>> ed lavandera, appreciate it.uch. >>> as millions of refugees flee from ukraine, tens of thousands of civilians are fleeing from russia as the country faces global backlash. a near total blackout on information. valerie hopkins joins me now. i know a number of your colleagues have been focusing on this, and you've talked to -- you live in russia. or supyou just moved there. >> used to. >> i was formerly a moscow-based correspondent. "the new york times," along with other media organizations, decided to pull out after a new law against -- that basically punishes calling this invasion a war or an invasion or anything besides a special military operation, with 15 years in jail. that's why tens of thousands of other russians have fled. it seems like the biggest, actually, you know, there's no war on russian territory, and this looks like the biggest movement, the biggest exodus of russian people since 100 years ago, when a number of anti-communists actually fled the country after the revolution, including my ancestors

ed lavandera, cnn, poland. >> ed lavandera, thank you very, very much.ormation how you can help humanitarian efforts in ukraine go to cnn come/impact and help impact your world. >>> coming up, the u.s. gets access to american basketball star brittney griner for the first time since her arrest and i'm prisonment in russia. we're going to tell you how she's doing. we have new information. that's coming up next, as our live coverage from brussels continues. and get back t to your rhyth. ♪ don't play around with cold and flu u symptoms. having a 5g phone that's not on t-mobile makes as much sense as playing ice hockey... using pool noodles. t-mobile. more 5g bars in more places. another reason t-mobile is the leader in 5g. for people living with h-i-v, keep being you. and ask your doctor about biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in certain adults. it's not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights h-i-v to help you get to and stay undetectable. that's when the amount of virus is so low it cannot be measured

from kyiv, kaitlyn collins is at the white house which has tough diplomacy coming up and cnn's ed lavandera is close to poland where almost 2 million refugees have arrived safely. first a look at the headlines of the day from cnn's kristin fischer. >> reporter: the ukrainian resistance is not letting up, but neither is the russian offensive. this residential building was hit by the debris of a downed missile. ukraine's emergency service says at least one person was killed. incredibly in the besieged city of mariupol, signs of survivors. one day earlier an airstrike hit a theater where they were hiding despite the word children written outside. survivors who had been sheltering shows the cramping conditions aside as the city has been cut off from water, power, and heat. >> despite that, they accuse ukrainian militants of killing their own people. in the southern city of mykolaiv, bodies have been piling up. they're accusing russia of using cluster munitions to kill many civilians. it's banned. secretary of state antony blinken is now accusing russia of car crimes. >> intentionally target ing

i'm going to get an update on poland with ed lavandera tonight. today. >> reporter: throughout the night here in the border town of medyka, poland, we've witnessed the crossing of thousands of ukranian refugees making their way this evening. it's slowed down a little bit, but this is one of the most recent buses that has already been filled up with ukranian refugees. this bus will go to a temporary shelter in a nearby town, and from there over the next couple of days, these refugees will begin trying to figure out where they can go next. they have been making their way. we've talked to a number of them throughout the evening, so anderson, who say they have spent the day -- let me get out of way of a few of them here -- riding buses from the interior parts of ukraine to make it to this point. one family had been on a bus since 7:00 in the morning and made it here after midnight. so a long, arduous journey through obviously territory in ukraine that is very much a dangerous war zone situation. so these people making their way through very treacherou

ed lavandera, cnn, phoenix, arizona. >> ed, thank you so much.e continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ as a small business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving with comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable 5g network. with no line activation fees or term contracts. saving you up to $500 a year. so boost your bottom line by switching today. get the new samsung galaxy s22 series on comcast business mobile and for a limited time save up to $750 on a new samsung device with eligible trade-in. are you a christian author with a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! >>> this is cnn breaking news. >>> hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm hala gorani coming to you live from lviv, in ukraine. well, there is growing evidence that the russian bombardment of ukraine is intensifying. in the past few hours, air-raid sirens have gone off in kyiv.

cnn's ed lavandera is live in poland with more and ed, what are you seeing there today in poland? >> reporter: well, we are outside of the train station here in poland, which is just a few miles away from the border. this is the first spot where people come in by train land here in poland and we show you this vantage point because this is where they first step out into this city and these refugees now have to try to figure out where to go and what we are sensing here in the last few days is that this is becoming a much more complicated problem for these refugees arriving here. there are so few places left to go in poland that many of the people you see behind me are trying to figure out where else in europe they can go at this point. in fact, we just saw moments ago, there was a 66-year-old woman named katyana, simply holding three small bags. that's all the possessions she had and we heard her asking a volunteer that she had no relatives anywhere. she nahad nowhere to go. tried to figure out the safest place to go and asking the volunteer, where is the country i can go to that's

ed lavandera, cnn, poland. >>> well, still ahead, as explosions ring out in kyiv, the city is under aew aimed at preventing more civilian casualties. our breaking news of the war in ukraine continues after a break. [upbeat acoustic music throughout] better skin from your body wash? try olay body wash with skin care super ingredient collagen. olay body wash hydrates to improve skin 3x better, from dry and dull to firm and radiant. with olay body, i feel fearless in my skin. get help managing your money for the life -- and years -- ahead. with fidelity income planning, we'll look at what you've saved, what you'll need, and help you build a flexible plan for cash flow designed to last. so you can go from saving... to living. - oh...oh. - what's going on? - oh, darn! - let me help. lift and push and push! there... it's up there. hey joshie... wrinkles send the wrong message. help prevent them with downy wrinkleguard. feel the difference with downy. behold...unlimited wireless for only 30 bucks. that's pretty cool, but you know what's cooler? saving up to 400 bucks! exactly. and if we real

cnn's ed lavandera shows us one polish couple opening their homes to dozens of people. >> reporter: theoung boy hiding in the corner. but they're not siblings. they're new friends, brought together by war and the good will of this man and his wife. they opened their home to this ukrainian family who escaped the war zone less than a week ago. when did you decide to help ukrainian refugees? >> when the first bomb go down. >> since the war started, the family has taken in 46 people. this truck driver, who recently recovered from cancer, says helping ukrainian refugees is something he has to do. why have you opened your house to so many people? >> because it -- it's in polish tradition, i think, to open our hearts, to open our homes for someone who is in need. >> reporter: and he is quick to think of the little things that make his guests feel at home. yulia is in poland with her 7-year-old son, 4-month-old baby, along with her elderly parents. today is her birthday. she wanted us to see the gift she received from her hosts -- blue and yellow flowers, ukraine's national colors. yulia and he

cnn's ed lavandera has their story. >> reporter: the rail line from ukraine ends at platform 5 at the train station in poland. after refugees walk off, this same train will go back. for weeks it's mostly been men returning to join the ukrainian fight but in front of the sign reading train for ukraine, women are waiting for hours for a ride back into the war zone. near the front of the line we found tatiana. she came to poland to bring her two adults to safety. now the 40-year-old is going home to a town in eastern ukraine near the russian border. ukraine is equally important for men and women, she says. we're the real ukrainians. women have the strength and will and the heart as well. by our count, women accounted for half of the passengers in this line waiting to cross the border back to ukraine. this woman brought her grandchildren to poland. she's returning now to be with her family in odesa. how worried are you about your safety? i'm anxious, she says, but the feeling has become dull over time. i just want to be next to my family. >> reporter: do you feel like this is a way of fig

ed lavandera talked to small business owners about how this crisis is affecting their bottom line. >>od supplies for her pop-up business in phoenix, arizona. >> the boneless would be $1.84 a pound, and the cheese is now $1.56 where it was 86 cents. >> reporter: have there been event where is you have lost money? >> yes, this is from today. >> reporter: as we are looking over the week's receipts, she is explaining the impacts of inflation on the business owner is how unpredictable her world is. the demand for the business is there, but everything else is a nightmare. >> reporter: it is difficult for you the run a business. >> it is unbelievable for us to predict a pricing. i can't say that i am going to charge you a certain price right now, because in three days, it is bound to change. you know, it is never for the better. >> reporter: phoenix, arizona, has one of the highest inflation rates in the country, and three percentage points higher, and that is making it hardest for people living on a fixed income. as she works on her paintings, she is living on $1,700 a month social security

cnn's ed lavandera is west of mariupol in odesa. ed, how are these evacuations going? >> reporter: well, it is a volatile situation here tonight at this late hour, as we have heard from officials throughout the course of the day that there's a team of buses trying to make its way into the city to evacuate at least 1,500 to 2,500 people. at least that is the hope, that they will be able to pull off here in the coming hours. but it doesn't appear as though that thas happened yet. a short while ago we heard information that that bus convoy was held at gunpoint by russian forces. there are pleas for the russian forces to open up these humanitarian corridors so people can escape that besieged city. remember, this is going to take a great deal of time. there are still more than 100,000 people inside the city of mariupol. the deputy mayor of that city told cnn today that people there are living like mice in shelters underground and in bomb shelters. a horrific situation and a desperate situation for tens of thousands of people, jake. >> ed, you've been reporting on the city o

ed lavandera, thank you very much.to cnn.com/impact. >>> and we'll be right back. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today. (vo) right now, the big switch is happening across the country. small businesses are fed up with big bills and 5g maps that are mostly gaps— they're switching to t-mobile for business and getting more 5g bars in more places. save over $1,000 when you switch to our ultimate business plan... ...for the lowest price ever. plus, choose from the latest 5g smartphones— like a free samsung galaxy s22. so switch to the network that helps your business do more for less—join the big switch to t-mobile for business today. ♪ energy is everywhere... even in a little seedling. which, when turned into fuel, can help power a plane. at chevron's el segundo refinery, we're looking to turn plant-b

cnn's ed lavandera is live in odesa. hello to you. odesa has been bracing for possible russian attack, possibly an amphibious landing. what is the scene there tonight? >> reporter: we heard from a ukrainian military official saying that they have information that there's russian aircraft over this area flying reconnaissance missions. so that coupled with the news we're hearing out of northern ukraine that russian forces are supposed to be redeploying, perhaps reassessing their strategy here in the war in ukraine. it definitely has people anxious as to what exactly is going to happen. early on in the war, this stretch of the northern coast of the black sea in southern ukraine was an area of focus. there was a belief that the russians would try to move in along the coastline and essentially make ukraine a landlocked country. and so far, we've seen the horrific destruction that has taken place in mariupol. they've moved a little further west of there but haven't made it really beyond that. for the last several days it has been relatively

. >> well, cnn's ed lavandera is at the polish border town with more on the plight of these refugees. >> reporter: this is the pathway that is bringing thousands of ukrainian refugees to safety and also to a life of uncertainty. many of these people have been traveling from the interior of the country. we spoke with one family that had come from the hometown of ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy's hometown. obviously has become such a beloved figure among ukrainian people. they told us they have been traveling since 7:00 in the morning on sunday, and it was just after midnight when they finally arrived to this border checkpoint in the cold here in poland. and the uncertainty now comes from the fact that as these families begin to board these buses, what happens to them next is still very much up in the air. they will be taken to temporary shelter in a nearby town here on the polish border, and they will be able to figure out what to do next, where to go next. and that is the question that so many of them are now facing. because many of them, when you speak to these refugees, they

ed lavandera is at the poland/ukraine border crossing. you've been witnessing. >> reporter: hi, fredricka. we are right on the ukrainian border and this is where ukrainian refugees take their first steps into poland and they start making their way through this alley and it has been converted into an aid zone where aid organizations have set up places where they can get warm food, medical ascension, bottles of water and toys and candy for the children that have come through here and it has been turned into a 24-hour around-the-clock operation as all of these people come over and over. this checkpoint has seen the vast majority that have come into ukraine for help. once they come through here they are taken into the nearest town, and from there they begin the process of figuring out where to go next, and that has really become one of the more difficult situations because so many of the smaller communities here in the border region of poland and ukraine have filled up with refugees. we've seen people who have driven in from germany, denmark,

cnn's ed lavandera joins me now from the polish ukrainian border. ssed remarkable scenes. i'm sure a long day for you. what can you tell us? >> reporter: this is the alleyway to safety yet an alleyway to uncertainty, and this is the gateway that so many ukrainian refugees are taking, and anytime you stand here and look. the emotional path that so many of these people are taking. earlier today we witnessed a mother reuniting with her children just there at the gates of the border. an emotional scene unfolding as this mother clearly holding her children in her arms in a much more safe place. and this alleyway culminating here, and these are all of the refugees, the women and children, mostly, arriving here in medyka, poland. about to come on to buses. we can show you here as we make our way through the crowd. there are buses here, jim, waiting to take all of these refugees to what is essentially temporary shelters in a nearby polish city. so a great deal of concern for a lot of these people here as they are not exactly sure where exactly they're going

joining us from poland is cnn's ed lavandera.om refugees crossing the border in poland? >> reporter: hey sh anderson. what has struck me here today is hearing stories. we've spoken with many refugees who have been arriving. and they're coming from the eastern part of ukraine. some of the most decimated areas, some of the citys that have seen some of the worst warfare now for three weeks. and what we hear over and over again is that many of the people who are arriving here have endured all this. they had hoped they could just wait it out, things would come to an end and they wouldn't have to flee their country. we spoke to two women who arrived tonight. one of them was traveling with her 6-year-old child. her daughter doesn't understand war. they told her they were going to take a trip to poland just like so many of her other friends have been doing in recent days. that's how they managed to keep a smile on the young girl's face. when we talk to them, you know, we're seeing these refugees who have seen the very worst parts of this

cnn's ed lavandera joins me now live. ed, you were in poland where more than 2 million refugees have crossed the border. interesting to see ivan in zaporizhzhia in the eastern part of the country. now in poland, a lot of the refugees who are finally getting there are from the far eastern areas. >> i'm watching his story there, and one of the things we've done over the last few weeks since speaking to refugees, the first question you ask them is, where are they from? what has changed so much in the last couple of weeks is that the people you're seeing now at the border in poland, these are people who have seen war up close. early on, it was people who were instantly fleeing. but now you're talking to people who have endured, in many cases, some horrific scenes trying to escape it. they thought they could wait this out and that that's what they were hoping for. and then it's become evidently clear that that's not a safe option at this point. and we were hearing stories of -- initially people coming from eastern ukraine might

ed lavandera is in odesa tonight. ed, what is the mood in the city tonight?e in the city today. as we drove in earlier today, we saw people filling up parts, the people who were still here going about their business. the road in was filled with multiple military check points. we noticed all of the billboards on the road in were changed and showing off this pro-ukrainian anti-russian force message to the russian soldiers if they were to come into odesa from the north side. there is that sense and fortification you talk about that really showed you what has been prepared. and many people here anxiously watching what has been happening with russian forces in the north and all this talk about what exactly russia is up to, how are they going to redeploy these assets and forces into other parts of the country, and they take a close look at what's happened in mariupol. and even though russian forces have been stalled out for the most part just west of there, near kherson, there is concern, are they going to reattempt to take this part of ukraine that would essential

ed lavandera is working the story for us.hearing from the refugee who's are entering poland today in. >> reporter: well, wolf, to give you a sense of what this crisis looks like on the border now, we are in medyka, poland, the opening gate into ukraine. this is a line of refugees that continue arriving here late into this night. we're hearing over and over again. it's really fascinating. these are people who have left ukraine and they have now been in ukraine long enough to see some of the worst fighting, some of the most horrific scenes there. and about a week ago, we hear stories that people would take a day, maybe two days to reach this point in poland. but now we're hearing stories that it has taken people nearly a week, five days to get out of ukraine. largely in part, that it has driven so many people who are in these war-torn areas where roads are a mess. there are land mines that they're concerned about. russian soldiers that they're worried about. there's also curfew issues. so it is not a quick trip by any means any

. >> ed lavandera is live in the southern port city of odesa. ed, what are you seeing there? >> reporter: well, here just a few moments ago air raid sirens just went off for about eight minutes. the sound was mixed with church bells ringing here at night. so a very surreal sound and scene as the city remains under curfew, the streets totally empty and quiet. obviously many people here watching with a great deal of concern what is happening in the northern part of ukraine and trying to make sense of exactly what russian forces are up to and what their plan will be. as we've been reporting it appears russian forces moving back toward belarus in large part trying to regroup, and that raises the question where they will move to next, do they have plans to move in through eastern ukraine and continue to move down the coastline of the sea of azov and the black sea, perhaps down toward odesa to create that land bridge connecting with crimea. that is the concern and that is the expectation many people we've talk to believe might happen next. the timing of all of that is still very mu

ed lavandera is out front. putin sees it that way. ukraine sees it that way.esa could be next? >> reporter: well, they're watching very closely what's happening with the russian forces around kyiv and really trying to figure out what is going to come next. what is going to be that next step. right now russian forces have been stalled out for some time about halfway between here and mariupol so there is talk early on. it's been relatively. it's here in this region. surveillance and reconnaissance missions over this area that they're on high alert. erin, when we drove in earlier today, the road coming from north of odesa down to this city was lined with checkpoints. almost all of the billboards along the road has turned into this pro ukrainian antirussian force messages kind of directly directed at the soldiers that would be coming down this way if there was an invasion that would take place in this city but, you know, there has been relative calm and perhaps maybe a false sense of security. we drove around. there's many parts of it that look like an ordinary, a

ed lavandera, poland. >> you always find kind people in times of crisis. connor lockland is with catholic relief services and he joins me now from moldova. thanks for being with us, connor. what's it been like on your end? >> well, we are witnessing here in moldova is thousands of people every day streaming across the border into moldova in winter conditions. and they are in need of shelter, warm clothes, um, information on what to do next. and also, counseling. >> uh-huh. and do most of them travel on? or are they happy just settling temporarily in moldova? what -- what's that been like? >> many people are traveling on. over 350,000 people have come into moldova and we must remember that moldova is a small country here of less than a population of 3 million people. 100,000, though, are staying in moldova as well. and what we have witnessed here and much like we saw in your last segment is a huge outpouring of kindness from moldovans to ukrainians that have fled. many have opened their doors, and to support people and there has been enormous solidarity her

ed lavandera joins us from the ukrainian border. it's been a month, ed. kind of indicative of what we've seen for several weeks now is the trains pushing further into europe tend to take off this time of night here in poland. so, we're still seeing that. if you're at the border check points and the incoming trains, the flow of refugees has slowed down a little bit, but it is still steady. and anderson, one about a week ago people would tell us it took about two days to reach this point. but now we're hearing it's taking some families four or five days especially from eastern ukraine where they're navigating dangerous conditions on the roadways, bridges blown out, russian forces essentially picking civilians off of the road. check points and curfews they've had to deal with. and because of that it's taking these refugees a lot longer to get here to poland. >> president biden is going to be meeting with refugees tomorrow. have you heard much about that? >> reporter: there hasn't been much release, but the president tomorrow afternoon is expected to meet wit

>> ed lavandera, keep us posted, and you rose the right question. this will be months and months.cnn.com/impact. >>> president zelenskyy makes a virtual address to u.s. congress tomorrow. first, a new update on that russian television editor who held up this anti-war sign on television. is now a good time for a flare-up? enough, crohn's! for adults with moderate to severe crohn's or ulcerative colitis, stela® can provide reli, and is the first approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below t surface of the intestine in uc. you, getting on that flight? back off, uc! stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. lasting remission can start with stelara®. janssen can help you explore cost support options. ♪ ♪ feel stuck with student loan debt? move to sofi

ed lavandera is near the ukrainian border near poland. s have led to poland where you are. >> reporter: absolutely right, wolf. it really is stunning figures. this is that entryway, people who have driven or walked to the border. they come up this way. what we have started to notice in the last few days is that there's an increasing number of people coming from far eastern ukraine, who have been seen some of the worst warfare in the last three weeks. the other thing that stands out in our conversations with many of these refugees arriving here, is that they had hoped -- they didn't leave earlier, because they had hoped the fighting would come to an end. the journey out of there is incredibly brutal. many people we're talking with are saying it takes at least two days to get to this very spot to safe in forland. we spoke with one woman who was from the town of kharkiv, who said it was too much to witness. >> translator: we saw some horrible things, airplanes exploding in the sky. we saw dead people. my neighbor was killed on the second day

cnn's ed lavandera has his story. >> reporter: at any given moment across ukraine there are countlessple on the streets doing whatever they can to help in the war effort. so when missile strikes happen near a populated area like we saw on saturday in lviv, that sent shivers down the spines of all those people trying to help. the air-raid sirens no longer startled him. >> the sirens is telling us there's no danger anymore. >> reporter: with that he eases the nerves of a mother and her two children he's just picked up at the train station. tonight he will drive them to poland. he struggles to explain how a 27-year-old from norway has found himself driving an ambulance through the streets of lviv. >> that's the most difficult question, actually. >> reporter: he's part of a volunteer team evacuating critically ill hospital patients and refugees from ukraine. >> i just wanted to help do something, not sit at home and just look at everything on the tv. >> reporter: most days he drives into lviv from poland with an ambulance full of medical supplies and distributes the loads to hospitals fac

cnn's ed lavandera is in poland where more than half of those 3 million refugees have fled for help. t's being done to prevent this? >> it's a very good question, and, obviously, something that's of great concern. as you're talking about how many of these refugees are depending on the good will. as we stand here in this walkway that is essentially seeing an outpouring of international support and goodwill, there isn't anything that we have seen in the last few days that really kind of shows some sort of concrete effort, if you will, to safeguard against human trafficking, women being sexually assaulted, especially because that's the vast majority of the poom eople we're seeing . what we have seen here is efforts to at least alert people that they should be on the lookout for this thing. there are signs in areas posted where refugees are coming through, giving people instructions on what they should do if they are to get into a car with someone offering them a ride further into europe. things like take a picture of the license plate, send it to family. take a picture of the person and

cnn's ed lavandera is live in poland where refugees continue to arrive and ed, the generosity that we've seen towards these refugees these past few weeks have been one of the few bright spots. what are you seeing there now? >> reporter: that generosity continues. we continue at the train station in poland which is just a few miles away from the border checkpoint. if you're coming by train from ukraine, this is the initial entrypoint. there are many people walking across, taking buses to the border checkpoints a few miles away. but if they're coming by train, mostly from lviv and odesa, they're coming from this train station here and it's an orardus journey. we're struck by the lengths and distances people are coming from and given the intensity of the fighting and bombing throughout many parts of the central and eastern ukraine, many of those family members on their journeys have been traversing the very war zones making it to lviv. several people here told us the simple train ride from lviv to this on the polish border, which should normally take no more than two hours, roughly, less th

ed lavandera is across the border in poland for us. you rode along with one of the foreign volunteers. tell us about him. >> reporter: well, don, you know, today's air strike is a vivid reminder that for tens of thousands of people who have come in here to help ukrainians, that there is no safe day in that country right now. [ siren ] the air raid sirens no longer startle diedrich. >> the sirens are telling us it's no danger anymore. >> reporter: with that, he eases the nerves of a mother and her two children he's just picked up at the train station. tonight he will drive them to poland. diedrich struggles to explain how a 27-year-old from norway has found himself driving an ambulance through the streets of lviv. >> that's the most difficult question actually. >> reporter: he's part of a volunteer team evacuating critically ill hospital patients and refugees from ukraine. >> i just wanted to help, do something, not sit at home and just look at everything on the tv. >> reporter: most days, diedrich drives into lviv from poland with an a

cnn's ed lavandera is in lviv in western ukraine. heartbreaking to hear from the refugees.ny of these refugees has changed substantially in the last week. that has really a lot to do with the fact so many refugees crossing into poland, we have noticed, in the last few days, really coming from the far eastern areas of ukraine. these are families that have seen some of the worst fighting so far in this war. so it's significant they are able to get to poland. also taking a considerable amount of time longer for many of these people. remember, one family we showing to had to kind of use a system of being driven to a couple differ places before able to get to a city that had a train route out of ukraine and into poland. so the obstacles in front of many refugees to get to safe countries changed somewhat in the last week. we're not seeing the high number of refugees that we saw in the early days of the war, but now more than a month in to this, this, you're still seeing a steady trickle. tonight we drove from an area in poland right on the border. locations you see from the train

cnn's ed lavandera has more. >> reporter: when ukrainian refugees step off the train in poland, thereigate a whole new world. some are lucky. they have family or friends waiting for them. but for most others, this tunnel leads them to the main strain station hall where they start making sense of the overwhelming confusion on their own. they have no plan. it's improvised from here. when the refugees finally make their way off the platform and into the station, one of the first things that greets them is the sign in ukraine and polish that says "here you are safe." families emerge from the train with endless questions. >> reporter: about 20,000 refugees a day are endlessly moving through this one small polish city on the border with ukraine, filling the halls of this train station built in the 19th century. while parents figure out train rides to destinations across europe, exhausted children find baskets of treats and toys. this is what it's like to figure out your next steps when your world has been unravelled by war. confusion fills the air. >> reporter: these refugees have made it o

ed lavandera, cnn, poland. >> thank you for that report. appreciate it very much.our viewers can help humanitarian efforts in ukraine, go to cnn.com/impact and help impact your world. there is more breaking news just ahead on the war in ukraine and the changing military tactics unfolding right now on both sides. >>> and stay right here for more live coverage of the historic confirmation hearing for u.s. supreme court nominee ketanji brown jackson. (music throughout) >> tech: cracked windshield? make it easy and schedule with safelite, because you can track us and see exactly when we'll be there. >> woman: i have a few more minutes. let's go! >> tech vo: that's service that fits your schedule. go to safelite.com. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ this is elodia. she's a recording artist. 1 of 10 million people that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. and this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students we're connecting throughout the next 10. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 b

cnn's ed lavandera is in poland near the border with ukraine. >> reporter: it's just been over threeinvaded ukraine and there are now 3.2 million people, refugees who have left their home country of ukraine into mostly europe. and we have new figures that show that more than 2 million of those refugees have entered the country of poland, staggering numbers that we continue to see unfolding here in poland. and one of the things that has really struck us in the last few days, as we've spoken with so many of the refugees arriving here in the borders area of poland and ukraine, is that they're coming from the far eastern areas of ukraine. cities that are seeing the worst of the warfare, and the refugees describe to us a painful experience. in fact, we spoke with one family, two women who had come with their -- a 6-year-old girl. they said they spent two days traveling from the city of kharkiv to get to this border town in poland. they said, they told the young girl, they didn't describe to her there was a war going on. they didn't want to tell her that. they said simply they were going t

mariupol, the southern city on the sea of azov and i want to bring in cnn senior correspondent ed lavandera and we just saw that statement from the mayor of mariupol saying that the city is now in the hands of the occupiers. do we have any sense of exactly what that means? >> reporter: i think what the mayor there is saying is describing what has turned and become an even more grim situation that we have already seen. mariupol is a city of about 400,000 people. the mayor saying that he believes there are still about 160,000 people left inside that city and he talked a lot about the efforts to evacuate them saying evacuation is the key thing and the key issue they are facing right now, but the mayor also went on to say that attempts of bus drivers to be able to drive into that city has been thwarted by russian forces. the mayor described russian forces as essentially playing games with ukrainian efforts to evacuate civilians from the city and this is a city that has been besieged for weeks, an unknown number of civilian deaths and casualty in that city. so clearly, what we're hearing from th

ed lavandera, cnn, poland. >> well, if you would like to help people in ukraine who may be in need ofted a list of organization assisting refugees and others. go toe cnn.com/impact and you can find several ways you can help. millions of dollars have been raised already. >>> still ahead, as explosions ring out in kyiv, several european leaders travel to ukraine's capital to meet with the president. hear their message for other members of the eu after the break. plus, my interview with the mayor here in lviv. why he is unbowed after sunday's deadly attack on a nearby military base. >> you told me earlier that this will end in victory for the ukrainians. >> i believe in our victory 100%. stuff. we love stuff. and there's some really great stuff out there. but i doubt that any of us will look back on our lives d think, "i wish i'd bought an ev, or had an even smarter smartphone." do you think any of us will look back on oulives and reet the things we didn't buy? or the places we didn't go? ♪ i'd go the whole wide world ♪ ♪ i'd go the whole wide world ♪ with our unique tub over tub install

we begin in lviv in western ukraine with cnn's ed lavandera. what's the latest? >> well, john, you get a sense from all the story lines you've mentioned just how volatile and quickly changing the situation is here in ukraine. this on the eve of russian and ukrainian sides coming together for peace talks supposed to happen on tuesday. but here in lviv, air strike over the weekend and also overnight, two more air strikes in cities nearby here hitting fuel depots. and that really gets to the sense that russian forces targeting those much-needed supplies that ukrainian military troops need to fuel the convoys and all of the machinery there. and also the major headline today that you touch on is that the mayor of irpin, that suburb of kyiv that has been besieged for weeks by russian forces, has been the site of some of the most tragic stories we've seen so far in this war saying that that city at least for now has been liberated. but the mayor is also urging people that they cannot come back to this city right now. that they still expect to continue being attacked, bu

cnn's ed lavandera joins me now. thank you for joining us here from the region. you are just back from the polish border. i want to talk to you about that. let's talk about the blast in kyiv what do we know? >> reporter: just after 1:00 in the morning here in ukraine. our teams in kyiv heard the loud explosion. we're trying to figure out what location was targeted, are there any casualties and obviously the suburban areas around kyiv have been of intention focus. scrambling to figure out what was the target of the strike, if there were any injured and hopefully no one was killed. there's a curfew in place. the vast majority of people not on the streets in ukraine this hour. we are working as fast as we can. >> they had the blasts here yesterday, just the day before a russian official said the first phase of the war they believed was accomplished so they were going to downsize, so to speak, but that does not seem to be happening. the ukrainian officials like to get the information out first, to the media before we start reporting on it so we do have to figure out

ed lavandera, cnn, lviv, ukraine. >>> russian president vladimir putin has framed russia's invasion of ukraine as a campaign denazification. that description has been widely dismissed by historians and political observers. keep in mind ukraine's president is jewish, and some of his family members were killed in world war ii. so with the next round of talks between the two countries set to begin tuesday, take a listen to what volodymyr zelenskyy had to say during an interview on sunday. >> translator: we won't sit down at the table at all if all we talk about some demilitarization or some denazification. for me, these are absolutely incomprehensible things. >> susan glasser is a cnn global affairs analyst and joins us now. good to see you, susan. >> good to see you. thank you. >> so i want to start with the zelenskyy interview. ukraine's president gave this 90-minute zoom interview to four russian journalists. the kremlin squashed it. how extraordinary is it the way the kremlin is not only pushing its own propaganda, it's censors anything that doesn't support their narrative? >> yeah, t

ed lavandera, cnn, poland. >> with that, we'll reset for the top of the hour. i'm john vause.in ukraine. ♪ ♪ no two dreams are the same. but there is one van equipped to handle them all. for over 120 yearsrs, mercedes-benz vans have been built, upfitted and readady to go. because we believe dreams - should never stay that way. ithe fast way to. anbring it up to speed. is scotts turf builder rapid grass. rapid grass is a revolutionary x of seed and fertilizer that will change the way you grow grass. it grows two times faster than seed alone for full, green grass in just weeks. ter growing grass this fast, everything else just seems... green grass in just weeks. slow. it's lawn season. let's get to the yard. download the scotts my lawn app today for your personalized lawn plan. ♪ it wasn't me by shaggy ♪ you're never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your discover card. when we found out our son had autism, his future became my focus. lavender baths calmed him. so we made a plan to turn bath time into a business. ♪ ♪ find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com >>> this

ed lavandera, cnn, poland. >>> well, the determined resistance that the russian military is facing in ukraine that surprised so many people, by the way, is echoing the bitter fighting that the soviet army faced 40 years ago in afghanistan. a closer look at the two conflicts. how they are the same, how they are different when we come back. allergies don't have to be scary. spraying flonaseaily stops your body from overreacting to allergs all season long. psst! psst! flonase all good. this is vuity™, the first and only fda approved eye-drop that improves age-related blurry near vision. wait, what? it sounded like you just said an eye drop that may help you see up close. i did. it's an innovative way to... so, wait. i don't always have to wear reading glasses? yeah! vuity™ helps you see up close. so, i can see up close with just my eyes? uh-huh. with one drop in each eye, once daily. in focus? yep. [laughs] like, really? really. vuity™ is a prescription eye drop to help you see up close. ow! wait, what? wait. wait? wait, what? see for yourself. use vuity™ with caution in night driving an

ed lavandera, cnn, phoenix, arizona. >> ed, thank you. >>> more than 25 million in the south will be ♪ ♪i've traveled every road in this here land!♪ ♪i've been everywhere, man.♪ ♪i've been everywhere, man.♪ ♪of travel i've had my share, man.♪ ♪i've been everywhere.♪ ♪ it's still the eat fresh refresh, and subway's refreshing their italians. so, we're taking this to italy. refresh. because subway now has italian-style capicola on the new mozza meat and supreme meats. love the smell of italian food. subway keeps refreshing and refres- >>> this morning, a new tornado watch has been issued for parts of north and south carolina, as well as southeastern virginia, as severe weather slams parts of the u.s. >> yes, i'm hearing there's already snow in the nation's capital. cnn's tyler mauldin has more. where are the tornado watches? >> yes, two areas under a tornado watch. north central florida under a tornado watch until 11:00 a.m. and the carolinas under a tornado watch until 1:00 this afternoon. it's part of the larger system giving way in the nation's capital, and the stronger thunderstorm

cnn's ed lavandera joins me live here in lviv. ed, a few hours ago, you were in poland.country where the most ukrainian refugees are going. tell us what you saw there. >> it's changed dramatically in the last few weeks. we were in the town of przemysl. the mayor told me at its peak we were seeing about 50,000 to 60,000 people crossing through that city alone. those numbers have drop offend but it's still steady at the train station. the mayor's office told us they were still getting about 1,000 a day. thill several more thousand crossing by either foot or on bus at the border checkpoint a few miles away. so you're still seeing a steady flow of people. what is really fascinating is just the system that's been created to quickly move these people away from these small border towns further into -- so there's a -- further into poland or europe where they might want to end up. there's a system of buses and shelters. they spend maybe a night or get put on a train and get moved to warsaw or krakow or prague. that system seems to be working rather well. and so it's kind of fasci

ed lavandera is here in lviv. nic robertson in brussels. i want to bring in kaitlan collins from the white house. i want to bring in ed lavandera. what's the state of play here on the ground? >> you are seeing a lot of different things in different parts of the country. air strikes over the weekend as we reported here in lviv. and also in cities close by overnight. attacking fuel depots. and that is really kind of trying to strike at the heart of the equipment that's necessary for the ukrainian army to do what it needs to do. we've also heard from the mayor today of that suburb of kyiv, irpin, that they they've liberated that city. we've reported on the city extensively for the last few weeks. it's been besieged and has seen heartbreaking violence there. the mayor there says that that city has been liberated, but urging people not to come back. still not saying if they expect more attacks and then you have the situation down in the south, mariupol, where the mayor there is saying that the city is now in the hands of russian forces. this is

jake. >> ed lavandera reporting live from the polish/ukrainian border. thank you so much for that report. >>> she was the u.s. ambassador to ukraine who was famously or infamously recalled during the trump administration and later testified in his first impeachment trial. marie yovanovitch will join us next. >>> and then bad news for wnba star brittney griner who's being held in a moscow jail. stay with us. every business is on a journey. and along the ride, you'll find many challenges. ♪ your dell technologies advisor can help you find the right tech solutions. so you can stop at nothing for your customers. (driver 1) it's all you. (driver 2) no, i insist. (driver 1) it's your turn. (driver 2) nope, i think it's your turn. (driver 1) i appreciate you so much, thank you so much... go. (driver 2) i appreciate your appreciation. it fills me. (burke) safe drivers save money with farmers. (bystander) just for driving safely? (burke) it's a farmers policy perk. get farmers and you could get a safe driver discount simply for having a clean driving record for t

many of them to poland, which is where ed lavandera is now. border crossing between poland and ukraine and, ed, i know you spoke to a group of women who just crossed over after fleeing the heavy fighting that we have seen in kharkiv. what did they tell you? >> reporter: well, erin, you know one of the things that is starting to kind of materialize here on the border between ukraine and poland is that there are so many people who are coming from the areas of eastern ukraine that are seeing some of the most violent russian bombardment and attacks in the entire country. and the one thing that stands out from these families that we're talking to is that they had been hoping that they could wait it out. they want today ed to stay home. they were trying to wait and be as patient as possible but it has become abundantly clear it is no longer safe to do that so i am really struck by the number of families we talked to, this one woman in particular said she had been traveling for two days to make her way with her child to get to this border point in pol

that's where we find ed lavandera on the ground.n poland, przemysl. alex is here with her mother. talk about what the journey was like for you, coming from kyiv where you live. how dangerous was it? >> took almost two days to travel to przemysl. with my husband, we moved to western ukraine first, lived there for one week, and then i decided for my mother and dad to continue to poland. we found a foundation in poland. they treat breast cancer. i agreed with my pom amom and d and i will follow her and spend the day with her for the process, then we'll go back to my husband in western ukraine. >> reporter: how difficult has it been for you? you heard the bombing. you've seen all of the violence in your home city. when you think about that now, what goes through your mind? how do you think about that? >> it is a nightmare. it is unreal for me. like, second life, like not with me. >> reporter: do you think your life and your family's life will ever be the same in kyiv? >> absolutely not. absolutely not. we feel so proud of our people, of

cnn's ed lavandera met one such family as they finally reunited. >> reporter: tucked away in the back of the train station in poland, we see the latest train arrive filled with families escaping war. and it's where we find tatianna waiving joyfully at one of the carriages. this train is carrying special cargo. through the metal barricades she sees her son, two sisters and their three children walking off the train. she's waited three excruciating weeks for this moment. >> you have a very big smile on your face. i imagine you're very happy right now. yes, he says. it's very scary there. we have been waiting for them for a very long time. tatianna tells us they could not leave for a long time. the family tells us their journey to get to poland was a path through death and destruction. they live in a small village south of kyiv. they say the only road ukrainian civilians could use to escape was constantly attacked by russian forces. he says there was shelling from both sides. everyone who wanted to leave by car was simply shot. we were afraid that if our family decided to leave, we would