CNN Inside Politics

Low-flying helicopters fire on a Russian fuel depot in Belgorod, setting eight tanks holding 3.5 million gallons of fuel ablaze. Russia says the choppers are Ukrainian, but Ukraine's ministry of defense won't take credit for, or even comment on, the attack. Also today, another attempt to get people out of Mariupol. Our coverage begins with correspondent Phil Black in Lviv. To learn more about how...

We're getting conflicting signals about Ukraine battlefield momentum and what comes next as Vladimir Putin's invasion now is in its sixth week. In and around Kharkiv, Ukrainian military officials report 47 mortar and tank strikes by Russia. But in a Kharkiv suburb there are signs of a pushback: burnt out Russian tanks, and evidence of Ukrainian forces retaking a critical road. A UN defense officia...

Despite Russian claims of "drastically" pulling back in two key battle areas, frontline accounts in Ukraine tell us something very different. And US intelligence now believes Vladimir Putin is being deliberately misinformed by his advisers, who are too scared to tell him the truth about the poor performance of the Russian military. Meanwhile, Presidents Biden and Zelensky spoke on the phone for ov...

There is perhaps a glimmer of progress after Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met for several hours in Istanbul today. The diplomats said the talks might clear the way for a meeting between Presidents Zelenskyy and Putin. Just as the talks concluded, the Kremlin announced it will drastically reduce military activity around the capital Kyiv and in the Chernihiv area in northern Ukraine. Senior US ...

We have new and important battlefield developments to report on day 33 of Russia's invasion. In Irpin, just northwest of Kyiv, the mayor says they've retaken the town. But in Mariupol, its mayor says, "We are in the hands of the occupiers." And Ukraine's military intelligence chief warns the Kremlin may be planning to split the country in two. We have it all covered in today's show, beginning with...

President Biden makes a historic trip to Europe to reassure allies and to stress the importance of unity as Russia continues its unprovoked war against Ukraine. But, his Warsaw speech dominated the headlines after he ad-libbed 9 words about Putin that sent shockwaves across the world. Plus, Ukrainians are on the offensive--blowing up a Russian ship and recapturing areas outside of the country’s ca...

President Biden began his Friday with American troops just 50 miles from the Ukrainian border, where he said the US and the world are now at an inflection point in the fight against autocracy. He then received a briefing about the mushrooming refugee crisis in Poland. Today's show starts with a live report from CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins in Warsaw. To learn more about how...

Exactly one month since the Russia invasion, President Biden is in Brussels for an emergency meeting with European leaders to discuss what more they can do to help Ukraine and squeeze Putin. This morning, several major announcements were made, including new sanctions targeting more than 300 Russian politicians. The US will also welcome 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and will give $1 billion in humanit...

The president promises new sanctions and new diplomatic pressure on Vladimir Putin. Before leaving he warned that Russia using chemical weapons is a "real threat." We're in week four of the invasion and Putin's aerial assault is growing more indiscriminate by the day. We start today's coverage in Lviv with CNN's Phil Black. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/priva...

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A Russian rocket strikes a shopping center in Kyiv, killing at least eight people and demolishing everything in sight. The attack follows yesterday's bombing of an art school in Mariupol, where 400 people may be trapped. Russia had been demanding that the besieged city lay down its weapons and surrender, but Ukrainian forces have refused. We bring you the very latest developments in the invasion f...

Russian troops are escalating attacks in civilian areas. Earlier today, a Mariupol school where nearly 400 were sheltering was bombed. And just days ago Russia hit a Mariupol theater-turned-bomb shelter where the Russian word for "children" was painted on the roof. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attacks on the port city an "act of terror" and will go down in history as an exampl...

Today inside Ukraine, sobering confirmation that Vladimir Putin's missiles can touch every town and every life. This morning, dense smoke is billowing from an aircraft repair plant after six missiles were fired toward Lviv. The air defense intercepted two. Four, though, did get through. So far, the picturesque city in western Ukraine has largely been spared from the relentless bombardment of Russi...

Somehow, some way, first responders have pulled survivors from the wreckage of the Mariupol theater pummeled by Russian airstrikes. Hundreds of women and children were trying to ride out the shelling there. In fact, those inside tried to warn the invaders' war planes by writing "children" in big white letters outside the building ... in Russian. But they bombed it anyway, prompting President Zelen...

Speaking from Kyiv, the Ukrainian president addresses a joint session of Congress, imploring the west to close the skies over his nation. He tailored the speech to his audience, invoking the founding fathers, Pearl Harbor, 9/11, and Martin Luther King. And he finished in English with a direct plea to President Biden. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Lear...

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Canadian parliament today, saying, "Please stop the bombing. How many more missiles have to fall on our cities?" His pleas came as a 35-hour curfew in Kyiv was about to begin. Today's episode begins with CNN correspondent Scott McLean reporting live from Lviv, Ukraine. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Le...

New images from day 19 of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine confirm the situation is growing bleaker by the hour. An apartment set ablaze by a Russian missile strike. Firefighters rushing to extract people from the building. Explosions at the Ukrainian military base just 12 miles from its border with Poland, a NATO ally. And, remember the image of the pregnant woman that appeared on front pages...

At least 35 are dead and more than 100 wounded after Russian missiles hit a Ukrainian military base near the Polish border. The cities of Mariupol and Kharkiv are in ruins, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is pleading with the US and NATO for more military and humanitarian assistance. Plus, President Biden says the US won’t get involved in World War III as the White House warns Russia ma...

"We have serious concerns that Russia may be planning to use chemical or biological agents ... for assassinations as part of a stage or false flag incident, or to support tactical military operations." Those chilling words today from Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN. Ukraine President Zelensky agrees, saying Russian propaganda about Ukraine supposedly developing those types of...

A meeting between Ukraine's and Russia's foreign ministers ends without an agreement for ceasefire. No agreement means more war. Ukraine's president says humanitarian corridors are trying to ferry people along kill zones. But there are many reports of Russian interference. Today's episode begins with reports from Kyiv. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Le...

Ukrainian authorities in Mariupol say Russian forces bombed a maternity hospital today. Video from the scene shows victims stumbling out from the wreckage through snow and ash. Officials say it was packed with pregnant women, children, and infants. Ukraine President Zelensky called the attack an "atrocity" and is once again demanding more action from the west, including a no-fly zone. It follows w...

Today's episode begins as Ukraine President Zelensky is about to address the UK Parliament to appeal for more help in his fight against Vladimir Putin. This was shortly after President Biden addressed one of Zelensky's requests by unilaterally banning all imports of Russian energy. These dramatic new developments come amid sad new evidence that very few places inside Ukraine remain safe. At least...

Today we're seeing new video of the rumble and smoke of explosions in Mykolaiv along the Black Sea, and more intense fighting in and around the capital, Kyiv. Putin is proposing new escape routes, all on roads that lead to Russia or Belarus. Zelensky says the Russian side simply wants to watch his country burn. In this episode our CNN correspondents and their teams on the front lines bring you the...

Russia is stepping up its bombardment of major Ukrainian cities, killing hundreds if not thousands of civilians. In a weekend Zoom call with U.S. lawmakers, Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky asked for more military aid and a no-fly zone. But Vladimir Putin is warning NATO that Russia will view anyone enforcing a no-fly zone to be active participants in the war. Plus, the White House believes t...

While urgent meetings on Russia's invasion were taking place at the UN and in Brussels, gruesome and disturbing new images emerged from Ukraine. A firefight at a nuclear plant that Russia now occupies tops the list of actions drawing harsh global rebuke. But Vladimir Putin isn't listening, and the destruction grows every hour. Listen to this episode to hear the very latest from our CNN corresponde...