good evening and welcome to "politics nation." tonight's lead, the human cost. right now europe is bracing for a reckoning three weeks into russia's war and the offensive that has now pushed into western ukraine is nearly at nato's doorstep. nearly three dozen people were killed this morning by a russian missile attack on a ukrainian

airbase just 15 miles from the polish border. after the kremlin warned yesterday that western weapons shipments into ukraine would be considered, quote, legitimate targets, today ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy was visiting wounded soldiers at an undisclosed location. as fighting has intensified in and around kyiv. and the u.s. has just confirmed the death of the first known american journalist to be killed in this war, killed near kyiv after russian forces reportedly opened fire on his vehicle. the state department urging americans still in the ukrainian capital to evacuate. of course, for tens of thousands of ukrainians, evacuating now poses the

grimmest of choices, staying in cities under siege and trying to survive the violence without food, water, and heat, in the midst of winter, or trying to flee as cease-fire violations continue to strangle evacuations in cities across ukraine, and even humanitarian convoys are targeted by russian forces. meanwhile, those that actually make it to eastern nato countries find themselves among more than 2 million ukrainians, among them many children now swept up in the fastest-growing refugee crisis to hit modern europe. joining me now is nbc's kyle perry in lviv, ukraine. kyle, what else do we know about the bombing of that air base just 20 miles off the border of

poland? >> reporter: so this is in a town 15 miles, as you said, less than 15 miles from the polish border, and it's a base that has seen a lot of nato visitors over the past few years. it is a place that is a training complex. it's a place where american advisers have been working with ukrainian forces in previous years. all u.s. forces are now out of this country, but it was in the past used by nato countries to train the ukrainian military. the strikes happened just before dawn here. this was the second day in a row that we've had strikes in the western part of the country. these were close enough to rattle the windows here in lviv. at least eight missiles impacting that site. at least 35 people confirmed dead. at least 134 others wounded. you can expect those numbers will probably rise. this seemed to have been a pinpoint strike on this military installation. look, we heard this from the russian government, that they were going to start to target the resupply chain here in the western part of the country, and

this does seem to be along those lines. in the eastern part of the country, we're seeing exactly as you laid out, a deteriorating humanitarian situation. the situation in mariupol especially seems to be disintegrating quickly. it's been a week now with people not having food or water or power or heat. so people are dying there in large numbers. there's at least one mass grave there reported. some 1,500 civilians dead. and in the capital, you mentioned in irpin, the loss of an american journalist. brent renode. there was at least one other american wounded in that attack as well. all of this to say, rev, that the russian army is widening their offensive, and they're doing so with some considerable pace here. these strikes in the western part of the country certainly something that is going to get nato's attention. and, again, the military aid flowing into this country is what is giving fuel to the resistance in the capital. and if the russian air force is

able to stop that, it could be a decisive moment for sure. >> cal, what is the latest on the nuclear facility that was taken by the russians? >> reporter: yeah. so taken about a week ago, and the iaea saying there was no power to that site. so those very important nuclear rods that needed to be cooled were being cooled off generator power. we now understand that power has been connected to that site. there's a second nuclear power plant, the zaporizhzhia power plant, which is the largest in europe. the latest on that is the russians are in control of that plant. they have 500 soldiers there. a great deal of concern that russians could just start turning off the power to this country. that zaporizhzhia plant provides more than a quarter of the power to this country. >> thank you, cal perry in ukraine. i want to focus on the humanitarian toll this war is

creating. joining me now from ukraine is joe english, who works for unicef. thank you for joining us, mr. english. before we get into the humanitarian crisis created by the war, this week the world was horrified by the russian attack on the maternity hospital in mariupol, killing three people. and earlier today, unicef, the united nations, and the world health organization issued a joint statement condemning russian attacks on ukrainian health facilities. the w.h.o. documenting at least 31 such attacks on hospitals and ambulances since the start of the war. what kind of conflict are we looking at, where the most vulnerable people, newborns, the elderly and disabled are not safe, mr. english? >> very good to be with you,

reverend al. you know, the pictures that we've seen not only in the past few days are utterly horrifying. as you say, these are the most vulnerable -- women, babies, children, elderly, the infirm. so it's clear that we need to be doing more to ensure that these people are getting the protection they need. just in the time since the start of the conflict, we've seen more than 4,000 women give birth in ukraine, and we expect another 80,000 to give birth in the next three months. so one of the things that unicef is doing is we're trying to deliver midwife kits to these hospitals that might be coming under attack so that doctors and nurse who's are working in just -- i mean the conditions they're working in are just staggering. but we need to make sure we're getting them these supplies. but for us to be able to get humanitarian supplies in, we need an end to the fighting. we need humanitarian pauses and ultimately we need a cease-fire. >> while we're talking about the children in this war, according

to unicef's own numbers, more than 1 million children have fled ukraine. it pains me to learn through unicef that many of those kids are unaccompanied, separated from caregivers and therefore vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. what must neighboring countries do specifically to protect these children as they receive this unprecedented influx of refugees? >> yes, it's a great question, and an indication of the sheer scale is just a couple of days ago we put out a statement about 1 million child refugees. we're now up, i think, over 1.4 million child refugees, so the numbers keep growing. but one practical thing unicef is doing is working with the refugee agency and local authorities to set up blue dot centers. these are centers set up wherever we're expecting large groups of people and they

provide children with a safe place to play. they provide parents with somewhere they can rest up and take a load off. they also allow us to use our child protection counsel colors to find the most vulnerable children, the most vulnerable families like those that might be unaccompanied or separated and make sure we're providing those services so they can get the care and support they need. >> the ukrainian government is desperately trying to evacuate civilians in several cities under assault. ukrainian president zelenskyy today saying that almost 125,000 people in ukraine have been moved to safe areas through humanitarian corridors. but, of course, even humanitarian convoys have not escaped russian attack. what is unicef doing inside ukraine to assist trapped or fleeing civilian families? >> certainly. so i'm here in lviv, and this is a city in the west of the

country where i think it's a city of 700,000 people, but we have an extra 200,000 people here who are looking for safety because they felt like this would be a safe space. obviously last night we saw attacks pretty close here to the city. so there's a real sense of unease for people where they felt, you know, maybe this is not quite as secure as they thought it was going to be. it's clear as people are moving through the country, as they're making the decision on whether to leave their home country, whether to actually cross the border or whether to try and find safety within the borders, we're also going to be setting up these similar kind of spaces, safe spaces for children, safe spaces for parents. but we also need to be delivering supplies, water and sanitation, nutrition. this is going to be a huge issue. we also need to get kids back to school, back to learning. millions of kids around the world have missed out on education because of the covid-19 pandemic, and now the children in ukraine are dealing with all of the schools across the country being closed because of the conflict. the challenges are huge, but

we're working around the clock to reach every child in need, every family in need. >> what more can the world do from a humanitarian standpoint to assist both the ukrainian people seeking refuge in neighboring countries and those still inside ukraine trying to survive? >> you know, this is a huge challenge, you know, and international solidarity and international cooperation is critical. we know how to react as a world when we see humanitarian crises. similar to the situation in syria or in yemen or in south sudan. we need not only humanitarian aid. we need countries to step up and do their part in taking a fair share of the refugees. we need safe and legal routes so that refugees can apply for resettlement without needing to take dangerous journeys, and also supporting humanitarian groups on the ground. you know, not only unicef, but unhcr, w.h.o., and local ngos as well are doing critical work.

so every penny, every penny that goes towards this is changing children's lives and hopefully allowing them to start to build a better future. >> joe english, thank you for being with us this evening. coming up, the u.s. is investigating if russian troops are specifically targeting civilians and committing war crimes. that's next. but first, my colleague richard lui with today's other top news stories. rev, good afternoon to you. some of the stories we're watching for you this hour, breaking earlier today, a russian air strike at a military training base brings the war closer to nato's doorstep. this facility is located just about 20 miles from the polish border which serves as a hub for western arms shipments. ukrainian officials say at least 35 people were killed and at least 100 injured. nbc news not independently verifying those figures as of yet. the red cross is now warning of what they describe as a

worst-case scenario for hundreds of thousands of residents in mariupol, ukraine. the international humanitarian agency says people in the city are facing severe shortages of food, water, and medicine, and the situation cannot improve unless both parties can agree on a cease-fire and routes for safe passage of supplies. and a u.s. journalist was killed today in ukraine. according to the state department, 50-year-old brent renaud died while reporting in irpin, a suburb near kyiv. brent was in the region working on a times studios project focused on the global refugee crisis. he was an award-winning filmmaker and journalist whose work had appeared in publications including "the new york times." more "politics nation" with reverend al sharpton after this quick break. (coughing) ♪ breeze driftin' on by ♪ ♪ you know how i feel ♪ copd may have gotten you here, but you decide what's next.

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as russian troops continue to advance in major cities in ukraine, supermarkets are reporting running out of food,

supplies, and water. and ukraine accuses russia of carrying out genocide after russian aircraft bombed a maternity hospital on thursday. joining me now is the coo of the international medical corps. thank you for joining with me tonight. mr. liu, your organization is focusing on delivering relief to ukraine through medical services and supply distribution. many residents in ukraine are now lacking essential supplies. can you tell us more about what your organization has been doing on the ground and what you've been hearing from those in need? >> let me start off by thanking you for continuing to stay focused on the humanitarian crisis in ukraine, which you're seeing escalating due to the active conflict, the air strikes, the targeting of

civilians and critical infrastructure, including hospitals. international medical corps has been operating in ukraine continuously since 2014, and our staff in-country are reporting a desperate situation with hospitals that are overwhelmed with the treatment and care of trauma patients, and this is a health system that was already strained due to the covid-19 pandemic. and they're lacking in medicine, supplies, equipment, and staffing. we're also very concerned with the likelihood of conflict-related rape and gender-based violence as we witnessed in the early days of the 2014 conflict. now, the focus right now is for the health system on the treatment and care of trauma patients, but there are other risks looming on the horizon. for example, the shortages in medicines and the challenges to

access health care will exacerbate the burden of chronic diseases. the limited supply of oxygen will compromise the clinical management of severe covid patients. and the displacement and the inadequate shelter and overcrowded living conditions due to the conflict will increase risk to women and children. it will also increase the risk of infectious diseases. >> yeah. you know, one of the reasons why, ky, i'm focusing on the humanitarian side of this is because people cannot, in my opinion, just think this is just putin against zelenskyy. they're real human beings. we're talking about maternity hospitals being bombed, children being abandoned, many displaced without family. i want people to understand the human cost of this. vice president kamala harris said intentional attacks on

ukrainian civilians are war crimes. do you agree with that? >> well, i'll leave that to the governments and the icj, but our focus right now is on the civilian population and the people who are affected by the conflict. over the past month, we have deployed emergency response teams to the region, in poland, moldova, romania. inside ukraine, we have scaled up our logistics and supply chain infrastructure to be able to deliver medicines and supplies to our hospital networks in kyiv, in mariupol, odesa, kharkiv. and that's really our focus at this stage is to ensure that the hospital system, the ministry of health, that local actors are able to provide continuity of care. >> as russian forces are

intentionally trying to disturb ukraine's food supply, how should civilians who choose to stay in the country -- how should she respond? >> as we all know, there have been over 2 million refugees that have left ukraine and are in the neighboring regions. with all of the conflicts, we know that those who remain behind are the most vulnerable, and the lack of clean water, access to food, and access to health care is the humanitarian imperative at this stage. humanitarian organizations like the international medical corps are working with the authorities. it's critical that we are able to keep that ministry of health functioning, that we are able to provide people with clean water, that we're able to get essential medicines and supplies into

their hands. so we are working with local actors, and most of our partners throughout the year have been ukrainian organizations and groups. and we're seeing volunteers mobilizing, and we are trying to be able to support those actions above and beyond our own activities over the years. >> now, what can people who are outside of this conflict do to support and help civilians deal with essential supply shortages? >> yes. so it is critical, and we're already hearing news in poland and in the region in ukraine where the supply chain has limited capacity. and we want to make sure that any sort of resources that we are bringing into ukraine or supporting poland or romania, moldova, are targeted. so getting lists of essential supplies and making sure that we're not flooding the system is critical. and that's why groups like the international medical corps, who are working with local authorities, who understand the

essential lists and the commodities that are needed today, it is critical that we have the resources necessary to be able to procure and to deliver and make sure that they are going to where they're most needed. >> what would you say -- what would you personally say to those still in ukraine to stay positive? >> i would say that groups like the international medical corps, humanitarian actors, local and international, we are committed to staying and delivering. we've been there through the past conflict, and we will continue to be there with you today and tomorrow. our staff are committed to this. our organizations are committed to this. and we just want to make sure that they understand that we expect this to be a long-term response activity and that we are committed to being there by their side. >> ky luu, thank you so much for

being with us this evening. >> thank you. coming up, how far is the kremlin willing to go when it comes to nuclear or possibly biological weapons? representative gregory meeks of the house foreign affairs committee joins me to discuss that next. ♪ ♪ ♪ 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

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polish border. ukrainian officials say this comes as ukraine has been asking nato to create a no-fly zone in their country. does this attack raise the urgency for the u.s. and nato to take action? >> it's good to be with you, rev. thank you for having me. i would say that to you that the no-fly zone question is a slippery slope. you enact a no-fly zone and if there's engagement with russian troops in that capacity, you might find yourself in another war, and we're in world war iii before you know it. i think with this nation that's just coming off a 20-plus year war in afghanistan, there's no appetite for anything close to another conflict. so i think president biden and congressional leadership and others are doing the right thing, which is they're equipping the ukrainians with the weapons they need and allowing them to fight. >> rina, donald trump was in

south carolina yesterday, last night to be specific, and offered his own unique take on the ukraine crisis. here's some of what he had to say. >> for all the talk about violent conflict in eastern europe -- and it's a terrible thing, and we're going to help, and we're going to do whatever we can because nobody can look at the bloodshed much longer, what's happening. it's a lack of respect for a lot of people, a lot of things, but it's just a total lack of respect, and it happens to be a man that is just driven. he's driven to put it together, and you look at it, and it's just so ridiculous and so senseless and so horrible. >> nbc news is reporting that the war in ukraine has opened up a rift between republican elites who want to call out putin as a villain and trump, who speaks in almost admiring terms about the

russian president. as the midterms get closer and the stakes get higher, how does this conflict resolve itself? >> well, rev, certainly the midterms are not far away. but in essence, they are because this moment, this moment of great geopolitical conflict that has made many americans feel like when is there an out, when does this end, at what point does putin stop, and what point do many republicans stop shilling kremlin talking points? these are the questions we face every day. normal americans who see this invasion for what it is, an attack on a sovereign nation that did not do anything to provoke it, are sitting with this moment and sitting with these questions. but what's more important, rev, is that there are two approaches we can take care, our lawmakers can take, our country can take. and it's really important to stay focused on the ball, about

what we can do here in the west. there are, again, two approaches. you can go after individuals, go after banks, energy companies and state institutions. they go hand in hand. it's clear how state-level sanctions have been effective. but also the biggest thing is we need to cut off putin's ability to buy politicians in the free world, people like gerard schroeder. it shouldn't have taken this invasion to get -- to resign from his cushy board seat. there are still banks out there that we can sanction. so two approaches like i said. the biggest, most concerning thing to me, rev, as we sit here today is that there are individuals out there, oligarchs and others in the inner circles of putin and lavrov that are benefiting from attacking the free world while they benefit, again, from the very foundations of it. that's wrong, and we can't allow it. >> michael, tomorrow the u.s.

national security adviser jake sullivan will meet chinese officials in rome to discuss the impact of the russia-ukraine war on global security. in a "new york times" op-ed, it writes, quote, the longer the war goes on, though, china may find itself in a position of diminishing returns in its close relationship with russia. this makes the argument for beijing to take on an active mediation role even more compelling. what is president biden's global strategy for isolating putin now -- not just with allies, but with rivals? are they doing enough? >> it's an interesting question. i think the good news for us is that china is on the side of china. it's not on the side of the u.s. it's not on the side of russia. ultimately china wants the

resources out of russia and other countries, but in terms of this particular engagement, i think china's only perspective here is to see how the world reacts to russia's invasion of ukraine and how that reconciles with their particular interests in taiwan. but i think that, you know, the meeting this week is badly needed sort of to open up the line of communication there. but i think there should be subsequent meetings perhaps with the white house and the president specifically and president xi to open the dialogue and figure out a way to move forward. >> rina, we learned today that a u.s. filmmaker and journalist was killed by russian forces while working. according to local police and ukrainian sources. now, this incident made me think about the contrast between the hardworking journalists risking their lives to tell us what's happening on the ground in ukraine and the pundits, mostly on the right, who are spreading disinformation at the exact same time. have we ever seen a split like

this in america, and what can be done about it? >> well, the pace is maddening, and it's what concerns me the most. the pace of this misinformation that's made its way out to our neighbors. it's in this moment very, very important that each of us take personal responsibility about what we share and how we share it. so, again, the loss of an american life, a journalist on the ground who was not on assignment with "the new york times," it seems, but was wearing an old press badge that did say "the new york times." this really makes me -- it makes me really feel nervous about the future, you know. you hear the emotion in my voice, rev. this is personal for me. my family has lost everything due to a dictator. i know what it's like. i know what generational trauma and hardship and anxiety looks like. when you've been robbed of everything at no fault of yours.

dictators must be silenced. it's up to us in the west to do our part to stand up for the free press, to push back on misinformation and to encourage or government, our elected lawmakers to choose a size. there's not been since 1945 such a clear demarcation, such black and white on the global stage that is going to cause us americans to stay either unified under the banner of democracy, which i know it's hard to do because democracy is messy by design. but it requires unity. so, again, it's an emotional subject, but it's one in which we can say to each other, this is the moment where americans, this is the moment where say what's wrong around me and push back on that. and truly it's the misinformation around us, and people pushing back on reality. we must stop it. it's up to each one of us. >> rina shah and michael hardaway, thank you both very much for being with us this evening.

coming up, how far is the kremlin willing to go when it comes to nuclear or possibly biological weapons? representative gregory meeks of the foreign affairs committee in congress joins me to discuss that next. hello, everyone. i'm alicia men eneasy. live updates from ukraine as russia ramps up its assault on key cities and putin amps up his rhetoric toward the united states. congresswoman jackie speier tells us what to make of it all, and what we know about wnba star's brittney griner's detainment. al drink you choose. try boost glucose control®. it's clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels and contains high quality protein to help manage hunger and support muscle health. try boost® today. ♪ ♪

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welcome back to "politics nation." let's now bring in my next guest. i'm joined by representative greg meeks of new york. he is the chair of the house committee on foreign affairs. let's start with the breaking news out of ukraine. at least 35 people were killed after russia launched an air strike at a military base less than 20 miles from the polish border. national security adviser jake sullivan saying this morning he believes president putin is frustrated and lashing out. what is your interpretation of this, and how do you see the

implications of this, mr. chairman? >> well, clearly this is not going the way that vladimir putin thought it would go. you know, even our intelligence early on said that he thought that ukraine would have been overwhelmed in three days. now we're going on day 15, and they are still fighting, and they're fighting hard, which does not surprise me. i was in ukraine just a few days before the attack took place, and one of the things i was sure of was that the ukrainian people would fight. and so he is frustrated, and a number of individuals' lives of his military that have been killed and tanks and planes shot down. but he's getting dangerously close to, i think, an issue that he doesn't want to have to deal with, and that is going after a nato ally.

15 to 20 miles away, that is close, and that becomes a situation that crosses the line. as the president has said, that we will defend every inch of nato territory, and we will continue to send the defensive weapons to ukraine that it needs to defend itself. and i think putin is seeing that, that the nato and the eu and the rest of the world are standing together and giving weapons to the ukrainians to defend themselves, and have been very effective about it. so he is frustrated, and he is lashing out. there's no question about that in my mind. >> let me push you on that a little bit, mr. chairman. if he crosses the line, you said he's 15 to 20 miles away from crossing the line. if he crosses the line, you as the chair for the foreign

affairs committee in congress, what would you recommend to your colleagues and to the president to do if he, in fact, crosses that line? he, being putin. >> my committee would be the first committee that would have to deal with that because the president would have to come to my committee for the authorization of utilization of military force, aumf. and as far as i am concerned, and if you're asking me, we'd have to stand up to the moment. we've tried every diplomatic way possible to have a peaceful resolution. we've given ways out. we've had other leaders, whether they be from israel or france or germany go talk to putin to say, stop the violence. let's have a cease-fire. but there are certain things that i think breaks the line. we would have article 5 of the nato treaty invoked.

and article 5 would put us in, as president biden has said -- and this is why we're being very careful thus far -- possibly into world war iii. so it is very serious. that's why we're not doing anything to accelerate. that's why the biden administration has not done anything to accelerate the race because we know the serious consequences of what happens next. but i do believe that the president has said, and i think that congress would be there to uphold article 5 in the event that it is violated by russia. >> so if he crosses the line, are you not ruling out that you and congress, led by your committee, would not rule out a military action by the united states and nato allies?

>> no, if he crosses that line, i would say we would rule in serious consequences, and nato and the united states would be at war. that's my opinion right now, that if he crosses that line, which invokes article 5, i think that we would give the president, if i asked for it, the authority to join. you know, i, rev, never thought that we would be in this position. historically i look back at 1938, 1939, 1940, and what i would have done at that particular time. we entered that war, in my estimation, too late. too many people died, and the aggression of hitler at that

time, trying to take over sovereign territory, should not have been tolerated. here we are again, and we don't know where putin will stop. he's already taken property in moldova, in georgia. in 2014, he went in crimea. he's threatened our allies in the baltics and finland and others. so there comes to a point where you have to stand and lead along with our allies. and president biden has done a tremendous job at bringing the rest of the world together. that was indicated by the vote at the u.n. where 141 countries said that they would stand

against the aggression of russia and stand together. so what i see biden has done, in my estimation, number one, we tried to do everything we could diplomatically and still leave the door open to try to resolve with diplomacy. that's why zelenskyy is still talking to putin or his people to try to resolve this. in the meanwhile -- >> let me ask you. >> go ahead. >> you said in the meanwhile. you can finish. >> in the meanwhile, russia is trying to surround kyiv. >> yeah. >> but what i think that what the president is doing, with the rest of the world, is surrounding russia and giving russia a clear message. do not go or retaliate against any of our nato allies. do not utilize weapons of mass destruction or chemical weapons, or there will be severe consequences. >> all right. let me ask you this. we're out of time, but i need to

ask you this very briefly. i know you and i go back 35 years, so i keep up with you. we keep up with each other. i know you were in poland a week ago today. you said you were in ukraine earlier. do you have any updates on the wnba superstar brittney griner, who remains in russian custody? it's more than three weeks since she was detained for having hashish oil in her luggage according to russian officials. what is the latest you're getting, and what is the latest you're getting about african and indians are not being able to leave ukraine? >> let me deal with the latter first because there's no way that i was going to go to poland without bringing that up, because it's something that seriously concerns me. so when we met with the foreign minister of poland and we met with secretary blinken, and we met with the governors of both sides of the borders in poland and ukraine. it is something that i talked about, and we brought up.

what i found out in that regards, as far as on the polish side, the president of poland sent out a mandate of non-discrimination that was issued and is being enforced by all at the border, the border control. and on the other side, you know, there's still problems with folks getting on the train. and real quickly because i know we're out of time, in regards to the wnba star, i know there's been a meeting with the chair of the congressional black caucus, joyce beatty, as well as sheila jackson lee, the congresswoman, and they are having private meetings to try to work that out. but it's very difficult. it's been in a classified situation, and so -- >> we'll certainly keep our focus and attention on that. thank you for breaking in and being with us tonight. the chair of the foreign affairs committee in congress, congressman greg meeks. coming up, my final thoughts. stay with us.

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as we continue to look at what is going on in ukraine and the real desire of this country and nato allies to protect democracy in ukraine and protect democracy wherever it is threatened, let us also make sure we do that at home. a week ago today, i was watching

in selma, alabama, with other civil rights leaders as head of national action network, and the vice president of the united states saying that we must protect democracy here against these new voting restriction laws in states in the united states. the best way to expose a dirty glass is to put a clean glass next to it. we must be clean about how we practice democracy as we deal with those that would try to limit or impede democracy abroad. let's fight on both fronts, and let's make democracy work fairly and equally for everybody at home and abroad. that does it for me. thanks for watching. i'll see you back here next weekend at 5:00 p.m. eastern. alicia menendez picks up our news coverage at the top of the hour.

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hello, everyone. i'm alicia menendez. it is 6:00 p.m. here in new york, and midnight in the besieged ukrainian capital of kyiv. here is the latest. a barrage of russian missiles struck a military base in western ukraine earlier today. 35 ukrainians were killed, and nearly 150 wounded. the base was less than 15 miles