kate >> matt bradley, thank you. >>> back in the u.s.ow, the nationwide battle over abortion rights is intensifying following last week's leaked draft ruling from the supreme court. this weekend protests across the country including at the homes of the justices themselves alley have i vitali has more >> reporter: tonight, a new flashpoint in the battle over abortion rights. >> people, united, will never be defeated >> reporter: in madison, wisconsin, police say a molotov cocktail thrown into the headquarters of an anti-abortion group, vandalized with a warning, if abortions aren't safe, then you aren't either. and conservative supreme court justices facing fury. protesters outside the homes of chief justice john roberts and justice brett kavanaugh. the trump nominee promised senators roe v. wade was settled precedent to get confirmed to the nation's highest court. but now that leaked draft opinion shows brett kavanaugh among five judges potentially poised to overturn that nearly 50-year precedent. it comes as new polls show 2/3 of americ

striking a defiant note for a nation that's refused to stay silent matt bradley, nbc news, lviv, ukraine. >>> back in the u.s., more than 36 million people spent the weekend broiling under a record breaking heat wave tonight, we have new information about who is most at risk for health issues and even death as temperatures climb. >> reporter: a sweltering heat wave -- >> it's like an oven i'm so hot >> reporter: -- hammering more than half of the u.s. it's not even memorial day yet. >> it feels like we're in the dog days of august >> reporter: as this weekend melted away record temperatures. 92 degrees in washington, d.c. 95 in philadelphia and richmond and 93 in atlantic city, new jersey a stunning contrast to parts of the rockies, where snow dumped up to 20 inches in colorado that same storm system spawning tornados in michigan and tonight, it's eyeing the eastern seaboard with potential thunderstorms. but not before crowds soaked up the sunshine at the shore >> we've been at the beach all day. >> reporter: while hot weather is welcomed by some as an early start to summer, a new study

civilians finally abe to get out of that besieged mariupol steel plant making to safer ground matt bradley has their stories. >> reporter: after so much darkness, they are final ly stepping into ithe light. evacuated by bus from the minneariupol steel plant where they were surrounded by russian forces, tonight mainly women and children looked dazed, exhausted, relieved. these are the first arrivals coming from under that azovstal steel plant and they have been bombarded for months and while they are safe now their journey is just beginning. a two-day ceasefire brokered by the u.n. allowed roughly 100 civilians, including about 20 children, to to escape the plant. we met a 14 yrpder-14-year-old and his brother. their father is in the plant. the last ukrainian stronghold in the city, they say he had to stay and fight. what did your father tell you when you left he said we would need each other soon, he told me. their mother is grateful to be fwith free with her children i hope our warriors win, she said. it took away our past lives. it took everything tonight russian forces resume res resume

>> matt bradley, thank you. >>> russia's foreign minister warned today that any weapons shipments to ukraine are, quote, fair game to target. the u.s. is undeterred, though, supplying billions in military aid tonight, in an nbc news exclusive, we take you inside america's massive operation to get weapons inside ukraine and into the hands of the soldiers fighting russia here is courtney kube. >> reporter: this giant cargo plane loaded with lethal and vital cargo destined for the ukrainian military every few hours here at dover air force base, these commercial cargo planes depart. the pilots, civilians. with president biden pledging another $20 billion in u.s. security assistance this week, the u.s. military is working overtime to deliver. this is ammunition for 155 millimeter howitzers. large artillery pieces which u.s. defense officials hope will help stop russia's new advance in the east of ukraine. we're in the cargo hold of a 747. it can hold about 42 pallets like these each of these carry 72 artillery rounds so, we're talking about 3,000 rounds in this plane they're being loaded

jill biden meeting with olena zelenska on mother's day let's bring in matt bradley who is live for us this morning. matt, good morning >> hey, good morning, guys as you were just mentioning, it's a flour of diplomacy. some more lyrical than others with u2. but there was also quite a bit of substance going on. that visit by dr. jill biden was important symbolically it's not the first time a first lady has visit adwar zone, but it is a rare appearance. there was some very real changes. we saw the g7, if world's most wealthy democracies coming together and announcing another round of sanctions against russia, as well as a pledge to eventually cut off all wheels of importance from russia so that is a very important first step because the g7 countries, the wealthiest democracies in the world, this would really be cutting off a huge flow of cash to russia. russia is essentially a rentier economy. it relies on gas and oil without that, putin's war machine will falter. but we're about to get a butch better look at what putin's plans are. it's the anniversary of the debate of nazi germany of w

matt bradley joins us live from eastern ukraine. matt said they also brought the first reports of evacuations from the steel plant in mariupol which has been quite a battleground what can you tell us about those efforts? >> yeah, what we're seeing right now, actually, we're in the city of zaporizhzhia. and that's a couple of hours' drive from mariupol, that besieged city to the south and east of where i am right now no we're waiting for some people who have been evacuated from the azov steel plant right now we haven't really seen anybody yet. what you see behind me are large numbers of members of the international press corps. they're all waiting with us. and there are aid agencies, we're seeing tents for unicef, doctors without borders, international red cross, red crescent these are the people who have coordinated the effort to evacuate people from the steel plant. there have been a couple to arrive from some of the villages around -- villages and towns around mariupol. and we spoke with them they said it couldn't have been easier

. >>> and a mother's day meeting took place now to matt bradley for more on that. >> reporter: in ukraine, a surprise visit by the first lady dr. jill biden entering an active war zone to meet with ukraine's first lady this mother's day >> it's important to show the ukrainian people that this war has to stop, and this war has been brutal, and that people of the united states stand with the people of ukraine. >> reporter: sunday's summit of spouses took place at a school that was housing those displaced by war it also marked the first time ukraine's first lady was seen in public since the war began in late february. olena zelenska and her two children have been labeled targets, hiding at an undisclosed location >> translator: first of all, i'd like to thank for a very courageous act, she said zelenskyy met with leaders telephone g7, a gathering of the world's wealthiest democratic countries. the u.s. and allies announcing a fresh round of sanctions, announcing russian state controlled media and elites and agreed to ban all imports of russian oil. a russian missile struck a school president

matt bradley has been following the latest on the flight to safety. >> so, what we're seeing now, yet another car that is coming here to zaporizhzhia and this is one of many, these people are not from mariupol. we're still waiting, everybody here is still waiting for those vehicles that will be delivering the people coming out of the azovstal steel plant. we heard they will be here at any moment. we are seeing car after car. like the one we just passed, they all have the signature sign, they're containing civilians. this says, these white flags, of course, internationally recognized, don't shoot. most of these people, it sounds like, are coming from elsewhere, nearby. only 40 minutes away, so yes, they're not coming from the besieged city of mariupol but they're still coming from live combat zones. they have still been through horrible ordeals and we have been speaking to some of them. some of them breaking down in tears telling us they have been waiting for days to get out and finally they leapt at the opportunity, but they're still not home. they're still not necessarily at their fi

katy. >> matt bradley, matt, thank you very much.nd and sweden joining nato. we've seen this coming. we've had some initial conversations about it. what do you make of russia so far shrugging it off? >> well, i think right now, putin is probably trying to downplay it because it's such a massive strategic failure on his part. for someone to claim he was invading ukraine to push back against further nato expansion and to have that invasion cause that very expansion, 840 miles, i think at this stage, he sees it as a fait accompli and doesn't want to make it look like a fellow as it is for him. >> what are those two leaders of the countries going to talk to president biden at the white house? >> i imagine, they're going to be talking about the support that the united states can offer in the interim period. right now, it's unclear how long it's going to take for nato to bring in finland and sweden. it's out in the public now. you've had nato supported very clearly. most of the countries have supported it clearly. and finland and sweden ha

matt bradley, live in ukraine.reciate it. >>> coming up on the show, the new legal fight against republicans in wisconsin for allegedly trying to keep donald trump in power after he lost in 2020. plus, what's in a new multimillion dollars bill to help get baby formula back on the shelves. we've got more on that. >>> and handicapping its chances it actually passes coming up. rer about keeping a healthy body. what goes on it. usually. and in it. mostly. here to meet those high standards is the walgreens health and wellness brand. over 2000 high quality products. rigorously tested by us. real world tested by you. and delivered to your door in as little as one hour. nothing like a weekend in the woods. it's a good choice all around, like screening for colon cancer... when caught in early stages it's more treatable. i'm cologuard. i'm noninvasive... and i detect altered dna in your stool to find 92% of colon cancers... even in early stages. early stages. yep. it's for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not

been evacuated, but more than 100,000 are believed to be in the city which is under heavy attack matt bradleyoins us with more matt, day 68 what is the latest >> reporter: we are here in zaporizhzhia this is a shopping center for peoplein mariupol. people have just arrived in the buses. this is within the place where i am now in zaporizhzhia this is not people coming from the steel plant where we are still waiting for those people to come. they have endured quite an ordeal they are coming out now. as you can see, the press corps is here to greet them with agencies like unicef and red cross and doctors without borders. these people are processed by the police and local officials we don't know where they will go after this this is the main processing center for people coming from all around the mariupol region we spoke with people who were here earlier today these people came out here from buses. we did speak to people coming in their private cars they took advantage of the cease-fire when they heard the guns falling silent they decided to drive themselves to safety here to zaporizhzhia that is

>> matt bradley, matt, thank you very much.w is former allied commander of nato. a msnbc chief national security and diplomacy analyst. and author of the upcoming book "to risk it all". admiral, thank you very much for being with us. let's talk about nato. finland and sweden are going to formally apply. why exactly would turkey object? >> turkey has some domestic problems, if you will, with the fact that both finland and sweden have not extradited some individuals, kurds who the turks consider to be part of a terrorist group. you know, the turks have been after the united states for example, as you know, the extradite some living here in the united states. it's kind of an ongoing challenge turkey has with a number of nations. they're going to use a little bit of leverage here. but at the end of the day, this deal is going get done. finland and sweden are going to join nato. >> and what will it mean when they do? >> it will be a very good thing. these are two highly competent professional militaries. they deployed under my comma

we have matt bradley in ukraine with the latest. good morning, matt plenty of people were worried about this speech. worried it might mark a shift in the strategy in ukraine. interesting, ukraine wasn't mentioned specifically by putin. >> reporter: really interesting. he did not mention it at all he did mention the donbas region and he talked about ukraine without mentioning it once by name that was deliberate. he doesn't consider ukraine to be a separate country. to mention ukraine is to acknowledge its existence and right to nationhood. he made a falsehood of fighting the ukrainian government and fighting the nazis in world war ii he spent precious little time talking about world war ii and the veterans from world war ii surrounding him on the stage there. it was an interesting speech for what it wasn't it did not call for mass mobilization or world war iii in which moscow was facing off against the west and liberal world. it did not follow or proceed a huge bombardment or assault in ukraine. i have to tell you, the last time i hea

joining me is nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley. matt, what more can you tell us? [ no audio ] >> we're having some issues with your audio, matt. we're going to try to get back to you in just a moment with the latest from ukraine. but we're going to move on now. wait, is the audio okay. let's go back. matt? >> we have the audio. >> we do have the audio. great, matt. what more can you tell us? >> thank you. thank you for your patience. basically we saw this young man appearing in court today. i have to tell you, katy, this was an extraordinary appearance, not only because it was the first such appearance, the first such trial, but we're seeing a russian soldier appearing in a criminal court, in a civilian court. he's being tried as a civilian and could be facing only 10 to 15 years. he appeared in what looks to be sort of a cell, surely a bullet-proof glass box. he had his head down for most of the trial. as you mentioned, he didn't enter a plea. he had a court-appointed lawyer, a brave man no doubt. it's not a popular position to be defending a russian soldier who

matt bradley is on the ground in ukraine, and i want to bring in the pentagon correspondent, courtneykube, and former u.s. ambassador to ukraine, william taylor. you have said the u.s. is providing sensitive information to the ukraines to help them fight, and that intelligence has led to the deaths of several russian generals, and what are we hearing from the national u.n. security council this morning? >> the national security council is honing in on the word intent here precipitation administration acknowledges they provide battlefield intelligence and have for sometime to the ukrainians, and that's about talking about movement of the troops and equipment around the battlefield. the reason the administration is honing in on the word intent is because they said, yes, we have provided information to the ukrainians, but they have denied it was with the intent of killing the russian generals. that's the fine line they are skating. that being said, the u.s. has been providing this kind of intelligence and it has made a difference on the battlefield and we have been reporting on that seve

joining us now live from eastern ukraine, nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley. matt, good morning. thanks for being with us today. in his victory day speech that just wrapped up a few minutes ago, vladimir putin did not escalate the conflict but he certainly defended russia's invasion of ukraine. tell us more. >> that's right. between fighting the nazis and fighting ukrainian government, to control part of ukraine. interestingly as you mentioned he never used the word ukraine, which is kind of consistent with his messaging ever since long before this fighting began, because to use the word ukraine would be to acknowledge its right to exist as a free ploil political and national entity and vladimir putin rejects and he said there is no right for existence for ukraine, ukrainian nationwood is not a real thing and the whole part of the whole message, that the statehood of ukraine is a false one. and all of the speech is the same warmed over justification for the war that we have already heard and the only remarkable thing about this speech was what wasn't mentioned

joining me is matt bradley there in ukraine. colonel mark is with us, too. matt, you are at a location that's a target for the offensive by russia in the east. what's happening in odesa, too? hit by a number of russian missiles, apparently. >> reporter: we are in kharkiv from indoors complied with the blackout and curfew. kharkiv is still very much a target but the ukraine forces despite the fact the russians said they'll focus on the east of the country where i am now the ukrainians pushed back the russian lines. but going to odesa we heard that there were seven i believe cruise missile strikes. denied some really advanced weapon that the united states is worried that the russians would be using. it looks like normal kind of cruise missiles. we did see at least one death. it is curious that the russians are still targeting a western city. we heard from a general, a russian general describing a more clear picture of what vladimir putin's agenda is here in ukraine and said it looked as though russia would want to extend along the southern part of the country a

matt bradley in kharkiv. thank you very much for being with us. matt was describing. this is your country, where you are from and where you have your hopes, dreams, aspirations and roots and history. what goes through your mind when you hear about what is going on in kharkiv, the people that have been underground but refuse to come up and look at the sun because of the fear? >> i have been through that with my family, and i distinctly remember hearing the same bombardments when the russians were leaving the northern outskirts of kyiv, and it was weird because your rational kind of self, you understand you are in no danger so you can go outside and play with your kids, but you simply can't, you know. you are too terrified. the war is still there. i mean, you can hear it and therefore it's going on. i can -- i am feeling for those people. i am afraid there will be millions of people like that, and the psychological effect of this will be devastating. >> it certainly will. this morning president zelenskyy thanked the house on moving on the $40 billio

matt bradley, thanks matt, good to see you.illiam cohen's gonna join me to discuss these latest sanctions against russia, but after the break the wild story of the kentucky derby's biggest upset in more than 100 years. . >> oh my goodness, look at that, that is the kentucky derby. derby om. why not both? use the u.s. bank mobile app to apply for a home improvement loan. it's easy! wonderful alex! hey, that's what u.s. bank is for. anything else? how about a loan for a bigger car? our family is growing. awe. yeah, my brother's moving in with his five dogs. oh... heyo! and we're expecting. ahh! (dog sound) expecting what? help for today, planning for tomorrow. u.s. bank. we'll get there together. >> tech: when you have auto glass damage, trust safelite. this dad and daughter were driving when they got a crack in their windshield. [smash] >> dad: it's okay. pull over. >> tech: he wouldn't take his car just anywhere... ♪ pop rock music ♪ >> tech: ...so he brought it to safelite. we replaced the windshield and recalibrated their car

joining me now matt bradley, evo doddler, and omna divaz. matt, i want to start with you.vilians trapped in the steel plant have escaped. what are you hearing from folks who have escaped? >> we keep hearing horrible stories. if you are one of the civilians in the -- i should say under the steel works and you make it here to where i am in zaporizhzhia and we greeted a couple busloads of them, and some are staying here -- were staying here in our hotel. if you were one of those of tho it's probably because you had a relative, a son, a father, a husband who was fighting among the ukrainian regulars holed up under the steel plant. we are hearing stories about sons that left their fathers and women that left their husbands, and this is so wrenching, because now they are here in zaporizhzhia, they have access to the information and can see the news and see the evacuation effort ongoing down there, and there's still a blistering attack by the russians against the steel works, even as of today when there's supposed to be a cease-fire all day long, all day yesterday, today and tomo

let me check in with matt bradley who is in ukraine for us. it's interesting to see the reports come out. of course it's the ukrainian military that acted on the operational intelligence here, and this is an open secret that nato and the u.s. intelligence is being shared. it sort of -- you know, is there a point of making this more public? is it a way to taunt the russians here? how is it being received to have all of this be so public? >> i mean, the russians have said they have no confirmation of that, and they deny the ship was actually sunk. for the russians, this is just a big face-saving effort. everything they are doing is trying to conceal the truth from their public and trying to make it seem as though they are winning the war. chuck, we are about to see a massive exercise in just that coming up on monday, may 9th. that's the victory day when the russians will be celebrating the anniversary of their defeat and their western allies, including the western's defeat of the nazis in world war ii. this is where they will put up yet again an

. >>> joining us now, live from southeastern ukraine, nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley. matt, good morning. give us the very latest as the situation there in mariupol and those evacuation efforts. >> reporter: yes, jonathan, i can tell you what is happening where i am, in zaporzhiazhia, we're a 30-minute drive from what is called the line of control, that's the spot where kyiv-controlled ukraine becomes russian controlled ukraine and needless to say a very dangerous position geographically and contested and in a state of war and we are continuing to see people and you can see them right over here, who are arrive forecast those regions -- who are arriving from those regions. not far from where i'm standing right now. you a day yesterday, would he did not see, as you noted, those people from mariupol, from underneath that azov steel plant but instead we saw lines an lines of cars arriving from areas around it, from within the area of mariupol, from the other southern areas occupied by the russians for several weeks and what happens, they come here and you can see all of the

. >>> joining us now, live from southeastern ukraine, nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley. matt, there you are. good to see you this morning. obviously the mariupol steel plant has become a symbol of ukrainian defiance, some comparing it to the alamo. and it is great to see that some civilians apparently have indeed been evacuated. and they're arriving where you are this morning, tell us what you're seeing and have you been able to talk to them? what's the very latest? >> yeah, jonathan, we haven't actually talked to anybody from the steel plant itself, we've seen people who have come, some from mariupol and surrounding towns and villages, and all coming over here, this is where they're setting up sort of a car park, a parking lot here, we're outside a big box store, the kind that you see in any suburban area in america, buses are pulling up here, or private cars, one of them just came up and it had its whole windshield, it was smashed but this is sort of a processing area right here, and here is some other buses, tents, they're international aid agencies here, unicef, docto

joining us now live from southeastern ukraine, nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley. eat to see you again. the first batch of evacuees arrived where you are and you got a chance to speak to some of them. what sort of tales are you hearing? >> reporter: so, we heard from some people who just arrived yesterday, as you mentioned the first arrivals from that azovstal plant. it was really just horrific to see them getting off the bus. they weren't exactly blinking in the sunlight. they've been aboveground for the past two days, but jonathan, if you can imagine, these are people who have endured months under ground, constant shelling and finally they were out and they had to go two days driving to get here to where we are here in zaporizhzhia, all of their stories were horrific. and we spoke with one young boy who said that his father had to remain in the plant. we also spoke to his mother, whose husband is that man, that soldier, who has to stay and fight. all of these people their families were split. if you're in the plant, it's probably because you have a spouse who is f

i'm joined by matt bradley and courtney. nd andrea mitchell is our chief foreign affairs correspondent. matt, i'll start with you. you've been following the travels of these evacuees from mariupol. what can you tell us? >> reporter: we don't exactly know where they are. we know that some have left, and i've been here at the parking lot that normally hosts people who come from all over the southeastern region from inside russian occupied territory. they didn't show up, at least not in the numbers that we were expecting today. and not the ones from the steel plant. the much-anticipated arrival of bus loads of civilians sheltered underground underneath that steel factory for months on end. they aren't there yet. instead, we saw quite a few others. we saw people from all over the region, two had come fleeing from russian occupied territory, placeskherson, outside of mariupol. and all of these people, they were in danger their entire trip. what they did, instead of going out in a massive convoy that was organized by the united nat

>> matt bradley, thank you so much.y issues that we have had the opportunity to speak about epa this first war crimes trial of the war. a 21-year-old that pled guilty. he could face up to life in prison. is this the accountability you need to see and not just on one soldier? >> absolutely. and this kind of accountability has to face every single russian soldier and general who was ordering atrocities and crimes in ukraine. there are different wares to hold them accountable. the prosecutions in ukraine. we ensure that they face fair trial and international criminal kosht. some of the most landmark cases to be tried by this court. since we spoke last time you met with senator mcconnell. what is it that you want the quite to do? >> i expect that the senate will finally pass the aid package. it is essential for ukrainian victory and within these aid package money are being dispensed swiftly on the nato modern weapons which ukraine is requesting now to go on counterattack and i pass to mitch mcconnell the list of priority we

>> matt bradley live for us in ukraine.xt up, nbc's new scoop what democrats may try next to protect abortion rights and plus, we have our hands on an intern dhs memo and where the threats are coming from, coming up. s are coming from, coming number one motorcycle insurer. that's right, jamie. but it's not just about savings. it's about the friends we make along the way. you said it, flo. and don't forget to floss before you brush. your gums will thank you. -that's right, dr. gary. -jamie? sorry, i had another thought so i got back in line. what was it? [ sighs ] i can't remember. panera chefs have crafted a masterpiece... what was it? succulent, seared chicken... a secret aioli... clean ingredients... in a buttery brioche roll. made fresh, to leave you... speechless. panera's new chef's chicken sandwiches. $1 delivery fee on our app. you never know what opportunities life will send your way. but if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis, enbrel can help you say i'm in for what's next. ready

let's go now to nbc's matt bradley who's joining me from lviv. att, so russia has declared victory in mariupol. and other parts of the country remain under siege so where is russia's focus now? >> yeah, i have to tell you, alex, we're here in lviv or things are a world away. we're still in a country that's very much and war. you mentioned that scene in mariupol. but here in lviv, on the western part of the country, i have to tell you we're about to be drowned out by a five-piece fan that's playing right behind me. this city is still very far from the front lines. but you mention mariupol. this city has now fallen fully into russian hands and that is what will allow the russians to reconstitute and refocus their forces elsewhere in the donbas region. now that means they're going to be continuing the fight around the city of -- and so bryansk. which are now the main focus of -- mariupol has been kind of a victory for the russians. we heard from a ukrainian member of parliament who described what that means to both ukraine and the russians. >> people

about 140 miles northwest of riupol th is video from reute of the bs headed there where nbc's matt bradley been all day. >> reporter: we have been waiting all hereday here. we have not seen much anticipated arrivals from the steel works in mariupol. this is what we have been waiting for. but ill, there's been quite a few people, civilians who have been coming in from elsewhere from outside mariupol, from very close to mariupol. and here within the region, you can see right here, this is a typical car that arrives. we have seen this all day long. this is a car coming from we don't know where wp they just pulled up. there's a handwritten sign. it says children. we see this time and time again. cars that are marked children or elderly people or just civilians often they will have little white flags danglin on their mirrors or antenna to signal don't shoot. now this is the first step that this family is going through right here. police officers taking their information, making sure they are who they say they are, that they are not enemy combatants that they are civilians and helping them to ge

everything is broken >> our thanks to matt bradley for that report. >>> the latest now on brittany greis being wrongfully detained by russia, they say. russian authorities say she had illegal vape cartridges with hash oil in her luggage in a statement, kathy ingleberg says they will continue to work to bring her home and place her number on all team court this is seen >>> nbc news projects j.d. vance has won the republican nomination, beating out multiple conservative candidates. he thanked the former president. >> thanks to the president for everything, for endorsing me and i got to say, a lot of the fake news media out there, they wanted to write a story that this campaign would be the death of donald trump's america first agenda ladies and gentlemen, it ain't the death of the america first agenda >> in the last 18 days since trump endorsed him, vance has jumped 20 percentage points. he will face tim ryan, and he already has an ad out against vance. >> now vance says he feels out of place in ohio, and he wants to represent new the senate? what a joke. >> vance and ryan face off in no

. >>> i'm matt bradley reporting from ukraine with "way too early," and we're having technical diffies and that's why i'm introducing the show from ukraine. we want to bring you up to date what is going on overnight and the last couple of days. here in zaporzhiazhia, receiving evacuees from the besieged city of mariupol to the southeast and last night, the associated press announced some 600 people may have been killed in that theater attack a couple of weeks ago, by russian forces in mariupol. now, that's far exceeding the number that had previously been reporting. and really points to what has been a lot of talk here about war crimes, committed by the russian forces, both in mariupol and further to the west in the capital of kyiv. now, this city has seen bombardment for most of the past several weeks. all of that is focused and all of the eyes of the world are focused on the azovstal steel plant, where civilians and soldiers have taken refuge underneath. and we have referred in this city, just in the last couple of days, dozens of people from underneath the azovstal steel warks and h

i want to bring in nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley who's in kharkiv, ukraine covering thisso matt, you're in that city that the russians have been trying aggressively to capture but so far failing. what's it like on the ground there now, and is there a sense that the threat has dissipated in any meaningful way? >> reporter: yeah, garrett, and first of all i want to tell you normally we try to come to you from outdoors but right now we're complying, as always, with the curfew and the blackout that is in place in most cities throughout ukraine. so we're inside right now. but we've been around the city today, and it is a place that -- i was here at the beginning of the war, the outset of the fighting. and this place is very much has been really bombarded. a lot of the key parts, a lot of the really historic buildings show some real signs of damage. and this city has the really dubious distinction of being one of the most bombarded from the beginning. you mentioned that this is one of the key prizes the russians have been after since this whole thing started. and now finally, a

i want to bring in matt bradley live in kyiv, ukraine.out the latest on what's happening on the ground. >> we just heard from a state-owned domestic russian news agency saying they finally have full control of the city of mariupol. we heard things like that before and we have not heard anything from the ukrainian side confirming that, so we don't know for sure, but really it's only a matter of time. we already heard there were nearly 2,000 ukrainian troops who had been evacuated, had effectively surrendered to the russians from underneath that azovstal steel plant. we have not heard the ukrainians admitting they lost control of mariupol, but for all intents and purposes they have, and there would no way of them to take control from just the basement of that steelworks. the city has effectively fallen and we could see russian troop the move from that city to other areas. >> matt bradley, thank you very much. >>> we have more to get to on the show, including back here in the u.s., new reporting that ginni thomas, the wife of supreme court j

matt bradley has the very latest. >> we heard from people who have come here, they mostly come, some, a couple from villages and towns outside mariupol. some from only 40 minutes away from here, and still, their cars are little shrapnel marking, bits, it looks like they have fragments of weapons, and they are carrying signs that say children. and white flags hanging from their mirrors and antenna this. internationally recognized signal, do not shoot, yet we still see bombed-out, burned-out cars, carrying the sign that says children in russian, carrying those white flags, that so clearly has v-been the victims of shooting, bombardment, shrapnel, it is terribly sad and so are the people that we keep saying who are arriving, some of them, you can tell on their faces just signs of horrific desperation. >> matt bradley, thank you. >>> this morning, house speaker nancy pelosi and a group of lawmakers are headed back to the u.s. after meeting with polish president duda in war saw a few hours ago. it comes after they met with ukrainian president zelenskyy, in a show of solidarity, with the uk

matt bradley in kharkiv. matt, thank you.ike, we know the president today had a 37-minute call with the leaders of finland and with sweden. what are we learning about that conversation and the u.s.' attitude towards those two countries potentially joining nato? >> yeah, this is such an interesting conversation to learn that the president had today, garrett. because there has been a debate during this crisis in ukraine about whether nato's enlargement was part of the problem here. that russia has fell threatened by the fact that ukraine has expressed its desire to join that defensive alliance. well, now you have the two countries, including one that shares a rather large border with russia, now expressing their interest in potentially joining that alliance. we saw earlier this week that the british prime minister, boris johnson, spoke and was announcing a securitying anment that would be sort of a precursor to those countries potentially joining the alliance. what the white house has said is that they certainly would welcome a

with me now nbc's matt bradley on the ground in kharkiv, and jason beardsley from the association of eret master sergeant. welcome to you both. matt, bring us up to date on what we know of the people evacuated from the steel plant in mariupol, the ukrainian fighters, who they are. >> reporter: we know more than 50 of them who are very severely injured were evacuated to a ukrainian city about an hour east of the city of mariupol. that's a city that's been under the occupation of russian-backed separatists since 2014, since the last time russians invaded. another more than 200 of them were sent to another city that's been also occupied by russian-backed separatists ever since 2014. these people are very much in russian custody, and they are fighters. they're all part of the asov preg gaed who has ties to neo nazis in the past. they're mostly depoliticized as of about 2017, but still, for the russians, they are considered to be one of the main justifications for invading ukraine. remember, when vladimir putin set his sights on ukraine back at the end of february and said he was going to

so far away from your reporting right now, matt bradley, thank you.ll reports" live from buffalo, new york. andrea will be back tomorrow. garrett haake is in for chuck todd, after this. ett haake is i todd, after this okay. pull ove. >> tech: he wouldn't take his car just anywhere... ♪ pop rock music ♪ >> tech: ...so he brought it to safelite. we replaced the windshield and recalibrated their car's advanced safety system, so features like automatic emergency braking will work properly. >> tech: alright, all finished. >> dad: wow, that's great. thanks. >> tech: stay safe with safelite. schedule now. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ this isn't dry food or wet food. it's not burnt brown pellets. the farmer's dog makes it simple to feed your dog real food. it's real meat and veggies. freshly-made. developed with vets. delivered right to your door. that's why dog lovers are choosing the farmer's dog. a smarter, healthier pet food. delivered. visit tryfarmersdog.com and get 50% off your first box of food. ♪ it wasn't me by shaggy ♪ visit t

strengthening partnerships and showing gratitude for poland's humanitarian efforts let's turn to matt bradley we finally saw evacuations from the steel plant in marimariupol what's going on? >> reporter: this has been turning into a receiving center for displaced evacuations from the plant in mariupol and the entire region. we have not seen anybody coming from it but we've seen cars coming from the surrounding area these are people who said they heard the guns falling silent because of the cease-fire that was imposed over the last couple of days, a long negotiation with the help of the united nations, american red cross, ukrainians, and russians that allowed them to get in their cars and drive here. all those people are getting help, international aid, you have international doctors without borders, red cross, unicef they're all here also a huge number of people from the international press corps were all waiting these people have been underground for the past two months this is why you're seeing here this is a parking lot waiting for those cars to come and so we talked to some of the people

i want to bring in correspondent matt bradley. you are in a city zapporitzia a key location people are trying to get away and out of mariupol, right? >> reporter: yeah, not just from mariupol, but the entire southern region. yesterday, we had that much anticipated arrival of so many buses coming from mariupol and the steam plant. these people were quite literally going from darkness into light. they had been holed up underneath that steel works for more than two months and all of these people were so grateful to be alive, it was bittersweet. if you were in the steel center as a civilian, it was most likely you were there because you had a relative, a father, a brother, a son, a husband who was in the military who was serving in mariupol who was defending those steel works, the last bastion of the ukrainian presence in that city. so everybody we spoke to basically had some loved one that was left inside the steel works. so i spoke with just today someone who had gotten to zapporitzia yesterday. she left her son there, she hasn't sp

. >> matt bradley joins us now. good morning. thanks for joining us. let's start with that situation in eastern ukraine. give us the update on the very latest in the fighting in the donbas. >> yes, you just mentioned the deadly attacks, and that is kind of called salient, this is a place that is jutting out of the peninsula, of controlled ukraine and jutting into the russian controlled areas, so it looks as though the russian ambition to take control, full control of the donbas region would require some doing and taking over this area and closing that salient and moving trips around. that it looks like it could happen. because what we have also seen elsewhere in the eastern part of the country is the almost entire defeat of the southeastern city of mariupol. you recognize that name, that is the past several months, there has been a holdout of several hundred troops underneath the azov steel plant. the russians have said over the past several days more than 1700 ukrainian troops have since surrendered and are in russian custody elsewhere in the donbas r

washington on this friday afternoon with our nbc news team, carole lee covering the white house, matt bradley in ukraine, courtney at the pentagon, also joined by jason beardsley, national executive director of the advocacy group the association of the u.s. navy. carole, start with you, with the first lady's first day in east europe, it's a busy and significant stretch for her overseas now. >> it is. the first of a four-day trip and she started in romania where she visited with u.s. troops serving them dinner and bringing them ketchup, learning there was a ketchup shortage there and so she brought gallons of ketchup to them, apparently very well received, and she also read to some children of service members there. there was a moment where she was reading with a service member and her son. i think we have that if we can take a listen. >> the end. and nathan, thank you for your service because when your mom serves, the family serves too. so thank you for your service. >> nathan, i love you. i'll see youen. >> happy mother's day. >> that's part of the first lady's platform, engaging with milita

nbc's matt bradley is there. >> reporter: when the bombs started falling a few months ago, this station offered a temporary refuge. now it feels like a permanent community underground. >> reporter: lilia has only left the shelter four times since february. i'll leave when the mayor or president says it's safe, she says. ukrainian officials say they turned off a key russian gas pipeline. russia's energy supplier confirmed gas flowing into europe fell by 25%. the russians can likely divert gas to another pipeline. duoand a half months into the war, russia now -- controls more land than in the east and south. ludmilla and her son's home is occupied by russia. her parents are still there. this aid center run by ukrainians who fled the war helped 2500 people like ludmilla every day. why do you do this? we need our ukrainian people in ukraine to work, to lift the economy. he's from mariupol. so we can pay for the army and keep fighting. pro-russian authorities plan to ask russia to annex that city. a ukrainian official said they may as well ask to join mars or jupiter and that the city will b

top officials have ruled out a cease-fire or giving up any territory in the country we turn the matt bradley live in lviv with the latest good morning. >> reporter: good morning, guys. so the big story for today and for this whole period is the heating up of the fight manage the eastern part of the country. we heard it from president volodymyr zelenskyy, saying that ukraine could be losing 50 to 100 people per day in that part of the country a rare joint appearance by the ukrainian president and his wife telling ukrainian television -- >> our family was torn apart, just like every other ukrainian family >> reporter: as russia continues its assault on ukraine's eastern donbas region, striking command centers and troops and ammunition depots according to its defense ministry the horror, there is nothing to say, especially the city center, this woman said. the schools are damaged. the monuments. still, ukrainians continue to fight. "we're ready to attack, ready to defend, ready to retreat if necessary," he said. "we're ready for anything. ukraine's president now saying only negotiations will en

now to nbc's matt bradley, who joins us who joins us life. what's the latest on the ground? >> yeah, i mean, frances and erin, we just heard from president zelenskyy that he is extending that marshal law period for 90 days here in the western part of the country, i'm in lviv, we're seeing folks walking around the streets. they're going to work. it just doesn't feel like a war. and you would feel the same way if you were in the capital of kiv, which only recently was under pretty severe shelling but that belies the reality in the eastern part of the country where president zelenskyy said they could be losing, the ukrainian side, 50 to 100 people, it's not clear whether he means civilians or soldiers or both every single day and that as the russians have focused their attacks on the eastern donbas region, specifically the city of donetsk in the luhansk region that is getting worse and worse. and it looks as though both sides are getting ready to increase the tempo and the ferocity of the fighting, of the ukrainian side as well and we're starting to hear mixed messages from the

. >>> now to nbc's matt bradley who joins us live from la leave. we are several months into the war but the images and stories coming out of ukraine continue to be so personal stories painful to hear what's the latest on the ground? >> reporter: that's right, erin. we are actually on the eve of the three-month mark of russia's invasion that was on february 24th and i was here in ukraine at the time and it was a shocking development, a lot of ukrainians despite all of the warnings just didn't see it coming or never thought that it would actually come to pass, but now as you mentioned three months in we're entering into our fourth month, we're seeing now a real shift on the ground we're seeing ukrainians actually fighting back and pushing back the russian lines in that eastern region of donbas, especially around the northeastern city of kharkiv this is a development that's been going on for the past week or two, now we're starting to see russian forces focusing their fight in the eastern city of severe donetsk. local officials say they are using scor

in kharkiv, some still so frightened they're sheltering in a subway nbc's matt bradley is there. >> reporter: when the bombs started falling a few months ago this station offered a temporary refuge now it feels like a permanent community underground. >> reporter: lilia has only left the shelter four times since february i'll leave when the mayor or president says it's safe, she says in the russian-controlled east, ukrainian officials said they turned off a key russian gas pipeline today. russia's energy supplier confirmed gas flowing into europe fell by 25%. russia can likely divert gas to another pipeline 2 1/2 months into the war, russia now controls more land than before the invasion in the east and in the south. this woman and her son are from kherson, now occupied by russia you talk to people who are still there? "yes," she said. her parents are still there. this aid center run by ukrainians who fled the war helps 2,500 people like her every day. why do you do this "we need our ukrainian people in ukraine to work, to lift the economy," he tells me, "so we can pay for the army and keep f

matt bradley in eastern ukraine with the very latest. tt. >> this morning, russia warning of consequences and possible retaliation after its neighbor finland announced it would apply to join nato. russia's president putin previously suggesting ukraine's desire to join the alliance is the reason he invaded. finland's president telling putin he has only himself to blame. >> you caused this. look at the mirror. >> sweden may follow suit, showing how russian fears of nato has given the alliance new purpose. in eastern ukraine, russia's invasion continues to stall. ukraine's military said it destroyed a russian pontoon bridge, as well as the russian troops and tanks that were trying to cross it. and after months of bombarding the northeastern city of kharkiv, russian forces are now pulling back according ukraine's ministry of defense. but as kharkiv grows quite, the subway stations are still packed with terrified residents. she's been there 11 weeks. she's only left a handful of times. what did you see when you were up stairs? one time i left

we begin with nbc's matt bradley. everyone's waiting to see where are those evacuees.t are you hearing? >> reporter: we've been waiting all day for those evacuees. we have not seen them yet. they're much anticipated. what we have seen here in zaporizhzhia, we saw a bunch of these cars pulling up. i don't know where these cars are from. we haven't had time to speak to them. i can tell you what's going on here. this family, as you can see here, they're in a classic car. they are coming from looks like somewhere in the south. they have a sign there. this sign says children. we see this all the time. people pulling up with signs that say children or elderly people or just people, meaning civilians. this means don't shoot. so the police are collecting information from them, registering their vehicle and the occupants, just checking on them, making sure they are who they say they are. you can see over here, some of these cars have been through some serious violence. this e, the windshield has been almost shattered entirely. a lot of these cars -- and you can't actually see i