reporter: now, what was especially jarring was the kindness and the generosity they experienced in russia. the country responsible for bombing their homes and uprooting their lives. evgeni said he was so struck by the kindness, he went to church to pray for the people that helped me them. they say this is proof there are good people in every country, including russia. ac 360 starts now. good evening. two breaking news stories we re closely following. in ukraine president zelenskyy says a major new russian offensive has begun in the east of the country. we ll have multiple reports from ukraine tonight of what will likely be a new and bloody phase of the invasion. now, the other breaking story is here in the united states. a federal judge has struck down the federal mask mandate for air and other travel, calling it unlawful. according to an administration official, that means the cdc s
ground at any cost. reporter: but ukrainian forces in mariupol are making sure that erase iure is painful. this video shows the ukrainian azov battalion with forces throwing grenades at russian forces in the city. it s an act of resistance, but the outcome may be unchanged. already the human toll of this battle for mariupol has been appalling, with thousands, including many civilians, killed. but ukrainian officials say another russian offensive is now under way, posing another deadly threat to those trapped inside. we re joined by matthew chance. you see the kids living underground like that. can you talk about why taking for russians taking mariupol is so important? it s partly geographic, partly streak.
but plaintiffs are cherry picking their judges in every-increasing ways because the judiciary is to polarized. with the mask mandate no longer in effect, does it raise the risk of travel especially as covid cases are climbing here in the u.s.? honestly anderson, i m not surprised by what happened today because it was only really a matter of time before the biden administration lifted the mask mandate themselves. i think it probably would have happened in the next two weeks. yes, ba.2 cases are rising, but we re not seeing a concurrent rise in hospitalizations, which is really good. and i think this actually signals a broader shift by the biden administration away from mandates and top-down decision-making by the government, moving to empowering individuals for the choices that they have. and so in this case, people should remember just because you re not required by the government to wear a mask, that doesn t mean you shouldn t wear a mask. i m definitely going to be masking when i
explains the ferocity of the fighting. more from matthew chance. a warning, some of the images are disturbing. reporter: these are the kids officials say are at ground zero in the battle for mariupol this felt video posted on government social media which cnn can t verify shows dozens of children said to have been sheltering for weeks in a basement in the city. ukrainian forces holding out against russian attacks. kids distracting themselves from the battles above. we play with these toys, build things, and imagine things, this little boy says. if you want to get out of here, they re asked yes, yes, they all shout. but the adults here know that s unlikely to happen anytime soon. i m with my three children and
been identified. and this wasn t the only mass shooting in south carolina this weekend. the other took place at the columbiana center ball in columbia on saturday. we started running and falling all over the place. everybody was falling and running over top of each other, pushing and shoving. reporter: police say 14 people were injured in that shooting. nine of them struck by bullets. the others were hurt attempting to flee. police say the shooting started around 2:00 p.m. and that they believe the shooters knew each other. this was not a situation where we had some random person show up at a mall to discharge a firearm and injure people. reporter: the victims range in age from 15 to 73. two men are under arrest, including a 22-year-old man for unlawful carrying of a pistol, according to columbia police. they are still looking for another man, who also may have fired his gun at the mall. about 900 miles north of there, another shooting in boston s