trains and tracks were damaged. putin appoints a new commander with a brutal history to lead russia's war on ukraine. general alexander known as the butche er of syria, notorious f inflicting horrific atrocities in that campaign. he said his country is ready for battle but needs more weapons and a no-fly zone. let's begin coverage with cnn's phil black who joins me here in lviv and all eyes shift to the east. >> that's right. much of the analysis talks about imminent operation in the east, one due to start at any moment. one senior adviser to the ukrainian government said, look, we're already dealing with. we're already here. we already deal with a major escalation with bombardment, particularly, residential areas with key battle points. we see large numbers of russian troops being sent in to reinforce the existing positions there. both in terms of forces and hardware as well. what they haven't seen yet and what the next step is expected to be will be a hard push to try to break through ukraine's defensive lines, to try and extend their control over the donbas region. take a listen now to president zelenskyy talking about ukraine's chances in this coming battle during his interview over the weekend with "60 minutes." >> what are you expecting now in the east and in the south? >> we think this will be a new wave of this war. we don't know how much russian weaponry there will be, but we understand there will be many times more than there is now. it all depends on how fast we will be helped by the united states. to be honest, whether we will be able to survive depends on this. i have 100% confidence in our people and in our armed forces, but unfortunately, i don't have the confidence that we will be receiving everything we need. >> so the reason why zelenskyy and other russian ukrainian officials are talking about the need for weapons so often at the moment is because what they fear this new fight is going to be like. they've had some success moving lightly in a very agile way with light arms, attacking overextended russian lines, but i think this is going to be a very different fight. it's going to be consolidated, focused. a lot of russian fire power in very specific areas at the same time and they think they need much heavier weapons to stand a chance in that fight. >> they don't have the element of surprise anymore, right? the russians know that they have, their fighting has gotten in order here when it comes to the military. phil black, thank you so much for that. three days after russian forces senselessly attacked a train station in western ukraine, cnn got a look at the horrific aftermath. we want to warn you, some of the images we see are graphic. dozens of civilians including five children were killed in this attack. cnn's ben wedeman visited the site and talked to civilians who were trying to escape the area before the russians strike again. >> the air raid siren rings out over a scene of carnage past. the railway station, a discarded hat, a cane left behind. they came to this station with only what they could carry. hoping to reach safer ground but nearly 60, never left. lives cut short by a missile, someone in russian for the children. 4,000 people were here waiting for a train west when the strike happened. the massacre accelerating the exodus. most of the residents have left the city having been urged to do so by local authorities. as this part of the country, the entirety of eastern ukraine, braces for what could be a massive russian offensive. at the city's bus station, n nikolai, a volunteer, helped with the evacuation. the pullback from the russian kyiv was bittersweet. >> with kyiv, but then i realized a couple of seconds later that they were moving to donbas. all their forces. >> a little bit, can't say but worried about my people, about mothers, grandparents. >> some are heading west, others north in the town where trains still run. oksana and a friend and their children are bound for lviv in the far west. there's a lot of bombing here, says oksana. i'm afraid for the children. the children, thankfully, still children. a handful of adult relatives stay behind. far more aware of the danger ahead. >> thank you to ben wedeman for that report. here in just minutes, president biden will be meeting virtually with india's prime minister. the president expected to push him to take a tougher stance against russia. india neutral right now. this is coming as we learn more about the new russian general who's now in charge of putin's war on ukraine. cnn's barbara starr has more from the pentagon. >> brianna, as russia is shifting its troops in combat to the southern and eastern portions of ukraine, it now looks like vladimir putin has finally appointed a top commander to oversee his war in ukraine. this is general alexander devornikov, someone well known to the united states. they've kept an eye on him since the years of commanding troops in syria. listen to what the national security adviser jake sullivan had to say about devornikov. >> this particular general has a resume with brutality against civilians in other theatres in syria and we can expect more of the same in this theatre. this general will just be another author of crimes and brutality against ukrainian civilians. >> after the virtual defeat of russian troops in northern ukraine leading to their withdrawal, the u.s. had been expecting putin to appoint an overall commander of his war in ukraine in order to support him to try and get a victory where he might be able to achieve one in southern and eastern ukraine. that now is where devornikov is expected to focus his attention and a good deal of concern about how to now best support ukrainian troops in that part of the fight. brianna? >> for the first time since the war began, vladimir putin is meeting with a foreign leader in moscow. that would be austria's chancellor. cnn's nic robertson is live in brussels with details on this and nic, this meeting comes as we're learning of more atrocities in ukraine. what will come? what could come of this meeting? >> reporter: perhaps not much in reality. putin and the kremlin are not really sharing much of this meeting with the russian people. they didn't allow cameras to be there, to be present in the way they would for a normal meeting between putin and head of state. there were no joint comments immediately afterwards. the meeting we know, lasted for 75 minutes. it was an unfriendly meeting, according to the austrian chancellor's office, one that was direct, open, and tough. where the austrian chancellor told president putin he had seen with his own eyes his words, the immeasurable suffering caused by, again, his own words, the russian aggression. he told us face-to-face with president putin. this was his plan going into the meeting to tell putin the hard truth about the situation that putin has lost the moral war here, and in many ways, the austrian chancellor had the moral authority because he was in ukraine, kyiv, and bucha over the past weekend. so he's been there an witnessed with himself and that's what was relayed. he told president putin that the sanctions would continue as long as ukrainians were being killed in this war. so it sounds like a very tough meeting, the minimum hope was to at least get some humanitarian corridors opened. >> we'll see if vladimir putin listens to anything. nic robertson, live for us in brussels, thank you so much. joining me now is john herbst, the former u.s. ambassador to ukraine, and also with us, cnn military analyst, retired major general daniel petar, author of "hunting the caliphate." i wondered if you look at this next battle that is, you know, starting to get under way by some accounts, but largely had not. we're on the cusp of it. what are some of the unique challenges in this that the ukrainian forces will be facing? >> this will be a different fight than the one we've seen around the major cities. this will be more in the open. which is why zelenskyy asking for tanks, armored personnel, multiple rocket launchers and mobile artillery. it looks like the west agreed and united states helped to get it and hopefully get it there past. if he gets to equipment, i think he'll give the russians quite a fight and not clear the russians have the actual troops ready to launch into an offensive right now. >> so general, how does that change things, being out in the open, having longer supply lines, since a lot of the material is coming over the border with poland, and this is obviously a ways away from the polish border? >> good morning, brianna. i agree with ambassador herbst about the changing nature based on geography in eastern ukraine. what it will also cause is vulnerability, the vulnerability of supply lines because ukraine's supply lines will get longer and, in fact, the russian supply lines will be along also but the ukrainian ones will be longer. they were able to take advantage in the kyiv region really interior lines where they could resupply, like a spoke out of kyiv into their forces. now their supply lines will be much longer. >> they will be much longer, which obviously, it adds to the vulnerabilities. it was interesting, in his "60 minutes" interview, president zelenskyy renewed his call for a no-fly zone and after so many allies rebuffed that desire here in recent weeks, you hadn't heard so much about that from ukrainian officials, but here he was kind of at it again. i wonder why you think that was and if there's a chance that's something that could happen. >> i think he's at it again because he needs it. i don't think there's a chance it will happen tomorrow, but as more russian atrocities are recovered, i think sympathy will grow and maybe this will have an impact on changing the administration's foolish decision not to provide migs. i think it will help the fight in the east. >> general, how worried are you about this new commander that is appointed to lead the war in ukraine? his name is alexander, certainly you've seen some of his terrible h handiwork in syria. >> general is well known to at least the u.s. side for his brutality in syria and his lack of care when it came to civilian casualties but as a new overall commander, he's got a tough task which is to reenergize the russian forces, he's got to make gains as quickly as possible, if in fact his deadline is the may 9th, 77th anniversary to end of world war ii. he's got some challenges. he's got low morale with his forces, but they do have immense capability. if i may, i'd like to touch on what you just mentioned as far as no fly zone. it really is time for nato and the u.s. to stop being intimidated by russia. and declaring and working with the ukrainian government but declaring western ukraine and that would be east of kyiv, all the way down to odesa, as a humanitarian assistance zone to help with humanitarian assistance but that would take nee tou nato troops in at least western ukraine and that's a start and other steps to be taken too. >> i wonder, ambassador, and also general, this 8 mile long convoy we're seeing, what are your concerns with that, should we be concerned? i think the last time we saw images of a convoy, it didn't work out so well for the russians but maybe this is a different story, ambassador. >> i agree completely with the general regarding humanitarian no-fly zone and i've advocated that before. he's absolutely right. we should not be intimidated by putin. on the convoy, i think we should not assume failure with this convoy, as it was with the last one, and there are two, again, equipment with zelenskyy is asking for could help deal with that. if the ukrainians had additional air power, not just migs but something called a-10s, airplanes we put into storage, we should also be sending them to ukraine. >> i absolutely agree with that. >> general, sorry. go on, real quick. >> i agree with that. if ukrainians had air power or having a special adviser with assistance who could help direct that, they could hit those key vulnerabilities that the russians have as far as their supply lines. >> gentlemen, really appreciate it. i think we're on the precipice of something big and unfortunately, very bloody here in ukraine. thank you for your insights. kate, back to you in new york. >> brianna, thank you so much and we'll return to ukraine very shortly but also coming up for us. president biden is taking on gun violence once again today. the new rule to take ghost guns to, to try to take ghost guns off the street and details in a live report next. what drives you? 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>> jeremy, thank you very much for that. joining me right now, cnn law enforcement analyst, jonathan wakrow, cnn former agent and then former chief of dc police. let me start with you, the problem at hand. how much of a challenge have ghost guns become for law enforcement? >> most on crime scenes, no question about it and people need to remember, this isn't just about semiautomatic handguns but assault weapons can be put this way together. it's a growing problem. i think over the last five years or so, close to 700 homicides occurred across the country. ghost guns involved in the murders, growing problems. not going to get better on its own, only going to get worse and because you can circumvent background checks, convicted felons, people who would not otherwise be able to have a gun can now get their hands on one. >> jonathan, i was looking at the new york times and they've reported just out of california, for example, over the last 18 months, officials there say ghost guns accounted for 25% to 50% of firearms recovered at crime scenes. so what do you think then the completion of this new rule means to stop these guns from being, well, from being ended up in so many crime scenes? >> so, kate, actually what you raise is really what i refer to is the ghost gun paradox. the most stringent gun control measures are the ones that are the most susceptible to the existence of the ghost guns. really, because it's easy to get around the regulations that are in place. so today, what the president is doing is actually bringing a national strategy to address this problem. so any regulation from a national level that stops these untraceable, unserialized weapons from getting in the hands of the nation's most violent criminals is a benefit not only to law enforcement, but a benefit to the community at large. i think what we're seeing is, you know, states have taken action against ghost guns in the past. this is the first attempt to codify a national strategy to start addressing this problem. >> of course, i always say, there's always a question of how much time do we all give before you see if this rule, we know if it's working or not, that's, of course, tbd. jonathan, before we go, today, there's a hearing that continues for two men charged with impersonating federal agents and doing so for years. the details coming out in court and in court filings have just been wild. i mean, four secret service agents are on leave connected to this. it looks bad, but what's the key question in your mind to find out how bad this actually is going to be? >> well, listen, kate. the reporting that we've seen to date, unfortunately, is all coming out of the affidavit for the application for arrest of these two individuals, but listen. the four secret service agents that are caught up in this matter, they are cooperating with the u.s. attorney's office, they are cooperating with the investigation. and they're not alone. these two individuals targeted law enforcement officials outside of the secret service. fbi, other law enforcement entities as well. so right now, there are two big questions. why? what was their intent and what are the consequences? these two individuals had a very sophisticated cover story that was very well researched. this goes beyond, you know, an individual or individuals who want to play cop. there was some sort of goal they were trying to achieve. i do want to point out though that in conversations with senior leadership of the secret service, they have assured me that even though there are four members of the agency involved in this matter. and the white house complex was never compromised. those are two big factors, we can start pushing that aside in terms of the consequences. that just raises, again, another question. what were these two individuals doing, why were they doing it and what was the goal? >> also just raising how susceptible and vulnerable members of law enforcement are to this. i know the three of us could have a long conversation about, it's not just federal law enforcement but what this could mean on the state and local level as well and the challenges they face in that. great to see you guys, thank you. coming up for us, a race against time in eastern ukraine as refugees are desperately trying to escape the war still. the former u.s. ambassador to nee toato joins s us next. from she had all the answers. it was so easy. 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>> clearly, there's going to be some more heavy fighting in eastern ukraine. the russians, in withdrawing their forces from around kyiv and chernihiv redeployed them to the east and back fill with more equipment and more conscripts, and prepare to launch into an offensive. i think this is going to be very hard for the ukrainians as it was for kyiv. but ultimately, i think the russians were going to face some of the same problems that they had when they were trying to take kyiv as well. problems with logistics, supplies, fuel, morale, equipment. so i think the ukrainians are hunkering down for a tough fight but it may play out to be much the way it did around kyiv as well. >> president biden is having this virtual meeting with the indian prime minister modi. i should just say, i understand that modi just called the situation in ukraine very worrying. india, of course, remained neutral. it's one of many nations that has remained neutral. what does president biden need to achieve with modi and the leaders of other countries that have been neutral? >> i think the most important thing that they'll be talking about is whether india is in any position to reduce its purchases of russian oil and russian gas. the money flowing into russia still is substantial. some estimates are that its revenues for oil and gas sales have gone up this year despite the war. so it's important that we start drawing up the flow of funds to russia and i think they'll be speaking with modi about that. >> what does the u.s. need to do in terms of additional weapons that it hasn't done already? >> well, i think it's hard to say at this stage. there's been a change. as of last week, we saw secretary of state blinken at nato, the tone coming out of nato meetings was different. people are talking about providing heavy weapons, tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, things we have not done before. also, higher altitude, air defense, for instance, these s300s from slovakia. i think there's more flowing now and they're also being a bit more discreet about saying what we are doing and avoiding saying what we don't do, which i think is an improvement. i think the most important thing heavy equipment to advance and retake their territory and it needs to be on a sustained steady basis that this war is not over in a week or two, just provide weapons now and forget about it. we have to create a steady pipeline. >> sir, i want to ask you to reflect back on some of the work you did during the trump administration. you're obviously working to convince the ukrainians that they needed to convince the trump administration that they were more on the up and up than trump seemed to think that they were but you were also leaning on ukraine to announce an investigation into burisma, and the 2020 election, a statement as you were reviewing the draft of the ukrainian statement needed to have two key items. burisma and the 2016 election. i just wonder, in light of this invasion, if you're reflecting any differently on that time period and your participation in that? >> well, what we were trying to do is to get the two leaders together because i was very convinced that if they actually spoke with each other, it would eliminate some of the concerns that president trump had about ukraine and moreover, to make sure we continue the security assistance to ukraine and as you know, i heard that that had been, the new congressional notifications that were shut off from july, so working very hard to make sure we got that turned around without the ukrainians ever really being aware that there was a problem. and so pushing on both of those, i think, was very important and we did keep the arms flowing and it's clear from the way the war has played out that getting them those javelins in 2017 as we did and then coulntinuing with the security assistance after that was absolutely critical. >> does it seem like an adequate trade in retrospect knowing that you said you didn't think those potential, an investigation into burisma was anything in particular credible and all this happening at a time when military aid was suspended for a brief while? >> well, there wasn't really any trade here but an effort to keep and enhance u.s. support for ukraine. and we had done a lot already, but we found in trying to schedule a meeting between president trump and president zelenskyy that it was not getting anywhere. and so we're trying to figure out, how do we get this moving? how do we advance this? and so what the ukrainians do is make a statement they'll follow their own laws. if that would have been helpful in the process, then why not? in the end, no such statement was made and in the end, we got the arms as well and eventually, even a meeting of president zelenskyy with president trump. >> ambassador, i certainly appreciate you being on. we're obviously at a pivotal moment in this conflict. so thank you very much for making the time. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> kate, back to you in new york. >> thank you so much. coming up for us. a major election with major implications far beyond the country's borders. why all eyes are on france today. that's next. just without the lactose. tastes great in our iced coffees too. whwhich makes waking up at 5 a.m. to milk the cows a little easier. 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how much worse can it get? >> i mean, there's still the whole ukraine to damage so it can get much worse. we already know that almost 15 million people were dismissed and almost 5 million left the country alltogether. it's a country of 45 million people. so a lot can happen them to. i think that for now at least, the russians are going to concentrate on initial declared objective as the donetsk region and donbas region, donetsk and luhansk, the self-proclaimed republics. they're going to clean them out, as they say from the nazi elements, and perhaps that would be the concentration of the war. so the rest of ukraine may be able at least for now slightly return back to kind of the rebuilding the life. but i agree that war is far from over because putin, we know he never backs down. and now when the war, obviously, in almost two months hasn't gone the way it was originally planned, it's going to be a quick operation. as they call it the quick operation, then he's going to push on every level, perhaps -- to europe. the supply of gas to europe. limit other supplies and so on. so in the russian mind, in the kremlin mind, it is a war already. and, therefore, they are not going to stop in front of anything. >> as you said, putin never backs down. i'm curious your take on the meeting today with the austrian chancellor who is now the first eu leader to meet with putin face-to-face since he invaded. coming out of the meeting, we know from the chancellor said that it was not a friendly visit. his words. i mean, do you think anything comes of conversations like these in your perspective on putin? is putin swayed by any -- anything any one leader would say to him? >> i don't think so. i don't think anymore. he comes in. he likes attention. he likes the western leaders talk to him and try to persuade him otherwise and stop the war and kind of explain to him what kind of horrible things russia will face after all this is said and done, and it may take years, but from what i know from people sort of either used to be close to putin or kind of still close to putin, unofficially, they say that he's really not listening anymore. he doesn't listen to -- he has his own idea, his own geopolitical map in his mind. his foreign minister sergey lavrov also said that one of the -- they keep changing the goals for the operation, but the final thing, today he said that one of the outcomes of the operation should be to stop the united states to dominate the world. so if this is the goal of the operation, that will certainly last forever and the chancellor of austria cannot prevent putin from thinking that. i think this conversation is important because we don't know what putin is getting from his generals or from whomever. and when european leaders tell him how horrible because also he just the -- russia lost the moral battle in this war. i think it's still important for putin to hear, whether he will take it as a sign that he should change his behavior. i doubt it, but that's certainly should be part of the kind of kremlin understanding where russia is an absolute rogue state and putin is a rogue president right now. >> how important is this may 9th deadline that so many are pointing to, the holiday where russia celebrates defeating the nazis in world war ii. i wonder what kind of success he's going to demand he has that day. >> i was thinking that because there was a rumor in moscow for some time they'd have to finish by may 9. that's why they started getting out of kyiv last week. but then the mood changed again, and now it's, you know, we're going to fight to the last moment. we're going to celebrate victory. we're going to show that we are not stepping back one inch and so on and so forth. so it is possible that they would want to finish by may 9th and show the liberation of the donbas region, which is, as i said, initially declared objective. they can do that, but they, i think, also prepared to go further and just use may 9th as a fight for russia's -- for russia's interests. >> nina, thank you so much. appreciate your time. thank you for being with us. cnn's coverage of russia's war on ukraine continues with "inside politics" after this. under budgdget too! and i get seven days to love it or my money back... i love it! 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