t the lead starts right now. ukraine is pushing, pushing, pushing. cnn is live as the 31 nations meet. and why special counsel is accusing donald trump s right-hand man of trying to delay the prosecution of him. and the once in a thousand year rainfall behind devastating flooding in parts of america ears noamerica s northeast, trapping drivers in cars and on roads and forcing some to swim to safety. we start today with our word lead. the president in lithuania with one goal on his list unity. ukraine will be the main focus of the two-day meeting but for a group that has been, frankly, stunningly united, there are public fractures in the alliance starting to emerge, ones president biden will have to fix over the next few days, mainly overs decision to send cluster bombs to the front line, one that has been banned by most of the allies who will be sitting around president biden at that table in lithuania. they will have to decide when and how they will let ukraine join
betrayal. he essentially called yevgeny prigozhin a traitor. the kremlin said that yevgeny prigozhin was going to have to go to exile into belarus. now we re learning that prigozhin was inside the kremlin with 35 other commanders just a couple days after that mutiny took place and the kremlin, jake, gave some details as to what was spoken about. they said that vladimir putin listened to what these commanders had to say. apparently they pledged allegiance to vladimir putin. there was one thinat caught our attention. i want to read you what was said. quote, the president gave an assessment of the actions of the campaign at the front during the military operations, essentially how the war was going, as well as events of june 24th, the mutiny orchestrated by yevgeny prigozhin. putin listened to the explanations provided by the commander and offered them options for deployment. there are some that believe that means the wagner military company could make a comeback to the battlefi
come drone attacks cause blackouts across ukraine. russia targeting more power plants and escalating the bloodshed and suffering of civilians. also tonight, a cnn exclusive on the trump tapes. stand by to hear some of then president trump s revealing recorded interviews with journalists bob woodward including trump boasting about the letters that sparked the mar-a-lago documents investigation. as early voting in georgia sets records right now, the high stakes midterm election is now only three weeks away. we re following flash points in the battle for control of congress including a new promise by president biden on abortion rights for women. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re the situation room. our top story this hour, wide spread blackouts across ukraine as russia strikes major power and water facilities. ukrainian officials warning that moscow s attacks have already destroyed nearly a third of their ener
have an impact on 2024 presidential race. to be a fly on the wall in that meeting, the kremlin says russian president vladimir putin met with wagner group leader yevgeny prigozhin just five days after the failed mutiny at the end of june that attempted to oust russia s top military leaders. that meeting allegedly lasting at least three hours. prigozhin s current whereabouts, however, are not known. cnn international correspondent fred pliken joins us now. fred, what is the kremlin saying? reporter: they acknowledge the meeting that some people think was remarkable. when that mutiny happened, vladimir putin recorded a message and called this a
moscow. certainly still appears he s getting in and out of kremlin to speak to vladimir putin. thank you so much, fred. just in to cnn president biden we re told will meet with ukrainian president zelenskyy at the nato summit which kicks off tomorrow in lithuanian. zelenskyy s attendance at the summit had been in question as he s pushing for ukraine to be admitted into nato. let s bring in mark esper. secretary sesper, how important is this meeting between biden and zelenskyy and do you think it s a sign that zelenskyy will be given a path to future membership for ukraine? thanks, jake. good to be with you. it s a very good sign. zelenskyy was very public about not going if he was just going to be a participant. he wanted something tangible. it s the united states and