a very long and hard way for ukraine. by the border it all accumulates in you and you just fall apart. what is very crucial in the next days is psychosocial support for those families, especially children, who just cannot cope with what just happened, they lost their home, they lost their toys, they lost everything they knew, and now they have to start in a new place with new language around, even similar, but new language around new cultural costs. >> helena, britton, our admiration and thanks is endless. so stay safe as you keep up the mamtz work that you're doing. that's going to wrap up this hour. i'm chris jansing, "jose diaz-balart reports" will pick up our breaking news coverage

right now. >> good morning. i'm jose diaz-balart. happening right now, russian forces intensify their violent attacks on ukrainian civilians. just a couple hours ago, officials say another series of bombings decimated a school and a local science center. those attacks come after russian forces bombed a theater in mariupol sheltering hundreds of civilians including children. al this as president biden slammed russian president vladimir putin as a war criminal. the kremlin calling biden's words unacceptable and unforgivable. as the u.s. pledges nearly a billion dollars in additional military aid, we'll turn to texas congressman veronica escobar. we'll talk to a marine combat bet who watched the russian invasion unfold on tv. what that inspired him to do next? he'll join us later this hour.

a dire humanitarian crisis is unfolding in mariupol, a city under siege after weeks of relentless violence by russian forces. this morning rescue operations are under way after officials say a russian air strike hit a theater hitting hundreds of civilians using it as a shelter. take a look at this picture. they're showing the pavement surrounding the theater was marked with large letter spelling out children in russian. russia denies attacking the theater. this as mayor openan officials. >> the video you're about to see is graphic and disturbing. in a mariupol hospital, bodies lay on the floor, as medical workers struggle to deliver care to a surge of patients. among the patients, a grew of newborn babies, here you see them, huddled together in a crib

covered in blankets. a nurse says they were relocated after the russian troops bombed the maternity ward last week. on the outskirts of kyiv, russians bombed a food storage warehouse, not once, twice. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel. >> russian forces surround the city of mariupol. here in kyiv, it seems russia wants to starve people out. this was one of the country's biggest food storage facilities, and it's completely destroyed. there were 50,000 tons of food here. and the way it worked, food would come from all over the country, be stored here. trucks would pick it up and distribute it to the areas all around kyiv. it wasn't just bombed once. this was an accident. yu can say maybe the russians hit it by accident.

it's a large place. it was hit twice. another food storage facility just about a mile from here was also attacked. so three strikes seems like it could not have been a coincidence and that russia is attacking civilians, it's surrounding cities and trying to starve people. >> richard engel, thank you for that report. joining us from lviv in the western portion of the country is nbc news national correspondent gabe gutierrez. gabe, tell us what you're seeing on the ground today in lviv? >> reporter: hi there, jose. good morning. we're here at a church in lviv. this is one of the many mick shift shelters we've been seeing in this city. in this room there are dozens of families that spent the night here. we're expecting more to come in just a short time. the pastor here, he says this is all surreal. this is something he's been doing for weeks and weeks. i want to bring you the story of one of the people staying in the

shelter. this is bogdan. i met him yesterday. he told me a harrowing family. he was trying to reach his wife and four young children, two of them twins, just three months old, and he hadn't been able to speak with them for several days because the home they were staying in, it was the home of his wife's mother, had actually been damaged as part of a shelling. bogdan, he does speak a little english. i want to ask you, how have the last few days been for you? >> translator: i'm very stressed because i don't know where my wife is now. >> reporter: jose, we did speak with him a little bit in english earlier. he's having a difficult time understanding. our translator is saying he is

very stressed right now. i want to play some pictures of his family as well, and what he did tell us a short time ago. bogdan was able to reach them by phone. it was incredible in that he didn't know where his wife and four young children were. he knows they're now in poland, en route to germany. it's been an extremely difficult few days for him and so many other ukrainians who have been separated from their families, and some of the other refugees we've been speaking to here say they are desperately wanting more international help. we spoke with one woman just outside of this church who basically was begging the u.s. to issue some sort of no-fly zone, as certainly the ukrainian officials have been asking for. many of the refugees we've spoken with say they want the international community to do more, a very difficult situation for so many of these, more than 3 million refugees fleeing

ukraine. bogdan received good news today, that he was able to finally reach his wife and children. however, barely any communication with them and he doesn't know where they'll be able to get to germany. he can't leave this country because he is a man of fighting age, but he might be able to get an exception because he has so many young children. he is now trying to figure out what's next. so many of these other families are trying to figure out what's next. really, this is a conflict with no end in sight and so much desperation here, jose. >> gabe, i'm just curious. it's 4:07 p.m. your time. this is a church that is housing -- the people that are going to be spending the night there where you are, they've come from other parts of ukraine. do they stay there? how long do they stay there? this is -- the church is putting them all up and is feeding them and housing them? >> reporter: yes, exactly.

they're bringing in donations. they are feeding them, housing them. some of the families only stay here potentially for a few hours, one night, two nights tops, and then they move on, either to poland or some other country that they're trying to get to. yes, jose, that's something we're seeing more and more of. now, as more parts of ukraine in the east and the south are now seeing this heavy bombardment by the russian forces, more refugees are fleeing those cities and turning up here in western ukraine. bogdan is from just outside of kyiv, but we have seen many other refugees, not just here at this church, but where we were yesterday, jose, right above the lviv train station coming from eastern ukraine. you heard richard mention in his report, he's in kyiv, but the desperation now, so many refugees now trying to get out of mariupol, very difficult to do so, life-threatening to do so because of mines surrounding those southern russian cities.

with increasing desperation, these refugees from other parts of ukraine are now ending up here in the western part. again, people like bogdan, he received some good news today that he was able to finally reach his family. now he needs to reconnect with them. in just a few minutes actually, because these are the type of shelters that during the day the families leave. there is a few families right there behind me with some young children. they are here, but we expect more families to fill up this room just in the next couple hours. and they'll have a warm place to spend the night and have some food perhaps on their way to poland, hungary, other countries surrounding ukraine, jose. >> gabe gutierrez, thank you so much. appreciate bogdan being with us this morning as well. more on the situation in kyiv. the russians are bombing, and gabe was talking about that, the capital city every day now, targeting civilian apartment buildings. the attacks appear to be getting

closer to the center of the city. alex crawford reports from kyiv. >> reporter: the capital skyline is very different now. kyiv's saint andrew's church with a backdrop of battle which is getting closer. [ explosion ]. >> reporter: the city has been put under strict curfew to try to limit the lives lost, but there's no protecting against attacks like these. [ explosion ]. >> reporter: a second missile strikes less than a minute later. the ukrainian demands for a no-fly zone grow more ardent with every strike. despite hints of progress on peace talks, the president's chief of staff told us there were red lines they would not cross. >> would you be prepared to give up donbas? >> look, i say and answer to

your questions. yes don't discuss our freedom, our independence, our territorial integrity, our sovereignty. all other issues we can discuss, and my president, my president is ready to sitting in any days, in any place. >> not prepared to give up any territory? >> yes. >> no territory? >> yes. >> reporter: they're on the lookout for russian saboteurs. we filmed the detention of these two suspects before the capital's curfew t. ukrainians are worried russian agents have infiltrated the main city and are acting as guides for possible air strikes, leaving tags or markers or acting as informants on troop and military movements. these concerns have heightened

over the past 24 hours as the russian soldiers inch closer to kyiv and the center of ukrainian power. amongst those at risk of being trapped in the capital are scores of surrogate babies. there are so in the nursery is a constant hubbub of crying demands for attention. the babies are being cared for in a basement which has been turned into an underground shelter by a very small team of baby-sitters. these women have left their families to look after these little ones after the babies' actual parents couldn't reach them because of all the fighting. you have to understand this is war, this babysitter says. not everyone is able to come. the airports are all closed, so their parents just can't pick them up. we love all the babies, another

says, as she explains they become part of our hearts, our family, and when the parents do take them away, we cry, she tells us. with heavy fighting around the capital, it's meant the women looking after the babies here are also all that stands between them and the bombings. there are so many acts of defiance being played out on the streets. one soldier and his flute and the national anthem. we won't be ruled by others, it goes. in so many ways he speaks for his country. alix crawford, sky news, kyiv. >> our thanks to alix crawford for that report. president biden is due to get on the phone with china's leader tomorrow over the war on ukraine. we'll talk to a former ambassador to nalt toe. president zelenskyy pleads for a no-fly zone. we'll speak with veronica escobar about why she wasn't

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17 after the hour. after an emotional address to u.s. lawmakers, ukrainian president zelenskyy spoke to my colleague, lester holt, and said russia's offensive in ukraine puts all of civilization at stake. when asked if he understands it wouldn't take much to end up in world war iii, here is how he responded. >> translator: nobody knows

whether it may have already started and what is the possibility of this war if ukraine will fall, in case ukraine will fall. it's very hard to say. >> we should note that the interview was done through a ukrainian government-provided translator. veronica escobar, always a pleasure to see you. on wednesday the president laid out $800 million in additional military aid for ukraine, including anti-aircraft equipment, drone technology. is there anything else or more that you think the united states could or should be doing on that front? >> jose, it's great to see you. thank you for having me on your program to talk about this ever-evolving horrific situation in ukraine. is that enough? i think we're going to have to continue to assess on a daily, sometimes hourly basis about what else we should be doing. i absolutely stand with ukraine.

i am proud of our president for having rallied nato, for having repaired relationships that were destroyed by the prior administration, by working with friends and allies to present a united front in defense of ukraine and in defense of president zelenskyy's mission to preserve their country and their autonomy, their independence, their democracy. so will there need to be more? probably. >> you know, there is so much being said, and we just put up a graphic of some of the things included in this $800 million relief package. 800 stinger missiles, 9,000 javelins, 100 tactical unmanned aerial system, 25,000 sets of body armor and helmets, 20 million rounds of ammunition. president zelenskyy, and you were there, asked for a no-fly zone. he asked to at least maybe get

the migs that are parked in poland and that poland is willing to give to ukraine. do you think that maybe that deal, the polish migs going through germany into ukraine should be salvaged? >> i believe the administration is talking about that pretty consistently with nato allies, looking for the best avenue forward to provide as much support, especially when it comes to the airspace as possible. i have tremendous faith in the intelligence that the administration has gathered and the plan that they have put forward. i do think that we need to push the envelope as much as possible without crossing the line that the president has articulated. you know, i know that president zelenskyy is desperate for a no-fly zone and i completely understand why. all of us, if we were having to

defend our people and the vulnerable individuals, families, children that we're seeing slaughtered by russia, by putin, of course he's making that demand. we have to understand that there are consequences to every action. and the american people need to understand that the president is trying to thread this needle as carefully as he can, pushing that envelope with as much support and aid as possible. now in the billions. your graphic laid out very clearly the amount of support that we're giving in terms of military aid. but, you know, we have to make sure that before we cross a certain line, that congress is consulted, that the american people are consulted because the consequences could be dire for us as well. >> you're so right.

everything -- consequences of action have consequences. also inaction has consequences as well. i'm just wondering, more than 3 million ukrainians have already fled their country. do you think the united states has a bigger responsibility in helping provide for these refugees? >> i think we absolutely do. i very much believe that we are a country that has room, that has space for the vulnerable, for those in need. my position has never changed in terms of our ability, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, where we have seen, unfortunately, over the last several years legal avenues for folks closed off. we have the space and the ability to open up those legal avenues for individuals fleeing places like ukraine. we've seen poland and other countries with smaller

population take in more refugees than the united states has taken when you look at all refugees combined. we are a country of good will. we're a global leader. we absolutely should welcome these refugees. >> i'm so glad you bring this up. i know it's so close to your heart. we have situations in our own hemisphere. we have haiti with the political and economic problems that it has, cuba, a 62-year-plus dictatorship. honduras is going through very difficult situations. yet all of these people are systematically returned to the island. you've been very vocal about title 42. >> that's right. title 42 which was enacted during the trump era and unfortunately has been maintained during the current administration -- title 42 puts the most vulnerable people at

risk. it is a terrible public poll see. i look forward to the administration finally lifting that policy. there's a role for the state department in all of these issues. i know they have their hands full. but i am circulating a letter right now among my colleagues calling on secretary blinken with regard to title 42 to work to do more in-country processing so we don't continue to see some of the major humanitarian challenges we've had on our southern border. we know that migration doesn't stop. it's been on going. it didn't start with this administration. it won't end with this administration. we need better strategy within our hemisphere. i think in-country processing for the western hemisphere would be wise, and i hope more of my colleagues join on to the letter we're sending to secretary blinken. >> the largest refugee crisis

we've seen in our own hemisphere in venezuela continues to occur. i'm glad you're with us today. your voice is essential. appreciate you being with us. >> thank you so much. appreciate you. up next, we're going to go live to poland where almost -- well, 2 million refugees have been settling. now one of the key escape routes out of ukraine has shut down. you're watching jose diaz-balart jose diaz-balart. [ laughs ] hey, mom, have you seen m-- ew. because when you bundle home and auto with progressive, your home is a savings paradise. bundles progressive. your home for savings.

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28 past the hour. every hour more and more families are leaving their lives behind to flee russia's invasion of ukraine. so far almost 3 million refugees, almost all to poland. many rely on the train once they cross into poland. this morning reuters reports key railways in poland stopped due to widespread system outage. the outage was nearly across the entire country, impacting nearly 500 miles of train tracks. joining us from warsaw, poland, is nbc's kelly cobiella. kelly, what are you hearing from people there? >> reporter: more sad stories really, jose, of long, long

journeys across ukraine and then coming here to poland, trying to find their way beyond these borders, trying to find friends and family in other countries, in cities sometimes in poland or a place to sleep tonight. we've heard and we've talked about warsaw and other cities being overwhelmed over the past few days. they've set up more of a system here now so they don't have people sleeping in train stations or out in the elements. they're taken in these buses to reception centers. they've found showed ter or a family to stay with or helped with their travel beyond. a lot of people we're talking to today are traveling to germany, italy, astonia in one place. a woman traveling for mon than 24 hours getting on a train tonight, it was another 17-hour journey with her toddler little girl. we're also talking to people who want to go to the united states. we talked to a few of them over the past few days, specifically

a 72-year-old grandmother whose grandchildren in chicago were trying to get her a tourist visa to the united states. sadly they said they got a rejection letter today. we're hearing that they now don't quite know what to do. these are her only family members. it's her only place to go, and she is now indefinitely living in a shelter. jose. >> kelly cobiella, thank you very much, in warsaw. moments from now secretary of defense lloyd austin will be speaking at a press conference as we meets with key allies along nato's eastern flank. next week president biden traveling to brussels to meet with allies. joining us is the president of the chicago council on global affairs, former u.s. ambassador to nato. thank you very much for being with us. just some news coming out today. we're learning president biden will be speaking with the leader

of china about the war in ukraine tomorrow. how important is that phone call? >> i think it is important. earlier this week, of course, the national security al visor jake sullivan in rome talked to very senior chinese official in order to see how the relationship can evolve given the close relationship between xi jinping and vladimir putin. my understanding is that conversation didn't go anywhere, that the chinese were completely unresponsive to some of our concerns, including the possibility of china sending weapons to russia in order to help it. so i think they're now going to have a conversation at the highest level, basically to underscore that we expect china to adhere to the international norms which is to condemn the illegal invasion of russia -- by russia of ukraine, not to help russia and to do whatever it can to bring russia around to

withdraw its troops. i think that's the message we're going to be sending i.'s an important message that president biden will have to bring. >> do you think the leader of china is looking at putin's ukraine and thinking taiwan? >> i think he may well be. i hope it's a wake-up call for him. clearly neither putin nor i think xi jinping expected the reaction of the west to be so strong and so united. these really devastating sanctions that have been imposed on russia, the large-scale military assistance that is coming into ukraine and the capacity of the ukrainians to really resist a russian onslaught should give xi jinping at least some pause before thinking that he could do something similar with regard to taiwan. again, i would expect president biden to underscore that in his conversation with president xi. >> i'd like for you to explain to us a little bit nato's role

in this. help us understand why ukraine is not a member of nato and what is the relationship between ukraine and nato. >> formally nato only has the members it has. at the moment that's 30 members. after the cold war the countries of central and eastern europe and indeed some of the former soviet republics asked to become members of nato. steadily nato has expanded and has included the countries of central and eastern europe. the baltic states which used to be incorporated in the soviet union. there's been a debate within nato whether nato should extend to parts of the soviet union that are independently, primarily ukraine and georgia have requested membership. it takes consensus of all 30

members to bring a new member in. right now there is no consensus, although this war may change that. certainly there has been no consensus in nato on bringing in a country. bringing in a country means being willing to defend it. when president biden and nato leaders say they will defend every inch of nato territory, that would then also apply to a ukraine or a georgia. up to this point, countries -- not all countries have agreed that that's the wise course for nato to follow. >> thank you so much for being with us this morning. very much appreciate your time. >> my pleasure. coming up, a change of leadership for the white house. coronavirus task force, we'll bring you those details next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports."

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ireland's prime minister martin tested positive for covid-19 yesterday after meeting with president joe biden. the interaction lasted less than 15 minutes. they were both wearing masks, so it does not meet the cdc definition of close contact. president biden announced this morning that dr. ashish jha will become the new white house coronavirus task force coordinator. he'll be replacing jeffrey zients who served in that position for 14 months. the families of the victims of the parkland school shooting will receive $127 million in settlement over the fbi's inaction leading up to the fatal shooting. the department of justice says the settlement does not admit to an admission of fault by the united states. still ahead, new details on why russian troops are ditching their vehicles and walking away in ukraine. we're keeping an eye on capitol hill where house speaker

nancy pelosi is due to give her weekly update any moment nowment you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." liberty mu, they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. wooo, yeaa, woooooo and, by switching you could even save 665 dollars. hey tex, can someone else get a turn? yeah, hang on, i'm about to break my own record. yeah. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ only pay for what you need. as a main street bank, pnc has helped over 7 million kids develop their passion for learning through our grow up great initiative. and now, we're providing billions of dollars for affordable home lending programs... as part of 88 billion to support underserved communities... including loans for small businesses in low and moderate income areas. so everyone has a chance to move forward financially. pnc bank: see how we can make a difference for you.

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conference right now. there you see him. meanwhile, new reporting today by "the new york times" about low morale among russian troops as more russian soldiers are killed in ukraine. according to the times, a conservative estimate by u.s. intelligence is that 7,000 russian soldiers have been killed in just three weeks of fighting. that's more than the number of american troops killed over 20 years in iraq and afghanistan. joining us now, one of the by lines of that report, elaine cooper, an nbc news political analyst. also with us, jonathan lemire, white house bureau chief and host of "way too early." helene, you mentioned as one report focused on how russian soldiers are parking their vehicles and walking off into the woods. how is low morale impacting russia's fighting? >> hi, jose. thanks for having me. the russian military performance

which we've seen displayed over the last three weeks has been much lower than anybody expected. the military has been underperform, and part of the reason why is low morale according to u.s. officials and western officials as well. the russians are having a very -- are bleeding, one official told me, casualties are high. 7,000 estimated. that's a conservative american estimate, far lower than the ukrainian estimate which is 13,500 killed. the american estimate at 7,000 troops killed is higher than the number of marines that we lost in 36 days of fighting in iwo jima which is one of the bloodiest battles in american military history, and how that affects troop performance, it kills the morale of troops. but it also makes it much harder

to perform the combat-related tasks that these troops have been given. you need somebody to drive. you need somebody on the radio. you need somebody to coordinate strikes, and these are all -- this all ends up affecting military cohesion which is part of the reason, officials say, why we've seen this much vaunted convoy that started almost exactly three weeks ago over the border of ukraine still stalled. they still have not made it to kyiv. they still have not managed to encircle all of the cities and enter all the sit teens they've been gunning for. you're seeing that today. this was a fight that was supposed to be over within days. three weeks into it, a lot of the reason why is because of the ukrainian stiff resistance. that's led to a lot of combat deaths among the russian troops. >> it certainly shows the

strength of the ukrainian people and their determination and their will. helene, it also kind of pulls back the curtain on this myth of the great russian armed forces that were destructive and couldn't be stopped. so when we look at the involvement in chechnya and syria in the past, maybe it wasn't them that were the ones that were so effective. it just seems like it's pulling back the curtain on a lot of myths. >> jose, you're right. we're seeing so much on display right now about this vaunted russian air of a military. the problem is the worse they do on the ground, the more brutal they become in the skies. there's the land force, and then there's their air force, and there are these strikes we've seen on civilian target after civilian target in ukraine. it's almost the story of two militaries that we're seeing

right now. on the ground they're stalled. they've underperformed, and that has led vladimir putin in many ways to launch an even more brutal air campaign from the sky where we're seeing all of this flattening, the more frustrated he gets on the ground, the more brutal the campaign and strikes from the sky become. that's where it becomes really, really fraught. >> just the incredible ukrainians. jonathan, as we were talking about earlier, president biden is set to speak with the leader of china tomorrow. what are you hearing about what they're going to be talking about? >> reporter: this is a significant phone call set for tomorrow, the first time these two leaders have spoken since russia's invasion of ukraine. in announcing the call the white house made clear ukraine is on the agenda. as we know, russia tried to align itself with china. we saw vladimir putin visited beijing for the winter olympics

right before giving the order to invade ukraine. he met with xi jinping. both cleeders said their countries have deep ties. they've formed some informal alliance. putin waited to go into ukraine until ukraine until the winter olympics were over. we think, though, that we're going to hear from the president, really leaning on china to pressure moscow to stop what it's doing. there's a belief that xi is one of the few voices that sway at all. china is one of the few allies he has left. china has been watching the scenario carefully. they have not given a full-throated endorsement to what putin is doing but they haven't told him to stop either. they're watching how the rest of

the world has responded and rallied behind ukraine. we're going to hear biden lean in to xi jinping to held him this is unacceptable and certainly to withhold any support. moscow has asked beijing for help, equipment and supplies, though both countries do deny that. >> thank you so much for being with us this morning. the extreme steps some american are taking to help ukraine. we'll talk to an american vet who is heading to ukraine soon to fight. you're wachuseting "blat blat reports." wachuseting "blat bla reports. they just found out they can redeem rewards for a second honeymoon. romance is in the air. like these two. he's realizing he's in love. and that his dating app just went up. must be fate. and phil. he forgot a gift,

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55 past the hour. russia intensifies it's efforts in ukraine. the purpose is encourage the settlement groups here in the area to prepare for potential refugees from ukraine. i've been speaking to these groups and they say they're ready for this. this is something that they dealt with before from

afghanistan, yemen and ukraine in the past. they say they're encouraging the federal government to do more because they want to help out these refugees. listen to my conversation with the senior case manager that will be represented at the summit later this afternoon. how ready are you for the potential for more refugees? >> oh, we're ready. we're eager. we're waiting. we trying to expedite our cases and we trying to bring the message, please bring our people here, let us help us help them. >> one primary message that we're hearing from many of these resettlement groups, there are cases for people that have already been approved to come to the united states. they want the united states to

expedite the cases and get them out of the war zone in ukraine. >> joining us now, dennis diaz, an american veteran, who is leaving in a couple of weeks to join the fight in ukraine. dennis, it's good to see you. you served in iraq and in afghanistan with the marines. what motivated you now to join the fight in ukraine? >> when i heard and i saw that the russians were killing women and children and innocent civilians, as a marine corvette ran, i say as an american i cannot allow that to happen. i decided to go ahead, go to the consulate, join in and join the fight. >> you're going to be heading over there in two weeks. how is that process going? how are you getting there? how does that go? >> absolutely. it's done on a voluntary basis. you either go to the consulate or look for the paperwork

online, the foreign legion and have your passport ready and e e-mail and it's done ona voluntary basis so get your plane ticket. >> is this worth risking your life for? >> to free the people of ukraine and not be part of russia, absolutely. >> you have four children. >> oh, yes, and i love my kids. >> what do they say? what are you telling them? >> i tell them the truth and they've been seeing it on television all the time, including myself. and they are actually proud. daddy's going to go to combat, there is a possibility he may not come back and he is going there for the right thing. they're like, daddy, we don't

want to lose you but if that's what it takes to do the right thing and free the people of ukraine, fight for the freedom but so be it but make sure that you come back so we can go to disneyland, so we got a deal. >> that's a great deal, dennis. what motivates you? what makes you do what you do, dennis? >> i do it for the greater good. i also have a task force that we rescue men, women and children from sex and human trafficking. and when i notice everything that is going on with ukraine, how the russians are doing, as americans we follow the geneva convention so russia is breaking a lot of war laws as well. the way everything's going is dead wrong. so now as americans we're going to go out there and straighten everything out. >> dennis, you'll be going in about two weeks. and you're paying for this yourself.

>> correct. >> dennis diaz, thank you for being with us. let's keep in touch. let's keep in touch. i want to stay with your journey. i very much appreciate your time. thank you, dennis. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. follow the show online. thank you for the privilege of your time. craig melvin picks up with more news right now. and a good thursday morning to you. craig melvin here. and i want to start this hour with an image. look closely. in this image captured by satellite, it appears to show a theater in the city of mariupol, in ukraine, this is a theater there. if you look closely, we highlighted it for you there, you can see their words on both sides of that