breaking images this hour of the hospital that was hit with that maternity ward and the details that have come for the really helped us to bring all of this closer to our hearts. if that were needed for anybody, hearing -- you touched mine. thank you for watching "america reports" is now. >> and now this square here in kharkiv is completely destroyed because of the russian bombardment. >> we are running out of food, water, so one way or the other, if the bombing -- something would have killed us. >> it's a panic, it's a panic in ukraine, so everyone wants to save their lives. >> sandra: those are the words

of desperate ukrainians as this unprovoked invasion reaches day 14. war crime allegations are growing. latest, attack on a children's hospital. unthinkable. hello, everyone, sandra smith in new york. >> john: john roberts in washington. ukraine's military says russian bombers intentionally targeted a maternity ward at a hospital in the southern city of mariupol. president zelenskyy says children are among those buried under the wreckage. >> sandra: the mayor calling it medieval, the officials call the situation catastrophic. days of russian shelling have left that city unrecognizable. >> john: reportedly without water, heat and sewage systems going on seven days, cooking on makeshift stoves using bricks. the concrete shelters their

homes. team coverage from around the world, trey gets us started in kyiv. what's the latest from where you are? >> john, good afternoon. learning more about the devastating strike in mariupol. at least 17 were wounded during the strike. there were people on this compound when it took place and you can see from the video things completely destroyed. the humans inside this building that were injured. mothers, expecting mothers, children, these are the people currently in the cross hairs of russian missiles and shells. and it's not just mariupol. it's all around this country as evacuations continue today, but reports indicate the russians are not making good on their promise to avoid hitting convoys in five different areas of ukraine. in mariupol, for example, a city of 400,000 people reports indicate once again the russians attacked a convoy as it was leaving the city. in the northern part of this

country, in kharkiv, the second largest ukrainian city, more evacuations as the civilians tried to get out of the line of fire and the information we are getting from the south quite devastating, the deputy mayor of mariupol says that more than 1,000 people were killed in this city alone since the invasion began. 47 people buried in a mass grave. i mean, these are just devastating statistics as a population tries to get out of the line of fire. we know in the northern part of ukraine there is some concerning news developing with the nuclear plant at chernobyl. officials say power has been cut to the plant and only have a back-up generator to run for about 48 hours. the international atomic energy agency confirmed that chernobyl is no longer transmitting data but no critical impact on the safety of people around this area at this point. the ukrainian people continue to prepare what could be bloody days ahead. take a look at those preparations. >> we are going to fight for our

countries, as i said, we are going to fight for values, it's necessary for all of us. >> ukrainians are working around the clock right now to fortify the capital of kyiv, putting sandbags in the roads and using hedge hogs to block the streets ahead of a possible russian advance on the city. using donated steel, they are welding barricades, known as hedgehogs. making 40 a day. you can see the boys working all together, all volunteers, one artist says. some of them did not know how to work with steel and we taught them. everyone in kyiv is helping where they can. it's not just a city, it's home for nearly 3 million people. >> i'm living here starting from seven years old, i grew up here, got married here, i think most of us will stand until the end. >> following the last interview we saw the ukraine air defense system active, trying to target

russian planes that continue to strike buildings in this area. john, sandra. >> sandra: trey, a bit more about what we are learning about mariupol at this hour and the shelling continues there, the mayor confirming at least 1,170 people have been killed and then now this children's hospital destroyed, maternity ward involved, the mayor is commenting on that saying the city is under continuous russian shelling. at least 47 people have been buried today in a mass grave, he said. it is medieval. putin is intent, he says, on having ukraine without ukrainians, calling it pure genocide. the attack waged by russia is not simply treacherous, it's a war crime. mariupol, trey, to be clear, has been surrounded by russian forces for days now. there is a serious humanitarian crisis unfolding on the ground there as you see these images and just walls blown off the buildings and so many injured in the blasts.

>> absolutely. we should be very clear about what we are looking at here. we are looking at evidence of war crimes taking place before our eyes in ukraine. there are civilians caught in the crossfire here, i mean, the images, early images we are getting out of this maternity hospital show expecting mothers and children who were at this facility. these are family members of ukrainians in this country who are being targeted by russian forces. they are not soldiers. they are not members of the territorial defense. they are terrified. you can see it in their eyes in these images. we have seen it with our own eyes outside of kyiv. people are trying to get out of harm's way. what's happening in mariupol is so concerning, people are blocked off from the outside world. hundreds of thousands of people have not had food and water and electricity for days. there are reports in local media of children dying of dehydration. such horrible, horrible ways to die.

they are not even given any dignity and then having to be buried in mass graves because the russians won't stop shelling the civilian areas. that's what ukraine is dealing with today and it's part of the reason we have seen ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy day in and day out plead with the international community for more sanctions but more importantly, military support, air defense systems, anti-tank missiles and ammunition to push back against the russian invasion. >> john: it's john here, i want to come out to the touch screen map so we can show the area you've been talking, the city of mariupol. this was the proposed route for the evacuees to take and on up here, which of course people will recognize, that's where the big nuclear power plant is. it looks like maybe some people got out, but not the number of people we thought initially was going to get out, and i want to go to the map here of an area

where you are now in kyiv because this is what we understand from jack keane's organization, institute for the study of war, russian forces have been coming in from the northeast, coming in from the northwest, as well as the east. and they are preparing for a bombardment of kyiv, to the parlance of war, soften up the battlefield so the russian forces can move in. institute for the study of war is predicting anywhere in the next 24 to 96 hours. are you getting a sense where you are that kyiv proper is about to come under bombardment? >> absolutely. we have heard the artillery in the distance. it's increased in recent days, and there's a real sense on the front lines that things are not stable and it's part of the reason you see so many people trying to get out of the way. i think also what's interesting and you can see on the map in irpin, northwest of the capital of kyiv, outside the city limits, people have been

crossing at that bombed out bridge. people are telling us in irpin and just outside of irpin, russian forces are taking over civilian homes. they are moving into this city and as it was described by one woman crossing that bridge, they are not picking up the bodies. they are killing civilians and soldiers alike, and they are moving forward, and the concern as general keane's institute talked about, the russians will move forward with this scorched earth effort to try to totally bombard all of these areas as they work their way into the city, and it's part of the reason we have seen so many checkpoints and positions dug in when we drive northwest of the city because the ukrainians want to make sure when the russian forces come in with artillery units and tanks that they are able to hit them hard and hit them early, and that's part of what we have seen in the ukrainian strategy early on. they are going to hit them from the ground and the air, but make no mistake, we are looking at a massive convoy of russian troops and as you've noted, it's not

just the northwest. also the northeast. you may see the bombardment taking place in multiple areas around the capital city. but remember, the mayor says there are still 2 million civilians inside and they will be caught in the crossfire. >> john: stay as safe as you possibly can. thank you, trey. sandra. >> sandra: thank you. team coverage continues with senior correspondent mike tobin, live in lviv where refugees continue to arrive but mike, we see continued reporting from you and others resources are stretched very thin. >> resources are strechted very thin, and a group of the refugees is a success story because of all the humanitarian ceasefires, one of them worked. talking about the town of sumy, the far east of the country, near the russian border, near kharkiv. since the start of the invasion a group of international students at the university there

have been pinned down. the guns went quiet for a short period of time and this group of students was able to make a break for it, they got to the trains, they made it all the way here to lviv today. >> it's crazy waking up to explosions every day, seeing armed men around you, not the best sight for everybody, especially for somebody who came to study and do something good. >> explosion and loud one, and it was so terrifying. everybody was paranoid but we are happy we are finally out of the city. >> six -- and another six humanitarian ceasefires are planned for tomorrow, supposed to last for 12 hours. foreign fighters are joining up with the resistance. take for instance the former soviet republic of georgia. leadership of georgia is allied with vladimir putin, but you have the opposition. members of the opposition are

showing up here to fight with the ukrainians. at a secret location in ukraine, volunteers with the georgia international legion train to join the fight. they believe t russia takes ukraine, all former soviet states are at risk. >> this is war, one angry, crazy man, putin. >> trainers include a u.s. combat veteran. >> these men, they have the will to fight and we'll teach them as much as we can in as little time as we can to kill anyone trying to kill ukrainians. >> they are ready to fight, even give their lives on soil that is not georgian. >> i am ready for any consequence. we are coming here for fight. this is not only ukrainian, this is for georgia. >> some of these georgians have completed their training and moved forward and joined the fight already. you may notice from the video

there you don't see a lot of real military drills. they are actually doing them but this is a secretive bunch, the only thing they would let us take pictures is the digging out there, john, sandra. >> john: so mike, in terms of the number of people coming through there heading for the border, again we talked yesterday about the services that they have to avail themselves of, food, shelter, for a time as well as healthcare services, medical. are they still able to keep that up, given the flows are increasing to the degree they are? >> they are keeping it up. frankly, we went to the train station and looked like the traffic had died down a little bit. and you have so many of these relief organizations that have set up tents at the train station there. they are getting food to the people when they are getting off the train. you still have about 10% of the people who hang around lviv here and that is stressing the system here in lviv and of course it's stressing the system in poland because you've had 1.2 million

who have crossed over and they are now in poland trying to get somewhere else, john. >> sandra: mike tobin on the ground in lviv, ukraine for us. mike, thank you. >> john: thanks so much. and you, too, sandra. poland surprising the biden administration with their announcement they plan to sent a fleet of fighter jets, mig-29s to ramstein in germany to be used by ukraine. something the pentagon was quick to rule out. jennifer griffin has more from the pentagon. interesting about face. antony blinken had given the green light for poland to send them in, and poland said we will give them to you instead. >> it's a hot potato situation, john. it's not clear how the mig transfer poland is suggesting would work, adding the pentagon is in talks with the polish government. to be clear, the u.s. is not stopping poland from providing the migs to ukraine, but flying

them to ramstein air base in germany is logistically not helpful and risks broadening the conflict. john kirby said in a statement "we do not believe poland's proposal is a tenable one." antony blinken just spoke to the issue alongside the british foreign secretary at the state department. >> we have to work through the specifics of these things going forward, and it's not simply clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for doing it in the way it was put forward yesterday. >> meanwhile, the u.s. has sent two patriot missile batteries to poland to defend air space, they are now in position and manned. the decision to do this was made by defense secretary lloyd austin in consultation with poland. he was just in poland. u.s. defense officials tell me president zelenskyy has most of his air force intact. the ukrainians are flying a few sorties each day but the weapons

that are having the biggest effect in stopping russian forces are the javelin anti-tank missiles, stingers, and shoulder-fired missiles. russia has powerful air defense systems on the border with belarus and russia, and mobile units that blanket much of ukraine's air space which makes flying any war planes over ukraine difficult right now. anti-aircraft systems would have to be taken out by ukraine's air force before it could even fly those migs to any effect. the pentagon says other capabilities are having greater effect. u.s. has transferred 17,000 javelin stinger and shoulder fired air systems in ukraine. these weapons are flowing like water, one lawmaker recently told me, this remains mostly a ground war with russians increasingly relying on artillery. the migs if used would likely

have to bomb belarus, a russian territory, where the russian air defense units are located. migs would need to suppress the air defense systems flying and that would -- that could mean nato war planes doing the bombing and would draw nato into a direct conflict or war with russia, john. >> john: that is exactly the topic that white house press secretary jen psaki is talking about right now. a briefing toe white house saying the united states flying those jets from ramstein into ukraine could be potentially escalation. >> note the return of two american citizens is certainly welcome news, exciting news, and it would not have happened without the tireless work over the series of months by a number of diplomats, including of course our special envoy for hostage affairs who worked on this for months over the course of time. you know, we will continue to

discuss a range of issues, including first and foremost americans unjustly held. unfortunately, they are not the only individuals held there. the individuals who returned, so that will be something that we will look to have ongoing discussions about. i would also note that maduro will resume talks with the interim president in mexico, an encouraging sign, so a range of issues discussed on this trip. a range of issues to discuss moving forward, but right now we are just celebrating the return of two americans. >> follow up, are there concrete plans for continued engagement for another round of talks and is there, you know, you mentioned i think on monday that energy security was part of the conversation. what can venezuela contribute to energy? >> well, i don't have anything to preview for you in terms of additional talks or rounds of talks, but again, we are very

pleased to have these two americans returned home. we -- opportunities to continue to discuss, something we are open to. ongoing concerns of health and well-being of anyone detained, whether it's there or in venezuela or russia, afghanistan, syria, china, iran and elsewhere, those are conversations we want to engage it. it is factual. you know venezuela is a large producer of oil but in terms of any decisions or discussions or where it may go from here, i have nothing to preview or predict for you on that front. nadia, go ahead. >> many american companies said yesterday they are shutting down in russia -- [inaudible] mcdonald's, etc. the russias said they are going to confiscate their assets there. how is the white house reacting to that? i know they are private companies, but basically declaring that they are going to

take the assets, and second, not exactly related, some report indicating that russia is delaying the signing of the iran agreement, negotiation in vienna from taking place because they don't want obviously oil to be released to make up for the shortage. >> well, take the second one first. i would say that our team, we are continuing to engage with iran and partners including russia on iran nuclear negotiations. we believe russia shares a common interest in ensuring iran never acquires a nuclear weapon. in our view, nothing should be required of or offered from the united states as it relates to russian sanctions that, is related to their invasion of ukraine. but again, we believe we share an objective here. always in the final stages, there are details to be worked through and we will continue to

work through those. in terms of your first question on the seizing, i think it was on the potential seizing of private sector assets in russia for companies that have decided to pull back and pull out of the country, obviously we have not -- well, we have applauded the actions of a number of companies, that is not something we have been pushing from behind the scenes, if that makes sense. if they were to take those actions, i'm certain there would be steps we would take but nothing has happened at this point in time so let me talk to our economic team and see if there is anything more we can predict for you. go ahead. >> thanks, jen. two questions, first about the florida bill that just passed restricting the homosexuality and gender identity, in 1994, when many of us in this room were in school, president biden actually voted for a much broader restriction that bans federal funds from being used

for "the promotion of homosexuality as a positive lifestyle alternative." why did he do that and can you describe how the thinking has evolved over the years? >> i think you have seen the president speak passionately about his view that a bill like this, a bill that would discriminate against families, against kids, p ut these kids in position of not getting the support they need at a time where that's exactly what they need is discriminatory, it's a form of bullying, it is horrific. i mean, the president has spoken to that. in terms of his views and comments from 25 years ago, i think the most important question now is why are florida leaders deciding they need to discriminate against kids who are members of the lgbtqi community, what prompts them to do that. meanness? more difficult times in school and the communities? i would pose that question to them and we can talk about it more tomorrow if you get an answer.

>> in the 1990s what we were all in school -- >> i think what's important to note here is how outspoken the president has been against discrimination, against kids, against members of the lgbtqi plus community and what we are looking at here is a bill that would propagate misinformed hateful policies and impact children. so that's the question i hope maybe you can pose that so some of the leaders in florida, maybe they will return your phone calls and look forward to having the conversation with you. >> perhaps chris can follow up afterwards, i would like to ask the surveillance matters as well. senators widen and heinrich, democrats, recently allege the c.i.a. is conducting a massive surveillance program with american data and not in the statutory bounds. could you say anything about that, reassure americans regarding their data and secondly, according to a recent court filing by a special

counsel, there was technology executive who was "mining in the office of the presidency and other data," and said in a 2020 document [inaudible] it's important to secure. competing narratives about what data was implicated. could you share with us what data was implicated in this, whether the white house has any security or privacy concerns regarding this alleged review? >> i have nothing further to comment on your questions. obviously it's an investigation, point you to the department of justice, members of congress. we have serious suspect for people's privacy in the country. go ahead. >> follow up, you mentioned logistical challenges about flying planes in ukraine through contested air space. why didn't the united states put those planes on trains or automobiles. i guess -- are we really believing that we are sending, or preparing to send billions in

aid that, you know, this is the logistical bottleneck stopping from getting them the planes? >> obvious concerns the department of defense has spoken to flying planes from u.s. air bases, right, that they spoke to yesterday. these planes -- carting them down the street i think is not as easy as you may think it is, planes have to be taken apart and put back together, you have to have people to put the planes back together, you have to ensure that they can be safely moved through the course of a contested country, or not -- country where there is a war going on with the -- with the russians, you know, who implemented that war. so, there are a range of logistical operational challenges. those are important conversations to happen between military experts and our defense department leaders and

officials. secretary austin, chairman milley and their counterparts. >> should we expect the [inaudible] bank will continue to underwrite loans with commerce with russian companies and corporations given -- [inaudible] >> we are going to abide by our own sanctions and tried to implement them as quickly as possible. i can see if there are specific impacts. >> john kirby's line transferring the planes was not tenable. is what not tenable, the arming of the ukrainians with jet fighters or merely the logistical things you are speaking to? >> i think the defense department spoke primarily, and they were very specific, jeff, they said fighter jets manned by americans departing a nato base to fly into air space contested with russia, is a concern for

nato alliance. we have provided a billion dollars in military assistance. 350 billion announced two weeks ago, i believe the defense department has conveyed that, has been delivered. we have not held back on providing weapons, anti-missile systems, tank systems in this process. but there are important operational logistics concerns here and steps, conversations that should happen between military experts and that's exactly what's happening. >> the policy the white house would -- >> we are having discussions about it, operational and logistical questions that are important ones, we would leave to our defense important colleagues. >> another round of arrests in russia, estimated 5,000 over the weekend. protesting the war. what the assessment of the white house as far as how this has affected the regime's ability over there? >> well, i would say that i don't think we assessed that president putin thought there would such an outpouring of

objection in his own country. he would probably not have cut off access to media, access to social media, access to basic information for the people of his country if that were the case. so we have seen people cross russia bravely, courageously protest, speak out against a war that they believe is unjust, is unwarranted, and you know, that is incredibly powerful. now, unfortunately, as you know and many of you know from working for these networks, and news organizations there have been tough decisions that news organizations have had to make, about whether they are going to keep a presence in russia because of the restrictions and it's not just, you know, it's not just the speaking out of president putin, it's about fines, it's about the threat of arrest, it's about safety and security that organizations have to consider. so, in terms of stability i don't have assessment for that, other than to tell you that it's

pretty clear he didn't bet on the opposition from in his own country. go in the back. >> follow up on the earlier question -- [inaudible] difference of kind or a difference of degree? i mean, is the objection that it's an airplane or because as you point out, we are sending them things that destroy tanks, things that shoot down airplanes. so if it can be done without -- they would know where they came from. what is the hang-up exactly? >> i think it's pretty clear it doesn't require a military expert to understand why having planes fly from a u.s. air base to a contested part of the country where there is a war, it's not in our interest and not in nato interests. so, there are logistical and operational challenges to consider and discuss. it isn't that easy to move military planes around, maybe

not as easy as some of you may suspect it is. and those are conversations again that are happening between military experts and i would point you to the department of defense for the status of that. >> is there any concern making the lives of average russians miserable with all the companies pulling out and things that are designed to hurt the economy, as opposed to putin personally, as opposed to his oligarchs personally, is there a worry that it's going to consolidate support for the country rather than to make him, rather than -- [inaudible] >> i would say our view and the view of our global partners, when a president like president putin, you know, launches a war of choice where he is brutally killing, injuring people in a sovereign country, there has to be consequences. those consequences are economic and significant. no question about it. our target is not to hurt the

russian people. it is to squeeze president putin and the leadership around him but what the impact is is certainly having a devastating impact on the russian economy and our view is that over the medium and long-term that that is not going to be sustainable for president putin and the team around him. go ahead. >> so i'm -- the administration talked about the gas prices, the way to speed up lowering gas prices and speed up the transition to the clean energy. gas prices have risen month over month every month since the president has been in office. so, if the feeling they have to wait until 2030 when the president set the goal for 0 emissions or have cars sold with 0 emissions? >> no, never our theory or belief. i would say that since president putin began his military build-up on the ukrainian borders the price of gas at the pump in america has gone up

$0.75, which is significant, of course. there is widespread consensus the sharp run-up of energy prices since january was caused by the building of putin's troops at the ukraine border. reality is russia is the world's third largest oil producer and energy disruptions and market volatility are a result of his build-up. and in early february, j.p. morgan analysts predicted disruptions of oil flows from russia could push to 120 per barrel, what has happened. our approach is two-fold. one, ensure the supply meets the demand on the marketplace. a couple of ways do that, obviously we are engaging with big oil producers around the world to meet that demand, but there are also, as we talked about a few times in here, 9,000 unused oil leases that oil

companies could certainly tap into and we have encouraged them to do that. so, that's certainly a way to address. >> the price of gas on february 14th was at a highest level since 2014. so it was already an elevated level. >> the build-up of troops was before that. >> tomorrow, inflation number expected to be pretty big. rise from the 7.5% that it was month over month. so, gas prices are part of that what specifically the administration has worked to bring down inflation. >> first because we don't have the data at this point yet, but as we are looking ahead, we certainly assess that we expect to see high headline, and headline inflation tomorrow's february inflation data, a key reason as you touched on are energy prices, seen the price of gas increase as i noted $0.75 since the beginning of the year as putin built up the military

year ukraine and aggressive measures felt in the markets. and some pandemic affected sectors given the strong recovery from omicron in february, a positive sign for the americans, and going to restaurants and getting back to more normal and expect continued moderation in used car prices. so that's what our prediction, assessment is at this point in time. the steps to address inflation. >> october 13th you announced the port initiative. what specific can you point to that has worked to bring down inflation. >> number of steps we have taken. compare month to month, inflationary numbers go down month to month, even as we looked at the year to year numbers go up, we entirely predicted. one, we have taken steps to address bottlenecks in supplying chain to reduce those bottlenecks, those are steps not

just since october but earlier this year. there's no question we have seen impacts as it relates to getting goods and supplies out to the american public. we have also taken steps to address what we see as shortages and issues in the semiconductor. and competitiveness legislation the president would love to sign into law, we know one of the big pressures is, of course, from the car and manufacturing sector, the car sector, and then third, we know that because of the pressures on the energy sector that that has been an area where we have continued to see have an impact on inflationary pressure. we believe in the last few months because of president putin's invasion of ukraine. as i noted, a number of steps working to address that. go ahead in the yellow. >> thank you. well, there is -- [inaudible]

for the losses on the russian side, like financial, economy losses. every time a new or fresh wave of sanctions is proposed, their responses would be it was expected. so is there like an assessment of the losses as a result of all the sanctions that have been imposed, and also another question on e.u., president zelenskyy asked to join e.u. and e.u. leaders or i think or representatives are meeting today in brussels. does the white house support ukraine in the e.u.? >> the last question that's really up to the e.u. and ukraine to determine together. on the first question, i don't think that's what they are saying anymore. they have had -- stock market has been closed for days, the ruble is worth a penny, headed

toward a recession what many have described, they have had a huge strain on their financial markets and systems so i don't think the facts bear out if that is the claim anyone is making and i have not seen that claim be made much last -- go ahead in the middle. >> thanks, jen. does the white house believe there is an opportunity to convince china to play an effective role in resolving the crisis in ukraine? >> well, here is what we have seen china do to date. we have seen them speak out at the munich security conference about the territorial sovereignty, abstain from u.n. security council votes, we have seen thim largely abide by the sanctions that have been put in place. i would note, though, that if any country tries to evade or work around our economic measures they will experience the consequences of those

actions. so our assessment right now is they are abiding by the requirements that have been put in place but we would continue to encourage any country to think a lot about what place they want to -- what role they want to play in history as we all look back. the front, go ahead. >> thank you. a couple questions -- nato, what is the white house thinking -- [inaudible] stepping down in a few months. >> nato has not been more united in the last several months in decades, and while no one wanted that to be prompted by the invasion of a dictator like president putin into a foreign country, the unity, among nato partners and the strengths of that unity is certainly something that has been a direct impact of his aggression. in terms of future leadership, obviously that would be for nato partners to determine, but we

certainly recognize and value the leadership that has been displayed by nato leaders and the alliance over the course of the last few months. >> have you [inaudible] continue in this type of the biggest crisis since world war ii? >> i don't have anything to predict on the future of nato leadership. >> the search for a new leader of nato. >> it's up for the nato leaders and spokesperson to determine that. i would point you to them. >> back to venezuela, not be able -- [inaudible] two men, do we know why they were released? >> i don't have any more details on that. >> u.s. officials part of that delegation, are they back from venezuela? >> i believe, yes. i'll confirm that for you,

though. >> anticipate the imminent release of any other americans held there right now? >> as you know, as we are working on bringing any unjustly detained americans home from any country in the world, whether it's venezuela, russia, afghanistan, syria, iran, china, elsewhere, we typically don't discuss that, it puts at risk the potential for bringing individuals home. but yes, we are still going to work on bringing others home who did not return on the plane last night. >> high ranking member of a team told the miami herald it is foolish to think [inaudible] russia furthermore is the greatest ally. this is a mistake to buy oil from maduro is the same as buying oil from putin. two things, i think i know where you will go on the first one. >> so much time together, appreciate it. >> united states -- why did the

united states feel necessary to negotiate with the maduro regime, and [inaudible] did they meet with the maduro government before they left? >> i don't have any more on private diplomatic conversations. one of the steps announced yesterday was maduro saying he was willing to resume talks with venezuela's interim president, we would note that, and obviously part of our effort as you now know was related to the health and well-being of american citizens detained in venezuela, hence we had discussions for those who were detaining them. >> so many questions, good ones about the planes going from poland to ukraine and whether -- [inaudible] on sunday when the secretary of state was asked about the possibility of a plane swap, he said "that gets a green light and we are working with poland to possibly backfilling their military equipment."

what changed between him saying that on sunday and others yesterday and the pentagon saying actually that's not tenable. >> i believe secretary blinken was asked about poland's giving planes to the ukrainians, a choice they make as a sovereign country, never stood in the way of that, do not oppose that. what we are talking about is the proposal yesterday as you know was for these planes to fly from a u.s. air base in germany and we have understandable concerns about that. so what we are talking about now through military channels is the operational concerns, how it could work, logistics of it, and those conversations are ongoing. go ahead. >> why did you guys decide to rebrand the rise in gas prices as the #putin price tag? >> if you want to use that on fox, i welcome that, but -- >> i think it will get a lot of air time.

we have heard the president warn for months the gas prices were rising because of the supply chain and because of post-pandemic demand. if you guys knew for months it was going to be the #putin price tag, why are we just hearing that now? >> peter, if we go back to six months ago, i don't think anybody was predicting we would be exactly where we are as it relates to russia and ukraine. as you know, events in the world, including the invasion by russia of a foreign country does prompt instability and volatility in the global oil markets and there are all sorts of different issues that can impact that. that's what we are seeing now. outside economists and analysts have conveyed and said publicly that russia's invasion and build-up of troops, and president putin's decision to do that early this year led to a lot of the instability and volatility in the oil markets. you don't have to take my word for it. so, therefore, if president putin's build-up of military troops is leading to volatility,

sense you have putin pump gas price pump rise. >> thank you. you and the president -- >> spit that out. >> you and the president are talking about producing energy here saying that oil and gas companies have 9,000 permits to drill now, they could be drilling right now. would president biden cut red tape to make that possible? >> what red tape needs to be cut, when they have the permits, they have the capacity to do it. what's holding them up? >> does president biden think the 9,000 leases that are available have oil or gas in them? because industry experts are saying that that accusation is a complete red herring, some permits are viable and some are not, that when you say that, this represents a fundamental misunderstanding how this process works. >> well, first of all, nearly 60% are nonproducing, that's a

lot, in the range of 20 million acres. so, 9,000 unused approved permits to drill in. they should not require, should not require us inviting them to do that. they should do that themselves. what additional permits do they need. i don't think they need an embroidered invitation to drill. it's their oil companies. what permits -- we are seeing these are private sector companies, many are making record profits, we see that, all publicly available data, they have pressure to return cash to investors and shareholders. we are saying there is a war, we are asking them to go use the approved permits, use the unused space, and go get more supply

out of the ground in our country. >> yes or no, gray area here. restart of the keystone xl construction completely off the table as long as joe biden is president? >> why don't you tell me what that would help address? >> i'm asking you if it's an option, all options on the table, keystone xl one of them? >> more supply, it does not address a problem. >> from canada, a friendly ally, instead of saudi arabia -- >> we are already getting the oil. the pipeline is just the delivery mechanism, it's not an oil field, it does not provide more supply in the system. >> is it possible that joe biden will ever say go ahead with consuction of keystone xl. >> there is no plan for that --

>> john: all right, jen psaki sparring there with peter doocy engaging in some contortions over the putin price hike and how prices got to where they are, and contortions over the delivery method of the mig-29s from poland through somewhere and then to ukraine. but gas prices definitely top of mind here, sandra. >> sandra: first she was pressed by edward morris of the fox business network, what have they done to bring inflation down that is working. she struggled to answer that question. but peter doocy pressing her on the 9,000 leases president biden said increase production. they are sitting on the leases. well, we had somebody sitting on the leases on this program yesterday said it's something to suggest you can just turn on the spigot, it does not work like that. it's time sensitive to get into the leases, john, and as we both know a lot of red tape, a lot of uncertainty under this administration that has launched a war on fossil fuels, and that

uncertainty plays in the mind of those sitting on the leases. bring in florida senator marco rubio, senator, can you add to that debate that is happening right now because we have heard jen psaki and president biden himself say in the face of these rising prices and all the oil companies say hey, we want to increase production, want to turn the keystone xl pipeline on, and they continue to say hey, there are 9,000 leases untapped out there. they are welcome to increase production. what is your response to that. >> you know, i guess i'm a little more cynical than i used to be, being around here a little while. i was watching this, i was ready to come on the air, never seen such a level, to say that with a straight face. not every lease is approved. companies apply for all kinds of leases and then the determination, that area is more productive, others may not much as much sense. and tied up in litigation and

unfriendly administration. you have an administration that has made very, very clear that it wants america to produce less natural gas and less oil and to become greener. that has been a fundamental fact. who is going to risk capital under an administration whose entire administrative power is focussed on making it harder than ever to explore and produce fossil fuels like oil and natural gas, they are not going to do it. that's what they are not recognizing. that's just a talking point and a way to spin it, it's a complicated industry but just not true. the fact of the matter is today we are producing 1.2 million barrels of oil less a day than we were in 2019. if we got half of that back, it more than makes up for whatever we were getting from russia and would help lower prices and immediate impact, by the way, on oil prices. if the president were to announce america is going hard on this, waving red tape and fight through it, it would have an immediate impact. not huge, but impact, the futures markets would say

america is going to be ramping up production because opec won't. >> john: what sense does it make to restrict the importation of north american oil by not building new pipelines and restrict domestic oil while the same time thinking about having conversations with iran about getting some oil from them and then going down the maduro route again to get the venezuelan oil. >> it makes no sense. a barrel of oil from iran, venezuela, russia or any where else is no less damaging to the climate than a barrel of oil from america. the only difference from america and those places is we get the money and we get the jobs. but the second point you raised is you know, this iran deal would do nothing for oil. the markets have already priced in an expectation that a deal is going to happen. so, that discount is already in there for the most part and venezuela barely produces any oil. this is not venezuela from 15 years ago, it's a corrupt

industry that produces 700,000 barrels a day, almost all to china, they have to pay the loans to china with oil, and 10%, remainder goes to cuba for free in exchange for fake doctors. they don't have any oil and cannot ramp up production. machines are outdated, engineers have left the country and industry is a decrepid mess, piggy bank by a narco dictator close to russia and china but not the united states. >> sandra: almost a brazen admission by the white house they don't plan to increase oil production here at hope as you keep hearing, up to those sitting on the leases to tap into them and raise production and this continued push for green energy. i know you know the facts involved with electric vehicles. but looking at 61% of

electricity generation from fossil fuel, ok. so fossil fuel to power these e.v.s. the biggest lithium producers in the world, of which the top three is china. pushing reliance on china and also in the middle of a moment where we know that americans are living paycheck to paycheck, 65% of the country, they are pushing for them to get into vehicles that on average new cost $60,000 each. >> the problem the administration has, they know the answer to the question, they know what the right decision is but cannot make it, it means going to war with the radical left and they don't want to do it. they are committed to the green new deal and the radicalism. and like john kerry and others, they don't have the problem with gas being 5 or $6 a gallon, they think it's going to push more people to renewables, in essence, less driving, more mass

transit, that's the argument you will hear from them. it's ok, may not say it publicly, but more americans will have to use trains and busses. less people driving, more people looking for electric vehicles but right about the electric vehicles. you have to generate the power for it, number one, and the batteries depend on basic minerals, earth minerals we don't have enough of in the united states. you have to get it from china as well. my last point. this lack of availability around the world of oil is not good for the environment. what happens for developing countries that don't have access to oil and natural gas, they rely on coal and coal emits a lot more carbon than oil and natural gas does. that's what they are forced to do. they are not going to starve or freeze to death to make john kerry happy. >> sandra: senator, thank you. >> john: president biden blaming the war on ukraine for the soaring prices at home but the

national average has risen 1.85, so more than just the #putin price hike. let's bring in mark, we were chatting during the briefing there, you thought as little as senator rubio put it, disingenuity. >> president biden had to kick and scream to do the oil ban, and a nano second for him to blame putin. he says the cost of oil has risen $0.75 since putin's invasion of ukraine. risen 1.85 since he took office. so, let's give him for the sake of argument credit and say ok, that entire $0.75 is due to vladimir putin, i don't agree with that, but who is responsible for the other dollar. it's the war on fossil fuels, it's when the president declares before he takes office i'm going

to end fossil fuels, a signal not to drill anymore and the oil industry has the same problems the rest of the economy has. 40-year high inflation, historic labor shortage, how are you going to drill a new well if you don't have the workers to drill the well. it's the climate policies, it's the covid, 1.9 trillion covid bill and the deterrence in russia. >> john: we separated this out. here are the rising gas prices between the time the president took office in january 2021 to february 21, 2022. this was three days before russia invaded ukraine. there is a gas -- price hike of 1.15 a gallon, obviously since the invasion gas has gone up as well.

but that's without the invasion. jen psaki says a build-up was going on. but remember the president saying i'm going to do everything i can to keep prices down and now throwing up his hands, blame russia. >> 1.15 rise, largest year over year in 30 years. the president said in his speech since the build-up began, i asked the white house, i went and said when are you dating that from, january 31st. ok, that's their point, ok. then what comes up before january 31st is the largest increase in gas prices in 30 years, they own that, not vladimir putin. >> john: appreciate it. thank you. >> sandra: thank you very much. about 65% of refugees fleeing the country are crossing through poland. most of them women and children. and their stories are heartbreaking. alex hogan is live near a border

crossing in poland at this hour. alex, hello. >> hi, sandra. 65% of refugees fleeing ukraine are coming here through poland and this small foot path crossing the border is now a massive thoroughfare to get to safety. the people here are about to board this bus and are brought to shopping centers and train stations, all of these different places that have now been converted into refugee sites. there is a new concern, however, among aid workers that they are trying to address, it's the threat of sex and labor trafficking. there are drivers here who are generously offering free rides and free housing, but officials are taking their personal information of anyone offering such a service to crack down on the possibility of human trafficking. and refugees are also warned to take pictures with the driver and the driver's license, and license plate and send that to

family members before getting in any vehicles. it's a terrifying possibility for the criminals to be preying on the most vulnerable in a time of tragedy. most of the people here that we have seen are women with children, but everyone that you see has finished this journey by foot. one woman i met, she crossed the border today in tears, she begged those around the world to hear their calls. >> 9-month-old baby, i'm really scared because our lives are in danger. so, this is a terrible thing. i want all this to stop. please. world help us. >> please world help us. those were the words she wanted to translate and send off to the rest of the people who would be watching and listening. we have heard so many stories in our time here. there is one 15-year-old who boarded the bus, she made the

journey, five days it took her with her mother and her little sister. she was really afraid on the journey, but she had to be brave for her mother and her little sister and that's exactly what she was. sandra. >> sandra: you are telling amazing stories from there, and that woman has our prayers and her baby and multiple reports and our own connell mcshane has brought us stories of some children who were showing up without their parents. alex, you have been telling their stories for days now. we have talked about their strengths and their resilience and those that have tiny babies like that woman with a baby just months old. it seems like that's changing. it's getting harder and harder by the day. resources are growing more thin by the day and this is just getting harder. >> there is definitely a strain on resources, sandra, and just to show you from a couple minutes ago when we first started talking, look how much longer this line has gotten. these are all new people who have just crossed the border and

there is a massive group of people now approaching where we are standing. that being said, it is just tent after tent today of international aid workers who are trying to meet this humanitarian crisis with humanitarian help. they are bringing medical care, these women right here are drinking hot drinks and there is hot food. people have received blankets to stay warm and it is definitely something bringing smiles to people's faces. that being said, workers tell me it's not sustainable long-term. poland has opened its borders saying anyone who needs refuge will find it here. but how long the workers will be able to stay and where they could be brought again 65% of ukrainians are coming here when they are fleeing the country, and as of today, that is 1.3 million people. sandra. >> sandra: and another packed bus behind you, and it is cold. alex, thank you. we'll check back in with you

soon. john. >> john: as fighting intensifies in ukraine, the global red cross network is helping families impacted by the conflict and the fox corporation is proud to help out. if you would like to donate, go to redcross.org/fox forward. more than $1.8 million has been raised so far. >> john: and a fox news alert just after 2:00 on the east coast, 9:00 at night in ukraine, vladimir putin claims his forces are not targeting civilians but the evidence suggests otherwise. p utin's latest target, maternity hospital in the besieged city of mariupol. john roberts in washington. hi again, sandra. >> sandra: i'm sandra smith in new york. video showing destruction left

by that strike. brand-new video coming into the newsroom. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy calling the attack an atrocity, and children are buried beneath the debris. >> john: innocent now also battling brutally cold temperatures in search of safety. >> sandra: also new today, concerns about a potential nuclear disaster, power issues at the chernobyl plant raising alarms and the world. >> john: all of this as russia ramps up the rhetoric. moscow accusing the united states of economic war after president biden banned imports. and calling it a potentially dangerous scenario. >> sandra: a briefing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. eastern time, 28 minutes from now, begin with team coverage from our national's capital to ukraine. >> john: benjamin hall is live

in kyiv. >> it has been a brutal two weeks of war so far. but the c.i.a. director said we are entering a more vicious phase of the russian invasion, and look at the images of the last day. the ones shocking the world from the maternity hospital in mariupol. the russian airstrike demolishing the entire facility, leaving people under the rubble, death toll unknown and rescuers are trying to work through the rubble. and this pregnant lady picked up from the carnage and carried to safety, it is the past, present and the future that are being torn apart here, and it is the most innocent who suffer. no one is safe. the city of mariupol has been besieged over a week, despite repeated promises of a safe passage out. that has not happened. they collected the bodies of over 1200 civilians since the siege began and they buried 47 in a mass grave, unable to give them proper burials.

similar images called apocalyptic by the red cross have come from kharkiv and c.i.a. director told the house intelligence committee it will be an ugly next few weeks, adding in the most likely scenario, putin doubles down with scant regard for civilian casualties. as for the capital of kyiv, this morning we saw the air defenses in action for the first time here not far from where we are, and seems almost inevitable this city is the next to be targeted and targeted indiscriminately. cut off in 24 to 96 hours. once that happens, they have 10 to 14 days of supplies and after that, similar scenes from the ones and the rest of the country. john. >> sandra: benjamin, it's hard to believe this reporting out of mariupol and the maternity ward, the children's hospital that was hit. mariupol besieged by russian

invaders who bombed the hospital, 400,000 trapped, nearly 3,000 babies in mariupol are in dire need of medicine and food, according to ukrainian officials. you heard from zelenskyy, people, children are under the wreckage calling it an atrocity. we are looking at video of that situation in mariupol and it is horrific, benjamin. >> yeah, it really is. don't forget this is the coldest winter we have had in a while. the next few days around 20°. the power has been cut off, water has practically run out, people are melting snow or trying to drink from puddles, and repeated around the country. a clear attempt by russia's armed forces and vladimir putin to make the people suffer, to soften the targets so they flee so when the russian army moves in with the artillery and soldiers there will be no resistance, and that's because we have said it many times, the ukrainian soldiers have been

successful at holding back the armored convoys, why we are now seeing putin use the long range indiscriminate kind of weapons. you can do it from afar without losing many soldiers of his own. that's why the u.s. analysis is this is going to get a lot, lot worse. >> john: coming to the touch screen, show something that seems to be happening in the east, as the russian forces are coming out of crimea, they now seem to have their sights set on the town of nepro, the biggest city in the center of the country. also coming down this way from kharkiv, coming in from the east this way as well. we should color that in as well, occupied by the russians. goal for the russian forces is to take everything east of the dnipro river and cut off ukrainian forces. we'll mark them in blue, who have been fighting here in the donbas region since 2014, and if

they can cut them off, might make it possible to begin the earnest move westward to capture the rest of the country and kyiv as well. and information from the u.k. that the russian military acknowledges it has been using the t.o.s.1athermobaric missiles in ukraine. >> the bombs you mentioned, cluster bombs which they have said there is evidence of their use, and the first few days that vladimir putin goal was to have the blitzkreig, and hope for a quick victory. when that did not work, he does not need to rush this, so we see him slowly encroaching on areas.

and we thought it would be focussed on odesa, but seems to be moving toward dnipro and the move to kharkiv. people are trying to figure out how to stop him or hold him back, the president is asking for bigger weaponry. he needs the planes and the hold-up in the u.s. between poland and the u.s., confusing many on the ground. zelenskyy say earlier this isn't ping pong, this is our lives. you need to get those to us. but certainly here on the ground, everyone is realizing it's not going to be over quickly. it's long, drawn out and putin is going to be methodical about it, and not hurry. >> sandra: team coverage continues. jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon for us. jen psaki at the white house briefing a moment ago was asked what changed and she talked about the logistical hurdles involved in poland providing the migs to ukraine. >> it's interesting, sandra. it was not really a change, it

was a momentary, she described it as a moment of miscommunication, temporary, it's being sorted out right now, and the u.s. says that it is not stopping poland from providing the migs to ukraine, but flying them to ramstein air base in germany is logistically not helpful and risks broadening the conflict. john kirby says we do not believe the proposal is a tenable one. >> we have to work through the specifics of these things going forward and it's not simply clear to us that there is a substantive rational to do it the way it was said yesterday. >> they have sent two missile batteries to poland to defend polish air space. the decision to do it was made

by lloyd austin in consultation with poland. u.s. defense officials tell me president zelenskyy has most of his air force in flakt. the weapons they are having the biggest effect in stopping russian forces, javelins, anti-tank missiles, stinger and shoulder fired. and this umbrella blankets much of ukraine's air space which makes flying any war planes over ukraine difficult right now. anti-aircraft systems would have to be taken out before it could fly the migs to any effect. again, the pentagon says other capabilities are having a greater effect. the u.s. has transferred 17,000 javelin, stinger and shoulder fired man portable air defense systems into ukraine in recent weeks. these weapons are flowing like 1, 1 republican lawmaker told me

this weekend. this remains mostly a ground war with russians relying on artillery. the migs would likely have to bomb belarus and russian territory where the air units are located. they would need -- it could draw nato into direct war with russia. >> sandra: and letting our viewers know, we are anticipating a briefing from the pentagon with john kirby. as we await that, we know jen will be in the room and live when it begins. >> john: arkansas republican senator tom cotton. i want to ask you about the migs, poland said we will give them to you, united states, at ramstein air base for you to do whatever you like with them. here is how jen psaki tried to explain her way out of that not being a good idea. >> i think it's pretty clear it does not require a military expert to understand why having

planes fly from a u.s. air base to a contested part of the country where there is a war is not in our interest and not in nato interest. >> john: she said i don't understand how it's in our interest or nato interest to send from an american air base to ukraine, but fine to send them from the polish air base into ukraine. >> i don't understand what the administration is here, it's more dithering, half measures. we have seen it time and again, whether it was on central bank sanctions or international payment systems known as swift, russian oil imports. administration doesn't want to do something, and then ultimately follows congress or the nato allies. administration said two days ago, we would give a green light to poland transferring the migs. poland said we would like you to do it because we are smaller than you are, and right next to russia in a way you are not, administration said no, we could not do that, it would be an

escalation. how would it be to transfer the polish aircraft as opposed to poland, a nato ally to transfer them. and bigger than this as well. it's not just the polish aircraft. there are other eastern european countries in the warsaw pact that have other kinds of aircraft. they have other kinds of missiles, other kinds of enemy air defenses that we would probably like to see transferred as well. so, this is going to play out, time for the administration to stop slow rolling things, stop asking lawyers to take the lead, it's time for leaders to take the lead and that's what president biden needs to do. >> sandra: senator, we look at the situation on the ground there and sorry i'm looking down, trying to get brand-new details on this horrific situation in mariupol of the maternity ward there and the warnings there are children in the rubble and how horrific of an attack that is, and you just wonder what the hours and days look like ahead as benjamin hall

was just reporting to us that you know, obviously kyiv in the coming days, in fact 24 hours from now is the assessment, could be under a much different situation than it is right now. >> sandra, this is why we are in a matter -- situation where it's not days that matter, not even hours, but minutes, and every minute the administration spends with lawyers, tin kerring over details whether we can transfer stinger missiles, poland can take the aircraft, this, that and the other step, the risk of ukrainian lives lost. they need to start moving at the speed of warfare, not the speed of bureaucracy to help the ukrainian army and the ukrainian people defend themselves from this brutal aggression by vladimir putin. >> senator, let me just swing back to the migs by raising this idea. russia would like to make this about a confrontation between russia and the united states. the kremlin mouth piece said the

united states is waging economic war against russia. do you expect russia will try to retaliate economically, and if the united states were to take the polish migs and transfer them from ramstein to ukraine, could russia say a direct act of aggression by the united states and spread that information across russia to say we told you the united states were the bad guy in this. >> john, they might say that. but how is that any different from providing ukraine with anti-tank missiles killing russian soldiers or missiles that shoot down russian aircraft. if we sit back on the back foot and allow vladimir putin to set the terms, we might as well see all of ukraine, europe, and america as well. defend against brutal aggression. administration postures reminds me what grant did in 1864, took over the union army and the generals of the army of the

potomac after three years of fighting robert e. lee were obsessing, and grant said i'm tired of what you think lee will do. you think he's going to turn a double am -- sommersault, we should get on the front foot, quit dithering, hesitating, and help the people to defend their territory. >> sandra: i quote zelenskyy saying people, children are under the wreckage in mariupol calling it an atrocity, and talking about the blocking of humanitarian aid, and saying russians are holding hostage more than 400,000 people, what do you mean which should be on our front foot? how should we respond? >> take for instance the polish

migs. rather than waiting for poland to take action, or overlawyering the situation, we should be leaning forward, encouraging poland to transfer the aircraft and any other aircraft and weapons they had days ago. same thing with other former warsaw pact nations like slovakia and hungary and romania and bulgaria. they want to support ukraine even more than they are. but the united states and some western european allies hesitant and cautious about it, they are less likely to put forward the support, they are at greater risk. >> sandra: jen psaki was asked about this and jen griffin spoke about this, and she said the hurdles providing the migs to ukraine, she said carting them down the street is not as easy as you may think. they have to be taken apart and put back together. you have to have people who can do so. to that you say what? >> i would say jen psaki is not exactly a military or logistical

expert. and the department of defense has a lot of lawyers as well, to finds every reason not to take action we should. this reminds me of 1973 when israel's back was up against the war in the yom kippur war, and richard nixon said every plane that flies and every plane that shoots and that helped so israel was not overrun. this is what the president should be doing with the stubborn bureaucracy. >> john: a couple ways to get the migs to ramstein, take them apart, box them up and overland or put a pilot in it and fly it there and then from ramstein into poland. but logistical problems the united states cannot seem to get over. let me ask you about oil. the biden administration has banned the sale of russian oil, the import of russian oil, some private companies were doing that. but does not seem to be a

concrete plan to back up the loss of the oil. the wall street journal is reporting that we have gone, are trying to go to saudi arabia and the u.a.e. to get them to pump more oil and were rebuffed. and writing crown prince and others declined to speak to bind, and criticism of american policy in the gulf. the white house pushed back on this saying oh, no, he talked to the king back on february 9th, but this idea that we are trying to get more oil from saudi arabia and from dictators like maduro and from iran to back stop as opposed to u.s. energy, does that make any sense to you? >> no, john, it was the right step to ban russian oil imports. we can start producing more oil here in a matter of weeks if not days if the administration would

stop the war on american oil and gas. we probably could have gotten more production from saudi arabia and united arab emirates. and one of america's strongest allies and supporters and president biden has given them the cold shoulder the last 14 months as they are under attack by iran's proxies. and ayatollah in iran, still chant death to america, and maduro, our government does not recognize as the legitimate head of state in venezuela. all we have to do is turn to oil and gas workers in places like arkansas, louisiana, texas, north dakota, and encourage them and their investors to get american oil flowing in. >> i mean, that's the crux of the issue, right, we are all having the conversations, looks so obvious, senator, looks so obvious that we have a ton of

these resources right here to be tapped into, our neighbors, canada, mexico, plenty of oil. why are we -- why are we talking about turning to iran, venezuela, obviously huge producing countries but we know based on the last couple year how we can be -- we can be energy independent. >> it's mistyfying, unless they want to feel good about themselves about killing oil and gas production. if they are worried about greenhouse gas emissions, iran and venezuela will create more emissions, they don't have the advanced systems we do. and we can help export to europe to be more independent of russian oil and gas. >> john: good of you to come in this afternoon. >> sandra: thank you, senator. new video out of ukraine right

now, bryan has the details on that for us. >> sandra, the video, warn the viewers, is disturbing. it comes from the children's hospital and maternity ward in mariupol, at least 17 people are wounded and many more are supposedly in that wreckage. here is the first video. it shows a pregnant woman being led out by first responders out of that maternity ward, you see her being led out by stretchers. this is tough. these are women that were in labor at the time that several russian bombs fell at this maternity ward in children's hospital. according to ukrainian officials, you can see this woman is injured, around her hip, you can see the devastation in and around that hospital. it is completely charred in terms of the windows being blown out and you can see this woman who was essentially just about to bring new life into this world. this is also new video coming from here, this is the

aftermath, a woman coke -- coming out of the hospital, and the man is bloody on his face. they say the bomb when it hit, the ground shook from more than a mile away, you can see the child there crying, this is tough. it is a chaotic situation there, these are children and women at this hospital that were targeted by multiple bombs, this was supposedly during a ceasefire that was agreed upon between the russians and ukrainians on wednesday. the kremlin says russian forces are now firing on civilian targets, obviously this video shows they are indeed doing that. this is video of war crimes. zelenskyy also tweeting aside from they has spoken to nancy pelosi, the speaker of the house. he tweeted he thanked her for the help, for countering the aggression and leadership and

putting international pressure on russia and they spoke about getting more humanitarian aid and help to the country and further steps are going to be taken to help the ukrainians. but sandra, i'm not a father yet, but that is -- that is hard to watch. that is just some of what we are seeing there. we still do not know the death toll from that hospital, but obviously you can see that there are many women and many children and especially expectant mothers that are being taken out of that building at this very hour. >> sandra: hard for anybody to watch, pure evil, women giving birth, children that desperately need help, it's horrible. bryan, new video seen for the first time here and more coming in of it. we'll have that for our viewers so we know how bad it's getting there. bryan, thank you. >> john: that is tough to watch. as vladimir putin continues his relentless assault of ukraine, many russians are unaware of

what's happening like the bombing of the hospital in mariupol, because of a crackdown on journalists, the kremlin sees as fake information, and also what our next guest did and makes it especially daring. >> maria was a managing editor at r.t. russian state media outlet until she resigned in protest of putin's war. thank you very much for joining us. first, just your reaction of what is happening there right now in this moment. >> thank you for having me on by the way. >> sandra: what is happening on the ground in ukraine. we showed our viewers new video of that, that maternity ward, that children's hospital where there is obviously shelling that happened there that has affected to many people, 17 injured, fear about children in the rubble there, your reaction first to that. >> well, that's like 9/11 on the

every day basis, but would do it, committed, just imagine, we are living in the like worst nightmare in all of our lives because ukraine is not some country far away from russia, right, for example in the case of america, iraq and serbia. it's not just neighboring country, our relatives, our brothers, our close friends are now in the basement and our own government is bomb shelling our own people, our friends, our families. that's what we feel about it, an endless nightmare, and that's it. >> john: hi, maria, john roberts, sandra's partner here in washington, d.c. to stress this point for our viewers at home, you were the managing editor for russia

today, one of the main russian broadcasters not just there in russia but and the world, an r.t. here in the united states as well. you quit your job saying that you were very concerned that this could escalate into nuclear war. you told our website foxnews.com, seems we are either in north korea or killed by a nuclear mushroom. i would not quit and lose my salary and job if i was sure we would be alive many years but i'm not sure what's going to happen to all of us next. tell us about your fears where this might go, maria. >> well, probably my dark humor little sound, made your article a little bit alarming, but i think that's the moment we should be all alarmed because yes, this is a very, very dangerous situation in the history of the whole humanity, of the entire world.

it wasn't only putin, wasn't only russia who brought us to this place. everybody is to blame in what happened to all of us right now. but yes, i'm really afraid that something terrible might happen. >> sandra: what is the thinking of the russian people who have obviously seen sanction after sanction come in from the oil companies themselves, obviously the big banks, the individuals, the oligarchs, but then the more consumer-type companies, apples, the starbucks, mcdonald's. i mean, are the russian people just describe where they are in this moment as that continues. >> you know, during the last 14 days the only comforting thing for me was latte from starbucks with mint syrup, and now i don't even have that.

i would go by and think ok, at least i've got this coffee. it's -- what can i tell you? i am a little bit confused by what people in moscow and some people in moscow say because even some of my relatives, some of them are from crimea, some of them are from donetsk, they say this is for donetsk, and like i can't understand, they also say that they fight with hitler, i've got news to everybody, hitler died 80 years ago. so it seems like i don't think that these people who are brainwashed by somehow some kind of propaganda. this is just their way of thinking. they have the very same internet, they see the very same pictures as you see, and when i showed, for example, the one woman yesterday, the picture of her bombarded apartment

building, she told me what do you want not to be near our border? it's like i don't even understand how can they say, how can they have this way of thinking, and by the way, for example, know ukrainian. i don't know ukrainian, very similar but different language. and it is quite unbelievable like ok, it's not to us to be in ukraine we should bombard these apartment buildings, we should put pregnant sisters, our pregnant relatives to basements, really? >> john: so i'm wondering, there in russia, how much opposition is there to what vladimir putin is doing in ukraine. we have seen some protests, we have also seen many, many arrests. is there a protest movement that is rising there in russia or is putin and his forces effectively suppressing it? >> as you very well know,

navalny, was poisoned two years ago, a year and a half, and now he's in prison. even after poisoning he was not afraid to come back to russia and to go to prison. but opposition, i am a former opposition activist, i'm actually human rights manager, i was manager for human rights group, petition group. it's totally destroyed, everybody left. the only opposition person who is now in moscow, so yeah, everybody left, everybody who knows how to do something in order to get the people on the streets, they left russia, and now with the single events, like around 10,000 people were jailed or detained, detained for a few hours, a few days, some of them

for ten days and 15 days in jail prison, and around 10,000 people. it's probably how many people went on the streets, because now they are putting to jail everybody who are protesting. >> maria, obviously their access to information is, you know, is nonexistence. >> we still have access. we still have access to information, but that's what is happening now in russia. >> sandra: but that has been a huge obstacle for the russian people there and i wonder how much continues to change for the everyday way of life for the russian people, just continued on the consumer level, continued self-sanctioning of the companies, hilton right now crossing on the wires announced it's suspending all new development, closing their corporate offices. final thought, maria. >> i didn't catch the last. >> sandra: continued changing for the way of life in russia as

all these companies, individuals and countries try to pressure putin to stop this. >> he won't stop, and a lot of people at the same time say oh, yeah, coca-cola is quitting russia market, like we are going to be healthier, like they have jobs -- ok, blocked them in the 1990s, and blocked them in the 1980s, but i think this will be much worse than the 1990s, and worse than the 1980s, that's the problem. people now think ok, we are going to do something different instead of the loans. >> sandra: maria, thank you for joining us. >> john: thank you, maria. packing up their families and risking their lives to escape a war torn country was not enough, the millions of refugees fleeing

ukraine are facing bitter cold temperatures this week. of course, that also includes so many people still stuck in ukrainian cities without heat, power ar running water. ian oliver joins us with a look at what the weather is like there for those folks. >> we have seen the strength, resilience of the ukrainian people on display over the last several expressway but this weather is presenting an additional challenge. it's been a couple weeks now with the power outages, as well as the communications disruptions in ukraine. you can see the swirl over the black sea helping to pull down some colder air from the north. 12° in moscow, 23° right now in minsk. the overall weather set-up shows a big dip in the jet stream, the northerly flow is pumping down colder air. we can estimate some

temperatures across ukraine. kyiv, mid 20s, and the wind chill or the feels like temp, feels like the teens across much of the country. so for folks with power outages trying to stay warm, trying to leave the country, it's presenting a danger with the well below average across the country. the average is around 40°, but the feels like through the teens, through the rest of the week you can see the temperatures still well below average but thankfully as we move into the weekend and into next week, the temperatures are trending warmer, above average by the middle part of next week. >> sandra: adding misery upon misery. ian, thank you. fighting intensifies in ukraine, the global red cross network is helping, and the fox corporation is proud to help out.

if you would like to help and donate, redcross.org/fox, and earlier we gave you an incorrect figure, 1.1 million has been raised so far. >> sandra: intelligence officials are warning vladimir putin is angry and frustrated with the war in ukraine. they say he's likely to double down on the fight. david has the news on that live at the justice department. >> a bit of concerning news out of ukraine over the past 24 hours. site of the 1986 chernobyl disaster, that area now off the ukrainian power grid. we know that that's a concern and this is happening, sandra, as you mentioned, not even 24 hours after the nation's top intelligence officials announced concerns about what putin may be capable of. the head of the international atomic energy agency put out a

stapt this morning indicating there is no critical impact on safety. however, the agency closely following the situation because of the potential impacts to staff that work there and those who live nearby. as i said yesterday in washington, director of national intelligence, head of the c.i.a., and the f.b.i., gave grim outlooks, with regards to russian president putin even using the word nuclear. >> ordered russia's strategic nuclear forces to go on special alert in response to aggressive statements he called them from nato leaders was extremely unusual. we have not seen a public announcement from the russians regarding a heightened nuclear alert status since the 1960s. >> they believe putin will not retreat, instead double down, whether it be a nuclear or cyber threat which could disrupt the power grid. >> it's a matter of deep personal conviction for him.

he's been stewing in a combustible combination of ambition for many years. >> the same group tomorrow will appear before the senate. you better believe they will be asked what's going on in chernobyl. that is news since they testified yesterday. >> sandra: john. >> john: former c.i.a. director general david patareus. a couple of things we want your analysis on. first of all, the move here in the south and east of ukraine, i want to draw on here, this is the dnipro river, which sort of bisects, and coming up with their sights set on dnipro, and the same time the forces move through the donbas region. the strategy appears to be cut off the ukrainian force, half

are here in the donbas region, and if they can do that, they believe they have a clearer path to the west. what's your assessment of the plan. >> i think all along, john, it's apparent that in addition to toppling the government in kyiv, still the main effort, trying to encircle the capital city and to replace president zelenskyy with someone pro-russian, they have fought to fix and encircle the forces you described there in the east and southeastern part of the country. what will be really interesting to see, frankly, is whether the russians can continue to logistically support all of these different efforts. we have seen already the incapability that they have demonstrated just to support forces or close to the border with belarus and with russia. and also it's going to be interesting to see in the days and weeks ahead whether russian soldiers can just do what it is that their leaders are likely to ask them to do, which is to

engage in very tough, grinding physically and mentally draining urban combat. and that's where this will ultimately lead and the fear, of course, is they won't do it being capable, and noting kyiv is some 320 square miles compared to new york, only 300 or so. distances are enormous. and there are different pinzers coming in from the east and south and so forth. again, i think those are very vulnerable logistics lines that the special conventional and partisan forces of ukraine are going to eat up, i suspect. the other -- i don't think they will surrender, either. in the ukrainian forces have demonstrated unbelievable

resolve and just like their president, they are not going to go down without a very, very significant fight. >> john: they are nothing if not committed. the map here in the kyiv area that you talked about, the russian forces appear to be coming in on three fronts, from the east here, the northeast and then coming in from the northwest as well. jack keane's institute for the study of war believes what they are trying to do encircle kyiv here and in the next 24 to 96 hours hit it with artillery, missiles, rockets, everything at their disposal to try to soften up the battlefield so forces can begin to move in and take the capital city. do you think that's where they are headed? >> exactly, yeah, and i'm on the board of directors of the institute for the study of war and i very much support their analysis in this case. they are really trying to cut kyiv off as well, you know. in recent days, weeks, we have been in a race where u.s. and nato countries have been trying to shove as many anti-tank

systems and anti-aircraft systems into ukraine as possible, a lot of those going up to the main objective for the russian forces which is kyiv, and to do that and also as much food, fuel, medical supplies and so forth in there, so that kyiv can sustain itself as long as is absolutely possible if the russians are able to encircle it. and i gave that description of a 320 square mile, that has to be surrounded. this is not a trivial effort when you think of those distances, and think of the inability of the russian logistical system so far to support their forces. and we talked about the terrible weather. think about the poor russian infantryman surviving out there, i can guarantee you they are not getting what we demanded that we provide to our soldiers which is at least a hot meal a day in

addition to other package rations and hot coffee several times a day. i don't think at all that they are getting that kind of support and this is going to grind them down over time. a number of these are conscripts whose tours of duty were supposed to end in april and extended while the other replacements are brought on early. a lot of challenges for the russian forces and those at the tactical level of leadership are going to be tested as are their soldiers in the days and weeks that lie ahead. >> john: putin was saying they are not using conscripts but they are in fact are. one more point here and get your take on this, and that is the issue of the migs. because the united states said to poland, you have some excess migs, why don't you take them and send them into ukraine. poland said no, we are not going to do that but be will take the migs and send them to ramstein air base here and you can do whatever you want with them,

thinking the united states would send them into ukraine. united states is saying no, that won't work. so where are we here with these airplanes? >> very tough issue for the guy who sits at the head of the table in the situation table west wing of the white house. easy for us to say this or that, only one person at the end of the day to make the decision that could finally cross the threshold that makes russia feel as if it has to respond directly to nato nations, perhaps even the united states. and it's a difficult issue, and i think we have to appreciate that difficulty, frankly. the same as the idea of the no-fly zone. some people have tried to give it a name, a humanitarian no-fly zone. look, it still is an air space over ukraine in which u.s. and russian aircraft could have a confrontation and again, who knows -- i know where it goes tactically, the russians are going to lose and then what does

putin do next, and of course as you and i have discussed before, we don't want putin ultimately backed into a corner feeling that he has nothing left to lose. you can use all the analogy in history you might have here, this one is different. it involves the potential of nuclear weapons use and that makes this completely different from any of the recent historical exercises and analogies that individuals might provide. >> john: that's not good for anyone. as always, general patraeus. >> sandra: oil and gasoline prices go higher, peter doocy had an tune to press the white house press secretary what is being done on the skyrocketing prices. >> yes, and something new from biden officials at today's

briefing. the keystone xl pipeline they have long said is something they don't think would help bring gas prices down right now, but it's not a no forever, potentially. listen to this. >> is a restart of the keystone xl construction completely off the table as long as joe biden is president? >> well, why don't you tell me what that would help address. >> i'm asking you if it is an option. say all options are on the table. is keystone restarting one of them. >> trying to bring about more supply that does not address any problem. >> jen psaki also went back to the line that they have been using, there are 9,000 unused oil and gas permits. i pointed out to her that a lot of industry experts and lawmakers from oil-producing states say it's not exactly how it works because the initial permit does not give them permission to drill and also not all 9,000 have oil and gas

there, but that's what they are going with for now, sandra. >> sandra: important exchange there, peter. and former trump advisor steve moore and former obama economic advisor robert wolf. really interesting exchange that peter had with jen psaki and robert, you brought up the point many times, too, well, if we want to increase production, you and the white house have urged those sitting on the leases to tap into them. well, jen psaki was pressed on it, marco rubio joined us and said this is why they are not. listen. >> first of all, not every lease is approved. companies apply for all kinds of leases, and then the determination, that's more productive, expensive, others may not make as much sense and unfriendly administration. you have an administration that has made very, very clear that it wants america to produce less natural gas and less oil and to become greener.

that is a fundamental fact. >> sandra: if that's not going to happen, robert, perhaps opening up the keystone pipeline is not off the table for the white house. >> i think xl is off the table. one, the worst type of oil, it's tar sands going from alberta to the gulf of mexico. it was not going to really change anything to do with our oil supply. it was to export from the gulf of mexico. also -- >> sandra: that's debateable. >> it's not actually debateable. it has nothing to do with oil fields, it's a pipeline and end at the gulf of mexico. that's a fact, look it up. and president trump, only 10% was done under his four years. so it's not about xl, it's about how do we become energy independent. i've always been supportive of the all-in energy approach ten years now. >> robert is making the case

it's regional, and the white house that it's global. if we increase the oil output here in the united states, for example, wouldn't that bring prices down to open the keystone pipeline? >> you get an a in economics, sandra, that's exactly right. a global supply and a global demand for oil. we have reduced our global supply and production by about a million barrels a day. that's $100 million a day the united states is losing. if we went full in with our energy capacities, my gosh, 300 years of natural gas and 200 years worth of oil we could be drilling, we could substantially reduce the world price of oil and that would also, by the way, really hurt putin more than anyone else, he's funding his war machine with oil. say this with the keystone pipeline. unfortunately that's done. the people who they have put the nail in the coffin, keystone pipeline. so, the people who originally

built it said they are done with it. one other quick problem. even if joe biden were to announce i'm going to go back to the trump policies drilling whenever we can do it, alaska, texas, oklahoma, i have talked with c.e.o.s, they don't trust joe biden. they don't know if he says today you can do it and six months from now when the war is over in ukraine they say you can't do it. the companies are not going to invest billions of dollars when they don't know if it's red light or green light. >> sandra: that's right, and robert, the keystone pipeline, a lot of people are out of work because of the shutting down, a former pipeline worker saying we tried to warn you, listen. >> we hate that it's taken a war in ukraine and the suffering of their people for full attention, we tried to warn the administration when they canceled the keystone pipeline, just the keystone pipeline you

were not cancelling, national security, foreign policy and energy, they go hand-in-hand. >> sandra: robert, what's the answer? it takes just a few seconds of anybody's time to research the green energy push and what it means for the american people and high prices. you can put up the e.v. facts that we have put together with our brain room on the screen, electricity that needs to be generated to power those vehicles, it comes from fossil fuels. 61% of it. china is among the largest producer of lithium that is obviously needed for the batteries in those electric vehicles. and not to mention, robert, you well know right now, you've seen the stats everywhere, that the average american family is living paycheck to paycheck right now, 65% of the american population, and they want us to go out and buy an electric vehicle. for average price, $60,000 for a new car.

>> so what's the question? >> sandra: why is the administration pushing something the american people clearly can't bring on in this moment, and jen psaki could not even answer the question in the briefing room a moment ago. what is being done to bring inflation down, and what has been done on the part of this administration to bring inflation down that has been successful? and not only that, pushing green energy on people at a time they are struggling to make ends meet. >> know, no, listen, as i said, i'm for an all in energy approach. steve knows, i think he misspoke a bit, but in 2020 and 2019 during the trump administration as you know oil, there was not as much oil being drilled because oil was at 30 bucks a barrel and now negative r.o.i., why during the trump administration, averaging 15 to 20,000 barrels a month from russia. let's not make believe biden

started the buying from russia, it started in 2005. so the idea is becoming a joke. let's start facts. facts are that oil companies don't look to drill when it's below 30 bucks a barrel. now above 100, i would respectfully disagree with marco rubio. you will see oil companies looking to frack and drill like there's no tomorrow. >> sandra: i have we were producing 13.1 million barrels a day the week before lockdown. steve. >> the month that donald trump left office the first time in your and my and robert's lifetime, we are importing no oil from saudi arabia, we were a net exporter. so a country that was exporting oil in 14 months, now even with the high prices in the situation we have to import it, from venezuela, saudi arabia, iran, russia -- >> sandra: i have to leave it

there. i have to -- i'm going to get last word here. >> look at the chart on russian oil. >> sandra: the point, robert, in recent months, this administration. >> i'm talking facts. >> sandra: more dependent from foreign nations for our energy needs and yes, we were buying oil under president trump but it has -- i'm screamed at, i have to go. i only put facts on the screen, you did not respond to the e.v. numbers. how are people going to afford that? i have to go. >> i don't know, i don't own one. >> john: we need a youtube channel and you can continue the discussion on that. as vladimir putin is waging the war, some russian military moms are accusing putin of using their sons as canon fodder.

david lee miller live in the newsroom with this. >> russian president vladimir putin is on the defensive. at least when it comes to criticism about the invasion of ukraine, despite the crackdown on a free press and social media in russia, video online shows an angry confrontation between a russian governor in siberia and local women. they accuse the government lying about the conflict, saying soldiers are treated as canon fodder. one speaker says the conflict will only end when everyone dies. during international women's day on tuesday, putin in a televised address, specifically talked to the women about their concerns, concerning what he mystically called the special military operation in ukraine. >> i want to address the mothers, wives, sisters, brides, and girlfriends of our soldiers and officers who are now defending russia in the battle during this special military operation. i understand how you worry about your loved ones.

you can be proud of them just as the whole country is proud of them and worries about them together with you. >> although putin said conscripted soldiers were not being sent to the ukraine, today the russian defense ministries contradicted that claim, that some were taking part in the invasion and a number captured. a report from an in dependent russian journalist says some in the kremlin believe the attack was a disaster, and says putin's paranoia has reached a state of absurdity. and russian rhetoric is also heating up. said the u.s. has declared an economic war on russia, and putin signed a number of new laws that will allow people to return money and other assets to russia without having to face

tax or other penalties. john. >> john: sounds like they are beginning to feel the squeeze. david lee miller, thank you. >> sandra: the united nations reporting over 2 million ukrainians have fled since the start of the russian invasion. half of them children. connell mcshane is live in hungary at this hour. >> we have seen so many of those children coming in the three countries we have traveled to, here in hungary, 2,000 refugee mark today. some question before this crisis emerged as to how many refugees hungary would take in with the tough on immigration stance. i was talking to a u.n. official, and so far so good, hungary has been welcoming the refugees in, and something we have seen in our own reporting, the stories the refugees are telling are much different now than they were in the early days of the war. watch this.

>> stories we hear keep changing by the hour. we were here in the first days of the war, then people left as precaution. so the revenue, they made heard a few explosions and they left. as time goes by, these stories change so more and more people have actually experienced firsthand violence and war. >> as we look at the people here in the train station in hungary coming off the latest train that arrived from ukraine, we have spoken to many of them and backing up what you just heard, they have firsthand accounts of war, and it's already had quite the personal impact. listen to what this lady told us a short time ago. >> when i was here driving here, i saw airplanes coming. no, we, maybe we even a little better situation because a lot

of my friends, for example, friends of my family, we have not connection with them for a week. >> has not spoken to family and friends up to a week in hard hit areas of ukraine. you see some of the people back here live in the waiting room of the train station where we are. they have been on a long road themselves, guys, and are probably catching another train. most people come in here to hungary and will catch a train from here to budapest and then to another point. that is key for us in the last few days. these are stories, war stories literally from the people, they waited and the fighting had already begun and have gone through so much just to get to this point. back to you. >> sandra: connell telling their stories on the ground in hungary for us. thank you very much. john, quite another two hours covering all of this.

great to be with you today. >> john: yeah, what's going on there in mariupol with that hospital is just horrific, and you know, the world has to rise to the challenge to get that information out and do something about it. >> sandra: absolutely. we'll keep covering it right here. thanks for joining us. i'm sandra smith. >> john: i'm john roberts. "the story" starts right now. >> thanks, john. right now on "the story," we're waiting for an update on the war in ukraine from secretary john kirby. the world witnesses an attack on a children's hospital, a maternity ward. the strategic port city of mariupol. the aftermath here is graphic. this is a 30 second clip.