. >>> also ahead, more of my exclusive interview with lloyd austin that says vladimir putin can end the carnage in ukraine at any moment. >> we're here because of his attention to launch an attack. he can make a decision today to end this and seek a diplomatic action. he's had a number of opportunities along the way. he has opportunities today to decide to do something different. this is not going well for him on the battle field and there are a number of things that are now coming into play that will make things more difficult for him as he goes forward. >> let's get live right now to the region. i want to get to frederick pleitgen in lviv for us. fred frederick, hello to you. dozens of ukrainian troops have been killedilled. what do you know. >> reporter: yeah, don. this happened in the early morning hours of today. those buildings on the base were apparently full of soldiers, some might have actually still been sleeping and as you noted, the eyewitness accounts say two fighter jets came and dropped five bombs. there were some eyewitness accounts to our partner publication called expr

and now as promise the, my interview with defense secretary lloyd austin. a military man who generally keeps a low profile, but this, this is time that has thrust him really on to center stage, traveling from city to city in europe to rally opposition to vladimir putin's war ukraine. and we got some special access throughout the secretary's day today. i was able to speak with him on the plane while en route to bulgaria. >> so good to see you. he is showing morale and defenses in eastern europe and we were there as he welcomed, he was welcomed at the training area in bulgaria. here is our interview. >> thank you for doing this. i appreciate it. thank you. we flew to bulgaria from slovakia where yesterday you reiterated your opposition to a no-fly zone. if that is a commitment of the united states, how do you close the skies over ukraine? >> don, the president has been very clear about the fact that we won't have troops engaged in come about the with russia in ukraine. in order to effect or put into place a no-fly zone, we'd have to control the skies and that

his name is lloyd austin. he said today the united states will not enforce closing the skies in ukraine saying, quote, there's no such thing as a no-fly zone lite. and i'm going to have a full interview with secretary lloyd austin tomorrow so make sure you tune in for that. it comes as russia's indiscriminate bombing of ukraine continues. president biden calling putin a murderous dictator and a pure thug just one day after accusing him of war crimes. >> yesterday president biden said in his opinion war crimes have been committed in ukraine. personally i agree. intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime. >> these attack that we've seen most recently appear to be focused directly on civilians, and of course that -- you know, if you attack civilians, target civilians purposely, that is -- that is a crime. >> secretary austin, secretary blinken, president biden all deploring what president putin is doing to ukraine. and look, the issue of whether putin is a war criminal is a very important issue, but we know

defense secretary lloyd austin tells cnn the u.s. won't stand in the way of other countries sending fighter jets to ukraine. >>> later we'll talk to a former foreign minister who says putin is a sensitive man and doesn't really want to star a a nuclear war. ♪ ♪ find a norththwestern mutual advisor at nm.com at capella university, we know the world is pretty smart. wicked smart. so we made flexpath smart enough that you can finish the bachelor's degree in business you've started in 18 months for $18,000. that's smart. capella university. don't just learn. learn smarter. check out this vrbo. oh man. michael, they're your cousins. ♪ ( "right where i belong" by the muppets) ♪ ♪ look at me ♪ c'mon. ♪ here i am ♪ ♪ right where i belong ♪ ♪ i see that face coming back to me ♪ ♪ like an old familiar song ♪ ♪ ♪ what better place could anyone be? ♪ ♪ 'cause you're here with me ♪ ♪ it's all i've been looking for ♪ ♪ and so much more ♪ ♪ and now i'm here ♪ ♪ now you're here ♪ ♪ nothin' can go wrong ♪ ♪ 'cause i am here right where i belong! ♪ ♪

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we'll speak with lloyd austin about the new weapons the u.s.sending ukraine and the delicate dep mask dance to arm them. and after president biden warns the chinese president not to help russia, qin gang will ea eokna markarova will also join us, and we'll have a rare sunday interview with mitch mcconnell. finally, we'll check in with former f.d.a. commissioner dr. scott gottlieb. it's all just ahead on "face the nation." ♪♪ >> brennan: good morning. and welcome to "face the nation." there is no end in sight, no off-ramp for the russians, and seemingly no serious movement in negotiations for a cease-fire in the now 25-days-long war in ukraine. as we come on the air, the scenes of death and devastation in the port city of mariupol are abhorrent, and the city is on the virge of being completely under russian control. we've got a lot to get to today, and we want to begin with the latest news from ukraine. we would like to warn you some of the images you will see in this broadcast can be disturbing. charlie d'agata reports today from kyiv. charlie?

defense secretary lloyd austin says things cheerily aren't going to plan for moskow. he spoke with our don lemon during a visit to bulgaria on friday. they started by discussing ukraine's demand for more air power. >> the u.s. has made it very clear that they don't want to be involved in the process of giving jets to ukraine. now, do you support other countries doing it or even encourage -- even encourage other countries to do it as long as there's no u.s. involvement? >> don, what other countries do, that's their choice. the united states certainly does not stand in the way of other countries providing assistance. again, we're going to focus on those things that we know is making a difference. and what's making a difference in this fight is the provision of anti-aircraft systems and the deployment of drones. you heard the president say most recently what we're doing, the kinds of things we're providing. we just signed -- just provided authorization for us to provide an additional billion dollars worth of security force assistance. that's remarkable. >> what is your a

pay a high price >>> also tonight, our nbc news exclusive my one-on-one with defense secretary lloyd austin what he told me about that 40-mile russian convoy the pentagon says is stalled outside kyiv why the u.s. is ruling out a no-fly zone and putin's nuclear threat has the u.s. seen any actions to back them up >>> the white house's new plan to move the u.s. beyond covid. the new test and treat strategy how it will work >>> the jetblue pilot pulled off a flight, allegedly drunk, and about to fly >>> fitbit recalling nearly 2 million of its popular smart watches. the potential danger if you own one. >>> and the ukrainian crisis sending gas prices soaring how high could they go >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt >>> good evening, everyone the whole world is watching tonight as russia, in plain sight, targets city after city its forces appearing to double down, closing in on kyiv the menacing convoy of russian armor stalled but still pointing toward the capital claims and counterclaims about how many russian troops have been killed russia says it's close to 500 soldiers

up next, cnn has an interview with lloyd austin. hear what he has to say about the russian military missteps that he's seeing in ukraine. what you'll need, and help you build a flexible plan for cash flow designed to last. so you can go from savining.. to living. 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 and think, "i wish i'd bought an even thinner tv, found a lighter light beer, or had an even smarter smartphone." do you think any of us will look back on our lives and regret 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 mucinex nightshift you've got powerful relief from your worst nighttime cold and flu symptoms. so grab nightshift to fight your symptoms, get your zzz's... and get back to your rhythm. feel the power. beat the symptoms fast. this is xfinity rewards. our way of showing our appreciation. with rewards of all shapes and sizes. [ cheers ] are we actually going? ye

s. secretary of defense, lloyd austin, who, who came on record again today to say that nato stands out by ukraine. it supports ukraine's right add to be able to defend itself against russia. in the case of this invasion, reiterating again, that nato will continue to supply defensive, military equipment and weaponry. so the ukrainians are winner. for example, the dutch defense minister also a re, it's rated as the, the netherlands. as commitment in that they will continue to send military aid to ukraine, even as these could be targeted. these 8 convoys could be targeted ad in russian attacks. so native position is that it does support ukraine financially with military aid, defensive military aid, to be able to defend itself because that is a right and that it believes at ukraine has. and we will support that to the full. so is natal membership for ukraine now completely off the table for ever. that is basically what it sounds like. and as i was pointing out those remarks are by overloading me, zalinski the president of ukraine. really the most explicit acknowledgment that he's at least

so, lloyd austin is probably right. they are making some incremental steps to -- to really move the ball here in terms of being able to take over areas. but i think the ukrainians are still putting up a hell of a fight. they're -- they really have stalled the russian army in a number of ways. they've delayed their ability to move forward. the russians are using, obviously, these missiles. they are using artillery. they're engaged in wanton killing of innocent men, women, and children. i still think that the ukrainians have a fighting chance here to be able to -- to -- to send a clear message to putin that he's a loser in this war. >> u.s. officials are confirming today -- and you have heard this as well -- that russia is now using these hypersonic missiles. these are weapons that travel at mac five speeds and they are using these missiles inside ukraine. how significant of a development is this? >> well, you know, we -- we seem to be worried and we should be about escalating the war there in ukraine. i understand those

they got a pep talk today from lloyd austin.ense secretary also sat down with cnn's don lemon. here's a portion of that exclusive interview. >> the u.s. has made it clear that they don't want to be involved in the process of given jets to ukraine. now, do you support other countries doing it? are you going to encourage other countries to do it, as long as there's no u.s. involvement? >> what other countries, do, that's their choice. the united states certainly does not stand in the way of other countries providing assist tans, but we'll remain focused on the things we know are making a difference. what is making a difference is the provision of anti-aircraft systems, the provision of ar armored systems, and other things that have been effective are the employment of drones. you've heard the president say most recently what we're doing, the kinds of things we're providing. we just signed -- just provided authorization for us to provide an additional billion dollars of security force assistance. that's remarkable. >> what is your

here's lloyd austin on a sunday show this weekend. >> if a chemical or biological weapon was used, you would see a significant reaction from not only the united states but also the global community. again, i don't want to speculate about what exactly what would change our calculation, and engaging in hypotheticals is probably not helpful here either, but this is a very serious step and as you heard our president say, we won't take that lightly. >> meanwhile poland is talking like it might strike out on its own. it's leaders is advocating for a peacekeeping force that would work outside ukraine, and the united states says it opposed such a move and that proposal will be brought up again when president biden travels to europe this week to meet with nato allies and leaders. joining me now is nbc correspondent, richard engel and nbc chief correspondent, andrea mitchell. richard, what is it like seeing kyiv get struck by missiles? >> reporter: this city is once again in a full lockdown. this is the third time a lockdown has been put in place and it's going to be in place for the next 35 hou

colonel, let's start with that assessment from secretary of defense lloyd austin.t coincides with british intelligence saying that the kremlin was caught off guard by the scale and ferocity of the ukrainian resistance and that leads to belief that the strategy will shift for the russians. they will look at a war of attrition now, winning by any means necessary. what does that look like on the ground in ukraine? >> well, good morning. that is going to be one of the most terrible developments of this war frankly. i think as the secretary of defense mentioned and the british intelligence assessment also pointed to, it's very clear that the russians wanted to do something like they did back in 1968 in taking over czechoslovakia, they did it in two days when they came in and replaced the communist government in that country. you know, when it comes to ukraine, we are going to see the pounding of cities, we're going to see the use of artillery, the use of indiscriminate air strikes, we'll see more cruise missiles being lobbed into the country from various locations. and

as the country fights back against russia's invasion. ministers, including us defense secretary lloyd austin, art meeting in brussels. austin repeated that the alliance would abide by its promise to protect the eastern european member states. if russia launched an attack, but a stony m smaller natal member bordering russia, continued to call for the alliance to set up a no fly zone in ukraine. this is the step the alliance has refused to take so far as ukraine is not. and they to a member state. but nato confirmed the sending more troops to the member states bordering ukraine. and russia. you are reinforcing i recollected offence. hundreds of thousands of troops, sir, on a heightened alert, a 100000 troops. sir. u. s. troops in europe and her 40000 troops under nato, a command product to command the most in the eastern part of the line, sir, supported by a naval and air forces, nato has the responsibility to ensure that this crisis do not escalate beyond ukraine. and that's also reason why we have increased the presence in these than pot reliance. i'm a joint bi ukrainian, german writer, kat

defense secretary lloyd austin has order 5 wed 500 additional troops to poland.s proposed a new cease-fire in five ukrainian cities. ukraine has yet to formally agree to the proposal. the u.n. estimates at least 1.7 million refugees have fled ukraine since the beginning of the invasion. for more news, download the cbs news app on your cell phone. i'm tom hanson, cbs news, new york. ♪ ♪ >>> this is the cbs "overnight news." >>> good evening. thank you for joining us as we start a new week together. tonight, the war in ukraine has entered a new phase of brutality as russia seems to be targeting civilians trying to flee their country. the unprecedented areas of shelling where people are evacuating is sparking fear and outrage. negotiations are ongoing between the two sides, but little progress has been made. meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis is growing by the hour as millions flee their homes in hopes of escaping the violence. as of tonight, at least 1.7 million refugees have fled ukraine in the first eleven days of the war, and that number is expected to top 5 mil

after taking office in december numbers, us counterpart lloyd austin welcomed her in the pentagon for talks about a number of security issues including nato's defense policy and shared armament projects. after the meeting, lambert stressed that in the light of rushes, aggression, germany and its allies stand closer together than ever before. putting its destination gilman put in, did not manage to divide nato or the you by yesterday we stand together and we are reliable partners. now, what africans o allies on nato's eastern flank, in particular, can rely on this flag without question warner. when want alba on? we own districts. do we support ukraine with arms deliveries in the incredible fight against a brutal aggressor? come december or time, and we and germany will invest in our security and nato securities. shaheen event invest in india, zisha heights, denver wonders there, will receive an additional $100000000000.00 euros for this yard. this is an important contribution and it was good to hear that it is greatly appreciated here in washington, in washington, zach a shed spirit. a

fights off rushes, invasion leaders, math at nato headquarters in brussels. us defense secretary lloyd austin, maintain with your minds from stand by its promise to protect eastern european allies if russia attacked. but estonia, a smaller nato country bordering russia, continued to call for me alliance to establish a no fly zone. sent, nato has refused to take fil a full scale in with russia. after the meeting, the secretary general assault and burg address the press, moscow should be in no doubt natal all not tolerate any attack on allowed sovereignty or territorial integrity. we have all of the activated o defense danced to shield the alliance. increase or reverse on the ploy tubes from both sides of the atlantic. as joint d. w correspondent, attorney show at nato headquarters a welcome terry. that sounds like mister stilton berg with an unequivocal warning to russia. that's right, fell yet another unequivocal warning to moscow that despite all the red lines, we've seen the kremlin blow past with its invasion of ukraine, its attacks on civilians, other activities that have have been called

secretary of defense lloyd austin is -- troops as he dodges a question about slovakia's offer to provide systems to ukraine. >> todd: vladamir putin is murderous dictator and a pure thug, griff. >> griff: the president is ratcheting up the war criminal label. listen. >> president biden: now you have ireland and great britain and public standing together against a murderous dictator, a pure thug waging immoral war against the people of ukraine. >> griff: secretary of state antony blinken say targeting citizens is a war crime. and president biden will talk to -- lack luster response to international condemnation of russia. >> we believe china in particular has responsibility to use influence of president putin and defend international rules of principles it professes to support. it appears china is moving in the opposite direction by refusing to condemn this aggression. >> griff: live now in slovakia where defense secretary lloyd austin will meet with troops who just completed a nato exercise called sabre strike 21. it is significant stop, todd and carley because slovakia is willing to sen

>>> the defense secretary lloyd austin speaking today about the atrocities committed in ukraine. we've seen most recently are -- appear to be focused directly on -- on civilians. and of course, um, that -- you know, if -- if you attack civilians on -- purposely target civilians purposely, then that's -- that is -- that is a crime. >> but does he think putin will be held accountable? he is meeting with nato defense leaders right now, and i will get a chance to ask him about the critical decisions they are making tomorrow. make sure you tune in for my exclusive interview with defense secretary lloyd austin tomorrow throughout the day on cnn, and the full interview at 10:00 p.m. thank you so much for watching, everyone. our live coverage continues with hala gorani. so, everything wey has that new car smell. -stahp. -i will not. food's here! this smells like a brand-new car! yup. best-in-class rewards, and a great way toward your next chevrolet, buick, gmc or cadillac. and with all those points on everything we buy... ...we're thinking suv. with leather! a new kind of appreciation wi

secretary of defense lloyd austin is holding a press conference right now.today by "the new york times" about low morale among russian troops as more russian soldiers are killed in ukraine. according to the times, a conservative estimate by u.s. intelligence is that 7,000 russian soldiers have been killed in just three weeks of fighting. that's more than the number of american troops killed over 20 years in iraq and afghanistan. joining us now, one of the by lines of that report, elaine cooper, an nbc news political analyst. also with us, jonathan lemire, white house bureau chief and host of "way too early." helene, you mentioned as one report focused on how russian soldiers are parking their vehicles and walking off into the woods. how is low morale impacting russia's fighting? >> hi, jose. thanks for having me. the russian military performance which we've seen displayed over the last three weeks has been much lower than anybody expected. the military has been underperform, and part of the reason why is low morale according to u.s. officials and western off

defense secretary lloyd austin. president biden will be in brussels. stopped there this week, one of three european countries he visited trying to keep the european strong. don lemon spoke with the secretary at length in bulgaria today. you'll be seeing the full interview later tonight on "don lemon tonight." don joins us now with a 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

kweet nightly news" anchor, lester holt, sat down with lloyd austin at the pentagon and asked about the massive convoy of russian tank as and trucks headed towards kyiv. >> we've been watching this convoy that's got the world's attention. it was reported it was stalled. should we read too much into that? is it still a potent fighting machine? >> i would say there's a lot of combat power; that the russians still have available to them. so they have ea number of aungzs going forward. one of those options that putin can choose is he can choose to deescalate and pursue a diplomatic solution and we hope he does it. but again, just based upon the combat power that we see, he can still do a number of things. >> and of course, you can see a lot more of lester's exclusive interview with lloyd austin tonight on nbc "nightly news." >>> and joining us now, chief white house correspondent, president of the counsel of foreign relations and ben roads, deputy national security advisor to president obama. first to you. that was a pretty candid assessment from the defense secretary. very measured but the

according to defense secretary lloyd austin, they have resorted to these, quote, disgusting tactics, targeting civilian targets because their campaign on the ground has largely stalled. so while president biden is expected to come here this week and he's expected to meet with nato leaders and european officials to discuss the war in ukraine, of course it will be touched upon the fact that they will continue to send ukraine weapons and systems to defend themselves, what is likely not going to be announced is any kind of effort by nato directly to close those skies over ukraine to close that airspace where so much of the destruction by russian forces has been wrought against ukraine. john. >> it will be so interesting to see what comes out of the meeting on thursday. such an unusual rapidly called meeting. something of that consequence, they would have to produce something more than words. what that would be remains to be seen. natasha bertrand, thank you so much for being with us. >>> u.s. officials have confirmed that russia launched hypersonic missiles against ukraine last week. thi

. >> reporter: lloyd austin says the invasion has stalled and believes russian president vladimir putin will escalate his attacks to build momentum. >> we have seen our attack on towns and cities and civilians outright. we expect to see that continue. >> reporter: this video shows a large blast in the suburbs of kyiv. >> there is a 1% chance for us to stop this war. >> reporter: the russian president says he is willing to negotiate with putin but rejected a proposal to recognize separatist regions. in you cannot force people to love the enemy. that is impossible. >> reporter: they released this video showing the destruction of the country but vowed to rebuild. later this week, president biden meets with nato allies in brothel and on friday goes to poland to discuss the humanitarian crisis. >> reporter: lighthouses there are no plans for the president to visit ukraine. the united nations says 10 million people have been displaced with more than 3 million leaving the country. >>> dozens of ukrainians and their supporters showed up yesterday in redwood city to pray for ukraine. the rallies

secretary lloyd austin traveling in austria said the country has made a number of missteps.n a news conference today, austin said the smartest thing for putin to do is end the war and end the bloodshed. >> russia's invasion has created a toll on many lives. indiana concluding far too many civilians. yet russia's invasion has galvanized the ukrainian people, nato and the free world. >> these recent setbacks have led experts to believe that the russians are going to become even more aggressive as time passes. so, let's get you an update on the situation in southeast ukraine, as the russian onslaught continues. >> cnn's scott mclean joins us. so, scott, tell us more about the pictures coming out of mykolaiv. >> reporter: hey, kristin, yeah, some stunning images, these pictures were taken by a pair of swedish journalists who happened to be in that area in the immediate aftermath of this russian bombing as they believe it was, the military barricks in mykolaiv. so, this happened yesterday, early in the morning. in the immediate aftermath, you can see it's absolute chaos. there we

defense secretary lloyd austin is meeting with nato allies. an eye on that as well as today's un meeting. >> thank you. >>> national oceanic and atmospheric administration or noaa will have a news conference announcing u.s. spring outlook for drought. >> justin andrews joins us live in the studio. more than half of the country is experiencing drought. what does this mean at home? >>> it also includes california and other western states. forecasters with noaa will be looking at where drought may improve or worsen in the comes weeks. the latest drought monitor just dropped. you notice that large red on your screen in the central valley, that is new, meaning part of the state has moved back to the extreme drought category. last week it was the severe category. today's press conference is one that helps prepare us for weather conditions in the future to minimize effects on our lives. around the bay reservoirs are going down, water usage going up, all of it happening as we begin entering the hottest dryest months of the year. in jewel the governor

lloyd austin meeting with jens stoletenberg. uk defense ministry says the kremlin is calling in military reinforcements well away from ukraine trying to replenish its losses in the invasion. and the ukrainians say three russian military helicopters were grown up on kherson's airport. >> still, the cities continue to take heavy fire. you can see right there so many buildings flattened. this is not far from kharkiv in far eastern ukraine. >>> in mariupol, russian forces are holding people captive at a hospital. thousands struggles. president biden is expected to announce $800 million in new security assistance for ukraine. president biden also plans to travel to europe next week. we will begin our coverage this hour with nick paton walsh live in odesa, a key strategic port city. i want to get your take on the news this morning. we heard from the ukrainian president zelenskyy that russians are getting more realistic in their negotiating positions. that's what he said. even as we see new signs of the relentless russian attack includ

lloyd austin meeting with jens stoletenberg.ments well away from ukraine trying to replenish its losses in the invasion. and the ukrainians say three russian military helicopters were grown up on kherson's airport. >> still, the cities continue to take heavy fire. you can see right there so many buildi

pay a high price >>> also tonight, our nbc news exclusive my one-on-one with defense secretary lloyd austind me about that 40-mile russian convoy the pentagon says is stalled outside kyiv why the u.s. is ruling out a no-fly zone and putin's nuclear threat has the u.s. seen any actions to back them up >>> the white house's new plan to move the u.s. beyond covid. the new test and treat strategy how it will work >>> the jetblue pilot pulled off a flight, allegedly drunk, and about to fly >>> fitbit recalling nearly 2 million of its popular smart watches. the potential danger if you own one. >>> and

coming up on nbc nightly news, lester holt sits down with lloyd austin for an exclusive interview. >> we've been watching this convoy that's got the world's attention. it was reported it was stalled. should we read too much into that? is it still a potent fighting machine? >> there is a lot of power the russians have available to them. so they have a number of options going forward. >> secretary austin also addresses the american strategy in arming the ukrainians. >>> a tesla launch has been scrubbed to show the u.s. is not taking similar steps. the launch was set for later this week from vandenberg space base north of santa barbara. >>> president biden was trying to drive home issues he spoke about at the state of the union. here's alice barr. >> reporter: president biden taking to the road today in hopes of turning a corner, traveling to wisconsin to drive home key messages from last flight's state of the union address. >> vladimir putin's latest attack on ukraine is premeditated and unprovoked. >> reporter: mr. president r you considering banning russian oil? >> nothing is off the

>> reporter: we just in the last few minutes heard from secretary of defense lloyd austin. among the questions they got were about a no-fly zone, big topic of conversation for the past week or so. secretary austin saying the biden administration is against be a part of a no-fly zone saying it would draw the united states into a direct conflict with ukraine. they were asked of the idea of slovak i can't providing s-300s to ukraine. we heard zelenskyy asking for more missiles. the slovakian defense minister said they're open to the idea of providing these to ukraine, but it's all that they have for their own defenses and he talked about the potential for some sort of a back fill or some other country, potentially like the united states, providing a capability gap, meaning the united states bring in a similar capability to defend slovakia. secretary auston said he could not commit. kwt eis does the united states even have those to provide. the secretary was asked what was happening right now, the graphic images in richard's report of civilians being targeted by the russian mili

and lloyd austin says russia has made a number of missteps.ur correspondents are covering the invasion of ukraine from all over the world, multiple angles on the ground in lviv to the refugee crisis in poland, to the white house and the latest on president biden's phone call with chinese president xi. we want to get to the latest on what's happening in ukraine. >> let's go to lviv with scott mclean who joins us live. areas in the western part of ukraine have been more of a focus recently and in the last hour you said you were hearing air sirens there. >> that's correct. they went off over an hour ago, or the alert was over a little more than an hour ago. nothing was hit in that general vicinity, at least nothing that we could hear in the central part of lviv. these air raid sirens happen several times a day. yesterday was a wake-up call when the bombs dropped next to the airport at an aircraft repair facility. the city of mykolayiv in southern ukraine, that city has taken much more of a serious pounding from russian air attacks. we're told by

meeting previously scheduled tweak the secretary of state tony blinken, the defense secretary lloyd austind their ukrainian counterparts who came all the way over here to war warsaw. the president also sits down with the polish president andrzej duda to discuss the refugee crisis and the response by the u.s. to allies. a huge crisis indeed. he'll meet and it will be very emotional with ukrainian refugees and humanitarian workers. we'll watch that meeting unfold. all of this comes right on the heels of the president's visits with u.s. troops in poland. they met with members of the 82nd airborne division deployed along nato's eastern edge as a deterrent to vladimir putin. ukrainian forces say they're going on the counterattack around the capital kyiv right now. a u.s. officials says russian troops are now in defensive positions and ukrainian forces have appeared to have retaken territory to the east of kyiv. we're waiting for president biden to meet with the polish pirate andrzej duda. that's coming up moenlts from now. kaitlan collins is here with me in warsaw. kaitlan, what should we expec

defense secretary lloyd austin says things are clearly not going according to plan for moscow. he spoke with cnn's don lemon during a visit to bulgaria friday. >> what is your assessment of -- of russian forces now? are they stalled? are they regrouping so that they can increase their assault or increase their violence on ukraine? what is your assessment of the russian military? >> well, it's hard to tell, don. i think, you know, they -- they have not progressed as far -- as quickly as they would have liked to. they -- i think they envisioned that they would move rapidly and very quickly seize the capital city. they have not been able to do that. they've struggled with logistics, so we have seen a number of missteps along the way. i don't see, you know, evidence of good employment of technical intelligence. i don't see integration of, you know, air capability with the ground -- ground maneuver. and so, there are a number of things that we would expect to have seen that we just haven't seen and the russians really have presented with some problems so many of their assumptions ha

defense secretary lloyd austin is there and secretary of state. he got off the plane together with the president, tony blinken. they're all there, the president's national security adviser jake sullivan. this is a big deal, for the president to be meeting with these troops. it's not just a big deal for these soldiers, it's a big deal because it sends a powerful message of what the u.s. is all about bolstering this nato presence in europe. >> and look at the numbers that are in poland now. it's certainly meant to send a message on behalf of the white house because, of course, they have said repeatedly, these are forces that are not going to be going into ukraine. that is something that president biden is maintained for several weeks now before this invasion started. now this invasion started. not going to get directly involved militarily in ukraine. these forces are there to defend nato allies, to bolster them, to make them feel more secure in light of this russian agg aggression, wolf and a lot of questions facing president biden in recent days ab

defense secretary lloyd austin. interesting minutes from mr.berg that says what has happened in europe will change the long lasting consequences. he spoke of the new lines to adapt and reposition itself. there was a movement to reset and further threaten the alliance, particularly along the eastern flank. the u.s. defense secretary said and reaffirmed article 5 that an attack on one is an attack on all. and it's ironclad and will abide by that commitment. the question is what nato does next, how does it further strengthen its positions particularly along the eastern allies. i think we will see a national increase in troops decided by military commanders but a strengthening of air defense systems in recent day. there are allegations that there have been russian drone incursions into nato-allied countries. this is a very serious moment. nato knows even if these incidents are accidental, it could lead to situations on the ground spiraling out of control quickly. that's the need for the air defense systems, ben wallace, u.s.'s defense secretary sai

this as secretary defense lloyd austin says putin has bigger problems on the ground. the house armed service committee chairman, adam smith, is standing by live. we have several critical issues to discuss. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." this is how you imagine your dishwasher. but it may not be as clean as you think. built up grease and limescale could be hiding in your pipes. try finish dishwasher cleaner its dual action formula hygienically cleans hidden limescale and grease in your dishwasher. finish. clean dishwasher. clean dishes. hi, i'm debra. i'm from colorado. i've been married to my high school sweetheart for 35 years. i'm a mother of four-- always busy. i was starting to feel a little foggy. just didn't feel like things were as sharp as i knew they once were. i heard about prevagen and then i started taking it about two years now. started noticing things a little sharper, a little clearer. i feel like it's kept me on my game. i'm able to remember things. i'd say give it a try. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. every business is on a jou

do not shift the responsibility, send us planes. >> meanwhile, lloyd austin met with finland's defenseter at the pentagon today and announced he sent two patriot missile batteries to poland to defend polish airspace. they are now in position and manned, we're told. u.s. defense officials say president zelenskyy still has most of his air force intact. >> the ukrainian air force currently has several squadrons of fully missioned capable aircraft. we adding aircraft is not likely to significantly change the effectiveness of the ukrainian air force relative to russian capabilities. >> the weapons that are having the biggest effect in stopping russian forces are the 17,000 javelin anti-tank missiles, stingers and shoulder fired man portable air defense missiles the u.s. has sent to ukraine in recent weeks. russia still has powerful air defense systems on the border with belarus and in russia that blanket much of ukraine's airspace which makes flying warplanes over ukraine difficult the pentagon says. those anti-aircraft systems would have to be taken out by ukraine's air force before it cou

we have defense secretary lloyd austin.s in slovakia earlier this week and he reiterated the position of the u.s. and nato that they would not be establishing a no-fly zone over ukraine. here it is. [video clip] >> they question. the ukrainian president calls again and again for a no-fly zone over ukraine. at the level of nato, there were discussions about this at the nato level, and what is the conclusion, he asks. >> well, from a u.s. perspective, our president, president biden, has been clear we would not have u.s. forces fighting in ukraine. having said that, we will do everything within our power to support ukraine and their efforts to defend their territory. we have also stated that enforcing a no-fly zone actually means that you are in combat. you are in a fight with russia and that's one of the things that we have said that -- and our president has said that we were not going to do, get in a fight with russia. it means that, to control the skies, you have to shut down the air defenses that are on the ground, and som

and the tables are set for them to sit down with defense secretary and lloyd austin and secretary oftate antony blinken. and a lot of it helping with the humanitarian crisis obviously caused by russia. and so millions of refugees who have fled ukraine have come here to poland. it has created issues for poland, of course, they need help welcoming these people. they say they don't view them as refugees. as president duda said yesterday, getting a briefing with officials on the ground working with the forefugees. he said they viewed them as guests, as brothers. one interesting thing with president biden and president duda was in rzeszow, that's a place where they're talking to troops and humanitarian officials, it's also become one of the main hubs for getting that western military aid into ukraine. this is one of the key roles, in giving ukraine these defensive weapons, anti-aircraft missiles, anti-tank missiles, that has been a key part of this. but you're seeing the latter half of president biden's trip really focus on the human toll this invasion has taken and what that has caused.

you were just listening to defense secretary lloyd austin seeking at the nato ministerial meeting in slovakia discussing military aid for russia, as russia's war enters day 22. >> this is cnn breaking news. >>> new hope in mariupol as survivors emerge from what's left of a theatre that was the target of a russian air strike. the building has been turned into a bomb shelter for as many as 1200 civilians, but while we know there are survivors, what we do not know is how many. and perhaps most galling is this case that the building was marked. take a look at these satellite images. that is the word children painted in russian that you see outside of the theatre. clear to see, in russian, children in russian. very hard to miss. that was far from the only attack we're following this hour. in kyiv, russian forces launched another attack on a residential building. at least one person was killed there. three others were injured when a missile hit the building this morning. there's a bright spot this morning for ukraine. new intelligence from the uk suggesting that russia's invasion has large

the president brings the secretary of state, tony blinken, his defense secretary lloyd austin, his nationalecurity adviser jake sullivan and a whole bunch of other senior officials here to brussels to participate in these talks. >> absolutely. because that is all part of this response. a lot of this is what we're just talking about in these plans, these contingency plans that involves the state department and the pentagon, obviously. so one interesting thing we did hear from the pentagon spokesman john kirby when you two were speaking earlier and interviewing him, he talked about the lack of communication between senior u.s. officials and senior russian officials saying basically that russian defense officials are not picking up the phone when the united states calls right now. that doesn't mean there's no communication happening. they do have this deconfliction line where if they needed to check on something when it comes to airspace, but the senior defense officials are not answering which underscores the gulf between them since this invasion started and it raises a lot of concerns becaus

nbc news not able to independently verify that and neither is defense secretary lloyd austin. >> i would not see it as a game changer. i think, again, the reason that he's resorting to using these types of weapons is because he's trying to re-establish some momentum. i don't think that this in and of itself will be a game-changer. running low on precision guided munitions? lack complete confidence in his ability, the ability of his troops to re-establish momentum? but i don't see this in and of itself, again, i cannot confirm or dispute whether or not he's used those weapons. >> while ukrainian western television officials believe russia's ground assault stalled air bombardments are certainly ongoing. new video of an apartment building in kharkiv struck today. survivors have now idea how they made it out alive. we give in lviv with our reporter. what more do we know about the art school bombed? >> reporter: well, alex, the situation in mariupol grows more and more desperate hour by hour. that strategic port city is essentially in ruins. we've sooner the russians attack a children's hospi

lloyd austin is visiting slovakia on thursday.kraine has been asking for s-300 surface to air missile systems to defend against russian air attacks designed to shoot down fighter jets and missiles and have a range of 400 kilometers. a media report quotes a slovak official says the country has no objection of providing the system to ukraine but their report says that slovakia wants a replacement to protect its own air space. on wednesday, u.s. president joe biden said his administration would help provide ukraine with long-range anti-aircraft systems. >>> media reports say the mayor of a ukrainian city abducted by russian forces has been freed. the mayor of melitopolo was detained last friday. on wednesday ukraine's presidential offic confirmed that ivan fedorov has been released. the country's defense ministry released video o president zelenskyy speaking with him on the phone after he was set free. zelenskyy told the mayor he was happy to hear his voice. fedorov expressed his gratitude for the president not abandoning him. the go

defense secretary lloyd austin approved request from the u.s.c enforcement in the district of columbia through wednesday. that truck convoy you have heard so much about. they drove laps around washington, d.c. beltway over the weekend to protest covid-19 mandates and other issues. took the roadways near the nation's capitol again today. the group drove slowly to impact traffic and make their point to lawmakers but did not cross down by the capitol. up next, the biden administration reacts to growing pressure to limit or ban russian oil coming into this country. >> the president's message is that he is going to do everything he can, everything he can to reduce the impact on the american people, including the price of gas at the tank. ♪ ♪ ♪ "how bizarre" by omc ♪ no annual fee on any discover card. ♪ ♪ 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

sorry, president biden will be going to nato headquarters eating with the eu, defense secretary lloyd austin will be going along with him. they will be mostly talking about adjusting nato's security make sure that whatever happens in ukraine doesn't spread to nato countries that putin might have designs on after that. and to send a more effective message of deterrence. and there will also be a lot of talk about what more the u.s. could do, the u.s. and its nato allies could do to get the kind of weaponry into ukraine that will allow them to continue to keep the russian forces on their back foot.ra because the theory is if the ukraine is could hold out long enough they could wear down the russian forces. otherwise, it's just going to be a matter of time before russia with its superior numbers, weapons and planes and tanks just simply grinds down the opposition in ukraine. it's a veryin perilous time. most of the experts i talked to thank the next week to ten days will tell the tale of whether ukraine will prevail or whether russia will be able to impose its will on ukraine. so we will be watc