the commander saying that they may have hours or days left to live. he adds there are about 500 wounded troops and hundreds of civilians there. nbc news cannot verify those numbers. ukraine s president zelenskyy calls the situation in the city, quote, extremely severe and is calling on allies to send more weapons now. what could the u.s. send? a new aid package the administration is apparently getting ready to announce. i ll be acting the current acting u.s. ambassador to ukraine about that and more in just moments. plus, maybe don t put away those masks just yet. the biden administration is leaving the door open on bringing them back on planes, trains and more. what they re waiting for as a new version of omicron gains a foothold in the united states. and a redistricting legal fight in new york that could have major implications for voters just 69 days from primary day. raf sanchez is in lviv. kelly o donnell is at her post. and we re joined by admiral james stavridis. presi
havery for public transportation or lift it. before deciding whether to appeal a decision to end masking on public transit. we begin with aaron mclachlan in kyiv. the situation in mariupol getting more desperate by the hour. what is president zelenskyy saying about it today? reporter: hey, andrea. well, according to ukrainian officials, there had been an agreement to set up a humanitarian corridor to evacuate 6,000 women, children and elderly from the besieged city of mariupol. there are some local media reports, however, that the meeting points for that humanitarian core dorthat has been agreed to throughout the city had been hit by artillery rounds and shells, effectively collapsing the corridor. we have yet to see any official indication from the ukrainians that is in fact what has happened. meanwhile, today, here in kyiv, ukrainian officials met with the president of the european counsel, charles michelle, the former belgian prime minister. he went to some of the areas
Fighting is fierce and bloody. the dawn bask military governor maintains 3 million remain trapped inside the plant . translator: russian shelling did you see not stop. wempen, children. many children who are still there. just imagine this hell and there are children. more than two months of constant shelling, bombing and constant death nearby. further north shelling in sit issy seen as pivotal in russia s attempt to cease control of the donbas region.
Fewer russian ground attacks, suggesting relatively static frontlines as ukrainian troops continue to hold on at the azovstal steel factory in ukraine. it s believed it s the last remaining strong hold they have in the port city. russian bombardment is said to be endless. the sit issy is seen as pivotal. and u.s. confirmed it helped locate the ship in the black sea but neither had a role in sinking the cruzzer. well aware they re getting intelligence from u.s., britain and nato. it s being felt far from ukraine s borders. several countries not part of nato are becoming more vocal
The commander of those forces released this video overnight. released this video overnight. the mayor of mariupol is trying to send 90 buses into the sit issy and pull up to 6,000 out. but frustrations with russian forces have stalled in recent days. the ukrainian refugee crisis has hit a grim new milestone with the human rights counsel saying more than 5 million citizens have fled to eastern european countries to escape the conflict. and at home, justice department officials are waiting for the cdc to decide whether to again extend its mask used a ises