good morning, once again. it is 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm chris jansing in for jose diaz-balart. right now, an alarming escalation of russian attacks in ukraine, with new shelling near the capital, just hours ago. and the closest air strikes so far to nato member poland. the casualties of war are growing. more than 1,600 civilians killed, including award-winning american filmmaker and journalist, brent renaud. he was killed outside of kyiv yesterday. and a tragic update on the

pregnant woman seen in the aftermath of russia's bombing of a maternity hospital in mariupol last week. this, as the humanitarian crisis grows more dire by the hour. congressman mike quigley will join us to discuss what more the u.s. can do and should do. we'll also take a deeper look at why belarus is helping russia's invasion of ukraine. happening right now, ukraine and russia diplomatic delegations are talking again, as russian forces ramp up attacks on civilians in the suburbs of kyiv. firefights rushed to the rescue to try to rescue survivors from smoldering apartment buildings filled with families, now decimated by intense russian shelling. sky news alex crawford has more from that devastating scene. >> looking inside these windows, you can see a glimpse of the ordinary people's lives, who were just sleeping there, waking up to another morning.

we know that this is the prize for the russians. we know that the russian military sees capturing the capital as key to their military plans, because the president has stated, the government is here, and we've seen over the past 24 to 48 hours that there's someone else coming out there, just picking up their belongings and coming out. a lot of these people still very much in shock, but still showing the resilience that we've seen throughout this. there goes someone else coming out. and these scenes have been unfolding for the past few hours. and, i mean, pretty heart wrenching. you know, they're just grabbing whatever they can. in some cases, food, in some cases, bits of belongings, sometimes just clothes being helped by soldiers and civil defense and fire people. >> we also have a heartbreaking

update on this pregnant woman, pictured here, being carried out on a makeshift stretcher after russian forces attacked a maternity hospital in mariupol last week. ukrainian officials say this woman, along with her unborn child, died over the weekend. meanwhile, despite pleas for a cease-fire, russia is expanding its offense westward, just 20 miles, roughly, from the polish border. officials say at least 35 people are dead after that russian air strike hit a ukrainian military base. joining us now, nbc news chief foreign correspondent, richard engel, who is live in kyiv. what are we seeing today, richard? >> well, we saw that explosion, which is just four miles from the center of kyiv, where i am right now. and a lot of the attacks so far, most of the attacks on kyiv have been on the northern outskirts, irpin and other districts that are further afield from the city

center. this time, however, it was an apartment building, just a few miles from where i am right now. there were no military targets in the area. it was clearly a civilian building, surrounded by other civilians. and the only possible target to hit there were apartments where civilians -- and it happened right around 5:00 in the morning, when people were at home, many people were sleeping. we spoke to a woman, her name is nina. and she was in bed at the time, not surprisingly, at 5:00 in the morning. and she was on the bed, we went into her apartment, most of it destroyed, the windows and the doors all came in. and luckily, she was unharmed, but the glass, the frame of the window all came right on top of her. and she said, it has left her determined, but also infuriated, furious with vladimir putin. she said, she felt bad for vladimir putin's mother.

she said, she must be rolling over in her grave at having given birth to such a monster. we spoke to her, she was a little bit in shock just after the attack itself and seemed comforted to have someone to talk to. >> reporter: nina was sleeping when the attack happened. shaken, but unhurt, she told us she's happy not to be alone this morning and asked if i have a mother, who also happens to be named nina. she said, this attack shows why ukrainians need to fight, as open russian war with no distinction between civilians and soldiers is moving into kyiv. >> reporter: so when you look at this woman and so many other people who are just in their homes on the edge of kyiv, really, in the center of the city, not in the immediate heart of it, but four miles away, so we're talking in the builtup urban area of the city, just

there doing nothing, minding her own business, and russia continues to insist it's not targeting civilians, it has no intention of harming civilians, and that this is all a campaign to defeat nazis. that's what they're saying. >> i mean, it's just so moving to see her embrace you and, you know, her concern for you, for your family. again, the ukrainian people have proved to be so extraordinary in all of this. and yet, for the first couple of weeks, we heard, we will win with this. there was a determination and a true belief in virtually every single person that you and other correspondents there on the ground found. has that wavered at all? >> reporter: no, it has not. and even nina, the woman you were just showing, says she had built all of her house by her own hands. her husband died a few years ago. she's living there alone with her adult son.

she's now going to find somewhere else to stay for the next several days, weeks, unclear how long, but she says she's going to come back, rebuild, and she has every intention of having a party for the people who survived, the people who are still living in that apartment block, as soon as she comes back. so her spirit was one of anger, of defiance, of determination. the same spirit that we've seen from so many ukrainians from the start of this conflict. >> richard angle, as always, thank you so much for your reporting. joining us now, co-founder and executive director of the anticorruption action center in ukraine. thank you for joining us. as you've watched the way this war has escalated, the way it has unfolded with the increasing russian attacks over the last 48 hours, what do you make of what's happening right now? >> it is genocide, which is happening in the realtime, and the entire world is watching.

and the most powerful military aliens is saying, we can do anything with that, because we are afraid of putin. and we are afraid of world war iii. and this is very much disappointing, because most of these damages and suffering and genocide, martyring, you know, mothers with -- you know, even non-born kids are happening from the sky. these are russian bombs, which are targeting civilians and targeting residential buildings, and they want us to live in fear and to take people as hostages, to force ukrainian officials and ukrainian leadership to surrender. but we are not going to surrender, because surrender means more torture, suffering, and concentration camps for ukrainians. we know what putin prepared for us. what we know and what we are ask and what we keep begging, the entire world, help us to protect us from russian bombs. and we will win this war faster.

we will win and putin will, he'll fall. and and we'll celebrate the victory of democracy. sometimes, it is important to defend democracy with a gun and with air defense systems, not just with nice promises and nice talks. >> you know, i know, two weeks ago, very near the beginning of all of this, you were pleading with british prime minister boris johnson for a stronger nato response, and there we see the video of it. there are conversations going on on multiple fronts right now. do you have any hope for a negotiated settlement that could end this? >> there could not be a negotiated settlement with russia. russia wants us to kneel down, and they want same for ukraine to accept all of these damages and all of this suffering, they made to ukrainian people. ukrainian people will never admit that and will never be able to negotiate with russians. so what we can't understand, two

weeks passed, and there was not enough weapon delivered to ukraine. and what i'm really -- i'm sorry, i have to say that i am pissed off, president biden going and publicly saying every single day that nato will not fight on ukrainian territory. and now he's saying that nato is not providing weapons to ukraine, because he's afraid of world war iii. so what does that mean for ukraine and for ukrainians? that chemical weapons will be used and will be saying again that we are afraid of world war iii. so why nato was created at all. nato was created after world war ii and after people gathered together and told, no more genocide in europe. and now, it's a tipping point, it's an important moment for leaders of the western democracies, of the entire world, to step in and to provide ukraine with all needed

defensive support. all needed weapon. this is all we ask. we don't ask for american troops to come. we have our army. we have a lot of, you know, civilians in ukraine volunteered for army. we are fighting. just give us these guns, air defense support systems. don't be afraid of putin. if putin wants to provoke nato, he will create a reason to do that. the next day after biden mentioned in his statement that again, american troops will not go to defend ukraine, just, they will defend nato. the next day, russians hit the training base, military training base, which is 15 miles from nato. and 35 people were murdered -- were killed there. and it means that anywhere in ukraine, you can feel safe. and it's the largest country in europe, so at least, you know, there could be protection of ukrainian -- western ukraine,

where people from eastern ukraine could move. and now i'm talking to a lot of politicians and kamala harris came to poland. and everybody is concerned with ukrainian refugees. but, listen, ukrainian refugees don't want to be refugees. they want to stay in ukraine. and the only way to prevent the flow of ukrainian refugees is to help us with protecting sky from russia bombs. we need safe places in ukraine. >> daria, i know you voice the concerns of many of your fellow ukrainians, including the president, and we thank you for taking the time to come on the program. we appreciate you. as russian forces continue to make limited progress in their invasion, there are reports that russia has turned to abducting local leaders. according to ukrainian officials, russian forces in recent days have kidnapped at least two mayors in an effort to install pro-russian leaders in their place. joining me now from dusseldorf, germany, is a ukrainian political analyst. thank you for joining us. i know you've been in

communication with local leaders in ukraine. what more can you tell us about these two leader who are missing? >> the situation is extremely alarming. the mayor of meritopol, we don't know where he is, how he is. we saw a second mayor that was detainted. we saw other activists, journalists who are detained and abducted next to a journalist who was detained about two or three days ago. his family and his whereabouts are not nope. his family is looking for him. so the situation is extremely alarming, because the local citizens, the local authorities who are actively resisting and peaceful actively resisting the russian operation are getting increasingly under pressure, and are either detained, threatened, or disappeared. >> i know you just heard daria, and you said that there is

nowhere in ukraine that is safe, which is sort of the big picture. but if you are a local official, is there anyone who can feel safe? and is there any level of reasonable security that can protect them? >> of course it depends where you are, but in the south, it's very important for us to observe and keep close eyes on, because it foreshadows how russia is likely to govern or reign the occupied territories it controls. and there the local officials who resist are basically in grey day. we saw the secretary city council of kherson, where russia tried to install a sham people's republic. her house was burned down and she wrote that she believes to be on a kill list. this is the secretary of the largest city in the south. and the mayor of melitopol is

also under grave threat. as long as they will resist and call on their residents to peacefully resist, the russians will do everything they can to break their resistance. and we know the playbook. we've seen it before. just for those who wanted to watch, we saw what russia was doing in the east, in its so-called in the east. they set up stalin-like police states in these sham republics. and i'm afraid that they will try and are trying to set up the same sham police states that we have already seen in the east. >> we're almost out of time, but i want to ask you about the refugee situation, because germany is one of the countries where refugees are coming in. what can you tell us about it? >> we see thousands of people coming over to germany. german communities, depending where they are, already very business. berlin is basically overflooded. where i am, there are a few thousand refugees who the authorities and volunteers like myself are trying to take care

of, but germany is still far away. and not bearing the main brunt of the refugee flow. countries like poland, romania, and so on who are dealing with much larger numbers. but germany will soon, also, some communities are already reaching the limits and it needs to reorganize itself to deal with the situation properly. >> mattia nellis, thank you very much. up next, a former member of the biden transition team will join us with his thoughts about how the world can stop putin without starting world war iii. and we'll talk live to congressman mike quigley about breaking ukraine news just in for house speaker nancy pelosi's office about an address by the ukrainian president to congress. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." ongress. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports. mm. [ clicks tongue ] i don't know. i think they look good, man. mm, smooth. uh, they are a little tight.

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it is now 19 past the hour. u.s. national security adviser jake sullivan is in rome today, to talk with china's senior diplomat after three u.s. officials told nbc news that they do have reason to believe russia asked china for military equipment and other support after russia started the invasion of ukraine. officials did not specify what china's response was to the request. china and russia both denying that report. joining us now, richard stengel, former undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. he was also on president biden's transition team and is now an msnbc political analyst. good to see you, rick. look, we're hearing that moscow

asked china to provide military assistance. what do you make of that and does it tell you if it's true anything about russia's own perception of its capabilities >> hi, chris, good to see you. it may be a potemkin alliance that russia is asking china for weapons because they want to be seen on the world stage as linking arms with china. china's support, if there is actual support for russia's invasion of ukraine, would be critical to russia. they would be buying russian oil and russian energy, of which they buy a lot already. they would help russia in the financial sector. so it's not at all clear to me that it's real. it's the kind of thing that the russians would do, as kind of a potemkin alliance. but if it is true, it certainly doesn't hurt the case of us

repelling putin from ukraine. >> so what are the key questions? what are the key conversations young jake sullivan is going to be having this morning in rome? >> i think what jake is going to do and the administration wants to do is tell china, look, don't link arms with russia. this is not good for you, it's not good for harmony in the world, which the chinese prize. the reason china is interested and this is pretty familiar is, they also buy into this sphere of influence world, where they want to be able to have influence in their own region, without any interference from the u.s. or nato or the united nations. so if putin has that kind of buy-in in ukraine, they would have that kind of buy-in for taiwan. that's is symmetry and that's something we want to avoid. >> what's the maximum the u.s. and the world can do to help ukraine and neutralize putin, short of starting world war iii.

i guess, what's the answer to that question, but also, when you start to have attacks that ares a close as they are now to the border with poland, does that change the equation at all? >> it does change it in way, chris, because in a way, it could mean putin pulling the trigger for getting nato involved. either by accident or by design, there's an attack on a nato country, poland, for example, or romania, one of the baltics, then that invokes article 5, where one nato country has to come to the aid of any other nato country. so i think we still have to be careful and i understand the rhetoric about world war iii is not particularly helpful. i think there are off-ramps, but that dmitry peskov mentioned some possibilities for negotiation, which i think would

be something, it would be wise to potentially invest in. i'm not at all convinced that russia is insere about wanting to negotiate, but if you could come to some agreement around the donbas region, around ukraine's commitment to nato and president zelenskyy also over the weekend said his own desire to be a member of nato wasn't as ironclad as you said before. some recognition about crimea, you might have enough to off-ramp putin if he's feeling pain. >> rick stengel, always good to see you. thank you, rick. still ahead, congressman mike quigley, a member of the intelligence committee with us with what more the u.s. need to be doing to help ukraine. but first, a ukrainian soldier says he's willing to die to keep ukraine out of russia's hands. >> we're nod afraid to pay this high price.

not to achieve something, but stop this country from something. and this would becoming partial to this terrible russian state. i feel like i'm in a movie. le re i fe lelike i'm in a movie fran. he's a fast talker. a fast walker. thanks, gary. and for unexpected heartburn... frank is a fan of pepcid. it works in minutes. nexium 24 hour and prilosec otc can take one to four days to fully work. pepcid. strong relief for fans of fast. ♪ ♪ ♪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

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it is 28 past the hour. just moments ago, house speaker nancy pelosi along with senate majority leader chuck schumer invited lawmakers to a virtual address from ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy on wednesday morning. it comes as the dire situation has escalated on the ground. we are getting a closer look at the devastation, the suffering, as russian forces press forward. this is just one example. a hospital outside of kyiv that's still treating patients, but underwent intense shelling over the weekend. one patient said back at home, that shelling hit inside his apartment while his wife and 8-year-old child were in bed. joining us now, democratic congressman, mike quigley from illinois. he is a member of the house intelligence committee and a member of the congressional ukrainian caucus. so, i'm just going to ask you a human question, a personal question. when you see that. when you see hospitals being shelled. when we hear reports that a

woman who was taken out of a hospital pregnant, that she died, her baby died, what goes through your mind? >> we have to do more. our earliest members, probably, of understanding world war ii, were the black and white footage of the blitzkrieg and the devastation left behind on a human scale and we knew that we could never let something like that happen again, and yet it's beginning. >> well, you heard what the ukrainian president said. we just had a member of parliament on. their argument is, every day we wait for it to get worse, so, for example, a nato country gets hit. obviously, poland already feels threatened. our people on the ground there say that the folks are extremely nervous at how close the attacks come to the border. people die every day, the atrocities escalate every day. more people are starving, more

people are cold, more children are dying of dehydration, so what does "do more" look like? >> first, let me add to that, the fact is that nato is already there. if our primary concern is protecting nato, the foreign secretary from russia saying that they're going to target convoys. a six-unit nuclear power plant would have extraordinary, catastrophic impact on all of europe. and second, to the point you're making, why is it that nato is so sacred? and it is, but ukraine isn't? isn't ukraine making the case that their fight embodies the spirit of why we formed nato in the first place.

so, look, there's always room for diplomacy. providing an off-ramp that is suitable to ukraine. second, if europe is this concerned, as they should be, the ultimate weapon that i think they have left is to shut off the energy supply. this is the most sacred thing to russia. and finally, making sure we truly give ukraine all the weapons they need to defend themselves. >> so it's your argument that nato should be looking at the spirit and not the letter of the law, if the law is article 5:00? >> you know, i think when zelenskyy spoke in a manner that was reminiscent of churchill, both men were speaking not just about defending their own country, but about something greater, right? defending sovereign, democratic countries and that which they

represent. ukraine is on the battle field for that very fight. for us to say, preface everything they're saying by saying, they're not a member of nato. they reps everything that nato was formed for, and we have to take that into account. not this notion that because they're not a member of nato, we can't do everything that we would do if they crossed the border into poland. >> you were one of those pushing for president biden to hear from volodymyr zelenskyy. he has been an extraordinary community, an extraordinary defender for his country, but what do you think he can say that mebs of congress have heard that will move the needle to take even stronger action? >> i think every time he speaks, he moves people. he did move me and make me rethink my very thoughts of why we are so quick to defend nato

under article v, but not a country that's actually living that out under it true spirit. and the fact is, this will be a broader audience. it will be to the whole country. and i think that it will give the rest of the world to see what we saw in that zoom call a week ago and the presentation to the british parliament. very powerful. he's ukraine's secret weapon and he's been as valuable in this effort as anything we've seen. >> one of the extraordinary things, if there is something good or i guess just, you know, makes us feel better about what is a horrific experience for the people of ukraine is the way the rest of the people have responded to it, right? and the way people have opened their hearts here in the united states. we have seen huge response from business, but also members of the ukrainian community. members of the jewish community. you represent a large community of ukrainian americans in illinois.

i wonder what you're hearing from your constituents and the way that the world has opened its doors, opened its checkbooks, opened its hearts. >> i was with senator durbin to that very appoint yesterday at a rally in a ukrainian village here in chicago. it is extraordinarily powerful. and i represented the community for a couple of decades now, all told, and at some point, they're not just constituents, they're friends. and when they show you pictures and letters and notes from their families, their loved ones, it is incredibly powerful. but i've seen that. you know, in that crowd yesterday were flags from people who -- dice pradiaspra from all europe. if there is a silver lining in this, it's a wake-up that this

threat exists out there, it always has, it hasn't ended after 1945, something that we need to be reminded of. and that we need to be united as the west towards this sort of totaltarian threat. >> congressman mike quigley, thank you so much for taking the time. we appreciate it. >> thank you. and still ahead, the manhunt that's underway for a gunman who's targeting the homeless in two cities. details on that, next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." g "jose diaz-balart reports. every business is on a journey. and along the ride, you'll find many challenges. ♪ your dell technologies advisor can help you find the right tech solutions. so you can stop at nothing for your customers.

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of modern art this weekend in new york. nypd still looking for 60-year-old gary cabana, they say it's him here, attacking employees when he was denied entrance to the museum. both victims are expected to make a full recovery. and it's the end of title 42. the cdc announced the policy modification over the weekend, but they did not change the policy for adults or for children -- families with children. and activists say the biden administration regularly deports asylum seekers under title 42. they have fought to defend that policy in court. and after weeks of farewells and fanfare, football legend tom brady is unretiring from football. brady wrote, quote, these past two months i've realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. he can now take aim at a third

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it is 45 past the hour. let's take a closer look at the relationship between belarus and russia and how belarus played a critical role in russia's latest invasion of ukraine. belarus, roughly the size of kansas, sits west of russia, north of ukraine, and home to nearly 9.5 million people. belarus was once part of the soviet union, but gained its independence after the soviet union collapsed in 1991. in 1994, alexander lukashenko became the country's first directly elected president. in the years that followed yuk shenco steadily consolidated power and struck a neutral balance between russia and the west. all of that changed in 2020. that was the year that the presidential election, lukashenko claimed was a landslide victory, but it was an election that u.s. and european officials said was neither free

nor fair. putin supported the efforts to crush demonstrations when hundreds of thousands of people took to the street to protest that disputed election. earlier this year, putin sent an estimated 30,000 russian troops to belarus for joint military exercises. following russia's invasion, lukashenko rammed through a constitutional referendum that got rid of the pledge that belarus was a non-nuclear state, which meant that russia could move nuclear weapons into belarus. right up against ukraine, as well as latvia, lithuania, poland, all of those are nato members. and in recent days, a senior u.s. defense official said that nearly one out of every ten missiles that russia has fired from ukraine was launched from belarus. joining me is now is the main opposition candidate in that disputed 2020 election. it is so good to see you.

we appreciate you taking the time. first, let me just ask you what you are hearing from your sources, your friends back home. >> so, i have to say that about 97% of the people are against the war in ukraine. and we are ashamed that illegitimate regime dragged our country into this war against our proudest ukrainians. we are ashamed that from our soil, our missiles are launched toward the territory of ukraine. and was bombed by the messiah launched from our country. and of course, this is the price, you know, lukashenko lost an election in 2020. and he stayed in power only thanks to violence and thanks to kremlin, to support of kremlin.

and now he's paying back for this support and that's why he gave our land for russian troops, for them to have an opportunity to invade ukraine from a northern direction. >> a state department spokesman here in the united states put it this way, he said that, essentially, lukashenko has seeded his country's independence to putin. that's how you see it? >> absolutely. we understand that lukashenko, who for all of his 27 years in power, was like a guarantee of our serenity and independence. now he is selling this sovereignty to kremlin. because he needs support of putin, of russia at the moment. and we understand that the friendship of these two people,

it's like symbiotic, occasional relationship. they have a symbiotic relationship. they need each other now more than ever before. lukashenko needs money and political backup, and the russian support is the only guarantee for him to stay in power. and thanks to putin, as i said, he stayed as for putin, lukashenko is his only al lie. it's crucial that belarus troops are in ukraine. and the army doesn't want to participate in this war against ukrainians and the situation is very tough for lukashenko. he cannot fulfill his promises and he faces huge pressure from his own military and from people inside the country. >> so what do you think is the outcome for you, for the people of your country? do you see an outcome if there can be a settlement, if putin

somehow can be pushed aside and that is a big if, right? but what does this mean ultimately for your country and what you say is 97% of the people who believe that what's happening right now is wrong, that the relationship between russia and belarus is wrong? >> i clearly understand that the fate of ukraine and fate of belarus are deeply interconnected on this occasion. without free ukraine, there will be no free belarus and vice versa. and that's why we reoriented all our organizations and initiatives that have been fighting against dictatorship in our country for this year and a half, we now helping ukrainians. our power man went to ukrainian to fight against russian troops. our volunteers in poland and

other countries are helping to ukrainian refugees. our media that had been ruined in belarus and had to relocate in other countries, they are showing the truth about ukrainian war to belarusians, to russians so we do everything possible to be on the part of our brother ukraine. >> thank you so much. we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. and still ahead, why thousands of russians were fleeing their country for the u.s. before the war started. 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

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find rewards like these and so many more in the xfinity app. what does a foster kid need from you? to be brave. to show up. for staying connected. the questions they weren't able to ask. show up for the first day of school, the last day at their current address. for the mornings when everything's wrong. for the manicure that makes everything right, for right now. show up, however you can, for the foster kids who need it most— at helpfosterchildren.com . happening right now, the u.n. says 2.8 million ukrainians have fled their home as russia ramps up attacks and they say the exodus began long before the

war started, escalated, including leading russia, that the number. russians seeking asylum at the southern border reached peak levels over the past year. joining me is our chief correspondent at pbs and miriam jordan, a reporter at the the "new york times" covering this story. before we get the specifics of what was happening even before the war, talk to me about this big picture, 2.8 million refugees, countries like poland already saying they're becoming overwhelmed. is the international community starting to coalesce to deal with this unprecedented crisis? >> and, chris, let's not forget that's 2.8 million in just a matter of a couple of weeks now. we're moving into week three of the war in ukraine and that is an incredible number over just a few number of days. so there is some talk behind the scenes of european countries in particular trying to coordinate efforts so that countries like

poland, where the vast majority of those ukrainian refugees are flying have ended up so far, 1.5 million so far and don't end up bearing the brunt. other 6 million refugees from syria fled their country and were not given the same welcome in some of these countries. there is a bit of an awakening among the european leaders that perhaps some coordination would better manage the situation. what you're seeing in ukraine is what often happens in times of war, which is a layering upon crisis upon crisis. you've got the humanitarian corridors which they attempt to set up but even previously we've seen people trying to flee in those corridors targeted.

put yourselves in the shoes of some of these ukrainian families, there are about seven or eight humanitarian corridors set up. imagine weighing that decision of whether or not to try and flee and make your way out and evacuate safely via that route. and you have people trapped in besieged cities, mariupol is an example of this, hundreds of thousands trapped without electricity and heat and now increasingly without food. you have people trying to get food and water to people who need it most but the situation only gets worse by the day. >> let's talk about what was happening even before the war began and the exodus that we saw. was that largely motivated because people were afraid war was going to start? >> not so much that they were motivated that war was going to start but because putin's kremlin was increasingly

cracking down on dissent. i met several russian -- especially young russians who had crossed the border via mexico after flying to cancun on holiday packages. they told me they had participated in demonstrations against putin and found themselves in potential arrests and there were beatings going on and they began to flee to the united states. especially last year we had about 4,000 in all of fiscal '21 compared to this year already more than 6,400. and given that the war started, we don't know what is going to happen to this flow, but

generally this was a response to the putin regime's increased clamp-down on civil liberties. >> thank you both so much for talking to us today. that's going to wrap up this hour for he. i'm chris jansing. >> and a good monday morning to you. craig melvin here, following the latest developments in ukraine this morning. ukraine's president zelenskyy outside in kyiv pledging to rebuild as russia continues to bombard his country. we just found that president zelenskyy will be speaking directly to u.s. lawmakers on wednesday in a virtual address to congress. but there he is, on the streets in his city. meanwhile, russia now pursuing a