Let's go "Outfront."
Good evening, everyone.
I'm Kate Bolduan in for Erin
Burnett.
"Outfront" on the front lines,
just hours from the one-year
mark of the start of Russia's
war in Ukraine, CNN has
exclusively access to one town
not far from where the head of
Putin's private army, the Wagner
group made an appearance on the
front lines as well.
[ Speaking non-english ]
.
>> Translator: Here and now we
can greet all men who are
fighting who are in the hospital
who are fighting for our
motherland.
Volunteers who are making
ammunition.
>> Translator: We have seized a
five-story building close to
downtown bakhmut.
>> Translator: How far from the
enemy?
>> Translator: It's 400 meters.
>> Translator: Okay, let's go.
Otherwise, this will be our last
address.
>> Reporter: The danger is
certainly everywhere as the
brutal fighting continues there
without any end in sight.
We're going to show you this new
video into "Outfront" showing
the utter devastation in the
region.
Buildings reduced to rubble
thanks to some of the 5,000
missile strikes, 3500 air
strikes and 1100 drone attacks
that Ukraine says Russia has
launched over this past year of
war.
This is what some of those first
strikes looked like.
A year ago tonight in Kyiv, and
while Putin's war appears to be
grinding on at any cost in
Ukraine, he is also facing new
public opposition at home.
We want to show you this.
This Russian lawmakers is making
a bold mockery of Putin and
posting the video on YouTube.
Yes, you do see him with noodles
hanging on his ears while
listening to Putin's big speech
this week, that act actually
demonstrates an old Russian
express which basically
translates to stop lying to me.
This is a daring act by a
politician still in Russia
because we've seen many times
what happens to those who
publicly cross Putin.
I want to go now to Alex
Marquardt on the ground.
He got an exclusive look at the
front lines, a unit made of
Americans and other foreign
volunteers.
Alex, what did you see?
>> Reporter: Well, Kate, quite
simply total devastation.
Another town in eastern Ukraine
lying in ruin.
You're right.
We got an upclose look at
vuhledar today, a town that
Russia hopes to use to push
deeper into donbas but they have
been failing miserably raising
major questions about their
expected offensive.
We have been speaking mostly for
the past few weeks and months
about that battle for bakhmut
between Ukraine and Wagner, but
that is largely a symbolic
fight.
While this fight in vuhledar
could prove to be much more
pivotal.
On the road as the
sun comes up with American
fighter, Jason Mann, at the
wheel driving into the
devastating front line town
here.
Traveling in and out through a
muddy field means being exposed,
a direct line of sight from
Russian artillery and tanks.
>> This is not an early morning
war, really, I think.
>> Reporter: First light means
hopefully avoiding the endless
Russian shelling raining down
including terrifying
thermobarrack missiles.
Even as Russian forces struggle
to take ground they're
inflicting damage on this town
which is made up of soviet era
apartment blocks blackened by
the fighting.
Over here a massive crater from
a Russian missile.
Ukrainian forces do have the
higher ground here.
They are able to use these
buildings to defend this town,
but it is getting absolutely
pummeled.
Only a handful of hardy
civilians left.
Their home now eerie,
apocalyptic ruins.
>> I don't like being on this
side.
>> Reporter: For months Mann and
his unit of foreign troops have
fought alongside Ukraine's 72nd
brigade keeping the Russians at
bay.
>> This is redefining the global
order as we speak.
This is democracy versus
autocracy.
Do we want let autocracy to
control more people's lives
in the future or prevent
it from ever doing that again?
>> That's what is in your head?
>> Absolutely.
It's the only reason I'm here.
>> Reporter: Waves of Russians
keep coming and keep bombing.
This strategic corner of Ukraine
is where the southern and
eastern fronts meet, making it a
major priority for Russia's push
deeper into donbas.
Mann arrived in Ukraine at the
very beginning of the war.
He's a former U.S. Marine who
served in Iraq and Afghanistan
who went on to Columbia
university and worked at Google
as a software engineer.
In the village house where the
unit lives, a few miles from the
front, Mann tells us he's now
here for as long as it takes.
>> Ukrainians are very
committed to having their
country back, and that includes
crimea to most of them.
As long as morale is high, I'm
happy.
>> Reporter: And it is, he says.
As the war enters its second
year, new recruits have also
just arrived from Canada and the
uk.
The fight so urgent, the team
leader, turtle, from new
Zealand, only has a couple of
days to get them ready.
>> And there is such a lot of
emotion in these fights, mainly
because from a lot of what I've
seen, they don't want to be
there either.
I never thought I'd experience
war in this sort of way because
we just are finding war, and I
don't know, like it's like
fighting in a time warp.
>> Reporter: Turtle has to head
to a funeral for a Ukrainian
teammate just killed by Russian
mortar fire.
There are so many losses and
such little time to grieve.
>> Harder for us
from the foreign military,
because ever since like
Iraq and Afghanistan we were
losing dudes so fast all the
time.
Always good to remember your
friends.
It's sad sometimes when the next
day you have to go and do
something.
Sometimes within the same day
so --
>> Reporter: Both turtle and
Mann are very matter of fact
that they could lose their lives
fighting for a country that
isn't theirs.
One year into this war, neither
is second-guessing himself.
>> Not everyone gets that
choice.
For me it was more of a
serendipitous like
one of those moments in your
life where you don't have a
choice.
>> No regrets?
>> No regret, yeah.
>> Reporter: Kate, Jason Mann
who goes by doc
in his unit
says given the resilience and
ingenuity he's seen from the
Ukrainians it's hard not to
believe in the Ukrainians at
this point.
Now, they are expecting some
kind of offensive by the
Russians around this
anniversary.
They don't know what is coming.
They are bracing themselves
because they know how important
vuhledar is for the Russians in
their stated goal of pushing
deeper into donbas, Kate.
>> Great to hear from them.
Thank you so much, Alex, for
bringing that to us.
>>> Now, "Outfront," foreign
secretary, thanks for taking the
time for us.
As we hit the one-year mark in
the fight the big ask from
Ukraine is for fighter jets.
Your former prime minister,
Boris Johnson actually said just
yesterday the uk should break
the ice in his words,
essentially saying going first
in sending jets.
Do you think that's a good idea?
>> Well, I pay tribute to my
friend and colleague and the
former prime minister Boris
Johnson.
I think he was decisive in his
decision-making when this
full-scale invasion happened
and, indeed before that in the
supplying of defensive munitions
to the Ukrainian armed forces
and delivering training to
Ukrainian troops before this
most recent offensive started.
And I suppose he is right that
we need to continue to support
the Ukrainians in their
self-defense.
The current British prime
minister has committed to
training faster pilots and
Ukrainian Marines and, of
course, we will discuss with our
international friends and
colleagues what other military
equipment the Ukrainians need
and how quickly we can get it to
them.
But the whole world should
understand that the uk's
commitment with our allies to
support Ukraine is absolutely
unwavering.
>> You know, Russia is making a
big show of it right now, of its
relationship with China.
Putin met with China's top
diplomat in Moscow.
You also met with that same
diplomat in the past week, I
believe.
The secretary of state Tony
blinken has said he's concerned
China is considering providing
lethal support to Russia and
just today the German chancellor
said China sending any arms to
Russia would be unacceptable.
How likely do you think it is
that China will make that move?
>> Well, I'm very, very proud of
the very close working
relationship that the uk has
with yourselves and the U.S.
I met with Tony blinken in
Munich just a few days ago.
I also met with my friends and
German counterparts and a number
of other foreign ministers from
both Europe and further afield.
I completely understand why
Russia would try and seek an
enhanced relationship with China
but the point I made to the
charges authority to Wang Yi who
I met with is I cannot see how
it can be in China's interest to
import the level of criticism
and international condemnation
that would inevitably come with
any supplying of military
equipment to Russia.
I can see what Russia needs from
China.
I cannot understand what China
might realistically want or need
from Russia so I hope that all
countries uphold their
obligation to the U.N. Charter
and continue in this
condemnation of Russia's illegal