i am katy tur. it's day 22 of russia's war in ukraine. here's what we know. we just got breaking news from the state department confirming the death of a u.s. citizen in ukraine today. no other details on that death at the moment.

we are awaiting secretary of state, antony blinken, to take questions from reporters. i am sure that will be one of them. we will go there live. in the meantime, officials in mariupol say there are survivors being pulled by a theater that was sheltering hundreds including children and the ukrainian took steps to make the russians knew that. it shows the word "children" written on both sides of the bomb, as in do not bomb, there are kids inside. yet the russians bombed it. we do not know how many people were injured or killed in the strike. it is just one of the many horrors inside the small seaside city of mariupol. a warning, this next video is distressing. the target of constant shedding

and the aide to the mayor said the death toll in that city could be as high as 20,000. they are now storing bodies in the basement of the morgue. the dead so numerous they are being buried in mass graves. and in kyiv, here's richard engel. >> reporter: russia has surrounded the city of mariupol and here in kyiv it seems that 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 is 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 was hit twice, and then another food storage facility just about a mile from here was also attacked. three strikes seems like it could not have been a coincidence and russia is attacking civilians and it's surrounding cities and it's trying to starve people. russia's war could only be described as a scorched earth and bombing apartments in kyiv. on the edge of kyiv, katerina, who sold yogurt and milk at the market said she came out of her basement for a moment to wash blankets when it was bombed. it blew off her leg. before i had a house and a job and now i am disabled and no home, and for why? for what? she began to curse russia.

>> more from richard in just a moment. and ukraine's forces are fighting back hard, keeping the russians from taking over any major city, including kyiv. here's drone video from yesterday of ukrainian forces picking off russian tanks in mariupol. "the new york times" saying that vladimir putin has more than 7,000 soldiers, including at least three generals. speaking on the condition of anonymity, "the new york times" said morale is an issue, and more on what that means for the russians later in the show, but first nbc news foreign correspondent, richard engel, is here with what president zelenskyy who is still in kyiv says about peace talks.

>> reporter: peace talks are progressing. they are progressing very quietly. we are not getting blow-by-blow details, and president zelenskyy and his office and other negotiators are sounding more encouraged than a few days ago. a few days ago they said the russian's main position was that ukraine surrender and accept total defeat and that this country be quote, unquote, demilitarized and denazified. that's how putin put it. now they are talking about the borders of donbas, and they are talking about international peace guarantees, that would be security guarantees for this country if ukraine does decide to forego its nato aspiration. far more concrete talks. we don't know, however, if they are going to hold and if russia

is serious about them because at the end of the day there's only vladimir putin who will decide to intensify this war or end this war, and based on what russia's doing, particularly in the south, it doesn't seem that russia is in the position right now or on the mind-set to give up territory. it's trying at the very least to hold on to mariupol, to pacify and keep that strategic city in the south, which is very close to the crimea peninsula. >> richard, given that russian forces have not been able to get stpwao into kyiv and ukrainian forces pushed them back, and is there a 35-hour or more lockdown so residents are not out and

about if something happens? >> reporter: they have had two blanket curfews where they tell everybody to stay inside to avoid the bombs, and in the last 24 hours or so the streets are considerably calmer than in the beginning, and the checkpoints are not as jumpy, and when you roll up and see the police or volunteers, they are smiling more. when i first came to kyiv, and i was in mariupol when we first got here, and they were jumpy and leveling their rifles at us and everybody else because they were nervous, and now they are calmer, and some shops and restaurants are even opening up here in kyiv, which hasn't happened at all. so if anything, things are

feeling more confident and relaxed in the city. yes, it's possible if there's more attacks they will implement another curfew, but right now the ukrainians feel like they are winning and what they are most worried about is that vladimir putin could decide to change course and could decide to dramatically escalate instead of going for a peace deal, they worry that he could decide to burn the place down, that if he can't have it then nobody will. >> that's a risk, but it's good to know they are feeling confident and amazing to consider that restaurants are reopening, at least some of them. >> reporter: a few. a few. >> even a few. that's remarkable. with me representative adam keen

zinger. we are trying to detour ourselves. >> look, i am not too critical of what joe biden has done so far, i think it was good and the aid pack yesterday was good, and i suppose a no-fly zone in at least the eastern corridor, and they have the appropriate weapons to bring those aircraft down. the bottom line is when we are out saying constantly what we won't do and we are talking about, in essence, a fear of world war iii, we're all worried about world war iii, and when we do that we do more to detour ourselves from action than putin, because all we are doing is saying what we won't do. >> by saying we are not going to get involved no matter what, or deflecting when the

administration is asked are we getting involved if they use chemical weapons or if they use a small nuclear weapon, god forbid, that allows vladimir putin to do whatever he wants? >> yeah, it gives him that line he can go up to. we, actually, are more questioning what he'll do. he needs to question what we will do. i don't think the american people are demanding answers to everything that can happen, and there's a benefit to strategic ambiguity. at the same time there has been a lot done. this doesn't need to be entirely critical, but i think there are other tools in the toolbox we could use. >> what do you make of the ukrainian forces and their ability to hold off russian

forces? >> it's incredible. it's a short fall in the russian military, of course, and it shows how great the u.s. weapons are and more than anything it shows what it means to have a fighting spirit, to have a leader that is going to stay there. i do think volodymyr zelenskyy was the key. when he said i'm not going anywhere, you saw the morale of the people increase. look, it's going to be a long, hard slug, and i think vladimir putin has no intention of losing, which is why we are worried about the escalation. >> do you think he's a war criminal? >> 100%. i think he was a war criminal before this when you look at what he has done in syria and what he had done in grosni. as much as we want to see more

and more of dead russian soldiers or captured russian soldiers, and it's pure utter evil that we have not seen since frankly around world war ii. >> president zelenskyy addressed congress yesterday. what was it like in that room and what was the talk after that? >> just a great sense of, you know, this agreement on what we should do next. obviously some people may try to just make this a political issue so there's some of that talk, but certain unity. the one thing vladimir putin has done that i didn't think anybody could is unite congress at least on one issue, with a few exceptions, of course, that like to spew russian propaganda. it's a sense where the old days where america could disagree on certain issues, but we all

agreed on the soviet empire. >> do you get a sense there is a red line for a majority of the members of congress? i know the administration is not saying there's a red line for it at the moment, but do you get a sense that congress feels there's something vladimir putin can do that there's just no going back from? >> yeah, in my mind, 100% of a nuclear weapon, and that's not the destruction of the world right away, it destroys city blocks. that has to be a red line. vladimir putin could possibly use something like that in hopes that nato backs off. i think chemical weapons, you will begin to see people coalesce around that. look, look at the period before world war ii, it's always great to look at leaders that made tough decisions, but then when you are in a similar situation, and i am not comparing this to

apples to apples, but when you are in a similar situation those decisions are hard to make and we need to think we could be in a position where we have to intervene. >> how would we intervene? what would we do? >> the potential use of a nuclear weapon or chemical weapons, i think you have to destroy russian forces at that point. you have to make it clear that this is an absolute red line, and not because we hold the standards because there is no way this could escalate into europe if that is done. there's no way you bring back a secure world order. we could have a nuclear exchange between the united states and russia, and the united states doesn't want, but i will be clear, if it's the u.s. and

russia, the russian army would not stand a chance. >> but there are nukes. >> certainly. and the careful thing in all of this is we cannot let vladimir putin threaten nukes and cross all the way across europe because we are too scared to do anything. >> it's always good to have you, even when the conversation is frightening. >> no easy answers. thank you. >> no, there are not. still ahead, what the kremlin is saying about it's quote, special operation in ukraine. and what vladimir putin is calling some russians. covid is spreading again in china. what is causing it and what are we being warned about again here. ain here the dove beauty bar, is gentle. it not only cleans, it hydrates my skin. as a dermatologist, i want what's best for our skin. with 1/4 moisturizing cream, dove is the #1 bar dermatologists use at home. no one thinks about their hearing until you start losing it.

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tactics before in leppo. yesterday president biden said in his opinion, war crimes had been committed in ukraine. personally i agree. intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime. after all the destruction of the past three weeks, i find it difficult to conclude that the russians are doing otherwise. the consequences of moscow's war are being felt around the world, in rising food costs, concerns about fuel supplies. more broadly in worries about how this war will affect the global economy and the fight against covid-19. these are serious issues that the global community urgently needs to address. this war is making that much more difficult. in this way, russia's actions are having an impact on every person on the planet, wherever they live.

we also feel the impact right here in this room. there should be a seat reserved here today for benjamin hall from fox news that was injured badly when his vehicle came under attack near kyiv. many of us, myself included, have gotten to know ben very well as part of the traveling press corps. he's an incredibly talented reporter, always asking tough questions and is a lovely person as well. our thoughts, my thoughts are with him and his family, including his three little kids. two events fox news colleagues were killed in the attack, and a second reporter was killed a day later. i know everybody in this room in

particular feels these losses early. being a war correspondent is vital work. they make sure that the world knows what is really happening when armies move in and bombs start falling. it also takes incredible courage. they go into war zones when others, understandably, are heading out as fast as possible. these are huge losses for families, for friends, but also for their colleagues, their profession, their readers and viewers who understand world events because of them. our experts are in the process of documenting and evaluating potential war crimes being committed in ukraine. the senate finally confirmed the ambassador at large for the criminal justice will be leading that effort within the state department. we will hold those responsible

accountable. there are several other nominations before the senate with a direct bearing on our ability to support ukraine, including the secretary of state for population, refugees and immigration, and our coordinator for sanctions policy. i urge the senate to confirm these nominees quickly so they can get to work as soon as possible. a few weeks ago, just days before russia's invasion began, i went to the united nations security council to layout what we believed was about to happen. today we have a strong sense of what russia could do next. we believe moscow may be setting the stage to use a chemical weapon and then falsely blame ukraine to justify escalating its attacks on the ukrainian people. manufacturing events and creating false narratives of

genocide is a tactic that russia used before, including in georgia. we believe russia will bring its mercenaries from private military groups and foreign countries to ukraine. president putin acknowledged it over the weekend when he authorized the recruitment of those in the middle east, which is an indication the war is not going like he wanted to. there's also the plan of kidnapping officials and replacing them with puppets. one mayor was grabbed off the street yesterday and released yesterday in a prisoner exchange. another mayor was also kidnapped and has not yet been let go. this is a tactic to put proxies in their place. after devastating ukrainian cities, moscow may bring in

officials from russia to serve as what they describe as economic support in an attempt to make the people dependent for them. the ukrainian people have not welcomed the russian military or submitted. on the contrary. they are fighting to protect their homes and country. russia has been hit by unprecedented sanctions and cut off from the global economy. its own economy is in free fall, and hundreds of corporations have closed operations. in a matter of weeks, president biden has destroyed 30 years of an economic opportunity for the russian people. the corrupt power base has been sanctioned, and several have lost their mega yachts and

villas. meanwhile he sits in his mansions having accumulated billions taking wealth from the russian people while they stand in long lines to access cash and to watch as stores close and the ruble plummets in value. it's no wonder russians continue to protest the war and be beaten and jailed because of it. still president putin is not relenting and, in fact, may be growing more desperate. yesterday president biden authorized -- announced, excuse me, i authorized another $800 million in military aid to ukraine. that brings our support for ukraine's front line defenders

to more than $2 billion in this administration, and 1 billion in the last week alone. we are grateful to have a partner in congress which provided support to ukraine, and we will continue to work with lawmakers to work with ukraine and hold the kremlin to account. has president biden described the new security assistance includes 800 anti-aircraft systems, and 9,000 anti-armour systems to destroy tanks and armored vehicles. 7,000 small arms, including machine guns and grenade launchers and 20,000 rounds of ammunition. we are also helping ukraine acquire long-range anti-aircraft and munitions as zelenskyy's request. our allies and partners continue to step up with their own

shipments of security assistance. i authorized more than a dozen countries to provide equipment and dozens of countries around the world provided assistance of their own. we are sending support from other agencies, including $10 million worth of armored vehicles from our own diplomatic security service. yesterday i announced another $186 million in humanitarian assistance to help the more than 3 million refugees. as well as internally displaced people still in ukraine. this brings our total humanitarian aid since last month to $283 million, and of the more $13 billion of ukraine congress is putting forward, more than $4 billion of that will go to the humanitarian assistance. ukraine's neighbors in europe are welcoming and supporting refugees.

and the united states will do our part to help those governments meet this tremendous need. all the steps we and our allies are taking are aimed at one goal, to end the war. the support we are providing ukraine as we as our economic measures against moscow will strengthen ukraine's hand at the diplomatic table, and we command ukraine for staying at that table while the kremlin's brutal actions continues. we continue to call on all nations, especially those would direct influence with russia to use whatever leverage they have to compel moscow to end this war of choice. we believe china in particular can defend the national rules and principles it says it's supports, and instead china is moving in the opposite

direction. we're concerned that they are considering directly assisting russia with military equipment to use in ukraine. president biden will speak to president xi tomorrow and will make clear china will bare the responsibilities of helping russia and we will not hesitate to impose costs. president zelenskyy's message to congress and the american people yesterday was incredibly helpful. he asked for more help, and he said the people of ukraine want the same things for themselves that we want for ourselves, democracy, independence, freedom. nobody watching in the last three weeks could ever doubt the depth of democracy. we will continue to increase the costs on russia until it ends the war of choice.

with that, happy to take some questions. paul. >> sir, what do you think about the talks between ukraine and russia? are they making any progress? president zelenskyy seems to suggest there are things they are talking about. >> we are in close contact with ukraine's leaders, and in my face the foreign minister. we're in close contact with other countries that have in one way or another been engaging on democracy. to date i have to say on the one hand, we commend ukraine for being at the table despite being under bombardment every minute

of the day, and i have not seen any meaningful efforts by russia to bring this war to an end through diplomacy. we support ukraine's efforts to try and de-escalate through democracy to reach a cease-fire and with the withdrawal of rush russian forces, and from where i sit democracy requires both sides engaging in good faith to de-escalate and i don't see signs right now that putin is prepared to stop. on the contrary, if you listen to just his most recent remarks yesterday suggests that he's moving in the opposite direction. never mind the words, but what we are focused on is the actions, and the actions we are seeing russia take every minute of every day are in total contrast to any serious

diplomatic effort to end the war so we're looking to see russia take meaningful actions to de-escalate and stop the violence it's perpetrating on ukraine and engage in good-faith talks. we will support any effort that ukraine makes to do that. we are certainly doing everything we can to back them, but also to make sure that they have the strongest possible hand if there are any real negotiations and if diplomacy does advance, hence the support we are giving to ukraine and the pressure we are continuing to put and even increase on russia. >> thank you, secretary. this department is confirming an american died in ukraine today. could you share anymore with us the circumstances about who that person is and if there will be

specific consequences for russia because an american died? second, earlier this week you said on cnn that one way or another ukraine will be there and at some point putin won't, but we're watching every day ukrainians are getting killed and their cities are being demolished. how can you be so confident to say something like that? are you suggesting that putin should be removed as the leader of russia? thank you. >> first with regard to the american citizen. i can confirm an american citizen was killed and i don't have any more details for you than that. but i can confirm that. second, it is, i think, not only clear to me but clear to the world that an independent ukraine will be there long after vladimir putin, and it's also clear that this could

horrifically go on for sometime, but when all is said and done an independent ukraine will be there, and at some point vladimir putin will not. the real question is how much death and destruction is going to occur in the meantime? we're doing everything we can to bring this war perpetrated by russia to the quickest possible end. that's where the support for ukraine comes in and the pressure on russia comes in and that's where the work and coordination we are doing with countries around the world comes in. i think the world has seen this. the world has seen the absolute determination of the ukrainian people to hold on to their country and hold on to their few future and freedom. there's nothing vladimir putin could do to subject gate that. we will continue to work to

bringing this to an end as quickly as we can. >> mr. secretary, you described what you called russia's terror tactics. is the state department designating russia a state sponsor of terrorism? and the words the president used in the recent days, thug, do you think there can be relations with putin if he stays in power? >> well, we want to stop the suffering of the ukrainian people as a result of russia's aggression on ukraine. that's our focus. as we are doing that, and as i said earlier, we are looking very carefully at what is happening and what is being done, and in particular, looking at the question of whether war crimes are being committed, and among other things the intentional targeting of civilians would constitute a war

crime. you heard president biden speak to this yesterday. you heard what i said a few minutes ago. we are documenting and we welcome the efforts of various groups, institutions and organizations that focus on this to bring all of the evidence together, to continue to document things, and then for there to be accountability one way or the other. in terms of other designations based on actions that the russians are taking, we are and we will look at everything. >> on the second question, i'm sorry? >> remind me. >> as long as putin is in power can there be normal relations between putin and the united states? >> again, our focus is on ending the war. i don't want to speculate about the future but there will have to be one way or another accountability for this war of

aggression. >> possible relations between ukraine and russia, if russia stops the attacks and with draws from ukraine, is there any -- if it's not membership in ukraine then what? president biden said the u.s. will help ukrainian refugees with open arms and so far there's no official visa or program for ukrainians who are fleeing war or want to come to the united states or reuniting with their families. is the secretary of state work on a program for ukrainians and if yes, when might it be launched? >> first on the diplomacy. look, i'm not going to speculate on the substance of any negotiations or where that might go. as i said, we fully and strongly support the government of

ukraine, the democratically effected government of ukraine what it does, and we have heard them trying to bring this to an end. what ukraine needs is de-escalation and it needs russian forces out of ukraine, and it needs to have its basic freedom and independence returned. i leave it to ukrainian partners to work on advancing the diplomacy, if they believe that can be productive. we will look at whatever we can do to support that. if there are issues that wind up being negotiated that require in some fashion our participation, of course we will look at that and see where we can be helpful. we want to be in the first instance to support the ukrainian people and ukraine along with putting pressure on

russia. if diplomacy finally carries the day and there are things we can do to support that diplomacy and any outcomes that restores ukraine's independence, we will, of course, look at that and i am sure do that. with regard to refugees, a couple things. first, as i said, this is the largest refugee crisis in europe since world war ii. the numbers are staggering. of course what gets lost sometimes behind these numbers are the real lives that are at stake and are being changed, maybe not forever, but are being changed in profound ways. i saw some of that firsthand when i was on the border between poland and ukraine with a number of you just a couple weeks ago talking to people who made the journey across the border looking for safety in the face of this russian onslaught.

in many cases, most cases, women and children, the men staying behind to fight. we see the impact, of course, in ukraine. we see the impact on neighboring countries. poland, romania, others taking in very large numbers of refugees. the generosity, i think, is extraordinary. but the numbers are growing and the challenge is growing. i was on a calla conference this morning with our g7 partners, and this is something we talked about, having a coordinated approach to dealing and helping refugees coming over. the united states is already and will remain the largest provider of humanitarian assistance to ukraine. part of the package that is in the supplemental includes about $4 billion in humanitarian assistance. that will go both directly to ukraine. it will also go to neighboring countries and others and

ukrainians outside of ukraine to support them. second, we are working khraesly with unhcr to see how we can support this effort. finally, we are looking at things we can do like steps to take for family reunification, and other steps we can take to be supportive. of course there's the refugee referral process, but that takes time. if people apply for refugee status and seek to come to the united states, of course we will take referrals. we are looking at steps we can take in the near term. last thing is this, what we are seeing initially, so many people coming out of ukraine understandably want to stay close to home.

they hope and we hope they will be able to return home as soon as possible. they also want to stay close to home because in many cases it's women and children who have left behind spouses, husbands, fathers, brothers and they want to be reunited as quickly as possible so they want to stay as close as possible. but as this and if this goes on, and as the number and burden increases for european partners, we will do everything we can. i suspect we will have more to say on this. >> there has been a litany of horrific attacks on civilians, and you said you agree with the president's comments that they are war crimes, as the u.n. ambassador said last week. i know there has to be an investigation, but where will the accountability be?

what should happen to vladimir putin if he is found guilty, since he is the state? what should happen to putin? tell the world. >> a few things. first we're all seeing -- and you are showing powerfully on television these devastating images coming out of ukraine, and we are seeing the destruction of so much of the country by russian bombs and artillery. we are seeing civilian sites being devastated. we are seeing people being killed. hundreds, thousands of people, civilians. yes, as i said, again, as the president said yesterday, in his opinion war crimes are being committed. i agree with that. after all the destruction that we have seen it's hard to conclude otherwise, but what we are doing is this, and i will come to your question. we are in the first instance

supporting the very important work that is being done, the ef dentistry process to bring the evidence together and to document what has happened, and to support and work with human rights activist, with civil society and with independent media as well as with the appropriate organizations and institutions that look into this, so we need to go through this process of compiling the evidence and we will share that with our allies and all of the investigations ongoing to support accountability, using every tool we have available. i will not get ahead of what the outcome will be or what the consequences will be, but i can say with conviction that there will be accountability for any war crimes that are -- >> he's a repeat offender as a

war criminal. >> andrea, when we said before russia's aggression that there would be massive consequences for that aggression, including unprecedented sanctions on russia, i know some people had their doubts. i think we have demonstrated that we have been good to our word. when we said there would be sustained powerful support for ukraine in its efforts to defend itself, we demonstrated we are good to our word. so when i tell you there will be consequences for any war crimes committed, i hope you will take me at my word, but actions always speak louder than words. >> thank you. >> secretary of state antony blinken, two things on that, on the american that was killed today in ukraine, no details on who that american was. the secretary was also asked if the united states would take any

concrete steps to hold russia accountable for that death and the secretary did not quite answer that. the other statement which i thought was really interesting. he was asked by andrea mitchell just then and by another reporter about whether the united states could have normal relations with russia post the attack on ukraine if vladimir putin was still until power, and he paused and said he would not think this theoreticallies for afterwards, and with us now is chief white house correspondent for "the new york times," peter baker. before the times he was the moscow bureau chief. he's also an msnbc political analysts. first, starting with antony

blinken and the accountability question. what is your take on that? >> i thought it was an interesting, too, and his answer was carefully calibrated. i think he was trying to measure whether or not they would rule out any kind of relationship with russia in a post ukraine world because then do you move an incentive to pull back. there will never be a return to some relationship, would that change the calculous? that's probably what was going through the secretary's mind. we all know they are not going to go back to the same relationship as long as vladimir putin is there. he is now seen in the west widely as a war criminal, and even if he were to pull out tomorrow. >> what does it mean that we are investigating war crimes? what does it mean that the president of the united states

called vladimir putin a war criminal? now we just heard secretary of state, antony blinken, repeat the same. >> there's a process and a legal process of evaluating what constitutes war crimes and when somebody could be called a war criminal, and these declarations by the president and secretary don't constitute an action, and they are signaling, of course, saying the obvious images you say give us a conclusion we don't have to wait for the lawyers to tell us, and the question is where do they go from there? an international tribunal of some sort? the president of serbia was held accountable for war crimes for his actions in the '90s. it's hard to imagine that would apply to a russian president as long as he were still president.

as long as vladimir putin is in power, it doesn't matter too much what the international world says as far as he is concerned. >> he's not backing down in ukraine, and he's cracking down inside russia itself. he's saying the exodus of russians, a lot of middle class russians leaving the country right now is a self purification, that's his words, of the russian society. we just showed video of him giving an address to his nation yesterday. he's hunched over and staring directly at the camera and is as angry as he ever have seemed, and he said we will spit them out like an insect in their mouth on to the pavement. those are pretty strong words. i guess what do you make of that, peter, as somebody who spent so much time in russia and somebody that chronicled his

rise to democracy in russia? >> they are strong words. he has used sometimes even foul language for anybody he describes to be an enemy, and these words in particular are chilling. they evoke the worst of the soviet era, and kgb persecution and the like, and purification means anybody who in any way is seen as an enemy of the state pays a price for that. we are already seeing that, of course, in the thousands of people who have been arrested for protesting and even people with a blank sign that doesn't say anything are seen as protesters and therefore they can be penalized as a result. what he seemed to be signaling, or the fear is, he's signaling a whole new era, the autocratic

aggression could get worse. if you are russian you are watching that with great fear and that's why some are leaving the country. >> is it sustainable for putin to crack down in this way? >> he has a stronghold on power. he spent 22 years of building up his short and authority over the state and control of almost all the apparatus including, of course, the media. the history of dictators show that when they do overreach there's a time, at least with some of them, where it could suddenly fall apart very quickly. he's now inflicting on his country enormous amounts of pain, not just the pain of the 7,000 soldiers who already were reported killed by the u.s. intelligence agencies, and the families of those soldiers that

have to deal with that grief, and you are seeing the economic consequences not affecting just the oligarchs but every day russians. he starts off in a strong position and we will see if that changes. >> we just showed video and it's so weird to see. it's a woman holding to see. a woman holding up a small sign. it goes off of her almost immediately as police step in. here it is. police step in to take her away and there are others in the square who are walking by going about their business. can't imagine living in a country where even a small protest like that will get you thrown in jail, dragged away, forcibly and then other people are walking by it. such a surreal experience, i would imagine. peter baker, thanks for being here. coming up next, feeding ukrainians chiefs. jacob soboroff is with an organization that has stepped up to provide more than 1 million meals to people displaced by russia's war. korswim® equips you with customizable tools,

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them and feed them. russia has targeted food storage warehouses. the one you're looking at -- this is not it. this is the one you're looking at on the outskirts of kyiv. that was a food storage warehouse that held 50,000 tons of food before it was bombed twice. jacob soboroff is in lviv showing us how refugees are being fed. >> hey, katy. people here in ukraine as a result of the war could face emergency levels of hunger and malnutrition. these are all volunteers from the world central kitchen, the ngo founded by chef jose andres. these are ukrainians making sandwiches, hot meals on the other side of this facility to the tunes of tens of thousands. the idea is to make sure that not a single ukrainian goes hungry as a result of this war. with ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure like hospitals, schools and supply routes under russian attack,

some fear food storage could be next. in a normal report i'd tell you where we are but i can't because this food, all this food in the middle of a war couldn't be a more valuable commodity. the whereabouts of the apples, potatoes and cabbages are being protected by nate, the executive director of world central kitchen. some of it ends up here where we met nate and his ukrainian partner yulia at one of the largest shelters in lviv. >> for about 700 people currently, we bring lunch and dinner every day. >> that's not light. what's in here? >> these are hot meals being prepared out of our partner kitchen with fest. >> reporter: we brought the food into a makeshift cafeteria inside the soviet-era university. >> you have such a big smile on your face in the middle of a war. what is it that -- >> it's my power. >> your smile is your power? this is your way of fighting? >> yeah. >> some people have weapons. >> my weapon is spoon and knife.

>> reporter: with local partners, world central kitchen has fed a million people since the start of the war in ukraine. in 14 different cities, it's now feeding 100,000 meals a day in five countries in the region. have you guys ever operated in a war zone before? >> we haven't. we've operated in challenging places like haiti and venezuela, but this is a different environment. so this is one of the rooms where families are living. there's ten rooms like this around the university. >> what was this room normally? >> so this was a gymnasium. >> reporter: by the time we made it back to the cafeteria, people were already eating. these women are from irpin. you can say it's good, she told me. it's a little bit cold but more or less, it's fine. what about to have a meal like this, a hot meal? of course we're so happy, she said. in our city, there's no gas. no water. nothing. people live in the basements. it's hard for you? of course, she says.

it's different. but we're here together. katy, i heard from chef jose andres last night. he called us, the producer and myself, in an unexpected phone call. he heard we were here and wanted to tell us not only that he had been here in the country and that he was coming back very soon but why he was doing this. he said he wanted to build longer tables, not just literally like the one we're looking at here but figuratively to bring people together. there's so much desperation here, right now during the war, in the city of 700,000. there are 300,000 internally displaced people on top of that normal population. this is a critical -- i don't think it can be overstated how critical this is to make sure nobody is going hungry as people are looking for whatever that next chapter is, whether it's here in ukraine or as refugees in another nation. katy? >> world central kitchen does great work in a number of different locations. this is their first war zone as jacob reported. thank you for that report alongside your producer chapman

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