the inflation problem which is so alarmed many americans, that remains an urgent priority for a president and party struggling in the polls, in the run-up to a midterm election but all of a sudden, there s an entirely new context for this speech and that is the dramatic life and death struggle of ukrainians to save their country against this brutal russian assault. the president will talk about the efforts that he s been leading, effectively in the view of democratic and republican experts alike, punish with sanctions and assist ukraine with military assistance. there are obvious limits to that assistance because the united states and nato have agreed not to send troops on the ground but at a minimum, what this does is demonstrate the stakes, which the president will talk about tonight in this long-running theme of democracy versus autocracy that he s talked about since the beginning of this presidency. his political team does not expect a big rise in his approval tonight.
also, matthew, he has said previously, he s target number one. and he and his family, i think, said was target number two. is he afraid to die? is he did he talk about that? yeah, i mean, look, clearly he has made the decision to risk his life basically and to stay in the country. it s well known he was offered by the united states and by several european countries as well to be given safe passage out of the country. but he said to them, look, it s quite a catchy phrase. look, i m looking for more weapons, not a lift. and so, you know, that s his position that he s going to stay, it seems at this stage, in ukraine until the bitter end, whatever that is. and he took the opportunity today, though, to reiterate his calls for the united states and other nato countries to enforce a no-fly zone over ukraine.
a government building in ukraine s second largest city. kharkiv, and happening in broad daylight. at least ten people killed in that and dozens more hurt in the historic freedom square. accusing vladimir putin of committing war krcrimes for targeting civilians. at this hour, there s growing concern for ukraine s capital as well. russia with a public warning to carry out air strikes on government buildings in kyiv, calling on civilians near specific sites they are targeting to leave and get out of the way. and also, russian air strikes have just hit, you ll see this, the area near a massive tv tower in kyiv. knocking out broadcasts to the ukrainian people. also these new satellite images showing massive 40 mile long russian convoy breaching the outskirts of the capital city. this morning, president zelenskyy renewed his call for ukraine to be admitted to the european union in the midst of all of this demanding the eu prove it s committed to
it s something that president biden has refused to do because that basically would involve american or u.s. or nato aircraft, potentially coming into direct contact with the russian air force which, obviously, kind of nato wants to avoid getting into a direct confrontation with nato. obviously, president biden has also made it quite clear there won t be american boots on the ground. very different when it comes to nato allies. i asked him whether it was time for countries like the u.s. and other western states to review that sort of position. and perhaps to consider offering more than just military equipment and perhaps to offer manpower as well. he said we want a no-fly zone, not in order to drag nato into a war, but to provide security and to be a deterrent in the skies over the country. so it s a big sort of difference in opinion on what the best strategy is at the moment between ukraine. they obviously want the most they can get from the nato alliance and the u.s. and those, the u.
relay nodes translated from russia is a broad term but we understand it means communications towers, basically. it makes sense in that regard that we would see this television tower being targeted and also, of course, does not portend well for what might come tonight. a lot of fear here in the capital. we ve heard the air raid sirens several times throughout the day and coming into the night. it s just dusk here, it got dark about 15, 20 minutes ago, and i think there s a strong sense for many people that this could be a very long night, kate. clarissa, i mean, people in kyiv and throughout ukraine, have been living in fear now for six days but really noticed, you ve been in and out of safety up and down throughout the day because of the air raids sirens that have been going off. does it feel different tonight?