and a good friday morning to you. craig melvin here following new developments with the war in ukraine. right now we have our eye on the white house because president biden started a phone call with china's president roughly two years ago. at this point, we do have a readout from the chinese government of that call. right now, we're waiting for an official readout from the white house. this is the first direct conversation between president biden and his chinese counter part since november. secretary of state blinken says that the president is going to be making clear that china will bear responsibility for any actions that it takes to support russia's aggression. earlier in russia, president vladimir putin speaking during a concert in moscow marking the 8th anniversary of russia's annexation of crimea. there was a peculiar moment, the feed on one state tv network

suddenly cut mid sentence, which russia is pointing to as a technical issue. meanwhile, ukrainian officials say missiles destroyed buildings at an airport repair facility, an aircraft repair facility near the airport in lviv. it's about 40 miles from the border with poland. of course a nato ally, a reminder, the united states insists it is going to defend every inch of nato room. >> impossible choices.

ukraine's capital of kyiv facing fresh shelling that hit a residential complex and another school. ukraine's armed forces says russia is trying to take measures to increase its troops in the direction of kyiv, the capital. earlier, president zelenskyy warns if they do not stop russia, if they do not punish russia, then other countries around the world could start other wars. he talked about precedent. let's get right to our team. nbc's cara lee is at the white house. gabe gutierrez is in the western ukrainian city of lviv, nbc national security analyst, clint watts, former army infantry officer is at the big board for us. gentleman stand by. cara, let's start with you, explain this phone call between president biden and his chinese counter part. what more do we know about what's come out of that phone call, and do we know if it's still ongoing? >> we just got word from the white house that the call ended at 10:53. if you recall the white house said the call started at 9:03,

so that's roughly almost two hours that the president biden and president xi spoke via video conference, and we don't have a readout from the white house, at least not in the last ten seconds that i've checked my phone that we are expecting one to come from the white house at any time. you mentioned that the chinese have read out the conversation themselves. what we know going into this call is that president biden was looking to use it to try to further isolate russia, white house officials said that he was going to assess where president xi stood in terms of russia's actions in ukraine, and we know that there's a lot of concern among the administration officials that china would supply russia with military aid. u.s. officials say that russia has asked china for military aid as well as economic help to help russia bail them out of some of the economic pain they've received from the sanctions from the u.s. and europe.

one thing we're looking for is whether the u.s. would get any sort of condemnation out of the chinese. we know the u.s. wants china to condemn russia's actions in ukraine. and another question is there some way for china to use their influence on russia to try to get the violence in ukraine to come to some sort of end. we don't know the answer to that question either, and as for the costs that the u.s. has said china would pay if they supply aid to russia, to aid the war in ukraine, the u.s. hasn't detailed exactly what those costs would look like. it's worth remembering that china has economic leverage, much more so than russia, far deeper between the u.s. and china than the u.s. and russia as well as with europe. just how far the u.s. can go in terms of punishing china remains to be seen. this was a very important phone call coming at a very critical time in this conflict. >> sure. an hour and 50 minutes, that's

how long the two spoke. again, we wait for the readout from the administration on that call, carol. a senior defense official meanwhile says russia has launched more than 1,000 missiles so far. i want to turn now to our chief foreign correspondent richard engel in ukraine's capital in the after math of a new attack by russian forces. >> reporter: once again russia has attacked civilians in kyiv, bombing an apartment complex, killing at least one person here, wounding more than a dozen. but if you look at the scale of the attack, the bomb landed right in the middle of this complex damaging all the apartments around, also a school, a supermarket, a kindergarten, the death toll could have been far worse. and this is happening every day now. not just in kyiv, but also in kharkiv, in mariupol, in chernihiv, where civilians are

being attacked without any military targets in the area. and since it continues to happen, why is russia doing this. there must be a reason every day it is hitting civilian targets and only it seems to be civilian targets. first of all, it's a terror campaign. it terrorizes the people, makes them feel unsettled in their own homes because just being in your home now can cost you your life. this attack happened around 8:00 in the morning as people were just waking up having their breakfast, and then suddenly their lives changed forever. it is also a way to pressure the ukrainian government, by putting pressure on the civilian population, just as peace talks between russia and ukraine are intensifying, and turkey, which is emerging as a major mediator between russia and ukraine is starting to reveal some of vladimir putin's demands. first of all, that ukraine never be part of nato, and ukraine's

president zelenskyy has already more or less accepted that in principle. russia is also demanding that this country accept a degnatification campaign, and putin has said this country is controlled by a nazi regime, which of course it isn't, and that would be a bitter pill for president zelenskyy to swallow. members lost in the holocaust. there could be a general statement that ukraine rejects all forms of extremism. the hardest sticking point is about land, and according to turkish mediator, russia still wants ukrainian territory, unspecified territory in the east, and it seems that it is going to continue to bomb civilians and put pressure on ukraine until it gets it. >> chief foreign correspondent richard engel for us, thank you.

clint, russia also hit this aircraft facility not far from lviv in western ukraine, about 40 miles from our nato ally, poland's border. explain how that attack and some of these other attacks fold into russia's overall strategy, their assault on ukraine right now. >> reporter: craig, what's clear is the russian military really can't advance because they are getting increasingly concerned about lviv. this is poland here, this is the border area where you're seeing massive convoys of military equipment, humanitarian aid flowing into the country, which will resupply the rest of the ukrainian military and the population as a whole. they are firing those missiles out there because it's something they feel they need to do, and this is increasingly that question about what will the red line be, both for nato and the eu and the u.s., in terms of how far they will go in their involvement, and what will russia do if this resupply just

continues because what we have learned over the last few days, especially with the troop deaths, estimated 7,000 russian soldiers dead, a phenomenal number for three weeks. they cannot push through anymore, at least at the pace they were at before, and they are not able to control. here you see the east. in this part of the eastern sector, kharkiv is the town we have talked about. this is relentless bombing, very similar to what richard was showing. kharkiv is a battle zone and yet you see ukrainian counter offensives here. the other thing that's starting to happen, that i want to take note of is man versus mud. there's always been two windows where the russians needed to invade. once the thought begins, you can't use armor or heavy armor off roadways, it limits the ability of the russian forces maneuver: you don't see a lot of it. and when you do, they're taking on massive bombardment, due to javelins and stingers. i think that comes to the third point which is really about the weapons, craig that we heard

about over the last few days. the javelin on the ground with dismounted forces is destroying entire battalion tactical groups of the russian military. the stingers, they're knocking out russian aircraft at the low level, which is bringing up the discussion we have seen about two aspects, one is air craft, lots of talk about migs, should we give them to the ukrainians via poland, this is an intense debate, but it really doesn't get to the issue of cruise missiles. so president zelenskyy two days ago. he talked about the s 300, and we're seeing discussions from slovakia, other european countries, trying to provide the s 300, which is an antiaircraft missile, which can go after the cruise missiles that we're seeing land out by lviv and other places like mariupol, kyiv and kharkiv. they have to stop the indirect fire, in the interim, the russians trying to establish logistics, and trying to figure out how they can inflict some harm in the population centers,

without going into a full on invasion. >> gabe, let's come to you now because you are in lviv, and i want to show folks at home, and i'll try and describe the scene for folks that might be listening on siriusxm satellite radio. empty strollers have been placed downtown in lviv, representing, honoring the more than 100 children who have been killed so far from russia's invasion. 100 empty strollers, and i know earlier, gabe, you got an update from the mayor there in lviv in the wake of the attack nearby. lviv was thought to be a safe place for refugees, what's the mayor telling you this morning, gabe? >> yeah, that's right, craig, good morning, and actually the memorial with the strongers not far from where i'm standing right now, in the center of

lviv, and you can see behind me, life is continuing on here despite that overnight air strike at this aircraft repair facility near that airport, and yes, as you mentioned, craig, there is some concern now, many analysts expect that that air strike may have been, you know, either a precision strike or at least some way to intimidate the ukrainian government on the part of the russians basically saying that they could hit areas around lviv if they wanted to. the mayor, however, said that he saw no purpose to it, that it was basically just destruction on the part of the russians but yes, the concern here, craig, is that this is a choke point for the refugee, the stream of refugees that has been heading towards poland. the mayor did tell me that the stream of refugees has slowed just a bit from 60,000 refugees a day several weeks ago to now just 10,000 because some of those refugees are now heading to other cities in the western part of the ukraine in route to other countries, but i also

asked the mayor about this strike, and he says only one person was injured. no deaths of course in this overnight strike, but he's concerned about what could happen next. take a listen to part of our conversation. >> translator: they're destroying the body of ukraine. we of course have good resilience, potential to renew our hope. today is 23rd day. this is a good evidence of that. we have not enough bombs to destroy all the cities all over ukraine. >> reporter: so certainly for the last several days and weeks, craig, the greatest concern here in this country has been from places that richard has been reporting from, in and around kyiv, certainly mariupol and eastern ukraine, but now this strike from the russians just

this morning at this facility, you know, on the outskirts of lviv, not at the center center, but still showing the potential for the russians to do damage here. again, you know, the mayor of lviv wants the international community to pay attention, and certainly a lot of concern even though there had been another air strike several days ago over the weekend at a military training facility, this is the first one within the lviv city limits, certainly at a place with refugees raising a lot of eyebrows today, craig. >> not far from lviv proper, it would seem, and a few dozen miles, a reminder, a few dozen miles away from the border with poland. gabe gutierrez, thank you, carol lee, thank you, clint watts a big thank you also. we're following new warnings this morning from secretary of state antony blinken that russian forces could kidnap more local ukrainian officials as a

terror tactic. up next, i talk to a former adviser of president zelenskyy about that threat. and also about this powerful message from arnold schwarzenegger to the russian people, and whether it will actually get through. and plus, this morning, new numbers on how many people have fled the violence there, the polish border guards says there are around 2 million refugees in poland alone. we'll go live to the border and talk to the head of a refugee resettlement agency here in the u.s. about how we can all help. u.s. about how we can all help age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein.

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secretary of state antony blinken raised some fresh concerns about where the violence in ukraine could go next. speaking thursday at the state department, he said he believes russia will bring in mercenaries from private military groups. the secretary of state also said this. >> they're also likely to

systematically kidnap local officials and replace them with puppets. again, this is already begun. >> i want to bring in igor novakov, former adviser to president zelenskyy. thank you for your time this morning: let's start with our last point from our secretary of state antony blinken there. he says that this kidnapping has already started. in fact, your former boss said this week that the mayor of mariupol was fleed on wednesday after russian forces captured him last week. how much of a concern is this right now? >> well, it is a concern, but to me the more important kind of thing here is it's a telltale sign of two really important things. it showcases the real support that russia has in ukraine. if they had, you know, as much support as they claimed, if ukraine had been a pro-russian country they wouldn't need to do that. they wouldn't need to replace

popular democratic elected leaders and replace them with stooges. that's the if i think, and the second thing, it's actual a telltale sign of a failure far greater than putin's military failure, and that's a failure of his propaganda machine. from what we're seeing on the ground, putin fell for his own lie, he expected ukrainians to welcome his army with flowers, and that didn't happen because obviously, you know, the money that he assigns to achieve that result, must be sewn by people like for example. >> on that last point, why would putin have expected that? why would he have expected that the ukrainian people would have bought the trash that he's trying to peddle? >> well, i don't think he expects the ukrainian people to buy the atrocities. i think that's his natural reaction to the disappointment and the rage caused by the fact that he wasn't welcomed with flowers, but i think, you know,

his initial delusion about ukrainians wanting to be a part of russia has a lot to do with the fact that, you know, with his roots he is a kgb agent, he's a product of the soviet system. he's a product of the terror system, and he kind of -- he uses the mixture of violence and propaganda to get his end result. i think the failure here is he was sold by his inner circle on that end result, and they claim it was achieved but there was nothing further from the truth, and the funny part is he's actually making that mistake for the second time in ukraine. he expected, you know, people not to revolt against the under privileged or to welcome him back in 2014, and that didn't happen either. >> i want to ask you about something that's getting a lot of attention right now on thursday, as you know, arnold schwarzenegger posted this video speaking directly to the people of russia. he tried to cut through some of that propaganda that you were just talking about and tell them the truth about what's actually happening in ukraine. this is part of what he said.

>> i know that the russian people aware things are happening. i urge the russian people and the russian soldiers in ukraine to understand the propaganda and the disinformation that you're being told. i ask you to help me spread the truth. >> speaking in english, sub titled in russian, one thing to note, very important at last check, the official russian president twitter account only follows 22 accounts. one of those accounts is arnold schwarzenegger, so he's obviously very popular in russia and throughout eastern europe. how important was that statement, igor, and did it get through. >> first of all, yes, it did get through. it's trending on russian twitter, and we monitor things like that. i think there are no words to describe how important this was. i think this was an "i have a dream" moment, you know, for the future of, you know, the new

global security architecture. you know, arnold took the responsibility to give, you know, the people of russia, a sense of belonging to a community that offers something different from the genocide or the maniacal stuff sold to them by the kremlin. i strongly urge anyone with a fan base in russia to do the same. you know, the only way to stop this terrible tragedy for good would be to undermine the russian propaganda, domestic russian propaganda. i think, you know, it takes a challenge to do it, so i'll do my part as well. i think we need to nominate more people to kind of do the same, and follow arnold's lead, so i'll probably nominate, i'll go after my favorites, first of all, henry rollins, i would love to see him do it i can't believe any russian fan of henry rollins would support the war.

21 pilots, and more importantly, banksy. if at least 50% of celebrities do the same, if they open telegram channels, and if they address the russian people, and explain to them that they have been sold lies, they are being made against their will a part of something they are not, that would cause enough pressure for putin to, if not lose his power, then at least kind of slow down a bit because, you know, the only group of people he's really afraid of, from his inner circle that will betray him eventually is the russian people, and that's where we need to have the conversation. >> igor novikov, you make a lot of sense to me. i hope you'll come back. i enjoyed our conversation. stay safe and try and enjoy your weekend if you can. more ukrainians are flying the violence in the country. what do they need, as soon as they cross the border, what

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pnc bank: see how we can make a difference for you. this morning, the polish border guard reported that the number of ukrainian refugees crossing into that country has jumped past 2 million. most of them, women and children. nbc's jay gray is in southeastern poland near the ukrainian border and, i'm joined by president and ceo of the lutheran immigration and refugee service. jay, you're at the busiest border crossing between poland and ukraine. what are you seeing there today? >> yeah, i want to give you an idea of what's transpired here. we're seeing smaller crowds as you guys have been talking about. don't be confused. people are making the trip across the border and many by

foot. as we got here three weeks ago, these were empty fields next to a walking path. you can see what's developed here, you can see the tents, the people who have poured in to try and help, and they continue to come, and they continue to bring donations. they will be much needed. the u.n. says that more people are, in fact, on the way. the trip, though, has gotten much more difficult, and listen to what one of those who made the journey had to say about what was left behind. >> people are devastated. they lost their homes. they lost everything they had. they lost relatives. they became refugees. >> reporter: i want you to take a look. you can see what we're looking at right now, the young man who wheels his piano out here on occasion is, in fact, back. we've seen him maybe three times out here at the border. and it's amazing to see when he sits down to play what happens.

it's such a dichotomy here, you've got his beautiful music ringing out across what is such a desperate and difficult area right now, and in fact, here he goes playing now, and you just hear the notes ring out, and you see these people who have made this journey, craig, some walking for two and three days, pause and you can see the tension, everybody if it's just for a song for a moment, come from their faces. i saw one lady today break down in tears, and was hugging him for being here and playing his music. it's just one of those things we talked to him, he said, i don't have money. i can't donate. i can't cook food. i can play music, and i feel like i need to help, and that's why he shows up here. >> music is its own ministry, and it always helps. that's quite the juxtaposition. jay, thank you so much for that. krish, humanitarian groups

in this country, here in the united states, starting to take steps to prepare if the arrival of more ukrainian refugees to our country. i want to read some reporting in reuters that i actually found pretty stunning. the united states admitted only 514 ukrainian refugees in january and february during russia's build up to the war. that's according to u.s. state department data. only seven ukrainian refugees were resettled in the united states from march 1st through march 16th. that's according to internal state department data seen by reuters. how can that be? what are some of the barriers keeping more ukrainian refugees from coming to our country? >> yeah, so candidly, craig, part of the concern is the refugee resettlement system, even the asylum system are beset by backlogs. they are not systems that work nimbly in terms of processing

refugees or even those ukrainian refugees that have come to the southern border. but that's not to say that the u.s. can't because we believe that they can, and must do more. and that's where i think that using some of the tools and expediting them are critical. so we need to expedite family reunification of ukrainian refugees who have family here in the u.s. there are several thousand of those applications that are in the pipeline right now. we need to better use the refugee resettlement system. as you mentioned, president biden authorized 125,000 refugees to come into the country this year. and obviously as you've noted, we are at an abysmally low 6,500. the idea that only 7 refugees have come into the country right now is mind boggling and that's why the u.s. needs to use a program called humanitarian probe. the president has this authority precisely for situations like putin's scorched earth campaign. it's what we use to help

vietnamese and hungarian refugees during the cold war. last year, it's how we allowed afghan allies into the country. there are ways in which we can play a big role. >> why hasn't that happened yet? i mean, not to sound trite, but that would seem to be a no brainer. i mean, if poland has more than 2 until who have fled in their country in just a few weeks, how can we not be using that particular lever? >> so craig, honestly, that question or the answer is above my pay grade. we have been advocating for this for weeks. when we talk about at our southern border, the idea that there are less than a dozen or so ukrainian refugees who are right now in i.c.e. detention that we turned away a ukrainian mom with three children twice before we let her in is a problem because we cannot lead in this situation with a

strategy of do as i say, and not as i do. >> really quickly for folks who are watching right now or listening, what can they do to help? >> yeah, so it's been amazing to see the generosity of americans already, massachusetts who have deployed to europe, polish americans, there's obviously plenty of international organizations out there like the unhcr, my organization has created an action center where you can get updates, donate, get involved. just go to lirs.org, and click on take action to support ukraine, but also please use your voice. we need to tell our political leaders that the u.s. needs to not just play a supporting role but a direct role, welcoming refugees to our shores. >> krish, thank you so much for that. thank you, thank you. up next, we're going to check in on some of the headlines making news at home,

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we'll have more on russia's invasion of ukraine in a moment. first, there are some other major headlines that we want to tell you about. first up, a huge change that could affect millions of americans' abilities to borrow money. the "wall street journal" reports the three biggest credit reporting firms are going to remove tens of billions of dollars of medical debt from credit reports, exwi fax, experian and transunion. those changes are expected to start in july. it will remove medical debt that was paid after it was sent to collections. new unpaid medical debts won't get added to credit reports for a full year. also this morning, moderna is seeking authorization from the fda for a second covid booster shot. this fourth shot would be

available to all adults. and the announcement comes just days after pfizer announced it would do the same for folks 65 and older. and the ntsb now says the driver of a truck that crashed into a van carrying members of a golf team killing nine people, that driver was just 13 years old. nbc's morgan chesky has been following the story. he's in dallas. so morgan, what more have we learned about the crash. >> reporter: that was a startling update after it came out yesterday after ntsb investigators announced this following 24 hours where they canvassed this fiery scene in west texas north of midland. they say it remains a very active investigation. of course the big headline coming out of that was that a 13-year-old boy was driving that pickup that slammed into the van carrying the golf team. he was joined in that pickup cab by a 38-year-old man, heinrich from seminole, texas.

authorities are not sharing the relationship between the two right now, but we also know there was a spare tire on that pickup that investigators say they believed had a blow out that contributed for a sudden swerve or veer into that lane just seconds before that collision took place. obviously the campus of the university of the southwest in hobs, new mexico, where this golf team was from. still absolutely devastated. i did have a chance to speak to the parents of jackson zin, a promising young golfer there. and i asked the circumstances, surrounding this situation changed how they felt at all. and here's what they had to say. >> i don't want to get hung up on the details. just celebrate my son's life. >> it's an unfortunate terrible thing, and maybe it wouldn't even matter if it was 13 or the older gentleman in the truck driving. there was a blow out. i've had a blow out in a pickup truck, and it will yank you places you don't want to go.

>> reporter: and counselors remain on stand by at that campus, as everyone tries to move forward. keep in mind, there's only a couple hundred students there, so everyone knew everyone, which makes this tragedy hit incredibly hard. in the meantime, there is a bit of hope here, craig, and that's the fact that there were two students on board that golf van that survived this crash. they were air lifted more than 100 miles north to have a lubbock, texas, hospital, and as of right now, we are told they are slowly, but surely improving. craig. >> that seems to be the only good news out of this tragedy so far. morgan chesky, so many questions, thank you so much. up next, how thousands of ukrainians have found refuge in remote villages and the carpathian mountains, and one woman said, i slept with my shoes and jacket on because we might need to run at any moment. last night i wore pajamas, i

never thought putting on pajamas would make me cry with happiness. i'll talk to the reporter that wrote that story. italy's culture leader has offered to rebuild the theater that was destroyed. the country's cabinet has already approved the plan, and that quote, theaters of all countries belong to the whole humanity. president zelenskyy responded with quote, you set a good example to follow. together we will rebuild the country to the last brick. today a ukrainian official said 130 people have been evacuated from the theater, 1,300, 1,300 are still trapped in its basement. d in its basement 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. so, quick wellness check, how are you these days?

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your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire quote, my daughter can sleep again. that's what one young ukrainian mother told a reporter after arriving in a small village in ukraine's carpathian mountains. those hills are in southwestern ukraine, near the romanian border. they act as a natural barrier. it's one of the few places left in the country that has yet to be hit by the russian invasion. with me now is a reporter who met ukrainians seeking refuge

near the mountains, max barak, a "washington post" foreign correspondent, currently in kyiv. max, thank you for your time, and your story, you say why is this part of ukraine remained virtually untouched by the war? >> that's right. in some ways history is repeating itself. and that's because mountains will always be a refuge for people. it's a natural barrier, much harder for an army to pass through and of course russia is moving in, in part, on foot and so with, people feel that it's much less likely you're able to reach the mountains. >> you report that quote, 600

newcomers sleep soundly in a village that normally has 1300 residents. how are the villagers handling this huge influx int's certainl like vladimir putin's plan is to eventually make his armies way a

across the entirety of the country. but i thank you, sir. thank you for sharing with us. how could you pack your entire life into just a few bags? well, that has been the reality for lots of people fleeing ukraine. our own allison barber visited every single border crossing between ukraine and poland to talk to those folks. what they told her. next. >> it's the 68 years of my life in these bags. one, two, three. are one, two, three. ar are rethinking the choices they make like the splash they create the entrance they make, the surprises they initiate.

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find the right tech solutions. so you can stop at nothing for your customers. as a main street bank, pnc has helped over 7 million kids develop their passion for learning. and now we're providing 88 billion dollars to support underserved communities... ...helping us all move forward financially. pnc bank: see how we can make a difference for you. as of right now, nearly 2 million ukrainian refugees have crossed into poland. nbc's allison barber has been through every border crossing into poland from ukraine and here's what she's seen. >> reporter: along the polish/ukrainian border, there are eight official crossings, lifelines for the sea of refugees fleeing the devastation of war. our team has been to everyone. this is the northern most border crossing on the polish/ukrainian

border. they only allow vehicle traffic to come through but we've seen buses carrying families like this one, young children coming across the border. >> reporter: we met 15-year-old, yuri, who was sent with his siblings by his father. >> he said i must protect them. >> reporter: instead is of separation, a reunion at the gates. between a father working in poland and his wife and little girl. and it was quiet on our side. but on the ukrainian side, a 20-hour wait to cross. time was on the side of 83-year-old as a harsh reality set in. she may never return to her beloved ukraine. >> in my heart, it's painful. i miss ukraine already.

i want -- i just want to cry. >> reporter: at border crossing number five, children played in sand spread out for a makeshift refugee camp. they use suitcases as tables to draw and somehow manage to smile. do you want to go back home? >> of course. of course i want to because my sisters and brothers are there and -- >> reporter: we watched bus after bus arrive. babies crying. travellers weary. children, it's the sleep they need to be washed it would be do everything that they normally do but instead they're sleeping in corridors." >> at the busiest crossing, some comfortpable. volunteers offered hot food.

at kroscienko we met this boy and his monkey. more than 3 million have fled to poland, most women and children. the youngest ukrainians and the oldest. >> 68 years of my life in these bags. one, two, three. >> reporter: each now carrying the weight of what's left behind to a future unknown. >> so hard to fathom all of it, isn't it? our thanks to nbc's allison barber there. every border crossing between poland and ukraine. so, that is going to do it for me this hour and this week as well. thank you so much for joining me. we should note this afternoon, chuck todd will spend time talking to the mayor of kyiv. that's going to happen today, 1:00 eastern only on "meet the

press daily." chuk's going to spend time with the mayor of kyiv. but first "andrea mitchell reports" starts right now. ♪ good day. this is "andrea mitchell reports" in washington. as russia escalates its attacks on civilian targets in ukraine, including hitting a residential complex in kyiv in the early morning hours, destroying a playground, grocery store and the homes around it. inside one of the apartments, a sink and walls covered in blood. the latest carnage from putin's assault. one resident working out in shock after her life changed in an instant. >> translator: i have no home now and nowhere to live. where am i to go? >> russia hitting an airplane repair plant near lviv. a safe haven for refugees fleeing to poland. and the first american