blinken gets tonight's last word. the 11th hour with stephanie ruhle starts now. >> tonight, russia's attacks on civilians escalate. more ukrainians kill with the death toll rising. now close to 2 million people fleeing their country. more children leaving alone. what's happening overseas, now sending gas prices surging as russia sinks deeper into isolation. plus, every day americans are stepping up to join the fight against putin as the 11th hour gets underway on monday night. good evening, i'm stephanie ruhle. we are entering day 13 of russia's war on ukraine, and it becomes more brutal by the day with a dramatic escalation of the shelling of civilian areas.

you win now saying more than 400 civilians have been killed, but the actual death toll is likely much much higher. the pentagon says russia's efforts to take kyiv remain stalled, which may be leading to the stepped up civilians attacks across the country. >> as they continue to get frustrated they continue to rely more now on what we would call long-range fires. so this is bombardment mitchell strikes. long range artillery into city centers. we've picked up other indications as well on our own, that morale continues to be a problem for many of the russian forces, particularly up in the north and east. it is not clear to us that all of the soldiers that russia has put into ukraine realized that that's what they were doing. that they were actually going

to invade. >> the secretary of defense says another 500 u.s. troops and more equipment are heading to europe to help nato allies, and according to the new york times the u.s. and nato sent in more than 17,000 anti tank weapons in less than a week. for the first time since the start of this invasion, ukraine's president spoke to his nation from his office in a video posted on facebook. he said he is not afraid of anyone and promised he would not leave. during an interview with nbc news, president zelenskyy offered this message to americans. >> i just want you to understand what does it mean for us, freedom. because always, american people, they speak about freedom, and they know wet is and now, when they are looking

at ukrainians, i think you feel what it means for us. >> it is now estimated that this war, not even two weeks old, has created more than 1. 7 million refugees. many who have learned escaping the violence can be a harrowing, karen jurist's journey. richard engel is on the frontlines with more. >> russian troops are now on kyiv's doorstep and they were trying to break in through a suburb called irpin. and this slippery row of planks is the only way for civilians to get out. the ukrainians blew up this bridge in order to slow down the russian advance, but it has also made it extremely difficult for people to evacuate these areas that are contested. civilians today were crossing in wheelchairs, were carried out, but even as they escape, russian troops keep firing on them. this disturbing video yesterday captured what russia is unleashing on civilians fleeing. in the background, you see people running down the

sidewalk leaving irpin. then this. a mortar strike. ukrainian soldiers move in to help, but on that sidewalk at least four people, three from one family, fly dead. those who made it out today, floating onto waiting ambulances thank god for their salvation. >> thanks to richard angle for that report. let's bring in nbc news -- nbc's cal perry. kyle, russia stepped up its attack over the weekend. we saw at, hospitals, schools, civilians who are trying to flee. tell us, what it is like there are now. a week ago it was somewhat peaceful where we are. >> yeah, this city of lviv in the west, it's still peaceful but it's starting to bend. i mean, this is a city that's running out of food. it's running out of fuel. we heard from the mayor today that some 200,000 people have been resettled in the city. the population was only 700,000.

so you get an indication of how things are becoming increasingly difficult. now in east, the situation is dire. how honor the courting to the mayors there, we've just received word that the city of memorable, according to the ministry of energy is now completely cut off from the power grid. it's not going to be possible to get power back on in that city, and in the cities that line that coastline of the black sea, we understand they've been without power, without water, without heat since the second of this month. that is six days of sub-zero temperatures, people huddled in basements, not able to go anywhere. we have in the united kingdom in the mystery of defense that that scene that you saw in richard engel's report in irpin's were saying it was intentionally targeted by russian forces. they intentionally fired on those civilians. that's something we knew and suspected beforehand. now officially hearing that from governments in the west, the safety department saying that would be indiscriminate shelling and the targeting of civilians. that is exactly what we saw over the weekend, and so here in the western part of the country we now have

preparations for war taking place here. the center of the city where i am's unesco heritage sites, statues from the 16th and 17th century. they're now being wrapped in fireproof clothing, fireproof blankets. they're going to start moving those statues underground, because people here just wonder how long is it going to be until the war reaches them, stephanie. >> now that we know and now that you see civilians being targeted, those who are still there, is there a plan to get out or do they consider that too dangerous? >> some folks are saying they'll stay here and that they found a place to stay another going to stay till the last possible minute. the reality is nobody wants to leave their lives behind until the last possible second. some people are making that choice. other people have fled to poland, and four men in this country who are unable to leave, the choice is an impossible one. it's drop your family off at the border. watch them walk across and return to the front and fight the russians. that is the decision and that is the horrible thing that families here are facing across the country, stephanie. >> cal perry, thank you for

that important report tonight. as the violence worsens, so does the refugee crisis. earlier today, our un ambassador linda thomas-greenfield laid out just how dire the situation is. watch this. >> 100 refugees are crossing into poland every minute. 100 a minute. >> the future for ukrainian is at best uncertain and at worst devastating, as they grapple with the toll of war. nbc nightly news anchor lester holt is on the ground with ukraine and their stories. >> a little boy with a toy car blissfully plays his own fantasy world, thankfully, oblivious, just for a moment to the real world, spinning apart around him. at the lviv train station, adults cramming into cars with volunteers, or following lines that will lead them to anywhere but here for the sake of their children. baby anna won't remember any of this. born in kyiv six weeks premature in late january, hospitalized since birth, and

then -- >> we had grenades. rockets. we were in a bunk shelter, but it was really scary. >> the war began around them. >> every night we went from upstairs. it was the third floor to the bomb shelter. >> of the hospital? >> yes, of the hospital. >> her husband had gone ahead with their other child. she stayed so that anna could continue to receive medical care. there were less and less doctors attending us. less and less treatments and more and more going to the shelter. yes, so we decided to go to lviv. we escaped by train. >> what is your future?

what is anna's future? >> our future -- so everything will be okay, definitely, ukraine will win. >> there are so many children of this war. like young alexander showing me his teddy bear, and his language skills. >> how are you? who is your teddy bear? >> i'm fine. >> i'm not sure if he heard or comprehended the weight of what his mom told me. >> i go in poland. >> do you know where you will live? >> no. >> it is also achingly sad. they have escaped the chaos and war and the missiles. but now they face the chaos of escape from their home country. most of them, their lives surrounded in uncertainty. tonight, the un refugee agency reports 1. 7 million ukrainians have no crossed into central europe. of that number, unicef now believes 1 million of them are children.

>> here where we are, we've seen tens of thousands of children gone through every day. they're traumatized. children don't cry anymore. that's a clear sign of trauma. >> much of the world is crying for ukraine, and its children. >> what will you some day tell anna about the world that she was born into? >> she's a child of war. >> she will be okay. >> yes. >> you guys will be okay. >> lester holt joins us now. leicester, i'm so grateful you are there. for those of us who are worlds away feeling helpless when we watch the stories your sharing, which americans know? >> well, if we are feeling helpless, i think the people here want us to know that they are not feeling helpless. they are scared. they're angry. that is what has happened. they're confused about their immediate future and where they're going to go. could they get to poland? where will they stay? they believe many of them that we met at the train station, they believe they will come

back. that their military will prevail here and they'll be able to come back to their homes, but right now, an incredibly scary time as a city like where we are here, lviv, has been largely peaceful, but there is a weariness here that at some point this too will become part of this war. >> it has this been like for you, lester? as i'm speaking to you and thinking about lester holt covering the most important stories and crises around the world for decades. what is this like? >> you know, it's interesting you asked that question. one of the things i was thinking about all day and i tend to do this when i'm covering calamities and awful things. i put myself in. i would i handle this? i watch people time and time again put one foot in front of the other and find a way. i think sometimes i look at these things and i think i would be balling up in a corner crying. that you see this incredible

strength among people. i've seen it here, i've seen it in countless places across the world. either point i'll make is it hurts. i shed a lot of tears today quietly as i was at the train station talking to families, and talking to that mom with her newborn. it makes you feel like you're okay, because you're still a human being first before a journalist, and that's important to me. >> lester holt, thank you for being there and thank you for joining us tonight. with that, let's bring in our experts, admiral james stavridis, and the former head of the u.s. southern command and former supreme allied commander of nato, michael allen. former house director of the select committee on intelligence. he also served a senior director at the national security council under president george w. bush. admiral, despite ukrainians begging for a no-fly zone, the u.s. and nato insist it is off the table, because it could

start a much, much bigger war. can you explain this to us? >> i can, stephanie. let's begin by saying we want to avoid ultimately, a global thermal nuclear war between the u.s. and russia. we can do that. we can avoid that, but still give the ukrainians with a need to fight this war. so my answer on where is the no fly zone, we can give the ukrainians the means to create that no-fly zone. we've done a lot of that. that is with stinger missiles providing potentially polish make 29's. these are very capable aircrafts that can be transferred to the ukrainian navy and back field by the u. s. military, and we have the capability to give the ukrainians the opportunity to conduct this. we want to avoid the situation which would be a straight no-fly zone between you s and russian aircraft going nose to nose up there. that's a potential path to what

we must be mindful of. give the ukrainians the tools they will fight this fight. i think very successfully. >> michael, are we not doing that yet? when we talk to people from ukraine, parliament members, we hear over and over, we feel they're being left alone, left out and america's not there for them. >> we can do more, stephanie. i would second everything the admiral said. i would also try and add other airplanes that we may have an hour stocks that could be of great used to the ukrainians as they continue to grind down the russian forces as they move closer and closer to the cities. it's very clear that putin is lamenting how poorly he has done so far, and he's trying to make up for that through the use of, of course, indiscriminate bombing, and of course thermobaric weapons. it's a very frightening

situation, but i think we've got to double down, help the ukrainians as much as we can so that they might be able to eventually have some leverage to get to a negotiating table with putin. >>, just mentioned it. the administration trying to convince poland, obviously a nato ally, to send its big fighter jets to ukraine, but they are running into some resistance. why is that? >> well, let's face it. if you are poland and you are watching the russians march across ukraine, you start to get pretty nervous. my response to the polls would be look, you have the golden membership card. you are part of the nato alliance. we out spend russia 15 to 1 on the nato side. we have 25,000 military aircraft. they have 5000. that's 5 to 1. we have 4 million troops under arms.

they have 1 million. 4 to 1. you get the idea. the polls need to step up, send their jets, and we will backfill under the theory that both sides are looking at with the u.s. f-16's. the polls know how to fly those. the ukrainians know how to play the mig-29, i get it, it's complicated, but we need to get this quickly. that would be the quickest path to creating real damage to the russian war machine in ukraine. >> michael, why are they going after civilians, despite saying that they're not? is it because they cannot win against the ukrainian military? >> i think that is part of it. i think they're trying to break the will of the ukrainians. they want to encourage more refugees, more miserable people that will ultimately pressure zelenskyy and the others to sue for peace. the russians floated several ideas today. they want the so-called

independent territory of ukraine they want ukraine to recognize them as independent. they want ukraine to acknowledge the crime era is part of russia. these are a long way for the ukrainians to go, but i think it's the plan of vladimir putin to try and put pressure on the ukrainians through civilian deaths to make very difficult concessions at the diplomatic table. >> admiral, let's talk about nato and nato countries. americans here or preparing for higher prices on gas and groceries, yet europeans seem to be preparing for war, potentially on their soil. can you compare how it is impacting us in a very different way? >> well, let's recognize that for europeans, russian advances across eastern europe rattle old, scary ghosts. this is very much like experiences they had within living memory. parents of these europeans who are in their 80s can remember

world war ii. this is not some distant roman empire in the past. this is very real to them. secondly, for the nato alliance, they are on the front line with russia. and to me, steph, the most remarkable number and your economist is a numbers person, it's look at the german defense budget over the course of 48 hours, vladimir putin has effectively caused the germans to double their defense budget and at the end of the day, the germans are going to end up spending 100 billion dollars a year on defense. the russian defense budget? 70 billion. germany will be spending more on defense than russia. that is a sign of change in europe waking up to the threat of russia. >> a big change. thank you both so much for joining us this evening. admiral james stavridis, and michael allen. coming up, you just mentioned it, as americans are facing soaring gas prices, ukrainians

are suffering to what they call the worst humanitarian crisis since world war ii. more on how war is impacting the world. the 11th hour is just getting underway on a monday night. this is an athlete.

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on a bipartisan bill that includes a ban on the import of russian oil. even without congress, the white house has said it's considering that very ban. so here are the facts the united states consumes about 20 million barrels of oil a day. only about 670,000 barrels come from russia, or about three or 4%. that's a tiny drop in the bucket. if we did ban russian oil we can make up the difference by drilling more in the u.s., and that is happening, but slowly. we could import more oil from other countries like canada. the administration could try to convince saudi arabia to produce more oil.

so far, we have not been successful here. and if we finalize a new nuclear deal with iran, that could lead to more oil being traded. but that is getting very complicated. and remember, oil is priced on a global market. so even if we banned russian oil here, if the price is still at 1:30 a barrel, we are still going to pay that. which means higher gas prices here at home. with us tonight to discuss, david a business correspondent for npr. and oleg, an economic adviser to president zelenskyy, thank you for being with us tonight. i know you called on western nations to stop importing russian oil and gas. you called it blood money. let's say that happens, then what? at this point nearly 100% of russian forces that were on the border are already inside ukraine. is it past the point where you can make a difference for economic sanctions on ukraine? >> absolutely. we are fighting against russian troops here on the ground in ukraine. under the same time we have to

-- we are in a new reality. and based on this reality, the whole world, particularly the united states have to impose economic sanctions. everything that has been done so far are very effective. all these sanctions which were implemented by the united states, such as sanctions on the russians and sanctions on -- we're doing okay. but what we really need now, we need to an embargo on russian oil and gas. but you are absolutely right, if the sanctions are introduced in the united states it will affect the russian economy, as much as we would like to see. to hit them really hard we need to introduce sanctions all over the world, meaning including the secondary sanctions. and if the united states is

doing that then the allies will realize to continue to grow the same way. and immediately russians will not be able to receive 50% of their budget revenue. no doubt that putin will be trying to bypass, from his population, from his military. he will not have any other way again, with the sanctions that are already placed. he will not be able to finance, or his budget. the only way they can do that is by increasing inflation. and then the situation will be dramatically changed and russia, and the pressure from the central government in russia will get very high. but i understand that everybody is paying a price, but we are here on the ground. we are paying the price with our people.

a couple of hours ago russian troops bombed one of the largest cities in ukraine, which is in the east of the country. several bombs they put in the will get very high. but i understand that everybody is paying a price, but we are here on the ground. we are paying the price with our people. a couple of hours ago russian troops bombed one of the largest cities in ukraine, which is in the east of the country. several bombs they put in the city, which is somewhere around 700,000 people are in the city. so yesterday and the day before yesterday we already see the

massive reports. kids were killed, civilians were killed. basically we are paying our price, and i understand it's going to be a price. but i also understand that we could expect some increase, some increase in prices for oil from the international market. but it's going to be only very limited period of time, that you would see that kind of shock, obviously. it's going to be in a needle run, it's going to be a correction of the market. and that kind of correction will be the willingness of others. and this is what i understand. there are many others on the market, which might potentially increase -- and which would go to increase the production and supply of

oil on the market. i'm talking about precisely -- they are increasing and for sure they are going to do their production and supply of oil from the international market. it's going to be a downwards projection and prices for oil. in the long run it will not have any negative effect. [inaudible] the effect is only going to be positive. >> oleg -- >> not only non economic issues, they're going to be positive effects. >> oleg -- i'm afraid we are losing your audio, i can't understand you. we're going to take a moment and see if we can corrected that for you. david, even if we put this ban on russian oil, what if it backfires? putin has shown time and again he does not care if his own people suffer economically.

isn't there a risk it backfires and he doubles down on his actions, militarily? >> there is that risk. you look at the global energy market right now, there is so little slack in it. it's not out of the question -- sell the oil quickly to the chinese, or india. so i am very sympathetic to what's the presidents advisor is saying. there are many people in congress who are sympathetic to the argument as well. this is very tricky territory, and just a few minutes ago, the admiral was talking about the world play of arming troops and ukraine. this is a traditionally military war in one sense, and an economic war and another. germany will play a huge role here moving forward. the secretary of the state over the weekend, making how there are conversations unfolding between the u.s. and its allies. for the potential of these new sanctions on energy. you have the german chancellor really tapping those down, in his remarks afterwards.

it's going to require a lot of convincing on the part of the united states. to get european allies who rely more on russian gas and oil to go along with these sanctions. it's going to be trickier still, and i think the administration has its work cut out for them. when you look at the economic war in particular, the u.s. has very effectively over the last many months amassed a coalition of 30 plus countries. allies it's brought along with it to implement these sanctions. i'm not saying the administration is not up to the task, it's so will certainly be difficult and undertaking. stephanie. >> different countries, countries, individuals, they all play different role in times of war. is this a moment for the president who does not set the price of oil? is this a moment for him to use his pulpit, to call in the ceos of all these massive oil companies, and talk to them

about doing their part. about businesses they are doing with russia. about what they are charging consumers. yes they are businesses, and they need to make money. but this is not a moment to maximize profits. should the president be having this conversation and pushing them? >> president biden has the opportunity to do this. there's been so much reporting about the conversations the administration has been having about the leaders of these oil companies. leading up to their decision to leave russia couple of days ago. and afterwards still. it has not happen in washington, it has not happened on the white house turf. the crucible in which this is happening, an energy conference in houston, oddly where you have the ceos of all of these companies sitting down with in the pulitzer prize analyst. they have ripped up their agenda, they are talking about this issue almost exclusively. what you are hearing from these executives, the acknowledgment of this crisis, and of the gravity. but also an entry door for the u.s. and its allies to invest more in the extraction of oil and natural gas. you know well that's going to take some time, we are looking here for short term solutions, and frankly that is not one right now, stephanie. >> yeah they're talking about ways to grow their businesses long term, and to be come more energy and a pendant. but they are not talking of -- [inaudible]

thank you both for joining me this evening. oleg, academic adviser to president zelenskyy. moving forward, they were enjoying life, tonight, nearly 2 million ukrainians are literally running for their lives. we're going to check in with my friend and colleague, and partner, ali velshi in hungary for more on the humanitarian crisis on the 11th hour, when it continues.

>> ukrainians continue to seek refuge as russia increasingly targets residential neighborhoods. the united nations now saying at least 400 civilians have died, and that number is expected to climb. my good friend ali velshi is back on the border tonight. this time from hungary. ali it is good to see you, what happens once these refugees get to hungary? yes they are safe, but are there jobs for them, are there schools, where do they go? >> really good question. most of the refugees are going to poland, they have a better system there established for what to do with them. here in hungary, the eu is extending temporary protection -- protected status to them. that means, if they have papers, these are not like syrian refugees who didn't and many cases have those papers. because they couldn't get them from the government. right now ukrainians are still controlled by ukrainians. they can get their documents,

their licenses, their passports, things like that. if they have papers they can stay and get residency. they can get work. but most of the people i found coming in to hungary we are going to budapest, and they were going home. if they were otherwise from another country, or they were going onward to other european cities where they knew people. here at the border it's a different story, there are people -- almost everybody here gets picked up. there's a bus every now and then, you'll see one behind me, coming around every 40 minutes or so. and there are vans that pick them up and take them somewhere. they have some kind of plan. and there's a school behind me, there's the baptist church back here, there's unhcr, they'll help them with things like transportation and things like that. i ran into a young woman yesterday, she was 15 years old, she came here with her mother. it's mostly women and children coming. and she is from kyiv, listen to this, this is what you told me. >> we are going now to budapest, and then we will make our

passport. and then we will get to the airport, maybe tomorrow or in two days, three days. >> do you believe you can go home? >> of course, i believe it. >> "of course, i believe it" -- she wants to go home. so really the thing is they are hoping they can get home soon. but most people coming, have some sort of a plan, stephanie. >> ali velshi, thank you, and good to see you with us tonight and safe. earlier today ukraine dismissed a proposal from russia that would allow ukrainians to leave the country, but only if they go to russia or its ally belarus. sky news correspondent alex crawford has more on that. and why civilians are stuck in ukraine and what they are forced to endure. >> civilians are in the crosshairs of this war, a brief respite in shelling out a firing in irpin on the outskirts of the capital. meant those still trapped were finally able to escape.

remember none of these people can be certain they won't be fired on again. and they know their neighbors who fled earlier were attacked. >> let's welcome ukrainian parliament member lesia vasylenko, thank you for joining us. represented is from russia and ukraine did sit down for a third round of talks today. but they made no progress. how can we expect any progress to be made when the military is now going after civilians? >> we can't, and that's the absolute truth about it. the force that ukraine's reckoning with i don't think it's anything like the world has seen before. well at least not for decades. it looks like putin wants to out do stalin and hitler put together. and it looks like he wants to have a russian empire come back on the magnitude that the world has not seen before.

to do that putin needs to get hold of ukraine, erase ukraine off the face of the earth as an independent country. and get rid of ukrainians as an independent and free nation. this is exactly what he's doing and what he is giving orders to shoot civilians to bomb schools, to bomb kindergartens, hospitals and to shoot point blank. which might be driving in cities with families that want to get to safety. this is the sad truth. >> we are seeing hundreds of thousand ukrainians flee the trains back to kyiv are also filled with ukrainians coming back to fight. what does that say about the will of the people in your country? >> the will is unbreakable and the will is so strong that the country is now and it's

entering its 13th day of fighting the largest army in the world. we are doing it with our own human resources here on the ground. but also the air and in the sea. and we are prepared to be doing this for many many days to come. and many months to come if necessary. because we have no other choice really. we are a very big country with a lot of people, 44 million. we don't really have anywhere else to go. moreover, we really like where we are. so we're not going to give that up it's ours by law, by international agreements. and we want those agreements to be honored. we want our right to life, to be honored, that's what we're fighting for. >> lesia thank you so much for joining us this evening, i appreciate, it best of luck to you.

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several families back in the u.s.. because they recognize children, they were trying to adopt. >> and i said, oh my gosh, look, this is what we call him. and he was eating. he came up to us asking to be on camera. he spent summers and winters in iowa. getting to know the family who wants to adopt him and his two siblings. >> he's just so special. he wants to be with us so bad. and we have to say, you know, we can't come today. we're waiting. >> the family tells us that there are at least 300 american families in the same boat. >> it's kind of like if they're out of reach and you can't get to them. >> the other family also recognized a kid that they're

trying to adopt. the couple is now in poland. on the border, helping refugees. but also trying to move along the adoption of their child who these say text them every day that he's afraid of the war. >> after the last two years, in my heart, he's been my son. and it doesn't matter what's on paper. he's my son. >> tom you'll miss with that reporting from ukraine. every day, americans are looking to help ukrainians in any way they can. and some are even planning to travel to ukraine to join the fight against russia or lend a hand in support. tonight, i am joined by andrew bennett. an american planning to travel to ukraine from new jersey. i saw this weekend on nightly news. and i said, this man is the pride of the garden state. i have to meet him. i want to share something president zelenskyy said in the interview with abc. watch this. >> if you see, and if you understand how we feel right now. how we fight against all the enemies for our freedom,

support us. support us. and not only with words but with concrete direct steps. do it. and then i think will win. of course, together with all of the world. >> well, zelenskyy is calling for help. the u.s. state department is urging americans not to go to ukraine. you don't have a military background. why are you doing this? >> i am a [inaudible] . i'm able bodied. basically, you can watch zelenskyy. and if you're not inspired, if it doesn't move anything in. you you're not inspired. >> when was the moment when you decided to drop everything? was it about patriotism, humanity or faith? >> i would say a little bit of all. a little bit of all of those things. i imagine it is just the way

the u.s. military feels about their country. and they fight words abroad. so it's really no different. it is really no different that these people need help. america's military sacrifices everything to go to halfway around the world, the other side of the world. they put everything at risk. they put everything on the line for what they believe in. and they believe in freedom. they believe in america. and what's going on in ukraine, what's going on in the way that zelenskyy is so impassioned -- he matters will be speaking from the white house. it's the same thing. it's no different. it's just across in europe. >> you said you aren't going there to play. what do you see yourself doing? >> well, common sense is they're not just going to hand untrained people weapons. anything like that. but i house some leadership qualities. and i'm going to help out. personally, i really want to

help get people in and out. transporting some type of security. i want to be between them. i want to stand between these people that are having everything destroyed in their lives and evil. it's really no more complicated than that. >> how did your friends and family react when you said, you see what's going on in ukraine? i'm going to join the fight? what did they say? >> well, my friends circle is very small. it's been that way for a while. and i kind of see what god's been doing for kind of getting used to being isolated. kind of getting me used to going out with food sometimes. sometimes i go to work and i don't have an appetite, i don't sleep too much. and i can see why this has been going on. i don't like comfort. i've been comfortable my whole life here. it's a wonderful country. it's the greatest country on

earth, at the moment. in my opinion. i'm very privileged. i have a great job, great pay, great opportunities and i want to take what's been giving me freely, i want to give it freely to somebody else. we as far as my effort goes. i want my hands to be over there doing something for them. i want these fee to be over there doing something for them. >> are you in touch organizations there? do you know where you're going when you land? >> i'm making contacts as i go. i'm meeting some ukrainian people at my job. they're telling me, not to worry about it. i have people there to connect you with. >> you have two sisters. what if they told you? >> i'm. >> is anyone saying not to go? >> yes, they understand. >> -- >> it has to be faith to be honest with you. as zelenskyy said, goddess with

them. we so, if you have a certain level of faith, and i'm not saying that i have the certain level of faith, but i am saying this, it's like having a winning lottery. a lottery ticket. and you're not afraid to go spend the last bit of your money in your pocket. because you know you have something waiting for you. >> and you say being born in the united states is like living with the winning lottery ticket? >> well, faith crisis and god, being born in the united states is definitely an advantage. it's a place where we could buy something for $2 and sell for five. >> well, i believe the next time will be speaking with you you will be in ukraine. thank you so much for joining me this evening. it has been a pleasure to meet you. >> thank you. likewise. >> well, i wish you the absolute best. coming up, the incredible story of another man. an 11-year-old ukrainian boy. a boy who traveled hundreds of miles alone to safety. we'll have his story when the 11th hour continues.

there's a lot of confusing information out there right now. some people call it news. but it's not. and we're gonna sit here every night until the truth. >> the last thing before we go tonight, a true hero. an 11 year old ukrainian boy is being hailed as a hero. these of locking officials, after traveling 600 miles by himself to find safety. the boy fled south eastern ukraine by train after fighting broke out at the nearby nuclear plant a few days ago.

he was carrying only a plastic bag, his passport, and a phone number which was written on his hand. his mother sent him to find relatives in slovakia. using that number on his hand, and the documents he brought with him, volunteers were able to help him reunite with slovakian family members. he is now safe. slovakia's interior minister said in a statement, that the boy won the heart of everyone at the border with his smile. he called him a true hero. his mother explained in a facebook video that he she had to stay behind to stay and take care of her sick mother. and thanked all of those who helped her son. saying this in part, your small country has people with big hearts. please save our ukrainian children, and give them a safe haven. and on that good note, i wish you a good night. thank you for staying up late, i will see you at the end of tomorrow.