first time russian troops invaded ukraine, president biden calls the atrocities emerging from the war zone, and i'm quoting the president right now, genocide. this as a defiant vladimir putin declares peace talks are, quote, at at dead end vowing the war will go on while kremlin forces prepare for a renewed assault in the east. 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." >> this is cnn breaking news. >> we begin our coverage right now with the breaking news out of new york city. cnn's brynn gingras is standing by with us with all the latest developments in the brutal subway attack. brynn, we're waiting for an up date from investigators who are about to hold a news conference. what more can you tell us? >> reporter: yeah. wolf, it will be interesting to see if they actually name the suspect asking for the public's help in searching for that person because we're now more than nine hours into when this incident happened, and still that person is not in custody. we know that local, state, federal law enforcement are teamed up together trying to search for this person, searching down leads. we know a number of things from sources that they know. they have a picture that they were able to get of this suspect from an eyewitness video taken with thai iphone or camera phone. we also know that a credit card dropped here at the scene believed to be of the suspect to help authorities identify who this person is. again, though, the big thing is where is that person right now? we know that a u-haul van that they were searching for has been located about three miles from where we are right now, and the bomb squad is there making sure there is no -- not any devices in that that will detonate, but, again, they are looking for this person who terrorized the subway system during the morning commute. panic aboard a new york city subway train in brooklyn this morning. as shots rang out and smoke filled the car, witnesses say -- >> people were screaming for medical assistance. it was just a scary moment. >> reporter: authorities swarming the scene. >> an individual on that train donned what appeared to be a gas mask. he then took a canister out of his bag and open it. the train at that time began to fill with smoke. he then opened fire striking multiple people on the subway and in the platform. >> reporter: ten shot, five of them in critical but stable condition with many more people injured, according to the fdny as photos from the scene show blood on the floor of the subway situation. >> this is not being investigate as an act of terrorism at this time. we can also report that although this was a violent incident, reportedly we have no one with life-threatening injuries as a result of this case. >> we were stuck in the train about to get to the stop and then thank goodness the train moves within a minute or i don't know what would have happened if we were stuck there for longer. >> the attack leading to a massive manhunt in the city with a suspect still on the loose. >> he is being report as a male black, approximately 5'5" inches tall with a he have build. he was wearing a grown construction type vest and a hooded sweatshirt. the color is gray. >> reporter: the gun, a multiple high capacity, fireworks and other items were found and they believe the gun jammed during the shooting. investigators were looking for the u-haul cargo van with an arizona license plate according to internal e-mails. mayor eric adams in isolation from recovery of covid-19 saying it's too early to dismiss the subway attack as not terror-related. >> this is terror of someone who attempted to terrorize our system. they brought in what appears to be some sort of smoke device. they discharged a weapon, and so i don't want to be premature in identifying if this was or was not. i think at this time the investigators are going to do their due diligence to properly identify what happened here. >> reporter: while the new york governor kathy hochul on the scene calling for an end to new york's recent wave of violent crime. >> we say no more. no more mass shootings. no more disrupting lives. no more creating heartbreak for people just trying to live their lives as normal new yorkers. it has toned. it ends now. >> reporter: and, again, multiple scenes right now being processed by authorities, wolf. there's where the u-haul was located, where we are right now where the shooting actually happened, and, of course, there are investigators working to look for this person, and at the same time they are working to identify any social media that this person has, where they possibly have connections to outside of the city, so so many threads that are still being worked at this hour. of course, we have that news conference coming up in just about ten minutes. we hope it will start. it will be interesting to see if the nypd does release a name asking for the public's help in trying to locate this person. >> brirn gynn gingras, thanks v much. we'll have more when the investigators come forward and give us an update in a few minutes and take questions amidst an urgent manhunt for the suspect in this morning's subway attack. that's coming up live in a few minutes. stand by for that. let's get an update now on the breaking news coming out of ukraine. i want to go to our chief international correspondent clarissa ward who is in the ukranian city of dnipro. what's the latest on the russian advance in ukraine? >> reporter: one ukranian military official, wolf, say they believe this offensive could start any day now, as early as tomorrow, and the reason is they are seeing images of heavy equipment being pulled towards the front lines by russian forces. he also said that one thing that could potentially help ukraine is that there are heavy rains scheduled for the next few days. those heavy rains could potentially mean that those russian tanks would have to use roads instead of being able to get through fields. if they use roads, of course, it's much easier for ukranian forces to attack them and defend using those anti-tank missiles and those javelin missiles that the u.s. has been providing them with, but meanwhile we are seeing a continuation of heavy shelling in some of these areas, particularly in the region of l luhansk, hearing that morgues in some front line towns are now at full capacity. they do not have electricity and cannot keep up with the flow of the dead. they have had to create new de facto cemeteries inside these towns because it's not possible to access their normal cemeteries. they are using essentially backhoes to try to dig out trenches as bury as many people as they can. one other important note today. ukranian officials now say they estimate in the southeastern port city of mariupol which has been the site of relentless heavy bombardment since this war began. they believe as many as 22,000 people could be dead there, wolf. it's important to emphasize that we cannot confirm those numbers. there are no impartial observers on the ground. journalists cannot get into those areas, but, still, a very startling figure. all of which contributes to a sense of grim unease as people in this region prepare for this renewed offensive from russia in the east. wolf? >> men, women and children, thousand killed in mariupol, and speaking of mariupol, as you know, clarissa, there's new concern right now that russia may actually have used chemicals in an attack on that southern port city. what's the latest that you're hearing? >> reporter: so, wolf, there's very little information to really ascertain how reliable this claim is. it came from the azov battalion who are the fighters on the ground who are trying to defend mariupol. they said that some kind of a poisonous substance led to respiratory problems with several of their fighters. it's a claim that the ukranian government is looking into very closely, although at this stage they are saying that they cannot be sure. the deputy defense minister said that it's possible that phosphorus munitions were used. that, of course, would also be a violation of international law. the pentagon is also saying that it doesn't know exactly what has happened because obviously it has no people on the ground here, but they take the claim seriously. they are liking into them, and we've also heard from the international watchdog for chemical weapons, the opcw, that they are concerned by the reports and also trying to get more information to glean what exactly happened, but as i explained before, wolf, given the situation in mariupol at the moment, it is very difficult to do that. wolf? >> clarissa ward in dnipro for us. be very careful over there. clarissa, we'll get back to you. i want to go to brussels where international editor nic robertson is standing by for us. putin made it clear that his brutal onslaught will continue. what's the latest. >> reporter: yeah, we got a look into putin's mindset and the way he's framing the war, wolf. he called it noble, perhaps an indication and acknowledgement that he's been losing troops because when you frame it as noble rather than just say a duty you're sort of elevating it, something worth sacrificing yourself for. putin did something that he's done many times, invert the reality and reverse the facts saying russia's pullback of troops north of kyiv was in essence a gesture towards peace which is saying again, an inversion of the facts, saying that the ukranian authorities have rejected this overture towards peace, they are not taking it, and for that reason putin said that the peace talks with the ukranians were right now at a dead end. >> translator: we have again returned to a dead end situation for ourselves and for all of us. the military operation will continue until it's fully completed and objectives that were set at the beginning of this operation are achieved. we are helping people. we're saving them from nazism in the first place, and on the other hand we're protecting russia, taking measures to protect russia's security, and it's obvious that we had no choice. it was the right thing to do, and i have no doubt the objectives will be achieved. what russians are hearing and another pace of the inverted putin narrative, if you will, sort of turning truth on its head, for the russian alleged war crimes in bucha, he said, this was a ukranian provocation, just spinning reality to fit the message that he wants to sell to the russian people, but by elevating the war to a noble cause he's taking it up a level. he's saying it's a sacrifice, something worth dying for, wolf, and we haven't heard that yet. >> good point. it's brutal what he's saying. nic robertson on the seen for news brussels. thank you very, very much. right now i want to go to the white house and our chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins is joining us. president biden is now citing genocide by a dictator, a clear reference to putin. the reference has largely avoided that specific word at least until this point. what are you learning? >> reporter: it's significant, wolf, because it's the first time that we've heard president biden use this label to describe what is happening in ukraine. of course, this is something that zelenskyy has said he believes is something. it's something that the polish prime minister they believe is also happening inside ukraine, but so far the administration here at the white house has stopped short of using that word until today when president biden was in iowa talking about inflation, talking about higher grocery prices and, of course, higher gas prize which the administration says is in part fueled by this invasion, and the president was talking about a budget when he also brought up what he believes is a genocide happening in ukraine. >> your family budget, your ability to fill up the tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away. >> reporter: now, wolf, that's notable. obviously we'll have questions for the white house about the president using this term for the first time given they had stopped short of using it earlier as other officials believed they did believe it was a genocide. remember, republican liz cheney said on the sunday shows she believes the white house should use that war describing what happened in ukraine. they have seen war crimes, not genocide yet and they are also still evaluating whether a chemical weapons attack was conducted by russia in ukraine. that claim has been made, but the white house and administration have struggled to actually identify it as that and make that declaration because in part the biggest challenge that they are facing, wolf, is that they don't have any u.s. officials on the ground in ukraine to help identify that, to help make sure that that is what they want to call it. that's something that they are still evaluating according to secretary blinken and other defense officials who spoke with reporters today about the claims of a chemical weapons attack in ukraine. >> a big deal indeed. war crimes one thing, but once you start using the word genocide, that raises it dramatically indeed. today the president did exactly that. kaitlan, thank you very, very much. the breaking news continues. next, we're standing by for an official update on the investigation into the violent and shocking new york city subway attack and the urgent manhunt for the suspect. plus, russia using a brutal new tactic against ukranian civilians to ensure that the devastation of their attacks last far beyond first impact. we're going to discuss it with retired u.s. army general l dav petraeus who is standing by live. we'll be right back. ♪ what if you could have the perspective to see more? 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>> well, i think the war literally hangs in the balance over what happens in the next few days whenever this russian offensive kicks off. it's hard to say it if they will hold up because of the reins that are explained there. if they are stuck on the road the ukranians can stop much more easily. i've been in that-year when i went down to the area of the donbas several years ago. it's much more open. there's far fewer woods and far fewer built-up areas. that's what helped the ukranians stop the russians north of kyiv and then also east of kyiv, so this is much more difficult terrain for a defend, and if the russian armor that's really being masked very substantially here and all underneath a single commander for the first time general vwho basically "daily pop"lated aleppo is the only way to describe the destruction on that city, so if they can line that up hub to hub, casualties have been horrific already, vastly greater than what they sustained in nine or ten years in afghanistan. that's very worrisome, and this is the moment if there's anything left that we can shake out of the eastern european countries that's compatible with the or till risk the multiple launch rocket systems, the tanks and so forth, the air defense that ukraine has, we need to get it in there as quickly as we can because this could be the penultimate battle. putin clearly not interested in negotiations as you described earlier, clearly wants to achieve objectives on the battlefield that he can hold out at the 9 may victory day parade for world war ii that they conduct in moscow every year and say this was worth this enormous sacrifice, closal sacrifice and loss and soldiers and also in weapons systems. >> general david petraeus, thanks so much for your expertise and thanks so much for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. >> this is information for our crews about how you can help the humanitarian efforts in ukraine. go to cnn.com/impact and help impact your world. it's so important. coming up, more breaking news we're fog. police are urgently searching for a suspect after an attack at a new york city subway station which left at least ten people with gunshot wounds. stay with us. we're expecting an official news conference and update from law enforcement in new york in just a moment. we'll have live coverage. we'll be right back. 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of course, at this point the investigation is widespread. not only on the streets here of new york city but also combing through social media, combing through camera footage all across this city, looking to see if there's any way to actually locate this person, so, i think we'll learn a lot from the news conference. certainly the biggest thing we all want to know is who this person is and where are they, and we'll be waiting and standing fwoir that. >> it's about to begin we're told, very, very soon brynn gingras covering the story for us. thanks so much. let's discuss what's going on with cnn law enforcement an lives charles ramsey and counterterrorist analyst phil mudd. you've heard that investigators have identified the suspect after finding a credit card at the scene among other things. they have also located this u-haul van connected to this shooting somehow. how close do you think they are to actually narrowing in on the suspect because normally if they have a suspect, they have a name, they immediately release a picture so the public can potentially help in finding this individual. >> well, i think they are close, and sometimes you don't because you're so close that you don't want to cause, you know, too many people getting in the way of being able to apprehend the individual, so the fact that they have got this credit card, the fact that they have been able to trace it now. they probably have a fairly good photo. if they know where he rented the van. you can't rent a van without a driver's license and other i.d. and probably have addresses and everything else that they are working right now in surveillance and so forth, so i think they are close. i think they are very close. >> yeah. that's the assumption that we're getting, very close. we'll find out momentarily at this news conference with law enforcement that's about to begin. phil mudd, what's happening behind the scenes right now in this manhunt? >> you've got to think about avenues of investigation. first, if you have a license plate off a vehicle you want to learn where that vehicle was rented. if you have a driver's license that's incredibly valuable. you not only learn the identity of the individual, you learn the address. you might have devices. do those interest fingerprints, serial numbers that you can look at? you look at interviews of individuals there. you look at the driver's license. do the interviews of the individuals match what the driver's license says? there's too much data out there about who they are, what car they rented, what driver's license they had. there's too much information to suggest that this person can go free. i don't buy it. >> so you believe, phil, they will release the name and maybe even a photograph of this suspect? >> absolutely not. wolf. i would disagree with that? >> really? >> the more information that you have the more likely it is that you can identify this individual and not indicate to his circle of potential friends, maybe supporters that you know who it is. you don't want to tell those people that you're on to them because if you go in for an interview, you don't want those people to be forewarned. when you put out a name, when you put out a photo, that's when you say we're not quite certain where you are. i think the fact that there hasn't been a name or a photo indicates as chief ramsey suggested that we're closer, not farther wolf. >> real, that's interesting. >> yeah. >> chief reams, when you look at all these details that have emerged, high capacity magazines, fireworks, gunpowder, all found on the scene, what does that tell you about this attack? >> well, he very well could have been planning an event much larger than what actually took place. if it's true that the gun jammed, then that would explain why and even though ten people were shot, an awful lot of people, but it could have been a lot worse if that gun had not jammed, so it -- it indicates to me that he had a lot on his mind in terms of the number of people that he could seriously injure or kill. it's really scary. >> all right. guys, i want you to both stand by for a moment. cnn's miguel marquez is on the scene right now where they found the u-haul truck. what are you learning, miguel? >> reporter: i can tell you, and i've just arrived here. this feels like a much busier scene than a scene where they just found the u-haul truck. the road here, king's highway is blocked off for six blocks in the bensonhurst area. a massive response by police, fire, ambulances, a huge, huge response. six blocks down king's highway. what you're looking at is king's highway. six blocks they have that blocked off right now, and all of the side streets as well back one block almost every single street. there are police helicopters up above, and then look at the crowd here. i mean, you have people -- they have blocked off these sort of major intersections here, so the people here are just either waiting to get home, watching to see what's going on. >> i think we've lost our connection with miguel. we'll try to reconnect with him. let me get chief ramsey, first of all to you. what's your reaction to what he's reporting? they located this u-haul truck that was obviously part of the suspicion connected to the suspect. >> well, first of all, they have to make sure it's safe, that there's no explosive devices inside, but they also have to get a search warrant. once you find evidence or you've got the van, whatever evidence you want from the van you want it admissible in court. you're not talking about an individual who killed himself immediately after the mass shooting which often happens. you've got a suspect that's out there on the loose. hopefully they can catch him alive, but regardless of that, they need to do it right. they need to do it properly, so they are going to cordon everything off until they are sure it's safe, see somebody walking right by it now so apparently they are fairly comfortable there's nothing explosive in there, but they do need a search warrant before they can go any further. >> usually they would have robot check it out, right, to make sure there's no bombs inside. is that right, chief rams? >> yeah, yeah. i mean, nypd, fbi, atf, listen, they got all the tools they need right there, so they have already checked this now and are pretty comfortable that -- that it's safe, but they do need to secure a search warrant so once they go inside they will be looking for evidence. >> do you agree, phil? >> i do. i think there's an additional piece that's really critical. that is as soon as you have that license plate confirmed on the van, you have a name. who rented that, that is not only a name, that's an address. what's the address obviously of the person that rented that? you go to the address? are there additional explosive devices? a lot of information you can get from the van that's really critical, wolf. >> all right. stand by. we're expecting individuals to give us an update on the new york city subway attack at any moment now. looking at live pictures coming in from the police department, the city of new york. we'll have live coverage of that momentarily. also ahead, we're getting new information about americans being held by russia and deep concern about how moscow's invasion of ukraine is complicating efforts to get them released. stand by. much more of our special coverage coming up. it's clinically shohown to help manage blood sugar levels and containsns high quality protein to help manage hunger and support muscle health. try boost® today.. ♪ on the road again ♪ ♪ just can't wait ♪ ♪ to get on the road again ♪ ♪ the life i love ♪ ♪ is king music with my friends ♪ ♪ the life i ♪ and i can't wait ♪ ♪ is king musi♪ to get with my friendon the road again ♪ hit the road in skechers. 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that news conference, that update live as soon as it begins. it should begin momentarily. also breaking tonight, president biden dramatically ratcheting up his rhetoric against putin as the russian president vows that his bloody unprovoked war against ukraine will go on. mr. biden twice today using the term genocide. listen. >> i called it genocide because it's become clearer and clearer that putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be even ukranian, and the evidence is mounting. it's different than it was last week, the more evidence that's coming out of literally the horrible things as the russians have done in ukraine, and we're only going to learn more and more about the devastation, and we'll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me. thank you. >> let's get some more. joining us now, the former u.s. ambassador to ukraine, william taylor. ambassador taylor, thanks as usual for joining us. this is the first time, as you know, that we've actually heard president biden call russia's actions in ukraine genocide. how significant is this? >> wolf, i think this indicates the seriousness with which the u.s. government takes this attack, this invasion, this horror. it is clear -- i think president biden is right. president putin has made it very clear that he didn't think of ukraine as a nation. he wants to wipe it out. anybody in ukraine who doesn't agree with him who is not part of the russian nation is by definition a nazi as far as putin is concerned, and he wants to wipe them out. that's genocide, wolf. that's genocide is. i think that's right and it will steel, it will further motivate the international community, but even more important the ukranians to fight against this genocide. >> the president of ukraine, president zelenskyy, just responded praising president biden and zelenskyy tweeting, and i'm quoting him now, true words of a true leader @potus, meaning the president of the united states. calling people by their name is essential to standing up to evil. we're grateful to u.s. assistance provided so facts and circumstances and we urgently need more heavy weapons to prevent further russian atrocities. a direct quote from president zelenskyy. does this raise the moral stakes, abd, for the united states to act more decisively right now in providing more military equipment to help the ukranians? >> it's never been more important, wolf. it's never been more important to provide those heavy weapons to the ukranians as president zelenskyy has been asking for and indeed as the u.s. government has been moving in the past couple of weeks to do together with its allies, the slovaks are providing tanks. the germans are prepared, i hope, to provide the tanks. the australians are providing armored vehicles, so this is coming. it needs to come now. this big invasion, this big attack, this big foundation that the russians are making against -- against the ukranians is comes voon, and those weapons need to be there now. this designation of genocide heightens the determination and urgency on all sides to defeat putin now. >> as general petraeus told us this is potentially a turning point, a critical moment in this war right now, a very, very significant moment indeed. as you know, ambassador, putin made a rare public appearance today claiming russia is, quote, helping people, saving them from nazism. is he doubling down on this war and his own ridiculous propaganda? >> his own ridiculous propaganda, that's exactly right. no one outside of russia takes that seriously at all, helping people, trying to save people, he says, when he's killing tens of thousand, when it's genocide, when it is war crimes. he's helping people. he's saving people. no one takes him seriously. >> you're absolutely right. ambassador taylor, thanks so much for joining us. we really appreciate it. meanwhile, the russian invasion of ukraine is further complicating efforts to secure the release of americans being held by moscow. cnn's brian todd is working this story for us. i understand we're learning new information tonight? >> reporter: new information tonight on the condition and legal status of two americans in particular, basketball star brittney griner and former u.s. marine trevor reed. in addition to the new information there's new concerns that the tensions with vladimir putin may lead him to hold these two americans and one other even longer than originally feared. after spending nearly two months in a russian jail, serious conditions tonight about the condition of star american basketball player brittney griner, concerns voiced by the head of the wnba players union on nbc >> i with ear worried about her health and safety and her mental health. in that respect she's okay. >> reporter: the wnba commissioner says jailed on allegations she was carrying cannabis is safe and is getting access to her legal team in russia. >> we're trying everything that we can, every angle working through with her legal representation, her agent, elected leaders, the administration. >> reporter: greiner has been able to see her representative in russia twice a week and is able to receive letters and correspondence, sources tell espn, but vladimir putin's war in ukraine could dash any hopes for a speedy release. >> he's not going to release anyone that he has in custody. he'll try to use it as he has been probably behind the scenes all along as a bargaining chip to get something from us. >> reporter: there's very little the u.s. government can do right now. we have very limited leverage over russia right now given the political situation. >> reporter: one former u.s. official believes putin has strong motivation to keep holding greenier, the fact that she's a u.s. olympic gold medalist. >> remember, she was seized in february right after the olympics when russia was roundly embarrassed yet again for doping of its olympic athletes, and so this might be also a way of getting revenge at the u.s. olympic committee. >> reporter: another american held in russia, trevor reed, today had a court appearance by video where his appeal was kicked back to a lower court. his parents are worried he may have tuberculosis. >> he looks terrible in that shot that they had on the tweet, and we're really concerned because he really looks thin. >> reporter: u.s. officials openly concerned about reed's health. >> we do believe that he needs urgent treatment to prevent any further deterioration in his medical condition. >> reporter: reed was sentenced to nine years for allegedly endangering the lives of russian police officers while drunk which his family and u.s. officials deny. today, reed's father made a bold statement about his son's statement. >> they are taking him for trade, and that's what they want, and he's not coming home unless they get too. >> reporter: could >> they're extremely rare, and in the current political situation would be especially difficult to arrange something like that. not impossible but extremely difficult under the current conditions. >> the analysts we spoke to say it's a risky strategy for family members and others to speak out so often against these detainees in russia, especially given it might irritate vladamir putin even more. less see said people in the athletic world were told not to make a big deal about britney greiner's case. once again, we're standing by for afternn official update that shocking new york city subway attack. stay with us. the breakingng news starts next right here in "the situation room." ♪ (drum roll) ♪ ♪ (energetic music) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (camera shutters) the all-new lx 600. ready for any arena. ♪ ♪ officials in new york city are about to give an update for a manhunt in today's subway attack. miguel is joining us from new york. i understand officials have identified the suspect but he's still very much at large. >> reporter: they identified the suspect, and they believe the van that may be connected to this shooting as well is in this neighborhood right here. this is sort of in brooklyn, the bensonhurst graves area. they have a massive end of brooklyn cut off here and cordoned off by police. bomb squad is here, tons of detectives from new york city police department, fire department, and many, many ambulances are here as well. it feels to me, wolf, like this is a much bigger scene than just the van being located here. i can tell you detectives are going door to door at all the businesses along this block here looking to see if they have a video, security video, and watching that video right now try to put together pieces of where this individual may be and if he's still in this neighborhood or if he's gone somewhere else, but just a massive effort right now. the police helicopter overhead as well. just a massive effort going on here right now to figure out where this individual is and to figure out if there is any danger in that van they believe they have in this neighborhood. wolf? >> stand by, miguel. i want to bring in chief ramsey, our law enforcement analyst, d.c. police commissioner, philadelphia police commissioner. chief ramsey, what would you specifically be looking for as we await this news conference from law enforcement in new york? >> i believe we'll get some more information. whether or not we get the actual picture of the individual or name of the individual remains to be seen, but they've got a lot of things they're working right now. they've got the van, they know the name of the person who rented it, they probably have surveillance taking place on a couple locations where this person may be, or known to frequent. so there are a lot of things they've got going on right now. so they're going to play it a little close to the vest at this point in time, but we'll learn more than we knew before. you should pick up a few new pieces of information. >> i want you to stand by. i want to get your analysis after we get the update from law enforcement in new york. we're standing by for that. that's momentarily, we're told, it will begin. right now i want to go to another breaking story as we await this news conference. federal sources tell us prosecutors investigating former new york mayor giuliani should be a charging decision. polyanna is live. what could these charges mean. >> reporter: a federal investigation into his former lobbying efforts in ukraine. 18 electronic devices were seized during those raids, but sources familiar with the investigation told cnn that vefl investigators were unable to get into five of those devices until recently. in recent weeks giuliani actually met with investigators and helped them open three of those locked devices and he also provided passwords for the other two, but it's unclear if those passwords worked. he also appeared for a separate interview with investigators despite the legal risk that making any statement could be be a felony up to 25 years. they covered any of his devices by attorney/client privilege. he was also serving with president trump during his administration. but now that more than several sources are unlocked, sources tell cnn that could speed up the review and lead to a quick decision of whether the former mayor of new york will face criminal charges. unless new information comes to light that leads to new roots for authorities to pursue, federal prosecutors are likely, wolf, to decide whether to bring charges as soon as all the review on these devices is complete. >> paula reed with all the latest information. paula, thank you very much. i appreciate it very, very much. we'll stay on top of this story. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." erin burnett starts right now. next, breaking news. a manhunt underway in new york city after a gunman opened fire inside a busy subway car. at least 29 people hospitalized, and tonight we're learning investigators have identified the suspect. we're awaiting an nypd press conference as we speak. also more breaking news. president biden says putin is committing genocide, a word biden and most of his allies have not used. if it's genocide, what are he