come in and supply ukraine with so much money, and so many weapons. but this is a significant escalation from vladimir putin. the fact that he s calling up the reservists shows that he has no intention of backing away from this war. in fact, in his comments, he framed the war not against ukraine, he described this as a war against the west. and that the west, he didn t mention the united states, but clearly, that s the main power he s referring to, has been propping up ukraine and intends to bring down russia and bring down the russian federation the same way that the west primarily the united states, toppled the soviet union. so he is framing this very much as an existential fight for russia. and in order to fight this fight, he s calling up the reservists and making nuclear threats to show that he is serious and that he has no intention of backing down. so, richard, is there a sense this could lead to some sort of nuclear standoff? i think that is where this is heading.
blast partially destroys russia s prized crimea bridge. also ahead, after months of legal sparring, the clock ticks for elon musk to close the deal on twitter. and a toddler miraculously rescued after his parents car is stolen with him trapped inside. you re in the cnn newsroom. a prized achievement of vladimir putin, an apparently target of his ukrainian tormenters. this right here is the exact moment the russian president suffered his latest blow in his war on ukraine, the blast from an apparent truck bomb knocking out three of the four lanes of the bridge that links russia to crimea, its annexed territory in the south. now a huge bottleneck chokes a critical supply route for putin s war in ukraine. ukraine hand sn t claimed responsibility, but it is celebrating it. ukraine will issue this commemorative postal stamp with a nod to the titanic. one senior ukrainian official couldn t ignore that the explosion came just hours after putin s 70th birthday. happy birthday
hopefully rest and reflect a bit, we are here at deadline white house. our thinking about the families 4700 miles away in ukraine. with this holiday season it must feel like for them. christmas eve mark ten months since the start of a russian war that has not let up. even now, as we head into the thick of winter. when russia unleashed that first air strike on february 24th, it was the largest attack on the european state since world war ii. it is a gut punch that capture the world s attention more than any other, came less than two weeks later. putin s forces laid siege to the port city of mariupol, unleashing ripped through a children hospital and maternity ward, sending pregnant women fleeing for their lives. we are only beginning to grasp the scope of the atrocities there. according to the bbc, satellite images show that since june, more than 1500 new graves have appeared at a mass burial site inside mariupol. devastating. and yet. and yet the twice impeached, disgraced
the other officials heard on the tape. the shootout in philadelphia. three s.w.a.t. team members injured. what we re learning about the 19-year-old suspect who was killed. russia arresting eight people it says are connected to that bridge explosion in crimea, and our correspondent in moscow talking exclusively with a top russian official. how he s responding to president biden saying vladimir putin miscalculated significantly in ukraine. with energy prices rising the new alert on how much it will cost to heat your home this winter. and the teacher showing his students a fun alternative to the school bus that s inspiring america. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening. fire brand conspiracy promoter and talk show host alex jones today once again learned there can be a steep price to pay for false and painfully cruel claims. a connecticut jury today putting that price at a stunning $965 million. ordering jones who was not in the courtro
trump s call to walk to the u.s. capitol on january 6. it turns out the secret service actively considered options to get him there. stand by for our new reporting ahead of a pivotal prime time hearing on the insurrection this thursday. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. tonight we re getting the most detailed and gut-wrenching account of what happened inside robb elementary school two weeks ago. a wounded teacher is now opening up about the slaughter as local officials keep failing to answer critically important questions. here is cnn s omar jimenez. our priorities are for the families who lost children reporter: despite a special security council meeting, tonight few answers from public officials. there is an investigation going on and we ll find out what happened. i want those answers just like everybody else. i want to be transparent. i want to be clear. there is a lot of