inland. they have used the maritime environment to assault the mainland in terms of an amphibious assault. and they have used the maritime environment to intimidate and in some cases to try to, we think, in some cases try to pin down ukrainian ground forces near odesa. so they still have quite a bit of naval capability available to them. just a quick follow-up. when the embassy in kyiv was moved to lviv and then into poland, the marines moved out as well. correct. are they still with the contingent of u.s. diplomats in poland? have they dispersed? i guess i m getting at that the french have said they will open their embassy in kyiv. if the u.s. were to make that decision, are the marines with their contingent able to move back quickly to kyiv or how does that work? i can t say definitively how many of the marine security detachment is with the now displaced embassy personnel.
ukrainian forces say they hit the warship with a missile. russians admit to only a fire on board that forced the evacuation. let s bring in matt rivers in lviv, western ukraine, along with matthew chance. matthew chance, to you first. you reported from this russian warship in 2015. so how big of a blow is this to russian forces? i think it s a really big blow because, as you mentioned, the ship, moskva, is the flagship of the black sea fleet. it s not just of military important value, it s an important platform for weapons systems, it carries cruise missiles, it s nuclear capable. but crucially as well, it s a platform which has a number of anti-aircraft systems on it. it provides air cover to a large area around where it s deployed. we got on board the ship back in 2015 when the moskva was
moment and, crucially, vladimir putin s arm eaves involvement in that war. because this was what they undertook there, a project, an intentional one, of force depopulate station depopulation, intentional civilian targeting. to star for surrender, to offer syrians that choice. it had enormous geopolitical ripple effects because it drives people out and they have nowhere to go. and then everyone else is brought into it. and it s happening again, right now. nbc news correspondent cal perry s and the western ukrainian city lviv where he joins me now. cal, it s always great to talk to you, i hope you re well. what s the latest today? well, i ll pick up where you ve left it off, the tactics that we are seeing in the city of mariupol is exactly what we saw in aleppo. as i look at this video from mariupol and places like kharkiv, the first thing they are doing is they are bombing the cities to rubble and then they are bombing the rubble. beyond that, you have now this
republic, from poland, making their way there all the more extraordinary because they announced it ahead of time. it was early this morning where we saw the wires cross and the public announcement that they would be making their way there. and they did not do so by air. we thought maybe they would go via holocaust years. they took the train, here, in lviv, all the way to kyiv early this morning. there is only a few people on the train, it s either people headed to the front to fight, people trying to rescue the family members, or people supporting the war. for them to get on that train makes an incredible statement of support, of solidarity for the ukrainian president. one quick thing also, we heard from the ukrainian poseidon and last two hours, and one of the things he s now talking about and alluding to is maybe the fact that ukraine does not need to join nato. that ukraine is strong on its own. and he s doing so while discussing the actual on the ground negotiations. it ll be inter
inside and try to close their doors and turn off their lights if possible. jon: and try to get some sleep if possible. alex hogan live in lviv, ukraine. thanks, alex. i had a straightforward conversation with xi jinping, making sure he understands the consequences of helping russia. i think that china understands its economic futures more closely tied to the west than it is to russia so i m hopeful he does not get engaged. jon: nations worldwide are trying to gauge china s strategy during and after the ukraine war in light of the nations strong ties to russia. let s bring in a senior fellow at the institute, author of the