where resistance forces are still holding out, despite demands for surrender. we'll bring you a live report. also this morning, mask confusion. the doj says it may appeal the ruling from a federal judge that suddenly lifted the mask mandate on planes and transit systems if the cdc says it's necessary. meanwhile, more democrats are pushing president biden to delay lifting title 42 until the u.s. has a more solid plan in place for migrants expected to arrive at the border. and we have exclusive new reporting about what the administration wants from congress. and in florida, governor ron desantis is asking lawmakers to consider stripping disney of its self-governing power. we'll take a look into what all of this means, next. and unfolding right now in ukraine, an intense battle for mariupol, the besieged port city, absolutely critical to russia's military strategy. just hours ago, the commander of the last ukrainian troops in mariupol warned his forces are outnumbered and says they may only have just hours to live. [ speaking foreign language ] e military analysts told "the new york times" that the underlying weaknesses in russian forces haven't gone away, quote, even with the more deliberate and cautious approach by russia and its bigger and more powerful army, the outcome in ukraine remains unclear, at best. back in washington, president biden is set to meet with top defense officials this afternoon after talking with allies on tuesday. the white house also considering a new military aid package that would include more artillery for ukrainian forces. meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis grows more dire by the day. the u.n. now estimates more than 5 million people have fled the war-torn country. joining us now with more is nbc news correspondent erin mclaughlin in ukraine. rick stengel is the former undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs under president obama, served on president biden's transition team. he is also an msnbc political analyst. we're also joined by jonathan lamir and host of "way too early" here on msnbc. erin, what is the very latest where you are? >> reporter: hey, jose. all eyes on the besieged city of mariupol, where ukrainian officials once again are furiously trying to set up a humanitarian -- humanitarian corridor, badly needed out of that embattled city. hundreds of civilians, according to ukrainian officials are trapped inside the steel plant there. and there's a real fear here, throughout ukraine that what's happening in mariupol right now mirrors what happened in bucha just on a larger scale. i was in bucha earlier today, to attend the funeral of 33-year-old marina vanyuk. she was being buried alongside two strangers. we were told in order to make things faster, they're simply overwhelmed in that small city with the number of dead. 420 dead so far. the morgues are full, the priest who is giving the service said that he was absolutely exhausted. marena died weeks ago of starvation and sickness. we caught up with her son as well as her husband, following the funeral. take a listen. >> reporter: every day, her 6-year-old son visited her makeshift grave in the family's backyard. but today, vlad mourned at home. the reality of his mom's final regs spot, too much for him to bear. he tells us he remembers what happened to her, and how ukrainian soldiers saved them from the russians. ukraine is strong, he says. you're very strong. it was heartbreaking, and earlier this week, russian president vladimir putin announced that he was awarding honorary titles to the entire brigade that served in bucha. that same brigade that ukrainian officials alleged committed war crimes. crimes that are now being investigated. jose? >> erin mclaughlin, thank you so very much. jonathan, on this new military aid package, what would that look like? >> well, it is a recognition by washington, and frankly, the rest of europe, that the war is entering a new phase here. that in the donbas, it is going to be potentially a months-long slog. and much more a world war ii-style set piece battle, with tanks and heavy equipment. and the ukrainians are saying, they believe it's already begun, as the russians have stepped up their bombardments from a distance. so the pentagon officials, including one i spoke including late last night say, there's been no sign yet of real russian troop movement. but they expect that will come in days and weeks. so the new equipment is going to be designed to help with that. heavier equipment. yes, more of the javelins and stingers to try to bring down planes, to keep, you know, the skies clear of russian aircraft, as best they can. but also, heavier artillery to take out tanks and some of this equipment that's expected to come into the region any time now. >> and with that happening any time now, how does ukraine deal with that level of intensity and of movement. are they ready for that? is there enough aid going in? >> well, jose, as you know, they've been fighting there for eight years. in some ways, this is the best place for them to make a last stand. their best fighters are there. they know the enemy. the real variable is your question. what will we supply the ukrainian fighters with? as jonathan mentioned, the consideration of heavy artillery and weaponry could make the difference there. anti-missile batteries, anti-tank batteries. t-72 soviet-era tanks, all of those things. i assume that's what the president and his military officials are talking about today. that could be the change that tips the battle over for the ukrainians. what we have to think about is not to give ukrainians weapons to keep them in the fight, but what can we give them in order to make them win. that's the difference. >> and rick, i want to just kind of focus on what you just did. you were just in poland with many of the refugees. you wrote a great piece about it. tell me what you saw, what you experienced, and the lessons that you took from that? >> thank you, jose. i was in poland with the humanitarian organization, c.a.r.e., where i'm on the board there helping poland deal with the 2.5 million refugees in poland. that's about 6% of the population. that would be 25 million people here in the u.s. one of the things we have to think about is, is this part of putin's strategy? the weaponization of refugees. he's hoping to destabilize countries on ukraine's border. democratic, nato countries, like poland, like romania. like moldova, who are trying to deal with this influx of refugees. so not only does the west help the ukrainians, we have to help the countries around ukraine support this incredible flow of refugees, which is taxing their economies. you know, that's part of putin's battle plan, to kind of destabilize those countries with refugees. he did the same thing in syria. >> he did, indeed. and the weaponization of refugees, i'm so glad you put it in those terms. rick, there's a great part of your extraordinary article in "time," when you talk about you're in a line and you meet a gentlemen who was reliving history in so many ways. >> yes. he was an 80-year-old physicist from kharkiv, and he said in 1941, he had to leave ukraine to go to russia, because the germans invaded. now he was leaving ukraine to go to germany because the russians invaded. but i would also like to add for your history buffs, and i know you are one, jose, the russians also attacked ukraine in 19 -- and poland, in 1939. so they were the recipient of the germans and the russians from both ends. >> absolutely. jonathan, the president is set to meet with the secretary of defense and the joint chiefs of staff today. what can we expect from that meeting? >> well, i think it will be a discussion on the next military aid package to head to ukraine. and certainly, there also will be, we believe, more discussion about sending u.s. officials to kyiv, to meet with president zelenskyy. president biden was just asked about that in recent days. it was my story last week on this, that the white house is in the midst of high-level discussions about who to send. and at the moment, they have suggested that it won't be the president himself. more likely, secretary of state blinken or secretary of defense austin, being the more likely emissary there to kyiv. and also potentially to make more stops in europe to continue this alliance held as closely together as possible. they are rightly pleased with how lockstep the west has been during this and standing up to putin, but they are nervous that months ahead, as this conflict perhaps drags on, that will be harder to do, particularly as the economic costs, if, indeed, europe cuts off russian oil and energy, that that could plunge parts of europe into a recession, that may make it harder and some of the leaders, in other european nations, who have stood with biden to this point, may face domestic challenges at home. and there's one right on the horizon, of course. that's the french election on sunday. and that runoff between emmanuel macron and marine la penn, and if la pen were to win, it could destabilize all of europe, not just this alliance. >> thank you so much for being with us this morning. i want to show you a pretty extraordinary scene from an ukrainian port city that is west of mariupol. russian state media posted this video showing the russian flag on top of a building in the heart of a city. workers removing ukrainian symbols from the frochbt a building. joining us now, garry kasparov, russian pro-democracy leader, founder and chairman of the renewed democracy initiative, and author of "winter is coming: why vladimir putin and the enemies of the free world must be stopped." gary, thank you for being with us. it's always a pleasure to see you. what goes through your mind when you see that kind of video? >> that's what we expected. it's full-blown invasion. it's not a liberation of ukraine from nazi, it was -- putin always wanted to destroy ukraine statehood. and it's a full motion now. and erecting russian flag, removing ukrainian symbols, state symbols, it's a part of the plan. and also in the panel that we just heard, it was very important point was made about weaponization of refugees. that's also part of putin's plan, to use ukrainian war to destabilize europe. because as he has been saying all the time, it's a war against nato. it's a war against the free world, and putin doesn't mind using every weapon, every tool at his disposal. whether it's a master, whether it's bombarding people into submission, or using refugees to create political chaos across the continent. >> you know, i was speaking with the four-star general in command of southcom, gary, just this last week. and she was talking about how russia and china are doing what they can in latin america to help destabilize those countries, so that they could somehow affect the united states. so it's a big picture, gary, that putin is looking at. you were talking earlier this week about how putin could be taken out by someone or some people within his inner circle. who is that and what is that inner circle, gary? >> look, if we knew the name, this person would be already dead. so all we can hope for is that out of desperation and fear for their future, some people, even cowards in putin's inner circle, would act. but it cannot happen before russia's troops are defeated in ukraine. the limited zweet the precondition for the fall of any dictator. and combined with economic hardship and in two or three months, i guess, russian people will feel it and i believe that many of them will make it to the streets to protest so the combination of these factors, defeat and social economic reward may lead to a palace coup, but it's not going to happen before russian troops are destroyed in ukraine. >> and gary, i'm just wondering, you have been so critical of western european countries and the united states on how they have permitted and by silence condoning putin's actions until 54 days ago. how is the united states and the west supposed to deal with putin going forward? >> i wish we had more time to talk about actions or more likely, inactions of the free world that led to this disaster, to this tragedy. and now we, your program just talked about the last stand of the heroes who are defending mariupol. and, yeah, probably they have hours left before they will be captured and most likely killed by russians. they could be saved if americans and europe sent heavy armor and artillery almost weeks before. it's eight weeks of this war, and only now, the real heavy weapon is arriving in ukraine. what i expect now is for america and europe to make it very clear that the goal of this war is for ukraine to win and brave ukrainians deserve nothing less than every tool, every weapon they need to win this war, for ukraine to be whole and free. and also, we have to hear from u.s. administration and allies that the sanctions will not be lifted before ukraine is free, fully liberated, crimea included, and reparations be paid. so people in russia, whether on the streets or in kremlin, in a circle, should realize that russia will be a praia, as long as vladimir putin stays in power. >> garry kasparov, thank you so much for being with us. always appreciate it. >> thank you for inviting me. coming up, mask confusion. what the white house is now saying it will do following a judge's decision to lift the mask mandate on planes and public transportation. former white house senior covid adviser andy slavitt joins us with what he thinks should be happening next. also, desantis versus disney. florida's governor considering taking action that could deal a major blow to the state's largest employer. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." er you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports. 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>> reporter: hey, jose. when given the option, about half of the people we spoke to, they said they would prefer not to wear a face mask when traveling on public transportation. but the other half said whether they are required to or not, they still prefer to mask up. listen. tell me, what do you think of the new mask rules? you still have to wear them in some places in new york, like on the subway, but amtrak, no. what do you make of it? >> i think it's good. like, it's good for everyone. i've been waiting for the masks to come out, because i think it's a little bit of a hassle when it's on your face. >> i don't want to wear a mask and i think this is way over -- over -- it's way overdue, that we get them off. >> i was surprised. as someone who is immunocompromised, i'm going to be wearing a mask for quite some time. >> i think the change is kind of despicable, actually, i don't think we're ready to be in a place where that's optional. >> so, since the florida ruling came down, i have been at a new york city airport, i have been on new york city subways. i have been at the amtrak train station. i have been in an uber and now here at the ferry terminal. and a lot of those places, you have very different rules. so just to kind of break it down for you. masks are still required on new york city subways, but if you're taking an amtrak train, say, you're going to moynihan train station, they're not required there. we have three major airports in new york city. all of them are run by port authority, but you only have to wear a mask in the terminal at two out of three. if you're at jfk or laguardia, masks are still required in the terminal, though for most airlines, once you're on the plane, it is now optional. if you're going to newark, in newark, you do not have to wear a mask in the terminal. if you're on the new jersey transit, say, coming into new york city, you don't have to wear a mask when you're on that train, but once you get to penn station, a state-run train terminal, you're then supposed to mask up. in terms of ubers nationwide, uber has said that masks are now optional for drivers as well as riders. but in new york city, the new york city taxi and limousine commission, they oversee ride shares as well as taxis and they say masks are still required in ubers as well as taxis. i got a taxi the other day and he said that masks are now optional. he said he got an alert that that was the new policy. this morning, when i requested it, there was an alert saying you still have to wear one if you're in new york city. but speaking with travelers, in all of these different places, jose, they say that it is just very confusing to keep up with what the rules are. and it's difficult to follow rules when you're not entirely sure what those rules are. jose? >> ellison barber, not confusing at all. i don't know how you do this. but you explained this, which is unexplainable, in such a clear manner. thank you, ellison, for explaining it this morning. >> thanks, jose. joining us now, andy slavitt, the former senior white house adviser for covid response for president biden and a former acting administrator. so what do you make of the fact that the administration is making the cdc take the lead on this? the cdc has not exactly, the most clear messaging place on earth. >> well, look, we want this decision to be made based on the data. let's look at what's happened. we don't want a lone judge, an ideological judge, which is what happened here to make this decision for the country and for a bunch of airline ceos all of a sudden say, we're not going to wear masks based on the data. what the cdc needs to do is study the data, and while they're not perfect, they're the best people to make this decision and what the administration has to factor in terms of whether they're going to appeal or not is the current ruling from the judge in florida is not presidential. in other words, if we have another wave in the fall, if this is not appealed, we -- the cdc will have the ability to use all of the tools we need to stay safe. however, if they appeal it and lose and donald trump appointed 234 federal judges and you get one of those other judges and you lose, then we could be faced with a situation where the cdc is not able to use even basic public health measures in the case of another crisis. >> so, andy, i mean, isn't there like political considerations on almost every side, on this issue? it's become very politicized, any way you look at it. >> well, look, there's no decision that's going to make everybody happy. we already know that. but it's the job of the administration to call the ball and take the political heat. it's the cdc's job to take the heat, whatever may come. they're supposed to ignore politics and focus as best they can on the science. and the white house is supposed to back them up. if the cdc comes and says, you know what, we don't think that we recommend it, on balance, given all of the considerations or we do think that we recommend it, that's what we should be paying attention to. and we already know that half of the people are going to be unhappy with the decision and half of the people are going to be happy with the decision. and that's just a fact of life at this point. >> andy, you recently spoke with the ceo of pfizer. what do you have to say about vaccines for the youngest children? >> well, it sounds like both he and the fda are saying it's going to be june now before we have vaccines for kids 0 to 5, which i think is upsetting news to many parents, understandably so. because we've seen a number of delays. his point was that if it hadn't been for omicron, we would have had a vaccine for kids 0 to 5 by now. but omicron was more complex, made the vaccines less effective, requiring additional doses. i think there are parents that can make the case, and, you know, indeed, the governor of colorado made the case that we know that these are safe vaccines, why not start on these regiments today, since they're going to be three shots, and we know that they're going to be at least partially effective. very controversial, tough question. >> andy slavitt, always a pleasure to see you. thank you for being with us this morning. >> good to be here. up next, nbc news national security analyst clint watts joins us from the big board to break down russia's new offensive in the east. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." ing "jose diaz-balart reports. shinges '. 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? 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>> a british weapon, yeah. >> reporter: an anti-tank missile. >> yeah. >> reporter: and loud. >> it's very good weapon for me. >> reporter: each one of these shoulder-fired missiles can take out a russian tank. the mines, too, they hope will stop a russian advance here. but they can't stop artillery. >> no, no, no, it's normal. look, all time. like i said, all time. now, it's normally. >> sky news's mark stone reporting. joining me now is nbc news national security analyst, clint watts, a former u.s. army officer. clint, good morning. show us where this war stands this morning. >> jose, definitely movement to the east. i think this is where the focus of everything is going to be, pretty much from here on out. remember, just two to three weeks ago, we saw the redeployment of russian military, through belgograb. you're starting to see ukrainian counteroffenses. you'll see in light blue here these small pockets. you see the ukrainians trying to push in towards these line of logisticses here, and essentially trying to disrupt them. now, the ukrainians are meeting stiff resistance in there. separately, you're seeing this battle. this is the western part of donbas. this is the donetsk region. that's what you're seeing the russians really push for. i want to zoom in just a little bit to give you some perspective on this. if we rewind just over the past three weeks, this is what we're looking atrocities start of the month. you're starting to see the buildup of russian combat powers as they move in closer. you're also seeing the ukrainians start to dig in, occupy more defense eve positions, and today we see the current fight, which is essentially along this front. when you look here from luhansk over to izyum, this is the front line, the trace of the battle. and if you were there today, you would see artillery bombardments coming in from the russians, who are using indirect fires, missile strikes, to try to weaken the ukrainian forces. separately, you're seeing counterbattery trying to counter the russians as well. the question will be in the coming days and weeks, is what do the russians try to do? one course of action which we kind of think they're already trying to do is move in, encircle ukrainian military units at times, and try to close them off. separately, from donetsk down here, you'll see them trying to advance north. and from izyum, advancing to the southeast. they will try to bring those together to try to seal off the ukrainian military. it's a race right now, who can get troops in place and combat power the fastest. the russian military or the ukrainian military out to the east. >> and clint, show us what's happening around places like mariupol. >> that's right. in the south, essentially, things have reached a stalemate, here outside of kherson. this is where the russian military advanced very quickly in the opening days out of crimea. but the remaining forces we've been talking about today in mariupol are here. this steel factory, it's the last bastion for the ukrainian military there. still civilians hiding out there. and hopefully, there's some humanitarian corridors that happen today. but separately, this is one of the toughest spots that anyone may be will have to assault. i think the russians -- according to different estimates, outnumber the ukrainians 10 to 20 to 1. but there are underground passages. this is an intense battlefield. you see nonstop indirect fires. russian assaults. the russians don't want to assault this. they've asked the ukrainians to surrender several times. they have said that they will not. every day that the ukrainian military continues to fight here in mariupol, it keeps those forces from essentially deploying here in the south, back from mariupol, to donetsk. so they are creating a delay in action, creating more time for the ukrainian military to get here in the donbas region. >> clint, what exactly is indirect fires m. >> indirect fires, when we talk about them, you'll hear people talk about russian fires. we're talking about artillery, missiles, and aircraft, essentially, air strikes. they'll use a combination of those three to very devastating effects. this is, one, to suppress ukrainian military. two, to try to atrite them over time. most ukrainian casualties have been due to these indirect fires. and three, whenever you have artillery bombardments, missile bombardments to come in, it allows armor formations to advance, especially on roads when it's a muddy season in the east and they can't get into those farmlands and open areas, it's a way for them to advance armor, because the ukrainian military is pinned down. >> clint watts, thank you so much for being with us. still ahead, exclusive new reporting on what the white house is planning to ask congress to do before the administration lifts a controversial border policy next month. we'll bring you the details, next. you're watch "jose diaz-balart reports." watchi "jose diaz-balt reports. since 1868. there's a lot of cushy desk jobs out there, but this is my happy place. there are millions of ways to make the most of your land. learn more at deere.com i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance there are millions of ways to make the most of your land. through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? 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[ding] e*trade now from morgan stanley. inner voice (furniture maker): i'm rubbing the arms of my chair... ...admiring the craft and detail i've put into it. that way i try to convince myself that i'm in control of the business side of my business. intuit quickbooks makes it easy for you to get a complete view of your business. so you can sit back and... ...relax. 42 past the hour. breaking news this morning. exclusive new reporting from nbc's julia ainsley, who has learned the biden administration may ask congress for more funding to deal with what could be an increase in migrants arriving at the u.s. border, once title 42 is lifted. that was scheduled to be lifted may 23rd. this as the administration faces growing pressure from several democratic and republican senators who are asking for a more detailed plan before lifting title 42, which prevents migrants from entering the country and even asking or requesting asylum. with us now, nbc news correspondent, julia ainsley. julia, good morning. what are you learning. >> good morning, jose. so we are learning that the white house is now predicting a budget shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars, if title 42, as planned, lifts on may 23rd. and that some operations from cdp and i.c.e. could be exhausted as early as july if they don't get more funding. there are other ways they can get funding. they can try to pull from other parts of dhs, reallocate, but really can't control more than 10%. they may have to go to congress to get that money. and as you know, there are people in congress, as you just pointed out, raising questions about lifting title 42. and it could be that they say, look, we're not going to give more funds until we have more of a plan in place. but these funds are going for things like more beds in custody. we've seen during past surges, there be a big backlog within border patrol custody. they may want more space for that. they need medical care. and they need transportation in order to move these people from the border to their final destinations, where they will then go before immigration courts. right now, they are predicting hundreds of millions of dollars that they will need unless they run out of money by july. >> and so, it's pretty striking that we're in the 20th of april, and they're now just figuring this out. it's been a year plus since the biden administration has been in power, and title 42 has been there, you know, from the trump administration. i'm just wondering, could this mean that they're considering delaying plans to lift title 42? >> we know there are certainly conversations within the white house about how this will go down politically. they're worried about those democrats, they're worried about democrats who have key elections, how they will answer, if there is a big surge on the border. this could mean a way that they could shift the question of whether or not to lift title 42 on to congress. but right now, as i understand, there are still those preliminary discussions. you're right, it's kind of shocking how preliminary they are, about how they get more of this funding. >> julia ainsley, thank you so very much. with us now to continue our conversation is sochi najosa. it's great to see you, as always. the homeland security department thinks that about 170,000 people are camped out on the mexican side of the u.s. border. 170. they've been waiting there, waiting for the opportunity to be able to request asylum in the united states. here's what one of them said about what's happening on the other side of the border. listen to this. >> he says nobody is suffering, watching all the suffering. we know the suffering is going on, every single day. has the debate about title 42 become all politics and not focused on public health or humanitarian needs? >> it is unfortunate that the debate on title 42 has become about politics. because let me be very clear what title 42 is and what it isn't. title 42 is a health authority that is put in place by the cdc and was put in place by the last administration, while we were in a global pandemic. now that restrictions are lifting, we should, as the administration has said, they will do away with title 42. congress gave them the authority to do this wheel in a pandemic. but the reality is, title 42 isn't a border controlled measure, jose. what we saw over the last few months is that people were trying to come over again and again and again. so it wasn't attempting to stop people from coming over. in reality, what we need is an asylum process, which was dismantled by the previous administration, that will allow people to come forward, make their case in front of the judge. not everyone will be granted, but at least it allows a process and either they will be granted or denied. and the people that are at the border right now, we expect about 30% to ask for asylum. again, that 30% will not all be granted. but we should allow people the opportunity to at least seek asylum. and i also want to note that it is also ukrainian refugees that are coming at the southern border, because our process right now is so dismantled and we don't have a system in place for people to actually come over, while other countries across the world are accepting ukrainian refugees with open arms. >> these are such important points, sochi. and you know, i think that even though it's not designed to be, it's supposedly not a border control measure, that's exactly what it's been, sochi. and that's what it's being utilized for as we speak. haitians that are leaving their country are being summarily deported, no questions asked. cubans, venezuelans, nicaraguans. they're being not allowed even to request asylum. and then you do have the ukrainian reality, although it seems like they're getting an easier way in the door. what would lifting title 42 mean for these people? >> people that are trying to seek refugee in the united states are fleeing dangerous conditions. and they would have to prove that to a judge. they don't just allow any -- you know, by lifting title 42, it doesn't mean that anyone can come across the border. and it is really ridiculous that republicans and others are crying open borders, because that's actually not the case. we are a country that has allowed, before we put title 42 in place, we had an asylum process under a previous administration, like president obama and others, and there are others ways to deal with the surge in migration. one of the challenges for the biden administration right now is that they are trying to put together an asylum system and trying to fix it while the plane is in the air. so right now, you have an administration who is trying to ask for more funding, and trying to ensure that they're doing everything that they can, so they don't have a del rio again, but at the same time, that they are helping people. >> yeah. and the del rio, in a sense, is being carried out on a small measure, every single day. in the border. sochi hinojosa, always a pleasure to see you. thank you for being with us this morning. >> thank you for having me. up next, florida's governor escalating his fight with disney. how he's planning to make the company pay for its opposition to the state's "don't say gay" law. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." 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[baby spits out milk] i'll get my onesies®. ♪ “baby one more time” by britney spears ♪ e*trade now from morgan stanley. good morning. is 11 a.m. eastern. i'm jose diaz-balart. russia demanding ukrainian forces hold up in a steel business there surrender. the deadline has passed.