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Don Lemon Tonight

Massive Russian Convoy Is Nearing Kyiv; International Criminal Court Opens Investigation Into Russian Invasion Of Ukraine; Thousands Of Refugees Fled Ukraine For Safety; Ukrainian Civilians Take Up Arms To Defend Their Country. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired February 28, 2022 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[23:00:00]

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DON LEMON, CNN HOST: This is DON LEMON TONIGHT. Our breaking news, U.S. officials fearing the worst is yet to come for Kyiv. New satellite images show a massive 40-mile-long Russian convoy is getting closer to the Ukrainian capital. U.S. lawmakers in a classified briefing were given a -- quote -- "alarming timeline tonight where when Ukrainian cities could fall to Russia."

We're covering all the angles for you on this breaking news story. CNN's Michael Holmes is Lviv, Arwa Damon is on the Ukrainian side of the border in Shehyni, Sara Sidner is on the Polish side of the border, and Kaitlan Collins is live for us at the White House this evening.

Hello to one and all. Arwa, I'm going to start with you. The U.N. says that more than half a million refugees have fled Ukraine. Right now, you're on that Ukrainian side of the border with Poland where people are trying to flee. What are they telling you, Arwa?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, look, the stories are heartbreaking and absolutely endless. And, of course, every person here is trying to get out, get to safety. But there are big challenges that will face you if you are not a Ukrainian national.

And let me just show you what has been happening along this whole border and this line. Right here, what you're looking at, this is the line for people who are not Ukrainian. You have nationals from any number of African countries. We've talked to people from Ghana, from Guinea, from Nigeria, from Libya, Morocco, and they are all having to wait. You have Indians. You have people from Azerbaijan. And they're also having to walk to get here.

It is absolutely freezing cold out. And then they're having to wait for hours. You can see, I don't know, the fires that they're having to put up. These are also a number of people who said that they tried to get here --

LEMON: Arwa Damon. We're going to try to get Arwa back. She is talking to people who are on the boarder, on the Polish side. And do we have her back? Arwa, are you back? UNKNOWN (voice-over): Oh, sorry.

DAMON: Okay, yeah, we're back, we're back.

LEMON: Go ahead, Arwa. Finish your report, please. You cut out for a moment.

DAMON: Sorry about that, Don. Actually, I was talking to these young men over here earlier. You are all students, right? And you tried to get on the train. And what happened when you tried to get on the train? What were you told?

UNKNOWN: We were traveling from a long distance, from (INAUDIBLE) to Lviv for about eight hours. And we came from Lviv and did come from Lviv to the border (INAUDIBLE) left you behind (INAUDIBLE) 10,000 civilians. And after (INAUDIBLE), you walk about eight miles -- eight hours to the border, which is very stressful.

DAMON: Yeah, of course. And did you try to get on the train?

UNKNOWN: We got on the train. We get on the train.

[23:04:58]

DAMON: And there was someone who I was talking to here earlier who tried to get on the train and wasn't allowed to get on the train.

UNKNOWN: We are told that they are only allowing -- they are not allowing the Blacks to get on board. So, if you're Black and then you go there, you're wasting your time. So, we didn't board ourself. We just went to -- took a bus and then headed to this place.

UNKNOWN: Because usually, Black people that were already there, they were turning around, looking for other borders and other routes because they stood there for a long time and they were not getting on the train because they were stopping them. So, they were warning us not to even try to go there because they will not allow us. That's why we didn't go for the train and try to find another route.

DAMON: And how does that make you feel to hear things like that?

UNKNOWN: I don't know. It's just -- it feels unfair, actually. It feels unfair for us. It just was like we don't have a choice. We just want to get out. So, we kind of try to find another way possible. We don't usually waste more time because the more time we waste, we don't know what's going to happen. Things keep getting worse every day.

And we go -- we get a lot of complaints. For example, don't go to this border because they might not let you in, don't go here. So, you get confused. You don't know where to go to get across the border. So, we just chose this place just to try because we have to try something. If you keep listening, don't go to this border, don't take this train, we might not move at all. It is very frustrating, actually.

DAMON: Yeah, I'm sure it is. Well, I hope you make it across and I hope you really make it home safely. UNKNOWN: Thank you.

DAMON: And Don, the big thing that is really upsetting, I think, for a lot of these non-Ukrainians who have been waiting here and like I said, multiple different nationalities, is that Ukrainians themselves are getting these larger buses and then they're being dropped off. They actually have their own line on the other side. And you can see that you actually can't even see it from here and that's because that line moves very, very quickly. There are no hours long waits on that side.

And things here can get quite tense. As you can imagine, people are so cold. They're so tired. As they try to move up, oftentimes as they're trying to get answers to their questions about what is happening, how long is the wait going to be, they're getting pushed back. We've been seeing people walking around with the fluorescent vests on, holding baseball bats.

We've been seeing the Ukrainian forces also along this whole route holding up groups of, again, non-Ukrainian nationals at various different points. And others who we have been talking to have been saying, yes, they are being forced to do the walk. Ukrainians are being bussed forward and they don't really know why. They don't understand why this is the case.

Now, when it comes to the Ukrainians, it is only women and children that are actually able to cross over. Remember, military-aged men are not being permitted to leave. But there is this overwhelming sense of frustration that there is something that is fundamentally unfair with how this whole process of actually reaching safety is unfolding for everybody who wants to be able to leave, Don.

LEMON: Okay. Arwa, thank you very much. I appreciate your reporting and also what they said there. We're going to follow up on that because -- be safe, Arwa. Thank you very much.

We've been getting a ton of reports about people who are Black not being able to get out or cross the border, not being allowed to do -- to get out of Kyiv or to get out of Ukraine. So, we want to follow up on that.

I want to go to our Sara Sidner, who is on the Polish side now. Arwa was on the Ukrainian side. The people are trying to get to Poland. She is -- Sara is on the Polish side now. Sara, you heard what the man told Arwa there. He said, if you're Black and trying to get out, you're wasting your time. There have been some reports of Black people being treated poorly while they're trying to flee Ukraine.

I understand that you have a firsthand account from a woman. Her name is Naya. What did she tell you, Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So, just quickly, I want to let you know what is going on here. We're on the platform where a lot of people are trying to get on to the trains. And these are people who are refugees, who have come from Ukraine. And just as Arwa was mentioning, these are people who are Ukrainians, born and bred. [23:10:02]

(on camera): These are people who are immigrants to Ukraine. They are students from places like Afghanistan and Cameroon, West Africa, you name it. There are people here from all over the place. It gives you some idea how people were living also in Ukraine. There were a lot of students who are trying to figure out what to do and how to get home as they flee Ukraine.

But also, we are hearing and we have a firsthand account. Now, the person that Arwa spoke to was hearing that this was happening, so they didn't go see it for themselves. Naya says she experienced it herself. She is a mother who was trying to get on the train. There is a free train and that's what everyone is trying to get on so they can leave Ukraine. And that free train had tons of people.

She was noticing that, you know, the Caucasian-Ukrainians were able to get on very quickly, but when it came to her, they literally pushed her back and then pushed another woman, she said, back and the woman fell back and hit her head. Both of them are Black women with children. They were trying to explain that they should be able to get on like everyone else. Here is what else she said. She said it's bad enough for us, but here is what is happening to Black men.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAYA, FLEEING UKRAINE: All the Black guys, no, no, no. There was one inside the train. They went inside the train and showed him gun. Walked out.

SIDNER: They put a gun to a Black man's face?

NAYA: Gun on his face and said, walk out. He walked out because he was (INAUDIBLE).

SIDNER: So, you're telling me that there is discrimination by the Ukrainians against Black people?

NAYA: There is discrimination with Black people entering the train, the free train. They help their people but do not want to help Blacks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER (on camera): Now, you will notice -- you will notice that you didn't actually see her face. She did not want her face shown. She was worried that there was going to be some more abuse or that she would be treated more poorly as she's trying to find where she can go.

She said she cannot go back to Cameroon. She has fled there for a reason. She's been in Ukraine with her husband and child for 10 years. Her child has a Ukrainian passport. But she says, you know, look, I have seen this repeatedly over and over again and it's very disturbing.

But I want to mention, we're talking about 500,000 refugees, and these are people from all over Ukraine. Many, many, many people of different backgrounds but mostly people who were born and raised in Ukraine. And it is a tragedy to see just how many of them, for example, have very young children.

We met a woman who had a nine-month-old baby who was able to make it across and she just said, I'm so thankful that I was able to make it across. We met a woman who had a six-year-old who was sleeping and she said that they had been traveling for five days for something that usually just takes a day.

And they were exhausted and she had tears in her eyes because she said the only reason why she left Ukraine was because the Russians had come in, that they were shooting at them. And the only reason why she left the country that she loves is to try and save her six-year-old. She had to leave her mother behind.

So, these are the kind of stories that we are hearing over and over and over again. It is heart-wrenching and it is something that if you think about it from the perspective of if you had to leave your home within a five-day period, what would that be like? Leave everything, your job, your home, sometimes your family members.

And in Ukraine, the men between certain ages have to stay back. So, one of the women told us she had to leave her husband, but this is what they had to do to make sure their children and themselves were safe. And they don't know how this is all going to end. So much uncertainty and so much heartbreak here. And we've just seen one of the last groups of people who have been held up here for many, many hours leaving on that train to go deeper into Poland.

LEMON: Heartbreak. That's the right word, heartbreaking. Thank you very much, Sara Sidner. Appreciate that.

I want to go now to Michael Holmes. Michael, I want to put up these new satellite images. This imagery is alarming here. A 40-mile-long Russian convoy on the outskirts of Kyiv. Are you hearing anything from Ukrainian officials about what they plan to do if this convoy dissents on Kyiv?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don. Yeah, well, they plan to do what they've done remarkably well so far, and that is fight. I mean, their military. But also, too, we've seen these regular civilians picking up weapons, making Molotov cocktails, preparing to take on tanks if necessary. I saw you interview a couple of those earlier.

This massive column, though, it is worrying. It continues to edge towards Kyiv. It is huge, 40 miles long, as you say, heading to the city, and that is helped to give a real sense here that a new and perhaps grim chapter could be coming in the next couple of days.

[23:15:00]

The way the Ukrainians held back the Russians, pushed them back in some cases, has been widely praised, rightly admired, and almost certainly Vladimir Putin has been seeing that. He's been caught off guard by how much more difficult this has been for his forces. But, you know, the Russians, of course, they still have that overwhelming superiority in numbers, in material.

The fear, I think, Don, is that the Russians are now going to ratchet things up and bring in heavier equipment, a heavier hand, and cause even greater pain for Ukraine. If they go into a city the size of Kyiv, the thought of how bloody those street-to-street battles could be just doesn't bear thinking about, Don.

LEMON: Yeah. Michael Holmes in Lviv. Now to Kaitlan Collins at the White House. Kaitlan, you have been talking to White House officials about this massive convoy, about this possible ratcheting up of forces from the Russian side. What are you hearing?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're obviously monitoring it closely. They see what direction it is headed in. They see how long it is. And of course, it is made up of Russian military vehicles. You can put two and two together there what Michael is talking about, the fears are.

And it's not just the convoy that the White House is concerned about, Don. It is also the increase in violence that we've seen in recent days. The civilian casualties, the indiscriminate killings that are happening. As Michael is saying, there is this concern things are going to get ratcheted up.

That is also a concern that is shared here at the White House because, yes, we have seen this fierce resistance from the Ukrainians so far that surprised many people who have been watching this and analyzing and predicting how quickly the capital like Kyiv could potentially fall to the Russians, something that has certainly surprised the Russians as well.

But in the end, they are still looking at the numbers of what the Russians have and how they're able to add more forces by the days and looking at what the Ukrainians have. They do have this fear here at the White House that the situation is about to get a lot more challenging for the Ukrainians. Obviously, that is their concern.

You have seen the United States and other allies say that they are going to be sending more security assistance to Ukraine to help there. There have been very public pleas from Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and his top aides for more.

But it is also getting more difficult, Don, to get that aide to Ukraine because before, remember, back in early January, they were just flying it into the capital. It is becoming a lot harder now. With the giant convoy like that headed to Kyiv and this concern that officials have that they want to basically encircle the capital city, the question is, how do you get aid there? So, that's something that they're grappling with here in the Biden administration. And that is a big concern that they're obviously watching very closely.

LEMON: Thanks to Kaitlan. Also, Michael, Sara, and Arwa, thanks so much. I want to turn now to the former director of National Intelligence, James Clapper. He is now a CNN national security analyst. Director Clapper, thank you very much. A lot to discuss with you. First off, let us talk about the new satellite images showing a Russian convoy that is more than 40 miles long. It has reached the outskirts of Kyiv. Also tonight, lawmakers during a classified briefing were given what is being called an alarming timeline for when Ukrainian cities could fall. Are you worried Putin is about to ramp up this invasion?

JAMES CLAPPER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, FORMER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Well, I think that's a pretty much conventional wisdom here because the initial attack of -- I guess his hope will shock and awe and intimidate the Ukrainians, will cause them to just fall and give up and go home. Well, obviously, that hadn't been the case.

And you got to imagine the frustration among Putin's part has really built up. We're going into the sixth day of this thing. And so, it's pretty evident what the Russians will do is just put more resource on them.

Now, looking at that imagery of the convoy, I couldn't help but drool a bit and imagine what a couple of Air Force A-10 squads could do to that convoy. They don't display very good convoy discipline by having all those vehicles bunched up like that. That makes for a great target.

But I'm concerned about putting more resources and cutting off Kyiv, which is the primary target, the primary center of gravity, to use the military term, for the Russians. Their original plan, of course, was to capture Kyiv and specifically Kyiv government buildings, media outlets, telecommunications, et cetera, and then have the government capitulate and install a puppet. Well, things haven't gone according to plan.

One other comment, Don, really quickly on the length of time that it will take for Kyiv to fall. Well, one intangible that nobody can measure is will to fight, and we've seen a resolute will to fight on the part of Ukrainians and not so much on the part of the Russians.

[23:19:58]

So, I think the prognostication on how long Kyiv can hold out or on the conservative side, I think it would be longer than short.

LEMON: Interesting. Let let's talk a little bit more about -- you mentioned, you know, what a target that will be. U.S. officials say enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine is currently off the table. Can you explain why a no-fly zone is such a contentious issue? Would it be seen as a big provocation?

CLAPPER: Well, you know, it would be and of course -- I mean, this is consistent with the president's statement, a policy that there will be no U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine and that extends to the air. I think if we're going to do a no-fly zone, I'd love to do that, the time is kind of come and gone for that. It would have been good before hostility started. And mounting a no-fly zone is not a trivial undertaking. A huge resource, lots of coordination with the ground air defense forces of Ukrainians, and of course, it pushes in a position of direct confrontation with the Russians, which, you know, the policy has been thus far not to do that.

LEMON: Yeah. Director Clapper, thank you, sir. I appreciate it.

CLAPPER: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: At least 406 civilians killed or injured after only five days. Should Vladimir Putin be charged with war crimes?

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[23:25:00]

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LEMON: So, tonight, the U.N. says there have been at least 406 civilians killed or injured in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court says it will open an investigation into Russia's invasion as rapidly as possible.

Joining me to discuss is Michael P. Scharf. Michael P. Scharf is the dean of School of Law at Case Western University -- Reserve University. He has previously argued in front of the International Criminal Court. We are so happy to have you here, sir. Thank you very much. Good evening.

Horrible images coming out of Kharkiv, residential neighborhoods shelled. That is according to the mayor there. Nine civilians killed by Russian rocket attacks today, including three children. Is what you've seen so far reached the threshold for war crimes?

MICHAEL P. SCHARF, DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF LAW, CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: Yeah, unfortunately, Don, it definitely does. And because so many people in the Ukraine have videophones and are documenting these and were getting to see what is going on in the cities, in the countryside, we're seeing some really bad war crimes. I think we're seeing crimes against humanity, which are systematic and widespread attacks against a civilian population.

And the president of the Ukraine has even said that there is a potential genocide that could happen if enough people are systematically expelled from Ukraine in order to change its ethnic makeup.

LEMON: Explain to us, if you will, Michael, explain exactly what war crimes are.

SCHARF: So, the war crimes are defined in the 1949 Geneva conventions. And basically, the one that we're most concerned about are called grave breaches of the Geneva conventions. And that is systematic, indiscriminate attacks against civilians during war. And use of cluster ammunitions can do that targeting hospitals, targeting apartment buildings, targeting schools, as we've seen so far in the videos. All of those are serious war crimes.

LEMON: Yeah. You're right, a lot of it has been playing out. We've been seeing the video coming in at a time when everyone has a device in their hands that can record and eventually become evidence.

Thank you, Michael. I appreciate you joining us. Sorry, we're short. We have a lot going on, as you know, but we appreciate you joining us and we'll have you back.

SCHARF: All right. Have a good night.

LEMON: Thank you. You, as well.

A harrowing scene in Ukraine as thousands of civilians desperately try to flee to safety, stranded at train stations, walking over 30 miles in the cold. CNN's Erin Burnett tells us what she saw on the way to the border. That is next.

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[23:30:00]

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LEMON: The U.N. saying 520,000 refugees have already fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion and they warn that that number could rise to four million in the coming days.

CNN's Erin Burnett made the same journey so many are making to get out of Ukraine, a trip that would normally take five hours by car instead took 21 hours. Here is the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The day began well before dawn with air raid sirens.

(On camera): Those sirens you hear actually mark the end of the air raid warning that we just had. The air raid actually went off while it was still dark, while I was getting ready. Had to go to the basement for a little bit. Obviously, it was full because the hotel is absolutely full of people who are fleeing to try to get further west. Now, we're loaded up, a few minutes delayed because of that, and we are about to be on our way to the border.

(Voice-over): We were in the van at 7:00 a.m., driving to a shellshocked city, city where many had already fled. And others were arriving from points further east. The cold is cruel. There are young children everywhere, exhausted families. Most have nowhere to go. Their designation still unknown.

(On camera): This is the main train station here in Lviv. It is unbelievably crowded and most of these people, this is the final stop they can get west. Many of the men are trying to board buses to go to Poland. It is an unbelievable horde of humanity here and I will say this is the most diverse group of people that we have seen since we came into this country.

(Voice-over): Some head straight from the trains to the bus depot.

(On camera): You buy the tickets on the bus. So that's why they're jammed, sort of first come. So, the bus is full to get the tickets.

(Voice-over): We see a group of women and children.

[23:35:00]

UNKNOWN: Unclear how to get bus tickets.

BURNETT (on camera): Unclear how to get bus tickers. Trying to get a taxi. They came from Kyiv. Your whole family?

UNKNOWN: No.

UNKNOWN: We're separated. We don't know each other.

BURNETT (on camera): Don't know each other?

UNKNOWN: Yeah. We met on the train.

BURNETT (on camera): Oh, and now traveling together?

UNKNOWN: Yeah. Trying.

BURNETT (on camera): Yeah, trying.

So, we can see they're on an Uber app. They're looking at trying to get a car to Poland.

(Voice-over): Back in our van, about one hour later, we saw where those ride hires ended.

(On camera): We've just come to a complete stop. We are 28.5 miles from the border exactly. You hear or see cars going the other direction, now we understand why. I was wondering why they were there. It is because people are getting to this point and just turning around and giving up.

(Voice-over): We should be like planning our gas situation because -- the gas here, long gone. Now we know why we've seen abandoned cars. We were stunned. People who have been living normal lives in comfortable houses, in wealthy cities, going to work, to school days before, now with just the clothes on their backs. Others reducing their entire lives to a suitcase. Their babies strapped on, strollers, pets, toddlers walking. These people are 30 miles from the border. They may spend nights in the biting cold.

YON POMRENZE, ERIN'S PRODUCER IN UKRAINE: I wonder if there is anyone who --

BURNETT (voice-over): Our team, here you see, Yon, Hannah and James (ph), didn't have any idea about what to do either. There is no answer. POMRENZE: They're going to start calling the people we have at least on the other side of the border to see if we should try to go to one of the other Polish ones. And then, you know, they say they don't have anyone in terms of figuring out the Slovak or Hungarian, but even, you know, hopefully just if they can look at if there are news reports or something or somewhat recent maybe that could help us make a decision.

BURNETT (on camera): Right. People are posting on social media or something.

POMRENZE: I think if we do the 3.5 hours down there and also bad, and then, you know, where do we end, you know? Which border do we end up spending? Spending the night in the car?

BURNETT (voice-over): This woman was hoping to eventually get to Germany.

(On camera): In an hour and ten minutes, we went about one half of one mile. So that means, obviously, do the math, the distance to the border would take us 57 hours to get there at the pace we're going now. And the situation at this border crossing, as we understand, has deteriorated dramatically.

There is a lot of tension here. We just saw skirmish the other one when someone tried to come in, cut in and come through here at the gas station. And literally the car here that was coming up wouldn't even let that person in. When you're 57 miles, 57 hours away from the border, it just gives you a sense of how desperate people are.

(Voice-over): So, we turned around. Behind us, the end of the line. People here not yet aware they are 30 miles and several days from possibly crossing the border.

This is Mark, a career warzone photo journalist. He's filming almost all of what you're seeing here: lines of cars, more lines of cars, lines of cars. A soul crushing reality. Rare moments of what is normal life along the way. But mostly this, sitting, parked, engine off, waiting.

At checkpoints like this one, Hannah (ph) filmed locals building center block towers and piling up tires to burn to stop Russian advance. We lost count of the number of checkpoints. But one was worse than all the others.

(On camera): So now we're headed for border crossings either on the Hungarian border or the Slovakian border. The line of cars here, though, is actually for a checkpoint. In this particular checkpoint, we have been in line for almost two hours and we probably have at least that far to go all the way up and around that curve and up that hill.

(Voice-over): I was wrong there. It took us more than six hours to get past that checkpoint. People fell asleep waiting. But no one ever cut around a sleeping driver when the line moved three or four car lengths. They just waited. While there, we talked to people like Oleksander who is trying to find a border where he could drop his wife off.

(On camera): Does your wife want you to fight?

OLEKSANDER, TAKING WIFE TO BORDER: No, she actually, like, wants to not fight. She's like scared and says, like, I cannot like decide it on my own. So, I will try to convince her so --

BURNETT (voice-over): Oleksander has a medical degree and says he can help the wounded in an ICU. To him, nothing can be worse than this excruciating wait.

OLEKSANDER: All these lines and queues of cars actually seems more exhausting and harder than to actually fight those Russians.

[23:39:58]

BURNETT (voice-over): I also met Yarina, the only store in the tiny cluster of houses.

YARINA, UKRAINIAN HEADING TO SLOVAKIAN BORDER: Ukrainian people are very strong.

BURNETT (on camera): Yes.

YARINA: And very intelligent. I believe for the peace. I believe for the -- everything.

BURNETT (voice-over): She broke the war news to her family in Russia.

YARINA: And family said, what? War with Ukraine?

BURNETT (voice-over): In Russia. In Russia.

YARINA: But nobody knows about the news with Russia. Nothing says about it.

BURNETT (voice-over): They didn't know.

YARINA: With the Russia --

BURNETT (voice-over): The news is controlled.

YARINA: Absolutely. Not only controlled, absolutely different and liar. In Russia, it's a lot of people there. People don't want war. It's only sick, stupid, you know who.

BURNETT (voice-over): By the time we passed the checkpoint, it was hours past dark. The roads remote. The curves sharp. Suddenly, after so many hours at the checkpoint, it was disconcerting. We didn't see a single car until anywhere near a border. This line is for the Slovakia border. That line was at least 14 hours long. It may have been much, much longer.

We stopped after 17 hours for our driver to nap. His dedication to helping us was incredible. Of course, he is between the ages of 18 and 60, so he is not allowed to leave Ukraine. He could take us only as far as the border, where we unload in a frigid darkness.

There, we met a family who described in shock how they'd watch Putin's rockets streaking across the sky in one of the attacks. The feeling of knowing the rockets would land seconds later somewhere in their country and destroy and kill, leaving them just shaking their heads at us without words.

(On camera): So, this is Hungary. Behind me, the border. It took us 21 hours to get here. Of course, for us, we're now headed home. And for so many people that we saw, afraid, they're leaving behind their homes and for now leaving behind the country that they love so much.

For us, we then drove another four hours because so many of these borders are very remote on both sides. We took multiple flights, and we ended home. The experience was crushing. And I'll be honest, our team found a reservoir of self-control I'm not sure any of us thought we had, Don.

But I can't emphasize enough how in our hearts and our minds, this was fundamentally different for us than for everyone else there, for the Ukrainians. The emotional pain and the loss that they feel, they're facing the unimaginable and unexplainable. A sudden invasion of their home and attack, and they're leaving and they don't know if or when they'll ever come home, Don.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (on camera): Erin, thank you so much. We really appreciate that.

Ukrainians are doing all they can to defend their country. Many even turning to the only weapons they have, and that's home-made Molotov cocktails.

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[23:45:00]

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LEMON: With Russian troops bearing down on Kyiv, the citizens of Ukraine aren't backing down. Volunteers flocking to Kyiv to help support the effort to keep the city out of Russian hands. CNN's Clarissa Ward has more from the capital. Clarissa?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The people of Kyiv are mobilizing. Across the capital, volunteers are pouring in, building up the city's defenses with whatever they can. Women bring in empty bottles to be made into Molotov cocktails. The leaders of this militia say Ukraine will win this war, emboldened by recent successful operations to repel Russian forces.

Juan shows us his passport. I am Ivanof (ph). I am originally Russian, he says, but no Russian boots will stand here. (On camera): Do you have a message for President Putin?

UNKNOWN: Putin (bleep).

WARD (voice-over): It is a popular sentiment on the streets. This man's sign is too vulgar to translate. Another billboard warns invading forces, Russian soldiers, leave, how will you look your children in the eye? Ukraine has born the brutality of this invasion with patient, grit, and determination.

Outside every supermarket, there are long lines and scarce supplies. But no one is complaining.

(On camera): It is amazing to see the optimism of people here. They've been waiting in this line for about 40 minutes to get into the supermarket but still, they're saying everything is going to be okay. You can feel a growing confidence among people that they do have a chance to defeat Russia.

(Voice-over): In an eastern suburb of the city, (INAUDIBLE) front yard has turned into a staging area.

(On camera): So, you can see they're collecting things to donate to people, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, pickles, foods.

(Voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) is a grandmother and a retired economist. Now, she spends her days preparing for battle.

UNKNOWN: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

WARD (on camera): Okay. This is where they make the Molotov cocktails. She says she's going to show us them now.

[23:49:59]

(voice-over): These are the only weapons she has but she says she's ready to fight.

Let those Russian shits come here, she says. We're ready to greet them.

(On camera): How did you learn how to make Molotov cocktails?

(Voice-over): Google helps, she tells me.

You Googled it.

Of course, she says.

(On camera): If Russian forces push into the capital here in Kyiv, what will you do?

(Voice-over): We will beat them. They won't come, she tells us. I believe in our Ukraine. I believe in Ukrainian people. Moments later, she's off. Russian forces are still moving forward. And there is much work to be done. Clarissa Ward, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (on camera): Clarissa, thank you so much. We'll be right back.

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[23:55:00]

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LEMON: If you want to help the people of Ukraine, CNN vetted 14 charities that are on the ground responding right now. And we are adding more as we vet them. For more information, go to cnn.com/impact.

And thank you for watching, everyone. Our live coverage continues with John Vause right after this.

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