the fate of that city currently in the hands of an unknown number of defenders. two hours ago russian forces issued a second deadline to surrender. no word on what ukrainians are going to do there. it includes civilians, by the way. this comes as video shows hundreds of people sheltering in the basement of that burning steel plant you see there. we are told that russian forces are firing at the facility willingly. these are some of the people who are hiding inside, dozens of women, children, the elderly. they have been there now four weeks. these mothers say conditions for their kids are desperate. there s not a lot of food. their children s teeth are starting to spoil. as a parent, just imagine going through that. this morning president biden will hold a call with u.s. al lice and partners to discuss how to hold moscow further accountable. white house press secretary jen psaki indicates the u.s. is preparing to impose some new sanctions, expand current ones against the kreml
Events happened. and slaughtering of the civilians. and this is war crime. this war crime must be stopped. so, free world cannot watch it anymore passively, take an active part and just supply us with all the help, humanitarian help, sanctions or economic isolation of russia as well as weapons. that s needed now. otherwise this aggression is going to spread out further. yeah. sad fact is we seem to be seeing evidence of war crimes virtually everyday. vladimir klitschko, thank you. and we wish you safety. thank you. keep supporting us. well, hell on earth. a ukrainian fighter sending an open letter to pope francis, calling on him to help the people still trying to survive in the city of mariupol. and we hear from two
Invasion. good morning to our viewers in the united states and around the world. it is tuesday, april 19th, i m kaitlan collins in new york with jim sciutto in lviv, ukraine. john berman and brianna keilar are off. we begin this morning with breaking news. the battle for ukraine s donbas region erupting with heavy fighting. president zelenskyy says russian forces have initiated that long anticipated large scale ground offensive in eastern ukraine. it is a battle that officials fear could be the bloodiest to date and we already have seen bombing and shelling under way this morning in mariupol, as, of course, we have seen that for several days now, only intensifying as officials fear what could be the second phase and how long it could go on for. as this comes as the pentagon is estimating that russia already sent 11 more battalion tactical groups into ukraine.
That s a savings of over $500 a year. switch today. russia s heavy bombardment has left mariupol in ruins. but against all odds, ukrainian forces have not surrendered the city and the commander of the marine unit in mariupol written an open letter to pope francis, asking him to help save the people who are still holding out there. in the letter that was published on a ukrainian news site, he writes, you have probably seen a lot in your life, but i am sure that you have never seen what is happening in mariupol because that s what hell on earth looks like. i have little time to describe all the horrors i see here everyday at the plant, women with children and babies, live
Under way. president zelenskyy announcing that russian forces have launched a large-scale ground offensive in eastern ukraine, as you see here, where we believe a lot of this fighting is going to happen in the donbas region. this could be a potentially significant turning point in russia s unprovoked war. and it could create the ultimate test for the ukrainian military. this battle will almost certainly be the bloodiest to date. with zelenskyy still vowing, though, that his ukrainian forces will fight on. we re already seeing some of the efforts to breakthrough ukraine s front lines in three regions. if you look at this video, a column of these russian military vehicles heading from the russian border toward the city of izium where russian troops have already been gathering. sadly we re told this war will get bigger, it s going to get bloodier. in mariupol, the azov steel plant has now become a holdout a refuge for some of those remaining in the city.