good to be with you. i am katy tur. in a moment we are going to be hearing from antony blinken from the state department and he will be updating the efforts to stop

russia against ukraine. there are no signs vladimir putin is backing off. instead, more civilian centers are being targeted as the russians try to take three key cities. kyiv, kharkiv and the port city of haar shawn. there was a separate government building that was reduced to dust. residents are trying to get out, and nbc news correspondent, cal perry, spoke with a young woman named katerina who spent two harrowing days running for her life. >> i left kharkiv two days ago when things got worse and my house got hit by a bomb and my loved ones died. it was like pretty much giving your soul to got every second, because our train stopped in the

middle of kyiv and they were shooting and we heard bombs flying over and planes, and i thought this particular moment i can die. >> reporter: how did you survive? >> i don't think i did. we all are just super -- mentally we are broken and to be honest, i have ptsd, i do. every time i hear a sound, i start shaking. >> anything you want to say? >> please do -- please do cherish clear skies. every time you see skies cherish every moment of your life. >> our own richard engel reports that everybody is watching in kharkiv expecting kyiv is next.

>> the assault has been focused on the city of kharkiv and many are wondering if kharkiv is a trial run for the capital of kyiv, where i am now. kharkiv has about half of the population and it's closer to the russian border and what russian troops are doing in kharkiv is they have surrounded the city and pounding the city center with artillery and air strikes and missile strikes, and according to local hospital officials at least 20 people -- and that number has been rising -- have been killed in the last 24 hours. a university building has been hit. an opera house has been hit. the main administrative building and a police headquarters all destroyed and on fire, and ukrainian officials vladimir putin, the russians of carrying out a war crime by targeting civilians in order to get them

to submit and surrender to russian will. here in kyiv, they are watching what is happening closely in kharkiv and think that could be coming to this city in the form of a 40-mile long convoy, which is still outside of kyiv, but slowly making its way to here. the mayor of kyiv said people should take advantage of the time before the convoy arrives and stock up and get ready, their supplies, get their shelter ready and be prepared to defend the city. >> in the fear of anticipation, ukrainians are resolved to defend their country, and one woman got her 8-year-old daughter to safety with family in poland and now is heading back to fight. >> i wanted to help because they need help now. it's essential now. i brought my daughter to a safe place, the czech republic, and

my parents there, and now i am back to fight with my husband and friends. >> how hard was it to leave your 8-year-old? >> she was crying, and she's afraid for me and my life and everything, but i explained to her other kids stay there and need my help and i will return and do something, do what i can for ukraine. >> the ukrainian government appealed to the united nations and the red cross asking for a green corridor to evacuate innocent civilians and get medicine and food to the war zone. the russian military on the ground in ukraine has so far denied that request. joining me now is nbc news correspondent, erin mclaughlin, and kelly cobiella from poland. erin, it has been a little while since i had the chance to speak with you.

last time we spoke you were still in kyiv. talk to me about what you did to get out? i am curious about that. i also want to hear what you have been experiencing in lviv as this onslaught from around the country are trying to flee the war. >> reporter: hey, katy, we left kyiv over the weekend and drove south and then to the west. as we were driving through the countryside, it was very clear that this was a country preparing for war. village after village you could see citizens getting ready, getting their weapons ready, preparing their missiles even on the side of the road, and preparing sandbags and digging trenches, and it was an incredible scene of a country at war. kyiv was and is facing a desperate situation. lviv is a way point for thousands of refugees who are

going to poland and going to hungry and looking for safety. i was at the train station earlier today and it was incredible, an incredible scene. thousands of refugees flowing out of the main train station, and a lot of their belongings in trash bags, and it's a university town and i spoke to one student from sudan who was studying there, and she told me she's never seen anything like it. take a listen. >> i feel so tired. i think, like, i might be facing the pressure because i have never been in such a situation far from my family and i don't know what would happen later. i am being put in the worst situations and i don't know what to do. >> reporter: did you ever think war would come to ukraine? >> no, i university told us nothing is going to happen.

they did not tell us or evacuate us, so we were staying and preparing for our day to go to the university and then everything happened in a moment. >> you are from war-torn sudan, and it's going through war -- >> not as much as ukraine. it's not comparable to ukraine, nothing. >> i was also speaking to a woman, and she sought refuge in a shelter and she said she doesn't want to be among the thousands to leave, and she said somebody, in her view, has to stay. >> it's amazing. kelly, you are on the other side of the border. the numbers i last heard was 600,000 ukrainians were trying to cross various borders to get out of ukraine. you have been seeing many of

them, mothers and children, and fathers, dads and brothers between the age of 18 and 60 have to stay behind. >> reporter: the stories are absolutely heartbreaking. we have been listening to them now for six days straight. i guess now the process is becoming more smooth. people are getting across the border more quickly. eight trains yesterday at the very small train station where we have been talking to families over the last couple of days, and eight trains coming today and over the weekend there were only two getting in. so that at least is a plus. a lot of people we saw today were coming in from kyiv and kharkiv for understandable reason, considering the fighting and the pressure those cities are under. as these people get off the train and are processed and talk to volunteers and find their

relatives and find a place to stay, there's a long line of people waiting to get back on that train returning to ukraine. you heard a little bit about that just a few seconds ago, but we saw that again and again and we spoke to one young man, a 25-year-old i.t. engineer that was going to mexico when the fight broke out. >> it's hard, but i think it's the right option for me. it's hard to explain until you just not hear, like, people just crying in your phone under the bomb being -- until that moment it's hard to say why. but after that there are no questions left. >> reporter: you just have to go? >> yeah. my wife is there, my parents, my

brothers, so what choice do i have? >> reporter: lots of families trying to be reunited in a war zone, and lots of people being separated as well. we spoke to another man, 72 years old, katy, he made it to the border today with his two grandsons, his daughter and he was handing them off to his mother and got back in line and got back on a train and went back to fight, 72 years old, katy. >> 72 years old, that's a volunteer not being forced to stay, and we should remind everybody, there are a lot of volunteers, even women that have not been forced to stay have decided to stay and fight, and it's not between the ages of 18 and 60, and a lot of people are saying this is my home, i will not go anywhere and i will do what i can to keep it ukraine.

erin mclaughlin, and kelly, thank you very much. joining me now a writer from "the kyiv independent." it's not just the cities that are dealing with this violence. what are you hearing about the surrounding villages and towns? >> i think the situation all over ukraine is absolutely horrible. kharkiv, kyiv, they are hit the most right now, and also some of the southern cities, but all over ukraine tragedy is on the streets. for example, we see people desperately trying to flee. the train station is packed with

women, children and elderly, those that are trying to escape bullets and bombs falling on their houses. in kharkiv, downtown has turned into a war zone. in the past several days, russia bombed civilian targets across kharkiv, so the whole country is at war and everywhere you go you can feel it. >> where you are right now, what are you experiencing? what can you tell me about -- i was just talking to one of my colleagues about people going back into the country to prepare to fight. what are you seeing when it comes to preparations? >> yes. in western ukraine, it's mostly people who are fleeing the war and those who are bringing families to a safer place and then returning to fight. we see a lot of military patrols on the streets. we understand that the war is

ongoing. i had to leave kyiv a couple days back. i am planning on returning soon, in the next couple of days. we see that most ukrainians are shocked and most ukrainian men are ready to resist. >> what we are seeing right now on our screen are just images of people standing in front of russian military vehicles, in some cases, russian tanks trying to stop them from passing as russian troops point guns at them and they are still not moving, and it's remarkable to see the bravery. alexi, how far ahead are you thinking in the future? are you going day by day on this or are you allowing yourself to think about eventualalities? >> i don't think for a couple days -- your colleague asked me

about an interview on friday and i told them that i think in ukraine it's impossible to think about a friday interview. you think about the next couple of hours, the next night. we spent three or four nights in bomb shelters, and you obviously think will you survive this night. a lot of people are scared going to bed because they will wake up from russian missiles. >> that's such a good point and a good reminder to all of us that it's not even days, it's hours ahead you are thinking when you are coming -- when you are trying to consider your own survival. we do appreciate that you were back with us today and we hope to have you again. please do stay safe. >> thank you very much. we are still awaiting secretary antony blinken at the

state department. but ahead, more arrests in russia as sweeping sanctions and global boycotts put it on the road to economic collapse. and then an inside look at a ukrainian city bracing for the arrival of russian troops, a wait residents say is like living in hell. then how did president biden's state of the union play in a crucial swing state? ♪ got my heart ♪ ♪ got my soul ♪ ♪ got my mouth ♪ ♪ i got life ♪

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of casualties, and nearly 500 russian troops have died so far in its war on ukraine. this is what russia is reporting. there's currently no way to verify those numbers. inside russia, protests continue inside st. petersburg, and vladimir putin appears to be

cracking down and took a radio station critical of the invasion off the air. and the raouble has hit a new low. keir simmons, what is the latest from there? >> you mentioned that figure from the russian ministry of defense about the numbers of casualties, and hearing russia say there are casualties is not a move we have heard until recent days. the number could be more, and you would not expect the russian government to be straightforward

about how much russian soldiers are being killed or injured, especially when the invasion is not going as planned. this is an indication of the way there's a continuing, a shaking of russian societies so far. the russian oligarch, he handed control over trustees a few days ago, and now he says he's selling that club to a swiss billionaire, a man who is part owner of the l.a. dodgers, so that, again, a sign of russian oligarchs, you saw putin call some in and tell them he had no option to do this saying you must support me.

they are seeing signs of oligarchs moving assets, trying to protect their wealth. they are targeting the wealthy and super rich russians that do have real influence, going on to question whether vladimir putin is listening to anybody. >> in last night's state of the union, president biden said they will try and seize the lifestyle of the russian billionaires. thank you so much. with me now is a historian of russia and the former soviet union, the author of severalregl murder." a lotnd game might be.

from your analysis, what do you think is going on? >> his end game was to have russian troops go in and be able to easily conquer ukraine and put in a puppet government. that has not worked out so well, and i do not think he counted on the extent of the resistance the ukrainians are putting up. i don't think he and his advisers realized how intense and swift these crippling sanctions would be for russia. putin still has the same end game, but it's going to take a lot longer to get there. >> what about his holds on the kremlin, his hold on power in that country? after he annexed crimea, he was wildly popular and it was not seen as a bad thing by russian

citizens, and this feels different. >> it's very different, because these are russian soldiers coming back in body bags. russians -- a lot of russians have relatives who are ukrainian in their families, and in crimea, there was not as much resistance or bloodshed and the sanctions were much less severe, so this is a whole different ball game. this is one indication that the kremlin is very, very nervous about this is exactly what was mentioned, shutting down echo of moscow, the radio website. what i also have seen is deutsch tv. the people in the kremlin are

very nervous they will have much more unexpected unrest of the population as a whole and i don't think they counted on that, but it could happen. that means the men around putin, i'm sure, are having doubts about the course the kremlin is taking. >> there has been a lot of talk about the way vladimir putin has situated himself away from his adviser, many feet away from him with everybody off to one side, and could that be because of covid regulations or covid fears? >> listen, i mean, he's been acting crazy about covid for a long time, having, you know, people come and spray themselves and special chambers. you know, i think that that's just another sign of his general paranoia. remember, his real goal in carrying out this invasion is

that he is paranoid about having a democratic government, ukraine, on russia's doorstep. it's a bad example. mr. putin, despite the fact that his popularity ratings are enviable at the point of view of western politicians, i don't know they reflect the views of the people, and i think that mr. putin is not that confident of his own power. >> amy knight, thank you so much for being with us today. still ahead on capitol hill, the president's nominee from the supreme court begins meeting with senate leaders, but first up the president delivered his first state of the union last night. you probably watched it. what did americans think? gas. their only friend? the open road. i have friends. [ chuckles ] well, he may have friends, but he rides alone.

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hitting schools, hospitals, residences. they are destroying critical infrastructure that supplies millions across ukraine with drinking water and electricity and with gas to keep from freezing to death, buses, cars, ambulances being shelled. yesterday russian strikes in kyiv struck the capital's main television and radio tower and destroyed the holocaust memorial. the parking garages outside of kyiv were hit and partially collapsed. these are not military targets. they are places where civilians work and families live. kharkiv is one of the largest russian-speaking cities in europe. it's fewer than 50 miles from

its sister city in russia, and bell tkpwau rod is where the missiles against kharkiv were likely fired. vladimir putin, among the many false justifications he's given for invading ukraine is siting the need to protect against an imaginary threat, and how is that advancing that purported goal. president zelenskyy said after the assault there was never a border between kharkiv and its sister russian city. two cities are joined in the hearts of the ukrainian and russian people living on either side.

among the great damage we see from war, we're seeing that in kharkiv. we've also seen that the international court of justice announced it will hold hearings on russia's actions. already the human cause of the kremlin's unwarranted, unprovoked and unjustified war on ukraine are staggering. hundreds if not thousands of civilians have been killed and wounded and there are more than 174,000 refugees that sought safety in nearby countries. millions of ukrainians still in ukraine are sheltering wherever they can, including children receiving cancer treatment who are living in the basements of ukraine's childrens hospitals

with doctors and nurses helping them in the basement. the humanitarian consequences will only grow in days ahead. in the face of the violence, the courage of the ukrainian people is inspiring the world. as president biden said in the state of the union address last night, the response to russia's war has been unity. unity among world leaders, unity in europe, unity among people gathering around the world to protest president putin's war of choice, including thousands of people in russia and belarus, coming out to protest peaceful even knowing what they risk in so doing. because the biden administration dedicated its first year to rebuilding our alliances around the world and because we spent the better part of the last

several months declassifying and sharing our intelligence in real time and exposing president putin's lies, we were ready. in fact, one reason we are seeing the unifying response now is because we expressed the playbook we thought russia would follow. i went to the u.n. security council last year and walked through step by step the pretext for war and the subsequent military invasion he planned to order. that's precisely what he did, while russian officials continue to deny it right until the invasion began. seeing that play out as we predicted, generated outrage and solidarity across the world, and

that has turned into unprecedented action. we said if the invasion, we wou ukraine to help with the armored, airborne and other threats it faces. that brings to our assistance to $1 billion, more than any other previous year. i authorized the expedited travel of defense equipment from our allies to ukraine, and the coordinating efforts to get this equipment, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry. the ukrainians are defending their country with skill and determination. we are sending humanitarian

assistance to ukraine as well. three days ago we announced additional support on top of the $300 million we provided in recent years. our top international responders are leading the response and coordination with european allies and partners, and usid director, samantha power, as you know was along the border of ukraine several days ago with other officials from the state department. we are working to support the front line countries that have welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees, including children and elderly people and people with disabilities, all whom are fleeing ukraine and the violence and want to go reach safety. we and our allies and partners will work to keep people safe and manage the flow of refugees and keep border crossings open

and provide critical supplies. at the same time we are holding russia accountable, including russia's economy. back on december 1st, i said that russia would face massive consequences for attacking ukraine, including severe and lasting economic costs. the united states and more than 30 allies and partners representing more than half the world's economy have made good on that commitment, with powerful sanctions, including actions just today. we now sanctioned most of russian's financial institutions and funds, and we have restricted russia's ability to seek funding beyond its borders. 13 of the most russian

state-owned businesses, and we sanctions elites and their family members, and we and our allies and partners are launching a task force to identify, track down and freeze the assets of sanctioned russian companies and oligarchs. we will seize and freeze their yachts, their jets and estates. today we are imposing sweeping sanctions on the defense sector, 22 will be designated including companies that make common aircraft and infantry systems, the very systems being used to assault the ukrainian people, abusing human rights.

we are holding the regime accountable. we will choke off belarus's ability to import key technologies, and if that support for the war continues the consequences for that regime will escalate. all told, these sanctions and restrictions have had a powerful affect on russia's economy. the russian stock market closed as the fear of capital flight rose. interest rates more than doubled. russia's credit rating has been cut to junk status. the value of putin's war fund has vanished. by choking russia's access to technology, we are delivering a blow to its economy and military that will be felt not just now but for years to come. president putin may have assumed

the united states and our allies were bluffing when we warned of massive unprecedented consequences, but as president biden likes to say, big nations can't bluff. the united states doesn't bluff. president putin has gravely miscalculated. as president biden made clear last night, this is president putin's war. this is not the russian peoples' war. it's becoming clearer by the day that the russian people oppose it. members of the russian military oppose it and had no idea what they were being sent to do, and now the russian people will suffer the consequences of their leader's choices. so my message to the people of russia, if they are even able to hear it as the kremlin cracks down even harder on media outlets reporting the truth, my message is we know you want no

part of this war, you, like ukrainians and americans and people everywhere want the basic same things, good jobs, clean air and good water and to give your children better lives than you had. how in the world does president putin's unprovoked aggression against ukraine make your lives any better? the economic sanctions we opposed on russia is not meant for you, and we stand together with you as you demand that your leaders and -- stop this war. finally the united states is

continuing our diplomatic efforts. we're keeping the door open to a diplomatic way forward. that's going to be very hard to happen without military de-escalation. it's much more difficult for democracy to succeed when guns are firing and tanks are rolling and planes are flying, but if russia pulls back and pursues diplomacy, we stand ready to do the same thing. meanwhile our intensive diplomacy with allies and partners continues. i have been in virtually daily contact with my friend and counterpart, ukraine's foreign minister. i have made clear that we will support any diplomatic efforts by the ukrainian government to reach a cease-fire and withdrawal of russian forces. if there are diplomatic steps we can take that the ukrainian government believes would be helpful we are prepared to take them even as we continue to support ukraine's ability to

defend itself. tomorrow i will travel to brussels where i will meet with our nato, european union and g7 nato allies and partner to commend them on the steps they have taken to support ukraine, and an attack on any nato member an attack on all. from there i will travel to poland which is already hosting hundreds of thousands of ukrainian refugees with tens of thousands arriving by the day. and then to mull dova. then i will go on to the baltic companies that are facing a renewed threat from russia themselves as vladimir putin seeks to reassert dominance over the former soviet republics.

estonia is our nato allies, and has president biden said we will defend every inch of nato territory against any aggression, from russia or otherwise. finally i want to note the consequential and historic vote that just took place in the united nations. 141 member states voted in favor of a resolution reaffirming ukraine's sovereignty and integrity and condemning russia condemning another member state. the community stands in support of the core principles of the united nations and upholding the u.n. charter and stands against russia's reckless attempts to change the borders of another sovereign country by force to replace its will for the will of the ukrainian people. the 141 states of the united

nations know, this is a threat to stability in europe and to the entire rules-based order which has been the foundation of security and prosperity for people around the world for nearly 80 years. in this time of uncertainty we have a clear way forward. help ukraine defend itself. support the ukrainian people. hold russia accountable and persist with diplomacy. president putin is more isolated from the world than ever before. as president biden predicted last night, when the history of this heir is written, it will have left russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger. in the days of ahead, we will continue to draw inspiration from the iron will of the ukrainian people. with that, i will take

questions. >> reporter: thanks for being here. i want to ask you, what is the u.s.'s assessment on putin's state of mind? you said he's more isolated than ever before. do you worry this isolation might prompt him to lash out and do something more dramatic than anything we have seen so far on the ground? i also wanted to ask you, i am sure you have seen americans that have expressed their desire to go and join the fight in ukraine. what is your message to them? thank you. >> thanks. i can't put myself in president putin's mind or state of mind. all that we can focus on are the actions he's taken and our response to those actions. i said before, one of the achilles' heels of autocracies

is the ability to speak to power, and i don't know who said anything to putin before he launched the aggression or who is saying anything to him now, but all that is speculation, and we can't put ourselves in his mind-set, all we can do is to be very clear in how we will respond to the actions he takes, to continue to work in unity with allies and partners in support of ukraine and in defense of ukraine, to help its people and to help those who have been forced to flee. if there are any diplomatic opportunities to pursue, pursue those, but we are focused less on what president putin thinks or may think and more on what he does. with regard to the second part of your question, look, we have been very clear for sometime, of

course in calling on americans who may be thinking of traveling there, to ukraine, not to go, and those that want to help ukraine and its people, there are many ways to do that, by supporting and helping those providing humanitarian assistance, and providing resources themselves to groups in ukraine by being advocates for ukraine and for a peaceful resolution to this crisis that was created by russia. those the most effective ways that people that want to help can do so. >> reporter: you just quoted the president saying big nations don't bluff. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: do you think that president putin is bluffing by

putting his nuclear forces on alert? i have another question, if you don't mind. are you surprised that we have not seen more -- we have seen some denial of services but are you surprised we have not seen a more massive cyberattack against ukraine or other nato nations or against us? do you think the legislation that just passed improves our ability to defend against such attacks? if i could impose on you one more question. i talked today to is part of the democracy summit this year. you know how passionate shes perhaps, and she said despite everything that has been done, i would say it's an extraordinary amount of coordination in agreement with the allies, it's not going to get there in time. that convoy is setting outside

of kyiv and poised to encircle kyiv, and they are not going to get those supplies. what more can be done to help those people. >> andrea, thank you. first, the legislation that you referred to is extremely helpful, but beyond that and before that, we have been very focused on the potential for cyberattacks, not only against ukraine but against us and our allies and partners. we have been working for months first with ukraine and also among ourselves to harden, to sharpen defenses. all of that work is very much under way, including with the private sector. i think we have to be very much on guard with that possibility. we are. with regard to assistance to

ukraine. here's what i can -- here's what i can tell you. we are very actively working every day, every hour, to provide that assistance and to make sure that it gets to where it needs to go to the best of our ability. that's not just us, we are coordinating efforts to do that, and right now the vitally needed assistance is getting where it needs to go. with regard to president putin's statements on russia's nuclear posture. as you know, russia and the united states have long agreed that the actual use of nuclear weapons would be devastating and have devastating consequences

for the entire world. as we have stated many times, including earlier this year, following the meeting between president biden and president putin in geneva, both countries have stated that a nuclear war cannot be won and be won and must never be fought. that was a key affirmation coming out of that meeting back in june. provocative rhetoric about nuclear weapons is the height of irresponsibility. it is dangerous. it adds to the risk of miscalculation. it needs to be avoided. we've assessed president putin's directive and his statements and at this time we see no reason to change our own alert levels. >> thanks. mr. secretary, you mentioned the vote of the u.n. which was

overwhelming as you said. and the countries that voted against, the five countries that voted against, no surprise, but i'm wondering if you have any thoughts about abtensions who stayed out. i'm wondering if that says anything to you. and secondly, on the prospects for diplomacy with russia, which you said that you are keeping the door open to, i mean, really what are the prospects, what are the chances of that happening. and is there -- if thereis an open door, is it just for ukraine and potentially the iran talks in vienna, or are you open to the whole gamut of things,

arms control, climate, any number of other things? >> matt, first of all, to put the vote in the u.n. in perspective, it is both overwhelming and i would even say historic. go back to 2014 when the general assembly pronounced itself on russia's initial aggression against ukraine. the votes in favor of that resolution were 100. then go to the horrific actions that the assad regime took in allepo. the vote there was 120 in favor of a resolution condemning the actions of the assad regime. today 141 votes. that speaks powerfully and eloquently about the overwhelming majority of the world and its views about what russia is doing in ukraine.

i'm not going to parse the individual votes. i think in some cases an abstention speaks loudly itself as opposed to a no vote. so you have to look at some of the individual countries, assess their relationship with russia, and look at how throated in that that -- voted in that context. for the small number that voted against, belarus, the dprk, syria, as well as of course russia, as grocho marx said, this is not a club i would want to be a part of. with regard to ukraine itself, we of course are open to pursuing any reasonable path.

but it is hard to see any path when the bombs are dropping, the planes are flying, tanks are rolling. so deescalation, pulling back forces, that would open a path to diplomacy. and we i think demonstrated very clearly in the months leading up to russia's aggression that we were prepared to engage diplomatically on any security concerns on a reciprocal basis. and that remains. but horrifically i think that we've seen, and you will have to take my word -- you don't have to take my word for it, just listen to putin's own words, virtually everything that the russian government professed to be concerned about was not really an issue. for example ukraine joining nato. president putin has said and demonstrated by the actions that russia has taken, that what this is about for him is ukraine

being absorbed in one fashion or another into russia. he sees ukraine as having no independent existence. he wants to reincorporate it into an empire. short of that, to make it part of renewed spirit of influence. or maybe at the very least to make it totally neutral. so this is about way more than the issues that we were prepared to engage russia on. so two quick pieces on the diplomacy now. one, with regard to ukraine itself, first and foremost, the question is, if ukraine thinks that there is a path that would help advance its interests, protect it, and the war, and we can be helpful in that, of course we're fully prepared to do that. but we really look to the ukrainian government to see what

if anything might make sense. they are engaged in talks with russia. they had one round, there may be another one. we'll see. but of course the demands that russia put on the table were beyond excessive, they were of course nonstarters. and what we've seen repeatedly is that russia goes through the pretense of diplomacy to distract and continue on its aggressive path. and if we determine that there are areas that it is in our interests to continue to pursue and that in one fashion or other may involve some engagement with russia, we'll continue to pursue that. we won't let russia dictate what is in our interests and how to

pursue it. >> just a few days ago european union proposed to donate their fighter jets to ukraine to protect our sky. but as far as i know, for now this deal has fallen apart. i know that you were on a phone call with the foreign minister today discussing this topic as well. will ukraine get access to those jets? >> thank you. i can't comment in detail on my conversations with the foreign minister. we talked about a lot of things including the ongoing provision of security assistance to ukraine. and that is something that i will be talking to ire pea an allies as partners about in a couple days in brussels. again, i can tell youpea an allies as partners about in a couple days in brussels. again, i can tell you as i mentioned to andrea, when it comes to vital defensive military equipment that ukraine

needs, we are very actively coordinating its provision and that assistance is getting there. but we'll probably have more to say in the next couple days. thanks, everyone. >> so secretary of state antony blinken there -- he might be taking another question. let's listen. >> are they doing it deliberately? >> we've certainly seen in the past that one of russia's methods of war is to be absolutely brutal in prying to cow the citizenry of a given country. and that includes at the very least indiscriminate targeting and potentially deliberate targeting as well. we're looking very closely at what is happening in ukraine right now, including what is happening to civilians. we're taking account of it, we're documenting it. and we want to ensure among other things that there is

accountability for it. thank you. >> secretary of state antony blinken there talking about what russia is doing right now. he also mentioned that the u.s. is adding more sanctions, this to the defense sector of russia, will add sanctions to bella radios if belarus continues to support the russian invasion, warned about that. was asked by andrea mitchell about assistance getting to the ukrainians fast enough, getting to the front, getting to the places that that assistance especially that military assistance is needed. and he said he believes that it is getting there fast enough. there are some doubts though given that the russians are basically knocking on the door of kyiv right now, about whether it will be able to get there. it has been a busy hour. blinken there at the state department. that will do it for me. hallie jackson picks up our coverage right now. >> thank you.

and you just saw secretary of state antony blinken, we're about to hit another briefing live from the pentagon this time, ready to give an update on the war in ukraine. all of it as a senior defense official says that the bombing of kyiv is getting aggressively worse. that is the microphone where we expect to hear from john kirby. the backdrop, this scene at the u.n. today. watch. >> result of the vote is as follows -- [ applause ] >> that was the applause after members of the general assembly voted to censure russia for its invasion. and as you just heard, announcing that he will head to brussels, poland, baltics to shore up our diplomatic support for allies. and we're also looking at the president on the road in wisconsin. he set to speak there just about