>> good morning. it is saturday, february the 25th. it's 10 am in new york, 5 pm here in kyiv. ukraine's resilient capital city, which is still standing, despite tremendous odds after 367 days of war. i'm ali velshi. as you can see, life is carrying on all around me. and otherwise regular saturday afternoon, if not for the rest about captured russian tanks displayed in the streets and the air raid sirens that have become a regular part of everyday life for millions of ukrainians around this country. most residents have learned to live with it and to adjust to

this way of life. as guests in this remarkable city, so must we. if an air raid siren goes off during the show, when it went off last night and hours ago, we will need to leave this location and go somewhere more secure. now, if that does happen, my friend and colleague, alex witt, is standing by in new york to pick up coverage until i'm all set and safe to rejoin you. while a raid sirens don't always mean that there is an imminent threat in the area, these are precautionary measures that we are going to abide by, particularly during the week when everyone here has been on high alert. there's been a concern that russia would mark the first anniversary of the war with an attack that would likely have targeted kyiv. but the skies around the city have actually been eerily quiet. the anniversary came and went without any major new offensives or acts of aggression by russia. fighting, however, continues in the eastern and southern parts of this country, like in and around the city of bakhmut, where ukrainian and russian forces have been locked in battle for months. and while kyiv has been relatively peaceful in recent months, let's not forget that

the outskirts of the suburbs of the city to wear battlefields just a year ago. few people thought that it would be able to stand up to the apparent might and power of russia, as it began launching rocket attacks in the outskirts of the city in the early days of the war. many feared the worst for the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelenskyy, a former comedian, a political upstart who had served in the government for less than three years when this war began. instead, zelenskyy has persevered. he stopped of as a wartime leader, often compare now to winston churchill. he's proved to be an effective communicator, rallying international support for his country to ensure that ukrainian fighters would be well equipped to send up against russia. zelenskyy's grit and determination was clear early on. on the second night of the war, he posted a video on the messaging app telegram, showing himself and other officials outside in the streets of kyiv. and earlier this week, the capital city of kyiv was the backdrop of president biden's unannounced visit into ukraine. it was right here. a clandestine trip that

involves taking a secret flight and a train ride from poland, that took a total of 20 hours round trip. the scene of these two world leaders walking the streets, as a raid sirens blared and embodied the sentiment that biden would express directly in his speech in warsaw the following day. quote, our support for ukraine will not waver. nato will not be divided, and we will not tire, and quote. the biden administration backed up those statements yesterday on the first anniversary of the war by committing an additional two billion dollars in aid and military support to ukraine. the united states and the european union also each announced you new sanctions against russia, and russia lined entities, and poland reveal that it has already delivered for leopard tanks to ukrainian forces, and that it's ready to deliver more. this all comes as zelenskyy continues to request f-16 fighter jets from america and elsewhere. a request that president biden has so far denied, telling abc news yesterday that he's, quote,

ruling it out for now. although he said similar things before about sanctions and missiles, and tax, and other military equipment that the united states eventually did agree to. but as ukraine shores up its relationship with its allies, so does russia. u.s. officials recently said that china is considering providing artillery shells to russia, which is running low on ammunition after a year of war. yesterday, china even called for a cease-fire. and for ukraine's allies to end the sanctions that have been levied against russia over the past year. this week's developments underscore the fact that even though a major new russian offensive has not yet materialized, the end of this war is nowhere in sight. we've entered a protracted phase of the war, a war of attrition that will test the strength of global alliances the longer it goes on. and the stakes are high, not just for ukraine, but for the rest of the world as well. a point that president zelenskyy reiterated to me yesterday, when i asked him a question during a press conference here in kyiv. >> last week, the president of

poland had said that in this war is still going on one year from today, there is a real danger that it empowered russia will invade another state. given how effectively you have held back russian advance with nato's help here in ukraine, is it even conceivable that russia could invade another state, particularly a nato state? >> unfortunately, yes. >> i believe it is possible. and that might happen. why? i can give you an explanation. president putin needs to demonstrate successes and victories. so, there is not going to be a success on the battlefield in ukraine, and he will not succeed with the massive -- launch in ukraine. so, he would need to demonstrate success. >> former ukrainian president,

petro poroshenko, joins me now. he served other countries fifth president from 2014 to 2019. it's good to see you in person. you and i sadly had the occasion to talk many times. first of all, you've just come from the east. tell me what you saw. >> i came this morning. it was near bakhmut. i was in a meeting with our soldiers and our -- brigade throughout -- from the lid are -- kreminna and we have a full, decisive ukrainian soldiers. a key fact of our victory. we have encouraged soldiers, -- we have lots of the volunteers who supply and unfortunately, we have a lack of ammunition. we have a lack of artillery. this is what soldiers ask us, me, to help him to deliver and this is my request. first of all, soldiers know how

important american assistance is, how great it is, the american leadership in the world, understand how it's a key fact of our future victory. but we need ammunition, we need air defense, we need long range missiles, and we need armed personnel carrier, together with a tank, for providing offensive operations. we shouldn't give any tiny chance to russia to rebuild -- a counteroffensive. every single day of delay ammunition and weapons would make our soldiers task difficult, and we will pay more of a price. so, first of all, as the supreme commander and chief, as the fifth president of ukraine, i know weapons are never enough. but i can tell you, we have enough weapons to withstand with putin and we have absolutely not enough weapons for our successful offensive operation. >> this is a big distinction,

right? the ability to withstand, you've proved in the last year withheld from nato and the west. but you are worried that if it becomes a stalemate, russia is a much bigger country. might not be able to rally its troops right now, but it can let people out of the presents and keep on sending people into what looks in the east like world war i, world war ii type warfare, just sending people out. >> no. you should understand that i'm proud that it's me who built up a new ukrainian army, and the new ukrainian armed forces was built on the nato standard, with a great interoperability with nato, with a great assistance of all nato member states. and russia has a soviet style armed force. this is the battle not simply between ukraine and russia. this is a battle between two systems, and russia, who attack not only ukraine. russia attacked the free western democratic world, and with that situation, we just delivered having left soldiers, having less ammunition, less

artillery. we provided we can bring the victory. our proud -- liberated from the russian armed forces. two thirds of the occupied donbas and in the end, 2022, we have a great success in kyiv, because we, russian troops were eight kilometers from the place where we are. i was staying here for the very first day with the weapons in the hands, together with my team, just fast evening. we had more than 2000 people, and we had distributed the weapons, we went directly to fight with russian tanks who were on the entrance of kyiv. now, we have not any doubt victory will be with us. the global world supports us and helps us. taking into account -- consideration, please, you should not only support ukraine. you invest in europe's spirit because our purpose is a

sustainable global security on the european front. >> you've sat at the table with vladimir putin. you were involved in negotiations with him. i hear from every ukrainian, for now, there will be no negotiations. they don't want to negotiate peace, they want russia to leave, and that means leaving crimea as well. what happens? how does this and? >> we have, from my personal experience, we have several conclusions, several pieces of advice how to make a negotiation with putin. point number one, please don't trust putin. putin never tells the truth. point number two, please don't be afraid of putin. be ukrainian, learn how to do that. point number three, we need to create a global correlation and i'm happy that we're doing that. even with the -- agreement, minsk agreement, we've created a complex of steps that was point number one, this is the wisdom of the whole russian troops from ukraine. point number two, there was --

heavy artillery and weapons. point number three, to release all the hostages. point number four, to release the ukrainians. so, to establish ukrainians -- on the all russian occupied territory. this was a demonstration to the whole world that even when putin signed off these documents, nothing happened. this is the proof evidence that do not trust putin. point number two, when the world will see that this is not the civil war, as putin said, this is not a conflict on the east of our country. this is the real war, russia is an aggressor. this helps us to establish that sanctions against russia, and now the sanction, together with the weapon supply, is a key factor for our huge victory, because we need to cut the finance, which russia finance the war in ukraine, and that's why we need to cut exports from russia to the whole free world. and the effective cooperation

and weapons supply in the sanctions, effective cooperation injustice for the true tribunal for putin, financial support of ukraine, and very, very important key factor. future membership of ukraine in nato. without this, nato security -- nothing can happen. >> well, they're talking, even the republicans in the u.s. are talking about fast-tracking sweden and finland. they want it done, mitch mcconnell said, by summer. certainly by the end of 2023. you know joe biden, you know these leaders, and there seems to be starting to be a break. we heard two former uk prime minister say, give them the jets they want. we heard some people in the united states say, give them the jets they want. yesterday, president biden told abc news, not now. >> i know joe biden, as the vice president and as the president very, very long time. and the biden --

no means not now. and that means that nobody knows, maybe it can happen in three, four, five months. but please, don't make an f 16 as a symbol because for our victory, we need, first of, all ammunition, tanks, armed personnel carrier, air defense, long range missiles, which is critical. because we need to attack the russian logistics. russian critical infrastructure. >> you're not doing that in russia, because that's a worry, right? you take a long range missiles, you hit them into russia, is nato involved there? >> no, no, no. we are speaking about tank occupied territory and the last thing, the jet fighters, we just need to organize air defense just to stop russian dominance in ukrainians because in the year of 2014, i created the air defense for kyiv. that was so effective that even in the year 2022 on the 24th of february, russia did not reach

the results to destroy ukraine air defense system. i'm proud to do it. but f-16 would be a game-changer. if you want to have the victory faster, definitely with the f-16, we can reach this result simply faster. >> i appreciate the time you've always taken to meet with us. it's the beginning -- thank you, sir. >> i want to thank the nbc for the extremely effective work in ukraine, delivering truth about ukraine to the whole world. and you are doing obsolete job. we will see you again. petro poroshenko is the former president of ukraine. okay coming, up the united states ambassador to ukraine bridget brink joins me live right here to discuss where america's role in this war is going forward. plus, this week's meeting on velshi banned book club's call to order. we will drive into great pieces by the celebrated ukrainian author, andre kirk of. the main character exist in the

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ukraine began last year, russian forces seized bucha, southern of the capital kyiv. when the city was liberated in early april, stunning reality was revealed. russian soldiers had deliberately tortured and murdered civilians. shooting them in the streets, and their homes seeking out anyone who they suspected of assisting the ukrainian military. by ukrainian estimates, more than 700 people were massacred in bucha before it was liberated. during a news conference yesterday, president vladimir zelenskyy was asked to describe the most horrific day of this war for him and his answer was simple. >> [speaking non-english]

probably bucha. what i saw there when we went there, it was very scary that what we saw we realized that there must be a devil there in this world. >> at the time when most of the world learned of the horrors of bucha, i was here in ukraine reporting from the western city of lviv. i spoke with a member of the nation's parliament, alexei coach orenco who had left kyiv and gone to the site of the liberated town about the atrocities that he witnessed and bucha. and this week, i met with him again. this time in person in bucha. as i walk with him through the stretch of this town that once saw so much carnage, i witnessed an incredible moment. -- he pointed out to a house where a woman once lived, he met her on the day bucha was liberated, the day he and i spoke april 2nd of last year. russian soldiers had taken over

her home and her business and forced a family to live in the basement. here's what happened next. >> and arresting story about this building, i didn't know this family that they live here or not. i have a video, so i came and there was this house and then a lady came out and she was recognizing me as -- and she started to speak with me. by the, way they are opening maybe this family is still there so she said to me, i don't know. we can come maybe that -- because this is a house that they have on the ground floor, they have a beauty spa like a beauty salon but they live on the first floor of the building. they live there at that time and russian forces, they were deployed here just a live together with these people. >> and then this is the place

where the russian soldiers were living upstairs. >> yes this is the house, i don't know how it looks like the same, it was a beauty salon. hello. [speaking non-english] >> i spent the day in bucha with him and that was just a snippet of what we saw. i will bring you that full report and what happens after that hug tomorrow on velshi starting at 10 am eastern. one year ago, my msnbc colleagues and i were on air as the first explosions an air raid sirens went off in kyiv. i will take you through that night with my friend erin maclachlan next on velshi live in kyiv, ukraine. in kyiv, ukraine boost your team's productivity with samsung's fastest processor yet. switch and save up to $1000 on the new galaxy s23 ultra.

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the world was preparing for the potential fall of this city, kyiv. ukraine has defied all expectations. and i stand here today in the resilient capital city, but when i went on air from the anchor chair in new york on february 23rd, 2022, which was already the early hours of february 24th here in ukraine, all signs were pointing to a russian invasion, and it all unfolded live on tv. >> on the night of february 23rd, 2022, the world would change over the course of just a few hours. for weeks prior, the world had expected russian president, vladimir putin, to invade ukraine. [speaking non-english] putin's forces had already been telling russian-controlled eastern -- eastern ukraine for days, and russian troops had amassed along the untie or russian border with ukraine, and in belarus. ukraine's neighbor and russia's ally to the north. it was not a matter of if, but

when. in the early evening, u.s. echo terrace of state, anthony blinken, told -- that the invasion could be underway at any moment. >> do you have reason to believe that before this night is over, russian forces will be engaged in something akin to a full invasion of ukraine? >> i do. >> i took the anchor chair in our msnbc headquarters in new york city at 9 pm eastern time that night. our nbc news correspondent for spread out across ukraine. in the capital city, kyiv, kharkiv, near the russian border on the northeast, and mariupol on the azov sea. at that hour, things were still relatively calm throughout most of ukraine. >> they're poised and ready to come over that border at anytime. the main risk here isn't that ukrainians won't fight, it's that they will fight. >> the calm would not last much longer. >> flights of civil aircraft have now been restricted in all of ukrainian airspace. it is now almost six a.m. in eastern ukraine, and there are

reports of noises being heard that could be explosions. >> an emergency meeting of the united nations security council was underway, and just before 10 pm eastern, the u.s. ambassador, linda thomas-greenfield, announced that russia had entered eastern ukraine. >> she has confirmed, however, things that we did not know going into the. she says that they have information that russian troops have now entered the donbas. >> while the worlds diplomats were meeting at the u.n., president vladimir putin was delivering a speech to the russian people. a speech that would essentially trigger the start of the war. >> well, the latest report from moscow is that vladimir putin is speaking, or has just finished or is speaking at this moment, saying that he, telling the russian people, that he has authorized a special military operation, as you said, in eastern ukraine. that is apparently from vladimir putin's mouth. >> and minutes later, explosions in and around the capital city of kyiv. >> we have yet to hear any sirens go off, however, in the city. >> but that would soon change.

>> it's the early hours of the morning here in kyiv, and people here in the capital city are waking up to the sound of booms. we've heard any number of what sounds like explosions in the distance, just moments ago. >> kyiv, the capital of an independent democratic nation, was under military attack. >> trying to keep people calm, trying to keep people from panicking in what is, and there, ali, i just heard the first siren, it's just gone off. and i've been told by city officials that that indicates that this is a city under attack that, again, it's the first time we've heard sirens in the capital of kyiv. >> i just want to hold on there for a second because you've been hearing explosions now for a couple of hours, and we were asking about the sirens. you said they've been tested. let's just listen. the sirens are now underway in kyiv. the sirens are sounding to indicate that the city of kyiv, the capital of ukraine, is

under attack. we have had reports of missiles and explosions. let's listen for a moment. [sirens] >> the war had begun. our correspondents on the ground reported through the night, which was early morning in ukraine with the sounds of explosions in the background. >> i want to go to kharkiv. matt bradley is here, he's hearing some shelling in the background. matt, what's going on? >> hey, ali. we are hearing so shelling right now in the background. we're trying, it's actually behind the camera. we're trying to figure out where it is. >> i can hear it. >> i'm sure you can hear it, it's still sounds pretty distance. but it's ongoing. >> yet another large boom, another indication that this capital is under attack. again, we heard from an adviser to the minister of the interior say that cruise and ballistic missiles are being fired at kyiv, targeting military installations, as well as airfields. another boom just heard to my right. >> it wasn't clear if they were

responding to any particular incidents. although now, as we are speaking, i just heard, it sounded like one explosion that may have been to, or that first one could've been the reverberation of the first explosion. >> we are getting confirmation from ukrainian authorities that kyiv is under attack. >> that's remarkable that you are hearing from the ukrainians that there are missile strikes on the ukrainian capital of kyiv. i just want to be clear, that is what you are telling us. >> that is according to an adviser to the minister of interior. >> this is a highway out of kyiv. look at the cars on the right side going into kyiv, very few of them. look at all those cars that are leaving kyiv right now. >> we are starting to hear some first rumblings of what sounds like a ground invasion that's actually coming over the border from the north, where i am, near where i am in kharkiv. >> it's a stunning reality to

stand here in the ukrainian capital of kyiv, in a flak jacket, telling you that this capital is now under attack. >> joining me now, one of the correspondence you just saw in that -- erin mclaughlin, she was reporting for the network in kyiv when those first air raid sirens went off on february 24th. my friend, you and i have known each other for a long time. i've never seen that look on your face that night. >> it's chilling to watch that piece, ali. truly chilling to watch that piece. on the night of february 24th, i was fast asleep. it was the early morning hours and i remember waking to the sounds of explosions in the distance. our colleagues who were coordinating -- our producer over radio saying that the bombs were falling, the bombs are falling. roll call, roll call. the next thing i know, i'm on a balcony in the pitch black darkness, listening to the sounds of explosions. realizing what was happening. it was something out of a movie,

you know? it's interesting. i've interviewed so many ukrainians who've survived extraordinary experiences and they will tell you that. they say it's hollywood, it's like hollywood. i can tell you that night was like watching a film. a horror film unfold. >> one of the things that we talked about a lot in those early days is that the world thought kyiv would capitulate. the world thought this country would fall. at what point in your coverage did you realize something else was going on, that the resistance of the ukrainians were putting up, with the help from nato, and now we've learned the intelligence from america and the uk, and germany, they were repelling this. >> it wasn't actually for a while. it took quite a while, a few days, to really understand that there was a resistance underway. that night, the most concerning thing to me at that point was getting the story right. i was standing on that balcony, i essentially had three pieces of. information at that moment. the sound of explosions in the distance, president putin's address announcing the

so-called special operation, whatever that meant, and a line in a whatsapp chat group from an adviser to the interior minister, saying that the capitol was under attack by cruise and ballistic missiles. that's, and that's all you have? >> as all of the information that i had and so there's a moment in the piece where you ask me, please clarify what you are telling me. >> and i look at my phone and it was stunning even to me then that that is what i was saying on a balcony in a european capital and a flak jacket and a helmet. it was a stunning reality and in that moment, i really felt the weight of the millions of ukrainian lives that were hanging in the balance. it was history. >> you and i bought this week went out to bucha and for all of the talk of pushing back and victory, that was where it was laid out for the world to see. there was something we're going on here than a battle between armies. what happened in bucha and what we learned on april 2nd wanted that had been happening through march was what a lot of people are calling were crimes.

or more. there are people with hands tied behind their back [interpreter] [interpreter] and people riding their bikes with shopping bags who got shot on the spot. he went there now and i think you and i are both struck by the degree to which people are trying to live their lives, even in the shadow of these arid sirens and the atrocities that they faced. >> yes that's right and one of the chilling things that really hits me, again when i watch that piece that you put together, was that was happening while we were all standing on a balcony in kyiv. we had no way of knowing what was going on and those outer areas near the border with belarus. there was a particular moment in the coverage when we were speaking that night when we watched live as the russian tanks just flew over that border, unchallenged. i had been on that road, this keefe got crossing two weeks prior. it took three hours for me to get there. i knew that that was a straight shot to the capital. if there was no resistance, what that would mean for the

3.9 million people that were living there, at that moment it became that it went from missile strikes to full ground invasion. and to think that those tanks rolled through bucha, and what happened to the people of bucha, i was out this week at the home of one boucher resident, who described how the tanks got stuck on his street and he hid in the basement with eight other people, his dog and cat and essentially called the ukrainian military for help, not knowing what would happen when they came. having the courage to make that phone call, the ukrainian military sending in the drones and the tremendous obliterating the entire street. you are now stories like that, the resilience of the ukrainian people, their willingness to fight. i was speaking to an adviser to the mayor of kyiv and he was telling me that they did not know how many ukrainians would stay in the capital. we saw that traffic, the lines of people leaving. they did not know.

now they know, 1.9 million ukrainians chose to stay. 1.9 million ukrainians chose to honor themselves and to fight. truly incredible. >> and historic the work that you've done, thank you my friend. erin maclachlan continues to report on this war in ukraine. all right coming up at the top of the, our united states ambassador bridget brink is joining me live here plus i will call to order this week's meeting of the velshi banned book club. joining me today as andre kirk of whose novel great bees offers a clever and close look and identity home, community and culture all through the lens of war, all in ukraine. you are watching velshi live in kyiv, ukraine. kyiv, ukraine. (woman 1) i just switched to verizon business unlimited. it's just right for my little business. unlimited premium data. unlimited hotspot data. (woman 2) you know it's from the most reliable 5g network in america? (vo) when it comes to your business, not all bars are created equal. so switch to verizon business unlimited today.

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reporting on the start of the full fledged russian invasion of ukraine, i stopped in poland where and many ukrainian refugee. a 15-year-old girl named anastasia spot who flood eastern ukraine with her mother and sister. her father stayed behind, serving on the front lines as the military chaplain. this past week, i had the opportunity to see anastasia and her family again, she is 16 now, back in ukraine but knows that she is forever changed by the war even as you tries to look forward. >> i was sitting with your whole family, we were having lunch and it seemed like the

most normal thing in the world. there is nothing normal here. there is no part of it that's normal. >> i am jealous and i want to come back to this time before war. and it just was time when you can be a kid. when every friend is in town. so you just can be with friends, just to be a kid. have a normal education, finish the school and i missed this time a lot. >> are you going to get your childhood back? will you be a kid again? >> i think no. i am grown-up. i didn't have time to be a kid. >> the rest of that moving conversation with anastasia is coming up in the next hour. well since the first days of russia's full-fledged invasion of ukraine last february, ukraine, united states, the united nations and others have documented tens of thousands of war crimes committed by russian forces. but holding the russian perpetrators to account is not going to be an easy task. i will explain why next on velshi live from kyiv, ukraine.

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but unusual as it seems to those of us who try our best to avoid war, it has some basic rules laid out. in part, by the geneva conventions. those rules involve not killing or torturing civilians or non combatants. not killing or torturing captured soldiers. no mutilation, no taking of hostages. no unfair trials or cruel, humiliating, and degrading treatment. those are war crimes and so far, since the start of this illegal invasion on february the 24th, 2022, according to ukraine's prosecutor general, more than 71,000 war crimes have been reported here in ukraine since this brutal or began one year ago. now, authorities say there is widespread evidence of executions, attacks on civilian infrastructure, forced deportations, child abductions, torture and sexual violence. trials are already underway, of

course, in ukraine, which have tried and convicted 26 suspects, mainly low russian officers accused of what are being called direct perpetrator crimes. holding more senior leaders accountable for war crimes committed on the ground poses a greater challenge and will likely take years. but that is not stopping ukrainian prosecutors and international legal experts for moving ahead collectively to pursue justice. the international criminal court in the hague, netherlands, the normal venue for trying these types of offenses, is expected to focus on more high-profile suspects and cases. and the icc is also collaborating with several european nations, whose laws allow them to prosecute war crimes in ukraine. for more on this, i'm joined by the retired united states army colonel, yevgeny -- he's an international law expert and a former ukrainian legal advisor with the white house national security council. he's been to ukraine six times since last june, visiting these devastated cities throughout the country and to investigate war crimes on behalf of the atrocity crimes advisory group.

good to see you, thank you for being with us. >> thank you all for having me here. >> i'm asking you in the break, how do you think about, there's lots of evidence for these war crimes. there people cell phone video, this satellite video, there's also some ways to corroborate it. probably more so than many other conflicts in the past. but there are no leaders to arrest. there are no leaders to charge. there is no one to hold to account just yet. and if nobody ever arrest vladimir putin and his group, what does justice look like? >> well, at this stage, the investigation is the most important thing. accountability is a long term process. world war ii, germany was still holding the war crimes trials as recently as last year. same thing is happening in yugoslavia for the crimes that were committed decades ago. so, at this stage, it's about collecting the evidence, preparing cases for what the opportunity presents itself, either regime changing in russia or somebody travels outside of into europe on a vacation or a visit. they can never escape accountability, no matter how

long it takes. and it's about a web of accountability, so european courts have a rule. icc has a role. ukrainian courts have ruled. and potentially some special tribunal set up for the crimes of aggression. >> crime of aggression is what they call the mother law crimes, right? the idea that the war is an illegal war was launched, because there was no goal that russia had that was a legitimate goal. it wasn't actually trying to take land back that was taken from it. that is the big one. all of these other crimes come from the crime of aggression. >> that's correct and when you look at a crime of aggression, you look at things like the character of the war, why was it fought? was it a humanitarian intervention? which could be an exception to the crime of aggression. or does this scale, what's the scope of the war? and here, with the massive attack that russia has perpetrated last year, a year ago, and the entire territory or three quarters of the territory around ukraine, the massive formations of artillery, naval air forces.

there is a fairly straightforward case for a crime of aggression. >> even if somebody's a soldier, a combatant, there are rules about how you treat them once somebody surrendered or once they're in your custody, or once they've got handcuffs on you, can't torture them, you can't kill them, you can't do these things. but we were talking about in bucha and -- hostomel and, by the way, what we still don't know about mariupol and places like that. these are crimes against civilians. >> correct and so, whenever you're not in combat anymore and captured p.o.w.'s, it's considered wars of combat. it means you can't shoot them anymore, they're non combatants. civilians are always unlawful targets in civilian objects. i've been to places like bucha or irpin, hostomel, i've seen the places where the executions actually took place. i've seen the executions, i've seen what looks to be very clear evidence of indiscriminate bombing, non proportional attacks on areas where civilians can be injured. and so, that's just the tip of

the iceberg. if you think about places like mariupol, huge cities that were basically raised to the ground, you're going to see many more cases right now, the prosecutor general had 71,000. i suspect that number is going to be much higher, when all of ukraine is liberated, i say when, because i have no doubt that is going to happen and the investigations taking place in those areas. >> yesterday at the press conference, president zelenskyy went asked about war crimes and the prosecuting of them, did express some concern that it is the one piece of satisfaction he doesn't get from world leaders, in that they tend to respond with, we don't have good enough infrastructure for prosecuting were crimes. what was he talking about? because you're talking about a whole web of being able to prosecute war crimes. he was sort of implying that there is not enough. >> well, i think there's actually -- for most of the crimes, there was a good infrastructure. in fact, the crime of aggression, there was a mechanism for the international criminal court to try the crime of aggression. the problem is that international institutions are very much hampered by this

particular conflict, because of russia. russia is a veto holding member of the security council, and so, it would have to be a referral from the security council for the icc to be able to try the crime of aggression. that is just not going to happen in this case. that's why there are other thoughts about mechanisms that sort of ad hoc tribunal that's raised in the ihor something like that. but there are mechanisms, and certainly plenty of mechanisms for war camps and atrocities. >> you and your brother alex are military experts. but you are also from here. your family hails from here. this is personal for you. >> it's personal, to the extent that i feel for the people. i mean, the story that you had just a few minutes ago with a young girl, my daughters just a few years younger than that and it's hard for me to imagine that the suffering that the population has gone through here, and i frankly remember one of the things distinctly is the hug she gave you. how human that is. and so, there's a humanitarian component, undoubtedly, to a

free people just trying to live their lives that have been brutally attacked. but i also see this as a u.s. security issue, and last week, mitch mcconnell, and i have to agree with mitch on this, he said that this was the most important event going on in the world today. he's 100% right. this is the most important event because we're in interconnected world. covid has showed us that, the war in ukraine, with a potential burgeoning new russian empire, it's going to impact the united states, and it's going to have a far reaching impacts to other national security issues. so, it's a humanitarian issue for me, but also i can't shake after 25 years in the army, the national security, the interests of the u.s.. >> we are glad you cannot shake your service of the country. do you colonel and to your brother, thank you for all the work that you've done for the safety of america and the world. so good to see you in person. >> you too. >> yevgeny -- is a u.s. army colonel retired. he's also former deputy legal adviser and senior ethics official for the white house

national security council. still ahead, a special edition of velshi banned book club live from u.s. with the ukrainian author, andré kirk of and his modern classic great bees. -- beekeeper survey lives on the street with no neighbors in the gray zone, and no man's land in annexed eastern ukraine. also next, the united states ambassador to ukraine, bridget brink, joins me live. we will discuss the latest round of u.s. military aid for ukraine and what is still needed, as russia's full fledged war enters its second year. another hour of velshi live from kyiv, ukraine, starts after a quick break. kyiv, ukraine, starts after a quick break. after a quick break. ese payroll forms... my business' payroll taxes will calculate themselves. right? uhh...nope. intuit quickbooks helps you manage your payroll taxes, cheers! with 100% accurate tax calculations guaranteed.

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it's saturday, february the 25th. it's 11 am in new york, 6 pm in kyiv. ukraine's resilient capital city, which is still standing, despite tremendous odds after 367 days of war. you are hearing the bills, at st. michaels to theater. i'm ali velshi. as you can see, life is carrying on all around me and otherwise regular saturday evening, if not for the rested out captured russian tanks displayed in the streets, and the air raid sirens that have gone off a couple of times today that have become a regular part of everyday life for millions of ukrainians around the country. most residents have learned to live with it and adjusted this way of life, and as guests in this remarkable city, so must we. but if an air raid siren goes off during this show this morning, we will need to leave to immediately evacuate this location and go somewhere more secure. now, if that does happen,