clarissa ward also hearing steady blasts in kharkiv, or kharkiv. kharkiv is how she is pronouncing it there. and that just happened moments ago. clarissa, before i get back to math matthew, matthew said he had not heard any blasts, this is the first time he's hearing, even with the operation that had been happening for years in ukraine, he had never heard anything like it. does that -- is that the same for you? >> absolutely. i mean, we're used to being on the front lines covering the crisis and the war that's been going on here for eight years. you heard artillery. you would hear gunfire, grenades, mortars, things of that nature. but what we have been hearing, rumbling across the skies for the last five to ten minutes, is something of a very different nature. and i think that's borne out when you look at the build-up on the russian side and you see the amount of weaponry and hardware and troops. this is clearly an operation on a much larger scale than anything ukraine has witnessed in eight years of this war. and what's just so striking is that the

go back to cnn's clarissa ward who is in kyiv tonight. w where that is and what's going on? >> reporter: yeah, so, basically, anderson, it's going on in multiple locations around the city. you've got that fighting going on in observe lon i was pointing out earlier. but we are now hearing explosions in the city, in the western part of the city. that's near a military base. we've also heard from the state service of special communications that in the eastern suburbs, there have been -- there's been some heavy fighting. all of this is really happening now, anderson, within the city limits. those images you saw there where the sky is kind of lit up, those took place in the southwest part of the city. so, you can see what i'm basically driving at here from the east, from the west, from the south. it's really coming closer and closer to the city center from multiple angles. and this is exactly what president volodymyr zelenskyy warned about just a couple of hours ago. he said, tonight is the night the russians will try to storm our capital. it's

folks, joining me now from ukraine, please welcome cnn chief international correspondent, clarissa ward united states and russia were at loggerheads. the u.s. says the ukraine is-- is an urgent and dangerous situation, in danger of russia invading. the russians say that the united states is exaggerating. you've talked to the ukrainians. how are they feeling about all of this? >> it's really extraordinary, because you would expect there to be an all-out panic, right. any other country, there are 120,000 troops on your border. there is a build-up of military hardware. you've got russian ships also down in the south. you'd think that people would be really freaked out. but what's interesting in ukraine is people have been living with the threat of russian aggression for eight years. and they lived through a couple of years of a pretty vicious fighting between ukrainian forces and pro-russian separatists. war has kind of become the fabric of life here. and as a result, i think that until there are actually bombs falling or shots being fired, people don't pay as much attention to the rhetori

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but first let's go to clarissa ward in kyiv. all right, now while the war wages on in ukraine we are seeing the indomitable spirit of many people as they endured this conflict. we're also seeing thousands of citizens who are desperately fleeing their country. cnn's chief international correspondent clarissa ward now. >> reporter: a man stands on his balcony looking out at a new reality just hours after a missile slammed into his apartment building. it was 8:00 a.m. when the projectile hit destroying parts of the 22nd and 23rd floors. according to ukrainian authorities two people were killed. officials here say it was a russian strike. russia's ministry of defense claimed it was a ukrainian anti-aircraft missile that went awry. whoever was responsible, this is what happens when war comes to a major city. homes and lives are destroyed. at the city's central train station a frantic dash as people try to escape to the west of the country. step back the train conductor says, step back. she tells the crowd to leave their bags to make

we have our clarissa ward still in a subway station in the northeastern ukrainian city of kharkiv, wheresian bombardment, artillery barrage. clarissa, we were with you earlier. what have you seen in the last half hour since we spoke? >> reporter: i've never really seen a situation like this. this feels to me like scenes from world war ii and the blitz. there are just hundreds and hundreds of people who are hunkered down here with absolutely no sense of what tomorrow will bring. frankly of what the rest of today will bring. i want to introduce you, we have been talking to oxsana here, who is with her two children, what are your children's names? your name is yaroslav. how old are you? >> i am 9 years old. >> reporter: are you scared? >> so-so. >> reporter: you're a very brave boy. >> thank you. >> reporter: you have a daughter here as well. >> yes, she is named kate. she is 6. >> reporter: is she okay? >> i think she wants to sleep because we woke up at 5:00. >> reporter: 5:00 a.m. >> yes. we heard some -- >> reporter: explosions. >> yes, explosions. >> reporter: what was your reaction? >

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thank you very much, clarissa ward. we appreciate it. espondents throughout the region. cnn's teams are covering all of our breaking news. an adviser to you caukraine's mr to the interior saying that russian troops have landed in odessa, they are crossing the border near kharkiv. president biden spoke to ukraine's president just tonight. and he'll also address the nation and the world at noon on russia's military action in ukraine. there's a lot going on. it's coming in in the moment. the u.s. and allies are planning to trigger the full scale of sanctions that have been discussed for weeks now. that's according to a senior administration official. and discussions about the final package expected to be on the agenda at the virtual g7 meeting scheduled in the morning. and as we have been saying, the worldwide resources of cnn are there. clarissa ward just said we have crews spread out throughout ukraine. you see some of them there up on your screen. that is just a small part of who we have there on our breaking news. frederik pleitgen is in

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let's start with clarissa ward, joining us from kharkiv. what more can you tell us about this dire message from the ukrainian president czeh l zelenskyy tonight? >> that's right, wolf. he said he is target number one. his family is target number two. but he also said he is not going anywhere, that he intends to stay in the capital city of kyiv for the moment. one can only imagine how difficult a position that will be to maintain as we continue to see russian forces continuing with this assault. here in the city of kharkiv, wolf, you can see it's a very different scene than it was last night. last night this is the big middle of the town scare behind me. it was tense and it was quiet, but nothing like it is today because we're just over 20 miles away from that russian border where there's been that huge buildup of artillery, armory, also purse ml. they have been engaging with the army, and the people here now are basically waiting to see at what point they potentially arrive at this city. and nobody knows what will they do if they arrive at

our clarissa ward went down to the site of this school where the shells struck. >> reporter: this is where the ukrainian military says that one of the artillery shells hit. you can see this is a room where children would be playing. fortunately, there was no one in this room at the time. but according to local authorities, three people who worked here -- >> reporter: the concern is that russia would use instability in that region, trading of artillery fire and so on, as a pretext to say things are getting unstable. we have to send our russian forces in to stabilize the situation. jake, as you heard secretary antony blinken at the u.n. today, that just one in a long menu of pretexts that the u.s. is concern russia might use or deploy to justify an invasion. >> jim sciutto, thank you so much. appreciate it. >>> today the russian government formally responded to proposals from the biden administration on ways to keep peace in the region. a u.s. letter sent three weeks ago raised concerns about russia's military buildup and left the door open for ukraine to join nato. jill dougherty is l

clarissa ward, cnn, kyiv. >> and we want to take a moment and look at this, again. these dramatic and very moving images. this is about 110 miles of northeast of ukraine's capital. ukrainian citizens are begging russian soldiers to stop. they have even thrown bicycles in their path. then -- as you see -- a man jumped onto one of the tanks. you can see him holding onto the barrel of that tank. he slides off, tries to physical ly hold it back. he then drops to his knees, bringing the tank to a dead halt and creating a standoff that seemed suicidal. bystanders pulled him aside and the russian tanks lurched forward on their way. cnn has confirmed the authenticity and location of this video. we all have questions about the situation going on right now in ukraine. send me yours through twitter and instagram and i am going to try to pose them to the experts joining me tonight and tomorrow. our breaking news coverage of the russian invasion of ukraine continues in just a moment. you are in the "cnn newsroom." not all plastic is the same. we're carefully desisigning our bott

erin burnett is in lviv, clarissa ward in kyiv and barbara starr is at the pentagon. barbara, i want to start with you because you have a couple of new, very important developments. nato announcing for the first time ever it's activating the response force. explain what that means. >> well, dana, this is a very nuanced development in military events in europe. nato has activated what is essentially 40,000-man response force. these are troops that would be ready to go to their positions on very short notice. no one is thinking that 40,000 are going. it will be something smaller than that as nato makes decisions throughout the next several days. but what it does is put troops on standby essentially. be ready. you may be deployed. you may be going to certain loca locations. this is something the u.s. is already doing. we saw 7,000 troops being announced by the pentagon. it puts in a framework for further deployments on the eastern flank of nato. air, ground, sea, command and control. it makes nato much more ready to respond if it's needed. so look for announcements in th

jim sciutto, clarissa ward, kaitlan collins, thank you. we'll come back to you. ce s s ce cedric leighton joins us. are you taking a statin drug to reduce cholesterol? it can also deplete your coq10 levels. i recommend considering qunol coq10 along with your statin medication. the brand i trust is qunol. with quality that's guaranteed for life, bath fitter doesn't just fit your bath, it fits your high standards. why have over two million people welcomed bath fitter into their homes? it just fits. call now or visit bathfitter.com to book your free consultation. "peace of mind." such a big, beautiful idea. and for us at booking.com this means - free cancellation on most bookings. it's a bit functional. but we'll gladly be functional. so you can be free. booking.com booking.yeah what if you could have the perspective to see more? at morgan stanley, a global collective of thought leaders offers investors a broader view. ♪ we see companies protecting the bottom line by putting people first. we see a bright future, still hungry for the ingenuity of those ready for the

we have live coverage tonight as only cnn can, from kaitlan collins at the white house, clarissa ward in kyiv, and nic robertson in moscow. caitlyn, i want to start with you. president biden said the u.s. has not yet been able to verify that russian troops are leaving positions near the ukraine border. what is the white house hoping to see that would indicate clear de-escalation, and how like do they believe at this point that an invasion is likely? >> well, when we talked to officials about what this would look like if they thought an invasion was going to happen or if they thought russia was de-escalating, they said it would take either direction that putin took to figure out what was happening, to make sure they could verify what was heard on the ground, to make sure the intelligence was correct, and make sure what they heard was right. they are proceeding with caution here, given the level of concern about what they have said about a pretext for invasion, concerns here. so when it comes to this, the president said today they haven't been able to verify this claim that putin made e

clarissa ward is live in kyiv. what do you see today? >> reporter: so this is after a 36-hour curfew. so there were a lot of people out on the street. and most of them going out to try to get things like supplies, groceries, gas, everywhere you went you saw long lines snaking around the block and people waiting for sometimes more than an hour or two just to get some food. but what was extraordinary, anderson, is that there was no sign, the first couple of days people were petrified, there was a sense of shock, today i saw something very different. i saw resilience, i saw defiance. a lot of people carrying signs on the street saying putin is a word that i can't say on television. billboards saying russian soldiers, go home. how will you be able to look your children in the eye. and we saw a huge amount of volunteers outside of every municipality building. they are making sandbags, digging defensive positions, putting together molotov cocktails. anything that they can to try to con contribute in some ways against russian forces. it was rem

cnn chief minl international correspondent clarissa ward is in kyiv. contributor and criminologist jill dougherty in moscow, and in lviv, jim sciutto. clarissa, i want to start with you in kyiv. what has the reaction been in ukraine among officials to the sanctions announced and the canceling of the blinken/lavrov meeting? >> well, i think there's no secret that there have been some daylight between the u.s. and ukraine on the issue of how to respond to this threat that putin has been posing. the ukrainian point of view was always that if you know it's going to happen, this invasion, you should levy sanctions early. now, however, we're seeing a much more united stance. president volodymyr zelenskyy coming out and saying how grateful and appreciative he was not just of the u.s., but of the uk, the eu, germany in particular for cancelling that crucial nord stream 2 pipeline agreement which has such huge geopolitical and strategic consequences. zelenskyy also went on to say that he is now not mobilizing the army, but he is calling up reservists, and this i

cnn's clarissa ward was there earlier today. >> we're talking hundreds of people spread out throughouthis entire subway station. there sore many people and they have no sense of what's coming next. do you have a car? >> yes, i don't have -- i can be safety in ukraine in any city. >> and this is something we're hearing a lot, john, is this idea people have a car. but where do they go? >> there are now no u.s. state department personnel left in ukraine. international condemnation of the attack has been swift and almost universal. ukraine's president is calling putin's new war a new iron curtain coming down. cnn is on the front lines of this story across the globe. we'll start with erin burnett who is live in laviv, ukraine, west of the capital. as you know, russia attacked a military installation a short while ago. tell us more. >> what we saurks obviously, what seemed to be the unbelievable across this nation, lighting up the skies. early this morning we heard distant bombs and unmistakable sound in the distance. and here up to eight air sirens went off in those next hours. there were b

chief international correspondent, clarissa ward is in ukraine., i want sta start with dateline onto breaking news. what is the latest on these negotiations? >> russia responded to the written response the u.s. sent to russia last week. we don't really know, anderson, what it has said. the state department confirmed they did receive this but they are saying they are going to leave it up to russia if they want to lay out what was said. now, we know when the u.s. responded to these security demands by russia last week, we didn't really expect any breakthroughs because we were told by sources that the united states was basically going to say in this, what they had said publicly. that they were not going to comply with some of these demands from russia, including ones like ukraine should never join nato which we have told they are on the path to do so but it is going to be a long path to actually get there. and so, we are not expecting any big breakthrough on this and of course as you saw today with the russian representative there at the united natio

. >> live to kyiv and bring in cnn chief international correspondent clarissa ward. a lot of new information this morning and you have been to and from already what might be the biggest hot spot, the most tense area in the entire nation. >> so, john, these front lines between the ukrainian military and russian-backed separatists in the far east of the country have been largely frozen for years. the war has been going on for eight years, but they have been largely frozen. up until really the last couple of days, where we started to see a major uptick, particularly yesterday, heavy shelling in one town, the ukrainian military took us there, in dark, which is very unusual for them, they wanted to show the world what is happening. take a look. ukrainian military has brought us nearly 400 miles towards the front lines in the east of the country. it is already dark by the time we land. we only have a short time on the ground, but they are determined to show us the aftermath of heavy shelling earlier in the day. this kindergarten is less than three miles from the so-called

cnn's clarissa ward was there filing this report. >> reporter: we are here in a residential neighborhoodquite near to one of kyiv's airport and you can see behind me, i am just going to step out of the way so my camera man can show you here the damage that has been done. some kind of a projectile hitting the apartment. there are still balanambulance workers on the scene. they're trying to take some scaffolding to try to prevent the floors from collapsing. nol one was actually killed in this strike. we are hearing from ukrainian authorities that six people were wounded. it is hard to imagine how anyone survived that. six people are wounded and they are being treated in various hospitals. there is a little bit of al he or she going on about how this happened. ukrainian authorities saying this was the work of russian missile. the russians are saying they believe, it is very windy here and a lot of debris flying around. the russians are saying they believe that this was actually a ukrainian missile defense system that somehow when arrive ended up hitting this apartment building. who was resp

clarissa ward is with us now from kharkiv. you are witnessing something that is taking place right in front of your very eyes on the streets. take us -- tell us about it. >> yeah, i think this, don, really speaks to the sort of desperation of this moment. we just see a small group of people, and i'm hoping you can see them on our shot here. a small group of people have gathered in the main square and they are kneeling and praying because right now there is truly a sense of having no idea what is coming down the pipeline, what is in store for the people of ukraine in the coming hours and the coming days. and it's freezing cold here. so to see these people kneeling on the cold stone in prayer is honestly -- it's very moving, don. and i think it speaks to the state of ordinary ukrainians here who have done absolutely nothing to deserve this, who have no quarrel with russia, who have no desire for war or conflict, who are not engaged with the geopolitical underpinning all of this, and yet who will ultimately be the ones to bear th

our chief international correspondent clarissa ward has details. >> reporter: a man stands on his bal balcony, looking out at a new reality, just hours after a missile slammed into his apartment building. it was 8:00 a.m. when the projectile hit, destroying parts of the 22nd and 23rd floors. according to ukrainian authorities, two people were killed. officials here say it was a russian strike. russia's ministry of defense claimed it was a ukrainian anti-aircraft missile that went awry. whoever was responsible, this is what happens when war comes to a major city. homes and lives are destroyed. at the city's central train station, a frantic dash, as people try to escape to the west of the country. step back, the train conductor says, step back. she still the crowd to leave their bags to make room for more people. she just said women and children can get on the train now. you see people pushing to get on. they have their pets, their babies, trying to get on this train to get out of here. ukraine's railway services say they're evacuating 5,000 people a day. every single space is precious.

cnn's clarissa ward is in kyiv witnessing the aftermath.he filed this report. >> reporter: hi, boris, hi, christi. >> you can see the damage done, hit about 8:15 this morning. you can still see smoke coming from it. there was a big fire, still smoking. there are ambulance workers on the scene. what they're doing is trying to take scaffolding up there to try to prevent the 22nd and 23rd floors from collapsing. miraculously, no one was killed. we're hearing from ukrainian authorities that six people were wounded. frankly, it's hard to imagine how anyone survived that. but six people wounded and being treated in various hospitals. and there's a little bit of he said/she said going on about how this happened. ukrainian authorities saying this is the work of a russian missile. and the russians are saying that they believe -- excuse me, it's very windy and there's a lot of debris flying around -- the russians are saying they believe this was actually a ukrainian missile defense system that somehow went awry and ended up hitting this apartment bui

cnn's clarissa ward was there in the aftermath and filed this report. >> reporter: we're here in a residentialghborhood quite near to one of kyiv's airports and you can see behind me, i'm going to step out of the way so that my cameraman can show you here the damage that has been done. some kind of of a projectile hit this apartment building at about 8:15 this morning. you can still see smoke coming from it. there was a big fire, still smoking. there are ambulance workers on the scene and what they're doing now is trying to take some scaffolding up there to try to prevent the 22nd and 23rd floors from collapsing. but miraculously no one was actually killed in this strike. we're hearing from ukrainian authorities that six people were wounded. frankly, it's hard to imagine how anyone survived that. but six people were wounded. they're being treated in various hospitals. and there's a little bit of a he said, she said going on about how this happened. ukrainian authorities saying that this was the work of a russian missile, and the russians are saying that they believe -- it's very windy here and

clarissa ward is there for us. tell the viewers who you are seeing. >> reporter: wolf, we had been told that tonight we should anticipate a major assault on the city. i'll say it is not the first time we have been told that. notwithstanding we are preparing ourselves and asked to lower the lights and putt on the body armor as you saw talking to alex there. i guess it was about 15, 20 minutes ago now we did hear a large explosion and probably see over the shoulder here in the distance, the sky is kind of glowing red like a pulsating glowing red. we believe and we have no idea that perhaps a fuel depot. and that the fire is still burning. that's why you are seeing the pulsing, glowing red light and heard a little bit of activity in the skies and small arms fire around but generally speaking with the exception of this large blast i can't say that so far this is a noisier evening than the last two we have had. certainly last night with a fair number of explosions. steady stream in the night. and the real question now i

clarissa ward, cnn, ukraine. >> and that'll do it from us here in western ukraine.it back to kim brunhuber in atlanta. kim. >> thanks so much, michael. >>> most could he vitt infections steadily fall and states begin to contemplate next news, there is encouraging news on the vaccination front. half of the population is fully vaccinated according to data from the cdc. alabama is the last state to fall. 60% is totally vaccinated. meanwhile, states are moving ahead with plans to ease restrictions. gavin newsom unveiled his plan for the next stage of the pandemic which is mask mandates. some health experts are saying, not so fast. >> it is risky. it is risky. you may get away with it very well. it is possible you are going to get away with it, but you do have the risk when you pull back and you have a certain dynamic of infection that you'll have a rebound. hopefully the states that are doing that have a plan if, in fact, we do see a rebound. they'll be able to reinstitute the mitigation that they're now pulling back on. you know, when you want to pull back and say we'r

clarissa ward was there speaking with frightened but determined ukrainians seeking safety. >> reporterts scrambled to find shelter as russia's brutal assault unfolds. deep underground, scenes reminiscent of the second world war. the shock just sinking in that what was unimaginable is now reality. 36-year-old daria tells us -- >> you wake up and you realize it's 5 a.m. and you find out that the world is no longer the safe place from earlier. we independent country, ukraine. we don't want to be a part of russia or any other country. >> i can't believe it's happening, really. >> reporter: yesterday this was just an ordinary metro station full of people going to and from work. today it has become a de facto bomb shelter and there are just hundreds and hundreds of people who have descended on this place fearful for their lives and uncertain of what the future will bring. the thing you hear over and over again from people is where can we go? where is it safe now to go in ukraine? and i want to be clear about something, this is not a front line city in ukraine. this is a thriving country of 1

senior chief correspondent clarissa ward is with me in kyiv, of course barbara starr standing by. first to you, clarissa. the ukranian military once again, frankly, on a somewhat different page of the military assessment. >> what's so interesting about this is when you look at the intelligence report, they agree in terms of the russian troops. they said just over 148,000. president biden yesterday talked about 150,000. but they dispute the notion that that is enough troops for a full-scale invasion. now, i don't think it's entirely surprising that they might still try to continue to downplay the threat of a large-scale invasion. it's important to remember that they see russia's strategy here as being not just to potentially launch an invasion, but to destabilize ukraine with the threat of an invasion, with cyberattacks. and so what they are trying to do at the moment, i think, although of course this is an internal report and not designed for public consumption, they are trying to allay immediate fears of an invasion and try to keep up a semblance of normalcy in the country. certai

clarissa ward is in the eastern ukraine city of kharkiv and we will get anna stewart in london. cnn senior international correspondent, jim bitterman, is live in paris with international reaction. but first, let's go to white house reporter kevin hiptak in washington. so, kevin, as the russians advance on the capital with all that could entail, what is the white house saying about the situation? >> yeah, the white house and the biden administration, at large, are are watching that situation very chosely this evening. we should say, earlier tonight, some u.s. lawmakers did receive a briefing from top-level administration officials, and one of the key pieces of information that they were told in that briefing was that russian forces coming from belarus were about 20 miles outside the ukrainian capital kyiv. that was about seven hours ago. so of course, those forces may have advanced since then. these lawmakers were told that the forces were on the east, south, and north of kyiv. and obviously, this was all a very troubling information. one of the other things that you are starting

watched there, a security camera that caught the moment a missile hit an apartment building, cnn's clarissa wards there. and just filed this report with us. >> reporter: hey, boris. hi, christi. so, we're here in a residential neighborhood, quite near to one of kyiv's airport. you can see behind me, i'm just going to step out of the way so my cameraman scotty mcwhinnie can show you here the damage that's been done. some kind of a projectile hit this apartment building at about 8:15 this morning. we're hearing. you can still see smoke coming from it. there was a big fire, still smoking. there are ambulance workers on the scene. and what they're doing now is trying to take some scaffolding up there to try to prevent the 22nd and 23rd floors from collapsing. but miraculously no one was actually killed in this strike. we're hearing from ukrainian authorities that six people were wounded. frankly, it's hard to imagine how anyone survived that. but six people were wounded. they're being treated in various hospitals and there's a little bit of a he said/she said going on about how this happened. ukrain

. >>> let's go to clarissa ward in kyiv. there is this intention now to sign the decree, to recognize the separatist enclaves in the donbas region. >> reporter: it's significant, but we don't know if president putin will go even further. he's been talking for some time now, and some of the things he's been talking about now, he says ukraine is an integral part of our russian history. ukraine has had to rely on countries like the united states, he says it's riddled with corruption and with the plague of nationalism. and so on and so forth. this has been quite the historical diatribe here. essentially delineating ideas he's already touched on in the past. last summer he wrote this long letter that was sort of a tome on this history of russia and ukraine and their links as brotherly nations. but we had expected that potentially this would be a fairly short address, he would come out and declare that he was recognizing the independence of these two breakaway republics in the east of ukraine. it's not clear whether that will be t

we begin this story with cnn correspondent clarissa ward. she is in the capital of kyiv. clarissa, you heard russia being urged to leave immediately. this just says they are -- >> we've heard the leadership take a milder tone here, urging people to be calm, saying they don't expect this to be a full invasion. of course, it's a violation of territorial integrity and of sovereignty and generally trying to tamp down any notion of panic. but there's definitely been a shift, i would say, in the last 24 hours or so. president zelenskyy announcing that he's calling up reservists and now an announcement saying there will be a state of emergency in the next 24 hours. that state of emergency would last 30 days. he said today, jim, the future of european security is being decided in an instant. we've also heard security forces here saying that if there is any provocation or any attack on ukranian forces that they will respond in an instant, but for now they have not yet mobilized the military. so clearly leaving themselves a little bit of road yet to go. they also said at some point

cnn chief international correspondent clarissa ward reports on that. >> reporter: a man stands on his balcony, looking out at a new reality just hours after a missile slammed into his apartment building. the 22nd and 23rd floors. according to ukrainian authorities, two people were killed. officials here say it was a russian strike. russia's ministry of defense claimed it was a ukrainian anti-aircraft missile that went awry. whoever was responsible, is this what happens when war comes to a major city. homes and lives are destroyed. at the city's central train station, a frantic dash as people try to escape to the west of the country. step back, the train conductor says, step back. she tells the crowd to leave their bags, to make room for more people. >> so she's just said that women and children can get on the train now. you can see, people pushing to get on. they have got their pets. they have got their babies and they are trying to get on this train to get out of here. >> reporter: ukraine's railway services say they are evacuating 5,000 people a day in kyiv. and every single space i

let's go to clarissa ward live for us in kyiv.hey are warning that russia troops are very close to the capital. what's going on there? >> reporter: it is a very eerie situation. it is completely silent out there with the exception of the steady thud of explosions. mostly in the distance. few just 20 minutes ago were a little closer and then we heard those air raid sirens, which you mentioned before. that's pretty much the only sound you hear out on the streets these days. the air raid sirens. people are hunkered down, taking cover, fearing the worst. we know that russian paratroopers have already taken control of an air field just on the outskirts of kyiv. there are also russian troops moving toward the city in three different directions. they have been facing some pretty stiff resistance from ukrainian forces. the expectation from many is that it won't be long before they are able to press further in. we actually drove here today from the city of kharkiv in the east and we saw along the way a ukrainian military convoy, about thre

. >> cnn chief international correspondent clarissa ward.he is also in ukraine at the capital of kyiv. you heard jake sullivan describing there how a major invasion would be brutal. it would be deadly. i met ukrainians who say they've got weapons in their home. they're prepared to fight if necessary, alongside the army, and at the same time, you and i, we've seen calmness in many of the cities here. how are ukrainians particularly in the capital preparing? >> reporter: so jim, it's interesting. the streets of kyiv today, again, we've been out walking around this afternoon. it is calm, maybe a little bit tense, but absolutely quiet, i would say. and that may be because ukrainians aren't hearing quite the same things on their news bulletins that we're hearing in the u.s. and in other countries around the world. ukraine's leadership is really trying to adopt a more moderate tone on this topic talking about ongoing efforts to, you know, resume some kind of a diplomatic process and also trying to refute russian accusations of atrocities being car

clarissa ward as well. thanks very much. >> pentagon said national guard soldiers left ukraine warning the situation there is indeed escalating as the u.s. is providing the country with 180 tons of ammunition. cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr is here with me. as of today, what is the status of u.s. troops? >> the first bottle line is the precedent remains adamant, u.s. troops will not go into ukraine. will not encounter and fight russians. u.s. military off the table. what is happening? 150 florida national guards inside ukraine as trainers have now been removed, evacuated to a location in europe, probably likely to come home back to florida at some point due to the security situation. the u.s. not talking yet about the fate of u.s. special operations forces which are also in western ukraine doing training, not clear if they are still there, no indication they have left yet. there are about 3,000 additional members of the 82nd air force division that largely have been sent already to eastern poland.

clarissa ward in kyiv, kaitlan collins at the white house.? >> reporter: they're definitely concerned. you can hear it in their language the way they're talking about the potential attack. that came from the pentagon today when john kirby today was talking about the potential for an attack today. we are told by a source familiar they do believe a russian attack is more likely than not. and if one does happen, it's likely to be more significant than insignificant. that is a lot of nuance and it remains to be seen what putin would ultimately do. officials caution they don't believe he's made a decision yet. it does speak to the level of concern they have here. they do have a sense here at the white house that very much an attack could happen as soon as this week. >> what's the latest about the closing of the embassy in kyiv? >> reporter: this is notable. they had removed all non-essential staff, told family members to go home several weeks ago. now that they've officially closed it, they were in the process of drawing it down, it does show the

clarissa ward caught this on the streets in ukraine. >> reporter: a small group of people have gathered square and they are kneeling and praying because right now there is truly a sense of having no idea what is coming down the pipeline, what is in store for the people of ukraine in the coming hours, in the coming days and it's freezing cold here so to see these people kneeling on the cold stone in prayer is honestly -- it's very moving and i think it speaks to the state of ordinary ukrainians here who have done absolutely nothing to deserve this, who have no quarrel with russia, who have no desire for war or conflict, who are not engaged with the geopolitics underpinning all of this and yet who will ultimately be the ones to bear the brunt of this multi-pronged attacks on a sovereign, independent nation. >> cnn's clarissa ward reporting earlier. and a sense of fear gripping ukraine this morning. i'm michael holmes in lviv, ukraine. our breaking news continues on "new day" with brianna keilar and john berman. you're watching cnn. i would've calleled yesterday. but... i could've called y

let's get to chief correspondent clarissa ward in ukraine. clarissa, you're in kyiv. it's evening, extremely dark. what is the latest there? >> we've been told to take our live position off the roof, also to limit the amount of lights we use, and that's why our shot might look a little more dim than usual. despite the announcement of those negotiations that are expected to take place tomorrow on the ukranian-belarusian border near the river, there hasn't been any sort of let-up in the booms and blasts we hear every evening here. i should underscore it's difficult to know what's incoming or outgoing, but there sure has been a fair amount of activity continuing. president zelenskyy said about those meetings expected to take place tomorrow morning that he doesn't necessarily suspect they will bear any fruit, but he wants to be open to every opportunity to try to deescalate this situation. initially he said he did not want to go to belarus for these talks because obviously belarus is not a neutral actor in this. they have been working hand in glove with president putin, a

clarissa ward starts off our coverage from kyiv, ukraine, where she witnessed ukrainian citizens eager to defend their country, including making their own molotov cocktails. >> reporter: the people of kyiv are mobilizing. across the capital, volunteers are pouring in. building up the city's defenses with whatever they can. women bring in cocktails. the leaders of thir. emboldened by recent successful operations to repel russian forces. one shows us his passport. i am originally russian, he says, but no russian boots will stand here. >> reporter: do you have a message for president putin? it's a popular sentiment on the streets. this man's sign is too vulgar to translate. another billboard warns invading forces. russian soldiers leave. how will you look your children in the eye? ukraine has borne the brutality of this invasion with patient grit and determination. outside every supermarket, there are long lines and scarce supplies. but no one is complaining. it's amazing to see the optimism of people here. they've been waiting in this line about 40 minutes to get into the supermarket. st

our chief international correspondent clarissa ward is on the scene for us there. president zelenskyy addressing his nation once again tonight, and we're just getting the sound. tell us about his message. >> well, it's a very grim warning essentially, wolf, that russian forces, he says he believes, will attempt to storm the capital. this is a city of 2.9 million people. take a listen to what he said. >> translator: this night will be very difficult, and the enemy will use all available forces to break the resistance of ukrainians. this night we have to stand ground. the fate of ukraine is being decided right now. >> he went on to say that our main goal now is to finish the slaughter. he claimed that ukrainian forces have killed hundreds of russian forces on the battlefield today. he also said that not only are they fighting on the front line, they're fighting on the diplomatic front line. he mentioned the fact he had spoken to president biden today, as well as the leaders of germany and france, expressing gratitude for all their support. but make no mistake, wolf,

here's cnn's chief international correspondent, clarissa ward. >> reporter: a man stands on his balconyout at a new reality, just hours after a missile slammed into his apartment building. it was 8:00 a.m. when the projectile hit, destroying parts of the 22nd and 23rd floors. according to ukrainian authorities, two people were killed. officials here say it was a russian strike. russia's ministry of defense claim it was a ukrainian anti-aircraft missile that went awry. whoever was responsible, this is what happens when war comes to a major city. homes and lives are destroyed. at the city's central train station, a frantic dash, as people try to escape to the west of the country. step back, the train conductor says, step back. she tells the crowd to leave their bags to make room for more people. she's just said that women and children can get on the train. you can see people pushing to get on. they've got pets, their babies, and they're trying to get on this train to get out of here. ukraine's railway services say they are evacuating 5,000 people a day from kyiv, and every single space is

so many here viewing that as a slightly ominous sign, dana. >> clarissa ward, thank you so much for thateport. joining me now is u.s. secretary of state antony blinken. mr. secretary, let's start with what you just heard clarissa reporting on, learning that troops from russia and belarus will continue those joint exercises there past their planned end date. what does that tell you? does it make you more concerned about an invasion? >> it does. it tells us that the playbook we laid out, i laid out at the u.n. security council last week about russia trying to create a series of provocations as justifications for aggression against ukraine is going forward. we've seen that over the last few days. now they're justifying the continuation of exercises, exercises in quotation marks, that they said would end now. the continuation indefinitely of those, quote, unquote, exercises, on the situation in eastern ukraine, a situation that they created by continuing to ramp up tensions. meanwhile, they've been escalating the forces they have across ukraine's borders over the last months, from 50,000 for

i'll go straight to kyiv where cnn's international correspondent clarissa ward is live.sident biden says putin has made a decision to invade. what are you seeing and feeling on the ground there? >> reporter: near kyiv, remarkably the streets are quiet but largely cam. however, that can't be said about the eastern part of the country where war has been under way for eight years now. those front lines had largely been frozen for some time, up until the last few days. yesterday was the highest amount of ak dift that we have seen on those front lines in years. two ukrainian soldiers were killed. a cnn team who were touring the front lines with ukraine's interior minister came under heavy fire. they were pinned down for some time, and then they were forced to flee the area. just days before we had also visited the site of a kindergarten that had come under apparent shelling. so a real uptick in activity along those front lines and a lot of people concerned that things could unravel even more quickly. for the most part, though, ukraine's leadership has been stressing the idea

and clarissa ward showing us hundreds of people now packing a subway station turned bomb shelter. conjuring images of world war ii. ukraine says more than 40 soldiers and at least 10 civilians have been killed in the fighting. this morning, president biden met with g7 leaders to discuss how to respond to all of this and next hour, the president will be addressing the nation and the world and we'll bring that to you live. we are watching history unfold. cnn correspondents are covering every angle and station throughout ukraine, russia and washington. let's get to my colleague jim sciutto live in the western part of ukraine. jim, this has been remarkable to watch unfold and you've been up from the wee hours of the morning. >> reporter: it's remarkable, it's harrowing, it's sad. and we now know the aerial assault extends the length and breadth of this country from here in lviv, attacks outside the city all the way to kharkiv in the south, mariupol and north by the capital, kyiv. it's a deadly assault already and it continues on the ground tonight. cnn's sam kiley, he's live on the ot

our correspondent clarissa ward was at the scene today and now back in the ukrainian capital of kyiv. tell us what you saw? >> reporter: so, wolf, it is pretty rare for the ukrainian military to suddenly summon a group of journalists and fly them 400 miles away and tick take them to the front lines when it is already dark. but they very much wanted us to see the aftermath after a heavy morning of shelling in the town of stancia, they wanted the world to see it. there is great concern that this situation could be escalating because while that front line has been going on for many years between the ukrainian military and pro-russian separatists, as you mentioned there are broad concerns that this could be used as the situation if it continues to escalate as a pretext for president putin to launch an incursion. take a look at what we saw when we turned up in the dark at the kindergarten. >> this kindergarten is less than 3 miles from the so-called line of contact. the front line. and witnesses in this area said that around 8:00 or 9:00 this morning they started to hear shelling. it was l