torture that's left innocent people starving. our correspondents are standing by in the war zone in moscow and at the pentagon. for cnn's live coverage of russia's invasion of ukraine. well to our viewers in the united states and around the world. wolf blitzer is off today. i'm pamela brown, and you are in "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. this hour there's growing anxiety in ukraine that kremlin forces are on the brink of a brutal new bombardment timed to coincide with russia's victory holiday. the mayor of kyiv urged residents to be on alert. >> reporter: absolutely. so imminent, they feel the potential for new intensity of missile strikes, the mayor saying people should try to stay indoors, and certainly if they hear air raid sirens, to seek covered. there is a concern on the 8th and 9th of may there may be escalate of russia around or ahead of the victory day parades. still, though, now tension building as russia continues to relentlessly bombard the steel plant in the besieged and essentially conquestioner story of mariupol on the south coast. some of the latest civilians to evacuate from the steel plant. yet these are rush troops, not the united nations people that helped to evacuate. while ukraine said it began a new operation to get people out from under this, the salve rajry of russian bombardment at the factory, the u.n. said friday a total of 500 people had got out since their efforts began this weekend, many, many more desperate to flee. battered and unhabitable as much of mariupol is, still ahead of monday ace victory day, it appears the drama theater basement is packed with children when it was bombed by russia, killing hundreds, is nothing being cleared up. vehicles lined up and the ground around the theater cleared to make it more presentable. it's not clear why they are tidying the scene of what many called a war crime. the warped world of what russia calls liberation was also on view here in these rare images filmed inaisle a filtration camp, where ukrainians are held before being forced to go to russia, passports taken, sleeping on the floor on in chairs, illness from the cold, all part of the experience of liberation, according to one woman whose father was there. and this staged visit, evidence of russia's rush to assimilate what it clumsily torn off ukraine. this is the first city it captured, and the man in the beard is dennis separatist leader from donetsk, on the russian occupation where protests are crushed, will also be killed -- it all has the whiff of empire. here he discussion transferring food, watermelon and tomatoes, he might call it trade. ukraine a food heist. but moscow is far from having its way and the costs are heavy. these images cnn has confirmed were filmed in a grave-yard, the flags over the russian paratroop division, the elite, and there are many just in this one city. these are the dead behind the propaganda, with so much rubble in russia's tiny victories. now, pamela, well, of course we are looking at incremental advances by russia in territory here inside of ukraine. there are concerns external that ahead of monday's may 9th victory parades, where russia traditional celebrates its victory over nazis -- curious they would choose to revive that and the ludicrous notion of the invasion of ukraine, there may be a final push in the days ahead, specifically in the east. there's a concern that might be the focus of a renewed russian effort, but ukraine pushing back on many occasions, but deep ainge site around that victory parade. pamela? >> understandably. nick paton walsh, thank you. we head to moscow where the kremlin is sharing new details about the plans for victory day. we want to remind you that russia has strict new laws in place on the reporting of the ukraine conflict, prohibiting information that the government considers to go false. matthew chance joins us live from moscow, what is the kremlin saying? >> well, there's been some question, pam, about whether the victory day commemorations here in moscow might be overshad owed by the fact there is that really ugly military campaign underway across the border in ukraine. russia calls it special military operation. the kremlin has gone to some lengths today to insist it won't by overshadowed by anything that takes play inside ukraine. they're calling it a sacred holiday for millions now just in russia, but around the former soviet union whose ancestors actually engaged in the defeat of nazi germany in the 1940s, but at the forefront of people's minds, there are going to be a lot of concerns about what's taking place in ukraine, so it won't just be a sort of regular display of russian military power and forces that it is every year. it will have that very potent poignant back drop. digally, it may be an opportunity, and the kremlin has pushed back on this, but it may be an opportunity for vladimir putin to make a important pronouncement. there's speculation it could be an opportunity to make a formal declaration of war against ukraine, speculation he could announce a mobilization of russian force to say enable him to get more people into the military and deploy them in more strength inside ukraine. again, that's been pushed back on by the kremlin, but pam, in the past the kremlin has said it will do one thing and then does something entirely different. no one is really ruling anything out at this stage. >> matthew chance, thank you. tonight we are learn more about u.s. assistants to the ukraine military. sorb tell cnn that the united states helped ukraine to obtain information to -- this is clearly a sensitive issue for the pentagon. what can you tell us? it very much is a sensitive issue, at is pretty much all of the intelligence sharing, the pipeline going back and north. it's the entire biden administration, they've been very careful when it comes to this issue, not only about the intelligence that's shared, but what's said about the intelligence. sources familiar with this situation tell cnn they thought think the moskva, but they asked the u.s. for confirmation, according to these sources and the sources said yes, the u.s. confirmed it was the "moskva" that they were looking at. it was after that that ukraine took a shot between two neptune missiles, eventually sinking it as the russians tried to tow it back to port. the pentagon has pushed back on any nothing that it was involved in the decision to strike the ship, or here's john kirby. >> we did not provide specific targeting information about the "moskva." we weren't involved in the decision to strike that, and we certainly weren't involve in the actual strike. >> reporter: the pentagon went on to say the ukrainians have their own ability to gather intelligence. it seems to be an effort to distance themselves from this story. >> oren lieberman, thank you very much. just ahead, is the u.s. bracing for vladimir putin to chart a new court for his war on ukraine during next week's victory day sell brands in ned price is standing by to join me, up next. 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>> pamela, i can tell you what we have in mind. we will be working very closely, speaking with one voice together with our allies and partners, closure on you allies in europe, in the g7, in nato, about what's coming up. it's ve day, victory in europe day is something we mark every year, together with our european partners. this is the day, 77 years ago on sunday, when together with our european partners, we stopped the forces of nazism, the genocidal forces that had swept across europe, rolled it back. once again, we are working with our partners and allies to stop blatant aggression to end this violence and see to it that the brutality that the russians are inflicting on the ukrainian people comes to an independence. >> i want to ask you about the latest information we're getting. ukraine successfully hit the russian warship. how likely is it that russia will retaliation. >> we've heard a lot of bluster, propaganda, especially coming from a nuke already power, but what we are most concerned about is what we see, not what we hear. we are going to continue to execute on the strategy we put forward, principally because we know that it is a strategy that will allow ukraine to win. it's a strategy that has two key components. it is continues to produce our ukrainian partners with the security assistance they need to defend themselves. just moments ago, we announced the united states is providing an additional $150 million in security assistance to our ukrainian partners. that's what we're doing to support ukraine on the battlefield. we're also at the same time holding russia to account. we've enacted together with dozens of countries a series of financial sanctions, a series of expert controls, precisely what we need to put pressure on moscow. we're doing two things at once, strengthening ukraine's hand on the battlefield, and in turn at the negotiating table and we're putting pressure on moscow to change its approach, change an approach that heretofore, at least, a country that's not been willing to engage in diplomacy, not been willing to engage in good-faith dialogue. that's what we seek to facilitate. >> you just laid out about what the u.s. is doing. of course you've had talked about the concern of escalation with are usuala. you just pointed out it's a nuclear power, where is the line about what the u.s. will and won't do and share with ukraine? for example, if intelligence is being used to kill russian soldiers and general, could russia view the u.s. as a co-combatant. >> we have provided them with prelicely what they need. we've provided billions in humanitarian support, economic support, and to date, since the invasion, $3.8 billion in security assistance. yes, we are also providing them with intelligence that they need to defend their country, their territory integrity, their freedom and democracy. everything in terms of security assistance, intelligence is to promote their efforts to defend their country against this aggression. >> i understand that, but is there concern that russia could retailate, could view the u.s. as a co-combatant? >> i think the russians know we have been very clear, any effort to intimidate, to wage aggression against nato, against any nato ally would be met with a strong response. we're going to continue to do what we have found to be effective and more pontly what our ukrainian partners have found to be effective. if you take a step back and look at where we are, vladimir putin on february 24th thought that within 72 hours or so, he would be the de facto leader of ukraine. he would be in charge of its government, ruling, controlling its people and the country. we are now more than 7 on days into this conflict, russia has lost the battle of kyiv. it's been forced to narrow its war aims. rather than take the country, russia has forced to target much of its efforts on a single steel plant in the eastern part of ukraine. i think you see the effectiveness of this strategy every day. it's the grit, the determination, the tenacity of our ukrainian partners using our assistance. >> they have shown so much perseverance and grit. thank for joining us. >> thank, pamela. we'll have a look at some of the foreign fighters, including americans battling alongside the ukrainians against putin's invasion. digital tools soso impressive, you just can't stop. what wouould you like the power to do? 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where is biden's help? or where is nato's help? >> last month the pentagon said military gear was getting to ukraine, 24 to 48 hours, but the u.s. was transferring it on ukrainian hands and not dictating hose fast they get it to the front line or what unit has it. these fighter have one gloimpgs, but they're not alone in thinkings the military remains outgunned. >> both parties, one side has nothing and doing everything they will can. then the other side has everything and they're too afraid to do anything with that. >> reporter: despite the challenges of the battlefield, doc and rat are returning to the front line, moved by ukraine's fighting spirit. >> the ukrainians are giving it their all, doing it every single day, every single minute. >> reporter: shadow, meanwhile, staying away from the front lines after learning he's going to be a father. camaraderie and a common cause as they fight for freedom in a foreign land. cnn reached out to the ukrainian defense ministry on these claims by the foreign fighter featured in the story, that military aid is not reaching the front lines. so far we haven't received a response. joining me now, the former u.s. ambassador to ukraine, william taylor. hi, ambassador. there are disturbing signs that russia is digging in in the south 6 ukraine, po putting up russian flags, restoring soviet union monuments. we have seen them push back to belarus. in the northeast, where your report was just describing the fight, i've talked to -- i've got friends in the ukrainian military, who are telling me, told me as rest his as three days ago, that is though howitzers that are in the packages, coming from the united states, are on the front lines, already engaging russians at long distances, exactly as said is necessary. your point about the russians trying to dig in, and taken over places in the south, yes, that's what they have done. that's what they did in donbad, and donetsk and morgue, then they forced ukrainians to switch passports into russian. they forced the ukrainians to use rubles. these what they have done in donbas and crimea, and what they'll try to do in other places. so that is -- that's a playbook that they use, the ukrainians are pushing back. the ukrainians will not be able to push them back without large forces, without military forces, and we know that they don't have those forces now. >> i want to talk to you about the video address that came out just recently from president zelenskyy of ukraine. he says, quote, they're work okay diplomatic options to save ukrainian troops in the besieged steel plan in mariupol. he says influential mediators are involved. what would that look like? >> i hope it would be the united nations. the united nations and the red cross have had some success in getting civilians out of mariupol, and they have negotiated ceasefires, or humanitarian corridors to allows these convoys to get these folks out. i'm hoping that the u.n. will continue to have that progress. >> all right. william taylor, thank you. >> thank you, pam. just ahead in "the situation room," the european union is preparing new sanctions for vladimir putin's reputed girlfriend, who is she? and why does putin deny the relationships, despite become romantically linkeked it for mo than a decade?e? it's beautiful out here. it sure is. and i earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through chase with chase freedom unlimited. that means that i earn 5% on our real car, i earn 5% on ourabin. i mean, c'mon! hello cashback! hello, kevin hart! i'm scared. in a good way. i'm lying. let's get inside. earn big time with chase freedom unlimited with no annual fee. how do you cashback? chase. make more of what's yours. i booked our hotel on kayak. it's flexible if we need to cancel. cancel. i haven't left the house in years. nothing will stop me from vacation. no canceling. 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>> this is the package to the tune of $150 million that president biden is authoriziaut. this includes artillery rounds, radar systems, jamming equipment, other spare parts that the ukrainian forces need. what comes along with the statement, president biden says they have nearly exhausted the funding they have from congress, the authorization of what they can send to ukraine. in light of that, he is calling on congress to quickly pass the $33 billion package he's asked for. that's mainly sending weapons to ukraine, but also humanitarian and economic assistance. so far lawmakers have not made enough progress to be prepared to pass that to send it to the president's desk. he's asking them to move quickly so they can continue sending the weapons without any interruptions. >> and this comes as dr. jill biden is in europe over the weekend. >> reporter: so far she's gone to romanian, visiting with u.s. forces deployed there she visited with they forces, even brought them ketchup, which apparently was in short supply, really putting emphasis on the humanitarian aspect of this she's going to slovakia as well. of course, the visit of this weekend is given timely that it's mother's day on sunday. that's part of her visit as well. kaitlan collins, thank you. cnn has also learned that the longtime girlfriend of vladimir putin is on the list of sanction targets. what are you finding out? >> vladimir putin has been very secretive about her and their relationship. this woman, about 30 years younger from putin, has benefited political and financially from her association. they have been linked for more than a decade, though he has always denied it. an early photograph shows him looking infatated. tonight the eu appears to set new sanctions on her, according to new sources. >> this is very personal. she is not only part of his inner circle, but she also probably holds a lot of money for tutan. >> reporter: also late last month as a rare public appearance spoke out in support of putin's war in ukraine. >> translator: every family las a history of war. we shouldn't forget about it. we should hand it over from gen ways to generation. >> she has participated to shore up the putin regime. >> reporter: they have rarely been seen in push, but annual i wases say her and her family has gotten rich because of the connection. >> she spend a lot of times overseas, even though shoos has. >> reporter: experts say targeting his girlfriend is a cold-eyed method of punishing him for the invasion. >> to make him feel some of the costs of this is to sanction those closest to him and american officials believe that she is very close indeed. >> reporter: putin's two adult daughters from his first marriage were sanctioned by the u.s. last month. a u.s. official confirmed their na names. both of believed to be in their mid 30s. >> we know they have traveled widely. one of them, katerina was married to russia's youngs billionaire, and the other within, maria, we know shoots hey reportedly pursued a career in medical sciences. >> reporter: last month the "wall street journal" reported that u.s. officials debated on whether to -- but held on the. not that the eu could soon sanction her -- >> putin might take this personally and strike out more at ukraine and against the u.s. >> reporter: experts say there's also his ex-wife lewdudmila, on analyst says he doesn't believe she's been sanctioned yet, but could be next. coming up in "the situation room," stunning revelations from donald trump's former defense secretary, who claims in a new book the former president wanted to launch missiles at mexico. ♪ ♪ ♪ hitting the road without t-mobile makes as much sense as taking a family road trip... in a covered wagon. are we goingo have coverage on this trip? 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(combative yelling) therabreath, it's a better mouthwash. at walmart, target and other fine stores. a georgia state judge says that far-right republican congresswoman marjorie taylor greene should not be disqualified from this month's primary over her role in the january 6th insurrection. in an unprecedented hearing, lawyers that challenged her candidacy, tried to connect her rhetoric to the violent attack on the capitol. and we're also following new startling allegations from former president trump. we have co-author of the new book "this will not pass." great to see you both. congratulations on your book. >> thank you. >> there you go. >> so many headlines out of it. we've going to dive in. i have to ask about the other book from the former trump defense secretary mark esper. the idea that trump floated launching missile strikes into mexico to take out drug labs. >> yes. >> your book is full of other wild stories. i covered the trump white house, and i remember hearing from officials they had to rein in his most outlandish instinct. tell me what that was like, officials just trying to rein him in. it was not just his own staff, but every level of government he was dealing with. we have a lot of material from the book in 2020 during the height of covid, when there are these governors across america, pamela, desperately trying to get relief for their states, literally a matter of life and death, trying to pep people in their state. they're calling the president, almost begging for help, and the president is saying back, in so many words, you have to show me in measure of gratitude for they to help. that was the nature of the trump administration that we talk about in the book. >> just the transactional type of nature? >> that's right. >> one of the things that was so striking, is the way people around president trump, who are, you know, somewhat less forthright than secretary esper, who kind of rationalize his wild behavior, try to play down some of the his behaviors, and like some of the -- to use a technical term, the bonkers idea like this idea of missiles into mexico. there was a senior trump administration official we interviewed, we ran a particular trump idea past this person. i won't go into the idea, but the response we got was that idea never went through the interagency process, as to whether that makes a difference the president is just suggesting stuff that's way the heck out there. >> in covering the trump white house, i got a lot of that, too, sometimes on the media, you guys are making a big deal out of nothing, or they would rationalize it, this is how trump is and why he's so successful. he keeping people on their toes, he thinking outside the box. >> or he was just kidding around. >> that's another one you would hear a lot. but it's striking when esper says, quote, he should not be in a position of public >> oh sure, if you talk to a lot of people in the g.o.p., off the record or some retribution basis they're totally kidding, they don't want donald trump to be their standard bearer again and part of the reason january 6th was so consequentially originally, pamela, the vast majority of gop lawmakers saw that as their opening, we can finally get rid of this fellow, stop faking it. this is one of the big story lines in our book is the divide between the republican party and the voters and the leaders in the party have little regard for trump, have to put on this facade for the public, but in private, and we detail this in the book, they can't stand the f fellow and the last thing they want is him to run for president. >> i heard from republicans who don't like trump say well, if we stand up to him, we'll lose and then you have more marjorie taylor greene types, you know, you hear a lot of that kind of rationalizing it but the audio you released, to back up all this excellent reporting you have in your book is really startling, just what the kevin mccarthy right after january 6th and comparing that to what we're hearing now, and i've also wanted to ask you when it comes to, you know, leading up to january 6th, all the election lies as we know but also all the racial justice protests and i know you touch on this in the book, esper also confirms he floated the idea of shooting some of the protesters. how close to the u.s. come to an even more violent crackdown on these demonstrators. >> we're very much fortunate as a country the president, never to our knowledge, put to the test a direct order to the military to do something like that but one of the things we uncover in our book is chairman joint chiefs of staff mark milley told people at the time, including folks on the hill, democrats on the hill, i know i don't have to follow any legal order, that's a shocking thing for the nation's top general to be say, the implication what he thought would be coming from commander into chief couldn't be clearer. >> trump really feeling the heat, maggie hagerman reporting he went to the bunker, this conference calls, the governors couldn't believe this was the president of the united states, the governor, turned to someone in her office and said the president of the united states is having a nervous breakdown. extraordinary scene there in the book. >> check it out, martin, alex burns, thank you. more, just ahead, a wave of unexplained and severe hepatitis cases in young children. has the cdc grasping for answers. eck in with your team on ringcentral. oh hi caesar. we were just talking about you. yeah, you should probably get out of here.e. ♪ ringcentral ♪ riders! let your queries be known. uh, how come we don't call ourselves bikers anymore? 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[laughs] we'll drive you happy at carvana. when my genetic reports told me about my heart health, i was able to take action. and i got a kit for my mom, too, so she can get her own meaningful health info. this mother's day, start a new health journey together with mom with $50 off every kit. if you don't stain your deck, it's like the previous owner is still hanging around. so today let's stain, with behr, the #1 rated stain. and make your deck, yours. behr. exclusively at the home depot. ready to turn your dreams into plans and your actions into achievements? explore over 75 programs and four-week classes at national university. your future starts today at nu.edu. more breaking news we are following tonight, cdc now investigating more than 100 cases of severe hepatitis in children. let's dig deeper with cnn analyst dr. lena wen emergency room physician and former baltimore health commissioner and as a mother like i am, this is so concerning, how is this outbreak and what might be the cause, dr. wen? >> it's something we should keep an eye on because right now the two elements are that it is so far unexplained, these cases of hepatitis, inflammation in the liver are already supposed to be very uncommon in children, but right now we don't know the cause. it does not appear to be due to the hepatitis viruses, not due to medicine or toxins, the cause is unknown, and the other thing too is even though it's only affected relatively few children thus far, only 100 children known, it's caused very severe illness in these children, most have acquired hospitalization, 15 have need liver transplant and see five children have died so parents should be on the lookout for symptoms like very high fever, pro longed abdominal pain and very predominantly jaundice, light colored stools, dark colored urine, if you have these symptoms call your doctor right away. >> and the fda imposing strict limits on who should get the johnson & johnson vaccine and saying this because of a rare but dangerous blood clotting condition, this rare side effect. what do you make of this new warning? >> we in the u.s. are really fortunate. we have two other vaccines that are very safe and effective, the pfizer and moderna vaccines so the fda is simply saying choose those two other vaccines first. if you can't get one of these other vaccines for some reason, you can still get the johnson & johnson vaccine. very importantly, if you got the johnson & johnson vaccine already, don't worry, i got the j & j vaccine over a year ago, you're not going to of long term side effects from th the side effects from this very rare but again serious side effect of the blood clotting disorder only seen the first two or three weeks, that's when you should be worried but not after. >> dr. lena wen, thank you so much for joining us. and following breaking news out of cuba where a massive explosion at a prominent hotel in havana killed at least nine people and injured dozens. officials say a gas leak believed to be a the cause of the blast that destroyed the historic hotel there as well as buses and cars outside. cnn team there saw rescuers using their bare hands to reach people trapped in the rubble there. thank you very much for watching, i'm pamela brown, join me tomorrow for cnn newsroom. erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. "outfront" next, ukrainian officials warning of increased attacks as putin looks for anything he can claim on victory day, sights set on the steel plant where ukrainian soldiers and civilians are running out of time. plus breaking news, super yacht just seized in italy and not just any yacht, it is a yacht suspected of having tie to see putin himself and police find the get-away car believed to be used by alabama corrections officer and inmate together now on the run. let's go "outfront." good evening, i'm baerin burnet warnings across