their positions. and now there are accusations from the ukrainians that russia has used chemical weapons here. translator: the day before yesterday, the russian troops attempted to strike our city with a so-called chemical attack. they tried to drop a chemical agent on our defenders. the agent did affect our defenders, and there is evidence a number of people living in settlements on the outskirts of mariupol were also affected. reporter: president zelenskyy accusing russia of using, quote, phosphorous bombs and other munitions prohibited by international law. the u.s. as well as cnn teams on the ground have not yet verified that such an attack did occur. no conclusive imagery has serviced. and russia denies having chemical weapons, but mariupol has been devastating. the mayor says more than 90% of the city s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, and officials say russian forces have cut off crucial supplies, including water and food. we are currently discussing
that bitter fight for mariupol. reporter: weeks after the offensive began to take the city and still ukraine s government says mariupol has not yet fallen. the key port on the southeast port of ukraine increasingly a symbol of both ukrainian resistance and russian military goals. ukrainian officials are holding up the city as the fight, that two different units have managed to link up and continue their fight. one of those units releasing a message saying, they, quote, did not give up their positions. and now there are accusations from the ukrainians that russia has used chemical weapons here. translator: the day before yesterday, the russian troops attempted to strike our city with a so-called chemical attack. they tried to drop a chemical agent on our defenders. the agent did affect our defenders and there s evidence of the number of people living in the settlements on the outskirts were also affected. reporter: president zelenskyy
that they ve feared that russia might use teargas mixed with other types of chemical agents, and so that is presumably based on intelligence, so perhaps teargas, perhaps chlorine which is another type of commonly available chemical agent that can also cause respiratory conditions. can also cause respiratory conditions. did this surprise ou? conditions. did this surprise you? unfortunately - conditions. did this surprise you? unfortunately it - conditions. did this surprise i you? unfortunately it doesn t. russia was you? unfortunately it doesn t. russia was involved you? unfortunately it doesn t. russia was involved in - you? unfortunately it doesn t. russia was involved in using i russia was involved in using chemical weapons against his own people in syria stop biden administration has been warning that putin may use chemical weapons and ukraine for several weeks now and while chemical weapons are not very effective on the battlefield against other armies, they have proven to be
here in brooklyn about four miles away from the shooting scene. they called out the bomb squad, they re going through it now to determine how it might be connected to the suspect. and david, they found a number of other items on the subway platform that also point to the shooter s identity. david? aaron katersky, pierre thomas, and janai norman, thank you all tonight. in the meantime, we turn to the other major news this evening and the war in ukraine. for the first time tonight, president biden calling vladimir putin s actions a genocide. and there is growing concern tonight that russia might have used a chemical agent in an attack inside ukraine. there are unconfirmed reports they used that chemical agent in mariupol. the pentagon says it is now investigating. vladimir putin meanwhile today saying talks with ukraine are at a dead end. and tonight, ukrainian security forces say they are now captured a ukrainian lawmaker, a putin ally. that lawmaker s daughter is putin s goddaughte
linked to the suspect. our team on how they found that vehicle. what authorities have revealed about the cameras in the subway station. they were not working. and tonight, a witness who captured an image of the suspect. janai norman and aaron katersky here at the scene. pierre thomas at the fbi. the other news tonight, the war in ukraine. did russia use a chemical agent in mariupol? the pentagon tonight now investigating. and tonight, vladimir putin now talks are dead. and ukraine has now captured a putin ally. a ukrainian ally those daughter is putin s goddaughter. and for the first time, president biden now calling putin s actions a genocide. james longman is live in kyiv. the war putting increasing pressure on the global economy and tonight, inflation here at home. the prices americans are paying. inflation now the highest it s been since 1981. the new move tonight from president biden on gas. we re tracking dangerous storms tonight, possible tornadoes after dark and