>> it's hard to explain to children what's happening. >> taras is afraid his father will die . >> 40 miles northwest of kyiv, a massive russian convoy is heading toward the capital. russian forces already on the outskirts of the city are meeting fierce resistance. >> the russian column that has come down here has been absolutely hammered. i don't want to show you this too much, but there's a body there. that's a russian soldier that is lying there dead on this bridge. look at this. i mean what kind of munitions does it take to do that to a car, to a vehicle? you know, i know that i was speaking to the local ukrainian commanders here. they've been saying that they were using western anti-tank missiles to attack these columns. look. so recent the battle, this vehicle is still smoking. >> four days after the invasion begins, i interview olena for the first time on cnn. >> have you thought about trying to leave? >> yes, many times. one is to escape and survive. another one is to stay at take the battle. and we decided to stay. and what is going to happen, the worst happened to us in this case is that we can die. and we decided that we can die anyway. >> have you been able to talk to your husband? i know he's volunteered to fight. >> yes. yes. before the night started, i talked to him. yeah, and we had about two minutes of conversation, and that was the longest. before he was saying only, i love you, and my response was the same, and that was all. this time he even described a little bit what they were doing. in total, he said that it's not romantic at all, but people are doing very well. everybody -- many people, they do their best to protect the city, to protect ukraine. ♪ >> olena is doing her best as well, trying to make her kids feel safe though there is no safe place in ukraine. ♪ woooooooooooooo... we are not getting you a helicopter. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty, liberty, liberty. liberty.♪ big game today! everybody ready? alexa, ask buick to start my enclave. starting your buick enclave. i just love our new alexa. dad, it's a buick. i love that new alexa smell. it's a buick. we need snacks for the team. alexa, take us to the nearest grocery store. getting directions. alexa will get us there in no time. it's a buick. let's be real. don't make me turn this alexa around. oh my. it's painful. the buick enclave, with available alexa built in. ask “alexa, tell me more about buick suvs.” hitting the road, not all 5g networks are created equal. t-mobile covers more highway miles with 5g than verizon. t-mobile has more 5g bars in more places than anyone. another reason t-mobile is the leader in 5g. (heartbeats) introducing icy hot pro. ice works fast... to freeze your pain and your doubt. heat makes it last. so you'll never sit this one out. new icy hot pro with 2 max-strength pain relievers. so today i visited -- i rushed to our home, which was very nice. i spent some time over there to collect all the products that i had had. some clothes, some blankets for children, and i even took some toys for them. so i took these for taras. i took these for katya and these, derina already had this one, so it's enough. yeah, these are kids who are playing and laughing. children are children. >> an apartment building in chernihiv, some three hours north of kyiv, is struck. at least 33 people are killed. russia continues to claim they're not killing civilians or striking residential buildings. [ speaking foreign language ] >> today, olena -- >> say hello. >> hello. >> he is so dirty, and he smells so bad, guys. really. yeah, and he looks very tired, and he has red eyes, and okay. but he's beautiful, yeah. my hero. he came for just 15 minutes of time just to see us. honestly he wanted us to hop in the car and drive away because the situation is really serious, and this is like really the very last chance for us to escape, to move away. >> more than a million ukrainians have fled the country so far, but olena feels safest here in the shelter, though she knows it's not really built to withstand a bomb blast. >> there is the windows. that's the problem, you see? it's a bomb shelter with a window. you shouldn't have a window in the bomb shelter because it's dangerous in case of the shock wave, the glass will be knocked out, and the pieces of the glass can be thrown away and injure somebody. but, of course, as always, we hope for the better. >> and you are still resolute to stay? >> i stay. i'm still resolute to stay. i state here because this is my home. if you guys afraid too, then i have no option not to be afraid, yes? if i leave, nobody else is going to come and protect my home and protect me. so it should be me, it should be my husband, it should be my neighbors. we should protect ourselves. we should fight ourselves. i don't want to sacrifice my children. i don't want to sacrifice myself. i don't want to be a martyr for something. i just want my peaceful, normal life back. i just want to go back to my bedroom. i want my husband back into my bed. i want, you know, just to have normal, peaceful life that i had before. >> there are moments in the basement when life seems almost normal. >> for the first time, derina started to grab her feet into her hands and to do, guess what, like this and put it into her mouth. we slept well. katya doesn't want to wake up. it's already like 10:00 a.m., and she doesn't want to wake up. each morning or many times at night when i wake up, i have this feeling, you know, when my mother passed away. when i was waking up and thought, oh, so this was a nightmare. i was just sleeping. my mother is still alive. but now i have the same each time i wake up -- and i wake up many times each night -- i hope it was just a bad dream. i will wake up, and it will all be gone. but it's not. >> her life before the invasion already feels like a distant memory. >> serhei was so sweet. and me with my long hair. this is us again. look at us. you see? 15 years ago or something, or how many years. and this is our wedding photographs. this is 13 years ago, wedding photographs. this is my favorite one basically. me and serhei. very romantic, yes? >> hello, honey. i saw you at night in my dreams. you were basically holding me in your arms and proposing to me to get married. and i said, come on, we're already married. >> but the reality of war is never far away. a russian tank column on the northeastern edge of kyiv is ambushed by ukrainian troops and suffers heavy losses. the day before in the southern city of mariupol, a maternity ward is destroyed by russian bombing. >> you can see those women stumbling out, heavily pregnant, some having just given birth. you can hear the sounds of children and babies crying. you can see they're all cut up from the enormous destruction. >> this pregnant woman later dies from her injuries. her baby dies as well. a week later in mariupol, a theater clearly marked as a shelter for children is also bombed. according to local officials, about 300 people are killed. >> i cannot imagine anything worse than what happened in mar mariupol. we are innocent people, innocent children who were killed by russians. and now this drama theater where hundreds of people were hiding with kids, and the big super bomb, they just dropped it on the theater. near the theater, there was big letters, it was written "children" in russian language. when this comes to the end, i promise to come to mariupol and make many videos about mariupol, about these people. we should not forget. we should not forgive. never. >> in irpin, a suburb of kyiv about 16 miles from olena, russian and ukrainian troops are fighting block by block. tens of thousands of residents are trying to escape near a destroyed bridge. >> there has been a steady barrage of artillery since we got here just over an hour ago, and a never-ending stream of people just desperately trying to cross to safety. >> but even evacuating civilians are targeted. in this one attack, at least eight people are killed. olena is worried what this war is doing to everyone's children here. >> unfortunately, these kids, these children are losing a little bit of their childhood. they're being more and more traumatized. katya said that she's angry. >> i can't imagine what it's been like with this curfew, as you said, for 35 hours to be in one room, you know, underground with your children. that's a lot. >> oh, yes, they are full of energy, and they don't know where to give this energy, especially we ask them most the time to be quiet. and we're in a closed room without any sunlight. for children, it's pretty hard, and they feel how stressed we are, adults, and they hear what we are talking about. so, yes, they are pretty stressed, but they are coping with the situation pretty well. >> oh, they're scary. they're scary tigers. they're fierce. >> they want to fight. >> argh! >> they are asking all the time about putin, why is he such a bad person? why is he destroying ukraine? why is he killing people? and when daddy will come back home and when we will come back home. >> coming up, a trip to kyiv to report on the war means an opportunity to meet olena and her kids in person. >> hello. >> hey, it's anderson. >> hello, anderson. overs more hy miles with 5g than verizon. t-mobile has more 5g bars in more places than anyone. another reason t-mobile is the leader in 5g. i've got moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months, after just 2 doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms such as fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or coughs, or if you plan to, or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything ♪ talk to your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. a monster was attacking but the team remained calm. because with miro, they could problem solve together, and find the answer that was right under their nose. or... his nose. wealth is breaking ground on your biggest project yet. worth is giving the people who build it a solid foundation. wealth is shutting down the office for mike's retirement party. worth is giving the employee who spent half his life with you, the party of a lifetime. ♪ ♪ wealth is watching your business grow. worth is watching your employees grow with it. ♪ ♪ when it comes to cybersecurity, the biggest threats don't always strike the biggest targets. so help safeguard your small business with comcast business securityedge™ it's advanced security that continuously scans for threats and helps protect every connected device. the choice is clear. get unbeatable business solutions from the most innovative company. so you can be ready for what's next. get started with a great deal on internet and voice for just $49.99 a month for 24 months with a 2 -year price guarantee. call today. many people on the street as you can see. yahoo! just one hour ago or two hours ago, we were sitting in the bomb shelter under the ground without windows. it was dark. >> without light. >> because electricity was gone. >> we've seen a lot of civil resistance to the attempts of russians to run towns that they have taken on. >> they've halted the russians there, pushing them back. >> ukrainian forces have stopped the russian advance on kyiv, but there's little they can do to stop the shelling and the deaths of civilians. >> today in the afternoon, there were missiles that were -- they were hit in the sky by an air defense system. but the parts of the missiles, they fell in our neighborhood. >> and you can hear that? >> oh, yes. we could hear it very clearly because we went a little bit upstairs just to see the light from the windows, from the basement. and all of a sudden, all the glass was shaking. and there was one loud explosion and, like, everybody like stood still. then there was another explosion. >> olena is venturing out of the shelter more frequently during the day, trying to get food and taking the kids to play. >> the best assessment we have -- and it's an assessment at this early stage -- is that they're going to be repositioned probably into belarus to be refit and resupplied and used elsewhere in ukraine. >> on march 29th, unable to capture kyiv, russia announces plans to reposition its forces. >> this speaks to a really dismal state of affairs of the russian military. >> russians withdraw their troops from near kyiv, from the nearest towns. our armies say that this is us who just hit them and made them leave, made them go. at the same time, with all this, nobody is really celebrating because, like, we are suspicious. like is it really so? >> in towns now back in ukrainian control, the ferocity of the fighting becomes clear. so are the atrocities russian troops committed. in bucha, some 12 miles from olena's basement shelter, ukrainian forces discover evidence of potential war crimes. >> ukrainian authorities in bucha lead us into a basement they call a russian execution chamber. it's a gruesome scene. five bodies, their hands tied behind their backs, shot. >> russian troops often left the bodies of their victims where they fell. this person was killed riding a bicycle. this man was most likely bringing potatoes home to his family. more than 400 bodies are found. >> i was watching all the details of these dead bodies just to remember, just to remember this forever, and not to forgive. never, ever to forget and not to forgive what has happened. i hope that those people who were tortured in bucha became victims and they are looking at us right now from the skies. they are looking at me. they are looking at you. >> at least 50 people killed, many more wounded today at a train station in the eeastern city of cram ators sk. you see the bodies there, broken bones, pools of blood, men, women, children. >> this missile was sent by russians, just on the railway station even though they knew people were -- like civilians tried to evacuate. i feel really uncomfortable to say that we will win. i'd rather say that we will finish this war because there are no winners in the war. >> there are still occasional air strikes around kyiv, but with a lull in the fighting, olena and the kids now visit their apartment more frequently during the day. >> look. she learned to crawl, and this is what she's going to do. uh-huh. she grows bigger and bigger, right? >> there's even the chance to celebrate birthdays. >> hi, there. >> katya turns 8, and for a moment, it almost feels like life before the war. >> happy birthday, honey. ♪ happy birthday ♪ >> are you happy? are you happy, kat? >> yes. >> katya is happy. this is good. >> next, what it's like to finally meet olena and her family. at booking.com, finding perfect isn't rocket science. kitchen? sorted. hot tub, why not? and of course, puppy-friendly. we don't like to say perfect, but it's pretty perfect. booking.com, booking.yeah. a monster was attacking but the team remained calm. because with miro, they could problem solve together, and find the answer that was right under their nose. or... his nose. this is xfinity rewards. our way of saying thanks, with rewards for the whole family! from epic trips... to jurassic-themed at-home activities. join over 3 million members and start enjoying rewards like these, and so much more in the xfinity app! and don't miss jurassic world:dominion in theaters june 10th. it's olena from ukraine with darina, and we're going to have a very special, special event right now. darina will have her first porridge, her first spoon, and daddy is back home. >> hello. >> for three hours again, and we are very happy because i wanted the first spoon to be given by him because this is like the tradition in our family. >> yum, yum, yum. >> so it looks like it goes well. she's smiling. >> ukrainian forces fire at russian positions in the eastern donbas region. that's where the russians are now focusing their attacks as well as in southern ukraine. >> reporting from kyiv at the end of april, i arrange to meet olena at her apartment. >> hey, it's anderson. >> hello, anderson. please come in. >> hey. how are you? >> i'm fine. i'm alive. so nice to meet you. >> hey. >> usually when you come to a ukrainian home, you will be treated with borscht and all the national food. i'm so sorry i didn't do this for some obvious reasons. but we've got this traditional easter bread. >> wow, it's lovely. >> so you can have it with coffee if you feel like. >> that's lovely. >> but for me to do the coffee, i need your help. >> okay. oh, my god. >> do you know how to make coffee? >> i do. >> try it. you have to know how to do this. well done. well done, anderson. you're doing great. >> olena tells me without her husband, she doesn't feel safe spending nights here with the kids. >> we come back to the shelter for the night. i still sleep in the shelter. >> you still sleep there. >> i'm afraid of sleeping at home. i know that i just wouldn't sleep till morning if i stayed home. >> right. >> i will just stay on high alert, listening to the noise. >> uh-huh. >> and in the shelter, i'm like, okay, i close my eyes, and i can relax a little. >> have you noticed the kids changing during these last two months? >> oh, yes. they grew up a lot because they faced something that in normal life, children should not face. they are playing with, like, at war. and now it's like part of our life. today in the morning, taras woke up and said, mommy, could you please take a look at the news. maybe putin already died. that was the first thing he said in the morning. they draw united europe. they just crossed kremlin and russia because they're very angry what russia is doing with ukraine. >> orcas. >> that's right. >> has it helped making videos? >> yes, it did. i just turned on the role of journalist and started reporting. and of course it helped me because i don't want people to see me weak and ugly. i wanted them to see me strong and beautiful. and i tried my best. and another thing, i realize -- >> even when you are weak, you are strong and beautiful. >> what's happening is a very important historical thing, and, yes, it was worth documenting. >> that was in your mind that this is part of history, and you wanted to document that? >> exactly. like this is history. we have to document it. maybe i will die, but this video will be left behind. >> it's not just her kids who have been changed by this war. olena says she's changed as well. >> i remember even like the night before they started bombing us, i wanted to donate to the ukrainian army but i didn't because i felt uncomfortable to support the army because i thought, oh, i'm a peaceful person. i don't want to support the war even if it's like ukrainian army. but now i have no hesitation. before, i was reading an article about a mother of three who was learning how to shoot to protect her kids, and she said, i have no hesitation. and i thought, oh, i still have some hesitation. i'm not ready to kill a human being. and now, i am right now ready to kill the human being. it feels awful that this happened to me, that now i'm ready to do this. but what they have done to us, what they have done in bucha -- >> in mariupol! >> in mariupol, it's awful, and now i am ready to fight. in o >> the children know by heart the names of places where atrocities have been committed. >> this is my neighbor. >> ah. >> you know, these old ladies, what they do, they take care of the small gardens. >> outside, the sun is shining. it is a beautiful day. what will you tell darina about this time? >> well, i will tell her that she was such a powerful warrior of life. we didn't plan her with my husband. this was a complete -- >> she was a surprise. >> moreover, we discovered her when i was already two months pregnant. >> o