nic robertson is international diplomatic editor at cnn, we have a freelance journalist and so too iskarczuk. and francis scarr is here from bbc monitoring. welcome to you all and thank you so much for coming on the media show. olga, if we just start with you, where are you and what is the atmosphere like in ukraine today? you've been tweeting about our prime minister, boris johnson's visit to kyiv. i know that. yeah, well, hi, everyone. and thank you for having me on this show. i'm currently in western ukraine in the town of chertsey. and i apologise for the background because i'm speaking to you from a basement because we've had already four raid alerts today. and since i'm working from home, ijust decided to stay in the basement for the show so that, you know, i don't get interrupted by another air raid alert. radio viewers won't see that, but our tv viewers will. so thank you for explaining that. it's a it's a gray background, but at least you're safe. yeah. you know, everyone expected a lot of russian missile strikes today. and it's early evening here in ukraine now. and we've al

. >> for more cnn's diplomatic editor nic robertson joins from zaporizhzhia, ukraine. p good to have you there for us, nic. the u.s. secretary of state says there's evidence russia is using this plant as the equivalent of a human shield. what more can you tell us? has the plant been damaged? and if so what are the risks? >> reporter: yeah, the risks are not insignificant. the international atomic energy agency is concerned about what's happening at the plant. they don't have the ability to send inspectors there, for example, to assess the damage and see the dangers and risks from it. it's about 35 miles, 50 kilometers away from where we're standing now. there are increased tensions in this area, increased because the ukrainians feel that the russians are about to advance. the russians took control of that nuclear power facility on the 5th of march, and there was a significant battle around it. the power plant workers didn't want to leave. it is understood, not just by the state department but the uk military, department of defense also believed that russia is using the

nic robertson has more for us. >> reporter: civilians are buried where they fall.me, no safety for a cemetery sendoff. no bomb too big, no building in this eastern ukrainian town seemingly off russia's target list in their slow but re relentless push westwards. they are surrounded on two sides by russian forces to the east and to the north. about five miles, 8 or 10 kilometers away. shelling here an ever present danger. among the ruins, people are surviving. 2,000 of the pre-war 11,000 clinging on. this woman barely seems to notice another shell exploding. how hard is to live here now? i don't realize it, but she is about to teach me how hard. she is not kidding. she comes back with a sword and floor board skaf afrom a blown building. so this is hard. good muscles. why do you stay here if it is so hard, why do you stay? her lesson for me, yes, life here is very hard. but this is home. and leaving would be harder. >> my house. my house. >> reporter: but it is so dangerous. there are bombs and explosions. someone has to stay, she says. we go in the basement when ther

as our nic robertson reports some of them are headed to areas still controlled by russia. >> reporter and raging, families, pets, possessions load them down, all crossing to the russian occupied territory south of zaporizhzhia. this is what's slowing everything up here, the deep mud, cars just getting bogged down, sliding all over. this one just managing to get through, and the reason they're coming this way, quite simple, the bridges are blown up. ukrainian emergency services doing their best to get people through the rain sodden fields. we've had to drag a few trucks out today, the commander says, but it's drying out and getting easier. known as the green corridor, it's where people cross to and from russian occupied territory. but on this day the traffic almost entirely one way, an estimated 6,000 people stuck on the russian side, only 76 crossed. many, many hundreds went the other way. where are you going? >> to kherson? >> reporter: why? >> because my parents live in kherson. >> everyone leaving ukrainian controlled territory telling us a similar thing, they expect to come back e

nic robertson has more. >> reporter: inside a sweltering train station families wait for a journey tonment offered to escape the war in eastern ukraine. this man saying good-bye to his wife and his son. the situation is getting worse, he says. her son is scared, sophia adds. the shelling was so bad, we decided we had to go. the old and confused helped and heaved aboard. the free train ride westward ramping up efforts to relocate civilians before winter. and this woman leaving with her family. we don't want to go, she says, but the missiles are flying. i've had no salary for five months. i don't even know where we're going. officials here are telling us that there are far fewer people on the trains right now, just a few months ago they say there were hundreds of people crammed in to these carriages. it is much emptier now. hampering evacuation efforts, some who left months ago are coming back. i spent all my money on rent, valu value teen know says, i'm broke. i have to come back even though we're told there will be no heating and no water.teen know . i have to come back even though we

nic robertson is live for us. and ukraine is saying their forces are making progress. give us a sense of where things stand this morning. >> reporter: yeah, there are 6,000 people with about 1200 vehicles waiting to go fromhers zaporizhzhia. they have been held at the last check point for a number of days. the rain has washed out the roads that essentially stranded them trying to get through. there is more rain in the forecast here. some trying next week. but for these people trapped there, the conditions have become very hard, they say that they are being used as human shields effectively by the russian forces there and they desperately want to get out of that area into ukrainian controlled territory. as far as thing on the front leans here are concerned, we've been to the front lines quite a bit over the past couple of days. there really isn't in this region, in the southern part of the con flikconflict, there nota trench style warfare. the area is very agricultural, huge fields. the fields enter intersected by tree lines. and there are not high con concentration of

thic nic robertson is joining us from kramatorsk. a lot of this is seen as progress for ukrainians. >> reporter: certainly what happened in crimea at the air base there would definitely be significant for the ukrainians because the russians have operated there up until now as if they are beyond the reach of ukrainian forces. ukrainians are not saying what happened there. russians counter that it was ammunition exploding doesn't seem to fit the images, new video shows two explosions that are quite close to each other. so certainly that puts the ukrainians, if you will, in a stronger position. they almost undoubtedly are from all the video evidence that we see and satellite imagery responsible for what happened at that airfield, precisely how we still don't know. so definitely a stronger position for the ukrainians. but the reality is that russia is continuing to hit not far from here, there is a town where seven civilians were killed yesterday. and russian continues to roll ever so slowly forward into that quite significant and large

nic robertson, cnn, eastern ukraine. >>> all right. let's bring in cnn's linda dos santos, who joins us live. good to see you, nina. the eu and 42 other countries are now calling on russia to withdraw its forces from these nuclear power plants immediately. what more are you learning about this situation on the ground there? >> this is the escalation and the radical rhetoric we have heard since last week, with the united nations becoming increasingly's concern, with a council meeting that addressed this problem at the plant. in the u.n.'s nuclear watchdog put forward a plan to get an agreement between russia and ukraine to demilitarized this highly-sensitive area, something the united states has also called for. that has been rebuffed by russian's ambassador to the united nations last week. of course, now we have got all these countries, including the eu, with russia's forces withdrawing from this very sensitive site. why is it so important. the separation camp for the first three weeks of the invasion of ukraine from russia. since then

ancestry can guide you to family discoveries in the 1950 census. >> i'm nic robertson in ukraine, andis cnn. >>> we are tracking developments in the western pacific where chinese military drills have continued for a fifth day near taiwan. beijing began the drills on thursday after promising taipei would pay a price for hosting u.s. house speaker nancy pelosi. she made the visit despite warnings from mainland china, which considers the self- governing island part of its territory. taiwan's foreign minister says he is concerned, but not afraid. he spoke to cnn just a short time ago. >> china has always been threatening taiwan. for years, and it's getting more serious in the last few years. and its always been that way. whether speaker pelosi visits taiwan or not, the chinese military threat against taiwan has always been there, and that is the fact that we need to deal with. >> has taiwan's democratic system been in more danger than today? >> i can tell you that taiwan is more resilient than before. look at taiwan these days, china is trying to impose trade sanctions against taiwan, try

nic robertson, cnn, mykolaiv, ukraine. >>> vladimir putin vowing to expand russia's naval power. anyone who undermine's russia's sovereignty. so part of this was a threat from putin to use hyper sonic cruise missiles. remind us of the capability of these missiles. >> yes, what he was talking about was cone missiles. this is a new part of russia's arsenal which has been building up since the invasion of crimea in 2014 and what we saw then. we know they've used hyper sonic missiles in ukraine. the missiles were used in march. those are air launch missiles and that was seen as a serious move particularly by the u.s. but the cone missiles announced to be coming into service in the coming months they have been successfully tested about 600 miles, according to russia and they're launched from ships and submarines. this is a growing sophistication we see in russia's arsenal. how worried should we be? they're not in service yet, should take another few months. we don't know they're going to be deployed near ukraine. this is a message not only to the u.s., which it said was one of the key

nic robertson, good to have you there.ussian official is hospitalized this morning, suffering with symptoms of a neurological condition, according to a prominent russian journalist. he's in an unstable state after being diagnosed with a syndrome that is a rare disorder which the immune system harms the body's serves. there was no reply to a request from cnn. it's unclear where he is in europe. >>> after the break, we'll look at what the january 6th is investigating now and who might be up next to testify at their next hearing. customizes your home insurance, here's a pool party. ♪ good times. insurance! ♪ only pay for what you neneed. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ hey, caleb. what's going on? homework. i'm supposed to learn how to cook a souffle. ooh. french impressive. i have no clue what you're saying. yeah, i said that you should learn french because it makes you sound smart. i got you. you know what else is smart, alec? donating to shriners hospitals for children. i thought you'd

nic robertson, cnn, ukraine. >> our thanks to nic for that report.a quick back and back with more news in a moment. moderate to severe eczema still disrupts my skin. despite treatment it disrupts my skin with itch. it disrupts my skin with rash. but now, i can disrupt eczema with rinvoq. rinvoq is not a steroid, topical, or injection. it's one pill, once a day, that's effective without topical steroids. many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin while some saw up to 100% clear skin. plus, they felt fast itch relief some as early as 2 days. that's rinvoq relief. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers including lymphoma and skin cancer, death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least one heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq, as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. disrupt the itch and rash of eczema. talk to your docto

nic robertson, cnn eastern ukraine. >> incredible reporting, nic, thank you for that. >>> family, friends anne heche. >> i want my $700 back. >> what? >> you heard me, my $700 i want it back. you said you were going to take me to tahiti you didn't. >> reporter: her family said she died after being taken off life support. she suffered a severe brain injury after her car crashed into a los angeles home and erupted in flames ten days ago. anne will be missed but lives on through her sons, body of work, and advocacy. anne heche was just 53. the u.s. real estate market starting to shift. will that help buyers or sellers? and the major league pitcher who was almost perfect. are ours too.s and vanguard retirement tools and advice can hehelp you get there. that's the value of ownersrship. shingles. some describe it as pulsing electric shocks or sharp, stabbing pains. ♪ this painful, blistering rash can disrupt your life for weeks. a pain so intense, you could miss out on family time. the virus that causes shingles is likely already inside of you. if you're 50 years or older, ask your doctor or ph

let's go now to kramatorsk where we find nic robertson. you are monitoring the movements on the eastern front. >> reporter: yeah, and it is a very contradictory but dangerous situation in this area, this of course is the area where president zelenskyy said everyone -- all the civilians should leave the area because come next winter, there wouldn't be the infrastructure to support them, there wouldn't be the gas supplies to keep them warm. but you have sort of contrary indications here. just as we pitched up where we are right now, a handful of city workers were out mowing the lawns in the city here. yet we've watched as new trench systems, new heavy and expensive trempg systems have been put in place around here and that is because this town like so many others around it is experiencing very heavy she willing. the sirens go off here with repeated regularity day and night and you can hear multiple impacts. shelling has been heavy. where it is heaviest as well as in the towns and villages is along the frontfrontline. and that is where we wen

we have the latest on the grain exports but first to nic robertson in mykolaiv. >> reporter: the very wealthy businessman and his wife who were killed in the shelling yesterday could so easily have left this city. certainly rich enough and wealthy enough, a grain exporter, a man who put his money back into ukraine, had helped out in the war effort was helping rebuild the shipping here. so his death, when he was taking shelter in the basement of his mansion during the heavy shelling the night before last really, you know, certainly affected his neighbors who we spoke to yesterday morning. they were very worried and concerned and thought they would probably leave as well. many other people we have spoken to in the city really feeling less certain about staying here. i talked to the mayor as well about why he thinks there has been such an up tick recently in russian shelling of mykolaiv. so why do you think that they a c ratcheted up the number of strikes? >> they don't have any success on ground operations and they want to, you know, hit people. the new tactics for this strike is that t

nic robertson is standing by for us live in ukraine. what do you make of the latest movements, nic? >> reporter: well, specifically when it comes to the contention over the prison investigatio n where 50 p.ow.s were killed, journalists showed on social media and on television there and they showed that pictures of what they allege were parts of himars missiles. so this does fit in with what we are hearing from the white house, the white house saying that they think that russia is going to try to spin this as a ukrainian attack, while the ukrainian officials say that they firmly believe that this was something that was a false flag operation, if you will, that this was done by pro-russian forces, indeed they blame the pro kremlin military contractor wagner for it, they were responsible for the prison and ukrainian authorities say flammable substances were used there. it will be difficult to get to the bottom of this. international committee for the red cross say they have only made one visit to the detention facility in may to drop off water containers. they have not per the geneva c

nec nic robertson is joining us from kramatorsk.erent from what they had before? >> reporter: yeah, the equipment that they had before was old style old school, you used little handles, you had to wheel the equipment out in the field or it would just stay where it was put and be very vulnerable to returned fire. we've been traveling around this area for the past almost week now. and everywhere you go, the frontlines, front line oig villages, frontline towns, you see the effects of russian artillery and missiles. so this equipment is hugely important to stop russia's advance and even try to push it back. suddenly action, camouflage off, ouagadougou ukrainian troops rush the artillery out of cover. the beast of battle. this day targeting russian positions almost 30 kilometers, 18 miles away. they shoot and scoot. the whole operation took about two to three minutes, they calculate that they have got about eight minutes to get back under the tree line here to be safe from any return fire. there is a lot these troops like about their new

.>> nic robertson, joining is there live from mykolaiv with that message, appreciate it. >>> ukrainian and turkish officials say the first ship carrying ukrainian grain has left the port of odesa, expected to arrive in this day and bull tuesday before heading to the final destination, and the exports could be a crucial first step in easing the global food crisis, sparked by the war, trapping millions of tons of grain inside ukraine for month. clare sebastian joins me from london, with more. good morning. the first green ship has left odesa, what more are you learning? >> we are hearing from the joint coordination center, part of this black see green initiative brokered by the un in turkey that brought russia and ukraine to the table to try to get the grain shipments to global markets. they authorize the ship, a sierra leone flagged vessel, to sit there from odesa this morning, we can see it moving and satellite maps, heading out of the port of odesa, to transition into turkish territorial waters, were it will be inspected, part of the agreement and carry on through the bosporus and fin

we have on the ground nic robertson, in eastern ukraine, in kramatorsk. s give son many weapon alongside other nato countries, they're send morguing more long range rocket systems to ukraine. they're shifting the weaponry they're using. >> reporter: yeah, the ukrainians will get the 50-mile range british weapons fairly soon. all this reach that goes beyond t lines to the rear positions that the russians have, the ammo dumps, fuel supplies, all of these ukrainian forces think actually are slowing the russian advance and just makes it harder for them to come forward. the same with those warplanes, russian warplanes that were taken out in crimea. and this is what we saw close to the front lines here. this new mechanized artillery that is being given by poland is also making a significant contribution. suddenly action, camouflage off, ukrainian troops rushing their new artillery out of cover. the polish crabs, a 40-ton beast of battle. this date targeting russian positions almost 30 kilometers, 18 miles away. they shoot and scoot. that whole operation took abo

nic robertson, cnn, ukraine's southern front. >>> just ahead, new clues to midair mystery that led to's death. >>> and nancy pelosi right now leaving taiwan. so was it worth it? not that one... that's the one. at university of phoenix, you could earn your master's degree in less than a year fofor under $11k. learn more at phoenix.edu with best western rewards you get rewarded when you stay on the road and on the go. find your rewards so you can reconnect,isconnect, hold on tight and let go! book now at bestwestern.com. zyrteeeec... works hard at hour one and twice as hard when you take it again the next day. so betty can be the... barcode beat conductor. ♪ go betty! ♪ let's be more than our allergies! zeize the day. with zyrtec. ♪ whenever heartburn strikes get fast relief with tums. it's time to love food back. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums ♪ flowers are fighters. that's why the alzheimer's association walk to end alzheimer's is full of them. because flowers find a way to break through. just like we will. join the fight at alz.org/walk age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® h

nic robertson is there live. what are you seeing there?t now. i can hear the siren going off in the village and the life the people in the south and east and further north. in the south, in a town over the weekend, russia gave its heaviest bombardment of the war saturday into sunday. 36 heavy impact. some of those impacts big enough to just slice their way through a three or four-story building. ukrainian very successful businessman in the town was killed when he was in the basement of his mansion. the missile slammed into his house. they were both killed there. and that is the picture in the south of the country at the moment. at the same time, about two hours driving away in odesa, 26,000 metric tons caught on board left a port early this morning and on its way and when it gets where it's to go, inspectors will get on board to inspect and this could be the beginning to get the grain shipments flowing from ukraine unblocked and unleashed. billions of dollars worth of grain and get it to those parts of the world that need it. u.s. ambassad

nic robertson, cnn, kanyinska, ukraine. >>> ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy got a special visita chastain. she also visited the biggest children's hospital in ukraine amid a trip to the hard-hit city of irpin, to see firsthand the consequences of the russian invasion. zelenskyy thanked chastain for the trip, saying famous people are extremely valuable in helping the world understand what is happening. >>> and to learn more about how you can help humanitarian efforts in ukraine, go to cnn.com/impact. >>> well, a fourth day of chinese military exercises near taiwan. chinese aircraft, naval vessels, and drones operating around the taiwan strait in what tay ipei called a simulated attack. the founder and ceo of the evanina group joins us now. he is also former director of the national counterintelligence and security center. bill, great to have you on. you have spent years and years and years studying china. i'm wondering what you think about this. the chinese military says these drills are still ongoing. what does that tell you? how concerning is that? >> a few things, pamela. it's