also tonight, the world anxiously awaiting results from the french presidential election. could the far-right candidate with close ties to russia win? what that could mean for europe and the u.s. mary bruce standing by in paris. back here at home, the state of emergency with nearly a dozen uncontained large fires tearing through several states. the all-out assault against the flames with dozens of homes reduced to ashes. plus, the dangerous weather system. severe storms and possible tornadoes from oklahoma to minnesota, and up to 2 feet of snow in the northern plains. rob marciano timing it all out. chilling new details in the d.c. shooting spree that left four people injured. more than 100 shots fired. and what police are saying about the gunman s sniper-like setup. new evidence in the january 6th investigation pointing directly to former white house chief of staff mark meadows. was he warned about potential violence? and america strong, . as we mark earth day weeke
Grateful to the partners and support which we are receiving. reporter: then making a surprise announcement. translator: i shall have the meeting with the state secretary mr. blinken and defense secretary, who are coming to us. reporter: zelenskyy saying he will meet in person with u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin and secretary of state antony blinken tomorrow in kyiv. the state department declined to comment, but austin and blinken would be the highest ranking u.s. officials to meet with zelenskyy in the war zone since russia invaded. zelenskyy also discussing the threats against his life. translator: i don t have the right to be afraid. i don t have the right to be afraid, because our people showed that they are not afraid of anything. reporter: nearly two months into the conflict, zelenskyy says he is still willing to meet with vladimir putin. translator: there is the diplomatic way, and there is the military way. so, any healthy and sane person
It is exciting. i like to see that. yeah, we need to free up some time. make our way down there. thanks for joining us. we ll see you back here at 6. tonight, several breaking developments in the war in ukraine. talk of a crucial meeting between top u.s. officials and ukraine s president as russia intensifies attacks on multiple cities. president zelenskyy says he ll meet sunday with defense secretary lloyd austin and secretary of state antony blinken. his news conference in a kyiv subway station hours after a brutal russian strike on odesa. video circulating online shows the aftermath of a attack that killed at least eight, including a 3-month-old baby. russian forces attempting to storm the steel plant in mariupol where it s believed a thousand ukrainians are living in an underground bunker. one mother says she s lost count of the days. and what a child had to say about wanting to see the sun. our marcus moore on the ground in kyiv.
South and east of the country. those attacks as the fate of ukrainian fighters and civilians holed up in that steel plant in mariupol is unclear tonight after renewed shelling by kremlin forces. about a thousand civilians thought to be sheltering underground at that plant. these images believed to be taken this week, released by members of a far-right battalion which is now part of the ukrainian army. abc s marcus moore leading us off from kyiv tonight. reporter: tonight, in the face of new and deadly russian missile strikes in southern ukraine, a defiant president volodymyr zelenskyy holding a rare and highly orchestrated press conference on a subway platform in the capital of kyiv. in reference to the military aid that you re getting from the united states, are you pleased with the equipment that you re getting, not only for the short term, but for the long term if this conflict drags on? translator: we are very
Video s authenticity, and russia denies civilians are still there. this woman says her family has been hunkered down here for 52 days. are you counting days? they ask her. we have lost count. we want to go home very much, but i think there is no home anymore, she says. this bright-eyed young girl still smiling, saying, we want to go home, want to see the sun. just wanting to go out, see the sun after all those days underground. marcus moore joining us again from kyiv tonight. marcus, i want to go back to today s press conference with zelenskyy. you were there asking questions. what more are you learning about that possible meeting between zelenskyy and those two senior u.s. officials? reporter: whit, this was quite a sight today. the subway stations here in kyiv served as bomb shelters at the start of this war, so for president zelenskyy to hold his news conference on that platform was symbolic. as for tomorrow s meeting with secretaries austin and blinken, president zelenskyy sa