Missiles hit ammo depot, residential buildings as Russia pivots to 'strategy of attrition'

KYIV — In peacetime, Ukraine has a thriving surrogate industry, one of the few countries where foreigners can get Ukrainian women to carry their pregnancies. Now at least 20 of those babies are stuck in a makeshift bomb shelter in Ukraine’s capital, waiting for parents to travel into the war zone to pick them up.

They’re well cared for at the moment. Surrogacy center nurses are stranded with them, because constant shelling makes it too dangerous for them to go home. Russian troops are trying to encircle the city, with Ukrainian defenders holding them off for now, the threat comes from the air.

Nurse Lyudmilla Yashchenko says they’re staying in the bomb shelter to save their lives, and the lives of the babies, some of whom are just days old. They have enough food and baby supplies for now, and can only hope and wait for the newborns to be picked up, and the war to end.

The city council of Mariupol, which has been battered by heavy shelling and attacks, alleged that several thousand residents have been deported to Russia over the past week. 

The allegation, which NBC News has not independently verified, was made in a post on the city council's Telegram account Saturday.  

"The occupiers illegally removed people from the Left Bank district and shelters in the building of the sports club, where more than a thousand people (mostly women and children) were hiding from the constant bombing," the post said, according to an NBC News translation.  

The council claimed some residents were captured and taken to cities in Russia.

In a portion of his latest address early Sunday, Ukraine's president appealed to Russians' humanity and sense of justice.

Speaking in Russian, his first language, Zelenskyy claimed 14,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the invasion, which began Feb. 24. 

"This is 14,000 mothers," Zelenskyy said, according to an NBC News translation of his remarks. "This is 14,000 fathers. These are wives, these are children, relatives and friends. And you don't notice it? But there will only be more victims. As long as this war continues. Your war is against us, Russia against Ukraine. On our land."

Estimates of the number of Russian soldiers killed in the conflict have varied, and NBC News has not independently verified the death toll. 

It's not clear if Zelenskyy's appeals — this wasn't the first — hit their mark, but there have been signs of unease and even dissent in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin has cracked down on news media and all but banned displays of disagreement with the Kremlin.

Nearly 15,000 protesters have been arrested in Russia since the war began, according to OVD-Info, a Moscow-based human rights group that tracks police detentions.

Zelenskyy said at the top of his address, in Ukrainian, that the nation doesn't want to kill. 

“Ukraine has always sought a peaceful solution," he said. "Even more we are interested in peace now. Because we count everyone who is killed. Because it means something to us, every ruined family, every ruined house. Because we are Ukrainians, and for us a person is priceless."

WARSAW — A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers visiting Poland said Saturday that the most urgent need in Ukraine’s fight against a Russian invasion is to equip and support the country in every way that will help it defend its independence.

The seven-member delegation led by Rep. Stephen Lynch, a Democrat from Massachusetts, has visited reception centers for refugees from Ukraine in eastern Poland. They noted Poland’s openness in accepting refugees from Ukraine, including in private homes. More than 2 million people fleeing war have come to Poland since Feb. 24, when Russia’s troops invaded Ukraine.

“We are here to reassure and support the people of Ukraine. We are here to thank the people of Poland for the unbelievable generosity they have shown to the refugees,” said Lynch, who is chairman of the subcommittee on National Security in the Committee on Oversight and Reform.

During an online meeting with the media Saturday, the American lawmakers stressed the need to urgently assist Ukraine’s military in their fight against Russian forces. They said there is no room for peace talks as long as there is a “hot war.”

“The most urgent action that we can take is to make sure that the Ukrainian fighters — those valiant patriots who are fighting for their freedom — have every bit of equipment, every bit of supply, every bit of support that we can possibly deliver to them,” Lynch said.

Ukraine's president said he discussed the possibility of peace in his country in a phone call late Saturday with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Amid ongoing negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, with the possibility that Ukraine could emerge as a country with no particular allegiance to Russia or the U.S.-backed NATO military alliance, Zelenskyy told Macron that Ukraine was heavily invested in the talks.

"I spoke today with French President Macron ... about finding a solution for peace, for the liberation of our territories," Zelenskyy said, according to an NBC News translation of his latest address on Telegram.

Macron's office confirmed in a statement about the call that the two discussed "possible perspectives to exit this crisis."

The Ukraine-Russia talks are an effort "to save our people," Zelenskyy said amid Russia's continued strikes on civilian locations.

"I am sure you understand that negotiations are not easy and pleasant," he said. "But they are needed. Because it's about life."

No additional details were provided by either leader about the discussions. 

WARSAW — Hoping to restore some normalcy after fleeing the war in Ukraine, thousands of refugees waited in long lines Saturday in the Polish capital of Warsaw to get identification cards that will allow them to get on with their lives — at least for now.

Refugees started queuing by Warsaw’s National Stadium overnight to get the coveted PESEL identity cards that will allow them to work, live, go to school and get medical care or social benefits for the next 18 months. Still, by mid-morning, many were told to come back another day. The demand was too high even though Polish authorities had simplified the process.

“We are looking for a job now,” said 30-year-old Kateryna Lohvyn, standing in the line with her mother. She said it has taken some time to recover from the shock of the Russian invasion.

“We don’t yet know (what to do),” she added. “But we are thankful to the Poles. They fantastically welcome us.”

Maryna Liashuk said the warm welcome from Poland has made her feel at home already. If the situation worsens, Liashuk said she would like to stay permanently in Poland with her family.

When three Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station wearing yellow flight suits with blue accents, some saw a message in them wearing the colors of the Ukrainian flag. They shot that down on Saturday.

Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev said each crew picks the colors about six months before launch because the suits need to be individually sewn. And since all three graduated from Bauman Moscow State Technical University, they chose the colors of their prestigious alma mater.

“There is no need to look for any hidden signs or symbols in our uniform,” Artemyev said in a statement on the Russian space agency’s Telegram channel. “A color is simply a color. It is not in any way connected to Ukraine. Otherwise, we would have to recognize its rights to the yellow sun in the blue sky.

“These days, even though we are in space, we are together with our president and our people!”

Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the space agency Roscosmos, tweeted a picture of the university’s blue and gold coat of arms.

Shortly after their arrival at the orbiting station on Friday, Artemyev had a different answer about the flight suits, saying there was a lot of the yellow material in storage and “that’s why we had to wear yellow.”

Amid the rubble of Mariupol, an estimated 4,128 civilians were able to leave the besieged port city through one of eight humanitarian corridors opened Saturday, a top Ukrainian official said.

They were taken to Zaporizhzhia, where an additional 500 Mariupol residents will go Sunday on minibuses, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in an NBC News translation.

Mariupol has been the target of an ongoing assault by Russian forces, who are alleged to have attacked civilians and Ukrainian troops with indifference. Russia has denied targeting civilians. The port city has been without electricity, heat, water, food or medical supplies for days.

Vereshchuk reported that continued fire from Russian troops prevented evacuations from Borodyanka in the Kyiv region. More than 1,800 in other areas near the capital were able to get out via humanitarian routes, he said.

In a recorded speech posted early Sunday, Zelenskyy said they would not abandon attempts to evacuate residents. 

In the Luhansk region, 675 people were evacuated; in Lysychansk, the number was 160; in Sievierodonetsk, 160; Rubizhne, 45; and in Popasna 310 people fled. In the Kherson region, 14 vehicles with humanitarian aid were stopped en route, thwarting delivery for now, the deputy prime minister said.