secretary of state antony blinken and defense secretary, lloyd austin, the top diplomat and top civilian military official offering a one-two punch, a show of support to ukraine. they offered a diplomatic presence will return to ukraine this week. blinken says russia's war objectives in the country have, quote, already failed, while austin declared ukrainians can still win this war and stated publicly for the first time the u.s. intends to, quote, weaken russia, so it cannot invade again. top u.s. officials were in kyiv, russian forces attacked at least five railway stations here in the western part of the country. ukraine says that russia is trying to systematically destroy its railway infrastructure which has been so key in getting refugees out and weapons in. >> there have been deadly attacks over that infrastructure in the course of this war. in the east, officials say almost the entire luhnkk region is without water. barricaded at the steel plant can evacuate. ukraine says no humanitarian corridors have been agreed upon there just yet. and breaking overnight, a fuel depot inside russia is on fire. right now the cause of that fire remains unclear. cnn national security correspondent kylie atwood joinjoins us from the state department but let's start with matt rivers from kyiv. this is a visit they have been calling for for some time from the u.s., it has come. blinken and austin. i'm wondering how ukrainians are reacting to it. >> reporter: gratitude, no doubt about it. a very positive reaction from ukrainian officials including from president zelenskyy himself who issued a statement after the meeting, thanking both men for coming, personally thanking president biden for what he called the united states' unprecedented support for ukraine and also thanking, quote, the american people as well as congress for their bipartisan support. he says we see it and we feel it. so, ukrainian officials clearly very happy that this meeting took place. and a meeting that, frankly, they wanted to have happen for a long time now after a series of other leaders from uk prime minister boris johnson to the leaders of other eastern europe came. also what we heard from u.s. officials, including u.s. secretary of defense lloyd austin who said they believe ukraine can win and the united states is going to do everything they can to get them the kind of weapons they need in order to be able to do so with the point of trying to avoid hapgs in the east to what happened in certain towns around kyiv. we can show you video of a suburb northwest of kyiv where russian forces got very close. we saw that unprecedented destruction and what clearly the united states is trying to do is give ukraine the weapons so other towns don't fall to the same fate as that village did. when it comes to getting those weapons into ukraine, in fighters' hands, a bit of news with several train stations, as you mentioned off the top, being struck by russian missiles earlier today. the question now being, does russia targeting that infrastructure hurt the countries helping them get the weapons they so desperately need. >> russian defense forces and the kremlin have both warned twice now the u.s. to stop providing weaponry to ukraine. yet it continues. antony blinken declared that russia's efforts, despite the ongoing shelling in ukraine, have been a failure. that was clearly a deliberately worded assessment. what's the calculation behind it? >> some significant messages coming out from blinken and austin today with austin saying that the united states wants russia weakened at the end of this fight. and that's the first time that we have really heard u.s. official discuss the long-term prospects that they want russia to face as a result of this failed invasion into ukraine. of course, it starts with the invasion itself, with this war. and it's clear that the biden administration does feel that ukraine can win. secretary of defense austin said that they have the will and they have the capabilities to do so with the u.s. continuing to provide that support. and the biden administration feels that ukraine is well on its way to winning because they have already had these victories and because they haven't allowed russia to completely overtake the country as was their motivation. listen to what blinken said on that. >> russia has sought as its principle aim to totally subject ukraine, take away its sovereignty, its independence. that has failed. we are seeing just the opposite. the military that is dramatically underperforming, an economy as a result of sanctions, as a result of a mass exodus from russia, that is in shambles. >> reporter: of course, the fight in the east between russia and ukraine isn't anywhere near over. some would say the worst is yet to come, but a clear message of positivity from those top biden administration officials as they visited ukraine over the weekend. >> and you could say it is a shift, right, because weakening russia would seem to be an offensive objective here as opposed to a defensive one helping ukraine defend itself. we'll be discussing that further in this broadcast. defense secretary austin has promised to get ukrainians what they need to win this war. those weapons we've been seeing going in at an accelerating pace, frankly. >> over $3 billion since the war began. this is all critical as russian forces continue to fire on civilian infrastructure. chief international correspondent clarissa ward was on the ground in kharkiv and filed this report for us. >> reporter: this is what they're up against. i want to take you around so you can get a feel for the full scale of the damage that was done here when two massive missiles landed in and around this building last month. you can see just out, what's left of the window there. that is freedom square. and this city has been getting pulverized day in, day out. just today we have heard a -- pretty much constant stream of bombardment since about 4:30 in the morning. often it goes on all night. and the mayor here says that 25% of the buildings in this city have been hit during strikes. 25%. just try to get your head around the enormity of that figure. 67 schools have been hit. look at this. this was once a palatial grand staircase. now completely destroyed. according to authorities, only ten people were killed here, which is extraordinary. although i've just been talking with one of the soldiers who's in charge of looking after this space, and he says they believe there are many more dead under the rubble. i'm going to show you what some of that rubble looks like over here. and what people here fear in this city is that kharkiv could be the next mariupol. because of the amount of bombardment and the real intensification that we've seen of that bombardment, especially in the last week. now, i just want cameraman scott and producer brent, to be a little careful here. i do want to show you this. because it gives you a real feeling for just the enormity of that blast. i mean, absolutely astonishing. it literally took out six stories. and that's why, as you can probably imagine, we're hearing from authorities here that they do believe some people are still trapped under that rubble, but that it is just simply impossible for them at this stage with bombardment continuing day in and day out in this city, for them to try to dig down underneath that and get a sense of just how many people may have lost their lives here. >> clarissa ward with that report. joining me now to discuss ukraine's reaction, particularly to the u.s. visit, yulia medaly, former spokesperson for president zelenskyy. >> thank you for having me. >> the president has been calling for some time for a senior u.s. official to visit. other heads of state has visited so far. the u.s. has now come here. what's the importance of that in your view? >> jim, that visit was crucially important for ukraine. first let me say the war is ongoing. we've seen yesterday and today that air strikes have been not only in the eastern south but in western and western ukraine. we see top officials of such high level come through all ukraine on the train, and coming to kyiv to show their support. this is super high level of support. the second what was very important for every ukrainian, actually we celebrated the orthodox easter yesterday. it was like one of the biggest religious holidays here in ukraine, when ukrainians expecting blessings. i don't want to put this in some religion way, but for people it was very important to see top officials of such high level travel here on this day, on this holiday, to show their support. every ukrainian was really following this visit. >> i went to an easter mass here yesterday and saw folks doing their best to celebrate, even in the midst of everything. i wonder, do you see the missile strikes we saw around lviv last night and elsewhere in the western part of this country, virtually at the same tile as austin and blinken were leaving the country, does that strike you as deliberate by russia to send a message? >> russia always tries to send a message and we're sure it was trying to show its brutal force by striking all over ukraine, right? we have not heard actually strikes around lviv and western ukraine in several days before yesterday, and today's morning, right? so, of course, russia tried to show how brutal force -- what brutal force it has and how it can move forward with air strikes and invading ukraine. >> there's been a noticeable change for me on my second trip here. the change in language, but i would also say confidence to some degree among ukrainian officials, ukrainian forces and even you heard it echoed by austin and blinken yesterday from, we're doing our best to defend ourselves, we need immediate help just to survive, to now, we can win this war. do you find that shift as well? do you think something has changed? >> i think we have more hope right now. because one thing to hope and you are struggling to fight back and to defend yourself. other when you have already some victories. and the battle around kyiv, it was the victory. now we know that we have all the capacities and the whole civilized world around us to stand to the very end. we are very hopeful. we want to get all our territories and to fight back for our people. you know, to celebrate actually our independence and democracy here. >> you know, as well as others, that the war goes on and there's still a tremendous amount of russian fighting power. we're seeing it being used in the east often with ruthlessness and attacks on civilian areas. there's part of the russian playbook we're seeing in your hometown of kherson. take over the town militarily and then hold a referendum in which the people declare themselves as part of russia or desiring russian. do you -- >> this is my hometown. let me be frank, there is no one to support this referendum. there will be no people joyfully going to vote there. they were protesting unarmed against armed soldiers of russia. they were shot actually there. they were wounded people just for standing there with flags of ukraine and saying, we are ukraine. there is no people who want really to go there, except we believe russian cameras will be there and try to film someone voting. we know definitely russia always make this fake voting with 80%, 90% of either joining russia or making some fake republic. >> it's always a very high percentage. it's like saddam hussein's iraqi. 90% of people support my position. you work for the president. you're a journalist. you've faced many of your own ricks. your fiancee is facing severe ricks joining the fight. you wrote in "the washington post" about this. do you still hear from him? >> he returned a few days ago. it was such a relief because i was checking the telephone every five minutes because he was losing the connection and i was getting these messages after battles how he was going through, that he was sure -- i mean, the team that was going there, it was under shelling, how difficult it was. it's enormously difficult to go through understanding that he is there and there is no guarantee he will survive. i'm sure this is the fate of so many females here. but i want to add a personal story, personal touch about cherson region. i got a call from a person i cannot name. she's an elder female and she used to have quite nostalgia about the ussr. she told me she believes biden, joe biden, the american president, that america will help ukraine to return all the territories, including kherson region. i don't know where she read this from. there is so much news around. this shows such a critical, crucial ideology. when a person who had nostalgia about the ussr now prizes the american president and believes the united states will help ukraine to regain all their independence and all the territories -- >> that's a remarkable shift. >> -- in terms of international recognized territory. >> you wonder how many more minds are being changed on the ground. we're glad you're safe and your husband as well. >> thank you for having me. >> i should say your fiancee. ahead, we will speak to a retired general about how ukraine could possibly achieve a military victory here. the french president easily wins another term, fending off a far-right challenger who had ties to putin. what this means to russia's war in ukraine. this morning the new york attorney general will argue on to have a judge hold former president trump in contempt and a look at the possible consequences he faces. with age comes more... get more with neutrogena® retinol pro plus. a powerful .5% retinol that's also gentle on skin. for wrinkle results in one week. neutrogena®. for people with skin. if you have this... consider adding this. an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare. medicare supplement plans help by paying some of what medicare doesn't... and let you see any doctor. any specialist. anywhere in the u.s. who accepts medicare patients. so if you have this... consider adding this. call unitedhealthcare today for your free decision guide. ♪ centrum multigummies aren't just great tasting... they're power-packed vitamins... that help unleash your energy. loaded with b vitamins... ...and other key essential nutrients... ...it's a tasty way to conquer your day. try centrum multi gummies. now with a new look. if your moderate to severe crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms are stopping you in your tracks... choose stelara® from the start... and move toward relief after the first dose... with injections every two months. stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. feel unstoppable. ask your doctor how lasting remission can start with stelara®. janssen can help you explore cost support options. wealth is breaking ground on your biggest project yet. worth is giving the people who build it a solid foundation. wealth is shutting down the office for mike's retirement party. worth is giving the employee who spent half his life with you, the party of a lifetime. ♪ ♪ wealth is watching your business grow. worth is watching your employees grow with it. ♪ ♪ motrin works fast to stop pain where it starts. like those nagging headaches. uncomfortable period pains. and disruptive muscle aches. you can count on fast, effective relief with motrin. tomorrow defense secretary lloyd austin will meet with senior military officials from around the world. this discussion about the next round of military and financial aid for ukraine as the invasion continues here. after meeting with president zelenskyy on sunday, secretary austin said this morning that he believes ukraine can win this war against russia. >> in terms of our variability to win, the first step in winning is believing that you can win. and so, they believe that we can win. we believe that we can win -- they can win, if they have the right equipment, the right support. and we're going to do everything we can, continue to do everything we can. >> let's bring in lieutenant general mark hertling and steve hall, former cia chief of russia operations and a cnn national security analyst. welcome both of you. general, let me begin with you. a remarkable shift in language that we're seeing now from the u.s. administration, consider where things stood over two months ago leading into this war. now you have the defense secretary saying he believes that ukraine can win. talk about what's led up to that assessment. i mean, you've got eight to ten cargo flights of weaponry coming in from the u.s. each day now. and the u.s. saying -- and the defense secretary saying that more ukrainian troops will be trained by u.s. troops in eastern european countries. >> early on, bethere was a huge push toward individual weapon systems that would help ukraine put up an initial defense. they showed themselves capable of that. many of us believed that was going to be the case all along. now they're going into another phase where it's going to be more of large-scale operations, counterartillery fights, the kinds of things needed in large conventional conflicts. i believe, as i always have, that ukraine has the capability of doing this. and what we've seen on the battlefield with russia is they do not, for a variety of reasons. poorly trained soldiers, poor leadership, bad logistics support, the inability to practice things they would have used in combat. all of those things lend to the tilting of the advantage of ukraine, which many of us who worked with ukrainians knew that was their potential from the very beginning. >> lloyd austin used interesting language following his visit here, saying the u.s. goal now is to weaken russia so as to prevent further invasion of ukraine, another invasion down the line. that's new language, hasn't used before. does that, in your view, change the mission from being a largely defensive one, help ukraine defend itself, to something with a more offensive aspect to it? >> i'm not sure it's going to be the hallmark of a more offensive, you know, attacks on russia, you know, inside of russia, per se, jim, but it's language i really welcome because it's something i think many russian watchers have been hoping for for a number of years now. there's always been a lot of self-editing that happens in the west. well, you know, we have to be careful with regard to russia, it's a large country, so forth and so on. finally i think politicians and senior leadership are beginning to use language that indicates that containment, sort of an old cold war era term, but containment, which is trying to surround and weaken a state that has proven itself to be very, very aggressive against its neighbors. you know, attacking and annexing large portions of neighboring countries, that that is worth saying, look, those people need to be weakened. russia needs to be weakened. i'm glad we're saying it because russia is focusing on western support wavering. >> the propaganda will always be there. general, on the one hand you have u.s. officials saying russia has, indeed, been weakened by this war, but the shelling continues. just over the weekend you had innocent civilians, apartment buildings bombed in the port city of odesa. that is much further west than they typically have been firing upon thus far in this war. what does that tell you about the next weeks in this war? >> yeah, it tells me that russia again does not care about hurting and injuring and killing and criminally violating sovereignty and addressing their conflict toward the civilian population as opposed to soldiers. if i can add onto what steve just said, too, i also welcome these remarks because we have seen a russia that has continued to do these kinds of things. target civilian populations, target governments through cyber activity, threaten other countries within nato. so, the approach of saying, we've got to limit their capacity, to do that in the future is something that, truthfully, has been -- something that has been going on for many years, which even jim sciutto talked about in his book. now we're saying, hey, we've got to stop this interference in sovereign nations, whether it's overt like it has been in ukraine, or whether it's covert, like it has been in places like estonia, latvia, poland. yeah, i think all of that is fascinating. >> and you wonder if a message as well to china when it comes to taiwan. steve hall, we did notice five missile strikes in the western part of the country along rail lines in the last 24 hours at the same time in the wake of a visit by u.s. senior officials in which they entered and exited the country via the western part of this country. do you find that timing coincidental or deliberate? >> no, i think it's probably deliberate. i think we've got, you know, russia has said, we don't like -- or they actually demanded that the west stop providing military assistance. some of which is going by rail, some of which is going by other means. so, that's one thing they're trying to continue to message, look, we're going to potentially attack those convoys. yes, when you have senior leadership coming over into ukraine and using a train and then russia responds, yeah, that's obvious of great concern. it's of great concern to russia as the senior western officials continue to show up in ukraine because that is a real booster and it's more than psychological. it's a signal to the ukrainian government and the ukrainian people that the west has got their back and their continuing to support them. so, the russians don't like that and will continue to respond, jim. >> yeah, all of those leaders arriving by rail, right? i mean, they're not flying into the airport there in kyiv. they're coming from across the border in poland by train. mark hertling, steve hall, thank you so much. well, in moments, a new york judge will hear arguments on whether to hold former president trump in contempt for not complying with a subpoena for some of his records. we're live outside the courthouse. up next. he's finding some investment ideas with merrill. eyes on the ball bababy. digital l tools so impressive, you just can't stop. whwhat would you like the power to do? [ indistinct conversations ] ♪ hey, class. this is lily. ♪ when you see things differently, you can be theifference. welcome. capella university looks at education differtly. our flexpath learning format helps you control the pace and cost of your master's degree. make your difference with capella university. your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire if your moderate to severe crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms are stopping you in your tracks... choose stelara® from the start... and move toward relief after the first dose... with injections every two months. stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. feel unstoppable. ask your doctor how lasting remission can start with stelara®. janssen can help you explore cost support options. [inspirational soul music] [inspirational soul music] [inspirational soul music] [inspirational soul music] ♪ ♪ bonnie boon i'm calling you out. everybody be cool, alright? we've got bonnie right here on a video call. we don't take kindly to video calls. oh, in that case just tap to send a message. we don't take kindly to messages neither. in that case how 'bout a ringcentral phone call. we don't take kindly to no... would you can it eugene! let's just hear her out. ha ha ha, i've been needing a new horse. we've got ourselves a deal. ♪ ♪ ♪ ringcentral ♪ this is not the stallion i was imagining. before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn... claire could only imagine enjoying chocolate cake. now, she can have her cake and eat it too. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? this is elodia. she's a recording artist. 1 of 10 million people that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. and this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students we're connecting throughout the next 10. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students, past... and present, can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities. this is xfinity rewards. our way of saying thanks, with rewards for the whole family! from epic trips... to the original jurassic park... on us. join over 3 million members and start enjoying rewards like these, and so much more in the xfinity app! and check out jurassic world: dominion, in theaters june 10th. york attorney general letitia james will hold that former president trump should be held in contempt and fined $10,000 a dale for failing to respond to her subpoena. she is seeking part in her civil tax investigation. with me here is former assistant u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york. great to have you on set with me. how do you think this will come down? will he be held in contempt? >> donald trump could well be held in contempt today. the new york state attorney general, letitia james, served a subpoena on donald trump seeking his testimony and documents. donald trump objected. it went to the judge and the judge ruled against donald trump, said you have to comply. trump has appealed the testimony part. that's on hold. but he did not appeal the documents part. so, his documents were due to the ag on march 31st. come march 31st, a few weeks ago, did donald trump deliver boxes full of boxes? no. he delivered a letter saying, number one, i don't have anything. number two, i still object. letitia james is saying, sorry, you already lost, you owe us these documents. >> and fined $10,000 a day, right? >> yeah. the purpose of contempt is to force a party to comply. actually, under new york law a judge could either impose a fine or jail. that's not in play here. that would be a bit much. >> because this is a civil trial. >> it's a civil case that's happening here. so, if the -- donald trump is held in contempt, he will be fined $10,000 a day every day until he complies, even for a rich person, that gets expensive. >> and clearly we know he doesn't like to part with money, so we'll see how long this could go on. but his lawyers, his defense argues he's not in defiance at all here. he is complying with the subpoena. he just doesn't have the financial documents. is that plausible? >> it's tough to believe that donald trump would not have not a single piece of paper relating to his finances or taxes. what he'll have to show to the judge, if the judge is going to believe that, well, we looked. we searched. here are all the places we searched. all the boxes of documents we searched, phones, computers, with he found nothing. if he can make a thorough showing and convince the judge, then he could avoid contempt. but he hasn't even attempted to do that. all he's done so far is say, i object to this and i have nothing. >> for folks at home that may be a little confused at all of these cases out there. we mentioned this is a sifl case. there's also a criminal case, right, that is being overseen by the da. explain the differences here. >> vital distinction. there are two things happening at once. there's a civil case, which the ag is running. that's where we are today. that could result in at most a lawsuit by the attorney general against the trump organization. we're talking money. we're not talking jail or arrests. on the other side, there's a criminal case being prosecuted by the manhattan district attorney along with the ag. that case appears to be mostly dead in the water. we know that because a few weeks ago the lead prosecutors on the criminal side resigned and basically said, we disagree with the decision not to charge. it's technically ongoing, but it appears that the criminal case is not going to happen. >> always great to have you explain it for us. appreciate it. good to see you. and still ahead, the u.s. navy is investigating after the deaths of seven sailors from the same crew in the last year. four of them by suicide. we have a live report coming up. with age comes more... get more with neutrogena® retinol pro plus. a powerful .5% retinol that's also gentle on skin. for wrinkle results in one week. neutrogena®. for people with skin. and print. come on! print! print! print! you should be ashamed of yourself! just print... please. (crying) do you suffer from cartridge conniptions? be conniption-free, thanks to the cartridge-free epson ecotank printer. big ink tanks, a ridiculous amount of ink! up to 2 years of ink comes in the box. the ecotank is the perfect cure for... do i look like a money tree? is that what i look like? do you see leaves? the epson ecotank. just fill & chill. trelegy for copd. [coughing] ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze driftin' on by... ♪ if you've been playing down your copd,... ♪ it's a new dawn, it's a new day,... ♪ ...it's time to make a stand. start a new day with trelegy. ♪...and i'm feelin' good. ♪ no once-daily copd medicine... has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand and start a new day with trelegy. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy, and save at trelegy.com. psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen, painful. emerge tremfyant®. tremfya® is approved to help reduce... joint symptoms in adults with active psoriatic arthritis. some patients even felt less fatigued. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant® with tremfya®... ask you doctor about tremfya® today. so, should all our it move to the cloud? the cloud would give us more flexibility, but we lose control. ♪ ♪ ♪ should i stay or should i go? ♪ and we need insights across our data silos, but how? ♪ if i go there will be trouble ♪ ♪ ♪ wait, we can stay and go. hpe greenlake is the platform that brings the cloud to us. ♪ should i stay or should i go now? ♪ ♪ ♪ we hit the bike trails every weekend shinges doesn't care. i grow all my own vegetables shingles doesn't care. we've still got the best moves you've ever seen good for you, but shingles doesn't care. because 1 in 3 people will get shingles, you need protection. but, no matter how healthy you feel, your immune system declines as you age increasing your risk for getting shingles. so, what can protect you? shingrix protects. you can protect yourself from shingles with a vaccine proven to be over 90% effective. shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. ask your pharmacist or doctor about shingrix. shingles doesn't care. but you should. the u.s. navy is investigating the command cull dur on the "uss george washington" after deaths with the crew. barbara starr joins us with more. what makes the situation on this aircraft carrier stand out to naval leadership? >> well, this is the "george washington." it's been in port for long-term maintenance for some months in newport news, virginia. the deaths of the crew were not at sea. when a ship is in maintenance, the quality of life is quite different for the view. so, they're going to look at what was the quality of life? what was the command climate? what was the culture aboard the ship? can they find anything? they don't think there's any correlation between the deaths, but can they find anything that points to a concern that they might have missed along the way? seven deaths in the last year, four of them by suicide. three in a period of several days. now, the pentagon under orders from congress has been looking at suicide across the military yet again. it's something that's concerned them, obviously, for years. the numbers just are not going down in any substantive long-term way. so defense secretary lloyd austin has stood up an independent panel to review all this as ordered by congress. when he did that, he said in part, it is imperative we take care of all of our teammates and continue to reinforce that mental health and suicide prevention remains a key priority. one death by suicide is one too many. and suicide rates among our service members are still too high. now, this independent review panel will not report back until next year. but one of the things they have been told to do is visit nine installations across the services. and it's interesting to note, several of them are in alaska, where also there suicide rates are high amongst the ranks. >> clearly a very tragic pattern there. you'll be following this story for us. barbara starr, thank you. overseas french president emmanuel macron defeated his far right rival marine le pen. they also faced off in 2017. macron is the first french president to be re-elected in 20 years. he won decisively with 58% of the vote. we should note that the far right has not performed this strongly since world war ii. macron acknowledged that those who didn't vote for him last night in a speech last night. >> a majority of us have chosen to trust me to lead our republic for the next five years. i know that for many of our come patriots who choose the extreme right today their anger and disagreement that led them to vote for this project must also find a response. that will be my responsibility and that of those around me. >> this result constitutes for our french leaders as well as for european leaders the sign of a great defiance from the french people towards them, which they can't ignore, and that of a widely shared aspiration for a big change. >> both president biden and president vladimir putin have congratulated macron on his win. macron met with putin in february to discuss ukraine. still ahead with all the sanctions the u.s. has leveled against russia and vladimir putin's crony, one within his inner circle has been spared. why the u.s. hasn't sanctioned putin's rumored girlfriend. that's up next. find your potential then own it support your immune system withth a potent blend of nutrients and ememerge your best every day with emergen-c she's feeling the powerr of listerine. he's feeling it. yep, them too. it's an invigorating rush... ...zapping millions of germs in sonds. fothat one-of-a-kind whoa... ...which leaves you feeling... ahhhhhhh listerine. fl the whoa! (music) o said you have to starve yourself to lose weight? who said you can't do dinner? who said only this is good? and this is bad? i'm doing it my way. meet plenity. an fda -cleared clinically proven weight management aid for adults with a bmi of 25-40 when combined with diet and exercise. plenity is not a drug - it's made from naturally derived building blocks and helps you feel fuller and eat less. it is a prescription only treatment and is not for pregnant women or people allergic to its ingredients. talk to your doctor or visit myplenity.com to learn more. there's a different way to treat hiv. it's every-other-month, injectable cabenuva. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete hiv treatment you can get every other month. cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. it's two injections, given by a healthcare provider every other month. it's one less thing to think about while traveling. hiv pills aren't on my mind. a quick change in my plans is no big deal. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions, post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have liver problems or mental health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. some of the most common side effects include injection-site reactions, fever, and tiredness. if you switch to cabenuva, attend all treatment appointments. every other month and i'm good to go. ask your doctor about every-other-month cabenuva. with angi, you can connect with and see ratings and reviews. and when you book and pay throug you're covered by our happiness check out angi.com today. angi... and done. lactaid is 100% real milk, just without the lactose. tastes great in our iced coffees too. which makes waking up at 5 a.m. to milk the cows a little easier. (moo) mabel says for you, it's more like 5:15. man: mom, really? russian invasion of ukraine and the u.s. and allies have imposed sanctions on some of russia's biggest companies as well as its richest oligarchs and some targeting vladimir putin himself. now, "the wall street journal" is reporting, the u.s. government has considered but then pulled back on sanctioning a woman long rumored to be putin's girlfriend. the russian gymnast >> this is something that was deemed so sensitive that they decided to hold off because they believed that putin's response could be so irrational, so angry, that there would be some sort of backlash. they weighed the impact that the potential action could have versus vladimir putin's reaction and any kind revof retaliation whatever the cost would be for such an action and the best option was to hold off for the time being. >> is that the right judgment? joining me is the head of the magnitsky justice campaign, author of "freezing order: a true story of money laundering, murder and surviving mr. putin's wrath." good to have you on, bill. you've watched, you've encouraged sanctions against russia and individuals right up to president putin. do you think this was the right call by the treasury department to stop short of targeting kabaeva who not only is rumored to be his mistress but the mother of his children and also a store for some of -- his many billions in wealth? >> so the u.s. should absolutely sanction putin's mistress and the mother of his children, as they should also sanction various oligarchs like roman ibramovich. it seems to me a strange situation where putin is killing women and children all over ukraine. we know -- we want to get to putin personally. we know who he cares about. she surely is holding some of his assets, and she's not been sanctioned. i don't really understand the logic. i think that it's an appeasement strategy, and to be honest, i've looked recently at the list of sanctioned individuals and compared it with the european union, the uk and various other countries. and at this point, in terms of sanctioning high-value targets like oligarchs, the u.s. is seriously lagging the eu, uk and other countries. and that's a new situation. it wasn't like this before. >> yeah, it's a good point. a lot of sanctions that europeans were dragging their feet on now seem to be ahead of the game. you have said and written that putin went to war here in ukraine in order to stay in power. i wonder, do you believe that today he is more or less likely to survive this politically? >> well, i think if you look at the approval ratings, they've shot up dramatically. in fact, every time he has started a war during his presidency, his approval ratings have shot up. in 2008 when he invaded georgia. in 2014 when they illoegally tok crimea, it shot up. it's put him in a more comfortable position right now but i'd also argue that this thing could turn in all sorts of different directions for him. it's like turning up the pressure cooker on the russian people. the fact that these economic sanctions are hitting so hard, the fact that the russian military is losing so many soldiers or so many mothers in russia who have lost their sons, those types of things can come back to bite him in a bad way. so on one hand he's calmed things down for the moment but on the other hand he's created a very volatile situation which could explode on him if this ukrainian invasion goes the wrong way, which it may very well go in the wrong way. >> you have, just as you did just now, criticized the u.s. and the west for sometimes pulling its punches on things such as economic sanctions. it was interesting to hear lloyd austin, the defense secretary, on leaving ukraine just in the last 24 hours say very publicly that the u.s. intends to weaken russia so that it can't do this again or sustain this invasion here but perhaps do it elsewhere. is that the right approach? to leave, as he said, russia's military so depleted by this war that it can't come back and do it again? >> well, i mean, i think that's really an important objettive, but first and foremost, the objective should be to defeat russia in ukraine. they should be soundly defeated. about putin's longevity, if we are able to help ukraine win this war against russia, to defeat them, to get them to force them out of ukrainian territory, i don't think that the russian people will allow putin to be president anymore. they don't want to have a loser as president. and that would make him a loser. >> as you know, russia and ukraine fought for eight years going back to 2014, including along the eastern front. relatively low-grade war. some 14,000 people died in that war but compared to where we are now, a relatively low-grade war. you have an enormous force mounted on both sides, ukrainians armed by the west and russians adding more, including some that came from up north. should we, as we watch this, be preparing for a war that could be measured in years as opposed to months and weeks? >> it's my feeling that this is going to go on and on and on. there's no way putin is going to back down or compromise in any way. and there's though way that zelenskyy or the ukrainian people are going to allow and concede territory of their country. and so in a situation like that, one side has to win or the other, and it may go on for a very long time. we have to prepare ourselves for that, and we should do whatever we can to make sure that the russians dont have the financial capability to carry on for a very long time at this level. that's what all these sanctions are about. >> very bloody game of chicken. bill browder, always good to have you on. still ahead, cnn live on the ground here in ukraine as the u.s. secretaries of state and defense say that russia is failing. cnn's team coverage continues just ahead. no, no, no. they're both ininvested... in green energy. and also each otheher. digitatal tools so impressive, you just can't stop. what would you like the power to do? your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed insta match instantly delivers quality candidates matching yr job description. visit indeed.com/hire my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... the tightness, stinging... the pain. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks. the majority of people saw 90% clearer skin even at 5 years. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®... ask your doctor about tremfya® today. (all): all hail, caesar! pssst julius! you should really check in with your team on ringcentral. oh hi caesar. we were just talking about you. yeah, you should probably get out of here. ♪ ringcentral ♪ ♪ ♪ wow, we're crunching tons of polygons here! what's going on? where's regina? hi, i'm ladonna. i invest in invesco qqq, a fund that gives me access to the nasdaq-100 innovations, like real time cgi. okay... yeah... oh. don't worry i got it! become an agent of innovation with invesco qqq we need to reduce plastic waste in the environment. that's why at america's beverage companies, our bottles are made to be re-made. not all plastic is the same. we're carefully designing our bottles to be 100% recyclable, including the caps. they're collected and separated from other plastics, so they can be turned back into material that we use to make new bottles. that completes the circle and reduces plastic waste. please help us get every bottle back. ♪ we could walk forever ♪ ( ♪ ) ♪ walking on ♪ ♪ walking on the moon ♪ ♪ some ♪ ♪ may say ♪ ♪ i'm wishing my days away ♪ ♪ no way ♪ ♪ walking on the moon ♪ very good morning. i'm jim sciutto reporting from lviv in western ukraine. >> i'm bianna golodryga. the russian offensive pushes west. overnight russia shelled at least five railway stations. ukraine says russian forces are trying to systematically destroy key railway infrastructure there. >> this just hours after u.s. secretary of state antony blinken and defense secretary lloyd austin traveled here to ukraine to