victims held back by police to prevent her seeing the crimes russia is trying to hide. >> and debora patta joins us now, debora when you hear words like genocide and extermination could the international court successfully prosecute putin for war crimes? >> well russia is not part of the international criminal court, putin withdrew in 2016. they could charge him but getting him in front of the court is the tough part. the icc does not have its own police force and relies on countries to arrest suspects, jericka. >> duncan: debora patta and our cbs news crew, thank you. >> well a cbs news poll out today shows americans remain supportive of u.s. efforts in ukraine. that includes high support for increasing sanctions on russia. cbs's christina ruffini is at the white house with some new developments on the diplomatic front. christina, good evening. >> good evening, jericka, several european nations announced plans to reopen their embassy in kyiv and state department sources tell cbs news they are exploring options for potentially sending u.s. diplomats back into country, although likely not i

we begin tonight with debora patta reporting from kyiv, and we should note that the images you're about to see are definitely disturbing. >> reporter: good evening. this is two very different countries, depending on where you are. in the north here in kyiv, relative calm now that areas around the capital are back in ukrainian hands. along the eastern front in donbas, residents are braced for an all-out russian assault. from land, sea, and air, russia has unleashed sustained misery on the donbas region. for more than six weeks. there's not much that hasn't been reduced to rubble in cities like mariupol. those who escape denounce it as worse than hell. and there's a new offensive on the way. satellite imagery shows a massive eight-mile russian convoy heading south towards the eastern frontline, with a new battle ground commander at the helm, aleksandr dvornikov, the general accused of ordering strikes that flattened civilian neighborhoods in syria. already in the liberated areas around kyiv, destruction on an industrial scale. and a street littered with graphic evidence of atrocities, the

. >> joining us now from kyiv is debora patta. as you mentioned, ukrainian forces may have been able to push some of those russian troops out of areas near the capital, but what else is happening in places like mariupol, for instance? >> reporter: buss have been arriving from mariupol and other besieged cities with shell shocked residents. they've been trapped there for weeks. but there are still over 100,000 people left inside without food and heat. jericka? >> debora patta in kyiv tonight, thank you. >>> president biden is in delaware with no comment this weekend on the war in ukraine, but ukraine's president is talking with cbs news. cbs' steve dorsey is at the white house tonight. steve, president zelenskyy had some strong words today. >> reporter: that's right. volodymyr zelenskyy is accusing russia of targeting civilians, and is calling on the white house to do more to help fight back. on cbs' "face the nation" with margaret brennan, ukraine's president accused russia of systematic ex-termination of ukrainians. >> is this ge

we have a lot of news to get to starting with cbs' debora patta in kyiv. vening, debora. >> reporter: good evening. russia denies killing unarmed civilians saying it is another provocation, but when we visited bucha today, the horror of russia's war in a residential area was undeniable. and we should warn these images are disturbing. these are the scenes that russia denies. the unburied dead sprawled across the town, who do not wear military uniforms. they are civilians like these. executed with their hands bound behind their backs, or residents on bicycles against russian tanks. evidence of war crimes says ukraine. next to this church, a hastily dug mass grave, one of several in this town. the government says nearly 300 bodies have been found. and the ukrainian military released this footage much what it calls a basement torture chamber showing a line of people, hands tied, before receiving a bullet in the head. it doesn't matter where you go in bucha you could stumble across a crime scene. inside this building, a man who was shot at point blank range. he

we have a lot of news to get to tonight, and cbs' debora patta will start us off from kyiv. vening, debora. >> reporter: good evening. about 4,000 people had gathered at that rail station at the time of the attack to get on to trains to escape the violence. ukrainian officials have repeatedly advised residents to leave donbas as the war escalates. and we should warn you that this video is disturbing. the strike at kramatorsk railway station was not only deadly, it was personal. the russian missile inscribed with the words, "for the children." it's an essential hub for civilians fleeing the war in the donbas region. among those killed, women, the elderly, and the very young. another entry on the growing list of russian atrocities. in liberated bucha, the street was littered with graphic evidence of war crimes, but lawmaker kira rudik wants the world to know about the hidden crimes, a weapon wielded in secret, rape. >> it's a matter of power. it's a matter of terror. it's a matter of control they are taking, using it as a humiliation. >> reporter: rudik is collecting evidence t

debora patta in kyiv, thank you. 37 million americans back here at home and across the south are in the path of dangerous storms. thousands remain without power after more than 30 tornadoes touched down tuesday in mississippi, alabama, georgia, and south carolina. cbs' mark strassmann is in hard-hit bryan county, georgia. >> reporter: look at ellabell, georgia, a landscape of ruin. on tuesday, a tornado-- the fury of its winds, hurtling at least 140 miles per hour, makes this community unrecognizable today to residents like ashley drinkard. >> i've been crying because i literally witnessed this neighborhood basically get destroyed. >> reporter: the 24-year-old nurse hunkered down in her shower when the tornado hit. you thought it was over? >> yeah, i absolutely did, just because, like, i'm upstairs. it was, like, literally right coming through here, and i could see it. >> it's going to come back at us! >> reporter: residents of four states shared a terrifying tuesday. >> look at it. >> reporter: several dozen tornado

norah. >> o'donnell: all right, stay safe, debora patta. thank you. it is going to be another night of dangerous storms across several states. the severe weather turned deadly early this morning and knocked down trees and power lines and damaged homes and businesses across the south. cbs' janet shamlian was in the storm zone. >> reporter: a powerful overnight storm in florida's panhandle killed two people in a mobile home, part of a system that has swept the south, leaving a trail of debris and destruction. >> everybody run out, get out. >> see it right there? ( sirens ) >> reporter: across a dozen states, 25 reports of tornadoes, and almost 200 thunderstorms with punishing winds. power out to tens of thousands. and torrential rain. this is livingston, louisiana. >> we were lucky to be alive. >> i was just thankful. >> thank god. >> to be alive. >> reporter: tonight, downed trees and power lines in mississippi, and this harrowing story from alabama. >> i heard something coming and it just got louder and louder and louder, and then i heard this boom. s

official saying that is likely just to regroup before heading back ofews to ge starting with cbs' debora pattaod evening, debora. >> reporter: good evening. russia denies killing unarmed civilians saying it is another provocation from ukraine, but when we visited bucha today, the horror of russia's war in a residential area was undeniable. and we should warn these images are disturbing. these are the scenes that russia denies. the unburied dead sprawled across the town, who do not wear military uniforms. they are civilians like these. executed with their hands bound behind their backs, or residents on bicycles pitted against russian tanks. evidence of war crimes says ukraine. next to this church, a hastily dug mass grave, one of several in this town. the government says nearly 300 bodies have been found. and the ukrainian military released this footage of what it calls a basement torture chamber showing a line of people, hands tied, before receiving a bullet in the head. a cme scene.stumble was shot at point blank range. he appears to have been blindfolded, shot in the head, and wears a rudime

debora patta in kyiv, thank you.kz rel >>> well, 37 million americans back here at home and across the south are in the path of dangerous storms. thousands remain without power after more than 30 tornadoes touched down tuesday in mississippi, alabama, georgia, and south carolina. cbs' mark ra hard-hit bryan county, georgia. >> reporter: look at ellabell, georgia, a landscape of ruin. on tuesday, a tornado-- the fury of its winds, hurtling at least 140 miles per hour, makes this community unrecognizable today to residents like ashley drinkard. >> i've been crying because i literally witnessed this neighborhood basically get destroyed. >> reporter: the 24-year-old nurse hunkered down in her shower when the tornado hit. you thought it was over? >> yeah, i absolutely did, just -- i could see it. >> reporter: residents of four states shared a terrifying tuesday. >> look at it. >> reporter: several dozen tornadoes carved swaths of wreckage across the south. georgia alone had more than a dozen reported tornadoes on tuesday-

here's cbs' debora patta. >> reporter: body after body pulled from the battlefields of irpin, the humant of war lining the road to the capital and where russia also suffered crushing losses. "the enemy, they're just kids," this soldier says. "they're like canon fodder." but vladimir putin is not done fighting, today authorizing the draft of another nearly 135,000 new conscripts. in mariupol, the promise of humanitarian corridors to evacuate those trapped has yet to materialize. it cannot come soon enough. ukraine says 90% of residential buildings have been damaged. >> these are all rockets. >> reporter: that destruction is just from the russian missiles and rockets that have hit their target. the u.s. estimates up to 60% simply don't work. "every day we get messages from citizens who found unexploded artillery," says yifny. this is a controlled explosion. yifny is part of an 11-man team whose job it is to extract and destroy unploed -- unexploded ordinances. "we risk our lives all the time, but someone needs to do this job," he tells us. they have been collecting bombs, rockets and bann

debora patta and her crew traveled to bucha for this report. >> reporter: russia has actually denied unarmed civilians, saying the deaths occurred after they'd left the area. but newly released satellite photos show bodies strewn across the town long before russian troops bid a hasty retreat. and when we visited bucha we saw undeniable evidence of atrocities. we warn you, these images are disturbing. this is what war crimes look like. defenseless civilians shot in the head with their hands bound. residents taking their last ride. mass graves filled with the bodies of nearly 300 executed people. this couple thought they'd recognized their son's arm in one of them. it was not him. their grim search continues. when we visited bucha, we saw a trail of destruction and death. in a basement we stumbled on the body of this man. he appears to have been blindfolded, hands tied behind his back. the rudimentary safety helmet he wears no defense against a bullet to the head. yuri saw russian soldiers bring him here. "they were taking him at gunpoint," he told us. russian troops set up camp in a c

. >> i'm debora patta in kyiv where over 5,000 cases of war crimes have been registered. >> duncan: alsoight defenseless support drrks bs polling on what america should do now. >> plus france votes. president emanuel macron facials a fight from a challenger with a proputin past. >> and this palm sunday the masses return to saint pet

we begin tonight with debora patta reporting from kyiv, and we should note that the images you're about disturbing. >> reporter: good evening.