nick schifrin has our report. s a difficult day in the best of times, the sunday after orthodox easter, a day ukrainians commemorate the dead. today is the worst of times and this is the worst of places. synonymous with russian war crimes, were not a single home on an entire city block has a roof. but it was here outside kyiv where the russians were stopped. now, so many new graves and the dead are not even fully buried. the grief is multi generational. the parents who lost a son, the 10-year-old who wears the uniform of a father he will never see again. his mother helps him reconcile the irreconcilable. >> most of all, i am thankful to those who bravely defended our city so we could live. nick: into the wife whose husband volunteered to fight. >> today, i brought flowers, which he always bought m, and now i bring them to him because these people have nothing better to do. they send them here to kill our people, destroy our cities. nick: 500 miles southeast, another destroyed city, mariupol. for weeks, soldiers and

nick schifrin has our report from kharkiv. nick: in moscow's red square, a wartime dress rehearsal.s prepare for monday's victory day, marking the defeat of nazi germany in world war ii. this year, the kremlin is expected to invoke not only bygone glory, but also claim a victory in the grinding conflict next door in ukraine. outside the eastern city of kharkiv, russian missiles hit a museum dedicated to an 18th century philosopher and poet. ukraine accuses russia of trying to erase its history, and even forcibly deport its citizens to russia. natalia: their aim is to destroy us, ukrainians. to destroy our culture and traditions. our people. to take our children to russia and destroy their memory about ukraine. nick: in neighboring romania today, first lady jilliden witnessed ukrainian children proud of their ukrainian memories. she visited a school that hosts 40 children, all of whom had to leave some family members behind, including seven-year-old mila from kyiv. mila: i want to return to my father. nick: 12 million ukrainians, more than a quarter of the country, have fled their ho

pbs newshour, nick schifrin. biden's first trip to asia as president, we get the perspective from frank, the president of the mansfield organization. we -- he also worked at the state department and as a staffer for senator joe biden. and on the blazer is the director at the asia program at the german marshall fund of the united states. hello to both of you and welcome back to the program. frank, let me start with you. what is it about this moment you believe has led president biden to go to asia? >> thank you for the question. deep in bidens dna about usa -- u.s.-asia relations are the words of mike mansfield who taught that the most important relationship to the u.s. was the u.s.-china alliance. at the core, you have president biden reassuring allies that the u.s. credible nuclear deterrent remain strong in the face of north korea's continued nuclear testing a missile development. that the u.s. commitment to asia will not be in any way diminished by the conflict underway in europe where the u.s. and nato allies

here is nick schifrin. the center of ukraine's capital, where even the divine needs defense, a priest leads soldiers seeking blessings. on orthodox easter last month, those who need the most protection found a quiet moment to request it. ukrainians are fighting a war that threatens their very existence. and in the presence of god, they pray not only for restoration, but also judgment, which is what father feodosii provides. he blesses ukrainians and scorns russian soldiers accused of war crimes. father feodosii: it is tragic that people who call themselves christian allow themselves to do such things. nick: metropolitan epiphanius, thhead of the ukrainian orthodox church, goes further. he condones killing russian soldiers in the name of saving the country, and has likened russian president vladimir putin to the antichrist. putin replies with his own judgment via his own ally. on orthodox easter in moscow, the service is led by patriarch kirill, a longtime kremlin partner. he portrays the war as part of mosc

to take stock of where we are, i'm joined by nick schifrin. nick, the russians are currently focused on the eastern donbass region. but, as we well know, that was not their original intent. can you remind us of the evolution of this invasion? nick: yeah, at the beginning, it's what president volodymyr zelenskyy calls total war, the idea of overthrowing the government in kyiv, and targeting civilians in order to break the will of the population. let's go back to february 23 and the map before the invasion of, crimea, parts of donetsk and luhansk in red controlled by russian forces since 2014. and then, february 24, russian forces invaded in the north toward kyiv, in the east, the second largest city in kharkiv, and from the south in crimea. u.s. officials feared that kyiv could fall within days. fast-forward to march 24. kyiv held, but russia seized swathes of territory. this is the high watermark of the invasion. but in the north and the east, russian forces were already bogged down. ukrainian forces were beating them back. and so, by april 6,

nick schifrin has the story. ian soldiers, wounded but alive, and in the custody of their enemy. russian tv showed its version of what appears to be the beginning of the end of the siege of mariupol. a lonely procession of the wounded, some of the final ukrainian holdouts from the azovstal steel plant, what russia today called a mass surrender. ukraine admits more an 260 soldiers are being bussed to russian-controlled territory in ukraine. some today arriv in separatist-controlled olenivka, on the site of a former penal colony known for torture and squalid conditions. they held out for nearly 3 months, living and fighting from tunnels designed to withstand nuclear attacks. many of them in the azov regiment, born from a right-wing militia, now integrated into the ukrainian military. their resistance prevented russia from consolidating its gains, and today ukrainian officials called them heroes. >> mariupol drew in the russian federation's forces for 82 days. their operation to seize the east and south was held up.

nick schifrin reports from southern ukraine. a center for families who fled their homes, the kids are alright. 9-year-old kyrylo, his younger brother, 8-year-old andriy, and their baby sister in the pink sweater, 6-year-old anna. the city created this play area the day the war ben. the clothes they wear, the toys they play with, the stuffed animals that line the shelves, all donated. it's not home, but it's a space where boys can be boys, and even sit down when their mother liliya tells them to. how are your children doing these days? >> they're fine, thank god. at first, they were stressed. but then they got used to being here, and now feel fine. nick: they feel fine thanks in part to the center's psychologist, lidiya kuryatnykova. she uses drawings to measure a child's trauma. >> children mirror what their parents feel. if the parents are worried and anxious, and sw that, children reflect it. nick: the parents arrive in volodymyr zelenskyy's hometown from nearby villages, needing everything. they're greeted with bags of food,

comes after ukrainian soldiers recently re-captured towns, including one east of the city, where nick schifrineports tonight. nick: east of kharkiv, ukrainian soldiers are pushing forward. they patrol an area recently liberated from russian troops, and now, they're preparing for a counterattack. they build defensive positions, foxholes that will be linked to make a new line of trenches, made confident by recent success. and what is the threat from the russians in this location? >> mostly artillery, artillery and mortars. also, there could be, like, small reccie groups, but we're ready to engage. nick: captain jan fidra's mission is to prevent russian troops from moving through here, south to the donbas. last week, they came under fire by russian cluster bombs. >> one of our soldiers died during the attack. our medics tried to help him, like, but he was dead before the body hit the ground. before we could take his body away, me and a few soldiers just spent a couple of hours with his body, like in that area. those woods in front of us, they're shooting at us from there. nick: we first met then-

nick schifrin reporting tonight for us from southeastern ukraine. nick, stay safe. nick: thanks a lot. judy: and a reminder -- nick's reporting and our ongoing coverage of ukraine is supported in partnership with the pulitzer center. a prominent tv journalist was shot and killed today in the west bank while reporting on a raid bisraeli troops. her killing has raised tensions between the israeli security establishment and the press, as a new wave of violence in the holy land between israelis and palestinians continues. here's john yang. john: a burst of gunfire. al-jazeera correspondent shireen abu akleh lies face down, motionless, shot in the head, then panicked calls for an ambulance. the 51-year-old palestinian-american journalist was rushed to a hospital, but died from her wounds. in a career at al-jazeera that spanned a quarter-century, she was a household name across the middle east for her coverage of the israeli-palestinian conflict. al-jazeera, several journalists on the scene and the palestinian health ministry said israeli troops shot abu akleh and her pro

for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> as so many have said, it's impossible to fully convey theggering toll of this covid pandemic. the statistical comparisons have certainly been noted. the deaths in the u.s. are roughly equal to losing as many people each day as we lost in the attacks of september eleventh, 2001 but for almost an entire year. it's also roughly equal to losing the entire populations of boston and pittsburgh. but numbers describe just one part of this. and each life touches so many other lives. ed yong of the atlantic has been writing about this for more than two years. and he joins us again tonight. one of the things you mention is how different it is morning these deaths. you spoke about this because covid ticked off so many risk factors. what is that a reference to? >> the grief of many of the people i have spoken to is incredibly prolonged. it is disenfranchised grief which means it doesn't seem to acknowledge or validate. many of the people i have spoken to who of lost loved ones to covid never got to have the rituals that allow us to mourn. how did your lo

for e pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin in vilhivka. judy: and a reminder that our coverage of ukraine is supported in partnership with the pulitzer center. judy: in the day's other news: president biden defended his economic policies in the face of the worst inflation in the u.s. in 40 years. instead, he blamed the pandemic, the war in ukraine and spending from the trump era. the president said his proposals from taxing billionaires to cutting drug prices could help. >> "i think our policies help not hurt. think about what they say. the vast majority of the economists think that this is going to be a real tough problem to solve, but it's not because of spending. we brought down the deficit." >> meanwhile, "triple a" reported average gas prices nationwide are a dollar and 40 cents higher than a year ago. treasury secretary janet yellen argued today that abortion rights are key to economic health. she told senators that legalizing abortion helped women control their lives, go to school and get jobs. she said if "roe versus wade" is overt

nick schifrin has the story. amb. he provisional agenda for this meeting is nonproliferation. nick: in new york today, a failed attempt to further isolate north korea. amb. thomas-greenfield: we cannot let this become the new norm. we cannot tolerate such dangerous and threatening behavior. nick: the security council rejected a u.s.-led resolution to sanction north korea and deliver humanitarian aid, because of russian and chinese vetoes. through a translator, chinese ambassador said sanctions would punish the people of north korea, whose official acronym is dprk. amb. jun: additional sanctions against dprk would only add to the misery of the dprk people and, in this sense, neither right nor humane. nick: the vote was a response to north korea's testing three missiles on tuesday, including what the u.s. says was the sixth intercontinental ballistic missile launch just this year. the response wn't only diplomatic. hours after the north korean test, south korea and the u.s. launched short-range missiles and displayed doz

nick schifrin has our report from kharkiv. these blown out walls, this pile of debris, all that's left of the school turned shelter. local officials say 90 people were hiding here from the very bombs that reduced the building to rubble. russia's battlefield of choice has been civilian neighborhoods, like this one. where today president zelenskyy compared russia's invasion nazi germany's crimes in ukraine >> you say "never again?" tell ukraine that. our city is that saw the occupier again. >> in a statement, russian president boudin threw -- putin threw the accusation back. he said they were working on the liberation of their native land from nazi filth. tomorrow, moscow will celebrate the anniversary of nazi germany's defeat and western officials say putin could declare victory in mariupol after russian forces desoyed it. this evacuation -- evacuee has been through hell. >> they bombed aside night and through the day -- bombed us at night and throughout the day. boom, boom, the whole center. nick: russia is bombarding the the r

and ukraine's top prosecutor unveiled her investigation in a key city where nick schifrin is tonight.ick: outside kyiv, there were so much death, only now are they planning for its permanence. he has a fenced in headstone to replace his brother demetri's temporary grave. >> i don't want this grave to be disturbed. all of these graves have fences. and there will also be a table it's a tradition. and bench so we can commemorate the dead. sit down, talk to them, maybe plant some flowers, say our goodbyes >> the oldest victim of russian occupation on this rope, 93. the youngest, 23. the family who buried their son so quickly his name was written in pen. just one row of victims in one city and a country that is fighting a war with no end in sight. down the road, ukraine's top prosecutor today concluded her and her team's initial war crimes investigation in neighboring irpin. he said russian forces executed seven civilians, fired on civilians as they fled, and starved other civilians to death. >> someone killed them. >> we spoke about one month ago. how much progress has been made? >> we st

nick schifrin begins our coverage. ♪ nick: they filled moscow's streets by the tens of thousands.ans, remembering family killed during world war ii, mobilized by a leader leveraging an 80-year-old victory to justify today's war. with pomp, circumstance, and a show of military might, russian president vladimir putin likened the red army's fight against the nazis to russia's invasion of ukraine. >> you are fighting for the motherland, for its future, so that no one forgets the lessons of world war ii, so that there is no place in the world for executioners, castigators, and nazis. nick: putin did not escalate the war, or declare victory. instead, he once again inflated western pre-war support for ukraine as his reason to wage war. >> we saw how the military infrastructure was being developed, how hundreds of foreign advisers began to work. there were regular deliveries of the most modern weapons from nato countries. the danger grew every day. russia has preemptively repulsed an aggression. it was a forced, timely, and the only correct, decision. nick: ukraine's rebuttal, uploaded on

from kyiv, nick schifrin reports. re] nick: on the frontlines in ukraine's east, russia prepares another artillery onslaught. russian forces continue to make slow progress, firing at outgunned ukrainian positions. russia released these videos today and said it also targeted ukrainian railway stations to disrupt the flow of western weapons. none more crucial than these american howitzers that the u.s. is rushing to ukraine to counter russian artillery. today, russian defense minister sergei shoigu threatened once again to target those weapons shipments. >> the u.s. and nato allies continue to pump weapons into ukraine. view any transport of the north atlanticlliance arriving on the territory of the country with weapons or materials destined to the ukrainian army as a legitimate target to be destroyed. nick: but yesterday many of russia's so-called legitimate targets were clearly civilian. a bus stop in donetsk near a chemical plant that killed at least 10. in the eastern city of kharkiv, an amusement park, which before

from ukraine, nick schifrin begins our coverage. nick: two months of hiding. endless negotiations.ng convoy emerges from the heart of darkness. above all, relief for families who did not know whether they would live or die, did not have access to the outside world. they cowered in the basement of mariupol's massive azovstal steel plant, the final hideout for civilians and soldiers from russia's bombardment. those same russians released this footage today inside russian occupied territory of the people they'd besieged, describing horrors inflicted on lives and homes. olga savina is 65. olga: there is no house anymore. of course there isn't. nick: ukrainian soldiers released their own video, helping civilians emerge from the plant, and walking through devastation. some are barely older than the r. they drive past decimated ndscapes, and are handed over to the un and icrc, who walk them across no man's land. but tonight russians blocked them from entering ukrainian territory. and back in mariupol, more than 100,00residents, still trapped. mr. orlov: 130,000 citizens that are still in

its blockade of ukrainian ports are preventing ukraine from exporting its grain and steel, as nick schifrin recently witnessed in southern ukraine. nick: ukraine's largest steel plant still faces the threat of russian airstrikes. in march, the war forced arcelormittal kryvyi rih to close for the first time since world war ii. but now workers are back. and blast furnace number six is firing. the plant offers every step of a process that can produce six million tons of steel a year. n bknla iheasow t found furnace that is 4000 degrees. that creates what's known as pig iron, a crude iron, and that becomes steel. before the war, the plant was one of ukraine's largest employers and one of its largest exporters. iron ore and semi-finished iron are the country's single largest export. but the war's cut production here in half, and it blocked the company's traditional routes to the middle east and africa, says chief administrative officer artyom filipyev. artyom: the main export route for us was the ports of the black sea. so, now the ports are closed. that's why we cannot use them. nick: odessa is

nick schifrin recently witnessed this in southern ukraine.'s largest steel plant still faces a risk of russian airstrikes. in march,he plant had to close for the first time since world war ii but now workers are back. the plant offers every step in the process to produce 6 million tons of steel per year. this is known as the foundry yard. this creates what is known as pig iron and that becomes steel appeared before the war, the plant was one of ukraine's against employers and largest exporters. the war has cut production here in half and up blocked the company's traditional routes to the middle east and africa says the chief administrative officer. >> the main export route for us was the ports of the black sea. now, the ports are closed so we cannot use them. reporter: odessa is ukraine's largest port and it has avoed a russian erect assault. a blockade has forced companies to ship via trains. >> it takes more time. it makes it more costly. reporter: how important is it to get these new supply lines going for the future of ukraine? >> it is t

nick schifrin joins me from the city in southeastern ukraine. hello.rt with this question of food. why is ukraine's food so important to the world? >> ukraine is the largest producer of wheat in the world, one of the largest producers of cooking oil. production has been halted mostly because of the violence. ukraine can't export because russia is blockading ports. russia is the largest producer of fertilizer in the world. they cannot sell that because of export controls and sanctions. all of that adds up to what the wfp call an explosion of global hunger, and the fda says is the largest global food price index hike they have been measuring in more than 30 years. so the president today announced new efforts to increase u.s. production in ukraine. the emphasis also on trying to incrse production. we have seen farmers trying to harvest in the spring. we visited a steel panel -- steel plant a few hours ago. the largest in the country that restarted its production. the problem is the russian warships off of the coast in the black sea. that means none of the

nick schifrin visited a nearby village, and reports on the aftermath of that fight, and signs of renewal and her husband built this house 28 years ago. municipal workers must rebuild the life the russians destroyed. the damage is apocalyptic. it was bombarded as if it was hit by a hurricane. in the 90's, they bought 15 acres and built for homes. her mother's house is now that pile of wood. why have you come back home? >> why have i come back? this is my home. this is my soul. because i gave birth to my children here. they grew up here. my mother lives here -- used to live here. my aunt lived here. my mother-in-law lived here. i had the happiest days of my life here. this is my home. despite all the destruction, i want to be home. my soul's longing for this because it is mine, however it looks right now. it's mine. >> the bombing started on march third. first her aunt's house, than her neighbor's house, then a jet dropped a thousand pound bomb and destroyed what was left. >> look at this. this is an aerial bomb. yes, this is the aerial bomb, the remnants. >> she can wipe her hands, but no

for the pbs newshour i'm nick schifrin.: our coverage of the war in ukraine is supported in partnership with the pulitzer center. ♪ william: new orleans is one of america's most unique cities, its people are part of a rich and diverse melting pot that's also made new orleans cuisine world-famous. but many of the people whose families originally developed that cuisine over generations are now shut out of the top jobs in the city's restaurants, includg as leading chefs. and that's had serious consequences for black workers in the industry. communities reporter roby chavez has the story on efforts to change that. it is part of our coverage of race matters. >> kyle wilson has been trying to make it as a new orleans chef for eight years. >>'s been rough trying to find a place in a kitche. >> there have been setbacks, he says, because he is black. >> i was painted as a bad guy in the situation in bothy managers, who were white men, took the side of the server and put me out. it may be feel like i didn't matter and also made me re

nick schifrin reports. >> care the faces of the imprisoned, the youngest, a 15-year-old, the oldest, a 73-year-old. detained for what police called a reeducation. all under close watch, all muslim uighurs, victims of what the u.s. calls a genocide and the mass internment of more than one million chinese citizens. the photos and new documents revealed in these files. beijing says these camps, uighurs learn the han chinese language and are taught vocational skills. but people who have left chinese detention called facilities prisons for brainwashing. a between 19 video, the u.s. government believed authentic shows uighur detainees in blue, heads shaved and blindfolded. photos reveal detainees forced to recite verses and watch speeches on state tv. the photos and files were leaked to a researchers who has focused on xinjiang for years. welcome to the newshour. what do these documents show about security at these camps th we did not know before? >> the documents show how that camps are to be guarded, how many police respond, how are they armed, what weapons do they use. the police use sn

nick schifrin has the story. >> ladies and gentleman, the prime minister of japan and the president of united states. nick: in tokyo's state palace today, a meeting of two historic allies and a president willing to confront beijing on its most sensitive subject. >> are you willing to get involved militarily to defend taiwan if it comes to that? pres. biden: yes. >> you are? pres. biden: that's the commitment we made. nick: today's remarks repeat what president biden said last october. anderson cooper, cnn: so are you saying that the united states would come to taiwan's defense if china attacked? pres. biden: yes, we -- yes, we have a commitment to do that. nick: that's not official u.s. policy. the taiwan relations act obligates the u.s. to enable taiwan to maintain a sufficilf-d maintain the capacity of theent u.s. to resist any resort to force. but despite u.s. weapons sales to taiwan, the u. has been ambiguous whether it would intervene militarily, and the u.s. acknowledges that all chinese on both sides of the taiwan strait maintained that there is one china and taiwan is a part of

nick schifrin has the story. >> ladies and gentlemen, the prime minister of japan and the president ofnited states. >> in tokyo state palace a meeting of two allies and a president willing to confront beijing on its most sensitive subject. >> are you willing to get involved militarily to defend taiwan if it comes to that? >> yes. >> you are? >> it's a commitment we made. >> today's market what president biden said last october. >> you say the united states would come to taiwan's defense? >> yes, we have a commitment to do that. >> that is not official u.s. policy the taiwan relations act obligates the u.s. to enable taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability and maintain the capacity of the u.s. to resist any resort to force. but, despite u.s. weapons sales to taiwan, the u.s. has been ambiguous whether it would intervene. the u.s. acknowledges that all chinese on both sides of the taiwan strait maintain there is one china and taiwan is a part of china. as biden reiterated today. >> we agree with the one china policy. we signed onto it. all the attendant agreements made fr

results of her investigation into war crimes in the kyiv suburb of irpin, next to bucha, where nick schifrintonight. reporter: outside kyiv there was so much death, only now are they planning for its permanence. 35-year-old volodymyr stefiyenko measures out a future fence and headstone to replace his brother dmitrio's temporary grave. their mother says goodbye to her son, shot in the head by russian forces and dumped in a mass grave 6 weeks ago. >> i don't want his grave to be disturbed. all of these graves have fences. it's a tradition. and there will also be a table and bench so we can commemorate the dead. sit down, talk to them, maybe plant some flowers. say our goodbyes. reporter: the oldest victim of russian occupation on this row, 93. the youngest, 23. the family who buried their son, so quickly, the name is written in pen. just one row of victims, in one city, in a country fighting a war with no end in sight. >> they have done here murders. they have done their tortures. reporter: down the road, ukraine's top prosecutor, iryna venediktova, today concluded her and her team's initial w

for the pbs newshour, i am nick schifrin. judy: the biggest international prize in architecture, the pritzker prize, will be awarded tomorrow in london. it's going to an architect known for his work on buildings that address social needs, particularly in african countries. this year's prize also makes history, as francis kere becomes the first african and the first black architect to earn the honor. jeffrey brown has the story for our arts and culture series, canvas. jeffrey: a primary school built in 2001. the first in the village of gando, in the west african nation of burkina faso. its very existence, plus its use of local materials, natural light, and ventilation, have made it a game-changer for its community, for the field of architecture, and for its designer, diebedo francis kere, who'd had to leave his home here a nearby town. >> going to school is still a big, big dream for millions of young people in africa. this is still a big dream. and so, i was very, very lucky. and i felt privileged to be able to attend school