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Ukraine Marks Fourth Anniversary Of The Invasion; Trump: State Of The Union "Is Going To Be A Long Speech"; Violence Flares After Mexican Military Kills Cartel Boss; Police: Former U.K. Ambassador To U.S. Released After Arrest; How Ukrainians Are Coping After Four Years Of War; Iranian Students Ramp Up Protests On Campus; More Than 6,000 Flights In U.S. Canceled Monday Amid Storm. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired February 24, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:00:00]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And remember, last year as he addressed Congress in a joint session, the president went one hour and forty minutes which broke modern presidential records. I believe he beat Bill Clinton's record for how long a president has addressed Congress.

You can watch that tomorrow night here on CNN. Of course, Senator Elizabeth Warren, others, as they noted, will be in the audience. Some Democrats are boycotting it.

Our special coverage will begin at 8:00 P.M. Eastern. And I'll be covering it all with my latest reporting with my amazing CNN colleagues before and after the speech.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead on "CNN Newsroom," Ukraine marks the somber four-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion as President Zelenskyy outlines the security guarantees he's looking for in any peace deal.

President Trump will try to claim economic success and his State of the Union address tonight, but a new poll shows most Americans are not buying it.

And a new clue emerges in the Nancy Guthrie investigation. Was the man in the doorbell video stalking her days before she vanished?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. And we begin in Ukraine, where the country is marking the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion and the start of full-scale war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to speak this hour, and Kyiv's allies are joining also commemorating the grim event. The capital city of Kyiv and every other city in the country held a moment of silence earlier for those lost in the conflict. It's a daily event now as Ukrainians remember their lost loved ones.

Zelenskyy is also sending a message of strength to the country. He is urging Ukrainians to remember, quote, we fight for life for the right to stand on our land and to breathe our own air. And he adds that Ukraine wants a strong, dignified, lasting peace.

I want to bring up -- we want to go now to CNN's Clare Sebastian. She joins us live from London.

So, Clare, as Ukraine and European leaders mark this somber four-year anniversary of the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, where do efforts stand right now to end the war?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, we've seen a year of efforts by the Trump administration to sort of advance diplomacy towards a peace deal. And I think, look, over the past few months, we have seen progress when it comes to security guarantees. Certainly, originally, we didn't know if the U.S. was going to be involved in them. Now they are. There is a document, Zelenskyy said, but it hasn't been signed yet.

And he is really clear on the sequencing of things. He wants those security guarantees to be signed before they sign an eventual peace deal.

But as he has told our colleague, Clarissa Ward, in Kyiv this week, the U.S. appears to want those two things to happen at the same time, which, you know, he seems to be suggesting that Ukraine could get on board with.

But, obviously, all of that is hypothetical until we get to the point of an actual ceasefire, which so far Russia is not committing to, nor is it committing so far to any compromises in peace negotiations, where it continues to demand that Ukraine withdraw from the section of the Eastern Donbas region that it still controls militarily and that still contain many of its biggest fortifications.

So, diplomacy is ongoing, but isn't showing any sort of real signs of progress. The E.U.'s top diplomat said on Monday that she wasn't optimistic of a deal being reached in the coming months.

So I think, look, this is a somber anniversary for Ukraine for that reason, as well as, of course, all the loss and grief that they remember on this day.

And I think when we see this show of support from many European leaders and ministers who have turned up in Kyiv today to mark this occasion, it will raise questions for exhausted Ukrainians about what exactly the plan is going forward.

Is it to continue to sort of drip feed Ukraine weapons so it can continue to resist Russia and hopefully wait for Russia to be exhausted first? Or is something more out there to be done? Is there more pressure to be put on Russia?

And I think a lot of those questions will be focused on the role that the United States has played, the leading role in that diplomatic process, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. And, Clare, there's very much the sense across Ukraine that it's being forgotten in all of this. So, even President Zelenskyy really asking and making a plea to the U.S. president to -- to stay on Ukraine's side. There's a -- a sense that -- that hasn't been happening.

SEBASTIAN: Yes. That was a very interesting comment in his interview with our Clarissa Ward that what he wants to hear out of Trump's State of the Union Address today is that he would stay on Ukraine's side. I think that was a very subtle diplomatic nod to the fact that we've seen this sort of seesaw effect in this diplomatic process over the past year.

[04:05:18]

Ukraine and its European allies have worked extremely hard to bring the Trump administration, and in particular President Trump himself, around to their way of thinking. We've seen lots of meetings, lots of visits.

Every time there's been a call between Presidents Trump and Putin, the Europeans have tried to -- to -- to move in, to -- to -- to reinforce their way of thinking. And we have seen that many times President Trump has seemed to revert back to the Kremlin way of thinking perhaps the most damaging episode of that was with the emergence of that 28- point peace plan in November that contained many of Russia's maximalist demands, which Ukraine and its allies have now spent the last couple of months trying to -- to -- to -- to sort of correct and to reverse.

So, I think there is a concern around that and whether or not they can convince the U.S. to put meaningful pressure on Russia in this process, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And as we're talking, we're looking at these pictures of some European leaders with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and in the church and there's been prayers. And they're gathering there in support of him.

Talk to us about -- we're looking at those pictures now in actual fact. Talk to us about what is happening there as opposed to what's happening in Brussels, Belgium today.

SEBASTIAN: Yes. So like we see a really big show of support, Ursula von der Leyen, the E.U. Commission Chief who you saw there. This is her 10th visit to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion.

She said today, there is a clear effort to show solidarity, but as I said, it will come with major questions from Ukrainians. Because look, on the one hand, yes, Europe has stepped up in a big way this year as the U.S. has abruptly stopped direct military support to Ukraine. There's some statistics from the Kiel Institute that tracks this that European aid has increased military aid by 67 percent in 2025 compared to the average of the previous three years.

But overall, military aid actually declined slightly last year because the U.S. had pulled back. And even despite that, Ukraine has managed to hold back any major strategic gains by Europe.

But, you know, on the eve of this, Europe did not manage to adopt its 20th package of sanctions on Russia amid opposition from Hungary over -- over a spat over Russian oil.

So, again, look, this is optically speaking a big show of support, but Ukrainians and President Zelenskyy has been relatively open about this, are looking for more.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Clare Sebastian bringing us that report from London. Many thanks.

Well, U.S. President Donald Trump is set to deliver his State of the Union Address to the American public and both Houses of Congress in the coming hours. He's expected to try to convince skeptical Americans that his policies are working and that a promised economic golden age is right around the corner.

On Monday, he gave this preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a country that's now doing well. We have the greatest economy we've ever had. We have the most activity we've ever had. I'm making a speech tomorrow night and you'll be hearing me say that. I mean, it's -- it's going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Many Americans don't seem to share President Trump's optimistic tone and they remain dissatisfied with key issues like the cost of living.

CNN's Kristen Holmes has results of the latest CNN poll on the president's priorities and what many Republicans are hoping he does Tuesday night.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump will deliver his State of the Union Address on Tuesday at a time when more and more Americans are growing wary of the president and his policies.

A new CNN poll shows this that just 32 percent of Americans now say that Trump has had the right priorities while in his second term in office. Sixty-eight percent say that he hasn't paid enough attention to the country's most important problems. Now, if you talk to those Americans, it shows that the most important problem they believe at this current time in the country is affordability, cost of living. And Americans are hoping President Trump takes to the stage, delivers this address and actually talks about the cost of living, talks about the economy and does so in empathetic terms.

And it's not just everyday Americans who are feeling this who want to hear that from President Trump. It's also Republicans who are up for the midterms in November who will be on that ballot who know the issue of affordability is one that is really hurting a lot of Americans.

But whether or not President Trump can actually stay on message, that, of course, is the big question. His team says that he understands the importance of this moment, that he is ready for a reset. They want to view this as a way for him to start kind of getting into the midterm politics and focusing on the things the American people want him to be focused on.

[04:10:03]

But we've heard that before and President Trump has gone off message. We'll see what happens when he goes up to deliver that address on Tuesday.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Members of the gold medal winning U.S. men's hockey team are back on American soil and headed to Washington for the State of the Union address. They touched down in Miami after their two-to-one overtime win against Canada on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW TKACHUK, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: It's been a whirlwind. It's been amazing. It's a dream of ours. It was such an amazing way to unite the country.

We felt the support being across the -- the Atlantic and now being back on home soil. We can feel it the second wheels at the ground.

JACK HUGHES, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Gold medals, it's so important for us because we work so hard to get to that point. And, you know, it's for us, but the best part is, it's for like, I was saying this, the day of the gold medal, it's for all the guys that have come before us and, you know, all the young kids that are -- are going to come after us.

AUSTON MATTHEWS, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Feeling great, a little tired, but it feels good to be home. And celebrating with the guys, our families last night. It's special. It means a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: The team celebrated in the locker room in Milan with FBI Director Kash Patel, who shared a congratulatory phone call from President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. I can send the military plane.

I must tell you, we're going to have to bring the women's team. You do know that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

(LAUGHS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two for two. Two for two.

TRUMP: I do believe I probably would be impeached. OK?

(LAUGHS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The gold medal winning U.S. women's hockey team has declined an invitation to the State of the Union Address citing scheduling issues.

And you can watch special coverage of President Trump's State of the Union Address right here on CNN. It begins Tuesday at 8:00 P.M. in Washington, 9:00 A.M. Wednesday in Hong Kong.

A calculated decision to take out Mexico's most wanted drug lord has set off a wave of violence across the country and left many tourists stranded. But some major airlines say they expect to resume flights to and from Mexico in the hours ahead.

Americans flooding the U.S. State Department's crisis hotline had been told to seek shelter and stay put. Mexico deployed thousands of troops amid the unrest. Its president says they're maintaining peace and security and that life is getting back to normal.

That's after the Mexican military killed the notorious kingpin known as El Mencho. He was the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. And you can see it operates across almost all of Mexico on that map.

The U.S. calls it one of the five most dangerous criminal organizations in the world and has labeled it a foreign terrorist organization.

Since Sunday, its members have clashed with security forces, ignited fires and set up hundreds of roadblocks. There are growing worries the chaos could become an all-out turf war among drug traffickers or that the cartels could declare a narco war against the Mexican government.

CNN's Valeria Leon takes a closer look at how the violence is affecting the country and how the operation to take out the El Mencho went down.

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VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scorched vehicles in the streets of Jalisco. This is a war-like scene left behind by the violence that erupted after the killing of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as El Mencho.

Residents of Puerto Vallarta, fear tourists will flee the country's third most visited destination.

SALVADOR, TOUR GUIDE IN PUERTO VALLARTA (voice-over): We've been eagerly waiting for spring break in Easter because that's when business really picks up. We can earn extra money for our families, but now, we don't know what's going to happen. We live off tourism.

LEON (voice-over): Flights to the beach town were canceled through Monday, paralyzing the airport. Businesses looted and vandalized, prompting a state of emergency declared by the governor of Jalisco.

President Claudia Sheinbaum assured the public on Monday that this situation is under control.

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The most important thing is to guarantee peace, security, and tranquility throughout Mexico. And that is what is being done.

LEON: Mexico's Defense Secretary provided details about the operation that led to the capture of the infamous leader and founder of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Authorities say they tracked the movements of one of El Mencho's romantic partners, which led them to Nemesio Oseguera.

RICARDO TREVILLA, MEXICAN DEFENSE SECRETARY (through translator): On February 20, for Central Military Intelligence work, a trusted associate was located, one of the romantic partners of El Mencho, who transported her to a facility in the town of Tapalpa, Jalisco.

[04:15:13]

LEON (voice-over): Mexican Army ground personnel carried out the operation with the country's National Guard, authorities said, and sustained casualties after criminal groups launched counter attacks.

OMAR GARCIA HARFUCH, PUBLIC SECURITY SECRETARY (through translator): Twenty-seven cowardly attacks against authorities were recorded. In Jalisco alone, there were six attacks in which 25 National Guard members lost their lives.

LEON (voice-over): Emerging from the chaos, young residents are sending a message to authorities.

CAMILLA GONZALEZ, JALISCO RESIDENT (voice-over): I hope authorities can secure the areas that were most affected so we can feel safer.

LEON (voice-over): Twenty-five hundred army troops have been deployed to the state of Jalisco to maintain order, the federal government confirmed. And as calm slowly returns, residents are still taking precautions.

BIANCA GUADALUPE, WORKER IN JALISCO (through translator): If anything happens, I close my business. If we hear anything at all, we shut down.

LEON (voice-over): Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we'll be right back.

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[04:20:50]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. London police say the former British Ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, has been released on bail. He was arrested Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office amid the growing Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, is live this hour in London and joins us now. Good morning to you again, Nic.

So, what more can you tell us about the arrest of Mandelson, of course, what happens next?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. The police late yesterday afternoon said they arrested a 72-year-old man. They -- later this last night, overnight about nine hours later, said they released on bail pending investigations, a 72-year-old male, Peter Mandelson, returned to his home after release from the -- fro the police station.

And all of this stems from allegations about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein that stemmed from the time when he was the business secretary in the U.K., and he is alleged to have sent government documents, market-sensitive government documents to Epstein during that period between 2008 and 2010.

It's going to put further pressure on the British prime minister who -- who has already said that he'll release documents relating to the sort of separate period, if you will, of when he decided to place Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to the United States, later firing him September last year because of the release of documents relating to the association of Mandelson with Epstein at that time.

This arrest now is going to put further pressure on the British prime minister. And it's going to come on a day when and Parliament is expected to be what's known as a humble address by one of the opposition parties that will call for the release of documents relating to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's appointment as a British trade envoy back in 2001.

And, of course, British police arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on the same charges that have been leveled at Peter Mandelson that is misconduct or allegations of misconduct in public office.

Now, the British government's release of documents relating to Mandelson's position or appointment as ambassador to the United States, the government has already said the release of those documents could be delayed due to ongoing police investigations. And it is quite possible that any movement towards releasing documents that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor could fall under the same auspicious. That there's a current police investigation into him and there may be a limit to what can be released.

Rosemary?

CHURCH: Nic Robertson, bringing us that live report from London. Many thanks.

A new clue emerges in the Nancy Guthrie investigation, a source tell CNN the masked person seen on the doorbell camera footage on the morning Guthrie's believe to have been kidnapped, was also there on another night.

According to the source, the photos and video of the suspect were taken on two different dates, not just on February 1st when officials believe Guthrie was abducted. The masked person is seen wearing a backpack in the video, but not in the stills.

Guthrie, the mother of "Today's Show" host, Savannah Guthrie, was last seen on January 31st. Investigators still have no leading theory about a motive or her whereabouts. Authorities have not ruled out the possibility that more than one person was involved.

We are keeping an eye on events across Europe as Ukrainians and world leaders mark the fourth anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine. More of our live coverage, next on "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:25:34]

CHURCH: All right. Today, marks four years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And world leaders are making the grim anniversary of marking it. And we want to go straight to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is addressing the European Parliament right now remotely from Kyiv. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Firm position on Russia's aggression against Ukraine. We truly feel that many Europeans do care about what will happen to Ukraine and whether we will be able to achieve a reliable and lasting peace.

And we never -- we never chose this war. We -- we didn't start it and we did not provoke it. And we do everything we can to stop it.

And this is not the first time in our history that Moscow comes to Europe with a very cruel, ruthless, anti-European project. There are many dictatorships in the world. Some sail themselves off within their own borders, trying to block any outside influence of freedom. And others do not recognize borders at all and actively try to destroy the freedom of their neighbors, entire regions, and sometimes even the whole world.

When we deal with Russia, we face the second type of threat. It's a mentality, unstable dictatorship that cannot accept that in Europe, every life matters. Human rights are important and nations can be protected, whether they are big or small.

Putin cannot accept one simple thing that someway our people can live differently and enjoy a life that is not the one he prefers. That is why he -- he has been consistently trying to break someone, not just now, not just for four years, but throughout his entire time in power.

He is war itself. Yes. And anyone who supports Putin cannot fail to understand that they are choosing war. This was true in 1999 and it is true today. He doesn't even pretend to be different.

[04:30:05]

Putin's Russia started with a war in Chechnya, then moved on to Georgia. And openly disrespects the independence of all each neighbors, except China and North Korea, because it depends on them.

Russian forces destroyed lives in Syria and in African countries. And in many, many ways, this is also what caused the waves of migrants to Europe.

Russia supports the insane regime in Iran and ignores any number of killings. And we cannot pretend this is not happening. The European Parliament has never, never deceived itself and has never traded European principles for any benefits in relations with Russia.

Many European leaders, national, parliament, politicians and millions of Europeans act with the same principles. And I thank all of you for this.

And unfortunately, this is not the first time Ukraine has to defend itself from a Russian invasion. By the -- the first time, we have such a large coalition supporting Ukraine and this is one of our shared achievements of everyone who was not afraid on February 24, 2022 and of everyone who is not afraid today.

And today, we must be just as determined and strong as we were when the invasion began. The threat hasn't become smaller. Yes, we are holding Russia back, but we have not yet guaranteed security. And only together can we do this together in Europe. Yes, together with America.

And, of course, we all understand that this is not an easy task to maintain transatlantic unity and cooperation in the current conditions. But I am grateful to everyone who, despite all the challenges, continues to preserve these globally important link between Europe and America, and between all the world's democracies. We must continue to formally apply the full range of protection against Russia from strong sanctions to real support for life after Russian strikes. Each of you understands what fails Putin's wallet with money and allows him to drag out these wars.

So, there must be no place in the free world for Russian oil, for Russian tankers, Russian banks, Russian sanctions, invasion, schemes or for any Russian war criminals. The time has come to fully ban all participants in Russia's aggression from entire Europe.

We also need the full range of security guarantees for Ukraine. Thank you. And to prevent Russia from spreading its aggression in Europe. And to ensure that we can support any European nation if it becomes a target of a new Russian war.

Right now, there is an important decision, important decision on the table, 90 billion euros in support for Ukraine over two years. This is a real financial guarantee of our security and our resilience and it must be implemented. And I thank everyone who is working to make it happen. Thanks all of you.

And it is important for us to receive a clear date for joining the E.U.

(APPLAUSE)

Very important as a -- as a part of the diplomacy process right now, within all the diplomacy aimed attending the war.

And this is not just a wish. It's a clear understanding of how Putin will act. If there's no date, if there's no such guarantee, he will find a way to block Ukraine for decades by dividing you, by dividing Europe. We must protect ourselves from this.

And I'm really -- I'm -- I'm grateful to every European country that is working with us to support our energy system, our air defense and our Coalition of the Willing.

[04:35:08]

The Coalition of the Willing has already brought together European nations, the United States, Canada, Japan and others. Please help give real substance to the work of the Coalition of the Willing and truly be willing to end this war.

In many ways, we can see how Russia shows contempt for Europe, but Russians should learn that Europe is not just a lent for the villas of Russian oligarchs. It's not -- it's not a museum for the lovers of Russian officials to admire beauty, another place of leisure for Russian killers.

Russians must learn that Europe is a union of independent nations and millions of people who do not tolerate humiliation and will not accept violence. Please.

(APPLAUSE) Thank you. Please, continue to defend the European way of life. Please support Ukraine. Please support our diplomacy for peace and be effective. Every result you achieve is a line that Putin cannot cross. Thank you for all these years. Thank you so much. Slava Ukraine.

(APPLAUSE)

CHURCH: Great thanks there and a message to stay united from Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, addressing the European Parliament remotely from Kyiv on this fourth anniversary of the war in Ukraine.

He repeated his call for a clear date for Ukraine to join the European Union. He said the time has come to fully ban all participants in Russian aggression and he said that Putin cannot accept that people can live differently in other countries.

All right. Continuing on, and Ukrainians are paying the price of the invasion, living in fear of constant strikes and dealing with the loss of their loved ones. CNN's Clarissa Ward has this report. A warning though, some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the outskirts of Odessa at an abandoned railway station, the smell of death hangs heavily in the air.

These railroad cars once carried cargo across the country, now they hold the remains of thousands of Ukrainians.

As repatriations from territories seized by Russia have increased, the arrivals have become more frequent and the numbers harder to comprehend.

WARD: More than 80,000 Ukrainians are officially missing in this war, and the vast majority of those who are missing are believed to be dead.

WARD (voice-over): For thousands of families searching for their loved ones, the waiting has become its own kind of battlefield.

Outside the city, we meet Snizhana Shestakova, her husband, Oleg (PH), a sergeant in the Ukrainian army, went missing on October 30th, 2024 after a failed attack on Russian positions in Donetsk.

WARD: It's the sign here that says, yes, Oleg is alive.

SNIZHANA SHESTAKOVA, WIFE OF MISSING SOLDIER (through text translation): I look at it and I repeat it to myself.

WARD: Because you need to believe.

WARD (through text translation): Because you need to believe it's true.

SHESTAKOVA: Yes.

WARD (through text translation): That he's still alive.

SHESTAKOVA (through translator): I believe he is alive because he left saying, whatever they tell you, don't believe anyone. I will definitely return.

WARD: She says, the dog is old now. He's 15 years old and they sit and they wait together for him to come home.

WARD (voice-over): Oleg's backpack still sits in the hallway. Snizhana spends her days going through their messages to each other.

OLEG, MISSING SOLDIER (through text translation): I had a great day today, bunny. I'm coming home. Come meet your love.

WARD: Can you help us understand the pain of living with not knowing? It is one thing to go through, the pain of grieving, but the agony of not knowing is a unique form of cruelty.

[04:40:15]

SHESTAKOVA (through text translation): It's very difficult to live through it. You know, it's such a feeling, just dead inside, just dead, torn apart in small pieces.

WARD (voice-over): After four long years of war, Ukraine and its people are being stretched to the limit. Murals on the road into Kyiv celebrate the heroism of Ukrainian soldiers, but inside many apartments, families are fighting a quieter battle against the cold.

WARD: I don't know if you can hear it's almost deafening now everywhere you go in Kyiv, the sound of generators.

WARD (voice-over): Relentless Russian strikes on energy infrastructure have left residents facing constant power and heating outages during the coldest winter in years.

Mamacita was Svitlana Kivirenko's dream.

WARD: Hello. Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Nice to meet you.

WARD (voice-over): Built from the ground up, a place where moms and their kids could escape the grind of war.

SVITLANA KIVIRENKO, MAMACITA FOUNDER: We feel secure. We had this nail salon. We had makeup here. We had cosmetologist, so mom could take --

WARD: A break.

KIVIRENKO: A break, yes, and relax.

WARD (voice-over): Earlier this month, Svitlana finally had to close Mamacita. KIVIRENKO: I died that time, really. I mean, because it's -- it's -- it's my heart, it's my dream, but it was just one day generator broke, and that's it.

WARD: You know, there's this idea that Ukrainians are just like superhuman superheroes.

KIVIRENKO: We are not -- we are not superhumans. We are not robots. We are not super people. We are human. And we are breakable, unfortunately.

WARD: And do you think a lot of people are at breaking point?

KIVIRENKO: I'm sure.

WARD (voice over): For Veronika Burminova, breaking down is not an option. She is raising her three-year-old daughter, Masha, on her own.

Tonight, they will climb 10 flights of stairs to reach their apartment.

VERONIKA BURMINOVA, CHARITY WORKER (through text translation): Masha is a star. Masha is a good girl?

WARD (voice-over): There is no power and they do not trust the elevator, even with the emergency generator.

After two months of outages, it has become a familiar routine.

BURMINOVA (through text translation): Woo, we got to our floor.

WARD (voice-over): Inside the apartment, Masha shows us how they keep the lights on.

WARD: That's so pretty. That is so pretty. And now you have light from a power bank. You have two power banks.

WARD (voice-over): In the kitchen, they make tea by candlelight using a portable gas stove. Dinner is usually instant soup or noodles, but they are lucky that they still have heat.

WARD: How long can you go on like this?

BURMINOVA (through translator): Honestly, I don't know. I live in the moment but sometimes it's tough. There are days when I run out of steam and I tell her, Masha, I am not angry at you and I don't want to shout at you. I just have no more strength. Mama is tired. And she understands.

WARD (voice-over): As night falls, the city goes dark. In the end, Ukraine's greatest strength may have become its heaviest burden, a nation expected to endure without end.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: President Trump's top diplomat is expected to meet the Israeli Prime Minister next week. An Israeli officials say Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Benjamin Netanyahu will meet on Monday after the trip was delayed.

They are expected to discuss the latest developments with Iran after U.S. and Iranian officials meet in Geneva on Thursday for another round of nuclear negotiations.

Meanwhile, in Tehran, students are still protesting at university campuses. The demonstrations coinciding with morning ceremonies for those killed by security forces during last month's anti-government protests.

CNN's Paula Hancock has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When it comes to those protests, we've seen it a number of universities over the weekend. It was really a combination of the beginning of a new semester at these universities, and also the 40-day morning period in Iran of some of their friends and -- and loved ones who had been killed during the protests at the beginning of the year killed by Iranian security forces.

[04:45:12]

So, what we're seeing from Iranian officials at this point is we are hearing positive sounds from the Iranian side. We have been hearing over the weekend from the foreign minister. He's done a number of U.S. media interviews saying that he is hopeful that a deal can be struck when it comes to the nuclear program with the United States, saying that they're working on a counterproposal at this point.

That was the end of last week, saying it would be ready within days. So potentially, we could hear something on that very soon. But let's listen to -- to what he said over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: And I believe that when we meet probably this Thursday in Geneva, again, we can work on those elements and -- and prepare a good text and come to a fast deal.

This is my understanding. I -- I see it quite possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, one of the key stumbling blocks is the highly enriched uranium, the -- the -- the U.N. nuclear watchdog estimated last year that -- that Iran still has some 440 kilograms of -- of highly enriched uranium, they estimate.

We did hear from an Iranian official speaking to Reuters saying that they believed a deal could be done with some kind of a combination of exporting part of that HEU and then diluting another part of the most highly enriched uranium.

But what they want, it appears, is that there has to be an acceptance of Iran's right to enrich something which President Trump has said in the past is a red line.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we'll be right back.

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[04:50:25]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

An historic bomb cyclone is moving out to sea after battering the northeastern U.S. with extreme snowfall, hurricane force wind gusts and blizzard conditions.

The storm broke records across the region. Providence, Rhode Island, saw the most snowfall, more than three feet, in what turned out to be the city's biggest snowstorm on record.

This drone footage from Massachusetts shows the storm's fury along the coast, where extreme winds hammered cities and took down power lines. The system sparked white-out conditions and led to treacherous travel and power outages.

In Massachusetts alone, more than 250,000 customers are still without electricity.

In New York, snow covered streets and frozen bicycles could be found in Times Square after the brutal winter storm. Officials of urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel as cleanup efforts continued.

And more than 6,000 flights were canceled Monday amid the winter storm. About 1,500 of those were at airports in the New York area.

CNN's Jason Carroll is in New York with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it has just been a nightmare for travelers on this day. I mean, you can look and see what it looks like at this point at Newark International. You could hear a pin drop out here.

Basically, no flights coming in. No people coming in. No people going out. That's why what you see here are empty security lines. And so many cancellations on the board here.

This board actually isn't pretty -- isn't -- isn't accurate, because it do -- it does still show some flights being showing on time. That's not true. This board has not been updated. Those flights are not going to be going out on time. At one point, FlightAware, the flight tracking website, put it this way. Throughout the day, flights at all the major airports in New York City basically were not taking off.

And not just New York. They also included, at one point, Boston, and also Philadelphia International.

So what happened to travelers that we spoke to? Many of them who couldn't get out had to end up using this airport as their temporary hotel room. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was dropped off at six o'clock yesterday morning, because who was going to ride you during the day? So our flight was supposed to leave at 11:45. It got delayed twice.

And then finally, I guess they fixed the plane. And they were sending a rescue plane. But they winded up -- we winded up going on the original plane. That was delayed coming in.

CARROLL: Oh, boy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, we got on the actual plane. They were deicing it. By the time they deiced it, it was the winds, I guess, picked up.

CARROLL: And what time was that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe around -- we were supposed to board. We boarded at 6:00, maybe, 6:30, seven o'clock.

So we all got off the plane. And then winded up sleeping here. So this is something I'll check off my bucket list.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yesterday, we was out in New York. And then we got -- I received an email saying that our flight had been canceled. That's fine. They're going to re-book it. So they re-booked the flight for today. No, wait. Our flight was meant to be for today at 6:00 P.M. And then they canceled that. Then they re-booked it for 10:00 P.M.

And we're on our way in our (INAUDIBLE) right? And then we get another --

CARROLL: A notification.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, a notification, another email saying that our flight has been delayed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: So, what happens next? Many of those travelers that we spoke to won't actually be able to get out tomorrow. They're, in all likelihood, going to have to get out the following day, or maybe even the day after, it depends, because the carriers don't want to overload the system by taking all those flights that were canceled today and moving them to the following day. [04:55:07]

So for many of the folks that we spoke to, that nightmare of trying to get home continues.

Jason Carroll, CNN, Newark.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: On a brighter note, you may have heard of a food fight, but have you ever been in a flower fight?

In Greece, it's an annual tradition, hundreds of people in a coastal town marched through the streets, throwing colorful clouds of flower everywhere.

The event dates back to the 19th century. It marks the end of a carnival season and the start of the 40-day Lent period leading up to Orthodox Easter.

I want to thank you so much for joining us this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Early Start with Audie Cornish" starts at the top of the hour.

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