0 official, i asked him if president putin is directing this himself. and he said yes, that is how it is going. that is not surprising. we know that president putin makes all of the decisions. in the end, he will have had advice from that small clique around him, that ultimately he is the decision-maker. and another element of his televised address, which to reiterate, if russians will be stunned by. waking up and seeing now, another man from that televised address, which is chilling frankly. is that president putin requires russian's nuclear capability. and clearly, openly threatens western leaders. even after the collapse of the ussr, losing a significant part of the nuclear potential. today, russia is one of the most nuclear powers. and he says, i think that this is a direct message to the west. in this regard, no one should have any doubt that a direct attack on russia will lead to defeat and dire consequences for a potential aggressor. and so, i just want to say all, just before this all began, we did hear from french diplomats, raising real questions about president putin's state. saying that the man they met was to from the past. and that again, worrying aspect, as russians wake up to learn that their country is frankly have worn with ukraine. >> we are going to stay close to, clear summons in moscow, it is midnight in the east, it is a am in eastern ukraine, or 7 am in eastern ukraine, 8 am in moscow. and we have attacks underway in ukraine. we've heard the explosion of shells in the capital city of kyiv. explosions of shells. this is video being brought to us from the associated press. this is a highway out of kyiv. look at the cars down the right side, going into kyiv, very few of them. look at all those cars, leaving heave right now. our reporter on the ground there, erin mclaughlin, has heard shelling's. was on air with us, when she heard that song. this is unusual. because it seemed like a second phase, in something that just began a few hours ago. as you heard so, we've not heard the ruling over of tanks. or artillery over the eastern border of russia into ukraine. but, there are two regions in eastern ukraine that latin putin has declared independent. and today, he ordered a special military operation to protect those places. he says that he has requests from the leaders of those two republics, that nobody else in the world recognize us as independent, for russian military interference or involvement. and that is why they are sending activity that they have going on there underway. we have a few things going on that we should tell you about. airspace has been closed. all airspace in ukraine is now closed. we have heard some reporting that the bombs that we are hearing, dropped in and around kyiv, maybe missiles. somebody in the ukraine government had posted that to social media site and we've not been able to confirm that. as keir said. these are the moments in which we are in the fog of war and we are not entirely sure what is true or not, but our reporters have heard explosions with their own ears. there are reports, courtney kube had suggested that the u.s. intelligence had heard that we will start with russian gelling. perhaps of military installations or runways, airports. ambassador michael suggested moments ago that he had been hearing from people in ukraine, it may be the airport. the area around the airport in kyiv. i want to go to our to reporters in the region. in mariupol ukraine, southeastern ukraine aired, mclaughlin in kyiv. last we'll ask you a few moments ago, you are here in constant shelling. >> we are hearing missile strikes according to a advisor in the ministry of interior. and the last 30 minutes have been comparatively quiet. we've heard a stream of cars leaving the city. we are hearing reports that people here are waking up to these explosions. they are evacuating the capital of kyiv, and we have heard from the ukrainian president. . saying that russia is attacked military infrastructure. and also announced that he is imposing martial law. and we need each every one of you to stay calm. and the army is working with, and continuing with a common theme. trying to keep people calm, trying to keep people from panicking in the first time. induced coma o and i've been told that this is the city under attack. and. and you are hearing explosions now for a couple of hours. and you're asking about the sirens. the sirens are underway. . okay and the capital is now under attack. we have reports of missiles and explosions. let us listen for a moment. and all right, those are the sirens. we've been listening for. good to go to richard, there are the sirens again. . there's the signs again. >> and we have -- go ahead. >> we have been wondering why we hadn't heard sirens. we all heard the explosions. we are wondering where the signs were. but i was told by city officials, they've tested the officials. earlier in the week, hours into this attack. the science system alerting this, that this attack was underway all. the associated pressure showing us. this is the traffic leaving heave now. people are preparing in different ways. . what is the level of preparation you're familiar with? sending the school their blood type signify. they need blood transfusion? would also be heard? >> people have been preparing for the worst. while the government had been downplaying this threat. people are taking the situation extraordinarily seriously in terms of the western intelligence assessments. the evacuation plan, no plan b. people have been sending their children for the western children of. uk there closer to the polish border. people have been stocking up on food and water. and really deep down, in talking to ukrainians, there was a certain level of skepticism. 's. and that is why people are waking up, completely stun, that their country is at war with the russian neighbor. and, please stand by, i want to go to southeastern ukraine to nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel. president zelenskyy and president biden, they have spoken already, and president zelenskyy has made some decisions tonight. president zelenskyy, issued a video statement, looked like a selfie that he took at his desk. in which he said that martial law is being imposed all across ukraine. did not describe exactly with that martial law would entail. but told people to stay calm, to stay in their homes and that military installations and border posts had been attacked. after announcing the star of military operations. but went on to assure people that the government is still with them. that the government will stay in contact and that the security services are on top of the situation. does seem that there is a psychological component of all of us. and that these early phases have been designed to leave the city, to create the panic, create the long lines of traffic that you are seeing out of kyiv. because there were reports of beach landings here mariupol. we are not seeing them. reports of beach landings in odessa. not being reported by witnesses. like the russian state news agencies are responding. the russians put out a short time ago when, not the military infrastructure of ukraine has been destroyed, and that civilians would not be harmed. and it seems like the russia narrative is trying to soften the population, to appeal to the people, to surrender without a fight, to appeal to the military, to surrender without a fight. because what is being described by the russians and what we are seeing at this moment, they do not correspond. russian, talk to me about mariupol, because it is important, we've heard matt bradley talk about when there might be troop movements, when we might see people come across the border, you're on the water, there are a whole different set of defenses, or offensive weaponry and techniques that the russians have, all throughout the southern coast of ukraine. so according to the pentagon, russia has been having ten warships with marines on board in the black sea. we are on the sea of azov, in the sea of azov, connected to the black sea. we have seen ships in the distance, but there are not firing. they are not at war, they appear to be normal commercial ships. and so, any kind of naval battle off of the sea of azov. as far as i can see, from where i'm looking at the water. it is not underway. and if there was going to be a beach landing, it could happen all along this southern coast. but as of now, there are no sirens here, there is traffic in the streets. we saw some police cars and ambulances moving with their sirens blaring. it was not clear if they were responding to any particular incident. although, now, as we are speaking, i just heard a one explosion. >> i heard that too. >> that first one could have been the reverberation of the first explosion. that is the first loud and clear it. since this operation began. we will see how that develops. and that was on the outskirts of mario pull. i'm right on the center now. that sounded like it was a few miles away at the very least. so we will continue. >> heard that as you are. speaking could hear that out here. whatever that was. just let us know, richard engel, nbc news foreign correspondent, who is in mariupol, ukraine. erin mclaughlin is in kyiv for us. i'm just going to ask my executive producer where she wants me to go. mike memoli is in washington d.c.. mike, you were reporting to us that even your colleagues have heard that the president was talking to vladimir zelenskyy. now we've heard that vladimir zelenskyy has released a video of himself, talking about the fact that there is going to be martial law. we are hearing explosions, we are hearing sirens in kyiv, we are hearing as you just heard with richard angle, and in mariupol, what is happening in the white house. >> we just got a new statement alley from the white house, on the presidents call with president zelenskyy. saying that is interesting ali. then more casual language. . presidents key says to biden in a statement, reached out to me tonight and we just finished speaking. condemned the unprovoked and unjustified attack from russian military forces. we are taking the steps to rally international, at the national security council. bind saying that zelenskyy asked me to call on the leaders of the world to speak clearly against the fragment aggression and to stand with the people of ukraine. tomorrow i will be meeting with the leaders of the g7 and the united states. imposing severe shanks on russia. that statement there, making explicit, it was implied by the earlier white house statements tonight, that the president will be as promised, escalating beyond the sanctions that he announced just 31 hours ago. we've been hearing all along, this is now three months in which the white house has been promising swift and severe sanctions on russia if it were to go ahead with the invasion. at the earliest indications of that invasion, a little over 24 hours ago, they took that initial step, banking sanctions on russian all the guards, the severing of nord stream 2 essentially. now essentially, the white house and president saying in the statement, that they will indeed go further. now that vladimir putin has gone further. and we will wait and see and try to work our white house sources, to see if they will be able to share exactly what those sanctions will white be. we've had some indication of what was on the table, sort of export controls, trying to limit russia's ability to get imports. critical imports from the west, from the united states for its manufacturing sector for instance. potentially even sanctions on putin directly. but we will not get ahead of what the white house says plan at this point. >> we are going to hear from the president after he has heard the conversation with the g7 leaders. >> that's right. the president speaking tomorrow morning at 9 am, with his g7 counterparts. and in the early afternoon, what the white house has told us at this point, the president would address the nation. >> more than a half hours away. we will tell you though, the future is looking not very good right now. we are looking at an opening. and there is much to happen tonight. so it is a little early to talk about. all major markets are looking to be 2% lower, right now we have seen a spike in the price of oil as well. crude oil. talk to warn her dollars a barrel since 2014. keeping a close eye on that as well honoring us had a gamble, on her way to moscow right now and has just spoken with ukrainian foreign minister. hollywood, if you heard? >> thanks so much for having me. essentially, i was speaking to the form minister of ukraine, henry from washington. he's going to take a car to get into kyiv from a third-party country. keith of course has cut all flights. he told me this. we are calling for the escalation, and this is an attack on world or. ukraine is calling on the united states, the west, to immediately implements heavy sanctions. including immediate disconnection of pressure from the system. saying that they need more financial assistance. more heavy weaponry in ukraine at this point. i've been speaking several times since december. and the message is always remained the same. if you do not implement sanctions ahead of an invasion, and evasion will happen. and it looks like that is exactly what has occurred. did tell me, in terms of will outline, a timeline, saying that five minutes after president putin announced, we saw this rockets flying, in major cities, including the several -- a grounded vision and the direction of -- and he said that i can tell you right now, heavy fighting is happening. as i told you previously, in many interviews that i've had with this gentleman, the ukrainians think that plans for themselves, already been issued weapons from the government. saying that they are ready to fight for their country. this is a country frankly, up in arms, and as you mentioned, the market, going 2% lower. i have to tell, you the asian markets have been reacting to the story. as you mentioned, oil, over $100 a barrel, topping $100 a barrel. this is significant, the white house, western powers, they declined to sanction the energy sector. and there's a reason for that. because this would just not get the gas section, this would hit oil prices, you gotta remember, when it comes to oil prices, united states at the end of last year took 7% of the oil from russia. european powers, the united states. it's exactly why it took a while before all of the nato countries were on board with all of these sanctions, and that's why it's took in a while since germany decided to cancel the nord stream 2 pipeline, because the fact is, the world relies on a lot of the energy that it gets from russia. also talking about the ukrainians calling for the removal of russian from the swift system. that is the society for worldwide into her bank financial transactions. that is how world trade is done. if you can't be on the serve system, anybody who was ever sent a wire, you know exactly what that is, if you can't be honest with system, you can trade with the world. let's go to kyiv, the capital of ukraine, where those sirens continue to blame. as a warning that kyiv, the capital city of ukraine, is under attack. and mclaughlin is there for us? >> hi ali, you can hear the sirens sounds. we have yet to hear further explosions. the sirens to indicate that this capital is under attack. they have been persuaded by hours of explosions, but it has been a while since we have heard the booms. the kind of booms that woke up so many citizens here in the capital. in the small hours of the morning. according to the adviser to the interior minister. crews, ballistic missiles, they have been launched on the capitol, striking military installations and air fields. no indication so far that civilian targets have been hit. but civilians have said that they broke up some of them to the windows being rattled by the sound of these explosions. it is absolutely terrifying and surreal to be standing here on this balcony alley in a flat track in the ukrainian capital. many here just simply did not think that it would come to this. and we've heard from president zelenskyy, urging people to remain calm. urging people not to panic in a social media post that he posted the fake punt -- itself video that he took. it's unclear where he is at this hour. and he declined to comment any further on with the president had posted on his facebook. urging people to remain calm. and he did say that marshall awe will now be implemented. and just yesterday, parliament voted to approve a state of emergency meeting that we will see checkpoints here in the city a number of restrictions and extraordinary powers to police to stop citizens and that sort of thing. and now another law. of martial law has been announced on top of that. and mclaughlin is in kyiv, where there are sirens, only go back to ambassador michael mcfaul, we are having an interesting discussions. and marcia law. and makes a interesting point. that's once again president biden were talking. we know that the u.s. embassy staff has relocated to western ukraine and we don't know whether it's on the skis involved in this or not. but we've been hearing intelligence reports, there is a plan to get zelenskyy out of here if that needs to happen. what happens in the capital city of ukraine it's under attack? >> great question. i don't have a great answer. but i've been corresponding for two hours now with people in kyiv, including people in the government. not revealing any names, but right now they are ready for war. they are not meeting, not thinking of evacuation, going to stand their ground and that obviously can change. really important for us to keep reminding us how quickly things can change. just two hours ago, we are talking about how everything is quiet on the streets of the major cities. now that is totally different. look at we are showing right now all, not a single soul is on that main street. i've been on that street 100 times, this time in the morning, that place is packed. i remember with a fast-moving story and updating as best we can. preparing for war, they're scared, they are nervous, they've sent their children by the way, sent their families and older elderly people to places like lviv. but most people are bracing for war. they are also talking about by the way, that they do not have enough civil billions events to do that. one of the calls i was on today, a few hours ago, silly things, not so they, thanks but pretty pedestrian things like knee pads. and those are the kinds of things, that every day ukrainians are thinking about, in terms of preparing for what i think will be pretty disastrous next hours and days. >> i want to bring up a map that shows the nato countries that are in that region, a lot of discussions about what the rest of the world can do for ukraine. and ukraine is not a member of the world's biggest military alliance, and that is nato. and so at the moment, there are no discussions of nato troops, or u.s. troops going into ukraine. you believe, and have said for several time, that ukraine needs massive military assistance. which is that look like, can you send enough stuff, they have enough people trained to use it? if there are going to be u.s. troops, if there are going to be european troops going into, what does military assistance look like now? >> first it is a little late now. months ago, was writing that more air defense systems were needed. patriots, they don't have any patience, stringers. they don't have anything or, a weapon used in afghanistan as you remember, they literally don't have more stringers. and i can go through a long list, i'm not a military expert, we should've done more, we need to do more now. and number one, number two, it is right. we are not going to go towards russia over ukraine. the president has made that clear. and i think i