using that number on his hand, and the documents he brought with him, volunteers were able to help him reunite with slovakian family members. he is now safe. slovakia's interior minister said in a statement, that the boy won the heart of everyone out of the border with his smile. he called him a true hero. his mother explained in a facebook video that he she had to stay behind to stay and take care of her sick mother. and thanked all of those who helped her son. saying this in part, your small country has people with big hearts. please save our ukrainian children, and give them a safe haven. and on that good note, i wish you a good night. thank you for staying up late, i will see you at the end of tomorrow. tomorrow

the breaking news. out of ukraine russia is accelerating its offensive and more civilians are being killed and the attempt to seize control of kyiv. one senior u.s. defense officials tells nbc news nearly 100% of the military forces that vladimir putin mobilized for war are now inside of ukraine. ukrainian president vladimir zelenskyy remains in his country. and today for the first time since the invasion began he spoke to his nation from his office and the capital. zelenskyy, amazingly posted this video to facebook insisting that he would not leave ukraine. saying he will be there quote, for as long as it takes to win this war. today in latvia, secretary of state antony blinken called out russia for its strike on civilians. he referred to the siege by

german nazis who invaded ukraine back in 1941. with a personal reference to vladimir putin. >> we have seen scenes like this before in europe. every russian has lived or learned about the horrific siege of leningrad during world war ii. in which that cities civilian population was systematically starved and intentionally destroyed over nearly 900 days. leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths. that is siege affected millions of russian families. including president putin's. who's one year old brother was one of the many victims. now russia is starving cities like mary opal. it is shameful. >> the un says the 12 days of fighting so far in ukraine has killed more than 400 civilians. but also says the actual death toll is certainly much higher than that. and nearly 2 million ukrainians

have now fled the country. >> president putin's war of choice has already turned half 1 million children into refugees. already more than 1.7 million civilians have fled ukraine into surrounding countries. 100 refugees are crossing into poland every minute. 100 every minute. >> here with us tonight and bc 's cal perry in lviv ukraine. and ali velshi is near the hunger ukraine border. thank you both for joining me. let's start with you in lviv. the mayor said the city is struggling to house people and feed them. what are you seeing on the ground? >> we yeah we're seeing that play out here, this is a city that is starting to bend its not broken yet. there is great fear at least

200,000 now will at least -- and while 350 miles away from kyiv. we are having more and more air sirens here. seeing the sound here as the days go on and it's worth mentioning behind me in the old part of the city's a unesco world heritage site. what we have seen the last couple of days are these very historic statues some in the 16th and 17th century get bundled up. and protected by blankets, by fireproof blankets start some of them starting to be moved it looks as if the city is starting to prepare for the eventuality that the army could come here. it's interesting to see some of these statues from world war i and world war ii. now get sort of protected as the situation seems to only grow. people here are concerned, the city was supposed to be safe, it was never supposed to be part of this conflict. and now because of the wind and conflict, they are worried sooner or later it will happen here. >> let me ask you this, we end the west are absorbed with this conflict. a lot of chatter, what can we

do. ukrainian politicians are saying that the west needs to be doing more. what are the people on the ground saying? are they talking about the international community about what the rest of the world should or shouldn't be doing? >> absolutely one week ago it was a very different answer, when you would ask people what do you want from the west? the answer we could go is we want what we are seeing. we want the sanctions against russia, we want more weapons from nato. as we fight our war against russia. the issue now is one week later, , you have a dozen cities in the east where the russians are going to that playbook that we feared they would. cutting off the power and the water cutting off the heat surrounding cities, bombing them into dust. we heard today from the ministry of energy for example that the city of mario poll -- power water and heat, that's six days where they are huddled in the basement being killed. we heard from the ukraine ministry of defense it was or

pinned it was targeted by russian troops. that section was targeted. civilians were intentionally sought shot up -- now the answer here has changed when you ask people what you want from the west? they say we want a no-fly zone, we want nato or the americans to implement a no-fly zone. so we can control the airspace. so we can start to turn the tide against this russian invasion. the politics are incredibly tricky. you heard from the u.s. secretary general saying he believes more lives will be saved by not implementing that no-fly zone. because he is concerned as america that the russians will still start targeting nugget -- nato countries. i want to say this one thing, if you are in a basement in mariupol, if you fled from kharkiv on a train that got bombed as it was going through kyiv. world war iii has arrived for you. if your are under those bombs, it's hard to sympathize with a widening conflict. >> and ali, almost 2 million refugees have now left ukraine.

you've been watching bus loads of refugees arrived in hungary. how is hungary coping with this influx of people from ukraine? >> it's complicated, we don't get as many as they have been pulled. in poland get 60% of them, you saw the un -- u.s. ambassador to the un. saying 100 people are going to poland every hour. we're not getting that many. but at 180, 000, probably close to 200,000 now in hungary. a country that hasn't been open to the idea of refugees and general. but open to the idea of refugees from ukraine, as opposed to those from syria. however hungary has been a very pro putin administration, it's a nato country. who is really struggling the stronger position he takes the more putin describes hungry as

a hostile country. the currency here has been suffering, they are dependent on russian energy. he said if the eu sanctions russian energy we are not going to so hungry is stuck. they have agreed today to have nato soldiers move in. west of the danube river, west of budapest. the troops are not supposed to come here. weapons can come here to go to ukraine, but can't go directly to ukraine. they have to go through a third country. one thing i have seen today, that i have not seen before, very heavily armored military presence in eastern hungary. including a truck that had anti-aircraft missiles. we're not quite sure what they're planning to do with that. because hungary does not want to get in a conflict with russia. it's feeling a little more armed than it was when you and i top 24 hours ago. >> and quick last question for you ali. almost 2 million refugees in 12 days. these are historic monumental numbers. they could get higher, three,

four, 5 million god forbid. how do countries like hungary and poland cope with those kind of numbers? >> pullen at least have camps that they are setting up, people can imagine refugee camps in europe but they have them. hungary is saying none of those. what they're hoping for is that people come in here transit through somewhere else. to go somewhere else that you know people. same thing in budapest. you have an airport that by the way, here's another one of these buses we have been talking about. this is the first one since daylight, a bus coming in with refugees. that they will drop off here to get aid. at the moment they are mostly going through, people i talked to are looking to get to budapest and get on a plane and go somewhere else. particularly those people who were non citizens of ukraine. but for the moment there's no plan. you're right, could be four, 5 million people. the unhcr probably says it's bigger than the numbers we are talking about already. because people don't account for people who get off the bus.

one unhcr, guy here, maybe get some of that maybe he does. it's unclear how many are here, we do know it's not slackening up. it's getting more serious. >> we will have to leave it there, ali and cal stay safe. thank you for your time tonight. with that, let's bring in our experts tonight. a columnist for the washington post, he's also an assistant professor of global politics at the university of college london. and he's the author of corruptible, who gets power and how it changes us. and a former white house senior director and former state senior adviser. thank you both. let me start with you brian, the pentagon says this innovation has not been going the way vladimir putin planned. i think that's clear to even those of us who are not military experts. what is going through vladimir putin's head tonight? i know it's a 64 million ruble question. you studied the skies for a living. what is putin thinking right now, do we think? >> i think putin miscalculated very badly, because he's the victim of his own propaganda

machine, his only megalomania and its own lies. and one of the things you have to understand about the way despots work is that they create these fake realities. they forced people around them to parrot lies as loyalty tests. this is why the russian foreign minister is constantly saying things on behalf of vladimir putin. to show that he's loyal to him. and overtime i think you start to understand that these lies become real to people like putin. i think this is something because it's very dangerous to be a negotiation like a dust pot with putin. and assume that he is rational in some way. and some that he's not been worked by his own propaganda machine. any of these diplomatic overtures are required that this is no longer someone who is behaving like a rational actor on the global stage. >> the russians put out what they called proposals for peace except that we control the independent republics in the east. accept crimea as part of russia,

put in your contrast are those gonna be dismissed out of hand and western capitals? or are they the kind of things that could form the basis for some kind of negotiation between the ukrainian government and the russian government going forward? >> they have been dismissed out of hand by zelenskyy. one of the options on the table was to have zelenskyy serve as a figurehead and a putin insult prime minister actually running the country which most suspect was the plan all along. that putin did not want to take over the entire country and run it. moscow wanted a puppet regime similar to what he had in belarus. but the zelenskyy and ukrainian defense has proven to be far stronger than putin anticipated. and his own military has had some serious operational defect that not only have they lost one of their senior most generals this week. but also lost all secure communications, and knocking out of the 3g towers. they are no no longer able to

make secure phone calls to the kremlin. part of why the west knows so much about what has been going on. putin is grasping at straws, hoping to use the diplomatic off-ramp. a stunt essentially to solve for time. >> one fascinating aspect to this conflict has been obviously we are seeing the heartbreaking horrific scenes out of ukraine. but also what we are seeing in russia. in terms of anti-war protesters being one round, of detained, in their thousands. obviously this is a country of many many million people. we shouldn't extrapolate from anti-war protesters that putin will fall. that's not the case. what do these protests tell you about the nature of the russian regime right now in what it's dealing with right now? >> we often called putin a strongman, and this is a sign of weakness that he has to force people to shut up. because they oppose him. i think there are significant elements of the russian population that do back vladimir putin. it's difficult to discern

whether that's because they are constantly living in his propaganda machine, fed disinformation and lies. or because they generally understand what's going on in ukraine and they supported. i think you have seen some very disturbing images of this sign z that's being put on as they nationalistic military symbol in support of vladimir putin. this show you how russians regimes operates. it's a culture of fear, in which you must show fealty to the leader. or you might face the consequences. that's the dynamic that will worsen in russia as the conflict goes on as the domestic crackdown on dissent will even get worse than it was before. just saying a heck of a lot, because it's already very very repressive inside of the russian state. >> let's talk about what's happening here at home, you have gas prices rising, you have top of a ban on russian oil. and you have a u.s. administration, you served in the state department. trying to send diplomats to

maybe to venezuela, maybe to saudi arabia. to a friend! to an adversary! to try and get more oil. how hard or -- how hard is that going to be to pull off? >> oh it's already proving to be very difficult. the saudis have zero interest in helping lower the price of oil. in fact, they have said they will help negotiate with russia. but they will not participate in negotiations to lower the price of oil, opec and russia have a strong relationship. and the saudis actually are taking advantage of this moment. this is president biden's opportunity to show the world are united against autocracies. but none of the allies in the middle east including israel, which is the largest exchange of u.s. defense military equipment. the united arab emirates are not stepping up, they are -- even though we have military bases there. none of the gulf allies are choosing the side of democracy in this case. in fact, are trying to leverage

the relationship with putin to their advantage. with and bs now coming around, mohammed, the prince of saudi arabia. saying he can be an honest broker between both the united states, ukraine, and russia. >> i love the idea of people being honest brokers. the kind of people we are having to deal with, and different parts of the world. brian let me ask you this. the oil issue is a big issue here in the u.s.. sudden -- something everyone can get behind, targeting all of our x. we talked about in the u.s. news media since the state of the union. you're writing a book about corruption and people abusing power to get rich. is there a danger that the oligarchy will be fined -- will be fine and they will get away with, it and the russian people will be the ones to suffer? >> i think that's definitely going to happen in the short term. i think the only way you can have leverage against vladimir putin is to have the money, to go after it. my argument has been that you have to make the lives of

oligarchs more russian. they send to kids to school in places like britain, in the u.s.. with a stash their cash in offshore bank accounts. they drive around in their yachts in the mediterranean. if they have to start worrying about what happens in st. petersburg, moscow. they're going to put more pressure on putin to fix this. and so the unfortunate aspect of this is that there are going to be innocent russian civilians who are going to have a very very difficult time. i don't think this geopolitical shift is the short prime -- is the short term slap on the wrist. it's a major pivot point in the 21st century. my view on this is that short term pain will be worth it, if we can actually fundamentally shifted the international banking system. and a way that starts to stamp out money laundering, and some of these ways. where the russian oligarchy and other oligarchy by the way around the world, move their money so freely around the world. despite its illicit origins. >> left and 60 seconds left. quick answer, joe biden could stand up and say we're going to

take as many refugees as we need to take from ukraine. probably a lot of public support. even from some republicans, wouldn't he? >> yes indeed, and probably public support for that for taking refugees from haiti or from syria. which both have been options in the past, or even from mexico. i'm intrigued or asylum policy will change. since it has not changed as the trump administration now that there are ukrainian want her blue eyed people trying to get in from the southern border. will that wall be the rallying cry for the right wing. or will the -- will they let the ukrainians win, you tell me? >> i hope this will drive some positive change at home especially on the refugee front. brian closs, nayyera haq will have to leave it there. thank you so much for your time tonight. the rachel maddow show resumes after this quick break. reak

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headline on november the 13th, 1959. dateline berlin. each buyer of blue jeans, the east german communists have jill the teenager for two months we can see blood blue jeans in west berlin. the judge told the 18 year old that the sentence would, quote, serve as a warning to certain young people who want blue jeans or rock and rolled. and quote. throughout the cold war, blue jeans and in particular, levi's with jean or a coveted at a time's forbidden item in the soviet union but soviet teens demanded levi's so much, so that levi genes started getting smuggled into the soviet union, like narcotics. they were sold for outrageous prices. no, to stop the smuggling, these german government first started to manufacture their own knock offs. that didn't work. then the government bulk

purchased 800,000 pairs of levi jeans, and had them literally airlifted from the united states so that they can start distributing them right away. well, today, once again, in 2022, levi jeans have halted their sales and russia, joining a growing chorus of companies. disney, warner brothers, sony, universal, vermont, all stopping film releases and russia. microsoft, apple, samsung, hp, and until stopping new sales. netflix has pulled out, tiktok will not allow post by russian users. flying out of russia is nearly impossible now, as is buying anything with major credit cards like visa, mastercard, or american express. all of which, in addition to punishing western sanctions takes a toll. try taking a disney movie away from a kid, or an iphone away

from a child. and in addition to a massive ground stop on worsening goods and services, the russian economy is showing a real strain. russian interest rates are now 24 cents. the rubble is worth less than a penny. massive inflation, the state media is trying to pose a positive spin on this invasion. it's called a special monday operation there. but even russian citizens who are fully bought into the state sponsored narrative are going to have trouble squaring up what that means, and why they can't use their mastercard anymore? and why they're running out of food and shops, and why their money is worth nothing of this is just a special military operation in ukraine. a large section of the russian but relation is also old enough to remember the cold war. and the soviet invasion of afghanistan, and what both of those things did to their economy. and how it all led to the collapse of the soviet union. you've already seen more than 13,000 anti war protesters arrested across russia. that unrest seems to be building, despite the massive increased risk associated with protesting because of a new law that has been put into place. is the broader russia population, including many that support putin, are they actually going to accept a costly war of choice?

against a neighbor, and the resulting economic deprivation? or is it possible that at some point, vladimir putin and the russian government could lose control of the russian people? joining us now is ian, president of the racial group, a leading global research and consulting firm. in, thank you for being here. you have studied this more than most. let's talk about this. let's say you can't get the real information, here in russia, for whatever reason, everything you read follows official line that this is a strategic operation in ukraine. it's not a war, it's not an innovation, but suddenly your credit card still work and you can buy stuff, and you can do stuff, and you can see stuff, and things aren't available on the shelves, and your interest rate is 20%, and your money is not worth anything. at some point, people are going to say, this official storyline doesn't jive with my life. >> some people are. but, most people are not. some people are going to be

primarily young, educated, literate, and online. at least previously online since everything is shut down in russia. but the majority of the population is overwhelmingly fed information through state media. and, that's television, it's newspapers, it's not digital. and the level of support from putin has a story we've been exceptionally strong among this group. and it's going to continue to be. if you think the united states is incredibly divided, and the people only follow news and cable on social media, that they agree with, that is literally exponentially less than what you're experiencing in a russia right now. and we have to be aware of that, even as the russian economy starts to crater, which it will do in spectacular fashion in the coming days. >> but, the russian economy cratering, on some of that was in part due to how much money

that the ussr of spending in afghanistan. and the body bags, and people coming back dead. but a lot of it was the economy. it was how bad things were for the russian people, which prompted them to throw off their systems, their political systems back then. why wouldn't the same thing happened no w, when people are frustrated what 30 years of political gain seemed to be evaporating in front of their eyes? >> because, a lot of the reasons that russians believe, again, putin supporting russians, which is not the whole population, but a solid 60 to 70%. the reason why they believe the country has fallen into disarray, they don't blame putin. they blame things like shock therapy, they blame nato, they play in the west. so, when they hear from the kremlin that the reason that the russian economy as cratering as because of a war, then the ukrainians have

started, or special motor operations that are happening because the russians were about to launch a war, or perhaps they were committing genocide against russians in the occupied territories. absolutely verifiably false, but completely with the russian kremlin narrative has been, now, for months. across russia, they're going to buy it. come on, we have a strong majority in the united states, but people who voted for trump to believe the election was fake, and then, fact a strong minority believes that they should be returned to power, immediately through violence that's necessary. that's the united states. in russia, ali, this is vastly more dysfunctional. and you just have to appreciate that putin does have the capacity to drive that narrative even in the case of what's going to be a much worse economic collapse than when anyone in the united states has been experiencing for a century. >> what's the blow back on the

rest up the world? we've already seen oil prices topping 125 bucks a barrel. a whole bunch of people tweeting me today that they filled up for more than $4 a gallon. we are seeing, approaching some of the highest prices for oil and gasoline that we've seen in a while. that's going to happen all over the world. widows happens if this continues? >> it's probably about a 1% contraction in global gdp that we will experience in the united states and europe. it's a lot more persistent inflation. its supply chains being more severed and more challenged. longer time for you to get whatever it is you're trying to order. but that's really not the suffering. the suffering are the poorest. it's a combination, and we've seen about 60 million people die of starvation in the last 12 months around the world, which is higher in the pandemic than it was before the pandemic. that's going to get a hell of a

lot worse. we've just had the largest green producer in the world invade the fifth largest grain producer in the world. this is going to cause enormous challenges. the poorest people in the world already don't get enough to eat. in sub-saharan africa. yemen, afghanistan. i'm also -- emerging markets that are seriously indebted and don't have access to credit are going to be much more trouble here. the potential for financial crisis in turkey, for example, a lot of other medium income emerging markets that have lived through two years of pandemic that have nowhere near the capacity to make their middle classes whole the way the americans are the europeans have through the pandemic. they're going to get smashed right now. so it's really global. in the last 40 years globalization has driven the emergence of a global middle class. the pandemic and now even worse, this russian ukraine crisis is going to force all of those people around the world to take -- >> ian, thanks as always for your analysis. you bring us a lot of clarity

to a conversation that is confusing and frightening. ian bremmer, the president of the eurasia group. we appreciate your time. coming up next, the most culturally significant cities and all of ukraine. there are fears that it may be one of the russian forces next targets. we will go live to odessa after this. hey businesses! you all deserve something epic! so we're giving every business, our best deals on every iphone - including the iphone 13 pro with 5g. that's the one with the amazing camera? yep! every business deserves it... like one's that re-opened! hi, we have an appointment. and every new business that just opened! like aromatherapy rugs! i'll take one in blue please! it's not complicated. at&t is giving new and existing business customers our best deals on every iphone. ♪ ♪

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stalled, today, russian troops continue their assault on the city office on the black sea. this building you're looking at was gutted by shelling as russian forces advance on the city. about 80 miles to the west in the city of odessa, there were scenes of heart wrenching goodbyes. some parents evacuate their children. choosing to send their children alone to romania. the city prepares for an imminent attack. just 12 days ago, was bustling with pedestrians, mostly empty out, littered these meddled hedgehogs, they're empty tank devices. they are obstacles. does this famous opera and ballet theater are also for the biden with sand bag with its famous benefits. the city's oldest church, the cathedral, has become a literal sanctuary for family says air raid sirens blare at night. odessa, located in southwestern ukraine, is the third largest city in the country. you could see it in the bottom left of your screen. it's home to about 1 million

people. it's also seaport. which makes it a target for russian forces. russian warships have been spotted from the shore for several days, yesterday, president zelenskyy released a message that russian forces were planning a military assault on the death. doing so, he said, would amount to a war crime. but the resolve of the ukrainian people remains. today, ukrainian journalist, natalia, summed it up in an op-ed titled, ukrainians are fighting a peoples war. and everyone is involved. from top to bottom. until recently, she wrote, defending democracy meant voting, organizing, fighting corruption, building up civic institutions. now, it means something else. ukrainians are fighting to save the people. in the most literal sense. and quote. joining us now is natalia, a journalist in odessa. natalia, thank you for taking the time to be with us. odessa is a historic city. it is a beautiful city.

it's a fabled city. they are trying to close things up and protect them as much as they can. but when those bombs start landing, those missile start hitting, if they do, or the suddenly be destroyed. it is something to watch people leave that historic city that they've lived in for generations. tell me what the situation is there. >> so, high, yes. yes, the situation is of course difficult to people. i was myself coming from the border with neighboring countries and there's a long line especially of the female kids coming. because indeed, those knees are here as well. so far it was largely calm. there are sirens. but the texts and strikes to the outskirts of the time and the military bases -- indeed, as you said, it's a

cultural capital. it is a place which is multi cultural. which makes a very heartbreaking to observe. that would be a jewish restaurant cooking for the ukrainian army. that would be the greek businessman organizing and building these blocks. helping to organize the defense. at the same time, it would be a russian art museum trying to preserve the convinces, the paintings of the russian artist saying that is insane that we are defending russian art from the russians. that is probably how the people would describe it. but yes, so far, the port is not open. the coastline, which could be of course attacked, makes everyone concerned. but the other concerns are about how there is hope. whether russia really destroy this cultural part of the city.

however, the example of other towns is that it can happen. myself, which i've also written, with different people very close for instances are living in the city of kharkiv. which is also in important town, a cultural place on the russian border. and, if in the very beginning, their attempt was to attack an overtake, it later when it didn't happen, the strategy changed to terrorizing people with the attacks on the civilian areas as well. this is in the center of the town. or just people ascending in line to buy groceries. so that is also, in this moment we cannot say that it won't happen in a dissent as well. if it will be defendant, we understand that the ukrainian army will defendant. but they will only deliver when

it's possible. >> what you say is interesting, because here in hungary, i have met people who have come from kharkiv. i have met people from dnipro. i have met people from donbas. i have met people from kyiv. and all of them said the same thing. they knew it was going to happen. it was likely to happen. but they didn't leave because they didn't hope it wasn't going to happen. but now they see the images. and they hear the stories. and the things that you describe which are war crimes when you attack visited dozens and hospitals and people who are trying to escape in the streets. what is it that is causing people to either stay or make the decision to leave? is it the idea that enough bombs fly, they realize that this is real and they have to go? >> absolutely. so, first of, all the people who are leaving, they are trying to move the elderly kids and the second group of people

for those who are capable. people who probably have cars, those who probably have relatives abroad. but, then when they really see that it's happening close to them, then everybody tries to flee. that was the case of kharkiv. when it's becoming a real danger for your parents, you really make an effort to do that. but the active people prefer to stay. everybody says it's our town, it's about being invaded,. we are from here, we have to defend. but of course we have a huge amount of people who are staying to defend. but that should be a limited amount at the ports. but everybody could fight. >> nataliya gumenyuk, we wish you the best and those of you in odessa. nataliya gumenyuk, is a journalist in odessa. we appreciate your time tonight. please stay safe. well, just ahead, the united nations says more than 1.7 million ukrainians have now been forced to flee their country as russian forces

advance. where they're headed now and how they're being received. a report on the burgeoning refugee crisis is next. ♪ ♪ hey, i get it, commitment can be scary. but not when you're saving up to 15%

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lives frantically trying to keep their family together, amid the mayhem and gunfire. we desperately handing over their toddlers the soldiers and strangers. scrambling to get away from the firing and shelling, even as they fled. many have spent days under fire, trapped in their homes until they realized it was run or die. with the russians getting closer. the stream of people fleeing are traumatized, but many are also angry and full of despair. >> putin is a work rebuttal, she says. the antichrist. you've been waiting for him, no you've got him. families have been torn apart in the chaos.

they run into the city from the oher city before escaping urban to, and they lift elderly relatives behind. >> our houses are in fire. that's all they can say. >> how much destruction is there that you can see in the town center? >> i think, all those destroyed. there is nothing to build or defend. there is nothing. >> i came here, i left my parents to die. i told my husband, you have to go back and bring them here, because i can just leave them to die. but in it all of the suffering and trauma, there are small glimpses of hope where 81 year old mother and father of found. and the family is reunited. how could i live without you? she says. there is incredible heartache and fear, but also an astonishing defiance with all these people. alex crawford, sky news.

>> that was alex crawford reporting from a small town northwest of kyiv where ukrainian families have been fleeing amid heavy russian shelling. those families, they are lucky, will join the more than 1. 7 million refugees, mostly women and children, who have fled ukraine since russia began its invasion 12 days ago. all of this migration and less than two weeks makes this the fastest-growing refugee crisis in europe since world war ii. according to the un high commissioner for refugees, and with russia potentially targeting more population centers across the country, millions more ukrainian refugees will likely flee and need someplace to stay. refugees like this 11 year ukrainian boy named, hassan, who arrived at the slovakian border alone this weekend. he traveled about 600 miles by himself, with only a backpack, a plastic bag, his passport, and more importantly, a phone number written on the back of

this hand. let's go back in ministry of interior says that volunteers were able to use that phone number to reach the boys relatives who arrive to pick him up. today, hassan met with the internal minister of slovakia said that the young boy has already sought temporary protection in the country. so viking officials called him a hero for making that long journey. and there are millions more like him trying to make their track to safety, too. meanwhile, here near hungary's border with ukraine, also seeing an influx of refugees. i got a chance to speak with some of them, and with their humanitarians who are coming to their eight. >> here, smoke rises from jim news that were new a century ago. this tiny village of hungary sits just across the river from a now, war torn ukraine. but as refugees bore out of these buses, it might as well be a war apart. >> i feel that i don't have a home, because somebody thinks that they can take our country. it's not normal. we need to do something.

i really wanted to stay in ukraine, i love ukraine, it's my home. but, i count. >> a home both on the safe, and for now, unreachable. both friends, met in kyiv. or lena hails from the donbas region. no stranger to fighting, but fighting that hasn't touched her home until two weeks ago. >> my part of donbas, it's ukraine. but now, a russian military comes to my home, and now, i don't know what happened -- what will happen with my mom, with my grandma, with my two --,

tomorrow, today, right now. i don't know, because -- >> you can't call them? >> yeah. we don't have internet, lights, anything. >> she says that story with everybody. the faces are mostly women and children. the men have to stay and take up arms in ukraine. a quarter of those wild village not bustles with activity, to show refugees that they are welcome here. hungary hasn't been so friendly recently to outsiders, but not this time. a pop-up barbecue stand here, away from the hello. some of these helpers arrived only to realize they needed to stay. >> they showed me pictures about their city, and about the street. they don't have a house. it has been bombed. >> he came to drop off supplies when we know they're distant village. he stayed for nine days. >> you can't prepare yourself for this. you can't.

you won't solve everything, and every peoples lives. but, you have to do it one day, four or five tasks, which are done. and if it's okay, then your soul may be okay. >> most of the people of whom we spoke plan to go somewhere else in europe, none plan to stay. there is only one place they want to be. >> do you want to go home? >> yeah, of course. i want to see my family. it's my family. >> we are going now to budapest, and then, we will make our cat passport, and then we will get to the airport, maybe tomorrow, or in two days, three days. >> do you believe that you can go home? >> of course. i believe it. >> of course, i believe the.

the young ukrainian refugee keeping hope alive as she will one day be able to return to her home. we'll be right back.

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ukrainian man who story we've been following, this man at 55-year-old, the ukrainian man named -- has for the last ten years served as a mechanic on a luxury super yacht. the yacht is owned by a russians arm dealer -- the yacht is currently in the mediterranean. a little over a week ago he was upset to see russia was attacking his homeland, so he sabotaged the yatch. he tried to sink it. i only ended up doing damage to the engine when he was arrested, admitting to the crime, released from jail from a local judge and immediately fled making his way to ukraine to sign up for the military. we last checked in on him and he had arrived in kyiv but

we're still waiting to join the fight and today he sent a picture of himself with his military recruiter. he told our producers this is the last time he will see me in civilian clothes. now he says he's been issued a uniform and a weapon. and he's undergoing training. terrazas says he's prepared to die for ukraine. that does it for us tonight. we are going to see you again tomorrow. it's time for the last word with lawrence o'donnell. lawrence, good evening to. >> good evening, ali. we are now watching a war with three fronts. there is the combat front. there is a cyber and tech front, and there is the economic front. you did extensive coverage of the economic front tonight. i heard him say that he expects the effects, the real effects to be felt in russia within days. would about the surrounding countries? obviously it affects them to. it affects you, prices of things, fuel will be skyrocketing. >> yes. yeah, that's exactly right. hungary has been reticent to