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 tallian tactical groups in the east and the south of ukraine. they've added more than 10 to what they already had in that part of the country. we still assess in general they have the vast majority of their assembled combat power available to them. >> it's not just eastern ukraine coming under attack. at least four missiles hit the city of lviv killing at least 7 people and injuring 11 others. russia claims it destroyed a weapons depot on wednesday. they hit several ware houses being used by the military. a warning, the images we're about to show you are graphic and they are indeed hard to washing watch. you may recall these from outside of kyiv. it's discovered in the aftermath of russia's withdrawal. on monday vladimir putin destowed honors on the unit. the battle for the key port city of mariupol rages on with more heavy fighting being reported. a u.s. defense official says the city remains contested. drone footage shows the devastation left behind. we're also getting video of smoke coming from a steel factory. ukraine says hundreds of civilians are also sheltering inside. cnn's matthew chance has images of what people are facing. >> reporter: these are the kids that are at ground zero in the battle for mariupol. this video posted on government social media which cnn can't verify shows dozens of children said to be sheltering for weeks in a basement in the city where ukrainian soldiers are holding out against russian attempts, kids distracting themselves from the battles. we play with these toys, build things, imagine things this little boy says. do you want to get out of here? yes, yes, they all shout. with the adults here, they say that's unlikely to happen any time soon. i'm with my three children. the conditions are not the best here. there's no way to study. not much food. my kids teeth are starting to spoil, she says. an alternative, surrender to russia. maybe worth. above ground mariupol has borne the brunt of russia's brutal invasion. the latest images show the extent of the devastation. one ukrainian commander has called this hell on earth. the troops defending the city concentrated at the vast steel works are refusing to surrender. ukrainian officials say they will fight until the end. >> the condition in mariupol is dire militarily and heartbreaking. the city doesn't exist anymore. it seems from the way russian army behaves in mariupol, they decided to raise the city to the ground at any cost. >> reporter: ukrainian officials are making sure eurasia is painful. this shows a counter attack against russian forces by the ukrainian forces with them throwing grenades at russian forces in the city. it is an act of resistance but the outcome may be unchanged. already the human toll of this battle for mariupol has been thousands. another russian offensive is now underway posing another deadly threat to those trapped inside. matthew chance, cnn, new york. let's get more on this. i'm joined now from kyiv. member of the ukrainian parliament joins me live. kiera, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me this hour. let me start with this new russian military offensive we've seen in the east and east of ukraine in the donbas region. what can you tell me has been unfolding in the past 24 hours or so? >> this is the battle that we have expented ford a while. it is russian army against ukrainian army. this is a test for us. do we have enough of the weapons. did all of the weapons that we were promised arrived? we will see that . weunder stabbed this will be the major battle of the war. this is why it is so important for us to get all the support right now we can and to get now so we can stand up and we can actually win. >> president zelenskyy has said the troops will stand firm here. are you as can have doesn't as him? >> absolutely. i am confident now members of the ukrainian army understand the crucial role of this battle in our history. our 5rarmy is ready. we will get more and more support. the question will be the supplies and the armory. we are expanding the supplies every single day more that we are receiving from all the world that is helping us. >> what are you lacking that hasn't arrived artillery. second are the need to protect our skies. since the day one we have been asking to get air force protection systems, to get additional armory pieces. some of that we have heard of as promises and some is in transit. it is two to three weeks before we will get that. the war has been for 65 days right now. half of the promises that we've got have not been fulfilled just yet. is the world letting ukraine down here? >> at some point we are getting enough, at other points we are not getting anything. i would like to thank every single country helping us and say give us more. we are not only fighting for ourselves but for the whole democrat particular world and europe. everybody give us all their weapons, we have all the weapons that is available. >> let me ask you about mariupol. of course a city that's been devastated for weeks now. can it hold on? >> you see, every single day somebody saying, okay, mariupol will fold. every single day we are praying to god it does not. we are extremely worried about the civilians that are there and that russia is not giving us a humanitarian corridor. if we will be able to win the battle of donbas, we can save mariupol as well. if no, it will be extremely hard to support our soldiers, our remaining army there. without the air force protection, we cannot stop russian missiles from hitting mariupol. not only mariupol. you saw what happened yesterday in irpin. >> finally, kiera, let me show you this image. it's a statue of the former soviet leader vladimir lennon. can you give us a sense of what this means for ukrainians? >> so you see putin is trying to rebuild soviet union. this is his goal. this is the past. this is that i shall -- the past that's so unpleasant and so devastating for many of us. the fact that they are trying to rebuild it and to renew it is something that we are trying to get away from. it is something we are actually fighting, not to be dragged into the past with the soviets with their ideas and their way of life. we are moving to the future. we are the country that was and is attempting to join european union. we are building the digital economy. we are moving forward. russia is moving backwards and trying to drag all the other three countries with them. this is exactly the point we are fighting and this is exactly why we will be standing firmly because it's not where we want to go. >> kiera, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us and please stay safe, kiera. yeah, no more masks! whew! >> masks are still optional for employees, customers. >> well, the u.s. mask mandate you saw for public transportation is no longer in effect. the centers for disease control overstepped its authority by enacting it. major airlines made masks optional but some warn there could be confusion since the ruling took them by surprise. not at all agencies are lifting the mandate. >> reporter: this was one of the last major mask mandates. it was slated to end in two weeks on may 3rd. now by order of the u.s. district judge in florida, she said that goes beyond the cdc's authority and now the white house has confirmed that the transportation mask mandate is no longer in effect pending a federal review. this was required on planes, trains, buses, boats and in terminals starting in february of 2021. not long after joe biden took office. extended to march 18th, then april 18th, then an extension to may 3rd. now we know this is going away. we have heard from airlines like alaska airlines, delta airlines and united airlines that they will follow through with this order essentially making it so that passengers and employees can wear masks only if they want to. we will see as this pans out if there is any push back. >> thank you, pete. the white house is disappointed in the ruling that will not enforce the rule. press secretary jen psaki said they suggest people wear masks. >> i'll always wear my mask. i lost my grandmother to covid a year ago and i want the mask. >> my personal opinion, they don't do much. yeah, i'm excited. if you want to wear them, wear them. if not, don't. >> i do a lot of traveling and it doesn't make a lot of sense to wear them if you take them off to drink and eat anyway. >> i don't mind wearing a mask. >> i'm not a doctor or scientist. from just our household and how we stand on everything, i am happy we won't have to wear masks anyzblors how exactly did the federal judge determine the federal mask mandate was required? >> we have the story. have a listen. >> reporter: the judge did not say this is good policy, this is bad policy. this is not a health ruling nor science ruling, nor should it be. this is a real legal ruling. the judge said, first of all, cdc, you made a rule that goes beyond the authority that congress gave you and second of all, the way that the biden about this. they cannot follow by decree and the judge found the biden administration did not do that. >> this is a victory for mob rule. all of the major airlines will drop the mandate. partly because this has been a huge burden on flight attendants who have had to enforce what have been a very small number of very loud and uncivil folks who have basically said i dare you to enforce this mask mandate. >> do stay with cnn as we continue, of course, to follow this developing story. still ahead right here this hour, new images of russia's flag ship ship that sank. where's spring? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger.r. when you join ihop's new rewards program, the international bank of pancakes, and start stacking pancoins toward free food, you get a smile on your plate. download the app and join the rewards program today. - [narrator] as you get ready for what's next, custom gear from custom ink can help make the most of these moments. we've developed new tools to make it easy for you. custom ink has hundreds of products to help you feel connected. upload your logo or start your design today at customink.com new images on social media appear to support ukraine's claim that it hit the russian warship with missiles. you can see plumes of smoke and large black holes on the port side of the missile. this sank last week. a u.k. government source says two british nationals fighting in mariupol have been captured by russian troops. claire, let me start by asking about the flagship that we showed on the ship. it is important because it's part of russia's black sea fleet. what more do we know? what is russia and what is ukraine saying? >> these pictures are the very latest we've seen. the kremlin commented on this. dmitry pets could have said couldn't confirm it. there are forts who could be saying it. russia is staying saying there was a fire on board. they haven't said there was a fire on board. the ship sank during a storm as it was being towed back to port. no evidence of storm in the sky. we don't know if the ship was being toed at that point. could have come later. they are showing some of the crew meeting the naf yimpt it's not clear how many survived. they have not released how many casualties. they're not talking about it because it is such a huge blow to the russians strategically and militarily. >> no doubt this will hit morale as well for so many russian troops. let me ask you about the u.k. the british civilians. have we heard from their families? >> their families have spoken out. they had both lived in ukraine for several years. we haven't had an official government comment on this. sky news said they can't confirm if they are working to bring them home. they take this seriously. we don't want to help him. >> we hope they're both safe and we get them back for their families. looking at live pictures now in burlington, vermont. a storm system in the northeast is set to bring snow. pedram javaheri is following this. my question is what we asked people at the break, where is spring, pedram? >> a lot of people are asking the same question. people have broken out the shorts and t-shirts, isa. we go right back into the heart of winter. this is what it looks like across parts of burlington, vermont, heavy, wet late season snow coming down. a lot of this confined towards the interior portion. the major 34e9 throw portions in boston and philly. it's all just heavy rainfall and gusty winds. the winter weather alerts are for the interior of the state. above 2,000 feet some of these areas could see 10 to 13 inches of snowfall. the gusty winds, heavy, wet snow. trees and power lines are coming down. 80,000 customers without power at this hour. snowfall accumulations in the past 24 hours in this region have pushed up. it's all rainfall. on the order of 1 and 2 inch having come back. almost 40 mile per hour gusty winds. we do expect this to be the story through much of this afternoon with the gusty winds continuing. snowfall, this is where people are asking where is that spring weather. michigan, illinois, ohio, as much as 10 to 20 inches of snow on the ground. some people are getting tired of it across madison, wisconsin. look at these. cold weather alerts for temps into the 20s and 30s this morning in places such as st. louis, mashville, tennessee, are going to be better. it dramatically shifts. look at it well into the 80s for the weekend. spring is around the corner in a few days. >> pedram, great to see you. thanks very much. the nor'easter will force millions of americans to crank up their heat. natural gas surged monday at levels not seen since 2008. futures rose 9% and are up a staggering 9.10%. analysts blame unseason nab bring high prices. phil black visited a town outside of kyiv where occupying russian forces left behind more than just a sprawling gun fight. >> reporter: it is so quiet now, bird noise, light breeze. recently there was 6,000 russian soldiers bedded down in these woods in a camp that is so large you can't see where it begins and where it ends. on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? 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[ silence ] lens is cleared. prep iss about the numbers needed to conquer kyiv? >> what due see? >> translator: we understand it will be two to three times greater in the donbas. this fort wasn't soind. vitali, a local maine can nirks says he wasn't here. he's never known fear like it and constantly thought those were his last moments on earth. local priest describes dealing with the aftermath of even greater cruelty. he says he found five mentor turtd and killed in the garden. two more in the forest and the russians brought him two dead women and told him to bury them. other russians camped out with artillery positions. they stole many items. >> reporter: when the rockets hit the earth there was often civilians who felt it. >> this is the result. >> reporter: they were hiding in there? >> yes. >> reporter: this resident shows the aftermath of a russian rocket strike. >> this is a tren tral -- >> reporter: and where some of the victims pull away. for now they have left this part of ukraine. the fruits ever their brief stay, the pain, trauma and loathing remain. phil black, cnn, ukraine. want to bring you up to the speed of the u.s. that struck down the biden administration's mask mandate for riding a train. uber said masks for riders and drivers are no longer required. the ruling took airlines by surprise. then a flight attendant went through as you can see with a cabin so passengers could throw their mask away. china's covid mandates are much stricter than the sumpt u. and their close contacts. she said it will happen, quote, without exceptions. they're already on full or partial lockdown under the country's strict zero covid strategy. cnn's steven jiang is following this from beijing. steven, the lockdown clearly conditions with conditions. clearly working as we've seen. what more can you tell us? >> well, isa, this seems to be a never ending nightmare for shanghai's 25 million residents, most of whom are still being sealed in their homes and lacking access to food and medical care. this latest warning from the vice this coverage. a growing number of senior citizens are being forcefully removed from their homes and being sent to the government quarantine facilities. many facilities are in very crowded and primitive conditions with little medical care being provided on site. so a lot of people are asking why are they treating this most vulnerable segment of the population this way even though the whole zero covid policy is aimed at protecting this group. it's showing workers dump ing vegetables being dumped. it showed they are being dumped because they've gone bad. these are snapshots from the growing chaos and misery in shanghai's lockdown. lockdowns are happening affecting dozens of cities and millions of people. this is happening because the central leadership in beijing has put their foot down. this policy is showing the problems covid has caused. what many local officials can take away is not how it's impossible to contain the approach, when it comes to lockdown, you have to do it early and do it big. >> steven jiang, keep us posted. we are following breaking news out of afghanistan. reports of multiple explosions in shia and the community in kabul. we'll be right back with all of the details next. - that moment you walk in the office and people are wearing the same gear, you feel a sense of connectedness and belonging right away. and our shirts from custom ink help bring us together. - [narrator] custom ink has hundreds of products to help you feel connected. upload your logo or start your design today at customink.com there are lots of choices when it comes to your internet and technology needs. but when you choose comcast business internet, you choose the largest, fastest reliable network. you choose advanced security. and you choose fiber solutions with speeds up to 10 gigs available to more small businesses than any other provider. the choice is clear: get unbeatable business solutions from the most innovative company. get a great deal on this limited time price with internet and voice for just $49.99 a month for 24 months with a 2-year price guarantee. call today. it's my 5:52 woke-up-like-this migraine medicine. it's ubrelvy. for anytime, anywhere migraine strikes. without worrying if it's too late or where i am. one dose can quickly stop my migraine in its tracks within 2 hours. unlike older medicines, ubrelvy is a pill that directly blocks cgrp protein, believed to be a cause of migraine. do not take with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. most common side effects were nausea and tiredness. ask about ubrelvy and learn how abbvie can help you save. at this stage the death toll most certainly is going to be rising according to one of the hospitals that we were able to speak to. another hospital saying it has received dozens of injuries. these why school children. families said good-bye to their children when they went to school and now are having to deal with this horrendous reality. teams will be trying to rescue who they can. there has only been a trickle of images we have been able to see from the scene of the aftermath. this is because according to multiple forces on the ground, journalists and others, the taliban is trying to prevent journalists from taking images on the ground from reporting from this scene in particular. the taliban itself has been under extreme pressure to try to restore some sort of mod did i co -- modicum to the country. this is running counter to their trying to create a secure afghanistan. although not being reported all that often has been continuing at a pace in afghanistan. they're struggling to find the resources to keep themselves safe. now on top of all of this gut wrenching news unfolding. we are following it very closely. we'll be bringing more details as they emerge. >> so much more heart break. 500 u.s. dollars for the pair. much more than most families can afford. one ukrainian family was forced to go to russia to flee the war. find out howow their family got them to poland to be reunited. tony here from creditrepair.com, helping people see the true cost of bad credit. what are you doing to improve your credit? 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also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information. 55 days into this war and some 5 million people have fled the fighting in ukraine. more than 7 million others are internally displaced. as their homes and families come under attack, some ukrainians are forced to do the unthinkable. that's bombing russia and the thought of their loved ones being trapped in any territory can be a terrifying prospect. selma abdelaziz talks about how one woman had to deal with smugglers to get her family out of russia. >> reporter: mila tertian does not trust the man she is about to meet. he is a smuggler. looking for her mom and sister hoping they are here. it's her sister. brief joy. the smuggler wants to be paid now. 500 u.s. dollars for the pair. much more than most families fleeing war can afford. >> he doesn't want -- >> reporter: we pull away with her mom. we don't want our presence to cause problems. away from our camera mila is extorted for more cash. getting to safety is dangerous. this is the story of one fa family's escape into russia after bombs occupied their city. there, a city under siege. she had no way to call her family. no way to find out if they were alive. this is your room. we first met mila a day earlier where she volunteers. >> somebody saw that a missile hit my backyard. i was crying so bad. >> reporter: how did you deal with that? >> i have to take that energy and convert it into something. >> reporter: she finally got a call but it was not from azume. >> i heard him for the first time after a whole month. i was happy they were alive but i was terrified they were in russia and i don't know, should i be happy, should i be sad? >> reporter: mila's only option, she said, was to hire a smuggler to drive her family from russia to safety here in poland. >> somebody from poland gave me number of people who transfer smuggling basically. obviously it's dangerous. dangerous activity in russia, very dangerous. >> reporter: now they are reunited but how did the victims of putin's war end up in russia? desperate to flee they tell us they could only find one way out. a private driver offered a ride to the russian border. >> now they tell me details. i really was terrified. >> reporter: were you scared to go to russia? >> they were more afraid to stay where they were because it was hell and they needed to go somewhere to escape that. >> reporter: thousands of ukrainians have faced the same. many have no choice, it was going to russia or die. if you would like to help people in ukraine who maybe need shelter, food, water go to cnn.com/impact. now the boston marathon which is the world's oldsest marathon has returned for the first time since the pandemic. the woman's race was won with the third fastest time ever. some of the biggest cheer went to the older brother of an 8-year-old killed from the 2013 boston marathon bombing. his sister lost a leg. he tearfully embraced his family. that does it here for me here on "cnn newsroom." our coverage continues on "early start." you are watching cnn. uroscienti. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain n performan. more brain performance? 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