good day. this is "andrea mitchell reports" in washington. maternity hospital in mariupol has been attacked by russia with children trapped in the refuge. zelenskyy tweeting this video after the aftermath. as richard engel has been reporting from kyiv. >> reporter: vladimir putin said the russian army is not bombing civilians. >> that's an obvious lie. >> and we're going back to the

state department where secretary blinken is with the british foreign secretary about to take questions. >> has been first of all supplying defensive weaponry to ukraine. and in fact, we've been working with other allies across the world to help get that defensive weaponry to ukraine. so, supplying antitank weapons. today our defense secretary announced we'll be supplying air defense systems to address the specific issues the ukrainians face a, which is air defense. so, we believe the best way of tackling this threat is to help the ukrainians with the star streak air defense systems we'll be supplying. on the issue of a no-fly zone, of course it's important and i completely support what was said about protecting humanitarian cordors and calling on russia to respect those genuine

humanitarian corridors. ones that don't lead to russia or belarus. but the realts is that setting up a no-fly zone would lead to a direct confrontation between nato and russia. and that is not what we're looking at. we're making sure ukrainians are able to defend their own country with the best selection of antitank weapons and antiair defense systems. >> i agree with everything foreign secretary just said. >> we need move on. >> we have sarah smith of the bbc, please. >> after the direct strike on the children's hospital in mariupol, president zelenskyy is asking you both and nato to stop the killings, close the skies, he says and if you don't, you're an accomplice to terror. how do you explain to him

there's no possibility of a no-fly zone in these circumstances? >> the best way to help protect the skies is through antiair weaponry, which the u.k. is now going to be supplying to ukraine. that's a what the defense secretary announced earlier today and of course, the attack on the hospital is absolutely abhorrent. reckless and appalling and the u.k. is at the forefront of supplying humanitarian aid into ukraine. we've already pledged 220 million of humanitarian aid. our appeal has reached 130 million, which is the largest amount it's ever achieved since 2004. we're doing all we can to support. >> first, we both, our governments both, our people both have tremendous admiration

for president zelenskyy, for his entire team, for the ukrainian people that they represent. the courage they've shown, the strength, determination, dignity faced with this russian onslaught is extraordinary. and it's powerfully moving. i think people around the world. if i were in president zelenskyy's position, i'd be asking for everything possible to help the ukrainian people. and as the foreign secretary and i have laid out, both countries and so many others have done extraordinary things to make sure the ukrainians have in their hands the means to effectively defend themselves against this choice from russia as well as do everything we can with great significant resources to care for ukrainian people to the best of our ability inside ukraine and those forced to plea outside ukraine, to meet their hume an aitarian needs. and the goal is the same.

save lives and prevent more senseless blood shed. as part of that, we have to see to it that the war does not expand. our goal is to the end the war, not expand it, including potentially expanded to nato territory. we want to make sure it's not prolonged to the best of our ability. otherwise it's going to turn deadlier, involve more people and potentially even make things harder to resolve in ukraine itself. as the foreign secretary said we have exactly the same perspective on that. introducing, in our case, american service members in ukraine, on ukrainian territory or soil or american pilots into ukrainian airspace, whether on a full or limited basis would almost certainly lead to direct conflict between united states,

nato and russia and it would expand the conflict, prolong it. make it deadlier than it already is and that's not in the interest of our countries nor ukraine. we've heard the same message from the nato's secretary general. >> mr. secretary, first on venezuela. can you say whether they're considering easing sanctions on venezuela? and on sanctions in the end game. you mentioned foreign secretary that putin must fail. so, is it your strategy to essentially exert so much pressure on the russian people, oligarchs around vladimir putin so that russia will essentially, as undersecretary said, might

rise up and -- i don't know what? potentially over throw him? do you believe now it's simply impossible for the united states to have a productive or stable relationship with russia if vladimir putin remains a in power either during or once this conflict is over? thank you. >> i'm happy to start. with are regard to venezuela. we have a set of interests. they include supporting the democratic aspirations of the venezuelan people. they include securing the release of americans unjustly detained there. and happily last night, as you heard, two americans were released. they've been wrongfully detained. they're now reunited with their families. and it's also true we have an interest globally to maintain a

steady supply energy through diplomatic efforts. so, all these things come to bear when it comes to venezuela and other countries around the world. and again, i have to say i'm very pleased that diplomacy brought two unjustly detained americans home last night. we will never letup anywhere. at anytime in the efforts to bring americans, who were unjustly detained, back home. >> we're very clear that our objective is for putin to fail a in ukraine. this unwarranted act of aggression must not succeed. and it will be terrible consequences if it does succeed for european and global security. and the purpose of the sanctions is to debillitate the russian economy. stop putin from being able to fund his war machine from money

gained from the oil and gas industry and from the technology that he's been able to make available. so, one of the things we've donees a well as a putting huge sanctions on banks and the s.w.i.f.t. system is putting export controls so the technology being used to develop the military industrial complex is simply not going to russia. it's also worth saying that weevl rr seen huge action from the private sector, whether it's mcdonald's or other companies. one of the issues is the lack of free media, the fact the russian people aren't being told the truth. they'll see now, by the fact shops are closing, they're not able to get the goods they were able to get, exactly the implics putin's aggression in ukraine is having.

>> [ inaudible ]. >> let me say a couple of things. first, i think it's important to remember that, throughout this crisis created by putin and russia we've suit e sought to provide possible off ramps to president putin. he's the only one who can decide whether or not to take them. so far, every time there's been an opportunity to do just that, he's pressed the accelerator and continued down this horrific road that he's been pursuing. he has a clear plan right now to brutalize ukraine. but to what end? because when it comes to an end

game, the big question is what is his end game? we saw the failures of the initial military plan to quickly subjugate the country. that's failed. so, he's now turning to a strategy of playing nierm population centers, to the country. if his goal is displace the existing government is putting in place one to his liking, i think it's evident by the response of the ukrainian people that they will never accept that. and if he tries to force such a regime by keeping russian forces in ukraine, it will be a long, bloody drawn-out mess through which russia will continue to suffer egrievously. so, our response continues to be to do everything we possibly can to make sure the ukrainians have what they head to to defend

themselves and exert pressure on russia andputen to change course, to do everything we can to support those suffering as a result of russia's actions. ultimately, i'm convinced putin will fail. and russia will suffer a strategic defeat no matter what short-term tactical gains they may make in ukraine. as we've said before, you can win a battle but that doesn't mean you win the war. on the contrary. you can take a city but not the hearts and minds of the people and ukrainians are demonstrating that every day. i'm convinced we'll see a strategic defeat of president putin and the propositions he has put forward. we'll back ukrainians in their fight, by remaining united

holding russia accountable through sanctions and other measure president. russia has not been able to hold ukraine and not going to be able to in the long term. liz was just saying economically, the measures we've taken, have erased 30 years of progress integrating russia into the world. this dramatic exodus of virtually every international company from russia continues as we speak and that's having a profound impact, not just today but over the long term. i think what we're looking add is whether or not president putin will decide to finally cut the losses he's inflicted on himself and inflicted on the russian people. we can't decide that for him. all we ecan do is continue this extraordinary effort to increase

pressure on him, increase support for ukraine and achieve what we all want, which is the independence of ukraine. and a defeat for president putin because these methods are a fundamental challenge, not only to ukraine but the very principals of peace and security that our countries have fought and worked to establish over many decades. that's what is at risk here. we're committed to defending them, to standing for them until we succeed in making it clear that they will hold and putin's efforts to undermine them will fail. >> and as you see secretary blinken and the british foreign

secretary finishing a few more questions. joining us is richard engel. and chief white house correspondent, kristen welker. when we cut in the news conference, we were uctag about the attack on the hospital in mariupol. president zelenskyy tweeting out horrific pictures, the aftermath. and you've been with civilian victims in a hospital in kyiv. there's no question that russia continues to attack civilian targets and corridors that had been negotiated for ceasefires and now reporting confirmed from the pentagon they're using dung bombs. long-precision weapons. which might explain some of this but not all the attacks on civilian targets including hospitals and nuclear plants. >> reporter: so, the attack a short while ago on the maternity

and children's ward in maur opal -- maur opal has tweeted out video and showing the hospital significantly damaged. in the video you're showing, you'll see a tremendous amount of damage. room after room of devastation. but there do not appear to be victims. there's nots blood trails or bodies. a short while ago i saw a photo of a pregnant woman going down a stair case in what looked like that hospital and very disturbing images of bodies in the streets. there have been numerous photographs of bodies in the streets because people are not able to go out from their homes, from their shelters to collect

some of the remains. maur opal people have been cut off. reports of people drinking puddles and melting snow. so, a horrific situation in mariupol and they have 400,000 people and it's surrounded on all sides, including the sea. in kharkiv there been heavy fighting. a military official described it as very intense. the russians have still not managed to take kharkiv and they still have not been pushing ahead with their advances into kyiv itself. it's most of the russian forces

still concentrated to the north of the the city and not making significant progress to the city sentser in the last 24 to 48 hours. >> and richard, to kristen welker, on this whole subject of the migs, we just heard secretary blinken speaking about this. i can tell you the state department and the pentagon were completely blind sided by poland's decision. the vice president was on route there today. en route to poland right now. we were being told last night she's there to salute poland and the other nato allies to be lock step on decisions. and now a decision on sending polish migs to a u.s. base in germany to go to ukraine. the pentagon has spoken about this. saying the surface-to-air missiles would shoot down anything that comes in their

airspace. you could describe it as a suicide mission if anyone tries to fly to ukraine or ukrainian pilots fly them. the u.s. is blind sided. >> they were completely blind sided. as you mapped out very well. it's complicated the vice president's trip and what you heard from the secretary of state was a real explanation for why they say there are so many challenges. as you just laid out a number of them. but the big picture is concern it will escalate the confrontation. you heard the secretary of state say this could lead to more deaths, blood shed and a prolonged war. and said they're still talking to poland and the vice president is going to address this issue. it's going to be front and center when she arrives in

poland later today. you have president zelenskyy over and over again asking for these planes. he wants to keep this in the conversation. he's also asking, as you know, for a no-fly zone and that's something the biden administration said is a nonstarter because they don't want to intensify this crisis and war unfolding in ukraine. that is the back drop of the vice president's trip to poland. the second trip to poland in the last month and the broad bowls are to reaffirm united states commitment to its allies and rally support to intensify this pressure campaign on putin, try to get vladimirputen to back down. but so far that hasn't worked. it is going to boil what was already a complicated visit. >> we see pictures of her leaving andrew's air base for poenld and she'll then go to romania.

it's certainly an awkward moment for her when we're in serious disagreement with our polish allies. and today i spoke to the u.s. ambassador about the decision to send fighters to a u.s. base in germany. >> right now the good news story at nato is all allies are constantly assessing the situation on the ground in ukraine and all of us have the best intentions. we all want to provide support to ukraine in the form of lethal assistance. many are doing that in real time and in close contact with the folks on the ground in ukraine. poland has been looking at the possibility of sending migs to ukraine. we have raised questions about that. i think we're continuing to be in conversation with them. the bottom line is the unity inside this alliance is rock solid and we will continue to

provide lethal support to ukraine. >> at the same time, poland has really embarrassed the u.s. there's no way the u.s. wanted to have migs on a u.s. base in germany because that would, according to u.s. officials, directly put us in the line of fire and in direct contact and risks of starting with the president said. he doesn't want u.s. verses russia. >> look, the process of actually transferring migs to ukraine is a complicated one and there are a lot of different ways you can do that. poland could get the migs to ukraine directly. they proposed a different path. again, it comes from the best of intensions. we're in a situation where all of us feel compelled to help ukraine against what russia is doing and we're all looking for ways to continually apply pressure on moscow.

we're looking for ways to support the people of ukraine in this conflict and this war. and we're also looking for ways we can reinforce nato's eastern flank. that's an effort we're all taking part in and i feel confident we will continue to pursue the three tracks, even if we debate the pros and cons of this particular issue over the migs. >> we have provided stingers, a lot of other weapons to ukraine, directly to ukraine and explain to us why the u.s. feels that you can deal with the airspace with other defensive weapons and offensive weapons that have been provided that we do not need, that ukraine need to have these jets. >> we're in constant contact with folks in kyiv and the assessment we made in our ongoing dialogue and this is a

fast-moving situation. our assessment we feel is that they really need anti-tank capabilities and assets. they need ethings like stingers, javelins. those type of whipens are what wood be most useful in this moment. so, that's the focus. the u.s. has provided a tremendous amount of assistance. in fact, this year we've provided about a billion dollars in assistance, lethal support for ukraine. at this point we're in constant contact and will continue assessing. where we've landed as of now is focusing on the stingers and javelins in particular. >> let me ask you about the nuclear power threat. they're saying it's disconnected from the power grid. this could raise concern that

spent fuel rods and other radio active parts of the plant could release. and there's a second nuclear plant at the was hit by the russians just last week. how confident are you that there's no problem of nuclear power safety and radiation safety in ukraine? >> well, we're concerned. obviously we're concerned russia is involved in the conflict at all and concerned about them targeting civilians. schools, orphanages, hospitals. we're monitoring closely the situation as relates to chernobyl and other nuclear plants. anytime there are nuclear facilities involved, obviously that reaches a new level of concern. we are, again, looking at the situation closely. urging the russians not to engage in any violence in or around these facilities.

this is a dangerous situation. even the rhetoric, talking about the nuclear forces and posture has been dangerous. we urge the russians to, first of all, stop this conflict and also do everything they can to stay away from these nuclear facilities. it is a dangerous situation. >> you now have millions of refugees fleeing for their lives. mostly women and children and the russians are hitting civilian targets. and they've hit nuclear power plants. why are these attacks on hospitals, children, why aren't these war crimes? >> i don't think anybody is ready less than two weeks in to make broad pronouncements. obviously we're deeply concerned

by what's happening on the ground. we're monitoring the situation, in close contact with folks around the country. we understand the icc is going to begin looking at this in the hague. i don't feel like, at this point, we're prepared to make any broad statement but it's safe to say that the united states government is taking this very seriously. no one should be engaged in any attacks on civilians. russia shouldn't be on the ground at all. russia shouldn't have crossed into ukraine's territory. the fact we're hearing reports of civilians being targeted is a very troubling turn in this conflict and one we'll remain focussed on. >> thank you so much. thanks for your time. and joining us now is ben rhodes. how concerning are these attacks on civilians?

they seem to be increasing. >> they're incredibly concerning. they're heartbreaking. they're outrageous and i think the reason they're more concerning is what we've seen is the failure of russia, the failure of putin to achieve his immediate objective, which was a rapid collapse of the ukrainian government and install a popt government. he's clearly pivoted to a strategy of the use of a indiscriminate violence in major population centers putting hundreds of thousands in danger and what is so concerning beyond the horror of the images we're seeing and loss of life we're already seeing is where does this end? because putin has shown before in a variety of other conflicts, that he is willing to respect

and abide by no norm when it comes to the leveling of cities and targeting of civilians. >> we're told by the pentagon he is using dung bombs, not precision munitions. we don't know why. why the reluctance from the state department to call this a war crime? are they trying to preserve some deniability if there is going to be a diplomatic path down the road? >> i think what the focus should be on is gathering information that would form such a determination around war crimes. they made reference to the icc initiating a progress. they can be methodical in gathering evidence and images and this war is playing out before us on our television

screens, social media. there's an abundant amount of evidence that russia is using weaponry not precision guided, not focussed on military assets but on population centers. all of that needs to be carefully collected and detailed. and frankly can be part of the diplomacy is if russian military commanders continue to carry out these orders, they themselves are complicit in war crimes. are you want to do be in the head of not just vladimir putten but people down the chain of command that they're going to face one way or another. it always takes time but justice can be served here. >> and an interview savannah guthrie did on the "today" show with long-time ukrainian expert.

this is her first interview i know of and she was asked about the no-fly zone and why the u.s. is reluctant. >> i think the administration and nato do need look at the possibility of a no-fly zone for humanitarian purposes. >> they say you're having a direct confrontation to russia. >> that is a real concern but i also think we cannot let putin set the terms of this debate. >> a strong pushback from the pentagon and other experts is they have enough drones and surface-to-air missiles. they can accomplish what they need to accomplish much safer without f 16s and migs and the u.s. should not be involved. >> i think there's multiple concerns. the first thing is in order to set up a no-fly zone it's

necessary to destroy air defense systems, russian air defense systems on the ground because you don't want to put american pilots at are risk of being shut down. that means conflict just at the front end. it's a matter of taking out russian equipment and personnel manning the equipment on the ground. i think the second challenge, given the risk of esclation and potential escalation between two nuclear superpowers. not only is that catastrophic but a lot of the suffering we're seeing is not bombardment from russian planes. it's shelling surrounding the city. it's not as if it would bring all the risk of united states and russia and not necessarily put an end to the indiskrimtinate shelling we're seeing on the ground. i definitely understand -- look, ukrainians want every ounce of

support they can get. if we're in their position, we'd call for anything and everything the rest of the world could do to support them. but you have to weigh the risk of united states engaging in a direct military conflict with russia and assess those whether that would solve the problem of the indiscriminate shelling we're seeing of population centers. >> thank you for your perspective. and the energy sec riitary says the power loss at the chernobyl nuclear power plant poses no risk after ukrainian's foreign minister adding that the lack of electricity eto the nuclear fuel deposits means they can't be pooled. and they're concerned of one

south kyiv. if there were interruption in that water supply, that could be critical. especially if operators are not being rotated out soy they can get rest. thank you so much, james, for being with us. let's get specific because the international atomic energy agency is trying to quiet concerns the ukrainians have about chernobyl, which was decontaminating disaster area from the '80s. but you have the largest nuclear power plant in europe attacked last week. are you concerned about accidents either deliberately or by exhaustion? >> i certain lay agree ewith the

official u.s. assessment that the risks associated with ukraine's operating nuclear power plants are significantly higher than the risks with chernobyl. as you mentioned, the nuclear power plant was attacked last week by russia. i don't think russia was deliberately trying to cause a nuclear accident. i think they were trying to take control of the plant, which is part of ukraine's critical infrastructure and control over the electricity supplies. my big concern is the nuclear power plants are not self-contained items. they need workers to come in from the outside. they need electricity, from the grid, used to cool the reactor cores. in the event they're shut down. if there's a problem like a fire, you need a fire service.

and i don't think this is likely butted one kaents rule out, in this kind of scenario the worst case scenario, which would be a meltdown of fuel in one of the four nuclear power plants. >> and as someone who's covered nuclear power for decades, that would be fukushima, if we're talking about the scale of tese power plants and you have a western flow of radiation. you know what hap happened after chernobyl in sweden. >> it's the worst case i think of what an accident could look like. i don't think that's terribly likely but the war makes it significantly more likely than in normal circumstances. at fukushima, you have this large tsunami which swamped the

plant and destroyed back-up power supplies and basically the plant wasn't able to cool itself. you could ultimately have fuel melting, releases of raideration into the environment. i think russia should get out of ukraine and it should stay well away from all of ukraine's power plants. fighting around them is unacceptably dangerous and risky. >> thank you for your expertise on this. thank you so very much. and the lens of war. how a pulitzer-prize winning photo journalist is capturing the toll of the cries in ukraine. and members of a kyiv city

ballet were on tour when war broke out. >> we have one dancer that will be close to the border within the next few days. she is a young mother and her daughter is being brought from ukraine. so, i'm sure it will be a relief for her and for us all once her daughter is with us on our tour. ♪ ♪ ♪a little bit of chicken fried♪ ♪cold beer on a friday night♪ ♪a pair of jeans that fit just right♪ ♪and the radio up well i've seen the sunrise...♪ get 5 boneless wings for $1 with any handcrafted burger. only at applebee's looking to get back in your type 2 diabetes zone? once-weekly ozempic® can help. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ ♪ oh, oh, oh ♪

ozempic® is proven to lower a1c. most people who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. and you may lose weight. adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. in adults also with known heart disease, ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. ozempic® helped me get back in my type 2 diabetes zone. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. looking to get back in your type 2 diabetes zone? ask your health care provider today

about once-weekly ozempic®. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ you may pay as little as $25 for a 3-month prescription. this is elodia. she's a recording artist. 1 of 10 million people that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. and this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students we're connecting throughout the next 10. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students, past... and present, can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities.

mm. [ clicks tongue ] i don't know. i think they look good, man. mm, smooth. uh, they are a little tight. like, too tight? might just need to break 'em in a little bit. you don't want 'em too loose. for those who were born to ride there's progressive.

with 24/7 roadside assistance. -okay. think i'm gonna wear these home. -excellent choice. in an open letter vladimir zelenskyy's wife condemning vladimir putin. she shares the story that ait-year-old alice died on the streets while her grandfather tried to protect her or from kyiv who died in the shelling with her parents and the 14-year-old hit in the head by wreckage. and while the images may be difficult to watch and a warning to our viewers as well, on monday the "the new york times" decided to show the brutal toll from this war on the front page. a mother and her two children killed by russian motorists as they tried to flee the city. joining us is the photo journalist, award-winning combat

photographer behind that camera lens, pulitzer-prize winning photographer who spent her entire year documenting war zones. it's been a while since we talked. your work again is exemplary. vladimir putin repeatedly denies targeting civilians. your images show us the truth. >> well, i wint on sunday morning to what i thought would be a steady stream of civilians trying to make their way out of ukraine. we'd seen images of the broken bridge and people trying to make their way across. it was a known civilian evacuation route. i was confident i would go and photograph civilians. shortly after i got there, there was a series of mortar strikes. the first about 200 meters from where we were. they progressively got closer and closer.

about three to four minutes apart. i was photographing people continued to stream with their kids dragging their children, dragging the elderly. ukrainian soldiers running out, grabbing their pets, children, everything and the mortar rounds were getting cloche and closer. i remember looking through my camera lens being fewererous kwb thinking how could anyone spray an area with mortars known to be with children and women? and low and behold a round landed about 30 feet from where we were, if that and about the same distance to where the family was that quasi-a mother and her two dhildn are were killed along with a family or friend or someone from the church in the area ushering them to safety. >> so, you're a photographer, a journalist. photo journalist. you're a mother. what was going through your

head? how do you stand back and continue to work? >> i mean, you know, in those moments they're quite chaotic because obviously we had just narrowly scaped death and i was trying to if figure out if i was wounded because i felt the spray of gravel all over my neck. if you've seen invideo, i was quite worked up and i said am i bleeding? am i bleeding? he said no. i went right to work but i still hadn't seen the family because it was quite dusty. finally, our security advisor asked us to stay where we were and as soon as he was calling for a medic, he went to check the pulses of the family and as soon as i realized woe were able to cross over, i saw the four lifeless bodies, what i thought was lifeless and i remember seeing the body of a nine-year-old and thinking i have a 10-year-old son and i just -- in those moments and it's hard to connect the dots

because i thought okay, i have to take this picture because i know nis is a war crime. these people were targeted intentionally. i watched it happen but at the same 250i78 my heart was breaking and i tried to take a photo in a respectful way from the back and then i worked my way around the scene. but we were still under attack. mortar rounds continued to come in until we were out of the area. so, key kept having to dive for cover as we're going back to our car with the other civilians. >> i was just seeing in the san francisco chronicle that a firm se rarj ranking has identified the victims as their chief accountant and her children. they're grieving her loss, according to her employer in san francisco. are you've seen so much. i know in libya you were taken hostage along with your

colleagues. and the great anthony who we lost later in war. there's so many conflicts that you've seen but the level of attacks. this one reminds of aleppo and russia just deliberately killing civilians. >> i mean, a maternity hospital was just bombed in maur yoepal. it is astonishing how anyone can bomb a maternity hospital with women in labor, newborns. it's unconscionable. it's unbelievable how there is any justification in bombing a maternity hospital. i felt the same that day. i have two kids, i watched their bodies. we have met with the father -- or the husband of this wum sdwhn father of the two kids. very emotional.

i can't -- it's unbelievable what people are going through right now. >> lindsey, we're watching right now is while yoiv are been describing this, we just got this video from the scene in the mare pole with survivors being evacuated and there's an enormous level of devastation there. and a mother and child coming out and others from where they've been sheltered. so, it's just devastating. i can't describe my admiration, the level of my admiration for you and thank you and thank you for what you and your colleagues are doing to show the world what is going on. our colleagues in the field. i know the human toll, can imagine and thank you for everything you're doing. >> i mean it's a collective effort.

there are a lot of us journalists on the ground and i think collectively our coverage, hopefully, will tell what's going on. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> i want you to know how you can help. as we see these heartbreaking images and hear the harrowing stories, we all want to lend a hand somehow. but first the people of kyiv are helping mothers and jung children at the train station, providing a safe, warm place for them to stay. >> reporter: five-year-old and mother nutallia left. >> you left your husband? >> yes. natalia says she finally believes that once again. olga and 9-year-old sonia left kharkiv as the bombing intensified. russian air strikes every minute, she says. russian air strikes every minute, she says ving. pack at your pace. store your things until you're ready. then we deliver to your new home -

across town or across the country. pods, your personal moving and storage team. ♪ everybody dance now ♪ ♪♪ ♪ everybody dance now ♪ get 5 boneless wings for $1. with any handcrafted burger. only at applebee's is now a good time for a flare-up? enough, crohn's! for adults with moderate to severe crohn's or ulcerative colitis, stelara® can provide relief, and is the first approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. you, getting on that flight? back off, uc! stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. lasting remission can start

with stelara®. janssen can help you explore cost support options. >> woman: what's my safelite story? janssen can help you explore i see inspiration right through my glass. so when my windshield cracked, i chose safelite. they replaced the glass and recalibrated my safety system. that's service i can trust. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ i'm so glad we could all take this trip together, son yeah. and kayak made getting here so easy- ♪ ♪ here we go. you know i'm a kayak denier! you can't possibly believe kayak compare hundreds of travel sites at once! get out! i will do no such thing. and don't use kayak to fly home, because it's not real! i'm going back to the room. compare hundreds of travel sites at once. kayak. search one and done.

ready to style in just one step? introducing new tresemme one step stylers. five professional benefits. one simple step. totally effortless. styling has never been easier. tresemme. do it with style. ♪♪ over 2 million ukrainians

have now fled the fighting at home seeking safety outside their country's borders according to the united nations. nbc's kerry kobier is in poland. >> reporter: across the borders the need is growing by the minute tens of thousands of women and children arriving every morning, cold, tired and hungry. volunteers offering hot soup and a play mat for the young refugees like the 2-year-old. she says we were afraid but our husbands were even more afraid. that's why they sent us here. the u.n. hayes more than 2 million refugees have fled ukraine. 1 million are children. unicef calling it a dark historical first. a dancing dinosaur, the only thing 5-year-old sophia could bring from home. her mother says everything they have is in this suitcase. i was lucky to have this, she says. people were leaving without

anything. >> the people who are coming now have less means than the people who game initially. and they also experienced more likely conflict directly so probably more traumatized. >> reporter: and many have no family or friends to take them in. like ludmilla and her children, her town it under attack. her husband fighting. putin and the russian army are destroying ukraine. this gaming company is offering families and others to sleep. there's a desperate need for shelter. this expo center in warsaw can sleep 10,000. michael caponi global initiative setting up a warehouse. >> they may be lacking baby food or only water, you don't want

the overlap. >> reporter: rt the need is immense and growing every day. >> i've been on disaster fronts every day. this will be growing, more than any organization or the u.n. has ever seen. >> and kelly joins us now, kelly, what do the aid agencieses, what do they need the most? >> reporter: but gem is partnered with bethenny frankel's piece that those for plane ticket who have documentation and be in an area where they can be a little more comfortable long term. aid agencies on the ground say they need everything, sanitary kits for women. baby food for young ones. they need food for kids. they need warm winter clothes. it's very cold here. we've got a good couple of inches of snow in poland today.

so the need is tremendous. what we're also hearing from aid agencies is they don't need your old clothes. there are mountains of clothes here donated by polish people and beyond. and what they really -- what really works best for them is to get a cash donation. so that they then put that money directly where refugee families need it. and as i mentioned before, andrea, the need is huge. that woman, the mom, sophia's mom who i spoke to, that suitcase was primarily filled with food so they are little girl wouldn't be hungry on the trip to the border. andrea. >> it's just overwhelming. thank you so much, kelly. clerks we're going to share with our audience because we have a list of reputable organizations to follow the qr code to lead to a list of these groups, compiled by our friends at "today" show. a list of information how to you

can help families in need. that does it for us in this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." follow the show and online at facebook and twitter,@mitchell reports. chuck todd at "mtp daily" is right after this message. ter the e

u.s. and nato still try to walk a fine line between aiding ukraine and igniting a war with putin. plus, a bipartisan show of force against russian aggression. we'll speak with the chairman of the house foreign affairs committee since returning from the ukrainian border over the weekend. and the consequences of war abroad beginning to be felt here at home. and president biden urged americans to blame russia for the spike in gas prices. and a political environment