social media. if it's friday, a planned rescue operation in mariupol. missile strikes in kyiv and a american killed in action, and potential millions in military aid from the u.s. we will have the latest from ukraine and pentagon just ahead. we are going to speak with the top unicef official on the ground in ukraine as aide workers scramble to save as many as they can. and the border crisis, it's all a tangled web of potential legislation on capitol hill as democrats try to push forward on the stalled agenda, the top democrat in the progressive caucus joins me just ahead.

welcome to "meet the press daily." i am in for chuck todd. russian forces keep bombarding the bough sieged city of mariupol. a rescue operation could soon be under way from the massive steel plant in mariupol where women, children and the elderly have been holed up with the last remaining ukrainian soldiers in that city. mariupol's mayor says more than 20,000 people in his hometown have been killed since the war began. in kyiv, the mayor says one person was killed yesterday on a residential high-rise. russia claims it stuck a

military target. the mayor there also says the attack is a reminder that kyiv remains in vladimir putin's crosshairs even after russian forces withdrew from the city. and the family of the former marine that had been fighting with ukrainian troops told cnn he was killed on monday. the state department tells nbc news they are aware of his death but had no further comment at this time. and all this comes as officials in the kharkiv say five civilians were there in more than a dozen strikes. a senior pentagon official tells nbc news that russia is behind schedule on its donbas offensive, and british intelligence says russia has

made only limited territorial gains in the east. >> what is actually happening here is an offensive aggressive war by russia from its own territory being perpetrated against ukraine inside ukraine. you know, our goal here and our focus is giving ukraine the tools it needs to defend itself, and we are focused on ukraine's defense. this is fundamentally a defensive war that russia chose to start and it's perpetrating against ukraine inside ukraine. >> that was john finer, one of the president's top security advisers. we could learn more when the pentagon will brief reporters, and we will update you with new

developments that we learn. kelly cobiella is in ukraine, and dan duh hraous is with us as well, and we will be joined by the commander of u.s. central command, retired four-star general, joseph botel. russia targeting kyiv as they focus on eastern ukraine. describe the concern that kyiv is still vulnerable? >> well, peter, i think people would tell you in the ukrainian government that kyiv is always vulnerable. kyiv is the capital and kyiv is where the power structure lies. there are potential military targets, of course, in kyiv, as there are in other cities. in that sense the capital is always vulnerable, and it also has an incredible air defense system around it, and it's key vulnerability is from the air

right now. that's why we saw this terrible destruction late yesterday in -- on the outskirts of kyiv where a missile struck an apartment building. russia said they were going after military targets there, and they were doing that not necessarily in kyiv, but in various parts of the country going after infrastructure over the past several weeks. you know, clearly they also hit a residential apartment building as they did in odesa just last weekend. there again they said they were going after military targets and a missile landed in an apartment killing eight in that case, and so far killing one in this casea local journalists. kyiv is definitely still a target, but much like all of ukraine is a target in the sense of russia is trying to take out infrastructure, logistics, key infrastructure sites, peter. >> kelly, those missiles there

started raining down on kyiv as the united nations chief was there visiting with president zelenskyy who said this effort targeting the capital at that time was to humiliate the u.n. what message is russia sending after days and weeks of relative calm? >> it's not a positive one in terms of peace or talks. you look at what happened in kyiv and again what is happening in mariupol at that steel plan the. we heard those reports this morning, that there was some sort of rescue operation planned for today. you know, we spent a lot of time on the phone with the mayor of mariupol yesterday and he told us over and over again that they tried to rescue people in that plant and each time they try they are either pushed back because of a missile strike, or because of fighting in the area or some sort of safety concern. he said the only way to rescue people in that plant in that

city -- remember, there are 100,000 people still stranded in that city with no services, no running water, no sewer, and it's a potential even worse humanitarian disaster that it already is. he said the only way to stop what's happening there is to get president putin to stop it. he said the only avenue he can think of at this point is for western leaders like president biden and macron in france, to pile the pressure on putin and try to convince him to stop those attacks, to let some 600 injured now inside that plant after the last nights of intense bombing, and the only way to free them in his mind is through diplomatic pressure. >> president zelenskyy said there are plans that kelly referred to to try and start the evacuation of those in the plant, and a lot in mariupol have been underground and have

not seen sunlight for days or longer. and given the russian troops there, are there any signs of russian forces leaving mariupol? >> it's just a desperate, dire situation. kind of extraordinary that those russian -- those ukrainian forces there and underground bunkers and civilians have managed to hold on. and the russians have dropped massive bunker buster bombs there. and there are reports that russian forces have used out of mariupol to some degree in some numbers, but it doesn't seem to be any sign of the pressure easing up on that steel plant there. it has just been kind of a dramatic and awful situation for the ukrainians stuck in the steel plant. as we were talking, the previous evacuation plans have fallen

apart one by one. each time ukrainian officials blamed the russians for those failures, so it's up to moscow on whether they will allow the people to leave and weather the ukrainian defenders will be able to get out safely. >> we want to have you, general, join the conversation. russia, vladimir putin is targeting kyiv again as the u.n. chief was visiting with zelenskyy. what message was russia spending at that time? >> thank you, peter. great to be with you. i think what russia is trying to do with the continuing missile strikes that are not necessarily linked to the operations they are doing in the eastern part of the country is to sew confusion and cause fear and demonstrate the capacity that they still have the ability to reach out and touch different parts of ukraine, even though they have now started to concentrate their operations mostly in the eastern part of the country.

>> general, yesterday the president outlined this request to congress, 33 billion of assistance to ukraine, and in terms of weaponry, what is ukraine's most urgent need right now? can they afford to wait for congress to approve these new funds? >> well, i think they certainly have got to continue to get the arms and munitions in they need to continue to keep pressure on the russian forces. we have to restore some of the stocks they depleted, and this could be missile systems and artillery rounds they have expended over the last couple of weeks here. an important point that comes out of the messaging yesterday from the administration is that this significant uptick in military aid really, i think, is designed to give the ukrainians

more of an offensive capability, so i think we should be looking at mobility systems, things so they can move their forces around. i think we will be looking at systems that can compliment and maneuver on the ground, and principally artillery, and command and control will be important, surveillance and air defense is important to kind of protect the ukrainian forces from the threat they are facing from the air. >> general, speaking of senior officials at the white house just yesterday, they said the money, the that 33 billion was what was needed to give the potential of success for the ukrainian forces over the course of the next five months. does this thing go five more months? how much longer does it go? >> my professional and personal assessment is we are in this for a long period of time.

the russians reset themselves, and they have been in a bit of a transition period. i think they are demonstrating a commitment to this. i think that we will continue to see conflict for the foreseeable future. so i think we -- i think we have to think about this in long term. i think the decisions we are making now to be able to sustain the ukrainians for a longer period of time really, i think, reflects kind of best things we ought to be doing right now. >> may 9th, as you know, is a key day in russia and it's their victory day. is that the day we should be watching in this war as russia tries to escalate and obtain a victory of some kind before that point? >> i don't know. we'll see. russia, while there have been some reported gains and other things that they have done in the east here lately, certainly isn't demonstrating that they have total command of this

situation right now. i am not sure there's much for them to celebrate in terms of this. they could be trying through propaganda and other things to do this. >> based on the comparisons, between what russia did to syria and what they are doing to ukraine, what do you think we should be watching for russia to do next? >> i think what russia is doing -- what we should expect that russia is doing, they are learning lessons from their experience. clearly the initial concept that they tried to impose here was a failing concept, and they regrouped, and they have moved forces around and tried to concentrate much more now in the east, and i think this is what we will see them do. i think their objective is to gainful control of the south here to establish this land corridor between crimea and the

russian-backed separatists areas, and really to solidify that. i think that's what we are going to see for the coming weeks and perhaps months as they try and consolidate this. that's what i expect. this fighting out here will be a little more favorable to the russians. it won't be as much city fighting as we have seen certainly around the other areas here to the north and some of the areas that they were tacking on. they shortened up their own supply lines. that's an advantage to them. they have been able to concentrate more force and resources in more defined areas. i think this is a little more favorable to them at this point. >> perhaps more of the same that we could see take this war not into the summer but frankly into the fall. general, we appreciate your time and expertise. and thanks to all of you. still to come, the massive

humanitarian crisis happening in ukraine right now as president biden urged congress to approve the largest aid proposal of this war so far, and is more funding enough? i will speak to one of unicef's top officials there on the ground. that's next. a ukraine aid, covid relief all tangled together and republicans try to keep the focus on the president's problems at the southern border. you are watching "meet the press daily." "meet the press daily.

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spokesperson on the ground in ukraine right now. we appreciate your time, certainly given the circumstances you guys are witnessing so much awful cruelty there, so many victims and now at this point survivors that are able to flee. many of the civilians who are fleeing the war have gone to where you are in dnipro. what does it look like in that city? >> it's stressful. a lot of tension and there's an increasing number of air-raid signs so people are fleeing constantly. there's 100 shelters and unicef reaches every one of those, and 100 shelters where this is not their home, and they have come here to try and be safe. every time there's an air-raid siren they return to that type of hell and the fear they were living in a week or month ago. some people have been living underground for a month.

i saw an 18-month-old baby and i commented to his mom, what a great smile he had. she said, yes, until there's an air-raid siren and then he shuttles. most people here have somebody in the east or mariupol, so they are concerned about those family members and, of course, themselves. >> to be clear where you are effectively between kyiv and the south where most damage is being seen right now. you are closer to the violence we are witnessing. how concerned are you and the other aide workers like you that the possibility that russia chances on to dnipro? >> nobody feels safe anywhere right now, and that's been clear whether there's missiles in the furthest part of the country or in the capital when the u.n. secretary general was there. look, nobody feels safe anywhere.

we can't talk about our own safety when so many children are in harm, and so we hope people come out of mariupol. we have seen hundreds of children killed, peter, in this war. i think it's important to remember that's hundreds of parents and grandparents that will be consumed by that pain for years ahead, and that's what we need to stop. >> talk about your ability to get resources into the country right now, how challenging has it become for you to carry out your mission at this point? are they arriving each day? are you going days without the resources you need? what does it looks like? >> here, honestly it looks good. unicef is fortunate, and we have the biggest humanitarian supply chain in the world, and there's not a day that goes past where there's not a 20-ton truck getting to the front lines and

getting ready whether it's hospital or shelters or train stations, and we are reaching people there. today, we're unpacking school bags and repacking them with food and water purification tablets and first aid, because these are things that people can take on the run and get across the lines, and we need to do more, and i would be kidding myself if i said we are doing everything we need to, and the humanitarian corridors are disrespected, and we are told we can go one way and then there are land mines. >> what do you need most urgently and are you satisfied with how quickly the biden administration has been moving on this issue to try and support refugees? >> yeah, i have to say that whether it's the mums and the dads that watch your show, peter, or the highest levels in

the government, the support of everyday ukrainians through unicef, whether it's generators to pump water or first aid kits for hospitals has been pretty special. right now we need more of that unfortunately, because hospitals get bombed and more and more people are on the move, and so while we know the war continues we have to keep stepping up and that will continue to require more support. >> it's almost crushing you are to mariupol and how little you are able to do for civilians and others trapped there at the steel plant right now. you have had, by chance, any contact with the folks there? do you know anything about the conditions of the plant and is there anything you can do to help try and facilitate their escape? >> i have had contact with people that came out of mariupol, and children have been shot -- children who lived

underground for four or five weeks, and terrifying conditions, but to your main point of how we get in there, let's see, there's great hope and we pray the decisions made over the last couple of days with the high-level meetings, and i will be there with colleagues, unicef teams tomorrow, and we have a great facility there, counseling, food, water and ready to meet people if -- if those political decisions are upheld and there's decency to let these people get out. >> james elder, the spokesperson for unicef on the ground right now right in the heart of ukraine. we're glad you are safe and grateful you are doing to help so many people. please stay safe there. >> thanks so much, peter. we just got confirmation that the president tested negative for covid-19. yesterday a. it comes as a relief as two top

white house officials tested positive for the virus, and the vice president, as you know, has been working from home with covid since tuesday. all of this adding to covid concerns as the capital prepares for the white house correspondence dinner, an event that typically draws thousands of attendees. the president is not going to be there for the dinner portion. meanwhile, dr. anthony fauci already canceled his plans to attend the event altogether citing covid concerns. it's friday, an all-new episode of chuck's streaming show, a deep dive into how democrats lost rural america and what is coming for the future of the party? that's here next. you're watching "meet the press daily." daily.th injections every two months.

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2008. now recent nbc polling show democrats deeply underwater with rural voters ahead of this midterms, and perhaps no better state tells the story other than iowa where democrats know the party is in trouble. chuck went on iowa. >> having a "d" next to your name is why you lost? >> yes. >> representing clayton county in 2016. >> we had our picture taken with hillary clinton when she stopped by, and all candidates do, and i posted it. i was a proud mom. i posted it on facebook, and they used that -- they cut my son out. >> you have a picture with hillary clinton, and that's all they did. you are a national democrat? >> yep. >> clayton was one of 31 counties carried by barack obama and trump. overwhelmingly rural and home to roughly a quarter of all iowans.

>> there was no way biden was going to win iowa in 2020. it just was not going to happen. >> brian chairs the clayton county democratic party. >> any version of joe biden? >> none. not was going to happen as long as trump was on the thing. >> we got annihilated in 2020. i feel like an exhausted rural democrat. i am tired. i feel like there's a lot of weight on me. i honestly want to be done most days, and i am a single mom, have four kids, and i work and don't even make $15 an hour and i am tired. >> as you are going to see in this week's episode, democrat problems are not just in the midwest. it's right now available on

peacock. coming up next, the future of progressive politics with the person at the helm of the caucus, and the chair pramila jayapal joins us after this. you're watching "meet the press daily." g "meet the press daily.

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welcome back. as we mentioned earlier here, the administration is doubling down on the urgency of its latest request of congress to quickly approve $33 billion in new aid for ukraine, and an additional $10 billion in covid funding, even though they want more than that. the president told reporters yesterday he doesn't care how congress approves the funding, as long as they get done quickly. house speaker, pelosi, told reporters no decision has been made on how lawmakers will move forward with the votes, and she is quote, all for the linking of

the funding for ukraine and covid funding, call both emergencies, and joining us now to discuss all of it is the house's top progressive chair, pramila jayapal. ukraine and covid, the president wants it done right away. should senator schumer link the two bills in the senate knowing republicans would try and block both if the votes are connected? >> first of all, it's great to see you and be with you. i think the important thing here is we do need to do both of them. whatever games republicans are going to play i feel like it's less likely to play them as the two are linked. we have been trying to get covid aid for sometime and republicans have been stopping us from

making sure americans across the country can get vaccines and tests and everything they need, and that money has run out and republicans have been blocking us from providing the additional covid aid which is why it makes sense probably to link them, so it's clear to everybody that ukraine and covid aid need to be done. that's obviously, that's up to majority leader schumer and nancy pelosi, and that's our advice to the speaker, keep them linked because otherwise we are afraid republicans will once again stop the americans from getting aid they need for their health care. >> why not separate these bills knowing that ukraine obviously has bipartisan support and time is of the essence, and why not just get on that immediately? >> well, again, because republicans have blocked covid aid before, and so both of them

are urgent, and the money ran out for testing and vaccinations for americans here at home, and whatever way we can get them done quickly, this is a negotiation that usually happens between the majority leader and speaker and minority leaders, and so democrats are ready to put both through right away and it's the republicans that have been the problem. >> it's one of the issues that have been a sticking point is the fight over title 42 and the covid package. i know you want to see title 42 end, but if extending title 42 or taking it out, title 42 being the border restriction that requires those who come into the u.s. to be expelled immediately, if it is to stick around like this, to stick for a bit, obviously one of the real challenges is this the only way to get funding passed for it is

via title 42? can you swallow that? >> no, we can't because title 42 is really -- it was outrageous that it was put in place to start with, and it has led to the disorderly process that we see with thousands of people being expelled into mexico. the republicans can't have it both ways. they are saying that, you know, we don't need more covid aid because there's not a health emergency and at the same time they want to keep title 42 in place which is a public health law that the cdc said we should lift. i am an immigrant and i am tired of the way republicans scape coded immigrants and continue to do that, and title 42 has nothing to do with keeping our border safe, and what we need to do is pass immigration reform, and the cdc and hispanic caucus,

they said it's just scapegoating immigrants and does nothing to protect us on health or border security. that is not going to be -- that's going to be a nonstarter. >> let me ask you about another topic the president said about student loan forgiveness, the following. take a listen. >> i am considering dealing with some debt reduction. i am not considering $50,000 debt reduction, but i am in the process of taking a hard look at whether or not there will be additional debt forgiveness, and i will have an answer on that in the next couple of weeks. >> so congresswoman, is getting rid of some student debt enough or does it not go far enough? does the president needing to further? >> look, we are thrilled the president is committed to canceling some student debt, and we talked to him a couple weeks ago when the progressive caucus

met with him in the white house and we told him this was one of our top priorities. student debt is crushing them, and we know the number will be somewhere between the $10,000 he promised on the campaign trail and the $50,000 we are pushing for. >> is $10,000 enough? >> that's what he promised on the campaign trail, and we are pushing for 50,000, and somewhere between that will be the right number and we are going to celebrate that number because it means that millions of people will get relief of student debt, and i am pushing for 49,999. >> almost sounds like herman cain with the 999 numbers. the chair of nebraska's democratic party said the party has no leaders on the stage, and

this leaves a practical void in understanding rural voters. there's no voice in the room when strategy, message and funding decisions are made. how do you address what even some rural democrats view as a blind spot in your party when it comes to voters that live outside cities and suburbs? >> well, i really agree with her. i think that it is really important for us to have a rural strategy, not just going out and talking to people randomly, but actually we are doing a lot for rural voters, but you would never know it. if you look at the infrastructure bill that we passed. there's an enormous amount in that infrastructure bill that directly impacts rural voters. rural broadband. we have got, you know, all kinds of money in there for transportation projects in rural communities. we need to actually elevate

that, make it a strategy and a platform of the democratic party. we do need to have people who really understand those rural voters as we are designing the message and our strategy. the president's agenda is focused around childcare and housing and they are issues that are incredibly popular in rural areas but we don't talk about them as if they are and we have not done enough on some of those issues so i agree with her and we would be well served to have a specific rural america strategy that we roll out and really pound across the country so that rural voters know that democrats are delivering for them. >> congresswoman pramila jayapal, always nice to have somebody from western washington on the show. nice to see you. thank you very much. >> thank you. up next, immigration will be one of the biggest flash points in the midterms.

another one, abortion as oklahoma's governor expected to sign a bill restricting access to abortions. that's right after this. again, you are watching "meet the press daily." watching "mee the press daily. (woman) oh. oh! hi there. you're jonathan, right? the 995 plan! yes, from colonial penn. your 995 plan fits my budget just right. excuse me? aren't you jonathan from tv, that 995 plan? yes, from colonial penn. i love your lifetime rate lock. that's what sold me. she thinks you're jonathan, with the 995 plan. -are you? -yes, from colonial penn. we were concerned we couldn't get coverage, but it was easy with the 995 plan. -thank you. -you're welcome. i'm jonathan for colonial penn life insurance company.

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to pass all of the funding will ultimately need to get through the house and get 60 votes in the senate that can only be done with some bipartisan agreement. how will they get over the finish line? joining me is republican strategist, and let me ask you if i can. you have written about this. what is your reaction after what you heard from the congresswoman as it relates to covid and ukraine funding. will they be linked? >> this shows the challenge president biden will have to get it through congress right now. it's a choose your adventure wherever door hits a dead end. he could link the two bills and it will not break it, and as we

just heard from pramila jayapal, progressives would be opposed to adding title 42, and that's unlikely to get through the house. there's chatter about breaking those two apart and advancing the ukraine aid separately, and that could pass but it would leave the covid relief package hanging in the lurch with less of a likelihood of passing. republicans feel very emboldened on the immigration, and the president's handling of that, the rating has gone down, and they see a wedge in the democratic party, and there are's vulnerable senators coming out against the president's decision, and this is quite a pickle here for the president. >> another place where jayapal made news was reacting to president biden's comments on student loans.

will the president be able to strike a balance on this, or does he end up upsetting everybody with the solution? >> he's not going to fully satisfy everybody. we see republicans are already adamantly opposed to any kind of student debt forgiveness. they've tried to block the president from using his executive authority to do that and even to extend that pause on federal student loan payments right now. what progressives right now is trying to push him to do as much as possible. it's not as if if he picks a number, 40,000, progressives will be opposed to it, they're not getting any legislation through congress and it's better than status quo. they're trying to move the window as far in the progressive direction as they can, pressure the president to do as much as he possibly can. this is one of his few opportunities left to do something meaningful that would

tangibly impact their lives. we'll see what the decision is in a couple of weeks. >> a lot of urgency on that issue. let me ask you, we were talking about the potential that some republicans obviously try to throw the immigration issue in this mix. the border and immigration a key priority for republicans. alejandro mayorcas got an unkind reception. here's what republican ken buck said. >> many of my constituents have asked. he whether you will be impeached when republicans gain control. they don't believe that you committed a high crime or misdemeanor. my constituents want you impeached because they believe you've committed treason. they believe you're a traitor. they compare you to benedict

arnold. you know, no parent with the last name arnold names their kid benedict. >> in response to what you have just said, it is so profoundly offensive on so many different levels in so many different regards. i won't ask you for an apology. >> don't. >> so, brad, is that what we should expect to hear from republican lawmakers? >> the department of homeland security's problem is not republicans in congress. it's cdc director walinski who will lift title 42 and hand them a disaster at the border. you have democrats, maggie hassan, thousands away in new hampshire who said don't this. the democrats know they're going to be on the hook for this administration's incompetence in

november. joe biden promised he'd do things in a bipartisan manner. that's how much he won the election. he's not doing it. you can get a bipartisan bill to aid ukraine. you heard the congresswoman say they should not do that because they want the democrats -- the democrats want to govern in a partisan way. they think they're on a six-month clock. they want to do as much as they can, as far left, as fast as they can and it's going to cost them both chambers of the congress. >> the democrats frankly talk privately to the white house officials say if a federal judge says you can't do anything about title 42, we're going to follow the law and won't do anything about it. what do democrats do with this situation? >> first of all, peter, we've got to keep in mind that title 42 is not an immigration policy. asylum is legal in this country. we've got to make sure that we have a real comprehensive immigration policy that congress has to pass in order to address this issue. but president biden did the right thing by rescinding title 42.

a federal judge stopped that. we'll see what happens. going forward we have to have a comprehensive immigration policy and address the crisis at the border. title 42 does not do that. it was put in place when covid numbers were getting high by the cdc. you have to bear in mind why title 42 was put in place in the first place. latinos and progressives want title 42 lifted. so when democrats go into the mid terms in some of these really tight races where latino voices matter, i think president biden made the right decision here. >> you know the six-week abortion ban is headed to the governor's desk today. is this about to become the number one issue for democrats? is this what sort of brings democrats off the sidelines and into the mid terms? >> certainly should be, peter.

i think among the certain sector of democrats it's definitely going to be the galvanizing driving force. overall i think the economy issue that affects families at home, kitchen table issues are the issues that will drive the elections. but certainly this does not help the republicans whatsoever. it still baffles me why you have so many republicans across this country who want to get rid of a woman's right to choose when over 75% of americans, regardless of political party, want to make sure women have a choice about their own bodies. picking this fight right before the mid terms by the republicans doing it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. >> brad, any risk to republicans on this issue? what's the impact? >> this debate after a supreme court decision about the dobbs law in mississippi is going to be about late-term abortions. that's the question at issue in mississippi. should the state be able to restrict abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with some exception for when the life of mother is in jeopardy, for instance. most of the country agrees with

that. only 18% of democrats think abortion should be legal in the third trimester at all. that's of democrats. >> we're talking about the irst trimester this places like oklahoma. they're saying after six weeks. >> the case is about the mississippi law. as soon as that decision is out it will move to that law. do you support that case or not? i'm confident most voters will agree that abortion after 15 weeks should be restricted by the states. >> we appreciate all of you. that's going to do it for us. we'll be right back on monday with more "meet the press daily." if it is sunday, it is "meet the press." we continue with katy tur right after this break. katy tur righ after this break

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he has so much knowledge to share with a journalist. so muc share with a journalist. good to be with you. i'm katy tur. it is day 65 of russia's war in ukraine. here is what we know right now. in mariupol today residents are waiting for a text message that tells them it is safe to run. president zelenskyy's office says there is an operation to save the more than a thousand civilians and injured troops stuck inside the steel plant. the plant