for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin nick: now for more -- amna: now for more on that prisoner swapand other americans held in russia, i'm joined by state department spokesperson ned price. welcome back to the newshour. i want to ask you about the timing of that swap because trevor reed had been held by the russians for almost three years. era sanko had been in the u.s. for many years, so wide today? ned: ever since this administration came into office, we have had a commitment to secure the release of americans unjustly detained around the world. we have done it in haiti, burma, and now russia. because of months of discussions, trevor reed is on route to see his family in the united states after nearly three years of separation. this is something we have worked on for quite some time. the president was presented with a difficult decision but it is a decision he decided to make because trevor has been held apart from his family for far too long. his deteriorating health was of concern for us so as a result of what the president decided, trevor reed is headed home. amna: other americ

nick schifrin begins our coverage. ck: in mariupol today, russian troops and their separatist allies drive into a city they have already destroyed. a 6-week siege has gutted 90 -- 90% of the city's buildings. separatists invited journalists to film the homes they occupy, and the backyards they exploit to prepare a final battle. outgunned ukrainian forces climb rooftops to target russian tanks parked next to churches. the fight has been bloody and deadly. and now russia says thousands of the city's defenders, have surrendered. yesterday, ukraine's 36th marine brigade recorded this video, that sounds like a goodbye. >> the reality is that the city is under blockade and encircled and we did not have any supplies of ammunition or food. we were holding these positions till the end. we did not leave our positions, we remain faithful, and will always be flake -- be faithful. glory to ukraine. glory to the heroes. nick: mariupol would be the largest city that russia has captured. it would also help russia link what it controls

and that's where nick schifrin again begins our coverage. ck: in the occupied city of kherson, fearless ukrainians erupt in protests against the city's russian-appointed mayor, their pleas met with tear gas. ukrainian demonstrators run from russian soldiers. even against peaceful protesters, russia punishes its critics. and russia today tried to nish ukraine's partners poland and bulgaria by cutting off their natural gas supply. for years, russia has been an energy superpower, providing more than 40% of europe's natural gas through multiple pipelines that run through belarus into poland, through ukraine, toward germany, and through the black sea on to italy. historically, half of poland's natural gas was imported from russia, but warsaw and other countries nearest russia have been preparing for this day for years. daniel: the countries on the eastern flank of nato, the baltics, poland, these countries have been moving to insulate themselves from russian energy pressure or blackmail. nick: daniel yergin is vice chairman of s&p global, whose la

our nick schifrin traveled to brussels with blinken and he begins our coverage of the war . a warning, some images in this report are disturbing. [dog barking] nick: the apocalyptic aftermath of bucha remains an unaltered hellscape. survivors walk past entire city blocks that no longer exist, clutching water that a month of horror made precious. today was the first time in four weeks 57-year-old vladym zaborylo and his wife left their basement shelter. they pass discarded russian uniforms, russian ammunition, and the ukrainian soldiers who helped saved them. >> honestly, it's the first time i've seen something like this. i served in the army. but something like this, i have never witnessed it. why do they need to kill civilians? i d't get it. nick: those who died in bucha are still being buried. serhii lahovksyi and another bucha resident lost their closest friend, igor. and in war, friends try to provide the dead some dignity. they bury igor in a dirty carpet in a hastily dug hole on the side of the road. but they gave him a final resting place, even if friends, and parents,

nick schifrin reports on china's zero covid policy that has pushed residents in shanghai to frustration. [shouting in mandarin] nick: in one of the world's richest cities, residents scream, "give us food." last week they were so hungry, they ransacked a grocery store. in this apartment complex, a woman screams, "we are starving to death." but police in hazmat suits enforce the rules by any means necessary. they take a woman who didn't want to test and separate her from her husband. just yesterday, a man tried to hide on his balcony. no match for authorities imposing one of the world's strictest lockdowns. [shouting in mandarin] nick: and after three weeks of containment, residents are willing to confront the communist state. the anger aimed both ways. a city worker had to be restrained from attacking a resident who criticized him. today, as they do every day, residents lined up for mandatory tests. and some restrictions have been eased. but much of this metropolis is still locked in silence. everywhere you turn, yellow barricades barricade apartment buildings. other buildings' front doo

here's nick schifrin. nick: in southeastern ukraine, russian forces are moving into position.ussia says it is targeting newly arrived ukrainian air defense systems. the mayor said 10,000 civilians have been killed, russia is deploying recently recruited conscripts. >> what can i say? they called me up to go to war. nick: satellite images show what a senior u.s. defense official says is an 8-mile long resupport and resupply mission into donetsk and luhansk, where russians have occupied territory since 2014. that convoy is moving through velykyi burluk toward izyum and further south, to reinforce russians fighting in the donbas, and try and connect with territory they occupy as far west as kherson. >> this next week will be just as tense. russian troops will move to even larger operations in the east of our state. they can use even more missiles against us, but we are preparing for their actions. nick: those actions in the east will be led by general alexander dvornikov, the first commander named to oversee the war in ukraine. he led russia's campaign of scorched earth in syria,

nick schifrin again begins our coverage. nick: all that's left that ukraine's defense of mariupol under fire and underground. for those forced to hide for weeks, it is terrifying. this was a makeshift hospital inside their final holdout, the azovstal steelworks. from a secret location, a ukrainian commander vowed to fight until the end. sviatoslav: the tactic now is like a medieval siege. we're encircled. they're no longer throwing lots of force to break our defensive line. they're conducting airstrikes. nick: new satellite images show putin's apparent plan, not to storm the plant, but to flatten it. russian-backed separatists control the city center, where the bodies of ukrainians they killed lie in stacks. local officials today warned of outbreaks of disease. and a senior u.s. defense official said today russian forces are leaving the city, as russia makes -- quote -- “slow progress” for their goal of the eastern donbass and russian forces launch new attacks along a strategic front-line highway from kharkiv to izyum, includ

in brussels today, nick schifrin sat down with lithuania's foreign minister, gabrielius landsbergis, to discuss a range of issues. nick: mr. foreign minister, ank you very much. thanks for joining us. lithuania right now is the only european country that has decided to stop importing russian gas. why do you think that you were able to make that announcement, where others have not? min. landsbergis: i think that the main reason was that lithuania was preparing, and not just from the start of the invasion, but much earlier than that. we made the first steps actually in 2008. back then, we were paying the highest price in europe for the gas imports. we were dependent on one gas pipeline from russia, which was constantly under repair due to, well, what we considered political reasons. so we started building a floating lng terminal, which was finished in 2014. and we were able to procure our gas from anywhere. nick: a senior official told me that a block of russian oil and gas is the only way to get russia to recalculate its war. and, certainly, ukraine's president agrees with that. what's

nick schifrin looks at the different crimes and how russia might be held accounble.orter: today, u.s. administration officials accused russia of deliberately killing civilians in ukraine as part of its campaign, and said president biden would work with allies to determine how to hold food accountable. we turn to philippe sands, professional or -- professor of law in london and an author. welcome to the newshour. let's start by talking about what is the difference between war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and crimes of aggression? why do you think crimes of aggression might be the most important here? >> sure. i'm sorry to join you in these horrific images, but thank you for your coverage. there are four international crimes. work times, which includes the targeting civilians. crimes against humanity, where it crosses a scale because it is systematic, essentially focusing on individuals. genocide where you are targeting groups. and the crime of aggression, which is the waging of an illegal war. all four were installed by the famous nuremberg trial of 1945

for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. stephanie: we will return to the full program after the latest headlines. the u.s. senate today confirmed leo brainard as bryce chair -- lael brainard as vice chair of the federal reserve. efforts to wrap up debates on lisa cook's nomination failed. republicans have questioned her experience. vice president kamala harris has tested positive for covid-19. the white house said today she has no symptoms, but will self-isolate and continue working. aides also said she has not had close contact with president biden in recent days. the cdc n estimates that three of every four children in the u.s. have been infected by covid. that follows a dramatic jump in cases during the omicron variant's spread. today's finding came as the white house moved to make paxlovid pills more widely available. they can sharply reduce serious illness and deaths from covid. >> we're opening up a federal pharmacy channel and what that means is pharmacies can order directly from the federal government. currently the