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a very good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. welcome, everyone, to "alex witt reports." it is just about 2:00 p.m. in washington, 8:00 p.m. in kyiv, 9:00 p.m. in moscow on this day 18 of russia's war in ukraine. and we have new reaction at this hour to the deadly attack on a military air base in western ukraine earlier today. ukraine officials say that more than 30 russian missile strikes pounded the international center for peacekeeping and security earlier today. ukrainian officials report at least 35 killed, 135 wounded. nbc news has not verified the missile strikes and no information about victims was immediately available. u.s. officials say that no americans, though, were at that facility. >> chuck, the american president has been clear for some time now that there are no u.s. troops currently operating in ukraine, in eastern ukraine or in western ukraine. and that we will defend every inch of nato territory, but u.s.

forces will not engage russian forces inside ukraine. it's no surprise that the russians are trying to expand the number of targets in this war, because they're frustrated by their lack of ability to take some of the major cities. >> and while ukrainian government officials are pleading for more support to invade their air space, one congressmen is weighing in on why he thinks a no-ply zone would be a bad idea. >> we will not put in place a no-fly zone until we have taken out the air defenses in the theater. that means that regardless of how big that no-fly zone is, we are now bombing and lobbing missiles into russian anti-aircraft boundaries in belarus and in russia. so, again, you know, shooting down a russian plane is scary enough. but when there are hundreds of dead russian military people, because we're publishing a no-fly zone, make no mistake, we are at war with russia. >> meanwhile, fleeing civilians are once again under attack in the city of irpin, near kyiv. and "the new york times" is

reporting that according to ukraine's interior of journalist, he is reported to be 50-year-old brent renaud, a documentary filmmaker who has occasionally worked for nbc news, although he was not on assignment for nbc in ukraine. we have reporters overseas and right here in the states with the very latest on the war in ukraine for you. we'll go right now to nbc's ali aruezi, who is in lviv, not too far from that military base that was hit. ali, welcome. i understand that you actually heard the shelling when it began last night. what more can you tell us and what was that like? >> that's right, alex. the air raid sirens went off here at about 3:30 in the morning, local time. and that's been happening for the last three days. we've kind of gotten used to that and about an hour and a half, two hours later, we started hearing these thuds, these booms, and my team and i first thought that maybe somebody was walking on the roof or a door or something and the hotel had broken.

and then there was a string of these booming noises, and we realized, it's something more sinister. it's only today that we realized that it was a missile attack on that base. and you know, although we were prepared, we've been expecting this, because the attacks have been coming further and further west, it was still a bit of a surprise, because even though lviv is a city on edge, it's full of refugees, it's full of displaced people. it's still a relatively safe zone or was until last night. now, to give you a little information on the base itself, as you mentioned, 30 missiles were launched in that base. ukrainians say that many of those missiles were intercepted, but it did kill 30 people, injured 134 other people. and it's a very important base, alex. i mean, it's right by the polish border. so that's getting very close to nato territory. it's a place that nato trainers and instructors have been

helping ukrainian forces, u.s. instructors have also been there in the past, helping ukrainians. i have to highlight that there were no nato or u.s. people there and that the ukrainian authorities say that everybody that died there was ukrainian. there is also a place that they could have been storing weapons, fuel, ammo. so it would have been a legitimate target, as far as the russians are concerned. because they want to create havoc and panic here. and i can tell you, alex, walking around on the streets today, speaking to people, they were really on edge. i spoke to a family who had come here from kyiv a few days ago. they had left their home, they were here with two kids. they were staying in an apartment with friends. they were living in the living room of their friends. i asked them, how do you feel about this attack that just happened so close to where we are, to this place that's meant to be a safe zone. they say, listen, it's really frightening. it's a military base. we're really scared that it would hit lviv. and if it hits lviv, they have

nowhere to go. this is their last safe point. they have a handful of cash left. they're living off their friends, living in a living room, and if this place was going to be hit, they just said, we don't know what to do anymore. >> it is all just utterly shocking. let me ask you also about the very tragic news about this 50-year-old filmmaker, documentarian, brent renaud. there were reports that he had work with the "new york times" in the past, but not on assignment for "the new york times." what do you know about him and the circumstances around his death? has anything been officially confirmed? >> well, it's officially been confirmed that he was killed. he was in irpin, which is a very, very hard-hit neighborhood of kyiv. a suburb of kyiv. he was there with a colleague of his, who was shot and injured. his colleague has been taken to

hospital. but it's a tragic situation. this is the first foreign journalist filmmaker that's been killed here. it shows how much the russians have widened and intensified their attacks. and how indiscriminately they are firing at people. so the situation has grown much more dangerous throughout the country here, and especially on the eastern parts, it's perilous, not only for ukrainians, not only for ukrainian soldiers, but for all the journalists that are on the east part of the country, covering what is becoming some pretty fear fighting there right now, as the russians have just brutalized the east of the country. >> yeah. their efforts are certainly heroic, bringing their stories to the world. thank you so much, ali arouzi, also one of our resident heroes. appreciate you there in lviv. let's go from there now to eastern poland and nbc news foreign correspondent, kelly cobiella with the very latest on the refugee situation there, kelly? >> well, nerves are definitely

rattled here in poland after that strike so close to the polish border in the early morning hours. people here in poland have already been very nervous about this war, just below their border. it's one of the reasons why we've seen such a huge outpouring of help. the tens of thousands of volunteers, also, people opening their doors to ukrainian refugees. we actually visited a very small town of 500 people. they have taken in 80 families from ukraine, just over the past several days. and we spoke to one retired couple who has just taken in a family from kharkiv. and we asked them why they did it. and they said, look, partly because we see these images of women and children, sometimes very young children, arriving in poland without their family members, without, you know, carrying just what they could when they left their homes. and also because, we see ourselves in them. we're afraid that we could be next. they acknowledge that as a part

of nato, as poland is a part of nato, that they feel slightly more secure than maybe ukraine was, but they're still really, really concerned. and it's something that we've heard over and over again, about whether -- they're really concerned about whether poland will be dragged into this. again, biden, among many, many others. president biden, the vice president, vice president harris and many others have said that every inch of nato territory will be defended. they've bolstered troop presence here. they've made it very clear to the russians that this is, quite frank, a no-go when it comes to attacks, and even an accidental firing on a nato country would be met with a response. and that message reiterated again today. >> all right, kelly cobiella, thank you so much for that report. joining me right now is a member of the ukrainian parliament.

andre, thank you so much for being here. i know that the talks between ukraine and russia are reportedly ongoing. do you have any updates on where any discussions stand at this hour? >> i know that the process is going on. but at the same time, i know that the -- it is very difficult to expect any good results from these negotiations. russians, they understand only brutal force. and for today, we see that the success of ukrainian military on the ground, and more or less, united position of the west with the sanctions are creating quite significant pressure on russians. that putin doesn't have plan "b," so they continue all of their brutality on ukrainian soil, despite huge losses of russian army in ukraine, and i don't think that at this stage of the war, it's possible to find any political compromise. because everything that putin wants from us is to surrender.

after all losses that we have already, have in ukraine and everything that has already happened, it's impossible to agree on any requirements and demands of president putin, which is absolutely ridiculous. it's like, if your neighbor is asking you to cut your, to have peace, it is not acceptable. so the talks will continue, but i do not expect any possible results soon. >> i can certainly understand why you feel the way you do, sir. based on history and what you're witnessing right now. i know you've heard that president zelenskyy has said that he's at least open to compromise with vladimir putin, let's take a listen to what he did say. >> i'm sorry, i guess we don't have that sound bite. the question is, as a member of parliament, is there something that you would consider, a fair

deal from russia, and what is it -- where do you draw the line where you are not willing to compromise on it? >> we will never compromise from integrity of ukraine. every inch will belong to ukrainian land. we will never, ever compromise this. i'm hearing and we're all hearing that nato will protect each inch of nato lands. but i don't think it's fair that nato will observe how ukraine is burning and how people are dying in ukraine. we need to get security, and i think it's an obligation of the west to agree with russia how this model will work in the future. we're definitely ready to discuss this model with everyone, in particular, or also with vladimir putin.

>> so are you comfortable with french president macron and german chancellor schultz doing the discussions with vladimir putin? that 45-minute call they had yesterday. do you think they should be mediating on ukraine's behalf? >> on this telephone dialogue, that unfortunately mr. macron was talking about how to win local elections in france this april rather than how to establish the peace in ukraine. i think that all of these dialogues by telephone with vladimir putin is useless and getting an opposite result. can accept this as a weakness of the rubbings, as in all western countries. and only strong power and strong response. not to call them anymore, and

wage when he will go to them. when he will understand that russian economy will collapse. >> the u.s. believes that russia is trying to encircle kyiv, where they've put their military armament. you are well aware that ukrainians are not showing any signs of backing down. do people in ukraine remain confident that the troops and even the civilian military that has developed can hold kyiv? >> listen, at the moment, we are more than confident that we will protect kyiv. after 18 days of war, we have amazing experience how to burn russian tanks, how to burn russian jet fighters, military helicopters, and so on and so forth. at the moment, we burn 400 tanks. 1.4,000 armored machines.

80 jet fighters, and i think more than 80 helicopters. so we know how to fight with them. plus, don't forget that kyiv from one side is huge city, so even technically, it's very difficult to surround kyiv from another hand, it's a citadel. more than 30,000 of civilians now is a member of local defense brigade. so kyiv is extremely well protected. and i think it's self-killing for russians to rye to step into the city. yes, they will try to block. i think it's technically impossible for them to do that. >> a member of ukrainian parliament, i very much admire your courage and your tenacity. the best of luck with you. we are keeping our thoughts and prayers with you, sir. thank you. what may be a new take on an old argument in this nascent war. the idea that's being revisited, next. war. the idea that's being revisited,

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we have breaking news and new reaction from the white house on russia's deadly attack on a ukrainian military base, just miles from a nato country. nbc's leigh ann caldwell joins us once again from washington. what are they saying about the significance of this attack? >> reporter: so alex, they are saying it is definitely significant, but not necessarily surprised at this happening. so, administration officials, especially jake sullivan, the head of the nsa, was on the sunday shows this morning, and on cnn specifically, this is how he described it. >> vladimir putin is frustrated by the fact that his forces are not making the kind of progress that he thought that they would make against major cities including kyiv. that he is expanding the number of targets. that he is lashing out. and that he is trying to cause damage in every part of the country. what president biden has made clear from the beginning is that we will not have u.s. military forces operating in ukraine, and

there are none operating there now. but we will defend every inch of nato territory, even as we seek to provide military assistance. >> reporter: so as far as that military assistance is concerned, the administration announced last night that it was providing up to $200 million worth of security aid to ukraine. that's anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons for the ukrainians. and you know, perhaps a big way how those get into ukraine is through the western part, through poland, through nato, and so this is something that is very concerning to the americans, to the administration, to congress and so while they are saying that they are absolutely not going to send troops to ukraine, they are also, for the moment, saying that they're not going to enforce a no-fly zone. they say that is just not on the table right now.

it will be a massive escalation. and so the administration is holding firm on those two issues. even though the russians attacked so close to the nato border. alex? >> all right, leigh ann caldwell, thank you so much from washington on that. joining me right now is california congressman, ro khanna, a democratic member of the house armed services, agriculture, and oversight committees. always good to welcome you, sir. so let's start with those calls for a no-fly zone in ukraine. there's a group i'm sure you've heard about, foreign policy experts. they're calling on the biden administration to implement a limited no-fly zone and start with the protection for humanitarian corridors, because they argue that it can be done without risking direct engagement with russia. i know that you are against a no-fly zone, but this limited proposal, what do you say to that? and i should say that general barry mccaffey was on earlier in the last hour, and he suggested that it was absolutely fool hearty to go about a limited

no-fly zone. >> alex, they're just wrong, and i'm glad that president biden is showing statesmanship and restraint. he spoke to us on friday in philadelphia. and he was very clear, we are going to stand with ukraine. we have punishing economic sanctions. we're going to get them weapons, but we will not get into a shooting war with russia. that, as he put it, would be world war iii. and i just left philadelphia, being so grateful that we have a president who understands the stakes and is trying to de-escalate while standing up for the ukrainian people. >> something else that we've heard about that any convoys will become in their eyes legitimate targets for attacks. so if that could potentially send in u.s. troops, at least those that are assigned to nato.

>> alex, the president isn't going to do that. it's going to be supplying arms if there are attacks within ukraine's border. the president has made it very clear, the united states will not militarily engage. but the president has also been very, very clear, as has jake sullivan, if putin were attack a nato country, if he were to expand on the geography, we would engage and engage militarily under our article 5 obligations. i think the president has been so transparent. and i believe that that will deter putin from expanding beyond ukraine. what we need to do is continue the punishing economic sanctions and then aggressively engage in diplomacy, as you reported president zelenskyy has time and again said that he's willing to sit down, because here's the reality, alex. putin will never annex ukraine. the resistance is too strong. the ukrainians have shown that

they are much tougher than they thought, but putin can do a lot of destruction in ukraine. thousands can die. there can be millions of refugees. the entire world needs to do everything that we can to try to bring this to an end. >> you know, it's so interesting, because you would think that vladimir putin would see the handwriting you're describing right there on the wall. that ukraine is never going to give in. they are never going to accept russian control. so he must know the way this is being viewed in the eyes of the world. might he look for some kind of an off-ramp, or do you think that this, somehow, doesn't matter to him? >> that's the $64 million question. look, he has had brutal campaigns before in chechnya, in syria, where he stayed years, causing misery, causing destruction, and he doesn't seem to care. so, his brutality can't be underestimated. that said, we have to explore,

are there off-ramped, without ceding ukraine's sovereignty, are there off-ramps that putin can say, okay, i'm going to end this? and maybe that is a small possibility, but whatever the possibility is, let's just understand this. every day that that doesn't happen, thousands more die and i don't think we can -- anyone who's in any leadership position has to cry to bring this violence to an end, the cease-fire to an end. and i actually respect president macron and german chancellor schultz. they're trying -- i know president biden's team is trying. and that's because of the lies that are at stake. >> yeah. >> well, certainly, some communication is better than no communication, but is there any indication that the communication that they are conducting currently is having an effect on vladimir putin.

the actions speak louder than his words, although his words have been pretty harsh as well, according to macron. >> i don't think it's had an effect yet. as ridiculous at putin's offers are, and i would certainly not accept his current offer, they're not as ridiculous as they started out three weeks ago. i think that shows that putin understands that he isn't winning the war. he understands that these economic sanctions have been much tougher than he anticipated. he understands that ordinary russians now can't use their visa or their mastercard and this is causing havoc in his own population. and he understands that the west have been far more unified than he ever expected. so if we continue down this line, the hope has to be that he sees some off-ramp, the important thing, which the administration has done, is be punishing on russia, be solid with ukraine in providing more weapons, but at the same time, work with macron, schultz, and others to engage in aggressive

diplomacy, to rye to have a cease-fire, which is good for the ukrainian people and good for the world economy, good for our economy, long-term. >> yeah. well, let's talk about that, because you tweeted this picture. writing that gas in my district is at $6 and it costs over $100 to fill a tank. we need to get checks to working class americans to pay their bills. understand how this would work. it's an enormous tax that you would want to put on the likes of exxonmobil, like 50% tax. to what end. are you hoping that would make them bring down the price of gas? >> absolutely, alex. and it would only kick in if they're charging more than $66 a barrel. most of it, 40% of it has went

into stock buybacks. they're not putting this money into drilling more oil. they're saying, if you're going to be charging these extraordinary prices and making billions of dollars, we're going to tax it and use that money to give checks back to people making under $100,000, put more money in their pockets so they can afford to fill their tanks, and the idea this will incentivize them. it's not a new idea. senator kennedy proposed it. it's been proposed many times before, and i think it would help bring gas prices down. if you disagree with this, propose something else. >> >> a friend of mine just sent me two shots of gas prices, $6.99 for a gallon of super, but death valley, california, i can't believe my eyes, $8.75 for a gallon of regular. wow!

she's probably watching right now, thinking, i can't believe you just talked about it. but that's pretty stunning. it's a problem. all right. thank you so much, ro khanna. good to see you. finding safe passage out of ukraine is increasingly difficult by the hour and by the attack. coming up next, ali velshi explains what's causing a dramatic shift in the flow of refugees. t's causing a dramatic shift in the flow of refugees best for my family. in only 8 weeks with mavyret i was cured. i faced reminders of my hep c every day. i worried about my hep c. but in only 8 weeks with mavyret i was cured. mavyret is the only 8-week cure for all types of hep c. before starting mavyret your doctor will test if you've had hepatitis b which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b, a liver or kidney transplant, other liver problems, hiv-1,or other medical conditions, and all medicines you take. don't take mavyret with atazanavir or rifampin, or if you've had certain liver problems. if you've had or have serious liver problems other than hep c, there's a rare chance they may worsen. signs of serious liver problems may include

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dniprorudne was captured by russian forces today. nbc news has not been able to independentlily verify this, but one day after another mayor was taken hostage by the russians. meanwhile, several european countries could be on the brink of an historic refugee crisis. my colleague, msnbc's ali velshi is in hungary, where thousands of people are seeking refugee. ali, what's the latest? >> reporter: the u.n. high commission for refugees is reporting upwards of 2.7 million refugees. that's half of what the initial estimate is going to be. and it's moving a lot faster. about a quarter million of those refugees have come into hungary. and the influx continues. one of the things that we have been witnessing is people from those parts of ukraine that over the last 18 days or so, we've been covering, have been most hard hit. particularly in the east, in the southeast, sometimes in the northeast of ukraine.

those places that were most logically able to fall under russian control. but that's changing now. wii seeing increasing number of people from the center of the country and from kyiv, places like that, where people were going from there was to lviv. and then finding their way west. most people, about 1.7 out of the 2.7 million refugees so far have gone to poland, which is a lot more organized and has a greater government effort in trying to integrate the refugees. but people who were in those western cities now after the lathe overnight attack, which is just 12 miles from the polish border, there's an influx of people who are now trying to get out, because they don't even believe that western ukraine is safe. there's another problem, in that these numbers of refugees, because they have developed as quickly as they have, even countries that are more welcoming to them then hungary, countries like poland for instance, are feeling overwhelmed. they're starting to say that they're running out of space to house these people and places in which to put them. so what's happening is people

are coming in, this is a little town on the border of ukraine. this is not a place where people are likely to stay. they'll go on to other major cities. budapest and vienna can be reached by rail from here. you can go to budapest and from there, other eastern and western european capitals by train or by plane, including warsaw. and at that point, that's where they can get more permanent housing, temporary protected status, as refugees. they can get some work and be able to get government assistance. but the speed at which this is unfolding, and the numbers are higher and faster than was expected, and now we are hearing from european leaders that they need more help. they need more help in dealing with these refugees. and meanwhile, they're considering what the responses should be to an attack overnight that came as close to nato as one has ever come. >> msnbc's ali velshi reporting from hungary right near the border of ukraine. some new questions about the end game in ukraine.

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so you can sit back and... ...relax. new today, president zelenskyy announcing nearly 125,000 people have been evacuated from the conflict zones through humanitarian corridors. it comes as several cities are facing an onslaught of attacks from russian forces, as they are inching closer and closer to the capital city of kyiv. joining me now, julia chief ska,

executive director of the aspen institute kyiv. big welcome to you here. tell me about the ukrainian thinking on how this war will end. i mean, all signs point to a bloody battle in the streets of kyiv. are you optimistic that the ukrainian military and the civilian military can hold back the russian forces? >> hi, everyone. thank you for having me here. yes, absolutely. i am optimistic. you know, i'm telling it was just -- my eyes just dried of crying, because i received another news about another friend who was killed by russians. but, we are definitely sure that truths will prevail, ukraine will win. the question when the war will end, i have this answer, actually. it will end at the moment when the world europe, the u.s., all world, russia, will recognize

ukraine in their territory, as a sovereign independent country. the world will end when russia will pay for reconstruction and rebuilding after our cities, which were destroyed, which were damaged by their soldiers. the world will end when russia apologizes and i think that will be the point when we will be certainly in the point that the war will win. >> it seems all but russia are recognizing the sovereign nature of ukraine right now. so, once they get onboard, if they ever do, we'll see. but let me ask you, i'm very sorry to hear about your friend that was killed. do you know how your friend died? was it in an artillery attack, in a missile? was it one-on-one fighting.

do you have any idea? we're trying to get a nature of how the civilians are being killed, what they're facing with the russian war? >> ugh, unfortunately, i have already few -- very personal stories about this war. and at aspen institute, we have our administrative director and she is from a city in the donetsk region. it was destroyed by russians, like 92% of the whole city, after the city was defended by our soldiers and civilians. so they started just bombing the city. and we can do nothing with their sky attacks. so their mother and father, they were in a private house, which was bombed. and mom, she was just lying in a garden, and my colleague called me crying, like begging, help me. i just need to bring my mom. she's lying -- she has died, she's lying in the garden.

and i just need like to be there and like, of course, it's desperation. and her father, he spent three day wounded in a walls, which remains after bombing house. just regular house. and he was not -- like, nobody was able to evacuate people for five days. so he spent three days in the wall. and then a green corridor was agreed. and then russia shooted on the green corridor, which they agreed before. so that's just one story. another, my husband, he's leading ukraine in leadership economy and their alumni was 20 years old. he was also killed. i don't know all the details, like, how he was shooted, but but this war became more and more personal for each ukraine. for each ukrainian, and not only ukrainians. >> yeah. well, i'll tell you, i'm glad you said that last part, it's hard for me to listen to you

tell these stories about people that you love and that you call friends. let me ask you about something that president zelenskyy said yesterday. yulia, listen with me here. >> ukrainians and russian representatives, they are discussing certain issues. they have discussed real things, and not just throw out items. i know that there should be a fundamentally different approach. and it should be so. i believe that our western partners are not sufficiently involved in that process. >> the president there is talking about the types of concessions that russia is asking for, that he, of course, does not believe that ukraine should give into russia on those fronts. but with regard to the

activities of the united states and nato, how do you interpret what you're saying there, the extent to which they are involved right now. >> you know, i think it's very hard to understand, and i'm appreciative for each journalist and media interpreter who is just there on the ground, who is like speaking out about this war. it's important to understand it's not just about ukraine. this war is about european peace, and it's about world's freedom. and whether we think, to do or not, like, you could judge from different perspectives. so we understand that other countries are not ready to fight with us. but what we can expect and what we ask for is to train our soldiers to help us closing the air space, to help us with

weapons, which could allow us to protect the country, to protect europe, and to protect u.s. freedom. i think that's very important to understand. so we are really ask and we expect west this freedom and fight with us together, so we win this war sooner than later. and the democratic setting of the world will exist. >> yulia, last question to you. that is, a lot of ukrainians that have fled the country are staying as close as they can to the border on the other side, so that they're safe. but they're staying there, because they want to go home. i'm sure you understand that sentiment. is that something that you feel, as well? >> absolutely. i have three small kids. 2, 4, and 5. so, of course, as a mom, i feel that i have to take care of them. and my middle kid, she is 4 years old.

her name is ana. and she is really crying each evening, crying, not to kill her dad. as a mom, it's very hard to live with that. and to remain like reslient and remain strong. but i see priority of my kids as the security of my kids as a priority, but we're staying nearby, and we plan to be back soon. and to start rebuilding our country and make it much more stronger than before. and we are really absolutely grateful to all of our neighboring countries who are just absolutely supportive, absolutely fantastic, doing fantastic job supporting ukrainians and being friendly, nice, and very caring. >> i'm just going to say, as a fellow mother, i really admire you and your courage. best of luck to you. thank you for talking with us. >> my next guest wrote this

column, four dollars of gas is here, so it's worth it. she's going to explain why. hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (vo) right now, the big switch is happening across the country. small businesses are fed up with big bills and 5g maps that are mostly gaps— they're switching to t-mobile for business and getting more 5g bars in more places. save over $1,000 when you switch to our ultimate business plan... ...for the lowest price ever. plus, choose from the latest 5g smartphones— like a free samsung galaxy s22. so switch to the network that helps your business do more

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...helping us all move forward financially. pnc bank: see how we can make a difference for you. . right now, the national average sit at $4.32 for a gallon of gas, and according to a new op-ed in "the washington post," not only are those prices here to stay, it will be worth it in the long run. joining me to explain is heather long, who wrote that article. she's also an economic columnist for "the washington post." thanks for joining me. this national average is already higher than when your article came out just a few days ago. i mean, how high can these prices go? >> i suppose if there's any good news they did come down a few cents just overnight. we have started to see some indications from middle eastern countries that they would like to perhaps pump more oil to help the world market. but i think, are we going to get back under $4 anytime soon?

absolutely not. we're looking at probably several months of very high oil and gas prices at the pump. i know it's painful, but i think we have to think about the math here. oil prices, gas prices are up about $1.50 from a year ago. that's a lot, but 80 cents of that, half of that increase, has happened just since russia invaded ukraine. this is really a result of what russia is doing, the unjust actions in ukraine. and the fact that so many people around the world, including the united states, are saying we don't want to buy russian oil. we don't want to fund this war. 40% of the russian budget comes from sales of oil and natural gas, so not buying russian energy is a big hit to them. >> given the calendar parallels you're giving us, biden coining the phrase putin's pain at the pump is legitimate. if it's risen 80 cents since he

went to the borders of ukraine, that would be legit. in your cartical, the message is should be that more economic pain is coming but the sacrifice is worth it. how do they explain that to the average person shelling out $1.50 more than they did a year ago, and it's not just on gas. but on everyday items as well. >> yeah, so unfortunately, when the gas prices go up, and it feeds through to almost everything that is carried on a truck or an airplane, as so many goods are, including food prices are also incredibly high, energy prices to heat your home. right now, and so i think the key for the biden administration is to be honest with people, first and foremost, to say what blatantly this is going to be painful but that there's way more pain for the russian economy right now than for the u.s. one. this is our best weapon that we have right now to hit back at vladimir putin. and also, part of the column, i think we have to realize that low-income families are going to be hit the hardest by this, as

they always are, and we may need to do similar to what we did in the summer of 2008, the last time the gas prices really spiked, when congress came together and looked for ways to do some sort of rebate to lower income families or some sort of help with energy and home heating costs. i think -- i hope he calls on congress to step up in this crisis this spring. >> indeed, and i'm just going to speak to people and say prices for wheat, nickel, aluminum all at record highs right now, which backs up everything you just said. heather long, thank you so much from "the washington post." >> and that's a wrap on our coverage of alex witt reports. i'll see you again next saturday. and in just a moment, aaron gilchrist continues our coverage on msnbc reports. 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.

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good afternoon, everyone. i'm aaron gilchrist in for yasmin vossoughian. a deadly new assault by russian forces in western ukraine is heightening fears as it brings the war even closer to nato's doorstep. at least 35 people were killed and more than 130 were injured earlier today after ukrainian officials say a russian air strike hit a military base about 20 miles from the polish border. officials report that around 30 missiles pounded the international center for peace keeping and security northwest of lviv. thata