from the ground in ukraine. it was the highest level visit to ukraine since the invasion. defense secretary lloyd austin and secretary of state antony blinken made the risky journey to visit ukrainian president zelenskyy in the capitol, kyiv, there, the u.s. promised return of diplomats to ukraine and new military aid. president biden also finally announced a nominee for ambassador to ukraine, the current ambassador to slovakia, bridget brink. we don t know how the rest of the war will unfold but we do know a sovereign, independent ukraine will be around a lot longer than vladimir putin on the scene and our support for ukraine going forward will continue. it will continue until we see final success. following his visit, austin made the administration s most aggressive comments toward russia so far, saying it intends to see russia, quote, weakened. we want to see russia weakened to a degree that it can t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading ukraine, so i
zelenskyy in kyiv expressing hope that russia will be wea weakened by its brutal invasion. our team is standing by at key locations for cnn s live global war coverage. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer and you re in the situation room. announcer: this is cnn breaking news. there s breaking news this hour on heavy, very heavy fighting in eastern ukraine right now, part of russia s major new offensive in the region. there s new drone video just in that shows there isn t much left of a small village near luhansk. a ukrainian official says it was decimated by repeated russian air strikes as kremlin forces are in his words razing everything to the ground. we re also following new comments by russia s foreign minister about the war and the kremlin s nuclear stance. let s go to cnn s chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. he s joining us live from ukraine. hours after two u.s. cabinet secretaries visited t
this is cnn breaking news. hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i am john vause live in lviv, ukraine, and what could be the start of a definitive value batle for ukraine. the long-awaited russian military offensive in the dop bas region appears to be underway in the frontline which stretches for hundreds of miles. i am paula newton at cnn world headquarters in atlanta, where masks are now optional throughout the united states, onboard planes, trains, and buses, after a judge strikes down a public-transit mandate. for books, ukrainian, nato officials woorned the russians were preaching for a renewed offensive in the east. now, it seems it has begun. ukraine s top security official, a 300-mile front line stretching from kharkiv, donetsk, and luhansk region came under attack by russian forces monday. for the most part, that defensive line held. the city in western lieu hans ks was repeatedly hit by artillery, igniting heavy fires acr
soldiers concerned this will be a secondary strikes. russia can pick and choose where they try and force brakethrough. russia more than just launching an invaegs, more than launching a war, is undertaking a campaign of terror. this is how the russians live and that evidence suggests their existence here is neither disciplined. we will keep fighting and defending. we will be doing this daily announcer: this is cnn breaking news. the battle for the donbas region now appears to be underway. ukraine s top security official said they attacked along the eastern front lines on monday in kharkiv, donetsk and luhansk. for the most part those towns held . russian forces have been regrouping in southern and eastern ukraine. they say it looks like russia is trying to learn from earlier failures in the north and the pentagon believes russia has now deployed thousands of additional troops to the reasoning gone. nkts we do believe that they have reinforced the number of ba tall
he was arrested yesterday along with a 57 year old woman who has been charged with aiding and abetting in connection with the alleged offences. they will appear in court next month. sirjeffrey, who is northern ireland s longest serving mp at westminster, says he will strenously says he will strenuously contest the charges. jennifer o leary reports. sirjeffrey donaldson, a leader whojust weeks ago returned his party to power sharing at stormont. today, his political career appears to be over. in a statement, his party announced his resignation, confirming that he s been charged with allegations of an historical nature. bbc news understands he s been charged with rape and multiple other sexual offences as part of a police investigation spanning months after two women came forward. in a letter to his party, sirjeffrey donaldson said he will be strenuously contesting the charges. the dup s new interim leader is mp gavin robinson. it s been a devastating revelation, and has caused