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from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. welcome everybody to alex witt reports. we begin with breaking news, a united nation is underway to evacuate civilians trapped in that avoztvaz steel plant. the president says that a group of about 100 evacuees are heading their way to a city of

zaporizhzhia, which is under ukrainian control at this time. they are giving president prudent credit for the evacuations. this is where that plant looks like now, after weeks of bombardment from russian forces. we are learning a bit more about how speaker nancy pelosi's high profile meetings with his lewinsky in kyiv. she says that the west cannot shrink from russian threats. >> do not be bullied by police. if they are making threats, you cannot back down. that is my view of it. you were there for the flight and you cannot fold to a bully. >> and that visit came within hours of another big attack from russia. a missile strike on a military airfield and odessa. one congressional delegate had a strong warning for president putin.

>> if he does anything in regards to unconventional weapons, dealing with anything like chemical weapons or any kind of strategical nukes, all bets are off. >> just a short time ago, i spoke to democratic congressman mike kayleigh, who expressed concern about the new shift in tone on russia by members of the biden administration. >> i am not sure if this is part of the strategy. but this certainly poking the bear. i mean, the fact of the matter is, we are seeing an unprecedented economic support for transport, military, support behind the ukrainian war effort. all together, i am proud that we are going to do. so i did not know that we further need to exacerbate the situation with putin. getting in his mind that what you already probably believes which is that he wants to change the machine. we want to take him out. and we can enter the point.

>>. all, right first to report the sorrow for us, joining us from, dnipro ukraine. julie tsirkin from the white house in washington. and allie raffa, also from the capitol. kelly, you first. speaker pelosi's trip coincides with the arrival in europe of several shipments of big u.s. weapons. what is the ukrainian government saying about all of this? >> well, we are hearing from the very time for president zelenskyy, saying that he is very grateful for the strong signal of support that congressional visit sent, as well as the continuing support in terms of weaponry and humanitarian aid. 33 billion dollars were proposed for this country, for war, weapons, and military aid. that fight will be -- that suggestion will be debated in congress, speaker pelosi will have to get that package through congress. in the meantime, she is here in

kyiv with that congressional delegation. just your mere presence, they are mere presence in the capital, sends a strong signal, in really boisterous the morale for the ukrainian government. the president said as much, although i fewer words. take a listen to what speaker pelosi and the president said during the meeting today. >> our congressional delegation is honored to meet with you, to thank you for your leadership. to command the ukrainian people for their outstanding defensive democracy. and we are here to say to you that we are with you, until this fight is over. thank you for your leadership. >> thank you very much. first of all, thank you. all americans, great honor to see you. your team. to see congress members.

and you see madam speaker. thank you very much for the support. it is very important. and i think you have to know that we will fight, and we will win together. >> in the meantime, the war is intensifying. there were some 800 strikes, according to the russian military, on ukraine in a 24-hour time periods. we are hearing varying stories about the effectiveness of those strikes. ukrainians are actually saying that the russian forces are really struggling to hold any territory in the kharkiv, which is in the northeast. landed in the donbas in dusk. according to the ukrainians, they are pushing forward and they are being pushed back. the british and u.s. intelligence assessments back that up. now, on to the rescues in mariupol. there is still quite a bit of

confusion in terms of numbers there. the russian military is saying one thing, president zelenskyy is saying that 100, people the first group of 100, were rescued from the steel plant in mariupol today. they are on their way to another city, about 140 miles away. it is a ukrainian-controlled city, just south of where we are in dnipro. and that they should be there by tomorrow morning. when you look at the russian military defense statement they say that 80 people were rescued. they actually give credit to president putin for the rescue. and they say that the people who want to leave to ukraine will be allowed to leave to ukraine. so we will see how that plays out in the next several hours. alex. we can expect them to be in that ukrainian-controlled city by tomorrow morning. >> yeah, i think you can expect, though, that russian military statement to be transmitted as well and broadcast over russian

state tv. furthering the disinformation campaign underway in russia. but thank you very much for that, kelly. let's go now to nbc's julie tsirkin in washington, where we are hearing some new reaction from top lawmakers today, julie. about where the u.s. stands in this fight. now that the president has requested 33 billion dollars more in aid for ukraine, what are they saying? >> yeah, alex, there is broad bipartisan support of this 33 billion dollars. 20 billion dollars for military assistance. the other ten or so split between economic and humanitarian aid. now, i mentioned congress, members on both sides of the aisle, really supportive of ukraine. supportive of them in this fight. there are rare moments where we see such bipartisan support and congress these days, but this is certainly one of them. the administration perhaps sending their clear signal yet that they want ukraine to win, that this money is more than just about keeping russian invaders off of ukraine's borders. it's about ukrainian victory, for democracy and for the rest of the west, the rest of

western civilization. i want you to take a listen to what senator menendez, the top democrat on the foreign relations committee, said to our choctaw bit this morning. >> many officials answer the following question by saying it's up to ukraine, that what they decided specter here. but what do you believe is ukrainian victory? what's does ukrainian victory look like to you, sir? >> well, the reason many officials answered that way to you, chuck, is because it's ukraine that needs to determine what it will or will not accept to end this war. after such horrific human rights violations, war crimes that putin has committed against the ukrainian people. it's hard to understand what's president the landscape and ukrainian people will accept. >> alex, congress is doing what congress does best, and that is complicating matters that seem a complicated. like this ukraine aid. broad bipartisan support,

leader mcconnell telling reporters this week that he supports, you see top democrats all for it as well. but there is a potential link here, as well, to covid relief. because democratic leadership think that this will be the best way to get both packages passed in the fastest way. congress does this often, attaching to unrelated items together, packaging them up. of, course covid relief made more complicated by title 42, that pandemic era border restriction rule that the administration is poised to lift in the coming weeks here. republicans, of course, want to vote on that. so, we'll see what happens here when they return on monday. >> okay, we will see. thank you very much, julie tsirkin from the white house. let's go from there to capitol hill, where lawmakers are preparing for public hearings to tell a story about what happened on january 6th. the first of eight total hearings is set to begin on june 9th. nbc's allie raffa is joining us again from capitol hill. so, the question is, will americans watch and how important is it that they do? >> yeah, alex, with several of

these hearings expected to take place during tv primetime hours, the vast majority of lawmakers here on capitol hill say they hope they do. and several of them appeared on sunday shows this morning, explaining why. they're saying that these public hearings are coming from a bipartisan congressional committee, with thousands of pieces of evidence from photos, videos, witness testimony, staff testimony and members of the committee hope, soon, lawmaker testimony. that comes up with the conclusion of what, happened what went wrong on january 6th during the attack on the capitol. they say that there is no bias here, this is just cold, hard facts. this is something that congressman celine is saying he thinks is enough, take a listen. >> i think it will make a real difference in the minds of the american people. they're not going to win over everyone, but i do think that the evidence is so compelling hand this notion that this is

just a bunch of people who got excited on january six and went overboard will be clearly debunked. this was planned, the highest levels of the trump administration, likely the ex president himself, knew about the efforts to stop the electoral count on january 6th. i think it's really going to change the minds of many americans, as they see this evidence presented in these hearings. >> but alex, one big issue that the committee has been struggling with the past few months are just an avalanche of leaks. from leaked audio recordings, texts, emails that the committee has collected over this almost year long investigation. the american public, we know, was able to see the attack on the capitol take place in realtime, on live television, on social media. there been thousands of news reports about the attack on the capital since. so, the committee wants the public to hear new evidence and have all of this really discovered in realtime. so, the last thing members want is for, as they continue

collecting evidence, before these public hearings begin, for all of that evidence to be leaked out. so, as we approach the end of this probe, expect to really have members keep all of this evidence that they are continuing to collect sealed, alex. >> absolutely. they want these hearings to make a big impact. okay, thank you so much, allie raffa. april is the coolest month, at least on wall street it felt like a wasteland, with apologies the poet he has elliott. coming up, next answers to critical questions on a wayward economy. you're going to want to hear on what we can all expect and why there is some optimism on the horizon. there is some optimism on i was starting to feel a little foggy. just didn't feel like things were as sharp as i knew they once were. i heard about prevagen horizon. and then i started taking it about two years now. ttle clearer. i feel like it's kept me on my game. i'm able to remember things.

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same questions that you are screaming at your television. we are driven by the facts. not hyperbole. not ideology. there is a lot of confusing information out there right. now some people call it news. but it is not. and we are going to sit here every night and tell you the truth. now to the economy, a tough growth number. but part of a bigger mixed picture. here it. is first. up broadest measure of the economy gdp, dropped 1.4% last quarter. that is unexpected, but there is more to this story. here to help us understand the rest of it,, mark zandi, chief

economist at moody's analytics. good to have you back mark. let's get into this. we like to have good news if there is something to share. so let's try to focus on that. the pair, though, with the gdp news and consumer spending numbers, that is up. 2.7%. business spending is up over 9%. i am trying to look for a silver lining. does this exist? does this suggest the negative growth would be just a blip for the u.s. economy? >> yes, it is a blip alex. do not get to -- about that. it goes up and down and around. and it just so happens there are a number of one that factors that drove the numbers up. inventory, trade, defense spending. if you look at the things that really drive the economy's growth and you point them out, spending investment, they are still strong. bottom line, it is really about jobs. and we are creating lots of jobs. more than half 1 million each and every month for last year.

we will get a read on that for the month of april last friday. so we'll see. but to me it seems likely economy still expanding strongly. >> unemployment rate sitting about 3.6%. workers wages going up, for the most part. factor all that end. what does that tell you? >> it is all good. lots of jobs, employment, strong weight grope. inflation is painfully high. right now, inflation is a place that is higher than the wage growth. so, they're spending money is declining. it is tough when you are trying to fill a gas tank or go to the grocery store. i think this is recent. and i think it will be more left behind us in a year or two from now, as we get through the effects of the pandemic and russian invasion. but between now and then, there is a lot of suffering. >> what about consumers who appear to keep spending, overall, despite the crisis hitting this 40 year high in

effect and we just talked about, unemployment despite the wage growth there. what is the tipping point? when are people going to become less willing to pay these high prices? >> i think they are growing more cautious, shopping better. i think, to put this in a broader historical context, two generations of people have really seen inflation like this. and really have not been judicious shoppers, because inflation was not going anywhere. so this is all new. many people are learning where they need to shop, that they need to pick and choose. the price of an orange is up maybe they should buy an apple. and i think that is starting to happen. but, fundamentals for consumers are pretty good. go back to jobs and unemployment and wage growth, and here is the other thing. a lot of people saved a lot of money during the pandemic, in part because they had to shelter in place. they could not go out and travel and go to restaurants. cash was sitting in their bank accounts. that is going to help them

continue to spend, despite the inflation. >> not to mention all those who did not have to commute to work. they could work from home. there were lots of different ways to save money during all of this. what about the markets? if you look at, those mark. april, worst since 2008. do you think americans are going to feel the effects of it in the coming months, or the worst of it over? >> i think the stock market is gotten more correct things to do, you would see some weakening in-house price growth. which, i know, alex, has been surging. this is the federal reserve. but growth is strong. unemployment is low and falling. we are getting to the place where the economy's growth rate has to slow. which means the reserve has to raise interest rates. and the way the higher rates work is through housing, making it more expensive to buy a home. the housing demands price growth grow. it also depends on the stock market, because its growth is

going to grow slower down the road. and i have this higher interest rate to, do stock prices weakening. that is just part of the process trying to send this economy down. markets are down. i don't know if they are going to go down next week, next month. but i suspect they are not going anywhere fast until they finish raising interest rates, and the economy has gotten to a movie or sustainable place. >> what would be the effect of an economic downturn on the american worker? >> we want to avoid at all costs. if it is a downturn of a procession, that means lost jobs. rising unemployment. we are still living with these very high rates of inflation. that is the worst of all worlds. high inflation, no jobs. we want to avoid that. of course, that is with the federal reserve is now working hard to do. it wants to raise rates fast enough, high enough, to slow growth and quell inflation, but

not raise rates so much that it undermines the stock market, undermines the housing market, pushing us into a recession. pretty tricky. it is why lots of economists, i'm sure you have heard are calling for a potential recession. at this point, it is more than likely they are going to be navigating things with an economic play on the tarmac, rather than a recession. >> aren't we in the middle of a definition of a recession? isn't the gdp going down for two quarters and a row? one of them could happen. already. it has to turn around now. >> it well. just to be a little bit pan-democratic, there is no definition of two quarters in a row. it is a group of economists, actually. academic condiments. who determined, based on lots of data. not just ddp, but income and economic production, that this is the economy contracting in a

broad based, consistent way. that is not a recession. that is what we saw on the first quarter. it won't even be a debate. this is not a recession. we are not anywhere close to that at this point. >> okay. i feel much better after having spoken with you. thank you for that uconn one-on-one, and then some lesson. russia's threat to use nuclear weapons harkens back to the cuban missile crisis. is a nuclear threat even greater now? even greater now? good for you, but shingles doesn't care. because 1 in 3 people will get shingles, you need protection. but, no matter how healthy you feel, your immune system declines as you age increasing your risk for getting shingles. so, what can protect you? shingrix protects. you can protect yourself from shingles with a vaccine proven to be over 90% effective. shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles

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white transported inmate casey white, those two are not related, from the jail to a courthouse friday morning for a mental health evaluation appointment that apparently didn't actually exist. dickey white's patrol car was found abandoned at a nearby shopping center. investigators are working to determine if the officer assisted the inmate or if she was taken against her will. residents of a small town in kansas are facing devastation this weekend. a powerful tornado tore through 12 and a half miles of the wichita suburb of and over, kansas on friday night. 3 to 400 buildings were damaged and at least four people were injured. well, just a few minutes ago, president biden, you see him, they're landing in minnesota. he will be speaking at the memorial service of former vice president walter mondale. let's go to my colleague, julia jester, standing by with us in minnesota minneapolis. welcome, what can you tell us about the service today? which i understand starts any minute now. >> yes, alex, any moment we

will hear from president biden. speaking at the belated memorial service for former vice president walter mondale, who passed away last april at the age of 93. biden actually spoke with mondale the weekend before he passed away and he considers him a close friend and mentor. like biden, mondale was a man of the senate. having served 12 years representing the state of minnesota. biden will be joining other dignitaries such as the governor of minnesota, as well as senators tina smith and amy klobuchar. and, as you mentioned, he's expected to give remarks which will be pretty personnel. mondale is known for reimagining the role of the vice president. when he served under jimmy carter, as his right-hand man, they actually were the ones to start that weekly lunch tradition that you may have heard about. biden and obama during their days, that he's trying to carry over with harris. he also started having the full intelligence briefings as well.

so, he really tried to make the role of vice president less of a ceremonial position and one that is integrated into the decision-making of the administration. so, we can expect president biden to talk about how mondale really created a model for biden's own service as vp. something he's trying to carry on in his relationship with vice president kamala harris. but, interestingly, this week, my colleague mike memoli noted that their weekly lunches have fallen by the wayside. they've only had two this year. so, it will be interesting to see if biden touches on his own experience as vice president with obama, and then working with harris. but mondale is quite beloved here in minnesota, so biden is expected to talk about the role of the vice presidency. but mondale himself as a person, who is nicknamed fritz and biden even called himself that when he was offered the vp role. so, expect a lot of personal as

well as professional and it does today, alex. >> yeah, just add another note, i understand that president biden also spoke at present vice president mondale's wife joan's funeral service. indicating how close the families are. julia jester, that you for monitoring this all for us. now to the war in ukraine, some striking parallels to history. especially the threat of nuclear weapon. some historians suggesting that the threat is more severe now. joining me now is mark up to, grove president ceo of the lbj foundation and author of the new book, incomparable grazed, jfk in the presidency. mark, big welcome to you. i'm excited to talk to you about the book, but let me do something before we get to those specifics. compare and contrast what we see now to the looming nuclear threats of the past. and that includes the cuban missile crisis. that was like, what, 90 miles away from the florida coast? >> that's exactly right. so, the soviet union started shipping, arms nuclear arms, to

cuba. which is just 90 miles from american shores. this is because there was an imbalance in the amount of nuclear weaponry that the soviet union had versus the united states. we had nine times more nuclear weapons than the soviet union did. so, this was a way for nikita khrushchev, the premier of the soviet union, to get greater parity with the united states. by shipping missiles just 90 miles from american shores. the first time that we had soviet weaponry in the western hemisphere. john f. kennedy said that this will not stand, and they're in sued 13 days i've been possibly on the brink of nuclear annihilation. perhaps the most perilous moment in humankind, alex. until now, when there is another threat of possible nuclear war with the invasion of ukraine by vladimir putin. >> yeah, during that cuban missile crisis, mark, not a shot was fired.

does that mean that it was a workable diplomatic solution back then? but now it would have been impossible? how does not parlay into what we're looking at now with ukraine and russia and those threats? >> well, the circumstances were slightly different. in the case of the cuban missile crisis, again, you had that disparity between the amount of nuclear missiles that the united states had versus the soviet union. but john f. kennedy was determined to avoid nuclear war, he was determined to avoid military engagement, despite the very jingle a stick advice from his military advisers. kennedy does not want to strike the missile installations and cuba, which is what his military is advising. that's two pro bowl provocative. instead, he opts for a naval blockade. having ships them blocked the soviets from shipping additional arms and troops into cuba. saying this will not stand,

we're going to put a fence around this through this blockade. and that gives him time to try to figure out a way to resolve this crisis, which he ultimately does through back channel negotiations with the soviet union. >> so, big picture here though, mark. you write that jfk had some early stumbles in his presidency. those include the bay of pigs quagmire, that disastrous summit with nikita khrushchev that happened shortly after. so, between june of 1961 in october, 62, when the missile crisis put everyone in america, everyone in the world, on edge. one of the characteristics, you think, that guided him through that crisis? that may be leaders today could look at that and say, i need to employ that? >> first of all, kennedy was very much humbled by those early mistakes. he confesses to the american people that the bay of pigs quagmire, which was his first major mistake, was his fault. at the end of the day, the buck stopped with him. that was one thing.

i think he became sort of chastened and humbled by that moment. he resolves to do better to the american people. one of the things he does, alex, is he again rejects the instinctively jingle a stick advice of his military advisers. he keeps very close council with his executive committee, people who will not leak to the press, he rejects the notion of group think. yes man who will tell him what he wants to hear. instead, he looks at all the advice in the room and then determines the most prudent course. all of those things make john f. kennedy a much better leader when he faces a cuban missile crisis than he was in the early days of his presidency. >> so, what you're saying is that jfk really relied on his own instincts a lot. i mean, he was certainly well educated and all that. but taking the advice, but going through it and then making his own mind up and sticking to it. >> that's exactly right, alex. but, additionally, he is determined to avoid military

engagement. there is an anachronism at the time, mad, mutually assured destruction. if we fire on the soviet union, they will fire on us and we will both be annihilated. this is very much part of the zeitgeist at the time. most americans believe that there will be a nuclear exchange in their lifetimes, and john f. kennedy is determined to avoid war. what he does, though, alex, as very successful in that moment, and i think biden has been successful in this moment, is he rallies western nations around this the crisis. he shows the soviet union that that's will not stand. not only because the united states rejects it, but because the world rejects it. he does that through meetings at the united nations. i think joe biden is very successful, and will get credit in history for this. he rallied western nations around the situation in ukraine. this is after nato was severely weekend, during the trump

presidency. early on in his presidency, biden began strengthening those relationships so it was easier. with the invasion of ukraine, to rally nato around the cause. >> mark up to grove, i wish you tremendous luck with this book and tremendous access with it. incomparable grace, jfk and the presidency. come see me again, i love these history lessons. thank you. a lot of people are counting on president biden to forgive student loan debt. is it now just a matter of how much? i'm going to talk with someone who heard directly from the president on the matter. directly from th president on the matter. ♪ and kenny on the koi ♪ ♪ and your truck's been demolished by the peterson boy ♪ ♪ yes -- ♪ wait, what was that? timber... [ sighs heavily ] when owning a small business gets real, progressive helps protect what you've built with affordable coverage. ♪ ♪

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unrealistic. dhs secretary alejandro mayorkas reacting to that on meet the press today. >> i respectfully disagree with the criticism. we share with individuals, with the, public -- the operation. they were concerned that was not enough. they didn't see enough, that we don't have a plan. we've had a plan for months. as i mentioned, since fall of last year, for the eventual end of title 42. what i did was i published a 20-page memorandum that set forth greater details about our plan. >> joining me now is california congresswoman dime that leonnig on a democratic -- of -- energy and homeland security -- -- good to see you back on the broadcast. thanks for joining me. let's take a look at that plan. we are going to show it to our viewers. i know that you have seen it. and you and other members of congress and the congressional hispanic congress had met --

you on a record saying it's time to lift title 42. how confident are you with the admission straightens plan? do you think you can effectively secure the border passed may 23rd when it is lifted? >> thanks, alex. title 42 is a public health authority. and when we take a look at the border, the border was secure before title 42, and it will be secure after title 42. this is a conversation i had with the secretary during his apparent in homeland. and, look, it's not going to be easy. nothing is easy when it comes to the border. there have been issues in the border before, after title 42, and there will be after. remember, if there had been people waiting on america short for 2 to 4 years because the last president basically said, what can we do to shut down the border and not use american law. right? remember. -- under a u.s. law -- you can apply for asylum. right, now under title 42, people have not been able to do

that. they have been waiting on american shores. we will expect there may be more people than usual. but we have to make sure to support dhs. and make sure they have the resources necessary. congress as appropriate, 1.4 billion dollars so that dhs will be prepared. but to say let's not do it because, you know, we're gonna have border issues. that is the wrong way to look at this. >> what do you say to republicans who appear to be trying to use this as an effective way to go after democrats? which seems rather unfair, buy the description you're offering. and the things in the plan. >> republican i interest in the plan. i know that because i was on -- with the secretary and republicans, and there was only one single republican who asked a question of the secretary. they are not interested in the plan. they are interested in having an election year and making immigration the issue again. just like trump did it. and just like he did for four

years to you -- scapegoat. this is more of the same of. that it's really unfortunate. they are not interested in immigration reform. they are not interested in a plan. this is political theater for them. but we need to make sure to lift this and move on. congress has to do's job to. the immigration system is broken. and part of that is on us, to pass comprehensive immigration reform. to make sure the backlog of all these cases is addressed. people shouldn't have to wait for years to have their asylum case adjudicated. that's part of the problem. >> let's take a listen together to what democratic senator menendez had to say about title 42 a little bit earlier and nbc. >> title 42 is not the solution. it's part of the problem. there needs to be a comprehensive immigration plan. our republican colleagues, however, they want the issue. they do not want the solution. >> so, he is backing up what

you just said in answer my previous question. but is there a direct line to stopping the flow on the border? >> well, part of that is having to address the -- we have to remember why they are making this dangerous journey. climate change, disaster, corruption in their countries. it's causing them to make the dangers journey. no one wants to leave their home just to come. and we have to continue to work on supporting countries, and making sure the opportunity is there for them in their home countries. but then we also have to make sure but -- our immigration system here works. and it doesn't work. and we know that. and we know this at the border for sometime. i could tell you, the border is secure. and that is something i can tell you as a member of the homeland committee we have briefings, we've spoken to the secretary, and will continue to do all we can to continue to secure the border. >> okay. let me move on to what's the president also said to caucus,

tipper giving some student debt. but then a few days after doing, that he made clear, not going to consider $50,000. what more can you tell us about that conversation and the action that you want to see the president take? >> the congressional -- hispanic caucus -- to lead our priorities. one of those is student loan cancellation of debt. and we ask the president if he would forgive at least $10,000. the response for the president was very positive. he didn't go into any specifics on amounts. but there were conversations about how much that would be and who it would apply to. there was also conversations on whether the student loan debt should apply to private versus public institutions. so clearly the president's engage in conversation with us to convey the message he is going to do something. and they're looking at different options. and we expect something to happen shortly.

there was a lot of optimism on this topic. and this is something we're gonna continue to push. because we know that people are burdened with student loan debt. they shouldn't be. and they are having a hard time, you know, with so many bills. and people should not have to decide between rent, and medicine, and student loan debt. and then also, it's hampering people's ability to get into homes. we are looking forward to the presidents action on this. very optimistic that will happen shortly. the question is, what is the scope and how much will it be for? >> i guess we are all waiting for the answer to that way. let's talk very quickly about the prices at the pump with house speaker pelosi saying that a federal gas tax holiday would be something to consider. that there's been some interest in that regard, where do you stand on? that is that the answer? >> first, of all we need to move off of fossil fuels and transition into clean energy to get away from our -- reliance on gas. but in the short term, americans, and we are hearing from americans and constituents

who are filling in at the pump, the oil companies are making record profits on the backs of americans. so a gas tax holiday, not probably the best way to go. we can ensure that the oil companies will pass it savings on. i am more on the side of making sure that we are taxing the windfall profits and putting those back into the pockets of the american people. to make sure there's a direct way they are paying the tax. and that benefit is going into the pockets of the american people. >> and we should say nancy pelosi echoes your sentiments of not being at all certain that the big oil would return those profits to the consumers. rather than keeping them in their own coffers. thank you so much california congresswoman -- meantime, we're gonna talk about russian and why it's having so much trouble now in the eastern part of ukraine. -- is in the studio next. is in the studio next. is in the studio next.

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signs that russia is suffering yet another major setback. the uk's ministry of defence says, despite fierce fighting in the eastern region, low morale and logistical challenges, russian forces have been left struggling. here to break it all down for us, and bc's richard lui in the studio to do another one of his big board drills. i love those. so, here we go. let's talk about what's happening in the latest, as you know it. >> alex, great afternoon to you. it's been just over a month since russian commanders announced we're going to shift our resources from the north, we're going to take them to the south. so, how are they doing, a month later? given their new, top strategic priority? here's a positioning. just to take you back one month. april 2nd here, of this month. we're now getting into may, the first day. notice the groupings here in the north. i notice the groupings here in the southeast, just keeping your eyes on these two boxes here. you'll notice this. that this no longer has read, this no longer has read, this gets a little darker.

let me go back again. here it is with the read a month ago, they said they're going to move the troops to the south. this is a lot of gray here. and, then we go to the month later, they're now moving. april 30th. now, what is the amount of battalion groups that they move to the donbas? u.s. officials say that they moved, in total, now, all of the forces south. they have 92 battalions. that's about 700 to 1000 troops, each battalion. if you look at, this down here, this is that one troop equals ten on this icon. so, total, 92,000 russian troops now that are trying to take over the south and the donbas. i want to zoom in for you, into the south. this is the way it looks right now. when we look at the strategy that was trying to be employed by the russians, they were trying to box out, in this area, the ukrainian forces. now, they have three sides. but they've been unable to do, but despite that focus i was

talking about a month ago, of them trying to do so. they've been appealed to do this fourth side, to finish the box. so, the progress has been slow. when explanation, here alex, is russian units have reportedly been plagued by supply issues and inconsistent air support. another one is that the russian units that were moved from the north to the south, that i was talking about at the top just now, they never fully recovered to full combat strength, because they remove so quickly. >> so, what about ukrainian counterattacks? how successful have they been? >> now, the counterattacks, that's a very good question. take a look. here i want to show you another graphic, here of the north. the way that it looked before. you can see here, in kharkiv, once the second largest city in the country. the ukrainian strategy has been here, talking about counteroffensives, has been to push russian forces back 20 miles across the border. so, what they're trying to create here, really quickly here, is to push the red and turn that into blue. so that the russian front is back here, therefore their

artillery, alex, cannot even hit past the -- into the area of ukraine. so, there you see it. >> okay. i'm glad for that rundown, let's get further information here as i'm joined by andrea to chalk, member of parliament and ukraine. andre's, talk to me about the status of the russian forces, as you know. it's the progress that they are or not making. what do you know? >> i can confirm that, for the last more than a week, the last ten days, everyone is saying about a massive attack of russians in the south. because we all understand that all paranoid russian propaganda is aiming on the may 9th, to present some kind of victory to russian society. so, that's why they need something. but the reality is that, for the last ten days, all efforts of russians in the south are in fact doomed to failure. yes, it is a very hot stage of

war, yes, it is very massive shooting from both sides. in reality, russians are not moving at all. meaning the ukrainian army is still able to resist, even to the all resources which russia already sent to the south of ukraine. >> okay. you saw nancy pelosi, the highest ranking u.s. official to come to ukraine right now. a couple of questions here. first of all, the military equipment that is on its way, if not arriving as you and i are speaking. but also, the image of nancy pelosi with this high delegation, standing right there with president zelenskyy. what kind of message does that signal? >> look, let's be fair. it looks like the next five or ten years, everyone in the west will ask each other, have you've been to ukraine in 2022? have you've been to kyiv in april, may 2022?

kyiv, now, is a symbol of fighting for the western democracy. and that is why a large number of european and american leaders are trying to be in kyiv. and it is very important, as for them, as for us. it's really simple. besides the symbolic, parts it was very efficient negotiations. i know that president zelenskyy spent more than four hours talking with american delegations today and yesterday. we really thank you for everything that has been done, by american senate and house of representatives. so, the land lease decision is extremely important for ukrainian victory. i think it will be a good example for europeans, because we compare the land lease of 2022 with times of the second world war, only the united states was able to help europe. for the moment, european

countries like united kingdom, germany, they are much closer to europe than the united states and we hope they will follow the example of the united states and will do the similar acts of support to ukraine. because, for the moment, everyone understands that this war can be ended only on the battlefield, on ukrainian soil. >> okay. member of ukrainian parliament, andré you tkachuk, that's to you. thank you for your words. that's going to do it for us and this edition of alex witt reports, stick now now for yasmin vivian. right here, on and mess and bc. and mess and bc copd may have gotten you here, but you decide what's next. start a new day with trelegy. ♪ ...feelin' good ♪ no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function.

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visalli in. we are covering some big news right. now nancy pelosi and a congressional delegation make a surprise visit to ukraine. and president zelenskyy -- while ukraine's future may request on a new aid requesting congress. also a desperate evacuation from a steel plant in mariupol getting underway. in a moment when i talk to a member of the mariupol city council. we are also awaiting live remarks from the president. speaking any moment now at a public memorial for the late by president mondale. and later on this hour, and honor 38 years in the making. a woman denied her rightful place as class valedictorian as a teenager finally gets what was hers all along. you don't wanna miss that