Summary
As Ukraine pleads for more air support, Poland offers to deploy all of its MIG-29 jets to a U.S. air base in Germany, however the Pentagon rejected the offer. President Biden announces his decision to ban Russian oil imports to the U.S. The U.N. confirms the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine has surpassed the 2 million mark. President Zelenskyy received a standing ovation after addressing the British Parliament with words echoing British PM Winston Churchill during World War II.
Transcript
LAWRENC O`DONNELL, MSNBC HOST: Escaped across the border were asked what they hoped for today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Peace for Ukraine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Peace. Peace.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Peace for all guard (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No presents, no flowers, only peace. And return.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: The women of Ukraine get tonight`s "LAST WORD." THE 11TH HOUR with Stephanie Ruhle starts now.
[23:00:32]
STEPHANIE RUHLE, MSNBC HOST: Tonight, a new twist in the effort to beef up Ukraine`s air power in the fight against Russia. Poland surprises the Pentagon with fighter jets. As our Intel has warned Putin is angry and could double down.
Plus, hitting Russia where it hurts. The U.S. bans its oil as even more companies suspend business there. And two million people now trying to escape Putin`s war with new devastation in our frigid neighborhoods. Thousands remain trapped tonight as THE 11TH HOUR gets underway on a Tuesday night.
Good evening, I`m Stephanie Ruhle. We`re entering day 14 of the invasion of Ukraine. Two weeks since Russia launched its ferocious assault on an independent country. In eastern Ukraine, more homes are being destroyed and more civilians killed by Russian airstrikes.
As Ukrainians plead for more air support, Poland today responded with an offer to send its MiG-29 fighter jets to a U.S. Air Base in Germany. And curiously the Pentagon tonight rejected that offer. We`ll have more on that just ahead.
This conflict continues to produce an unprecedented number of refugees. Now more than two million people according to the UN. While in Washington, President Biden unveiled his latest move to punish Putin with a ban on Russian oil imports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: This is a move that has strong bipartisan support the Congress and I believe in the country. Americans have rallied support the Ukrainian people and made it clear we will not be part of subsidizing Putin`s war. There will be cost as well here in the United States. And if we do not respond to Putin`s assault on global peace and stability today, the cost of freedom and to the American people will be even greater tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Meanwhile, Ukrainians President Zelenskyy continues to rally support for his country. In a video on telegram, he thanked the American president and people. He also gave a virtual address to Britain`s House of Commons, reminding members of their nation`s battle against the Nazis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We will have to conduct this war. We do not want to lose what we have what is ours, our country Ukraine. Just the same way as you once didn`t want to lose your country where Nazis started to fight your country. We`ll not give up and we will not lose. We will fight till the end at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Until tonight we learn U.S. officials say Ukrainian resistance has stalled Russia`s advanced and they estimate that between two and 4,000 Russian soldiers have already been killed. There was also an assessment today on how Putin is likely viewing this conflict and what that could mean for the days ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AVRIL HAINES, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: We assess Putin feels aggrieved the West does not give him proper deference and perceives this as a war he cannot afford to lose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: So let`s bring in NBC national security and Pentagon correspondent Courtney Kube. Courtney, like so many evenings, I start this one confused. A day ago, the United States wanted Poland to provide MiGs to Ukraine. That was the plan. Now Poland has said yes. And we`re saying hold on. What`s going on?
COURTNEY KUBE, NBC NATIONAL SECURITY AND PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: So it`s one key phrase that you just said there, Steph, and that was Poland providing the MiGs to Ukraine. The announcement that Poland made today was that they would provide all of their MiGs to the U.S. and that they would fly them to Germany.
So in the past week or so since this idea first surfaced, and the U.S. and Poland started talking about this possibility. According to the U.S. officials who I spoke with, there wasn`t any discussion or agreement that the fighter jets would ever be moved into U.S. hands and then transferred to Ukraine that the United States was always in favor of Poland supplying them directly to Ukraine if they so chose to do so.
And the U.S. component of that would be that the U.S. would look for ways to potentially backfill with other fighter jets most likely F-16 is what they were looking at but that`s the real key here, Steph. That`s why all of a sudden we`re hearing this resistance out of the Biden administration.
[23:05:04]
It`s because the U.S. was not -- does not see it as a tenable alternative, that the fighter jets would be transferred to the United States in Germany. And then the U.S. is then faced with the logistical hurdle. And frankly, the potentially very dangerous mission of getting those jets to Ukraine.
RUHLE: So explain that. Explain how that changes the calculus because one might think isn`t the goal just to get the fighter jets to Ukraine?
KUBE: Yes, so one thing that that has been very consistent throughout since, really since the invasion began almost two weeks ago is that there is this outpouring of desire to support Ukraine in any way from so many NATO allies and Western nations with, just about anything they can possibly provide, you know, as evidenced by the fact that the U.S. even sent them Stinger missiles last week, which has been something that has been potentially on the table for some time now. And the U.S. was really hesitant to do so.
So, there`s definitely an interest in giving Ukraine everything that they could possibly need here. But getting fighter jets into Ukraine is extremely dangerous right now, because the airspace over the country remains contested is a very dynamic airspace.
And the reality is, the majority of it is more in Russian hands than Ukrainian hands. And that`s what the problem here. It is extremely dangerous for any fixed wing aircraft to be flying over Ukraine right now.
Now, you`ve -- as we`ve seen, even some Russian aircraft have been shot down the Ukrainian military, they`re flying some of their aircraft, but not very many. And even the Russians are not flying many manned aircraft, because of this contested airspace, the idea that you would potentially be flying in, you know, a couple of dozen of these Polish fighter jets into Ukraine. That is an extremely dangerous mission.
Clearly the Russians would be looking for them. You have the potential for it to be and then think about it, Steph, if -- what the the Polish military tried to fly them in? Or what if the U.S. military in some way tried to fly them in, despite the fact that the U.S. military doesn`t have MiGs that they actually are trained on. But what if one of those was shot down? We`re talking about a whole new escalation in an already extremely difficult, dangerous, heartbreaking situation in Ukraine.
RUHLE: In a nutshell, easier said than done. Really important reporting, Courtney Kube, thank you so much.
Let`s get to NBC`s Molly Hunter live in Lviv, Ukraine. Molly, what`s the current situation? What`s changed over the last 24 hours?
MOLLY HUNTER, NBC NEWS FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Steph, it just keeps getting busier. So this is the destination for anyone fleeing the violence in the east. It`s also the departure point for anyone of course, going on to the west of Poland or to other countries.
The mayor says 200,000 people are in this city, additional people than residents, that number is only going to grow. And that`s just not sustainable. The worry though, for everyone here for IDPs, for refugees, for residents, is that the war continues to march West, Steph.
RUHLE: A week ago, it seemed like the western part of the country was saved. So people who you`re speaking to, are they planning to stay put or do they want to flee?
HUNTER: It is safe for right now. It feels safe. And we`re talking to Lviv residents who plan to stay. We`re also talking to people who fled the east of the country who are internally displaced people, who are IDPs who want to wait it out who believe in their country, who think that if they can just wait a little bit longer, they may be able to go home but as that violence rages, as it increases in the east, I think the decision to stay or to go is only going to get a lot harder. Steph.
RUHLE: Molly Hunter, thank you and stay safe where you are.
And with that, let`s bring in our experts this evening. Yamiche Alcindor, NBC News correspondent and moderator of Washington Week on PBS, Tracy Walder, a former CIA officer and FBI special agent, and Melissa Haring, the Deputy Director for The Atlantic Council`s Eurasia Center.
Tracy, I want to start by sharing what the CIA director William Burns said today about Vladimir Putin at the worldwide threats hearing. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM BURNS, CIA DIRECTOR: Putin is determined to dominate and control Ukraine to shape its orientation. You know, this is a matter of deep personal conviction for him. He`s been stewing in a combustible combination of grievance and ambition for many years. Putin is angry and frustrated right now. He`s likely to double down and try to grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Melinda, do you agree with that assessment? It is grave.
MELINDA HARING, DEPUTY DIRECTO FOR ATLANTIC COUNCIL`S EURASIA CENTER: Absolutely. I think he nailed it. I expect Vladimir Putin to turn up the volume and basically use Chechnya style tactics, which means that he will bomb the heck out of anything and anyone. Right now there`s 2 million refugees and that number could grow to 7 million if things continue as is.
[23:10:02]
RUHLE: Then Tracy, given that should all of our focus be on one thing getting Putin out of power?
TRACY WALDER: That`s a tough question to answer, I believe so. I think the reality is, is I wholeheartedly agree with Director Burns. This is someone who really isn`t going to stop now. I do not see a point at which he can, simply because this has all gone so wrong for him. And his intelligence has just been so wrong. I just don`t see a point at which this is going to stop until really he takes back all of what he believes to, rightfully be Russia`s, which is really the former borders of the Soviet Union.
RUHLE: Yamiche, Biden is taking a huge domestic political risk with this Russian oil ban, even though right now he`s getting support from Democrats and Republicans, you know, as well as I do. As soon as gas prices go up, and inflation gets worse as a result, you are going to see those same Republicans blame Biden and use it in the midterms.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR, PBS WASHINGTON WEEK MODERATOR: Well, Stephanie, you make such a smart point there because though President Biden after a groundswell of bipartisan pressure took the historic step of banning Russian oil imports into the United States. There is really this political risk that he was taking, because right now, as you said, Republicans and Democrats they got on the same page. Today, we`re even talking about a framework for doing this through Congress to ban oil imports.
But Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, he has said the moment that he believed -- that the moment that gas prices start to surge even more, he believes that Republicans are going to be using this against the president.
And I shouldn`t tell you already, we`ve heard from House Speaker Kevin or House Minority Leader, rather, Kevin McCarthy, who has said that while President Biden is trying to bring Russia and world events for the historic gas prices, this is really he said, bad policies.
So you already hear Republicans doing what Democrats fear they`re doing, which is that they`re just blaming democratic policies, blaming President Biden himself saying that he`s the reason why all this is happening. Of course, President Biden had been warning Americans now for weeks that the cost of defending Ukrainian sovereignty and the cost of defending freedom was going to hit Americans in their pocketbooks.
And it`s clear and important to know that President Biden was saying he`s taking this step, because Russia`s actions are already hurting American families, he said, so this is really the President saying it`s going to get even worse here domestically.
But in the midterm, when you think about what people are really thinking about as they go to their ballot boxes, it`s going to be everyday issues, the cost of living trying to survive, that`s going to be top of mind for people based on my reporting.
RUHLE: People vote with their wallets. Melinda, a group of foreign policy experts, you included, wrote a letter to the administration calling for a limited no-fly zone over Ukraine. The White House has already said no, it is too risky. What`s your response to that?
HARING: Look, the White House and NATO have both ruled out a limited no-fly zone. I believe that`s the wrongheaded choice. If they do not impose a no- fly zone, there are going to be so many casualties. We already see, you know, the worst displacement of people since World War II. Vladimir Putin, I think your other analysts is right letter is not going to stop. There`s no way for him to save his face at this point.
So we have to find a way to -- we have to find a way to prevent him from killing hundreds, you know, millions of innocent Ukrainians. And if he`s not willing to consider the no fly zone, a limited no-fly zone that he needs to get -- he needs to say yes to the fighter jet scenario. And the reporting that you had before about the fighter jet scenario is not right.
There are easy ways to get the fighter jets from Poland to Ukraine, the flight is only about 20 minutes. And the area where you would fly the jets does not have Russian air force there. So it is not -- the White House is - - does not want to do this. That`s what we`re seeing right now. That`s the resistance we`re seeing. It is doable. I`ve talked to military experts who say it`s a piece of cake. And we just need a little bit of creativity. So if you can`t do the no-fly zone, do the jets.
RUHLE: Yamiche, Biden banning Russian oil gives to challenges price, which we just talked about and supply. And while we don`t need much we don`t use much of Russia`s, we need some and while he`s looking for a way to get more oil produced he`s making calls.
Now, according to The Wall Street Journal, the UAE and the Saudis are not even willing to take the President`s call. The White House is disputing that. What are you reporting?
ALCINDOR: Well, based on some of the sources that I`ve been talking to, there`s at least some pushback to that story. I haven`t heard anything from the White House on the record on that specific story.
But what we do know is that President Biden, it was very hesitant to take this step because even though the United States only uses about 8 percent of Russian oil and our imports, it`s still going to affect our market. So here`s President Biden and the White House really sort of brainstorming different ideas.
[23:15:00]
One of the ideas that they`re kicking around right now that I`ve been sort of reporting on is this idea that they might reserve even more, they might release even more or reserves. They`ve already taken the step to release some reserves from the American oil system. But it`s going to take a lot for the President, and for Democrats and Democratic leaders to really try to lessen its impact on Americans.
It`s a tough situation that he`s in because like so many presidents before him, he wants to try to impact the prices that people are paying on gas, but also on their groceries. But historically, when you look at presidents like LBJ and President Ford and others, they failed to do that. This, of course, is a different circumstance. The White House is really trying to brainstorm ways to try not to have historical failings that you`ve seen in other presidencies. But it`s going to be a tough thing to really try to figure out.
RUHLE: Yeah, president after president talks about the importance of independence when it comes to oil and gas, perhaps this is the time we start using less.
I want to go back to Putin, Tracy, because we know this, the Russian economy is cratering. We have seen thousands of Russian people being arrested in the street for protesting this war. At some point, does the anger inside of Russia threatened Putin`s position of power?
WALDER: You know, thought a lot about that. I think the very short answer to that is probably not. You know, I`d like to think that the people could rise up and overthrow Putin, I think that, you know, that is probably the intention of what these very stiff economic sanctions were, and they are really hurting the Russian people.
And you know, that`s not the point of them. But I think really, overall, from an intelligence perspective, it was to get the people to sort of rise up against Putin. But as we know, Putin rules with an iron fist. This is someone who, you know, orders, assassinations and poisonings of people.
And so I don`t think it`s off base to think that he wouldn`t be able to control his own people. So unfortunately, I don`t think that the economic sanctions will ultimately have the change that we wanted to have. But, you know, perhaps they can.
RUHLE: Before we go Melinda, I want to know who`s with him, because a lot of people in Russia don`t actually know what`s happening in Ukraine. They`re sort of going along believing state media, but what portion of the Russian population knows the truth about what Putin is actually doing, and backs it?
HARING: So Stephanie, that`s a pretty hard question to answer. We don`t have very good data. Two weeks ago, before the invasion, 60 percent of Russians said that they supported the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. And they supported independence for the People`s Republics out of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine.
And I haven`t seen numbers after, but I suspect it`s about 50-50. That may not be exactly accurate. But again, the sanctions are hurting ordinary Russians. They`re very upset. People are trying to leave, and you know, they`re feeling the pain, they can`t go abroad, and they can`t use their bank cards abroad. People are trying to figure out what to do with their lives now. And they really -- it really feels isolated.
The joke now is we don`t want to go back to the 90s. We don`t want to drive Latos and even if we could, we can`t drive them because Latos require German parts. So the normal Russians feel a really strong sense of isolation now that the sanctions are really starting to bite.
I wouldn`t overestimate though people`s desire or ability to go out and protest. You have to remember, Russia today doesn`t have -- it has a very, very small independent press that its opposition mostly lives abroad. And there`s so little space to protest or you`ll get thrown into jail. So, overthrowing Vladimir Putin is very, very tough and it doesn`t look like it`s feasible at this point.
RUHLE" It`s not a joke. It is a brutal reality across Eastern Europe. Ladies, thank you so much. Yamiche Alcindor, Tracy Walder, Melinda Haring. Thank you.
Coming up, turning off the Russian oil spec it really means to the United States.
And later, more than two million people now on the move. We`re going to take you back to the war zone and check in with those who are trying to help. THE 11TH HOUR is just getting underway on this Tuesday night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:23:26]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER GRANHOLM, U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY: It`s Putin war. These are Putin`s increases, and we cannot allow it to stand. So it may take a bit. In this sacrifice, we are fortunate that we are not being asked to sacrifice our sons and daughters to go and fight this war. But we may have to take on other sacrifices and it makes me so proud that so many Americans are willing to pay a little bit more at the pump in order to accelerate the end of this war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: To that very point, new polling shows that 79 percent of Americans say they support a ban on Russian oil even if gas prices do go up. As the U.S. and allies are putting the squeeze on Putin`s economy, private companies are reacting as well.
Today, after apologizing for buying a huge shipment of Russian oil last week, Shell announced it is stopping all purchases of Russian oil and gas. And add McDonald`s, Starbucks and Coca Cola to the list of corporations no longer doing business in Russia.
Let`s dig in. With us tonight, Gillian Tett, the chair of the Editorial Board and Editor-At-Large for the Financial Times, and Liz Hoffman, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal.
Liz, we get less than 10 percent of our oil from Russia and our European allies. They`re not in a position to drop Russia cold turkey. So how much is this move going to hurt them?
LIZ HOFFMAN, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER: That`s right. It`s largely symbolic in the US. I think it`s more problematic abroad for political reasons too. You know, this was the first sort of bit of daylight that`s been between the U.S. and our European allies.
You know, and what it also does is it is it jacks up the price of energy even more, you know, it`s been soaring in the last couple weeks so that means that what Russia is able to sell in Europe they`re making more money which is not what anyone had in mind here..
[23:25:06]
RUHLE: Gillian, now that Biden has to go to the likes of Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and potentially Iran to try and get more oil. These are not people that you want to get help from, could this actually push us to use less oil and gas actually move forward with the green agenda?
GILLIAN TETT, FINANCIAL TIMES EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Well, there`s two ways to look at this from the point of view of the green agenda that, first of all, in the short term, there is definitely a scramble to restart fossil fuel activity. You`ve seen American officials talking about trying to get more shale gas going. He`s even talking to groups like Venezuela. There`s a real recognition that actually getting fossil fuel supplies right now is of great importance.
The hope, of course, though, is in the medium to longer term, as prices get higher, this is going to spark more investment in green renewable energy sources.
Now, there`s a problem with that in the short term, which is that many of the components you need to actually get green energy going actually come from supply chain that are linked to Russia. So you`ll see an awful lot of what people call greenflation at the moment, inflation ran green energy sources right now.
On top of the type of inflation you may get coming down the track, well, we`ll get coming down the tracks because of higher oil prices. But I think one thing that`s fascinating as a sign of the shifting Zeitgeist is just how frequently the word sacrifice is being tossed around. And then people used to say it was all about the economy stupid. Now, it appears to be more than just about the economy, stupid. It`s actually about bigger issues as well, as far as the administration is concerned. And also, it seems many voters.
RUHLE: Well, if the answer is put our own troops on the frontline, or pay more for gas, changes everything. Liz, we did hear the president use the bully pulpit to say to all of these big oil and gas companies, this is not a time to price gouge that is hugely popular politically. Nobody likes the big guy.
But when it comes down to it, how do we actually judge that? Because these companies are going to say, listen, we`re facing higher prices, this is how it works, how do we evaluate it and then execute on it?
HOFFMAN: They are going to say that, and there`s probably some truth to it. There`s a lot of pieces, that is a lot of components and gas prices. Financing is going to get tighter, you know, they`re going to have much tougher terms in our lenders and collaterals not worth what it used to be. So there`s a lot of financial inputs into that.
I think it`ll be very hard. And it`s honestly really a political question it`s going to be topics in the midterms, depending on how long this goes on. But, you know, the teasing out the inputs into gas prices is very hard to do. And I think it`s sort of a fool`s errand.
RUHLE: Gillian, in the short term, Russia is going to now have a whole bunch of content, oil and gas on the cheap. Any chance we see India or China come in and buy it? Thus far, you know, we haven`t heard much from China.
TETT: Well, that is one of the most interesting questions right now. And the attitude of the Chinese because there was a lot of speculation that Chinese banks would step in as Western banks pullback and the whole ban on the or rather tossing Russia out of the SWIFT financial messaging system was announced.
But we`ve not seen much evidence of Chinese banks actively trying to help the Russian ones thus far. We saw some reports today of the Chinese talking about going in and buying up some of the -- buying steaks and Russian commodity companies. But that seems to be as much as anything opportunistic, and could probably be done on price guide in terms of much of anything else rather than attempt to help Russia. So there`s something that everyone`s watching very, very closely indeed.
But the one thing I would say, going back to the point about talking about sacrifice, talking about price gouging, it`s worth stepping back and thinking this is a really different type of Zeitgeist and rhetoric from what we were seeing 10, 20 years ago, in terms of the relationship between business and government.
In some ways, it started during the COVID 19 pandemic, when businesses were collaborating with each other and collaborating with government to try and deal with a pandemic. But what we`re seeing around the Ukrainian war is really, you know, accelerating this and redefining some of the ways that business has been organized or being visualized at the moment.
RUHLE: Well, then Gillian last week, when you and I were talking about the economic sanctions, they`ve only gotten worse since then. We`re now seeing all of these businesses pull out. We`re now seeing the ban on Russian oil. You had said Putin is not going to care, the oligarchs won`t care. But the next level down in sort of Russian society hierarchy, they will. Do you see things getting absolutely.
TETT: I mean, I spent, you know, years of my life in the former Soviet Union and the Soviet Union when it was a Soviet Union. And I remember when McDonald`s came into Moscow, and it was such a big moment, in terms of signaling that Russia was joining the global economy, no capital symbols were coming in. And the fact that that have been ripped away so suddenly and so dramatically, and you have an entire generation of middle class Russians who thought they had access to the world, and access to many of the luxuries or not even the luxuries that everyday aspects of Western life, thought they could travel, thought they could have aspiration, thought they could have, you know, Apple gadgets have worked, et cetera, et cetera.
[23:30:23]
The fact that that has been ripped away so fast, is going to be very bruising. It will take a while until the full impact of that really sinks in for the older generation who are astonishingly stoic and good at surviving hardship. Now, many of them may shrug their shoulders, but it`s the people in the 20s and 30s, who have suddenly suffered this dramatic shock. We really need to watch going forward.
And also the upper echelons and middle upper echelons, bureaucrats and officials who are suddenly seeing what they thought was a complete lifestyle disappearing as well, it could be very important.
RUHLE: All eyes on Russia and Ukraine. Gillian Tett, Liz Hoffman, thank you both for joining tonight. I appreciate it.
Coming up, the nonstop crash of fleeing Ukrainians is overwhelming neighboring countries what is being done to help when the 11th Hour continues.
(COMEMRCIAL BREAK)
[23:35:52]
RUHLE: The refugee crisis in Europe is growing worse by the hour as Ukrainians are running from violence. NBC`s Ellison Barber is near the Poland Ukraine border with more.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ELLISON BARBER, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Two million people at least have fled Ukraine since Russia launched their invasion 13 days ago. The majority of those refugees 1.2 million approximately have come here to Poland. We have met countless mothers, some carrying their very young newborns in the carriers on their chest, wrapping them up in blankets to keep them warm as they make their way across the border into Poland.
When we first started reporting here many of the people we met they had places to go plans to stay with family friends here in Poland. Now more and more we are meeting people who are crossing the border because they felt like they had no other choice. They waited as long as they could. They had to protect their children. So they fled and they`re trying to figure out where they go from here. Listen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): So people in hotspots are being shot, especially kids. Kids are at risk. There might be no water, no lunch, nothing. Another (INAUDIBLE).
BARBER: UNICEF says about half of the people who have fled Ukraine so far, they are children. We have spoken to children as young as eight years old, seen great bravery in them as they talk about the sounds the explosions they heard but trusting their parents, their mothers that they would be OK.
Remember men who are considered fighting age in Ukraine between the ages of 18 and 60 they are not able to leave the country. We have met mothers who have crossed into Poland traveled into Czech Republic, one who dropped her eight-year-old daughter off with her parents and then returned to join the fight with her husband.
Time and time again. Stephanie, we have met incredibly brave mothers who have made the decision to leave everything they know behind so their children have a chance to be safe and grow up. Stephanie.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
RUHLE: Thank you, Ellison. One of our next guest is reporting about those who are still in Ukraine but trying to leave. She writes in part of this, there are no tickets out of Kyiv left, but it makes no difference. The tickets have become useless pieces of paper, as all trains are now evacuation trains, first come, first served.
Joining us now both live from the Lviv. Asami Terajima, a journalist with the Kyiv Independent and Michaela Bauer, the deputy representative of UNICEF, Ukraine. Asami, we just read some of your reporting. Take us to the train station where people can`t even get on these trains. What`s it like?
ASAMI TERAJIMA, KYIV INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST: So thousands of people, including children and woman are waiting at the station, and many of them are sitting on the floor with a blanket, because they`ve been waiting for hours. We don`t know when the next train is going to come because trains often get cancelled or severely delayed. And tickets are meaningless. So we have to be ready to, you know, light up next on the platform as soon as possible. Because all of us will try to get in and there`s only so many so much so much space in between, right.
So we`re all trying to get it as soon as the door opens. So it`s quite chaotic. There`s children crying as well because adults are fighting and people are pushing each other out. There`s -- There was air sirens going out as well. So, it`s a very chaotic atmosphere, but we`re all doing the best to you know, get through the situation.
RUHLE: Michaela, Ellison just said it for the most part Ukrainian men are staying behind and fighting. It is up to the mothers and grandmothers. And we keep thinking, Oh, look, they got on the train. They made it to Poland, they`re safe. But that`s not it. How traumatic is it for these young children to go through this journey to leave some of their family members?
MICHAELA BAUER, UNICEF UKRAINE DEPUTY REPRESENTATIVE: It is very traumatic and you have seen the pictures of women and children in Metro stations and bomb shelters and makeshift bunkers that are caught there for several days.
[23:40:07]
So it`s not just the journey that is terrifying. It`s also before they even get to that journey, they already traumatized. They have lost the normalcy in their lives. Schools have stopped. They have seen others being injured, wounded or even killed. So it is very traumatic for children.
RUHLE: Asami, that train we just looked at you yourself for on it. You normally live in Kyiv, have you now relocated? Did you have to go?
TERAJIMA: Yes, I decided to go to leave Lviv because I wasn`t sure how long the internet will last. And I wanted to make sure that I can continue working. So this is why I relocated here.
RUHLE: And what was that ride like for you?
TERAJIMA: The ride was, I mean, I was very fortunate to have a space on the train because not everyone got in. People who came by afterwards they were injected. But the conductor allowed a few women and children to come in. If they see that, you know the child is small, and they really need help. So that was nice. But yes, I was very fortunate to even have a seat on the floor.
RUHLE: Asami, you`re 21 years old. Did you ever think when you were studying journalism just a year ago, this would be your life?
TERAJIMA: I never thought this would happen. Even like, even on the 23rd of February, I never thought that situation would escalate so quickly. So we were all surprised in our newsroom. But, of course, we saw that something could happen. We didn`t expect it to happen so quickly. But we`re doing our best to, you know, continue reporting. Because we need the world. We need everyone in the world to become witnesses to what`s happening here and what Russia is doing here.
RUHLE: Michaela, there is an enormous amount of aid right now, tons of supplies have already arrived in Ukraine. But it is freezing. There are some areas in the country that have no power, that have no food. Can the people who need it most even access the aid?
BAUER: They can in parts but it is a very complex challenge. As you said roads are interrupted, mind logistics networks have broken down, supply networks have broken down. Many people are without water, electricity heating in sub-zero temperatures.
What we`re trying to do is use our networks that we have our day in terms of municipalities, hospitals, schools, kindergartens, social centers, and also civil society organization, including volunteers and young people to get the age to where it`s needed most. But what we really need now is a cessation in hostilities, and a ceasefire that can last and that can make humanitarian corridors operation.
RUHLE: We are now two weeks into these horrors. Michaela, I heard one of your colleagues say that these children two weeks in aren`t crying anymore. Why is that? They`re now used to it or they`re in a state of shock?
BAUER: I think they`re in a state of shock. They`re trying to process what is going on. And as you`ve -- as your colleague has mentioned, two million people have left the country among them one million children, just that gives you a figure, which gives you an estimate of the magnitude of how many children and have been going through traumatizing effects.
But what we`re trying to do is help mothers and help families to bring back a sense of normalcy. So we`ll be working with social centers, with hospitals with all the sort of points that transit points as well where children are to ensure that we can get a better sense of normalcy back to children to give them a bit of their childhood back.
RUHLE: And we are so grateful for the work that both of you are doing. Asami Terajima, Michaela and Bauer, thank you both.
And before we head to break, I want to share two major developments on the January 6 riot. The first concerns Guy Reffitt of Texas, the first suspected writer to face a federal trial. Reffitt was found guilty of all five counts against him including obstruction of an official proceeding. That`s because he led an angry mob that was trying to disrupt the certification of the election. He was also convicted of threatening his own teenage children if they turned him in. His son ultimately did contact the FBI, and he testified against him.
The Reffitt verdict came just hours after the early morning arrest of Enrique Tarrio the former Proud Boys leader. He`s accused of planning the Capitol attack.
As our own Pete Williams points out the charges are the closest federal prosecutors have come to alleging there was an actual plot to storm the Capitol. A lot more to come on that.
Coming up next, as Washington prepares a multibillion dollar package for Ukraine, we`ll speak to a former Ukrainian parliament member about where that money needs to go when the 11th Hour continues.
[23:48:55]
HANNA HOPKO, FORMER MEMBER OF UKRAINE`S PARLIAMENT: And now I`m asking everybody to help Ukrainian kids. Look, we need. Ukrainians needs matters, Moldova, for Georgia for the free world. I don`t understand why. Why they have to convince everybody. This is about humanity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: As Ukrainians continue to plead for more assistance, Congress is working on a nearly $14 billion package to be included in a larger government funding bill. Let`s discuss and bring in Svitlana Zalishchuk, a former Ukrainian Member of Parliament and former foreign policy adviser to the Prime Minister. She currently works for Ukraine`s largest gas company.
Thank you for joining me this evening.
Congress, U.S. Congress might pass a $14 billion aid package specifically for Ukraine. Where`s the number one place that money needs to get spent?
SVITLANA ZALISHCHUK, FMR. UKRAINIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: The task number one is to save Ukrainian people now, you know that more than 500 Ukrainians have been killed, 52 kids amongst them, and we need money for military protection for self-defense, for more weapon come into the country so that Ukrainians have a chance to defend ourselves.
[23:50:06]
But task number two, and this is when the war is over, is to rebuild our country. You know very well that Russians escalated that Putin chose the strategy to intensify the assaults on civilian infrastructure. So, many airports across the country have been shelled and bombed. Many hospitals, maternity hospitals, more than 30 schools have been shelled. These all needs to be rebuilt.
I`ll tell you also this, we had this airplane, the biggest cargo airplane in the world it was called Mriya which in American translated in English translated as a dream. We need money resources to rebuild our dream.
RUHLE: If Ukraine gets these fighter jets from Poland, how big a deal would that be?
ZALISHCHUK: Excuse me, how will --
RUHLE: IF you get the fighter jets from Poland that you`ve been asking for?
ZALISHCHUK: Yes. So at the moment, one of the most vulnerable elements in our self-defense is, of course, open skies. Russians use its military advantage to shell, well, many cities, as I said, civilian infrastructure with their missiles. We need these fighter jets, MiGs. We need to anti- missile defense to protect ourselves from those who horrendous, from those absolutely unjustifiable missiles against infrastructure in Ukraine. So, our military wants to use those fighter jets to basically deal with Russian aviation.
RUHLE: You`ve called for companies to stop trading with Russia and funding Putin`s war. We`re actually seeing a lot of companies do it. Do you think that is going to stop Putin or anger the Russian people so much, that they`ll stop Puntin themselves?
ZALISHCHUK: I think it`s a turning point in these war, because it`s not only governments around the world, but it`s also business and people around the world started to help Ukraine to fight with Putin to fight with against this aggression.
So yes, you`re absolutely right. Many businesses, big companies, corporations across the world, withdrew their business from Russia. And first of all, it will send the message to just ordinary people that actually something going on, actually something is wrong, and they will try to get this information of why it is happening.
Secondly, it will impact the economy. It will impact many oligarchs around Putin himself, his inner circle. I think that this opposition will start to build up. It will bring many Russians into the street. I see already how actors have business start to articulate the opposition against this war in Russia. I think this, this opposition will inside the country, will be a key factor to stop Putin.
RUHLE: Svitlana Zalishchuk, thank you so much for joining us this evening. I appreciate you.
Zalishchuk: Thank you.
RUHLE: Coming up, how the women of Ukraine are stepping up in a big way for their country, their families and the world amid a deepening crisis when the 11th Hour continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:58:47]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are the women of Ukraine. We have blessed our men to protect our land. We have already taken our children to safety. The genetic fund of our nation is reliably protected. We join the men and the Ukrainian army. We will destroy the enemy of every inch of Ukrainian land.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: It is time to thank the ladies. The last thing before we go tonight, women warriors. On this International Women`s Day, we want to highlight the brave women of Ukraine. Whether they`re taking up arms to fight the Russians, seeking refuge for their children in bomb shelters or leaving their homes and everything behind to keep their families safe, these courageous women are helping however they can.
While boarding trains to escape, Ukrainian mothers have not been able to bring everything their kids need. So some Polish mothers stepped in and left strollers for refugees to use when they arrive.
The First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenskyy, a mother herself, posted heartbreaking images on Instagram today of children who she says were killed in the war. She wrote this, at least 38 children have already died in Ukraine. And this figure might be increasing this very moment due to the shelling of our peaceful cities. When people in Russia say their troops are not hurting the civilian population, show them these pictures. Show them the faces of these children who weren`t even given a chance to grow up. And we will.
Lester Holt spoke to a volunteer in Lviv earlier today about the Ukrainian women she`s been encountering.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LESTER HOLD, MSNBC ANCHOR: 22-year-old Sophia sis a volunteer. She tells me she is in awe of the women she sees here.
(on camera): A lot of the people I see here are women, children. They have a lot of strength. Can you talk about what they face and how they`re dealing with it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have a lot of, I don`t know, woman power, to have the children nad go away to nowhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Women power is right. We too are in awe of these brave women and we pray for their safety.
[00:00:03]
And as you may have noticed, every single expert guest and reporter in tonight`s broadcast was, in fact, a woman. We were not talking about women`s issues or equality. We were doing what we do every single night, covering the most important news of the day, the war in Ukraine. They joined us this evening because they are experts, the best and the brightest.
And on this, International Women`s Day, we thank them for the work they do every single day and bring that excellence to our program tonight.
This is my 10th year featuring all women on this important day. And for that, I am truly honored and grateful.
And on that very good note, I wish you a good night. Thanks for staying up late. I`ll see you at the end of tomorrow.