week. you know who isn't having a difficult week? the 15 seeded, st. peters peacocks. the pride of the garden state. the jersey city school made history tonight, punching their ticket to the elite eight. still dancing after an incredible victory over purdue, a three seed. it's the first time ever a 15 seat has made their. the cinderella story of march continues. i want you to know, no matter who is in the anchor chair for the show, we always have time for jersey. on that note, i wish you a very good night. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late with us. see you next week. week. good evening again from warsaw, poland. earlier today in this -- this is last up at the end of a

very busy week. but meeting with world, leaders of nato, european union. normally these kinds of summits are pretty -- arguably a little bit boring for most people this is the first time in a long time that what happens here matters. what these leaders do matters. what influence joe biden brings to bear, matters. the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelenskyy fighting charlie for his country. refusing to flee even as the kremlin reportedly sends mercenary groups to assassinate him. this is his moment, this is his chance to get what ukraine needs most. and the backdrop for all of these important meetings is of course the russian invasion of ukraine. look at these pictures. the video we keep running. the stories we keep selling. of total destruction. of refugees. of destitution, of mariupol being destroyed. of thousands of civilians being murdered. of crimes against humanity. everyone has to do some real

hard thinking this week. because what the world does right now matters. the decisions made here will reverberate, possibly for decades. there is a crack in the foundation of the global world order and there is a real effort underway, by the united states and others to find a solution. here in warsaw tonight, crowds gathered to protest the russian invasion of neighboring ukraine. more than 2 million ukrainians have sought refuge here in poland, just the past month. and today, president biden traveled to within 60 miles of ukrainian border to talk with humanitarian experts about this growing refugee crisis. he also met u.s. service members from the 82nd airborne division who were stationed here in poland. and with the polish president, andrzej duda, where he reiterated why this is such a crucial moment in history. >> the single most important thing that we can do from the -- is keep the democracies united.

and our opposition and our efforts to curtail saying the devastation that is occurring at the hands of a man who, i quite frankly think is a war criminal. and i think will meet the legal definition of that as well. >> now, biden's point, they're about keeping the world's democracies united in opposition to putin, is the core of with all of these meetings have been about. and there have already been some concrete results. earlier today, the u.s. announce a deal with european leaders to increase natural gas shipments. to help undo europe's dependence on russian energy. this is a really important deal. because limiting reliance on russian energy might actually be europe's most effective control. in fact, this entire week has been important. because with biden, nato, and the eu leaders all in one place, this is the best chance for ukrainian president volodymyr

zelenskyy to get what he wants. he may not get the no-fly zone, or the jets that he is asked for. but he has all of nato's attention this week. to make the case why ukraine needs more to fend off russia's invasion. today, a senior u.s. defense official says russian forces no longer have full control of kherson, which is the first major ukrainian city that russian forces captured in the invasion. the official added that mockery, a suburb west of the capital, kyiv, is the very least contested, at the very least contested. and might be under ukrainian control. the official also said the russian military has started to move reinforcement to ukraine from georgia. which would mark the first time that russia has deployed additional troops to ukraine since the mast more than 150,000 troops on the ukrainian border, before the invasion. meanwhile, the russian military says it's now focusing its efforts on taking full control

of ukraine's done best region in the east. while trying to stay their failure to seize most major cities was actually part of the original plan. and that signaling by russia, might be a sign that they have given up on taking over the entire country, and are trying to cut their losses. for the latest on the ground and ukraine -- i want to turn to cal perry, who is live for us. cal, good evening to you. the russians say they are shifting their military focus in ukraine. tell me about how you read this. what does this mean? >> so, look, in the last 48 hours the news coming out of this country is that this counter offense in the capital is not only working, but ukrainian military is starting to push back russian forces. we heard tonight in what has become a nightly address that from the president, the zelenskyy, he says up to 16,000 russian troops could be dead. that is the highest estimate we have seen. we know the ukrainian government benefits from putting out a high estimate. but nato puts russian troop

losses somewhere between 7000 and 14,000. that is a horrible loss for the russian army. that is some of the worst numbers we've seen in modern conflict history. when you look at it kherson, kyiv, the russian army being rolled back, you look at these convoys stalled, you look at the armored personnel carriers now hiding in the treeline, and you start to get a picture that maybe russia did not realize or expect to step into what has been a hornets nest. what has shaped up to be at the very least a military style at the very worst, military being defeated in any number of these places. look, we have to be honest, here in the eastern part of the country, civilians are paying the heaviest price. we have not seen pictures like this in a generation where you have civilian titled in basement. you have a refugee crisis that is all around -- and all around the continent. you have really two sides of this war now certainly breaking out you have military victories on behalf of the ukrainian army. and you have civilians being punished. today we also open up a new

chapter in this war. a pow exchange. the first official exchange between ukraine and russia. ten service members from each side were exchanged. but, look we know we are going to see much, much more of. this we know there are possibly thousands of russian pow is being held by ukraine. and we know that russia, according to the ukrainian government, is forcefully deporting civilians from mariupol. forceful deportation, is another way to put. it abductions. these are people that are having their classmates taken and being forced to move to russia. again, you can expect to see more exchanges as the weeks and months play out, ali. >> cal, thank you my friend. as, always stay safe. cal perry in the -- for us. yevheniya kravcvhuk is a member of the ukrainian parliament. she's the deputy chair on the committee of -- humanitarian information policy. she joins me now in the warsaw. thank you so much for being with us. it is hard for you, i can see. it's hard for, you you're just watching the images of what's going on in your country and it's hard to process. >> i'm not watching images. i live in it.

it's not, you know, maybe part of the world watched this like a movie. but if you do watch it, like a movie, this movie has to be a happy ending. and what we teach to our children, you know, the basic rule. that the good has to defeat evil. has to win. that's, you know, the structure of the whole, you know, our system in our democratic world. well, then, we need help to defeat this evil. because, i mean, everyone saw in these months what russia is doing. killing civilians. killing children. they can't get on the ground so they just get the missile from the black sea. and, you know, shooting into peaceful states. we are very, very peaceful nation. what we would be doing right now in the whole territory of ukraine is putting season to soil.

we are the bread basket of europe, half of the world. right now, even there this area that are bread basket, russians destroyed agricultural techniques. machines. because then, they know that it will affect the whole world in product crisis. and it will affect, i mean, millions and millions of people over the world. so we do need this help right now. and that is with president zelenskyy. saying >> he is asking, he has the attention of the world right now. part of that is because these leaders are all joined. and they are talking about, it part of it is the images that you and are talking about. that the world are seeing. he may not get everything he wants. he's been asking every single day, every parliament. you're traveling to united states and canada next to try >> for the same. reason >> for the same. think you're not getting it yet. what are you hoping? if you asked for it every day and more of the pictures come out that the world will understand? what are you hoping? >> our message is really, really. simple the morality is met and

with natural borders. if we see this whole architecture of the world, that democracy is, you know, the pillar of this world, then we have to, you know... we have to keep this crazy dictator and terrorist. because other than that, what's did we build after the second world war ii? did we say, what did we say? never again. well, it's happening right now. and churchill was saying the same thing about poland and invading the polish. where we are right now. the world has not learned all of the lessons of world war ii. so basically, we say, okay. what we need... we can deal with them on the ground. but we need also some products to keep them out from the country. but what we really need is the air defense systems to manage

the missiles that are coming every day to our peaceful cities. they are cowards. they do not go to the ground they just send the missiles. they bomb civilians, and bombing peaceful neighborhoods. we are no military, you know, or factories -- whatsoever ever was. and what is happening in mariupol is genocide. can you imagine still 400,000 people are trapped in the city? and russians do not let us bring food and water to these people. they just want, you know, to surrender. to get their terms. but why or are we fighting so furiously? we fight for being ukrainian. it's impossible to end this war without getting russian troops out of the country. it is impossible. because that is what putin wants. he wants to take, i don't know, half the country. whatever he can get. and we have to stay together, a

civilized world. to get this anti missile system and defense. these jets. the just our pilots can fly, we don't need other pilots in ukraine, we can do it ourselves. our -- we've proved in these months that they can stay and fight furiously with so-called second largest army in the world. well, yes, they are big. they have more troops, more tanks, more missiles, more aircrafts. but we are, on our soil. and there is no chance, neither president zelenskyy surrenders, neither our army. the support of the ukrainian army is 90% my husband is fighting. he's had of police department, all of law enforcement. all of the militaries are doing the same thing. not letting russian soldiers sees the capital of ukraine. >> yes separate from your, husband your daughter. >> i haven't seen him in over months.

from the very beginning. i haven't seen him, only talked him on the phone. and my eight-year-old daughter, she, you know, often sleeps in the basement during the night. and in the morning she has to go to the online schooling. because school doesn't work in ukraine. we do the online schooling. and in her class, it appeared a few people from... i mean she is -- they had to move. and now they are refugees in their own countries because they do not have homes anymore. but, guess what? who we will rebuild this. we will rebuild ukraine. and we will need this new martial plan for ukraine. and i'm sure that united states will take a leading role in this case as well. >> yevheniya kravcvhuk, thank you for your time tonight. we appreciate. it safe journey to the united states into canada where you'll be taking this message again. -- yevheniya kravcvhuk as a member of parliament from ukraine. we have much, much more

tonight. including the global stakes at this pivotal moment. as president zelenskyy pushes for more help from the west. there's no one better position to analyze what's just happened in brussels at nato than former ukraine ambassador, bill taylor. he joins me next. plus, the first ever mcdonald's in moscow is closed. a look back at what 30 years of westernization coming to an end so suddenly means. and the growing calls for justice thomas to recuse himself from january sixth cases. is that ever going to happen? we will get to it all, just ahead.

>> what's at stake and not just what we're doing here in ukraine we're trying to help the ukrainian people keep the massacre from continuing. well beyond that what's at stake, what are your kids and grandkids gonna look like? ? their freedom? what's happening. the last ten years, fewer democracies have been formed than we've lost in the world. so, this is much more than just whether or not you can alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of ukraine. we're in a new phase. your generation, read an inflection point. >> as president biden said to you -- will live into a pivotal moment in history. russian invasion of ukraine revealing a crack in the foundation of the world order that the u.s. is now trying to affix. my next guest has decades of

experience with u.s. diplomatic efforts around the world and specifically, in ukraine. where he served as ambassador twice, once under president obama, and once is the acting -- bill taylor joins me now. ambassador, good to see you again. thank you for joining us. i do want to -- do when i speak a lot, and i want to get your ongoing evaluation of how things are playing out. this has been a more remarkable week in the history of the world. we've had a combination of meetings, the import of which were not used to seeing. the implications of which are gigantic. tell me how you read this week has gone? >> so, ali, i think you're exactly right. it's an important week the democratic world, western world led by the united states has clearly stepped up in several fora. and eo you, just seven, it is stepped up and demonstrated its support. it has reaffirmed its support.

it has heightened its support. for ukraine. and hiding its condemnation and ways to move back the russians. to push back on the russians. so, this has been a great week for that. and, the necessary -- to move those weapons. that you're kids talk. about into ukraine. to keep them going. to build support them as they fight our fight. this is our fight, ali, ukrainians are fighting for us. they're doing it. while they need our support. >> talk to me about that line. there seems to be a line that some people have about the fact that they were actual nato planes in the air over ukraine. that would mean that nato would be in that fight. and that would escalate. but every day we see more of these images, we see more people streaming out of ukraine into places like hungary like. our poll and like i am now. where does our fight and their fight blend? >> they are fighting our fight.

this is one fight. and you mentioned earlier kind of the world order. the rules that have governed the way that nations deal with each other over the last 67 years. from 1945 to 2014 when the russians invaded ukraine for the first time. there were rules that then people lived by in europe. that kept, a large degree of the rules were shredded. first in 2014 and now in 2022. and to get those rules back. to get back to a place where you respect sovereignty of nations. where you respect borders. where you don't allow force to be the arbiter. it, you get away from the right makes right. which is what the russians are trying to impose on us. biden said exactly that. that we're living with -- one set of rules. or no rules at the russian --

so, this is the fight that the ukrainians are fighting for. us and where. there we need to be. there they need to win. they need to defeat putin. >> you heard -- member of parliament echoing pretty much every problem that we've talked to. and what volodymyr zelenskyy has been saying. they're asking for a no-fly zone or jets. both of those things seem a bridge too far at the moment for nato. we have to ask for that. because if they reduce their asked they'll get less than that. what do you think the right thing to do is for nato. and what are the discussions that are having been had right now are? >> so, ali, it's very interesting to listen to president zelenskyy. when he spoke to the nato senate. he did not ask for a no-fly zone. it was very interesting. he did not ask for. that he has heard what you just said. that answer is not coming. he also didn't ask for nato membership. which she had been asking for over and over. he knew with that answer was.

however, ali, he doesn't want security. he wants security in two ways. he thinks he can get. this one, he thinks he can get some set of missiles. some set of surface to air missiles, or air defense as madam cry chip just spoke right now. to destroy the missiles that are coming to rain down on ukraine. so, those are. there are systems that can do. that former soviets, british systems, there are ways to get that protection without providing the jets. but the second thing, he asked. what he did ask. for ali, he asked for security guarantees. he want -- not gonna get nato. he wants security another way. and security guarantees coming from the united states. or coming from great britain. or coming from other nations to guarantee in law security. that's what he asked. for and that's what we should be thinking. about. >> ambassador, it's always

great to get your experience and perspective. we appreciate your -- will justice thomas continue hear cases related to january six despite new revelations that his wife used a direct line to the white house to push overturning the 2020 election. jane mayer and rick hassan on his calls for his refusal after this break. break - common percy! - yeah let's go! on a trip. book with priceline. you save more, so you can “woooo” more.

- wooo. - wooo. wooooo!!!!! woohooooo!!!! w-o-o-o-o-o... yeah, feel the savings. priceline. every trip is a big deal.

the sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now. it senses your movements and automatically adjusts yeah, feel the savings. priceline. so you both stay comfortable all night. it's also temperature balancing so you stay cool. save 50% on the sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed plus 0% interest for 36 months on all smart beds. ends monday

the supreme court justice, clarence thomas, has been in the hospital for the last week with flu light symptoms. today the 73-year-old justice was released from the hospital , for the court. although the court has not offered any details per his condition or his weeklong's day. while he was hospitalized, however, more damning evidence came to light. tying his wife, virginia thomas, to donald trump's attempted coup. you might have heard of ginni thomas, as she's called before. in addition to being on the she's a right-wing activist who believe the 2020 election was stolen from donald trump. she attended the washington d. c. rally on january 6th before the insurrection. the one where trump whipped up the crowd and encourage them to march to the capitol. and now the washington post has a -- 21 urgent text messages that she sent to the venn chief of staff, mark meadows, in the weeks after the election. in support of trump's coup attempt, two days after the

election, quote, she sent meadows a link to our youtube video labeled, trump staying, with cia director by steve but shannon the biggest election story in history. botanic, the man behind the crazy, since deleted video tom ascent, is a far-right commentator who believe the 2020 election was stolen. and that the sandy hook shooting was a false flag operation, perpetrated by the u.s. government. in that same exchange, thomas went on to reference of right wing conspiracy that echoes rhetoric of the qanon conspiracy theory. quote, biden crime family and valid crime coconspirators, elected officials, bureaucrats , social media censorship mongers, fake stream media reporters, etc, are being arrested and detained for ballot fraud right now and over coming days, and will be living in barges off gitmo to face military tribunals for sedition.

yeah, that's just the tip of the iceberg. today nbc news is reporting the thomas also reached out directly to members of congress about the coup attempt. quote, shortly after the 2020 election, thomas sent an email to an aide to a prominent house conservative saying she would have nothing to do with his group until his members go, out in the streets, now, all of this will be puzzling on its own. a prominent conservative, trying to overturn the results of a free and fair election. but it's made worse by the fact that, again, thomas is the life partner to the longest serving supreme court justice currently on the court. clarence thomas is already ruled on multiple cases on the january six insurrection, including one challenging the election results into pennsylvania, which the court dismissed. and another when the court ruled that trump had to provide the committee investigating the attack with hundreds of pages of documents. remember that? for that case, thomas was the

only justice to publicly dissent. now that the extent of his wife's involvement in the attempted coup that is cited that wright has come to life it's abundantly clear the justice thomas should've recused himself from both of those cases over a clear conflict of interest. he did not. and it appears that there is another january 6th case the trump coup adviser john eastman is trying to get the court to block his records from getting to investigators. that is likely to come before the court. while there are calls, including from democratic congresswomen, ilhan omar. to impeach thomas, the prospect seems unlikely. if the trump -- taught us anything, it taught us when it comes to flagrant -- by republicans, there are no consequences. and shame in america is dead. jane mayer. is the chief washington correspondent for the new yorker. her latest piece is titled legal scholars are shocked by

ginni thomas's stop the steal texts. welcome to the show, thank you for being here tonight. i want to just read for our viewers what you wrote in our article. you wrote, stephen gillers a law professor and where you and a prominent judicial ethicist, described the revelations as a game-changer. in the past, he explained, he had supported the notion that a justice and his spouse could pursue their interest in autonomy spheres. for that reason, i was prepared to, and did tolerate a great deal of genius political activism, he said. but ginni has now crossed a line. i want to hear your take on that. i think it's obvious to a lot of people watching but she is crossed the line. what happens? >> well, i mean, i think what has happened is there is now sort of a growing -- of very respected authorities saying that when they are watching clarence thomas do, as he sits on cases that may involve an implicate his own wife, that he may be

crossing a line that is too serious for people to just sit back and let go. for years ginni thomas and her political activism has stirred controversy. but this is getting to a very serious place at this point. because justice thomas is now presiding over two cases already, one may be coming down the pipe, as you said. and there will be other cases. many other probably proceedings that have to do with the january 6th insurrection. and with the january six congressional committee's investigation. and potentially with the efforts to overturn the election, the 2020 election. if these issues come in front of justice thomas, there is a growing chorus of respected people, experts in the law saying he has to step aside. and it's not even just a matter of opinion. there's actually a law. it even binds supreme court justices, it says, it's a federal statute. it says a justice or judge

can't sit on a case in which his wife has a substantial interest in the outcome of the proceeding. >> i think that becomes a question, right? what is considered substantial interest? is this a hobby for her, as you, said it's been going on for a while. i guess the question is, legally, that may be true. politically, what is the likelihood of there being some consequences to justice thomas for his wife? >> well, i mean, it's hard to know how this is going to play out. but this is a scandal that is being taken seriously. and i think the question really is going to be whether democrats and other critics demand that win a case, the next case comes in front of justice thomas that involves the january 6th activities, whether there will be a demand that he step aside. and if there is a serious demand, from congress, for instance, they could call him

for hearings. they could try to push to try to get some information about how he is making his decisions they could pressure on the chief justice john roberts to try to pressure clarence thomas. there are a lot of things that can happen. but i think there is a sense, as professor gillers told me, this is a game-changer. >> well... there's been some discussion about congress, as you said, passing a code of ethics for supreme court justices. does that have legs? >> it hasn't so far. but, again, we have not seen any conflict of interest that is quite this glaring. so far, you know, the code of ethics in issues, they tend to die out. there is a sense that, i mean , there's only been one ever to impeach a supreme court justice , that was an 1804. and it failed.

and ever since then, there's been a sense that the branch has to remain independence and police itself, at the highest level, that is at the supreme court level. but again, there is a law on the books that deals with the idea of any judge, including a justice, hearing a case involving his wife. that exists. congress has passed. it's a bit more serious this time. it's not just a matter of the appearance of conflict. there may be an actual conflict. >> jane, we appreciate it. it's a very deep felt case. -- we appreciate the time to clarify this. jane mayer, as always. rick hasen is a professor of law and political science at uc irvine school of law. he's the author of multiple books about the supreme court. and is quoted in jane mayer's piece. nice to see you. i want to just mention with

jayne says you said you are quoted as saying that , there is a potential liability at stake for justice thomas. what is his exposure here? >> i think it's a potential liability for ginni thomas. that, is she could face civil or criminal liability for what she was trying to do to overturn the results of the legitimate election. and that is why under that statute the jane mentioned, the spouses significant interest is at stake. when justice thomas ruled on a case about whether certain documents can come in, or what's the definition of sedition is, or whether or not there was interference with an official proceeding, all kind of legal -- relating to not just the january 6th insurrection, but all of the events after november 3rd when donald trump tried to turn himself from a loser into a winner, her own liability, even her freedom is potentially at stake. i do agree with professor -- this is a game-changer. whether thomas knew it or not , he does.

now he has the duty step aside , if he doesn't, i think other steps need to be taken >> let's talk about the other steps, including possibly the action that the supreme court can take itself. is there any logical outcome? is there any self policing that might actually happen at the court? >> well, a chief justice roberts has taken -- that recusal is general -- that the justices could decide for himself or herself. if the justices could vote on the covid recluses, the might pick each other off in particular cases. i think there's something to that notion. but i think, you know, if you compare this for example to our recusal issue involving justice scalia. who was a hunting buddy of cheney, and george w bush vice president. and the question is whether that minor social involvement was enough for -- it in which cheney was in a lawsuit in his official position, that is nothing

compared to this. justice scalia felt the need to write an opinion explaining why he was it recusing himself. at the very least, i think the chief justice should ask justice thomas to explain himself. if he doesn't, and he does agree to hear one of these cases, i think it is appropriate for congress to open an investigation into this question. >> i want to get your reaction to this guardian headline from september. clarence thomas insists supreme court justices do not rule based on politics. now, to some degree i guess we'd all like to believe that's true. how did this conflict with the idea? does this help him, that he says politics are not part of his decision-making? >> it's a useful myth for justices on the supreme court. and you hear it from, you know, we heard in the confirmation hearing with judge jackson. i'm only going to decide the cases on the facts of the law.

the law is very malleable. there are different -- of interpretation. there are different ways of understanding ambiguities, and vagueness in the constitution, and federal statutes. and so -- value judgments come in. i don't think any of the justices on the supreme court, are partisan hats. would i do think they are, are ideological people who were chosen because of their ideologies, who were likely to move in ways the political parties like. i don't think this helps him at all. this is much more personal than about a political choice. this is about whether his wife could be in trouble, and could be bailed out of that trouble based on a ruling that justice thomas can vote upon. >> rick, as always thank you for a time rick hasen. still to, come how vladimir putin for his undoing decades the prosperity in his own country. by way of mcdonald's in moscow. that story is next. moscow that story is next that story is next on sale now. it senses your movements and automatically adjusts so you both stay comfortable all night. it's also temperature balancing so you stay cool. save 50% on the sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed

plus 0% interest for 36 months on all smart beds. ends monday to be a thriver with metastatic breast cancer means asking for what we want. and need. and we need more time. so, we want kisqali. women are living longer than ever before with kisqali when taken with an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali is a pill that's significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant alone.

kisqali can cause lung problems, or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. ask your doctor about living longer with kisqali. >> it was just a few months

after the berlin wall fell january 1990.

the soviet union was still intact. barely. it was starting to unravel. when mcdonald's the very symbol of american capitals and opened its first store in moscow. at the height of the paristroika economic reform under president mikhail gorbachev. it was located in push and square. it was a very, very big deal. this was the front page of the washington post on the day that the store opened. a one below the fold was on the mcdonald's titled quote moscow plays ketchup. get it, ketchup. this is how nbc news covered the story at the time. >> the grand opening hype was foreign to moscow as the hamburger. george cool heart started -- with the soviets 14 years ago. it was ecstatic. would >> i'd recommend is that this is a great market. this is a market that's open for business.

>> indoctrination of the young staff has -- confounded some first day customers. >> it's very unusual for soviet people to be polite to everybody. and in a city where restaurants often close early because the food runs out. moscow's newest state open hours after it's scheduled closing tonight. when it finally did 30,000 customers have been served. an all-time one day record for the chain. good omen for the 19 other mcdonald's plan for the soviet capital. peter kent nbc news, moscow. >> 27,000 russians applying for the jobs at the restaurant for about 600 open positions. on the day the store open there was a line was five foot football fields like waiting to get in. as you heard the store even stayed open late just to get

through all the russians. 30,000 of them eager to try american fast food. for the first-time. 20 years later after that historical -- in 2010. mcdonald's executives veggie did the location as part of an effort to highlight its successful expansion interests up. at that point the pushkin square restaurant had become a normal part of life in russia. having served -- 130 million customers. earlier this month that mcdonald's in pushkin square were closed. along with every other mcdonald's store in the country. among countless other brands. as part of the global response to the russian president vladimir putin's war of aggression in ukraine. it's hard to see and not think that in a matter of four weeks vladimir putin has taken russia back 30 years in terms of prosperity and economics. the country is back where it started after communism. isolated for most of the western world. a new iron curtain has fallen. it's not all that clear what happens next.

nina khrushcheva a professor of international affairs at the new school and the coauthor of putin's footsteps. searching for the soul of an empire across russia has 11 time zones. she's the granddaughter of nikita khrushchev who served as the premier of the soviet union. nina, good to see you. thank you for being. with us. look, it's a mcdonald's. anybody can live without it- but this is a pretty potent metaphor. russia is especially moving backwards in a very big way. there is a real risk, maybe i'm overstating. it vladimir putin's undoing decades of globalization and prosperity. in a month. >> well, it closed recently and essentially in just a week it became clear that it's the iron curtain. and now it's actually unofficially created but also created by putin himself- = because the western businesses and western --

also the russians themselves the kremlin. controlling organs, close, closed numerous -- there's not that many outlets. but they closed the newspapers, and they do nbc mostly media also left -- and they left russia because so you i think we're very generous to say that russians back where they started 30 years ago. because in the last five years of the soviet union it was rather open. my fear and what i've seen is russia's back in the late 1940s. -- it was before joseph stalin's death in 1953. three and the relationship for the iron curtain was pretty

firm. when nikit kruschev became in charge of the country. in fact it became much more open. it is much more -- to some degree. it's much more open under crush of under it is today. -- we're operating in the country. so, it is a giant, giant metaphor. >> so, does this at some point despite all the press restrictions you are talking about. despite the fact that this economic pullback about the idea that global firms like mcdonald's and many, many others are pulling out of russia or shutting down. does putin's control over the media and the way this is expressed offset the actual pain and suffering that average russians are going through over this war? that most of them aren't all that interested in? >> well, they're more interested in you covering the protests. they're protesting. but also for them, all the generations are trying to save europe. if youre 30, you don't know a different life. you don't know if your 20, you

don't know life without instagram. which is now as a terrorist organization you don't know life without facebook. so, you don't know what it is to be -- in terms of the goods and services. and products to be unconnected to the world. but also in terms of social media, information, internet. so, it's a very giant -- north korea right now it's getting closer to being north korea. but also what is problematic for the russians is because russia now is the global enemy. it's not just putin. people understand it's putin's war but russia has collectively punished for. it is a collective response to humility to some degree. that is problematic because a lot of russians now listening to putin's propaganda. and the propaganda is blatant in russian culture. the west is out to get you, wants to deprive you of all of these burgers, and buns and in fact after mcdonald's closed the next day the matryoshka trucks, the russian nesting

dolls with the image of the nesting doll is parked right there. as if it can replace globalization, so a lot of russians also getting mad not only at putin but as the west as well. it's the balancing act that putin is using with propaganda especially tv propaganda. that russian's -- have to stand against the world. because the world wants to punish russia for being independent. standing up to united states. with its mcdonald's and it's microsoft and google and whatnot. and some people actually buy that propaganda unfortunately. >> well, it's said that russians who have nothing to do with this suffering under as much as anyone else. nina thank you for your time. nina karadsheh vote, much more to come live from warsaw tonight including the crucial role that poland is playing in

the conflict. as fleeing ukraine seek refuge. special report right after this. stay with us.

[zoom call] ...pivot... work bye. vacation hi! book with priceline. 'cause when you save more, you can “no way!” more. no wayyyy. no waaayyy! no way! [phone ringing] hm. no way! no way! priceline. every trip is a big deal.

how not to be a hero: because that's the last thing they need you to be. you don't have to save the day. you just have to navigate the world so that a foster child isn't doing it solo. you just have to stand up for a kid who isn't fluent in bureaucracy, or maybe not in their own emotions. so show up, however you can, good evening again from warsaw, for the foster kids who need it most— at helpfosterchildren.com

poland. thank you for joining us for the next hour. let me sketch out a situation for you and ask you if it sounds familiar. russia begins amassing troops on another country's borders. the united states calls out russia's belligerent moves and warns it not to invade. everyone is on edge. wondering if russia is about to invade, and if so, how the united states will respond. i could, of course, be describing the situation leading up to the ukraine last month. but actually, i'm describing what was happening right here in this country, in poland, in 1980. >> good evening. poland and the possibility of soviet military intervention was the subject of an unusual white house statement this afternoon. in that statement, president

carter said, the united states is watching with growing concern the unprecedented buildup of soviet forces along the polish border and the closing of certain frontier regions. the statement also said that military intervention in poland would have the most negative consequences. >> senior officials are operating on the assumption that the last thing the russians want to do is invade poland, recognizing an invasion will make everything much worse. but at the same time, the russians continue to increase their military pressure on poland. for example, on both sides of the east german polish border, a 40 mile ward strip has been closed to foreign observers. there are ten soviet divisions about 100,000 troops in this area. on poland's eastern front, from the baltic military district in the north to the carpathian in the south, -- forces are in wet officials here call and enhanced state of readiness. >> the consequences for the part of europe, the west -- have been made clear to the soviet leadership.

through a number of channels. >> this standoff with the soviet union was sparked by the success of a nascent- pro democracy movement here in poland, a pro democracy movement here in poland. you will remember, in the solidarity movement. it began as labor strikes in a polish shipyard and quickly grew into a national phenomenon under its charismatic leader, lech walesa. the communist government in poland being forced into compromises with these democratic labor activists. and the soviet union did not like that one bit. in the end, though, the soviet union did not need to invade poland. the communist polish government declared martial law and staged its own military invention. protests were brutally put down. demonstrators were killed. thousands of opposition activists were in prison. but that was not the end of the story. actually, it was just the beginning of the story. because the solidarity movement