the governor said this morning that the military still controls that area. there are still civilians inside, but russian forces have now entered the out skirts of that city. is surrounded by russian forces. since russian forces haven t been able to storm in and take that city, it s going to be a heavy combat to take that city. they will incrementally work their way toward donetsk and take that pocket. one thing to keep in mind, there are still civilians inside. the last evacuation combo was kind of going out. another thing that happened was president biden visiting kharkiv. they pushed russian forces largely out.
welcome back. thank you for watching us here in the united states, canada, and all around the world. i m kim brunhuber, this is cnn newsroom. we are learning more of russia s attempts to cross a key river in the tdonbas. they may have lost as many as 70 armored vehicles when ukrainian forces took out pontoons over the river. russian forces haven t made as much ground as a result. here s how their progress has been summed up so are fa far. the ukrainians say fighting is raging in the luhansk region.
i have been involved with those stories, so i haven t talked to sources. in [inaudible] some american intelligence has been important factor as a force multiplier, you can argue. if you were there on the ground, getting the eye level information about where units are, their capacities, our weather movements, are with the logistics are, that gives you a real heads up and real advantage that a smaller country normally wouldn t have. it suggests that the forces haven t been able to take a global command centers that have resulted in dozen generals being killed. they ve received help from united states and kick taking out that flagship, the most spa. the point of view of the russians, obviously, you can argue that inflames them. it tells them the united states is more involved in this that president biden wants them to understand it makes them more likely to retaliate, take some sort of provocative action when
first lady jill biden visited u.s. and nato troops in romania today. she will meet with ukrainian refugees and aid workers on mother s day. the war is not going well for vladimir putin, his forces haven t been able to capture the capital city of kyiv. ukrainian forces are still resisting russian takeover in mariupol were hundreds of civilians remain trapped inside a steel plant. earlier today, president zelenskyy said mariupol will never fall because there is nothing left. russia has destroyed it all. was defended and supported russians war on ukraine told the associated press yesterday that it is time for the war to and saying, quote, i m not immersed in this problem enough to say whether it goes according to plan, like the russians say, or like i feel it. i feel like this operation has dragged on. joining us now, nbc news correspondent cal perry in kyiv. cal, what s is the latest as this saturday morning begins?
russia s 1945 victory over nazi germany. today, kyiv s mayor warned of a high probability of russian rocket attacks for all of ukraine in the days ahead. tonight, president zelenskyy urge ukraine s not to avoid air raid sirens and follow curfew regulations saying, quote, please. this is your life. the life of your children. with more u.s. aid heading to ukraine, president biden will attend a virtual meeting at a g7 countries with president zelenskyy to confirm their ongoing support for ukraine on the eve of russia s victory day. in another show of support, first lady jill biden visited u.s. and nato troops in romania today. she will meet with ukrainian refugees and aid workers on mother s day. the war is not going well for vladimir putin, his forces haven t been able to capture the capital city of kyiv. ukrainian forces are still resisting russian takeover in mariupol were hundreds of civilians remain trapped inside a steel plant. earlier today, president