cnn's nina dos santos takes a look. >> reporter: he was the comedian who once played ukraine's presidentinning the office, for real, in 2019. since then, event ads have chan dramatically for volodymyr zelenskyy and his people. no more laughter. instead, it's tears he shed on screen. his country folk, meanwhile, shedding their blood on the streets. >> translator: today, russia began an attack on ukraine. putin began war against ukraine, against the entire democratic world. he wants to destroy my country, our country. everything we have been building, everything we are living for. >> reporter: with lil political experience defending ukraine's fragile democracy against increasing aggression from a neighbor that had already seized parts of the country was always going to be a big ask. >> we have reason to believe the russian forces are planning to and intend to attack ukraine in the coming week. >> reporter: but as russian forces began amassing along ukraine's borders, zelenskyy voiced his frustration with these foreign powers saying they were inciting panic. >> we cannot say, on the daily b

nina dos santos, cnn, london. >>> now, when we come back. fleeing the fighting.re leaving ukraine. they they are heading to safety in poland, romania, and elsewhere. the fears and the open arms. that's after the break. one of my favorite supplements is qunol turmeric. turmeric helps with healthy joints and inflammation support. unlike regular turmeric supplements qunol's perior absorption helps me get the full benefits of turmeric. the brand i trust is qunol. >>> hello, everyone. michael holmes coming to you live from lviv, in ukraine, where warnings by the nation's president and fears of the ukrainian people appear to be coming true. the battle for kyiv is on. there is fighting reported to the north, to the bewest, and t the east, and to the south of ukraine's capital, as well as inside the city. the explosions and gunfire, growing loud and are close tore the center of the city. president zelenskyy telling his people earlier, quote, this night will be very difficult. the fate of ukraine is being decided right now. but also, striking a defiant tone. >> translator

nina dos santos, cnn, london. >>> and cnn's he's anna stewart joins us from windsor, england, god tows that queen lig elizabeth has covid, now, evening land is preparing to drop restrictions this thursday. what's been the reaction to this so far? >> living with covid, this plan was long anticipated really for some it's welcome news. lots of people fed up with covid rules and restrictions, fed up upon with masks, fed up with sticking swabs up their noses. but for others, rosemary, this is really concerning, not least the mass testing for the population which i think gave a huge degree of confidence to people. and also, knowing those that did test positive were legally required to stay at home and weren't relying on people's judgment. for some, this is a worry. for scientists, there is a concern without the mass testing we have had so far, it will be trickier to identify new variants of concern, that may emerge in following waves of covid-19. although, the government did they they could introduce surge testing, so we could see that come back. the prime minister was very clear to say th

nina dos santos, cnn, london. >>> to san diego now. dr. eric topal, cardiologist.newsroom." >> great to be with you, zwron. >> so, around the world, we are seeing restrictions coming to an end or easing up to varying degrees. it is all part of living with covid stage that we are now in. the british prime minister outlined the big picture of how this would work during question time monday. here he is. >> it is time that we've got our confidence back. we don't need laws to compel people to be considerate to others. we can rely on that sense of responsibility towards one another. providing practical advice, and the knowledge that people will follow it to avoid infecting loved ones and others. >> if past is prolog, the jury is still out on the wisdom of trusting everyone to do what is sensible and responsible? >> i would agree with that point. we are really notrate ready for people to have their own rules about self-isolation. that is, not to have any. there are people who are immunocompromised out there. there are people who are at risk for various reasons. and spread

nina dos santos, cnn, london. >>> live to los angeles, and joining us now is dr.ge rodriguez, an internal medicine specialist. welcome back. >> thank you. >> so just because there may no longer be official guidelines or requirements to wear a mask or to avoid large gatherings or maintain social distancing, does that mean it's safe to do so? can we all throw caution to the wind and take part in a national doorknob licking contest without covid concerns? >> absolutely not. that's why so much of these decisions are politically expedient, certainly not medically or scientifically sound. and it's very sad. it's very sad to me that it seems that we've lost the resolve in many different countries, in many different areas, to just persevere. people are tired, and to be quite honest, to me, that's not good enough reason to do things that are not in the long run the right things to do. you know, we're going to learn a lesson. in a few months, we're going to learn a lesson. this virus is relentless. there are more variants coming. so, you know, god help us. >> we seem not to

morning in the region, international diplomatic editor nic robertson in moscow and europe editor nina dos santos in london. russian president vladimir putin, he has ordered troops into the separatist held regions of ukraine and the east last night. we heard white house official press this morning as to whether this constitutes an invasion, using the phrasing it is the beginning of an invasion. what do you see from where you are? >> what we're hearing here is from the spokesman for president putin. he's being typically, if you will, unclear about whether russian forces actually went in last night, if they're going in today or when they might be going in. clearly putin has enabled it to happen. he said they would be going in as peacekeepers. russia typically opaque about these sorts of movements, but what has been very clear for some time is that russia has been advising, directing, supporting and supplying, though they deny it, the separatists in donbas. so this does appear to be something that is in the process of happening and typically the way that russia has sort of been dissembling their inf