♪♪ any minute now at the white house, we'll be getting an update on president biden's response to what is day five of the russian invasion in ukraine. you see him live right now. he's been doing a black history month event. so far, no questions taken, no topics on what we are seeing with the crisis there. although we are keeping an eye on that as that live shot gets ready to wrap up. we're getting ready for the briefing from white house press secretary jen psaki as russia keeps up its all-out assault on big cities across ukraine. our team in kind of saying they're hearing more and more air raid sirens. on capitol hill, you have congress coming back to washington today with the senate, that is on the left side of your screen now, coming back into session as we speak. lawmakers are getting ready to

tackle this multibillion dollar aid package to ukraine. it's expected to be in the neighborhood of roughly 6 1/2 billion dollars. here live with us this hour, a member of the armed services committee, senator tim kaine in just a couple of moments. i'm hallie jackson in washington, along with our nbc news team here and around the world. richard engel in kyiv, keir simmons, and kara lee is covering the white house. i think that noise i'm hearing might be coming from the background of your live shot, but i can't tell. >> reporter: it is windy here, but i'm not sure if you're hearing the explosions or something like that. it is relatively quiet for the moment. there have been some air raid sirens earlier, none are going off right now. we've heard air raid sirens about four times this evening, since it became dark. once during the daylight as well. but the big threat here, the big concern, is a massive column of

russian armor that is about 30 miles to the north of this city, and new satellite images that have just shown that the column of russian armor is about 17 miles long and in some cases, it is three vehicles wide. that is a huge amount of force. that is a city busting amount of force sitting on this -- the city's doorsteps. it is apparently out in the open, clear enough for satellites to see it. the question is, do the ukrainians have enough firepower to be able to destroy it? and to a degree, it creates a moral dilemma for all of those who are supporting ukraine because it is exactly the kind of target that the united states or nato could wipe out quite easily. you have an open column of armor heading toward a city. the u.s. and other countries have the capacity to attack it. but clearly if they did, that

would be a direct engagement with the russians, a direct military confrontation with the russians, just as vladimir putin is escalating his nuclear posture. clearly signaling to the west, not to get involved, not to get in his way. so here in the city, there have been some air raid sirens, but the far bigger concern is this army practically that is standing on the city's doorstep. >> the pentagon press secretary just saying -- plans by at least a couple of days. the other important piece of this headline, richard, the humanitarian crisis that is getting more and more serious. we put together just so people can see the faces we're talking about here, the human beings who this effects, some of the parents we've been talking to, watch.

>> russians destroy it all. >> putin a monster. >> putin is a monster. >> we could just hear the sirens and we could hear the shelling. >> me and my kids and mom, we're going to travel to poland first. i don't know which way now. i'm going to try. it's really hard to do now. >> i must save my child. i must save him. >> richard, talk to us about that part of the crisis, the humanitarian piece. >> reporter: there is such anger here because this was totally unprovoked. the ukrainians had not been attacking russia. they had not been attacking russian speakers as vladimir putin claimed. this was an attack that was launched out of nowhere because vladimir putin has a grievance against ukraine because eight years ago the country toppled its pro-russian president and

now he's settling scores because he fears if this country breaks away, it might tempt fellow russians to do the same. people are outraged that they are already dying, that hundreds of thousands are outside of their homes and there are estimates that 5 million could be out of their homes when this is over. that the country, the city, the capital is facing a potential massive onslaught. there's already been reports of cluster munitions being used against kharkiv, a small city was taken over today by russia, even though the people there refused to -- they came out and were heckling the russian troops who were occupying their city. so there is resentment, there's anger, there's fury that this was unleashed upon a nation that didn't do anything to pick this fight. >> richard engel live for us in

kyiv. thank you very much. keir, this is a transition over to moscow. tell me the view from the ground, from the kremlin there. the latest on this -- these, quote/unquote, peace talks that are happening, the new sanctions we've seen and the new assessment -- continued assessment from the u.s. government that perhaps putin underestimated the amount of resistance he would get from the ukrainians, militarily. >> reporter: yeah, just segueing from what richard was saying there, that assessment that you mentioned, i was able to listen to a fascinating briefing from western officials about what the thinking is now, about how this has played out for the russians. and the thinking from western officials is, that president putin, on a number of occasions, including a long essay that he published last year, has made this claim that russia and ukraine are brothers, and implied that the ukrainian people would welcome him and would rise up. now, clearly, that was a

misjudgment. but western officials believe that that misjudgment was baked into the military plans, that that misjudgment in those military plans, that ukraine would kind of welcome the russian forces with open arms, that has now come -- has shown to be wrong and that is one of the reasons why it is turning out not so good for the kremlin and for president putin's forces. and then you look at the situation now economically, just moving on to that question from you, hallie, it looks as if president putin misjudged the reaction from the west and the size of the sanctions. he built up a fighting fund, if you like, russian reserves, $630 billion. he's built that up over a period of years -- >> that's a car backfiring, by the way. >> he built those up over a period of years and yet he appears to not be able to get access, at least to some of those funds, seem to have been

frozen. the russian -- the kremlin's battle plan, if you like, doesn't necessarily appear to be working so well. impact of that, well, interest rates here doubled today to 20%. we saw lines at atms of people trying to get foreign currency. the ruble has crashed in value. that has happened before. but the stock market here in russia has been frozen. it is a difficult picture. it's really shaking russian society. not just the economic side, but also, hallie, the social side, if you like. in other words, we spoke to russians here in moscow. one woman who studied at m.i.t. who wonders if she'll be able to get a visa for europe. there's a new iron curtain that the russians are seeing between russia and the west and will that impact their view of president putin? and will president putin care whether the russian people, the russian middle class become angrier with him?

>> keir, thank you. all of this, we've got to talk about the white house. we know that president biden had a call with allies that wrapped up 90 minutes ago. we know that jen psaki, the white house press secretary, will be coming out for a briefing probably in a matter of minutes now at this point. bring us up to speed on what you're hearing from your end? >> reporter: ukraine is top of mind for president biden. you mentioned earlier that he was attending a black history month event. he was asked a question at that event, what should americans be concerned about nuclear war, and he had a very short answer, he said, no. but obviously that comes after we know those nuclear forces were put on high alert by president putin and that's been a concern with the administration and something that administration officials have been addressing in various venues today, including jen psaki earlier on msnbc where she said that that is something that just putin is, once again,

manufacturing a crisis and a threat that doesn't exist. so biden held his call with nato leaders earlier today. that was a number of nato leaders, including the presidents of france and germany and the nato secretary general. obviously that comes after the u.s. and europe adopted new sanctions against ukraine. this all is against the backdrop, as you noted earlier, that the administration is saying that russia is facing stiffer resistance than it had expected. we've all seen the images coming out of ukraine and yet at the same time administration officials are saying that russia has not yet unloaded all of its firepower here and president putin's calculus has not changed. he intends to go into kyiv. john kirby talking about this a little bit earlier. take a listen. >> we're seeing the ukrainians put up a very stiff and determined resistance on their capital city. they have made it very difficult

for the russians to continue to move ahead. we believe that the -- based on what we know of what their plans were, that they are behind stiffer. they faced a stiffer resistance than they anticipated. >> reporter: noting that they faced a stiffer resistance, but also kirby went onto add that russia still has the same intentions that the administration thought for weeks that they have, and they have not yet used all of its power in that respect. >> thank you for staying on top of that. interesting too, again, as you say, we showed that live shot at the top of the show. president biden walking out of that event. it sounds like someone shouted to him right before he walked out the door. thank you. i know you're staying close to your camera. somebody else in front of a camera for us is senator tim kaine, democrat from virginia who sits on two important committees to say the least when it comes to this crisis. senate armed services and foreign relations. senator, we're glad to have you

on this afternoon. good afternoon to you. >> good afternoon, hallie. >> a slew of topics to get to you on. start with looking ahead to what i expect you will get tonight which is a classified briefing. what are your top questions? what do you need to find out at this point? >> well, i want to dig into what we're hearing about the strength of the ukrainian resistance. what we're hearing sounds strong. there's some early reporting about defections within russian military ranks. i want to hear more about that and i also want to hear about the economic effects which are already proving so powerful against russia. when you see your citizens racing to atms and running on banks, that tells you it's not only an economic bite, but it's starting to create social and political unrest within russia, as it should. >> the senate is considering the 6 1/2 billion dollar, roughly, assistance request for ukraine. is it your expectation that that passes quickly, as part of the

omni bus? >> i believe it will and that money is divided between humanitarian aid and military aid. we need to do sanctions, stop in order stream 2 and work with nations to press charges against vladimir putin as a war crime, violating war crimes rules within the icc or the u.n. as a forum. we need to do that. it won't ashame putin, but it may make russians ashamed of putin and send signals around the globe this will not be tolerated. i have a bill that would clarify that no president of the president can withdraw from nato without a vote of the senate or congress. you'll remember mr. trump used to trash nato and suggest that he would get out of it. i have other colleagues that have legislation as well that -- together send this powerful

message that congress in a bipartisan stands with ukraine, stands with nato, stands against an illegal war. >> you mentioned several things. first, this discussion of a war crimes investigation that you are asking for. you want to see the icc, the international criminal court, do that. you want the u.s. and allies to make that case. you've laid out what you think is at stake here and the impact it would have, which is more messaging, symbolic. what are the chances that actually happens, senator? >> well, i think -- i've gotten a very good response to it from colleagues. this is better if we can do it together with other democracies. we did this during the war in the balkans, clear war crimes were committed there, and that was a tribunal that was established by the u.n. these are u.n. conventions that are being violated by vladimir putin now. i do think, again, putin probably doesn't care, but i think the russian people would care.

and i think other authoritarians around the globe would see that and recognize that similar behavior, waging an illegal war against a nation that wasn't doing anything but minding their own business, similar behavior would be met with that kind of a scarlet letter that lasts forever. >> you also mention the possibility of further sanctions coming from congress now. we've seen the biden administration, obviously, take steps to penalize the russians, putin, personally, in ways that they can. are you getting the sense that there is a bipartisan appetite for that? we know republicans will be pushing for it. do you think that could pass along with any kind of ukraine supplemental package? >> i do. whether the sanctions pass in the supplemental or separate, there might be value in separating them out and doing them quickly to really shine a spotlight on it rather than, you know, wrap it up in a supplemental appropriations package that has a million other line items. i think there's strong support for it. we have strong support for

sanctions before we went into recess with the exception of one question, should we sanction in advance or should we only sanction after an invasion? well, that's no longer a difference. there has been an invasion and i think you'll see democrats and republicans quite unified on the power of the sanctions package that we're working on in tandem with our democratic allies. >> i was interested to hear you say that one of the big questions at tonight's classified briefing will be on the topic of ukrainian resistance. we were john kirby talk about this. i imagine jen psaki is going to be asked. you've seen some of the images, people standing in the streets to block a russian tank. do you believe putin may have underestimated this? what does it say to you about his strategy, especially too when it comes to some of the escalatory signals he's been making and indicating related to nuclear? >> vladimir putin underestimated ukrainian resistance. he shouldn't have. if he had looked just across the border into kharkiv, what he

would have seen is that russian dominance of luhansk and donetsk, saying we don't want anything like this. they were saying we are pro-west now. and hatred like that lasts for a long time. their hatred is for putin, not the russian people. he should have understand that. he underestimated the impact of the economic sanctions. and so we want to dig into this resistance. this resistance is not going away. even if russia were to be successful in the short term, militarily, ukraine does not want to be dominated by vladimir putin. it's not going away. and we are at least seeing some reporting that we have to verify about russian defections. russians not being willing to be deployed into ukraine. and then when you see these

signs of russian citizens making runs on the atms as interest rates jack up, as the ruble is devalued and the stock market is closed, you start to see the growth of an internal political opposition. at the end of the day, that's the only thing that really will act as a break upon vladimir putin's aggression, is a russia population that says, are you kidding? why are we doing this? >> i appreciate your time this afternoon as you're back in washington having a busy week. thank you very much. we're going to talk about the economic piece that the senator mentioned later on in the show. we're about to hear from the white house this hour. we'll bring you any of those breaking developments live right here on msnbc. we have new msnbc news reporting on what we may hear from president biden in his first state of the union address as it relates to this crisis now and separately what's happening as we speak inside a d.c. courtroom where the very first january 6th trial is getting started today and why some potential jurors are questioning whether they really can stay impartial on

this. stay with us. with us 24-hour hydration. no parabens, dyes, or fragrances. gold bond. champion your skin. since i left for college, my dad has gotten back into some of his old hobbies. and now he's taking trulicity, and it looks like he's gotten into some new healthier habits, too. what changes are you making for your type 2 diabetes? maybe it's time to try trulicity. it's proven to help lower a1c. it can help you lose up to 10 pounds. and it's only taken once a week, so it can fit into your busy life. trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. it isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. it's not approved for use in children. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, changes in vision, or diabetic retinopathy. serious side effects may include pancreatitis.

taking trulicity with sulfonylurea or insulin raises low blood sugar risk. side effects include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration, and may worsen kidney problems. the choices you make can help control your a1c. ask your doctor about once-weekly trulicity. every business is on a journey. and along the ride, you'll find many challenges. ♪ your dell technologies advisor can help you find the right tech solutions. so you can stop at nothing for your customers.

at xfinity, we live and work in the same neighborhood as you. we're always working to keep you connected to what you love. and now, we're working to bring you the next generation of wifi. it's ultra-fast. faster than a gig. supersonic wifi. only from xfinity. it can power hundreds of devices with three times the bandwidth. so your growing wifi needs will be met. supersonic wifi only from us... xfinity.

i know there's conflicting information about dupuytren's contracture. i thought i couldn't get treatment yet? well, people may think that their contracture has to be severe to be treated, but it doesn't. if you can't lay your hand flat on the table, talk to a hand specialist. but what if i don't want surgery? well, then you should find a hand specialist certified to offer nonsurgical treatments. what's the next step? visit findahandspecialist.com today to get started.

right now, in a d.c. federal court, it is day one of the very first trial related to the insurrection on january 6th. facing five counts after he legally went into the building that day armed with a pistol. and we're seeing jury selection go on. one juror saying, she couldn't be 100% impartial. another claimed to follow the accounts of multiple conspiracy theorists. justice department officials say he was a member of the three percenters. they think this trial will set the stage for hundreds more prosecutions. i want to bring in pete williams. >> this bill set the template for a lot of these trials yet to

come. this is the first trial. it's not the most series of the accusations. but this one is notable for several reasons. first of all, more than 220 people have been charged in the riot have decided to plead guilty. he wants a trial, and unlike many of those who have pleaded, he has expressed no remorse. he's written a letter praising the actions of the people who stormed the capitol that day. he's charged with illegally bringing guns to washington and taking a handgun with him to the capitol. he's not accused of entering the building, but the charges say he did tussle with the police outside. and the trial will feature some interesting witnesses, including his 19-year-old son, and his 17-year-old daughter. they both say that when he came home to texas, he threatened to kill them if they told either the police or the fbi about what he did on january 6th. now, it seems to me that jury selection is going to take longer than usual. you've gotten a flavor of it. one of the things that the

lawyers have argued -- this is something other january 6th defendants have also said, is that they can't get a fair trial here in washington because the capitol riot affected so many people. so jury selection is going to take a while and the task for the next few days will be finding jurors -- not jurors who say they know nothing about it, but jurors who say they can set aside about what they may know happened and the evidence they hear in court. this is the kind of thing that is always a question in high-profile things. we went through this during the boston marathon bombing trial when the lawyers wanted it moved out of boston and ultimately the trial was held in boston. so whenever you get a high-profile case like this, the venue question and getting an impartial jury is always a big chore. >> pete williams, i know you're watching that for us. quickly, any sense of timeline for how long jury selection may take in something like this? i know you talked about it being a little more complicated. >> they tend to decide on the

jury pretty quickly, within a day or so. i would think it's going to take them at least until wednesday or thursday. it may take the whole week. i don't know. it's going to take several days. >> pete williams, thank you very much. appreciate it. we are getting brand-new reporting in ahead of president biden's first official state of the union, obviously he's addressed congress before and just within the past couple of minutes, we've learned from our team he's reworking the speech to emphasize u.s. support of ukraine. officials are saying that president biden will highlight issues at home, covid, inflation, the economy, all of it as his approval rating remains fairly low. you can see it on your screen. it's at 41%. it's the second lowest of any recent u.s. president, after the first year in office. a little better than his

predecessor. shannon pettypiece, tell us what you're learning on that. how is this invasion going to play into the tone and tenor of what we're going to hear from president biden? >> it's an interesting balance that the white house is trying to strike here. obviously this is going to be a much different speech than white house officials had anticipated giving two, three weeks ago when it would have been a moment for the president to sell his accomplishments so far, to push congress on his domestic agenda, and really have it focused on some of the key issues voters have said have been top of their mind like the pandemic and inflation. obviously, now, of course, ukraine has taken up to be such a major issue of focus. obviously not just internationally, but domestically, for the implications they could have at home. as you noted, administration officials and white house officials have been trying to work through this, trying to rewrite the president's speech really in the days before this

major address to get this ukraine focus in there. we particularly expect the president to talk about the unity of the allies in their response to russia and to talk about the sanctions and try and drive home the impact we expect those sanctions to have. but certainly, there will still be a heavy economic focus. administration officials say they expect to, again, talk about the successes they believe they've had in the economy, on the unemployment numbers, on the job growth that they have seen under the president's first year. and then to continue to push congress to pass some of these domestic policy agendas that sort of seem like they've gotten stalled, they actually certainly have gotten stalled in congress to some respect, on things like making childcare more affordable, $15 minimum wage, the efforts to help with nursing home, childcare tax credits, a all of those issues will be a major focus in the speech, administration officials tell us, as well, though, now as this issue of ukraine.

>> shannon pettypiece with that new reporting just up now on nbcnews.com. coming up, we're live in kyiv with a journalist who lives there with what he's been seeing and reporting on. and later with the world's eyes on ukraine, what republicans focused on during their big conservative get together this weekend and what it might say about the direction of the party. that's later in the show. of the party of the party that's later in the show

with less moderate-to-severe eczema, why hide your skin if you can help heal your skin from within? hide my skin? not me. dupixent helps keep you one step ahead of eczema, with clearer skin and less itch. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes, including blurred vision,

joint aches and pain or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ask your doctor about dupixent. better hearing leads to a better life. without talking to your doctor. and that better life... ...starts at miracle-ear. it all begins with the most innovative technology... ...like the new miracle-earmini™. available exclusively at miracle-ear. so small, no one will see it. but you'll notice the difference. and now, miracle-ear is offering a 30-day risk-free trial. you can experience better hearing with no obligation. call 1-800-miracle right now and experience a better life.

- [announcer] the more we learn about covid-19, the more questions we have. the biggest question now, what's next? what will covid bring in six months, a year? if you're feeling anxious about the future, you're not alone. calhope offers free covid-19 emotional support. call 833-317-4673, or live chat at calhope.org today. - [narrator] this is dr. katz. he used to worry about the world's oral health problems. - i think i've got it! - [narrator] then, he invented therabreath formulas, for fresh breath, healthy gums, dry mouth, and healthy smiles. - [dr.katz] wow! - [narrator] now, the world's mouths have never been healthier. - (sighs contentedly) therabreath, it's a better mouthwash. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! (sighs wearily) here i'll take that!

(excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. turning now back to the situation in ukraine and what the u.s. government may do to try to help there. you've got lawmakers considering a huge aid package there, reported on friday, of course, as we said here in the show, for about 6 1/2 billion dollars in help for ukraine. something you heard senator tim kaine say he's optimistic will get done in his words in the first few days of this coming month, the first few days of march. the state department points out more than a billion dollars in aid has been committed to ukraine in the last year. 350 million of that in the last week. the u.s. is trying to help solve ukraine's money problems, russia's are getting worse. western sanctions are hitting hard with the ruble tanking against the dollar. interest rates more than doubling and look at this, hours

long lines at russian atms. i want to bring in our correspondents. thank you for being here. let me start with christina briefly, talk to me about the media effect of these sanctions on russians, because wall street is feeling some of this too. the nasdaq stopped trading on several russian-based stocks. >> it's isolating the world's 11th largest economy. there's no doubt you're going to have global implications. what we're seeing today, though, you had the russian ruble at a record low, but that hike, that central bank hike in russia was huge. it went from 9.5% to 20%. that's to prevent russians from taking their money out of the banks which, of course, may be is not working across the board because you saw some banks run out of money. oil prices also finished above $100 a barrel for the first time in more than seven years.

that's adding to inflation fears in the united states. we know prices have increased at the highest rate in more than four years. you have higher oil prices and that adds to the mix. and the long-term fallout could hurt supply chains and all the international banks that do business with either with russian banks, european banks. some u.s. banks have exposure. and lastly, specifically today, you did see gold climb 1%. it's considered a safe haven during geopolitical tensions. bitcoin climbing above 41,000, and cyber stocks climbing higher today because of any potential fears of a hack going forward. >> thank you for that breakdown. appreciate it. terrell, you're on the ground there in ukraine. a bunch of questions for you, specifically as it relates to aid, where you think it needs to go. how are you doing? how are your friends, how are the people around you right now? >> thank you, i appreciate you

asking me that question. i'm as good as i could be and my friends are the same. as far as i know, most of my friends are alive. they are traveling. they're either outside of kyiv in the west or some are in the eu. so i'm pretty good. i appreciate you asking but this has been a harrowing experience. it has permanently changed me in ways that i'm not capable of articulating at the moment. >> can you tell me what you've seen the last five days as you've been doing reporting in and around the country? >> yes, i've been embedded with a civilian -- armed civilian group that answered the government's calls to take up arms against the invading russian army and what i've -- i'll tell you what i saw last night. tonight, i saw an air strike, a real air strike that hit the checkpoint where i was working. and there was a military base that was hit. five people were injured. a few days before, that same site was hit where five people

were killed. you have that, i believe -- yeah, that's me. and so what's interesting about that strike was that as i was -- as we were driving towards our check point, we saw the missiles. they were missile strikes. we were really lucky, i think to basically get -- to not be hit there. >> i can't imagine what it's been like for you to be on the ground, to be looking at this. this is a place where you have lived -- tell me how long you've lived there. >> yeah, yeah. so basically i've been -- i've been coming in and out of ukraine since 2009 when i was at fulbright. and i came -- i'm an independent journalist right now and i was going to start a tourism business to bring americans here in the summer. obviously that's not going to

happen. i'm preparing for next summer. and a clothing line. and so i planned on -- i came here january, i believe, 7th, and i was going to leave january 31st. but given everything that's happening, i decided to stick behind. i definitely don't regret staying behind, but the things i've observed is very harrowing. like i said, a 15-minute walk from where i am, there was an air strike against a civilian building, and so that was really chilling because that building could have been mine, the high-rise. so when you ask me what i've seen, i've seen a lot of near misses and i have seen -- i actually saw someone -- several people killed at a checkpoint. they're accused of being provocateurs. russians are air dropping and pretending to be ukrainians.

i saw the armed volunteer groups inspecting every car that comes and goes and one particular car was suspicious. i can't get into it now, because i don't want to take up all of your time, basically the car was suspicious to the point where the armed groups decided to shoot. there was an investigation and the law enforcement do believe that these two people who i witnessed being killed were saboteurs. >> i know you've had a long series of days here. can you help us understand anything more about these reports of ukrainian military resistance and other kinds of ukrainian resistance that you're seeing on the ground. how robust is it based on what you've seen and what you're reporting on? >> ukraine has a partisan transition. what i've seen on the ground, this is a city of -- the size of chicago, more than 3 million people. and it's a cosmopolitan cities.

it's one of the reasons i wanted to bring americans here so they could see how cosmopolitan it is. the city will rise again out of the ashes of president vladimir putin. and, you know, it's just so surreal to walk around and see men and women in jeans and boots and jumpsuits with automatic weapons. it's just usual when you walk around, you just don't -- you don't flinch at it anymore. and, you know, people that i speak with when you walk down the street -- because i do a lot of man on the street videos, people walk up to me, they're usually very friendly, to give you the energy of how people are feeling, i recall a video that i posted online, a gentleman in a chicago bulls hat walked up to the video and said, only ukraine will will, ef russians. we will kill everybody. everybody is at the point where they're going to take molotov

cocktails, they're going to shoot. it doesn't matter if it's an 80-year-old grandma or an 8-year-old kid. i don't think putin really comprehends the hatred that people have here for him. and it's palpable. and i've never felt that much disdain and hate for a politician. this country -- i'm telling you, it will take decades, even after putin is long and gone and some major reformer comes to the kremlin, it's going to take decades before ukrainians learn to trust. because these people are ready to fight and ready to kill and they are definitely in their words, we will not be slaves to russia. that's the energy that interact with every single day here in kyiv. >> terrell, thank you so much for coming to us live from kyiv and sharing your experiences. i really appreciate it. shifting gears back to news in the united states, the first big test of new restrictions and

the problems voters are running into when trying to get their votes in. a new republican divide. we got in a brand-new statement in the last five minutes from mitch mcconnell about these two, well, not specifically these two by name, but about what some of his fellow republicans have done. we're going to bring you up to speed in just a sec. p to p to speed in just a sec.ire. his grilling game? on point. and his a1c? ron is on it. with the once-daily pill, jardiance. jardiance not only lowers a1c... it goes beyond to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults with type 2 diabetes and known heart disease. and jardiance may help you lose some weight. jardiance may cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration that can lead to sudden worsening of kidney function, and genital yeast or urinary tract infections. a rare life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection,

ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction, and don't take it if you're on dialysis. taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. a once-daily pill that goes beyond lowering a1c? on it with jardiance. ask your doctor about jardiance. i may be close to retirement, but i'm as busy as ever. careful now. nice! you got it. and thanks to voya, i'm confident about my future. oh dad, the twins are now... ...vegan. i know, i got 'em some of those plant burgers. - nice! - yeah. voya provides guidance for the right investments and helps me be prepared for unexpected events. they make me feel like i've got it all under control. [crowd] yeah! because i do. ok, that was awesome. voya. be confident to and through retirement. with hepatitis c i felt i couldn't be at my best for my family. in only 8 weeks with mavyret i was cured. i faced reminders of my hep c every day. i worried about my hep c. but in only 8 weeks with mavyret i was cured.

mavyret is the only 8-week cure for all types of hep c. before starting mavyret your doctor will test if you've had hepatitis b which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b, a liver or kidney transplant, other liver problems, hiv-1,or other medical conditions, and all medicines you take. don't take mavyret with atazanavir or rifampin, or if you've had certain liver problems. if you've had or have serious liver problems other than hep c, there's a rare chance they may worsen. signs of serious liver problems may include yellowing of the skin, abdominal pain or swelling, confusion, and unexplained bleeding or bruising. tell your doctor if you develop symptoms of liver disease. common side effects include headache and tiredness. with hep c behind me, i feel free fearless because i am cured. talk to your doctor about mavyret. learn how abbvie could help you save.

thanks to realtor.com's home alerts we were able to see the newest homes on the market, super fast. so we could finally buy our first "big boi house." big boi house. big boi kitchen! big boi waterfall shower! big boi crawl space. big boi sold sign, big boi logo. realtor.com to each their home. my name is douglas. i'm a writer/director big boi sold sign, big boi logo. and i'm still working. in the kind of work that i do, you are surrounded by people who are all younger than you. i had to get help somewhere along the line to stay competitive. i discovered prevagen. i started taking it and after a period of time, my memory improved. it was a game-changer for me. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. we need to reduce plastic waste in the environment. that's why at america's beverage companies, our bottles are made to be remade. not all plastic is the same. we're carefully designing our bottles to be 100% recyclable, including the caps. they're collected and separated from other plastics,

so they can be turned back into material that we use to make new bottles. that completes the circle and reduces plastic waste. please help us get every bottle back. you are looking live now at the u.n. security council meeting that is happening live on the left side of your screen. we've just gotten word now from a u.s. official that the u.s. has informed the russian mission that they're basically expelling 12 intel operatives from russia. i want to bring in kara lee who is standing by for us. it looks like the spokesperson to the united nations for the u.s. says this has been in the works for several months. obviously, it is yet another move against russia at a time of incredibly high tension in this invasion. >> yeah, that's right, hallie. this comes after the u.s. has

adopted a number of sanctions against russia over the past week in response to its military action in ukraine and so it really just looks -- while it may have been in the works for a while now, it looks like it's piling on in terms of the u.s. response to russia for its actions in ukraine, even if it is separate from that. what we're learning is that these 12 intelligence operatives are being expelled because the u.s. says they were not basically operating in a way that was in line with u.s. national security and so they are being expelled and they have to leave, i believe, by march 7th. they'll be here for a little bit longer. but ultimately they're going to be expelled. and we've seen the u.s. take moves like this before in response to punishing another country, including shutting down with russia some of its diplomatic posts in the united states and so this is a tool that the president and the administration has in their toolbox in terms of dealing with aggression from another country

and russia and we've seen that they've decided to do that today even though, as you said, it's been in the works for a little bit longer than the russian invasion in ukraine has been going on. >> anything else we need to know from the white house briefing, from press secretary jen psaki that's happening? >> she's been getting a number of questions about the situation in ukraine and what the president's next steps are going to be and including -- as you know, the president is going to be talking to the american people tomorrow night in what's likely to be the largest audience that he will get all year in his first state of the union address. and so that's another big question, hallie, is how he frames this moment. he's a president who has talked about autocracies versus democracies and this is something that everyone is paying attention to. how he shapes his speech around that and uses this moment to address what the world is really watching is something she's

talking about. just in from capitol hill, new reaction from senate republican leader mitch mcconnell to the participation of house members marjorie taylor greene and paul gosar hat a white nationalist conference over the weekend with mcconnell saying, there's no place in the republican party for white supremacists or anti-semitism. with me now is leigh ann caldwell. senator mcconnell is making it very clear, right, something that seems to be probably something a lot of republicans agree with here, but it is interesting that we are hearing from him at all on this topic as he's not somebody who often goes out and makes news proactively unless he wants to. >> that's right, hallie. and he's making news about members who are not even in his conference. these are members of the house of representatives. it is rare that leader mcconnell talks about the house. he is devoted to the senate, of course, the senate minority leader. but he's echoing the statements of other members of his party.

we were senator mitt romney yesterday on the sunday shows call gosar and marjorie taylor greene morons, saying it's unacceptable. i spoke with representative jim banks, head of the conservative republican committee in house of indiana and asked him about this and he also said that it is unacceptable that march ri taylor greene and paul gosar at that and no republican should ever attend a white nationalist event like that. while this seems to be the position of many in the republican party where does republican leader kevin mccarthy stand? he did not respond to requests for comment and we know the history here a couple weeks ago that the republican national committee censured two members of the republican party for the previous statements but cheney

and kinzinger and mccarthy announced that he was going to support liz cheney primary challenger, something that republicans usually don't get involved in primaries so he's made clear where he stands on this issue. he's not said anything negatively about gosar or marjorie taylor greene but the house is back in session tonight and we'll ask him and see what he says. >> real quickly, give the back story for folks on where it originated. >> reporter: yeah. this was a big weekend of republican or conservative conferences. there is cpac, and then also, a far right nationalist organization holding a conference called america first

run by a well-known far right white nationalist and something who the january 6 select committee wants information from and promoting this america first far right policies for sometime with ties to the former trump administration and so that's where gosar and greene were at this weekend. they spoke and they also spoke at the cpac conference and well embedded in the republican party but the only two republicans to attend this far right convention. >> thank you. let's bring in former republican congressman carlos carvelo. good afternoon. >> good afternoon. >> i wonder your reaction. >> i want to highlight an important point. mitch mcconnell has a long history of staying in his lane and of asking republican house

leaders like boehner and ryan to stay in their lanes. this is another break in his history and the precedent set and the requests he's made of republican leaders in the past. it is clear that perceives a lack of leadership in the house or a vacuum of leadership and why he is reaching into the chamber making it clear that certain statements and attitudes, certain participations in events are not acceptable for republicans in congress. so extraordinary for mcconnell. he is one of the few republican leaders who is committed to speaking the truth in public because as she said, as well, what mitch mcconnell said just now almost every congressional republican will tell you privately and don't want to say in it front of a microphone. >> a few will. congresswoman liz cheney said to

the point of a vacuum silence by republican party leaders is deafening and enabling. mitt romney referenced i think butch cassidy and the sun das kid. morons, morons on the team. sitting down with white supremacists is missing iq points. they speak out about this. >> others aren't worried about the leadership places. mccarr think wants to be speaker if republicans take over the house in the november elections. steve scalise fears that speaking out against the members, reprimanding them costs votes but what i think mcconnell is trying to make clear is that the republican party cannot be viable long term if there's tolerance or space for this kind

of speech and thinking. so mcconnell is taking a longer view versus house republican leaders trying to survive the november leadership elections after -- >> i should note, too, cbs news reported the congresswoman down played the attendance. in the minute we have left, what this says broadly about the party on the heels of what we saw at cpac clooer that as form ere president donald trump was speaking most of the party is firmly loyal to him and really elucidated and liz cheney made the displeasure clear speaking at the alternate event if you will. >> what it leaves clear is the republican party is divided. it is not in power right now so people aren't talking about the

divisions and divisions in democrats. those divisions, differences are very obvious but if republicans return to power in november they are going to have to deal with this reality and it is going to be difficult. >> former congressman carbelo, thank you. turning back to the situation in ukraine and russia is spreading disinformation but totally take accounts. i want to show you some here. look at the people on the screen. they're fake, russian bots. tell the woman on the left not wearing matching earrings. facebook, twitter, nubt taken down 50 fake accounts posting lies of the invasion in ukraine. targeting journalists and public

officials saying ukraine is not doing well. i want do bring in one of the people that bilined the story for us at nbc news. senior reporter ben collins. ben, what's going on here? talk to us about the response from the social media companies and the similar pact. >> there's two different what they call covert influence campaigns to target ukrainians in ukraine and what they did is two different ones, one from russia and one from a state sponsored okay actor in belarus. they take over the accounts of ukraine politician and military personnel and citizens. that's one side. another one is russian disinformation campaign tied to the old og troll farm from 2016. this group that is now rebranded

as ukraine today and on ukraine today you saw fake images by computer. those are robot images. and they were fake profiles that posed as ukrainian journalists on facebook but also on these websites where they push the idea that ukraine was in decline over and over again in the stories pushed out. >> we found from mehta -- meta they're restraining access to put nick. how do you read this? >> it is kind of surprising to me because in part a couple days ago websites are allowing them to monetize and sell ads on the content. it is a dramatic shicht in a week. profound. on youtube rt for example is a

most watched news stations there is. period. in part because they goose the algorithm for so long. on facebook they are less of a thing there. that said this is a big deal. facebook has been hands off for years. they used to have no sort of editorial judgment and then labels but to throttle them down substantially here in what they call an extraordinary moment is brand new. >> thank you so much for this reporting on msnbc. developing some of it at least in the last couple minutes. i'll see you back here tomorrow and in an hour on nbc news now where we'll continue the coverage of crisis in ukraine. "deadline: white house" will start right now. ♪♪ hi there, everyone. 4:00 in new york.

midnight in moscow. 11:00 p.m. in kyiv where like much of ukraine they are putting up a stiff and determined resistance against russian troops. a bid by vladimir putin to up end the post code war order is under way. there are reports of massive explosions like captured here by bbc news notice east. in the west they escalated on kharkiv. that city has been the site of some of the most intense fighting. a senior u.s. defense official says that the ukrainians still hold all major cities and the russians are frustrated by the intensity of the resistance with the troops russia amassed outside