The serv the service will also include taped remarks from President Biden. May her memory be a blessing. Thank you so much for joining inside politics. Cnn news central starts now. Russia just unleashed a new brutal attack on ukraine, killing at least 51 people including a 6yearold little boy, after a strike on a grocery store. Cnn is live on the scene. Plus no speaker and a long list of problems. The house frozen until republicans elect a new leader, putting funding for the entire u. S. Government and crucial support for ukraine in serious doubt. And President Biden building the wall after all. He just paved the way for new construction at the southern border despite saying he would not build another foot of the wall. Were following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to cnn news central. We have breaking news out of ukraine. This right here on your screen is new video showing the devastating aftermath after a Russian Missile strike hit a small village in the Kharkiv Region earlier today, killing at least 51 people. One official saying the impact was so strong that the gender and the age of a 6yearold little boy who died is in question. A child. Officials also say there were no targets in the area and the attack happened as people were holding a memorial for a deceased ukrainian soldier. That strike appears to be one of the deadliest against civilians this year and it happens as ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is warning western allies not to slow down military aid, saying any pause in the conflict would only help russia rebuild its military over the next few years. Zelenskyy in spain today trying to court allies to his cause. Lets go to Cnn International correspondent Fred Pleitgen whos sooent of that Russian Missile attack where dozens were killed. Fred, take us there. What are you seeing . Reporter hi there, boris. Well, i can say its an absolute scene of devastation. You can see if you pan over there, thats actually the building that was hit right here. The ukrainians are saying this was both a supermarket and a cafe. But as you guys can see theres not very much thats left of it except maybe a bit of the foundation. They were saying as you guys pointed out there was that Memorial Service going on to a ukrainian soldier but they also told us the people at that Memorial Service were all local people. We asked several times the authorities here and they say there was not a single Military Person inside here. This village is also very small and certainly doesnt appear to have very much in the way of military in it. But you can see right here just how big the explosion was that ripped through here. The Cleanup Crews have been working here and they said they managed tovls recover some bodies from underneath. They managed to recover also a people who were still alive underneath but the carnage is just absolutely massive. And they say one of the reasons for that, guys, is because they say the russians used an iskander missile for this. Its a mediumrange missile but one with an extremely powerful warhead, about a 1,000pound warhead that obviously does things like this to a building like that. And i want to show you around because were actually standing right in the middle of this devastation. You can see here its a parking lot or something. The cars absolutely destroyed. Theres a little bit of a playground over there that was also destroyed. If we look over there where the lights are that is actually where a lot of the bodies are still being recovered. I dont want to take you guys over there simply because i have to say a lot of those bodies are in really, really bad condition because the explosion obviously extremely powerful that ripped through here. But certainly the Cleanup Crews still very much at work. We can see Forensic Experts who are at work as well still trying to identify people even though i have to admit in a lot of cases it is really very difficult work. Weve seen them clear a couple of bodies after putting them into body bags, and there were some pretty devastating scenes that we witnessed here when we were here earlier. There was one gentleman who was standing over one of the body bags and crying and refusing to go away, and it turned out that it was actually his wife who had been killed here. It was also a local man from the area. And then he helped the Cleanup Crews actually load the body of his own wife onto a truck to be carried away. A really devastating scene that were witnessing here. And once again you can see behind me that this actually, despite the fact that it was i wouldnt even really call it a fullon supermarket. I would say it was a little bit of a store that had a cafe in it, really not a very large building at all. Absolutely annihilated by this rocket the ukrainians say that hit it. You guys have heard from the ukrainian president , from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, blaming the russians. The local authorities here, we spoke to the police here already, and they are also saying they consider this to be an act of terrorism. They once again emphasized that there were no military people inside here. But there certainly were a lot of People Killed. We have that number. 51 people at least who were killed. We know that the crews here are still going through here. And they tell us that they believe that they might find further remains but at this point in time finding any sort of survivors underneath they say is pretty much impossible, guys. You know, fred, you have been covering this war since the very beginning. There have been so many brutal attacks. The last biggest attack on civilians was of course in april of 2022. And im wondering, just put this into perspective for all of us. For our viewers who are watching this. And so many months into this war might be thinking its another horrible, brutal attack. But what makes this one so significant, just so horrific . Just in the context of this war. Reporter yeah, i would say one of the things that makes it so significant is the carnage. And i think one of the things youre saying, pamela, is absolutely correct. As we can pan over here once again just to show our viewers what exactly happened here and how bad the devastation is. But youre absolutely right. This is not a single incident. Incidents like this have been happening before and ive been at similar venues where ive seen similar destruction of areas that were clearly civilian. There was one major attack in february of this year in the town of dnipro where an entire residential building was annihilated by a missile that is normally designed to destroy an aircraft carrier. Now you have a missile here that is really cant be described as anything else than a tactical battlefield missile. The missile that if the ukrainians are correct that was used on this building is something that is normally used to destroy and to kill gigantic Troop Formations and destroy armor. And obviously if its used on a building like this then the aftermath you can see right here. But again, this is not something that is a rare occurrence here in this war. Its something thats happened time and again. And one of the things that we have to point out is that we are in an area in kharkiv oblast in the east of the country. We are fairly close to an area of the front line thats been active, but were not that close to an area of the front line thats been active. I would say that the nearest russian position from where we are right now is probably about 25 miles away. So this is by far not a front line area. This is certainly not something where people who are living here would have been ready for this. They would have understood we are in an area that could have been a target for a gigantic attack like this one. So definitely people were certainly caught off guard. This place was caught off guard. This place is a really tiny village as well. There are no major structures here. Theres a few smaller houses. And certainly from what the ukrainians are saying there isnt any military here in this village. And thats one of the other reasons why this is so devastating. And certainly to get back to your point it isnt the first time that we have seen civilians hit by extremely heavy weapons that are designed to kill large number of troops but used on civilian areas with massive carnage like what you guys see behind me right now. Yeah. You can see even in the dark as the camera pans just the scope of the devastation there, far reaching. Fred plight gren ukraine, thank you so much for the update. We want to discuss this attack and more now with former u. S. Ambassador to nato kurt volker. Thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us. Right away i want to get your reaction to this brutal russian strike. Its the deadliest on civilians for at least a year plus. Not an apparent Military Target but rather a service for a ukrainian soldier that had passed away. Your reaction seeing those images. Yeah, its absolutely devastating and horrific to see those kinds of images. But this is what the ukrainians are facing every day. This may have been one of the largest attacks in a long time that killed civilians. But it is by no means alone. There are attacks on ukrainian cities virtually every night. And this is intended to terrorize the plopulation and ty to force them to submit to russias takeover. This is exactly why russia needs to be stopped. This is not a border dispute. This is not some kind of conflict where russia has legitimate Security Concerns and theyre trying to address them. This is a brutal aggression in order to take over a sovereign state and to destroy its people and to destroy ukrainian identity. And u. S. Assistance in this is critical. So we have to keep this going because if f. We dont stop russia in ukraine were going to face this again and again in other places. On that note, ambassador, does it surprise you that an attack of this scale using the kind of missile that fred was describing comes at a time when there are questions about support for ukraine not only here in the United States but in spain, in italy among the polish as well. Well, Vladimir Putin is always trying to send a message. And in this case he talked about Nuclear Weapons in a speech earlier today, and then he has this major attack as well. Hes trying to send a message to the west to warn us off, dont try to help ukraine, maybe well use a nuclear weapon. Dont try to help ukraine, its futile, well just kill them all. And i think thats the kind of evil and the kind of deliberateness to putins aggression that we really need to see for what it is and be prepared to stop it. On the question of how to stop it, the main Talking Point from those who oppose additional aid revolves around corruption and making sure that that aid gets to where it needs to go. The battlefield. I have spoken to experts who essentially say that concerns over corruption in ukraine are overblown. They say that zelenskyy has been proactive in handling concerns, Firing People with the Ministry Of Defense who are even perceived as being corrupt. They argue that those concerns, those apprehensions should not slow down western support. Where are you in that argument . Well, theres no country that has zero corruption, including our country. So we cant have too high a standard here. And in the case of ukraine they are doing their best to deal with corruption as it is but particularly in the military, in the military forces. There is such a premium on fighting back to defend against the russians. There is very little scope for corruption there. And in addition to that the way u. S. Assistance works, we provide money to the pentagon. The pentagon provides weapons to ukraine, not money. Those weapons go to the battlefield. And the money is used to replenish u. S. Supplies with new equipment. So theres very little chance of corruption through that system. Were actually supporting u. S. Defense industry, u. S. Military capabilities and supporting ukraine with all the capabilities. So would you say, then, that it is a mischaracterization by leadership in congress to voice this apprehension, to voice opposition to more aid for ukraine . And if so is there something that can be done to sway them or Public Opinion to help the cause of defending ukraine from the russian invasion . Right. Well, there are two separate issues. One of them is the American Interest in seeing ukraine defeat Russian Forces inside ukraine so that we dont see russia attacking elsewhere, triggering a nato article 5 commitment that gets the u. S. Directly involved. By spending less than 5 of our defense budget. We are seeing ukraine destroy at least half of russias conventional military capability, which is reducing the threat to nato and the United States. So that is a good investment for u. S. Interests. Separate from that is the question is there any corruption in ukraine, how do we address that . And there i fully agree with those who want to see strong Accountability Measures so that we are tracking the assistance that we provide, we are following up to make sure there is no corruption in the system and we are working with president zelenskyy and his team to root out that corruption. So is it an issue of communications . Is it selling the idea to the American People that is lagging behind . Because public support doesnt appear to be behind the idea of more aid to ukraine. It is an issue of communications to a large degree because when you dig into this a majority of people say they still believe that ukraine has a right to defend itself, ukraine should win, we should help ukraine. But then it breaks down when you say well, how much money and for how long is it worth it . But then when you go further and you explain that, as i just did, with the military assistance this is not money leaving the United States, this is money going to our pentagon, were providing weapons to uk sxraukraine. And ukraine is actually succeeding on the battlefield. Over half of the Territory Take Benn I Russia Last year has been taken by r back by ukraine already. The remainder is slow and hard going. But theyve taken back 54 already. And they need to be supported to continue to take back the rest. And finally, if we dont help them do this, we run a risk of russia attacking other countries where we will be directly involved. And wed rather avoid that by Helping Ukraine Win now. Yeah, not to mention the loss of life were already seeing. This brutal attack today. At least 51 People Killed in eastern ukraine. An attack on what appears to be a grocery store, not a Military Target. Ambassador kurt volker, we have to leave the conversation there. We appreciate your time. Thanks so much. Thank you for having me. Of course. Pam . I want to get straight to capitol hill because as ukraine deals with this new onslaught from russia the future of u. S. Aid for kyiv r. Mains at a standstill. Especially now as jockeying for the speakership remains. Where do things stand in the speakers race . Reporter the race to replace Kevin Mccarthy is officially under way. There have been two candidates who jumped into the race. That includes steve scalise. Hes the number two republican. Hes really seen as the heir apparent. He has a lot of institutional advantages since he is already in leadership. And then there is jim jordan. Hes the chairman of the house judiciary committee. Hes beloved by conservatives. And both men have been furiously working the phones and meeting with members over the past few days trying to line up supporters. Im also told jim jordan has spoken to former President Donald Trump about his speakership. Its unclear whether trump would get involved although he is toying with the idea of coming here to capitol hill next week as republicans prepare for their Candidate Forum on tuesday. At this point it is really unclear whether either of those candidates can get 218 votes on the house floor and overcome the same challenges that bedeviled Kevin Mccarthy. Two of the issues that are already cropping up as potential issues in this race is what to do about ukraine funding and also whether to reform the motion to vacate the speakers chair. That tool that was used to remove Kevin Mccarthy. But theres also a lot of raw emotions and frayed relationships inside the conference. Its hard to overlook that. And it might make it even more challenging for republicans to come together quickly. Jim jordan was asked about this earlier today, about reporters, about those eight republicans who took down Kevin Mccarthy. Heres what he had to say. I disagree with, you know, what took place, but those guys are Friends Of Mine and, you know, thats the message ive been talking to my colleagues about is who can bring the eight into the part of the team, who can unite our team. I think i can do that. If i didnt think i could do that, wouldnt run. Reporter now, there could be repercussions for those eight members who voted against Kevin Mccarthy. Theres already calls to expel congressman matt gaetz from the House Republican conference. But at this point they cant do anything, pam, until they elect a new speaker. All business is paralyzed in the house u