ukraine. cortney kube covers the pentagon. msnbc international affairs analyst michael mcfaul is the former u.s. ambassador to russia. and i m joined by retired army lieutenant general steph twitty, an msnbc analyst. matt, bring us up to speed on the situation on the ground there. reporter: we re observing the law in most cities in ukraine that imposes a curfew and a blackout so we can t do outside to do this shot. we re in the city of zaporizhzhia, in the southeast corner of the country. not so far from the besieged city of mariupol, which is becoming more hellish by the day. i just spoke with a soldier fighting inside that azovstol steel plant. this siege is ongoing with what looks like could be hundreds of soldiers and hundreds of civilians including children. the russians have bombed what sounded like a field hospital in that facility. we spoke with the soldier, he said they have infinite amounts of ammunition. i m not sure if that was just bombast or if that was really
demands by the russians as they defy demands to surrender to putin. mariupol mayor s said if mariupol is hell, azovstal is worse. the u.n. secretary-general was in kyiv wrapping up a meeting with president zelenskyy when russian bombs fell on the capital. the strikes killed at least one person and shook the confidence of tens of thousands of others only just returning home. and we are learning more about a u.s. citizen killed in combat in ukraine. 22-year-old willie joseph died while working with a contract company. a former u.s. marine signed up to fight in ukraine shortly after the war broke out at the end of february. meanwhile, on the front lines of this war, russia is behind schedule in its campaign for the donbas. according to an assessment from u.s. officials. russian forces remain focused on that region where they are targeting infrastructure like railways, bridges, and townhouses. matt, i know you re under curfew right now. you re back inside. i m struck again by wha