved to keep their money in

switzerland, he seems to be getting more and more cornered. what are your thoughts on putin and how he could react to seeing that he is not winning anywhere? >> well, this is an authoritarian leader, 20 years, he's been in power. the last two years, he's even been more isolated. he was very covid-phobic. i think anybody that sees these pictures of him sitting at one end of the table and his advisers way down at the other end. he has isolated himself. he's not been in the kremlin very much. he's either been at his play in sochi in the south or one of his homes outside of moscow. and you've got less and less input and if these inputs are from sycophants that simply don't want to make the boss mad, you end up with an authoritarian leader making the wrong judgments. i worry that he's been backed into a corner. i worry that there's no obvious exit ramp. but the idea that president zelenskyy in ukraine, who i

think has really risen to the occasion. he's become a world figure, almost a churchill of this kind of -- of this war and conflict. and the united front of not just the west, but japan, korea, when even kazakhstan, who was a traditional russian ally, was not willing to back putin on this, he is in a corner. but we need to keep the pressure on, but what his next action step may be, i've not heard any valid prediction on that. >> do you fear for how this thing could end? >> i obviously fear, but i also think that the alternative of allowing putin success in ukraine, and this is all about the values of open democracy, freedom, all the things that as somebody who grew up as a cold war kid, democracy against that kind of authoritarianism

communism, you have strongman, thug tactics. we've got to stand up to this. because if you've been successful in ukraine, he will go for another bite. next time it will be maldoeva, the baltic nations or maybe poland. figuring out how we can give him some face saving something i know there's a lot of thinking going at this point. we will see if these peace trucks between the ukrainians and the russians in belarus bear any fruit. but the next few days, the next week or so can be as dramatic as the last five days. i think about this, jose, mine days ago. i was in munich with a number of american policy makers and all of our nato partners. and while they believed their intelligence, they still didn't believe nine days ago that putin was going to launch this large and this comprehensive of an invasion. and on this one, i think the biden administration has done a great job in both predicting

what putin was going to do, but in bringing all of our allies along. we've sanctioned nord stream 2, a complete turnaround in the german approach. we've had putin be personally sanctioned to a level now that he's in the category with gadhafi and assad. you've got russians being kicked out of s.w.i.f.t., a sanction of the central bank in russia, by not only us, but others. this really has been a uniform world reaction against putin's aggression. >> senator mark warner, it is always a pleasure to see you. thank you very much for being with us this morning. >> thank you. up next, we'll do a deep dive into the russian invasion of ukraine. would putin really use nuclear weapons in this fight? you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." s in this ? you're watching "jose you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports. that's service i can trust. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ i've got diabetes and hypertension,

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50 past the hour. as the ukrainians battle for their freedom, many wonder how this is going to end. with me now, former u.s. ambassador to russia, michael mcfaul, an international affairs analyst, also with us, andrea, she also wrote a 2019 film, "mr. jones," which tells the story of the soviet union's destruction of ukraine.

ambassador mcfall, putin said he wasn't going to invade, he did. he said he was pulling back his troops. he didn't. is there anything this time that you think he could be saying the truth about? >> well, he did about? >> well, he did say those things but he also said i'm going to destroy the ukrainian military and i'm going to de-naziify the country. he's pretty straight forward about his objectives. remember the debate we were literally just having seven or eight days ago. he's done the worst thing and it hasn't been some limited thing, the land bridge and just remember all those scenarios we have underestimated his ruthlessness. and i think weep need to pay attention to our mistakes then because today not only is he still committed to what he calls

the naziification, that means killing mr. zelenskyy and his government, i want to be very clear about that. there are chechens in ukraine today who are trained assassins, who are trained to kill people and carry out denaziification. it's the first time ever it's gone as far as he has to threaten their use. we have deterrents and we need to be calm about that but we should not think, oh, he's just bluffing. we've made that error too many times. >> i'm going back to 1932, 1933, which the movie you produced and wrote so extraordinarily shows

it. stalin had yagoda and kierov. putin has his group, i guess, that is willing and able to -- >> if we saw the massive sea change across europe, the freezing of oligarch assets and all of these severe sanctions, i think it could have saved a lot of lives years ago in syria and in ukraine. i think it's really important to build on the ambassador's point, when putin says what he says, believe him. he's been talking about committing genocide against the ukrainian people for years now. he talks about how ukraine doesn't have a right to exist as a country. these so-called peace talks,

which is a disinformation claim by the kremlin to show he's acting in good faith. he's not. he's bombing civilians. all of this is being played out on putin's propaganda machine, which dehumanizes ukrainians and calls them non-humans. all of this is to normalize that ukraine, in putin's eyes, must be invaded and taken over like he's taken over belarus. this is a genocide of the ukrainian people. i completely agree with the ambassador that we should take his nuclear front seriously, but before it ever gets to that point, what we're first going to see carried out in ukraine under putin, especially when he becomes frustrated by this fierce resistance by the

ukrainian army, he's going to start mass slaughtering civilians on a scale we have not seen. the west needs to stop delaying discussions of a no-fly zone. however they want to carry that out, that has to be on the table immediately. and for people at home, what is a no-fly zone? it is in effect an instrument of allies to protect civilians, to protect civilians. so that's urgent. the world has to understand that at the heart of this is a genocide. >> thank you both very much for being with us this morning. appreciate it. coming up, believe it or not, tomorrow is the first primary day for the 2022 season. you're watching "jose

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popular here in houston. it also has added new freedom and movement for partisan poll watchers. this has some election workers and some voters nervous that there could be some confrontations or intimidation at the polls tomorrow. but most importantly there was a change to mail-in voting. that change required voters who took part in mail-in voting to submit the exact identification number that they used when they first registered to vote an act that has proven to be quite challenging for older and disabled voters who were hoping to take advantage of that. so there's concern that people are worried their votes won't count. as a result of the rule changes and confusion, they want to make sure people are there in person to make sure their vote gets through. >> thank you so much. that wraps up the hour for me.

i'm jose diaz-balart. you can always reach me on twitter. be sure to follow the show online. thank you for the privilege of your time. next hour an interview with white house press secretary jen psaki when kristen welker and peter alexander pick up coverage next. good morning, i'm peter alexander. welcome to this week's special edition of "white house reports." >> and i'm kristen welker. >> there are at least three historic and evolving story lines that are unfolding in this building behind us. first, russia's invasion of ukraine, how it's shaping president biden's state of the union address scheduled