imagine don lemon adjudicating journalistic standards., by the way, it's asking for $125 million from cnn. we want to get involved but office we where rooting for him. radio show host in d.c., one of the top-rated, we are happy to have him join us. so there is something very poignant about seeing the bodies breakup, the rat pack dissolve after all these years. what you make of it? >> well, everything about it was a lie. it's so crazy. first of all, television news and certainly the left broadly, just the transactional nature of these relationships. here's what really was going on. chris, was the only guy that had any semblance of ratings at cnn. don lemon would have him on his show for a huge portion of the show during what we would call the handoff and the reason for that was because don lemon desperately needed ratings help so the two of them would ask like they love each other and they would do the segment together but it's interesting, the second chris cuomo is out on his tail, the first person argument to cut him off from his sevens

you can see our don lemon on the scene now getting some reporting. ment right. i'm going to bring in fred pleitgen who's in the ukrainian capital of kyiv right now. fred, obviously, we have a situation ongoing here. you've been in the capital where there's been a lot more activity, exponentially more activity over the last several days. ironically, you've been reporting that some people are starting to return to kyiv because they get the sense that it may be at least moderately safer day by day than it was a few days ago. >> reporter: that's absolutely right. of course that has to do with the fact that the russian army is being pushed back by ukrainian forces around the capital of kyiv. i think also the situation that don is in right now, that fire you're seeing there, certainly also plays into the situation that we have right here, because one of the things that the u.s. has said, that the united kingdom's defense ministry has also said is that the russians, while they can't project power onto the capital and other population centers as they were bef

you'll be seeing the full interview later tonight on "don lemon tonight." preview. what did he tell you, don? >> anderson, we talked about. and as you can imagine, the secretary of defense is -- this is the busiest time for him. there is an actual war going on. and what he's trying to do, he's trying to assure our allies and the nations and states in this area that nato is with them, that the united states is with them, and that they will do anything to defend those countries. he is still -- he still believes that there is an offramp for vladimir putin, although vladimir putin doesn't seem to want an offramp right now. he seems to want to continue to do what he is doing. but a very busy time for him. we followed him to two different countries. we were in bulgaria. we were in slovakia as well. and he sat down with us actually as he was meeting troops, just after meeting troops and before getting back on the plane. here it is. >> the u.s. has made it very clear that they don't want to be involved in a process of giving jets to ukraine. now, do you support othe

this is don lemon tonight. this is don lemon tonight. i am here in western ukraine where i spent the day talking to some of the people forced to flee their homes to come here. >>> meantime, president joe biden is confirming russia has used hypersonic missiles in ukraine. sources tell cnn the u.s. hasn't been able to determine if russia even has a top commander leading the war. that at the pentagon says there is clear evidence russian forces are committing war crimes. russia claims within 62,000 residents of mario paul have been evacuated. but, to russia, they cannot immediately verify those but they have been taken to areas against their will. >> hard-working the city is being destroyed and being reduced to ashes but it will survive. >> that, as local authorities is at least 200,000 people are sheltering here in lviv. everywhere you go you meet refugees here. >> i don't need anything. i just want to be alive and safe. >> it is a place of relative safe with the bread any moment on the our could be followed by air sirens. in kyiv instructi

let's get right to don lemon. a seems to be struggling with logistics and they're coping with low troop morale? >> reporter: yeah, it was surprising to hear, at least very interesting, at least, to hear the secretary of defense criticizing the much vaunted russian military, basically saying their hearts aren't in it. that they were incompetent in many ways and that's why they are resulting to this sort of rudimentary form of war. i also spoke to him about china getting involved. as you know, the president of the united states speaking with xi jinping earlier today and saying that he supports a diplomatic path to getting out of this and i asked lloyd austin, what happens if china gets involved? should they stay out of it? here's what he had to say. what is your assessment of russian forces now? are they stalled? regrouping so they can increase their assault? increase their violence on ukraine? what is your assessment of the russian military? >> it's hard to tell. i think they have not progressed as quickly as they w

the news continues, let's switch things over to "don lemon tonight," don. >> anderson, asides there appears to be no rules of engagement, at least the russians aren't following it, i think everyone was struck by arwa's report and those children, and i know you were moved by in particular. it is, i think as you said, it is just awful, just terrible to watch. and for what? for what? why on earth is this happening? >> yeah. you know, it's hard to watch and it's terrible to watch and at the same time, i think it's important to watch because if we -- if people aren't watching what is happening here, it's going to get even worse. you know, we saw aleppo and grozni, i went there as a young reporter and aleppo terrified me and horrible things happened there and at least there are people here, at least the world is watching what happens happening here and people aren't dying in silence because that's one of the things that is always, i think makes it even worse, dying in silence and no one paying attention. >> yeah. boy, anderson, keep doing what you're doing there and we'll continue to bring it to

this is don lemon tonight and our breaking news. you're looking at these closed circuit tv images of that power plant in ukraine where the fire is still burning tonight. still burning tonight. anderson speaking to a spokesperson tonight, giving some information on that plant. it is burning after an assault by russian troops and plant spokesperson who spoke to anderson just moments ago said it could result in a nuclear accident. again, could result in a nuclear accident, don't know exactly what's going on, all of the details, again, some of this just coming in, however there are mixed reports about fighting at the plant having stopped and radiation levels are currently normal at the moment. only one power generator unit out of six is operational and that's what i was telling him, there's redundancy built in for emergency situations but when you have these things start going out, things can certainly take a turn for the worst. we are going to keep watching that for you, the president of the united states also speaking tonight, monitor

. >> let's bring in cnn's don lemon joining us now from lviv in ukraine. n the look, the faces of these ukrainians fleeing the violence which is so awful over there. what are the people over there telling you? >> reporter: i don't know. and i'm saying that to make a point. that's what they're saying to me, wolf, is i don't know. they're conveying with their words and with their emotions and their body language uncertainty because they don't know. many of them have lived years and years in the same place and then all of a sudden for no reason they have been displaced. their homes have been bombed. you can understand sometimes when it is a natural disaster or hurricane, a storm of some sort, an earthquake or what have you, a fire, but this is for no reason. someone just decided to bomb their homes and take their loved ones and take everything they own. but i tell you what, vladimir putin, wolf, may indeed occupy physically parts of this country, but he will never be able to occupy the hearts of these people. they don't want it. they're not having it. they say

i want to turn things over now to don and "don lemon tonight." don? >> hey, anderson. i've been asking people there when they come on to do an int vup what is the neighborhood like around you? you have been able to go out and talk to people. i saw your story. you were interviewing these people in a bar. and instead of making cocktails they're making molotov cocktails. talk to me about what's going on. it's interesting to hear and to walk through those neighborhoods. >> yeah, you know, i've never been in a place at war in which the population, the civilian population is so united with determination to fight and fight back against an invading force. the last time i guess i saw this was probably sarajevo in like 1993. you know, a long time ago. it's extraordinary. everybody you talk to here is just outraged by what has occurred and is just determined to do something about it in whatever way they can. i talked to a woman in kyiv in a basement tonight, you know, who was saying that all 44 million people in this country are now part of the army. that they all feel that sense

don lemon, thank you very, very much. and a note to our viewers.t. he's live tonight on don lemon tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. joining us to discuss what's going on, the unicef spokesman, james elder. thank you very much. your organization does amazing, wonderful work. and unicef now says more than half of ukraine's children, hard to believe, more than half have already been displaced from their homes since this war started a month ago. it is more than 4 million kids. how do people watching at home even begin to understand the level of trauma so many ukrainian children are facing now? >> reporter: well, it is very hard to. one in two of all children. when we say displaced and fleeing, as you know, we're talking about children who came under fire. we're talking about children who fled to a bunker or maybe didn't make it. maybe their mom had to lie to them as they moved that way. people who sat there w their family member, their dad who explained why he was not coming with them. children with wounds of war and we're talking about k

i suppose you are classy but we do know the don lemon look. >> thank you, laura, appreciate it. we'll keep an eye on that and take you through what's happening in ukraine, this is "don lemon tonight" we're here, in ukraine and back in the u.s. as well as laura and i have been talking about the historic confirmation hearings of judge ketanji jackson, defending herself from relentless republican attacks, more than in a moment. >>> ukraine forces now fighting to take back territory from the russians, pentagon says there is information ukraine is more on the offensive now. take a look at this. new video tonight, it is from the outskirts of the capitol city of kyiv. it is an intense firefight along a rail line just northeast of the city. ukrainian politician who posted the video claims the fighters are now chechyans taking up arms to defend ukraine, cnn could not independently verified that report but we have geolocated the video and what it shows is an upclose and graphic view of this war . there you have it. the realities of war. and meanwhile, just 40 miles west of kyiv, ukraine s

than when the germans invaded generations ago. [ speaking foreign language ] >>> let's go to you no don lemon in lviv. that is in western ukraine. don, a senior nato official is saying that all signs are now pointing to a stalemate. >> reporter: yeah, it certainly is, victor and just the heartbreak and the des peration is unmanageable. but this senior official said if it is not already a tail mate, it is rapidly approaching one. he also said that the stalled russian campaign is particularly dangerous because it means that russia is resorting to less precise weapons that are even more brutal for civilians here. i want you to take a look at this. a security camera captured a huge explosion, this is at a shopping mall in kyiv. this happened overnight. on sunday. the ukrainian prosecutor general is saying that eight people were killed in this. even ann areas under russian control, putin forces continue to attack ukrainians. this video shows what happened to protesters. this is kherson. [ sound of gunfire ] >> imagine just people out there living their daily livesk you saw children in the video an

you mentioned lviv, and that is where we find our don lemon, who actually wasn't so far away from where> yeah. by the way, fascinating conversation with the director there, pamela. i want to talk about you have to watch this next story. one ukrainian musician is creating a startling contrast, playing beautiful music at sites of dire destruction. i asked him why he does this and how he feels about seeing beautiful cities destroyed. you're in the "cnn newsroom." ♪ it all starts with the most innovative technologygy. like the new miracle-earmini, available exclusively at miracle-ear. so small that no one will see it, but you'll notice the difference. and now, miracle-ear is offering a thirty-day risk-free trial. you can experience better hearing with no obligation. call 1-800-miracle right now and experience a better life. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ if you used shipgo this whole thing wouldn't be a thing. yeah, dad! i don't want to deal with this. oh, you brought your luggage to the airport. that's adorable. with shipgo shipping your luggage before you fly you'll never have to wait around

don lemon is also in lviv. tell us more about what you're seeing on the ground. >> reporter: we are seeing, really, wolf, person after person who are homeless here in the city, basically homeless because they have been driven from where they live. this city, lviv, is about 800,000 people usually. imagine adding 200,000 plus people on top of that. people who don't have a place to live and you're trying to find housing and services. you cannot walk in this city just a few blocks, just a few steps without meeting one of those people who have moved from another place, like these two. tatiana is in her 50s. she's lived in the same house her entire life in the kharkiv area, and her daughter as well. tatiana doesn't speak english very well. but we talked to her daughter. she talked to us and told us about her day to day existence. >> i think i was shocked. i couldn't evecry. i didn't feel anything. i am happy i am alive. i don't need the house. i don't need anything. i just want to be alive and safe. and each day i wa

don lemon is with us in lviv, ukraine.europe agonizes over its worst crisis since world war ii president biden embarks on one of the most important presidential trips in years. he is on his way to brussels to meet with nato allies tomorrow and to announce yet more sanctions on russia. the latest western measures are taking shape as ukraine beats back russian forces launching a counter offensive near the cap capital. >> northeast of kyiv, russian and ukrainian forces trade gunfire. cnn has located the authenticity of this video of the firefight posted on social media and west of the capital, ukrainian forces have freed a town in kyiv's northwestern suburb of irpin they are said to control 80% of the city. the goal to prevent russian troops from encircling the capital and cut off their desperately needed supplies of food and fuel. phil mattingly is in brussels. barbara starr at the pentagon. phil black is in lviv here with me. phil mattingly, phil, what are president biden's priorities when he meets with nato allies? >> don,

>>> i'm don lemon in lviv, ukraine. a senior u.s.russian troops are stalled in several areas of ukraine including kharkiv in the east. video shows devastated images of destroyed buildings and streets all across kharkiv. viktoria joins me now. you said you won't leave until ukraine wins the war. what is it like in your city today? >> hi, don. first, it's an honor for me to be your guest now, and to have the opportunity to share my experience with you. so, living in kharkiv now is absolutely different compared to our previous life, how we call it now. so it's terrifying. it's terrible. living in shelling, in air strikes, that's nothing i want to have in my life. >> yeah, we understand your husband was injured while fighting, your brother-in-law was captured by the russians for 24 hours. how are they doing? >> it's true. now they are well, i can say. my husband is a warrior in territorial defense, and he was wounded would be more correct to say wounded. 2 1/2 weeks ago during the air strike that happened in the city center, of course i

this is don lemon tonight. we'll begin with breaking news, a chilling warning tonight vladimir putin is likely to escalate in ukraine with no concern for civilian casualties. which is pretty dire considering the scale of damage and destruction and death already wrought. the director of the cia predicting an ugly next few weeks in a country where homes, schools, and churches are already being blasted out of existence. i want you to take a look at this. it's devastation in the northeastern city of sumy. local officials say at least 21 civilians including two children are dead now. everyone who could fleeing today when a temporary evacuation route was opened. now russia is announcing a new cease fire in sumy, kyiv, and other cities starting in about four hours so we'll be paying close attention to that all evening long and morning long here on cnn. ukraine's response, quote, it is difficult to trust the occupier. that as president joe biden takes a very big step today to support ukraine announcing a ban on russian

i'm ana cabrera in new york and don lemon is with us in lviv, ukraine. we begin with the war rapidly approaching a dangerous stalemate. that warning from a senior nato official as russia faces setbacks on the ground and in the air. a senior u.s. defense official put it this way. russia is, quote, near desperate to gain any momentum, which is why their latest brutal attacks are even more dangerous for civilians. we are seeing unthinkable acts of inhumanity playing out in mariupol. but the people there are not giving up. that city this morning rejected russia's demand to surrender. even as an official says bombs are now falling every ten minutes. an art school one of the latest targets. we don't have the images of this school yet but here's what we're told. hundreds of women, children, elderly were all believed to be sheltering there and it is unclear if anyone survived. in another port, kherson, peaceful protesters were met with gunfire in a now-russian-occupied city. [ gunfire ] we are told at least one man was injured during the explosion and gunfire. y

don lemon went to an orphanage to find out how the children and the perspective parents were coping.ter: it was after midnight when the children arrived to lviv. >> translator: they were very tired and seemed to be lost. some of their friends were separated. they were scared arriving in a new city. >> translator: a train full of children fleeing the war. it took two days. they were stopped by shelling alerts at several stations. >> translator: now they are relatively safe in this orphanage outside of lviv, but their journey to find permanent homes is halted by the war. >> reporter: is the prosets slower now because of the war? >> translator: definitely, yes, because all of their files and court filings are in donetsk. >> reporter: one of those children in limbo is mari. >> we had the paperwork in donetsk region to adopt and a day and a half after we had everything to submit putin invaded and all the kids in the orphanage had to be evacuated. what's this been like for you? >> i've been here five weeks, yes. >> they are pushing the biden administration to allow about 300 ukrainian chil

i appreciate it. >>> so this is "don lemon tonight", and this is our breaking news. let's put this up before i go on with this. put the pictures back up. this is what we're dealing with, mass graves, and these are ukrainians who are burying their own people, and they're doing it because they don't really have time to do individual funerals, and say good-bye to their loved ones. they've got to put them in the ground, get back to the fight, and get back to the struggle to try to make sure that more people, more of their own people won't die in this. i know that it's hard to watch, but this is what happens in war, and this is why we are covering this 24 hours a day, live here on cnn so that you can witness for yourself what these people are dealing with. as they say, i know it's a cliche, war is hell. it's certainly true. and a warning tonight, we are seeing that, but the horror could get even worse that the ukrainian people are seeing and dealing with, much much worse. the white house is warning tonight that russia could use chemical weapons in ukraine. the white house

yeah. >> cnn's don lemon reporting there from lviv. >>> just in to cnn, russia's state own task agency says alexey navalny has been found guilty of fraud. navalny is in court where prosecutors are seeking a 13 year prison sentence for the charges of fraud and contempt of court. we will of course bring you more in a live report a little later this hour. >>> also ahead, eu officials are meeting in brussels to discuss russia's invasion of ukraine but will they impose new sanctions on moscow? we're live in brussels next. grab mucinex all-in-one... and get back to your rhythm. ♪ don't plplay around with cold ad flu symptoms. >>> six years ago ukrainian singer jamalo won the euro vision song contest. her entry was the song 1944 about the deportation of cry mean tartars. today she is one of more than 3 million people who have fled ukraine because of the russian invasion. she's currently in turkey with her children while her husband had to stay behind in ukraine. joining me now from instand buel is jamala. thank you so much for talking with us. so you are a talented singer. you yourself are a

don lemon tonight starts right now. don, how are you doing? >> i'm doing okay, wolf.-see approach about what the strategy is for russia now in this war and everyone is taking a wait-and-see attitude as you have been speaking to your guests about because they just don't trust the russians and the russian leader. i think that is with some merit. >> everybody is watching what's going on because the russians are saying one thing but what they're doing is clearly not -- is clearly opposite. >> it is the opposite, wolf. we'll get to it right now. thank you, wolf. we'll see you right back here tomorrow night on cnn tonight. this is "don lemon tonight" here in western ukraine in lviv. cnn's team in kyiv hearing increased shelling throughout the night and there is new video of the devastation in the western kyiv suburb of erpin. after ukrainian forces pushed russian troops out. it was taken by ukrainian nongovernmental organization and provided to cnn. the vides

i was talking to don lemg on ab lemon earlier.want to see vladimir putin stay in power considering all the m horrible things he's done. but to go to the step of regime change or declaring that you have a policy of regime change, those are two very different things. >> i don't think that anybody declared that. i think we're gettinging wound up. the exact quote is that putin should not remain in power, not could not. he was sending a direct message to the people of europe and the people in moscow. and that does not translate to me to regime change. regime change is a hyperbolic interpretation of that. what he was suggesting is that mr. putin is along the lines of even hitler in terms of committing crimes against another nation and in fact executing a kind of campaign that is attempting to wipe out culture and attempting to subjugate a country that is fighting for its sovereignty. and then your great reporter and good friend and colleague fred pl pl said that it was inflammatory. seriously? tell that to the people of mariupol or the

"don lemon tonight" live from ukraine starts right now. don is joining us. don, i was watching saturday night when all this was unfolding. you were in lviv, relatively safe area, all of a sudden i see you there and they had just attacked oil depos not far from where you were. how scared were you? >> i was more careful than scared. and i would say surprised that they actually hit -- came this far towards the border where the president was and where you were covering the president. so i wasn't scared because, as you see i'm wearing tactical gear and a helmet, which is protocol here. most of the citizens as you know don't have those in their homes. many people wondering why most citizens don't have black jackets and helmets for this kind of thing. but it was -- once i got closer, it was -- i wasn't scared, but it was a bit of a stunning scene because i had grown up around chemical plants similar to this where there were controlled burns and there would be ashes and soot raining down on neighborhoods and we would have to paint our houses every year and our cars

this is "don lemon tonight", and this is our breaking news. it continues. it goes on. the ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy defiant tonight seen in his office for the first time since the beginning of russia's invasion of his country. watch this. >> translator: here i am. i'm staying here, not hiding, and i'm not afraid of anyone. >> the pentagon believes vladimir putin is trying to recruit fighters from syria to fight in ukraine. a senior u.s. defense official says russia is quote increasing bombardment of ukrainian cities and we've seen the result f ourselves. take a look at thris, a church n fire, parishioners reporting it was hit by russian military strikes. russian tanks in the streets of a town in the outskirts of kyiv. imagine looking out your window and seeing enemy tanks just right outside, and i really have to warn you that this next video is hard to watch. in fact, it is horrific, the moment a russian military strike that killed a family trying to flee on a known evacuation route. here it is. [ bleep ] [ bleep ] >> stay there. >> all right. >>. [ bleep

look at those flames they're roaring, black smoke. >> don lemon is joining us live from lviv. tell us more about what you saw after that attack. >> well, i saw in the video people running away from their neighborhoods, obviously, if your neighborhood is being bombed or hit by rockets, people were running away, there were emergency officials there, to get to a safer place and move the media, quite frankly, to a safer place as well emergency officials on the scene, the mayor calling people to say there. lviv in western ukraine was seen as a relatively safe spot. people further east in the country bomb boarded were coming here to take scheller. now the concern, of course, is can this happen more or will this happen more now? they don't know. it was a frightening scene earlier. we heard blasts here from our facility, according to mayor, there were two sites that were hit this fuel storm facility and infrastructure deep. the mayor saying damage to an elementary school, there were five people injured. so far, they don't believe anyone is dead. they are still trying to put out those

thanks a lot. >>> and this is "don lemon tonight" u.s. officials fear the worst is yet to come from kyiv, a western official telling cnn vladimir putin's military is -- and i quote here -- well behind the schedule it set for the invasion. as ukrainians fight back harder than he may have expected. and there are fears and angry and frustrated putin will escalate. new satellite images from maxar technology show a russian military convoy getting closer and closer to kyiv, it's much larger than previously thought. more than 40 miles long, as a matter of fact. the company notes it saw plumes of smoke rising from a number of homes and buildings near the roads where the convoy is traveling. it is unclear what caused those plumes of smoke. the white house closely monitoring the convoy. that as members of congress coming out of a classified briefing tonight, they said were given an alarming time line for when ukrainian cities could fall. warning the russian invasion appears likely to intensify, and in the country's second largest city, kharkiv's ma

want to turn things over to don lemon tonight. don?world begins to cancel culture. it is just bizarre, and anyone who claims cancel culture should probably take a look at that because they may not want to do it anymore considering someone like putin is now claiming that in this ungodly war against ukraine. >> yeah, it certainly seems a bizarre turn for the leader of a warring nation right now to be talking about j.k. rowling, i don't know. >> but here we are. anderson, have a good weekend. i'll see you soon. take care. >>> this is don lemon tonight and i am here in

thanks so much. >>> this is don lemon tonight, i'm jim sciutto in for don tonight. he's traveling in eastern europe to cover this store rift president joe biden for the first time today has accused vladimir putin of war crimes. >> war criminals sir? >> oh, i think he is a war criminal. >> i think he is a war criminal he said. the white house said that was the president speaking from the heart, not making a formal desig designation. this as the ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy says this to nbc tonight about concerns the war in ukraine could turn into world war iii. >> president biden has been very clear he's worried about provocations that could treigge world war iii. do you understand his concern there, and do you agree that it wouldn't take much to end up in world war iii? >> translator: nobody knows whether it may have already started and what is the possibility of this war if ukraine will fall, in case ukraine will fall. it's really hard to say. >> vladimir putin calling some of his own people today traitors. ominously threatening what he calls self-purifi

don lemon, thank you very much. >>> let's go to the ukrainian capital of kyiv. and our senior international correspondent fred pleitgen is on the scene for us. and the white house is walking back the president 's direct message that putin cannot remain in power. but how didis remarks land in ukraine where you are. and you also got reaction from inside russia. >> reporter: yeah, they certainly doesn't go down well. and the peskov seeming to say that vladimir putin needed to leave office by biden, and i got an answer and peskov said that it is not up to the president 69 united states to decide, it is up to the russian people to decide who their president is. so clearly the russians not happy with the word from his president biden. and there has been some reaction from ukrainian politicians. one said that she wasn't necessarily reassured by the words of president biden that the rain of bombs would stop after his speech and with some of the policies of the united states. but, you know, speaking to even jor o senior officials here, they are grateful for the aid that

cnn's don lemon introduces us to some of the brave people he's met in lviv. >> i met tatiana on my first in a hostile in lviv, after shelling damaged her home of 50 years outside kharkiv. she and her daughter were forced to take shelter in a nearby cellar with their dog, two cats, and a backpack of family photographs and documents. when the russian bombardment stopped, they emerged to a home in ruins. >> i think i was shocked. i couldn't even cry. i didn't feel anything. i hope there is some peaceful way to resolve this. i just want my ukrainian people to be safe. >> reporter: tatiana fled to the relative safety of lviv, as well, with her son nikita but not his father who is fighting on the front lines. >> translator: his father is in kyiv now, and fighting for kyiv. i don't always have the possibility of calling, of knowing he's still alive. >> reporter: the war has made oxana a single mother, too. her reservist husband called up to fight. how much longer do you think you can deal with this? >> translator: it's hard to say. as long as needed because i have no options. >> reporter: one m

want to turn things over to don lemon tonight. don? >> anderson, i've been glued to your program especially watching your conversations on vladimir putin and this absurd attempt to try to connect what he is doing to ukraine or with how the world begins to cancel culture. it is just bizarre, and anyone who claims cancel culture should probably take a look at that because they may not want to do it anymore considering someone like putin is now claiming that in this ungodly war against ukraine. >> yeah, it certainly seems a bizarre turn for the leader of a warring nation right now to be talking about j.k. rowling, i don't know. >> but here we are. anderson, have a good weekend. i'll see you soon. take care. >>> this is don lemon tonight and i am here in western ukraine in lviv, and our breaking news tonight, a top russian general claims what he calls the first stage of russia's military plan is completed, and russia will now focus on, quote, the liberation of donbas in eastern ukraine. russian forces digging in to defensive positions on t

liberty. ♪ >>> this is "don lemon tonight."rens blowing overnight in kyiv. that follows heavy shelling earlier today in the capital. russian forces hitting apartment buildings. the city's mayor saying at least four were killed. we're getting images of russian helicopters blown up. those are just ahead. and tomorrow, president biden expected to announce a new round of military assistance for ukraine. fareed zakaria will join me to discuss how russian's invasion of ukraine is up ending the global world order. villagers including an angry grandma bracing for an attack by

don lemon went there. >> this was photo studio, and now it's still shelter. >> reporter: when bombs started falling on her country, this 29-year-old journalist knew she had to act. >> one day, morning, 24 of february, we woke up and we understand that this war is coming all territory of ukraine. >> so everything changed? >> everything changed. >> reporter: so she and her friends founded what might be lviv's most eclectic shelter in a building she calls the wild house. ♪ on the first floor, a coffee shop and bar along with a clothing shop. upstairs, a performance space. all of it used to shelter evacuees when the war began. >> we who are young adult who feel that he can be not just passive on this war, we decided what we can do. oh, we have place, and we understand that a lot of people like our friends started to come, and they need place to stay. next day, we take first things is that we can take from our place, like pillows, like medicine, food. >> reporter: they provided housing for more than 300 people. >> there was big table. you can take some tea, coffee. everything was free. >> report

so many of the assumptions have not proven to be true as they enter the fight. >> and don lemon joinsfrom bulgaria. what else did you talk to secretary austin about? >> i spoke with him about that. which i thought was significant, to hear the secretary of defense of the united states talking about the impotence on the part of russian military. the much -- russian military. but he talked about giving jets or planes to ukraine. and what that would mean for the united states and the world. and about poland wanting to give those jets to ukraine through the united states and he said, and i asked him, are you okay with other nations possibly giving jets to the united states as long as the u.s. was not involved and he said other nations want to do that, this is their prerogative and they are free to do so. what we wants to do is abide by the nato agreement and by making sure that nato is strong and making sure that we don't get involved in a direct conflict with russia. i asked him, anderson, if that is the number one priority in this. and he said it was a priority but the number one priorit

. >>> this is "don lemon tonight." i'm live in lviv in western ukraine, where there have been air raid sirens earlier tonight despite how far west into the country we are. kyiv hearing sirens throughout the night as well along with heavy artillery and rocket fire. we are seeing russian shells with our very own eyes even though vladimir putin's government claims russian forces would drastically reduce their assault. it's no wonder the pentagon is skeptical. >> we ought not be fooling and nobody should be fooling ourselves by the kremlin's now recent claim that it will suddenly just reduce military attacks near kyiv or any reports that it's going to withdraw all its forces. >> president biden says he is skeptical of russia's claims too. the evidence backing that skepticism adding up. a new attack on the heavily bombarded city of mykolaiv in southern ukraine leaving a giant hole in a government building, killing at least 12 people. i want to bring in now my colleague here in lviv hala gorani. she joins me live. hala, than

>> yeah, day to day. >> that was don lemon speaking to one family.d like to assist people in ukraine, we have compiled a list of organizations that have been assisting people in need of basics like food and shelter at cnn.com/impact. >>> we'll have more from lviv, ukraine, at the top of the hour. first, though, let's bring in john vause in atlanta. >> hala, thank you for that. so far, no survivors have been found after a china eastern airlines flight crashed on monday. search and rescue crews are likely to be hampered by bad weather. after losing airborne contact, the boeing 737-800 with 132 onboard plummeted from around 30,000 feet, nosediving into a mountainous region. the latest from cnn's will ripley. >> reporter: these could be the final seconds of a doomed chinese airliner. surveillance video from a mining company in china shows a plane hurtling head-first into the ground. cnn cannot verify if this video is authentic or if that plane is china eastern flight 5735, a flight that met its fiery end monday. 132 people onboard. an airline statement e

>>> don lemon live from lviv.ess in the russian occupied port city of berdyansk. ukrainian armed forces say a large russian warship was destroyed. straight to sam kiley. he joins me now from kyiv. what is the significance of the counterattack in this port city? >> reporter: it's an extremely bold and surprising military move. i think that is what is indicative of how the ukrainians have surprised the russians and nato discussing how much more aid to give to the ukrainians, a great demonstration of how a little can go a long way. striking at a russian warship, setting it on fire, reportedly large numbers of secondary explosions, explosions, don, caused by the detonation of ammunition, fuel or both onboard. this was a town, a port city, to the southwest coast. somehow the ukrainians were able to strike with a missile. now it doesn't affect things strategically, but it will rattle the russians, and they have been able to use anti-tank weapons to shoot smaller vessels. i've seen videos of them doing a similar thing of

don lemon is with us in lviv, ukraine. there's what russia says, there's what russia does, and then, apparently, what putin's own advisers tell him. a u.s. official tells cnn those advisers have kept the russian president in the dark about his military's poor performance in ukraine. the source says putin has now discovered the truth leading to a rift with his top military officials. this is the northern ukrainian city of chernihiv just hours after russia said it would scale back its military operations there and in kyiv. chernihiv's mayor says instepped the russian bombardment actually escalated. >> translator: they have increased the intensity of strikes. today we've had a colossal mortar attack on the center of chernihiv. whenever russia says something this needs to be checked carefully. russia is deliberately exterminating civilians. >> and this new video just in shows at least two military strikes have heavily damaged a red cross warehouse in mariupol. satellite images confirmed earlier reports from ukrainian forces. t

don lemon is in lviv, ukraine. there is another but peace in ukraine.ng their assault, raining down missiles on four ukrainian cities sunday and ramping up shelling in the suburbs of kyiv. and in mariupol, new video shows the city in the process of being wiped off the

this is "don lemon tonight." i am live in lviv in western ukraine. intense fighting breaking out late today between ukrainian and russian forces just northeast of kyiv. the fierce battle captured on video. [ explosions ] [ gunfire ] [ yelling ] so this latest round of heavy fighting coming as the pentagon says there are signs ukrainian forces are going on the offensive in some areas trying to take back territory captured by russian troops. a spokesman for the kremlin admitting tonight that vladimir putin has not achieved the goals he set for his forces here in ukraine and refusing to rule out the use of nuclear weapons in russia if russia faces -- excuse me, nuclear weapons if russia faces what he calls an existential threat to its domestic security. watch this. >> you can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used. so if it is an existenal threat for our country then it can be used in accordance with our concept. >> also, president biden leaves for brussels tomorrow. on thursday he's going to attend nato's emergency meeting on russia's invasio

don lemon is with us in lviv, ukraine.nomies around the world. just minutes from now, president biden will lay out his plan to deliver some relief and reassurance to americans. he is set to announce a record release of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve to help bring down the skyrocketing gas prices. he'll also apply new pressure on oil companies to ramp up production. we'll carry the president's announcement live here o

cnn's don lemon was on the scene moments after the attack. >> you could hear the flames roaring and -- and what they are concerned about is another one of these tanks exploding, so they are pushing people back until they can get control of this blaze. you were mentioning how close it is to a neighborhood. it is really close to a neighborhood. it is on the other side, there is a little valley here and other side of a retention wall. peter, if you can just go around just a little bit and show them how close this is to a neighborhood quickly and then we will get back on the flames. so it's really, really close. this is a neighborhood where everyone has gathered all of the rescue people and they have done this on a number of different streets. so, if you will come back here -- so we're, you know, just -- um -- within a tenth of a mile or so, um, from where this is happening. but again, look at those flames. they are just roaring. black smoke coming out of there. and you can see them putting the fire retardant, spraying the fire retardant on this. but again, as you said, it is a chaotic sc

cnn's don lemon has the story. >> it was difficult to leave your mother?phone number written on his hand. a harrowing story of survival amid putin's war in ukraine. it's one story of many in this devastating conflict that the united nations says has caused more than 3 million ukrainians to flee their country. the invasion, creating a ukrainian child refugee almost every single second resulting in heartbreaking scenes, like this. a young boy crosses the border in poland, crying as he walks ahead of a group of adults. hassan's journey to safety in slovakia began more than two weeks ago and 620 miles away in the town of zaporizhzhia. his mother stuck in a war zone with a little boy and an elderly mother to protect and care for makes an impossible choice to stay behind with her mother, and send hassan on a train out of zaporizhzhia, which is near the nuclear power plant that came under attack by russian forces. how long did it take you to get here? three or four days. were you scared, hassan? what did she say to you when she -- when you left? were you worried,

. >> and i'm don lemon live. cnn crews on the ground say they heard a loud explosion a short time ago followed by sirens. this comes as the war seems to be entering a new phase with ukrainian forces pushing vladimir putin's troops back on several fronts. forces are turning to missile strikes. in areas north and west of the capital city the russians are digging in but no longer trying to advance in areas where ukrainian troops have established a delicate hold. but things in the besieged city of mariupol are just getting worse. in an interview with the independent russian journalists, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy described the dire situation. >> translator: the reality is this, all entrances and exits from the city of mariupol are blocked, the port is mined, a humanitarian catastrophe is unequivocal because it is impossible to go there with food, medicine and water. the russian military is shelling convoys, drivers are being killed. what happens to these cargoes, i can't tell you. many were taken back. >

don lemon is with us in lviv, ukraine. and president biden is in poland right now delivering a message of reassurance and deterrence. he met with soldiers of the u.s. army's 82nd airborne. this is one of the most elite military divisions stationed there in poland to fortify the eastern edge. poland neighbors ukraine. the president also attended a briefing on the growing humanitarian crisis. poland alone has welcomed more than 2 million refugees. it is now day 30 of this war and while numbers can't quantify the level of human misery, they can provide a glimpse. the united nations says more than 1,000 civilians are now confirmed killed. but the u.n. concedes this is probably on the very low side. that number almost certainly higher. the u.n. also estimates that 3.7 million ukrainians have fled this fighting in their country and their measures almost unimaginable here. half of ukraine's children are displaced. senior nato officials estimate a staggering 15,000 russian soldiers have been killed by ukrainian fighters who are bo

. >> this is "don lemon tonight" here in western ukraine in lviv and our breaking news. intense battles in several directions just outside of kyiv as ukraine fights to push back vladimir putin's forces. this is stunning drone video 12 miles west of the capital in the erpin area. smoke, flames, blown up buildings the mayor saying #80% of the city is now controlled by the ukrainian army but the russians are firing rockets against the town. that as cnn's team in the capital is hearing air raid sirens, booms, and fire fights all day long. in the east, what looked to be ukrainian soldiers surround a russian tank. on a day of major news across the region the president of the united states joe biden meets with european allies in an emergency summit. and vows the u.s. and nato will respond if vladimir putin uses chemical weapons. >> would the u.s. or nato respond with military action if he did use chemical weapons? >> we would respond. we would respond if he uses it. the nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use. >> as more nato troops are moving into border a

. >> and i'm don lemon in kyiv, ukraine. we are -- we join with you some breaking news right now. several loud explosions heard just a short time ago in kyiv. earlier this evening heavy aircraft -- antiaircraft fire erupted as ukrainian troops fired at something. we are awaiting more information on that. we'll bring it to you. we'll talk with our frederik pleitgen in kyiv in just a moment. thursday will mark one month since russia invaded ukraine, and in that time vladimir putin's troops have laid waste to cities like kharkiv and mariupol. while ukrainian troops and civilians fight valiantly to hold russia at bay, but president vladimir zelenskyy knows negotiations are critical and this is what he told cnn today. >> translator: we're losing people on a daily basis, innocent people on the ground. russian forces have come to exterminate us, to kill us. and we can demonstrate the dignity of the people and our army, that we are able to deal a powerful blow, we are able to strike back. but, unfortunately, our dignity is not going to preserve the lives, so i think we have to use any for

thank you very much. >>> this is "don lemon tonight."le will this moment breakthrough in russia that has been really under the iron grip of putin's propaganda. a woman, an employee of russia state tv channel bravely interrupting a live news broadcast holding up a sign reading no war, stop the war. do not believe propaganda. they tell you lies here. we're going to get more in depth on this coming up tonight. you don't want to miss that. >>> also, this is happening as the pentagon believes moscow is broadening targets in western ukraine after failing to make much progress over the weekend. the u.s. warning china not to help vladimir putin with military o