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Ukraine Under Russian Attack For Fourth Day; Six-Year-Old Boy Killed In Heavy Gunfire In Western Kyiv; UNHCR: 116,000+ People Flee Ukraine To Other Nations; U.S. And Key G7 Allies Expelling Some Russian Banks From SWIFT; CNN Witnesses Russian Tanks Moving Toward Ukraine; Global Protests Condemn Russian Invasion Of Ukraine; U.S. Condemns Latest North Korean Missile Launch. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired February 27, 2022 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes, coming to you live from Lviv in Western Ukraine.

Ukraine's leaders calling on non-Ukrainians to take up arms and fight invading Russian forces. Volodymyr Zelensky put out the call, saying anyone from around the world is welcome to come and fight side by side with Ukrainians against what he called "Russian war criminals."

It comes as street fighting has broken out in Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv. It sits less than 20 miles from the Russian border. City officials say Russian troops have now entered the city and residents are being urged to stay in shelters and avoid travel.

Meanwhile, Russia's military is claiming advances in two southern Ukrainian cities, both located just north of Crimea and the Sea of Azov. Russia also claims Ukrainian forces in the region have surrendered. CNN has not been able to verify any of those claims.

For now though, the capital city is still under Ukrainian control. It's also accusing Russia of war crimes. The prime minister say Russian troops deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's president seems to have rejected Moscow's offer of talks. The Kremlin says a Russian delegation has already arrived in Belarus to begin possible negotiations.

But Mr. Zelensky previously said any talks between Russia and Ukraine should be held in a more neutral location, Belarus a launching pad for some of the invading troops.

CNN has correspondents positioned across Ukraine and around the world to bring you the latest on this breaking news. We've got Jasmine Wright in Washington with the latest on sanctions on Russia. Arwa Damon is on the other side of the border from me in Poland.

Matthew Chance and Clarissa Ward are in Kyiv in Ukraine. And Fred Pleitgen is live in Russia.

Fred, some dramatic scenes you reported on yesterday, with Russian armor going over the border. Tell us what's going on today.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Similar scenes are going on today. The first thing we saw, as we arrived here about half an hour ago, there was Russian rocket artillery fire being shot off.

At the same time, the Russians are saying that they have now entered that town of Kharkiv. There seems to be pretty heavy street fighting going on there. Whether or not that's going to mean more casualties for the Russians or whether or not they're taking more casualties, really impossible for us to say.

The only little sign that we might have seen, if you look over my shoulder, you can see that the Russians have parked three ambulances at that final checkpoint, where it then goes toward Ukrainian territory and also toward that the front line in Kharkiv.

The entire time we've been there, those ambulances have been stationary. We do have to say there weren't that amount of ambulances parked here in the past couple of days as we've been reporting here.

Again, very difficult to say whether or not that's some sort of telltale sign of anything. If we manage to pan up, one of the things that we have been able to see is this helicopter flying over us the entire morning, not sure whether or not that's some sort of command and control helicopter.

But that's also something that we have not seen in the past couple of days. That's been hovering out here for the past half hour or so, maybe flying across the region of the front line. Maybe inspecting their own troops to see which positions they are in.

At the same time, Michael, we can still see Russian forces sort of going in and out of that area toward Ukraine, toward that front line area, obviously bringing reinforcements. It looks as though the Russians are rotating troops through. You can see a carrier here.

That's the kind of truck that they would put the tanks on the back of, to then either bring it to the front line or bring it away for maintenance.

You can see there is a lot of motion going on, firing going on here this morning, as the Russians have said that they have entered that key town of Kharkiv, which was one of the first strategic objectives that they had been saying they've had since this campaign began.

HOLMES: Fred, you've seen a lot of hardware going in as you've been reporting. Some people are saying if the Russians are not getting as far ahead as they thought they might have, that they could have supply problems. [04:05:00]

HOLMES: Are you seeing evidence of resupply going on for those units now forward in the field?

PLEITGEN: Yes, we are. It's interesting you ask that question. That is something that we saw a lot of yesterday. We saw a lot more fuel trucks than in the past days before. We saw more fuel trucks going toward that area as well.

The other thing we're seeing around this area, it will be difficult to tell whether or not that's sign of any issues or whether or not the Russians are having problems with their gear or whether or not that's the normal attrition you might have in an offensive like that.

We see a lot of broken-down Russian military vehicles either being towed or being repaired at the side of the road. We're on the Russian side of the border. If stuff is breaking down here, it could obviously be that they might be having some problems with their gear.

From our vantage point, it's very difficult to tell whether that's the usual attrition, that military gear might have, if it's used in these kind of environments or if this might be a tell-tale sign that maybe there's some sort of problems with the equipment that the Russians have, at least some of the equipment that they have.

One of the things we saw a lot of yesterday, it's interesting you pose that question, we saw a lot more fuel trucks going toward the Kharkiv area than we had in the days before.

HOLMES: Fascinating observations. Fred, it's good to have you in place there in Russia. Appreciate it. We'll check in with you as the day goes on.

Well, U.S. officials say the Ukrainian resistance is putting up a stronger fight than Russia expected. Breaking it down by the numbers, the Russian military still, of course, vastly outnumbers the Ukrainian forces.

Have a look at the sizes of each of these countries' armed forces. Overall, Ukraine has nearly 1.2 million service members in both active and reserve duty. Compare that with Russia's more than 2.7 million active and reserve troops.

Russia has Ukraine outgunned in the air as well. You can see that Ukraine has dozens of active combat helicopters; Russia has hundreds, if not thousands. Russia also has the upper hand with fighter jets and bombers. Russia has over 1,500 warplanes.

Let's bring in Pavel Felgenhauer, a Moscow-based defense analyst, also a columnist for "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper.

It's good to have you, sir.

I'm curious, do you think Moscow has been surprised at the performance of the Ukrainian military, that this hasn't been easier or quicker for Russia?

PAVEL FELGENHAUER, MOSCOW-BASED DEFENSE ANALYST: I believe everyone has been much surprised. As far as I can recall, the Pentagon was also predicting that organized Ukrainian resistance would collapse in 72 hours, three days.

Well, the three days passed and they're still fighting as an organized force, with their staffs working. It's believed the organized resistance would collapse; there would be kind of guerilla warfare.

But right now they are still fighting back in an organized manner. They still have a government, they still have a centralized military command system.

That's, yes, surprising I think to many. It will be surprising to many in the West. And actually, that could change the situation very dramatically in the coming week, couple of weeks, if the Ukrainians continue to hang on like that. There's going to be changes Russia would have to make to its plans and also most likely the West will also change. It's the attitude because --

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FELGENHAUER: -- punishing Russia -- yes.

HOLMES: No, no; I was going to ask you to expound on that, what sort of changes in the Russian calculus would it make?

FELGENHAUER: -- guerilla warfare, if it turns out that Ukraine can continue to fight in a coherent way as a sort of state, that means that they -- that would mean very different weapons.

It would mean tanks, heavy guns, missiles, maybe fighter jets, attack drones, a totally different array of things and that they are receiving right now if they continue to resist the Russians in this organized fashion.

And that's a big problem. It's a big problem for Russia because that actually gives Ukraine a very narrow but still maybe path to victory in the end.

HOLMES: Also, as we're discussing --

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HOLMES: -- with Fred Pleitgen -- sorry, go ahead.

FELGENHAUER: Of course, the Russians still have the initiative on the battlefield, that's a sure thing.

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FELGENHAUER: They have the initiative in some places, they're more successful in others. But they have the initiative. The Ukrainians are just pushing back. HOLMES: As we were discussing with Fred Pleitgen, one of the other

challenges would be, if this offensive has not gone as fast as or as far as the Russians might have planned, they're going to run into supply issues and rotating troops out. It complicates the initial plan, one would imagine.

FELGENHAUER: There's a well-known saying in the American military, the finest military plans go to rubbish as soon as you meet the enemy on the battlefield.

So no surprise that plans have to be altered as the campaign develops. But, yes, the Russians seem to be off schedule and not really getting what they were wanting. They wanted a swift collapse of the Ukrainian government and the swift collapse of their organized resistance.

And hoped or believed part of their propaganda, that the Ukrainian people wanted to see the Russians come in. Maybe some do, actually. Maybe 20 percent of the population are sort of pro-Russian. But the others seem to be not.

And they are not really greeting the Russians much at all. And that's also a bit of a problem. The Russians are trying to fight this campaign as a kind of by rule, kind of by Geneva conventions, trying not to attack civilians.

Of course, there's collateral damage but they're trying to do it, not serious style, not with a sledgehammer, not by liberating cities, by reducing them to rubble. But that's also been maybe part of the problem, because the Russian military, in the last years, have been going a lot in Syria.

And they're used to a kind of different way of taking cities and territory.

HOLMES: Yes, well, exactly, a much heavier hand. And we know what happened in Grozny in Chechnya as well.

Something I'll get you to comment on, if this does become a resistance war, could it, as the French president suggested, last perhaps years?

FELGENHAUER: Well, actually, yes, it could. I concur with President Macron, although he not always says the right things. But this time I think he may have.

And that could actually, in the end, make Russia back out of this conflict because they have also military issues. Russia right now has a very large and fine standing army. The last official figure that I know is from September, from the minister general, that Russia has 168 permanent, ready tactical battalion groups in its military. That is really a lot.

But the problem is, they don't have reserves; actually, no reserves much worth talking about. They're not ready.

HOLMES: Yes.

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FELGENHAUER: -- there's no reservists training. That means --

HOLMES: Good point.

FELGENHAUER: -- as Russians spread out and Ukraine is a big country and a populated country. And their military begin to be kind of exhausted, there's not much to replace them with or reinforce them with.

There are reservists on paper but they have not been ever called up after completing compulsory service. That means you have to call them up, then you have to train them three, four, six months before they can go into any kind of meaningful action.

HOLMES: Exactly.

FELGENHAUER: There you may have a superiority of numbers. If they continue to fight as volunteers -- and they have a lot of trained reservists because they have experience fighting in the Donbas, fighting the Russians.

HOLMES: And we've seen a lot of them on the streets as well. I'm going to leave it there, Pavel Felgenhauer. Thank you so much. Appreciate you joining us here.

All right. For a third time in a week, the U.S. and its allies ramping up the pressure on Russia's economy over its invasion of Ukraine. Moscow was slapped with two rounds of sanctions earlier, including some that personally targeted President Putin. U.S. President Joe Biden did not mince words when he explained that decision.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences.

Putin's aggression against Ukraine will end up costing Russia dearly, economically and strategically. We will make sure of that. Putin will be a pariah on the international stage. And it's going to take time and we have to show resolve so he knows what's coming and so the people of Russia know what he's brought on them. That's what this is all about.

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HOLMES: But now the U.S. and some G7 countries are raising the stakes and cutting a number of Russian banks out of so-called SWIFT financial system. Jasmine Wright explains how that will hurt Russia.

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JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The U.S., along with European leaders and Canada, announced a slate of actions that they are taking first it is to basically cut off some certain Russian banks from the international financial (INAUDIBLE) and if we focus really on that Russian central bank there and the amount of cash reserves it has, about $600 billion, really as it tries to kind of prop up the Russian economy amid these waves of sanctions.

And so what the U.S. and their partners are trying to do is basically stop that ability for the Russian central bank to do that with some restrictive measures and also kind of sending the ruble into freefall.

Now word is still out on whether or not the U.S. would actually sanction the Russian central bank. That would be unprecedented. They have not come to a decision but we know that U.S. officials are discussing that.

And then turning to SWIFT, that international banking system that links up world banks to about 11,000 financial institutions, the U.S., along with their partners, are basically trying to make it impossible for some Russian banks to connect with that service, making those transactions impossible; again, trying to isolate the Russian financial system.

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HOLMES: It is still unclear at the moment which Russian banks will be affected by the exclusion.

Violence in Ukraine is pushing tens of thousands of innocent people out of their homes, forcing them to leave loved ones behind.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we are afraid. My husband is still there. We'll fight, even if Europe doesn't help us.

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HOLMES: Hear from some of these new refugees in their own words -- that's next.

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WALED CHEKROUN, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE IN POLAND: From suffering, I think of our kids because there was so many little kids and it was freezing outside. I had to stay all night outside. So just I can pass from the first border, to the second border, third border.

(END VIDEO CLIP) As refugees desperately make their way out of Ukraine and into neighboring countries, CNN's Erin Burnett and her crew joined a group on their long, grueling journey. Listen to what Erin told CNN's Pamela Brown.

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ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: We got up this morning; we had been down for maybe about an hour, awoken by air sirens, down in the bomb shelter. That's how it is now and then we began our journey to the Polish border.

And first we passed the train station and it is just hordes of people, Pamela, just hordes of people. It is indescribable. People rushing to get on buses. And as you said it is primarily women and children.

The men, obviously many of them are not Ukrainians who are trying to get out. And tuna tend to rush onto those buses to get on to get over the border.

When we went to the border, we were stopped dead about 29 miles from the exact border. Sorry about that. And at that point, it just came to a complete halt. Over the next two hours, we went about or 90 minutes about half a mile.

So it was running about 57 hours to cross the Medyka border with Poland. I mean, Pamela, it was incredible. There were people, they would get there stop. Some of them even take Volts (ph), which is what they use here instead of Uber, they get dropped off.

And then they're walking, women with babies on the front of them. People with pets, elderly women, people with toddlers and children and they're getting ready to walk 30 miles, I find it hard to describe sort of what we saw. And I think the numbers coming out of the U.N. are low from what we've seen at that border and others throughout the day. So that's what we saw.

Then when we finally decided OK, we're going to turn around and try a different border. We turned around and there was a sort of a place to stop. We went in and I ran into a woman in the bathroom.

Her English was absolutely perfect. We were talking, she was there with her two children. She and her husband, Pamela, it's been the past couple of days at that border to cross. When they got there, they of course, they knew about the martial law.

They knew that he was in the range. But he had worked papers in Poland. So they thought he would be able to cross. He was denied that. So the whole family turned around. And she just started weeping, speaking to me.

And I have to say, these are the emotional scenes. And I think that there isn't a person here covering the story who hasn't felt very emotional, seeing these people fleeing their homes and going to maybe in some cases, family but in others, they don't know where they're going. And they're just trying to get out and they're sitting in those cars, if they're lucky and they're walking and they're spending days and they're out sleeping right now, in this extremely cold weather.

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HOLMES: Erin Burnett there.

Now CNN's Arwa Damon also following the refugee situation. She joins me now from Medyka, which a Polish town near the border with Ukraine.

Arwa, you've been meeting and talking to the people. Just give us a sense of what's happening there, what they're going through.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Michael, perhaps the best way is show you and let the people speak for themselves. We were talking to these two sisters here, Vika (ph) and Anastasia (ph).

[04:25:00]

DAMON: They spent two days trying to get across that border -- two days.

You were out in the cold, no food, no water, nowhere to go, no information.

I mean, it must have been -- how did you even get through that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels like hell, really.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

We were thinking what to do, panicking that we're not going to manage the border, because, we thought, OK, we will be there, we will be safe, we will be safe. So our thoughts were, because we were from Kyiv, the day the bombs landed, so it was just total panic.

But we came there. And to sit there, to come there, you need to walk with your luggage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, we didn't mention, 25 kilometers.

DAMON: You were walking?

And on this road, where you are also seeing women, children, little children, trying to get through.

And this family, how long did they say it took them?

How long did they wait?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A day and they also did the 25 kilometers. Everybody who came there not by car, by -- wants to cross by foot, they need to come. That 25 kilometers by foot because the road is so (INAUDIBLE).

So this is 25 kilometer queue of the cars. Maybe now it's 40 actually because 25 is the information is three days ago. So no car can even get the people inside.

DAMON: Right, right. So it's all -- like the cars are just completely blocked off, with no passengers and there's no organization.

I'm sorry, your parrot came through?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I rescued the parrot because I couldn't leave him under the bombs because, from Kyiv, it's impossible. So they wouldn't let us in with pets, no documents. So (INAUDIBLE) thanks to them, because dogs, cats, (INAUDIBLE) with them.

DAMON: You know, Michael, we're hearing all of these horrific stories. Then there's also the stories of families who are getting separated, because basically men ages 18 to 60 are not allowed to leave.

And so people are finding themselves in this situation, where they have to say goodbye to their husbands, their sons, their brothers. And when you talk to women who are leaving with children, they're telling their children that Daddy will be coming soon. But they don't know if they're actually telling their children the truth.

Give me one second.

Could you ask this family if the husband, the kid's father, where are they?

And they're talking about how they're trying to say goodbye, Michael, how they're trying to figure this all out for the kids. Parents are having to try to somehow figure out how to stay strong for their children.

And what these young women were telling us was that there is such a lack of organization on the other side, that people, and the panic and the overwhelming emotion of wanting to just get out and get to safety, are getting quite aggressive.

People are trying to just shove through the lines. They're trying to save themselves, save their families. And so they're hoping that there's a bit more coordination that at least happens on the other side.

And it's utterly heartbreaking. Once they are actually able to get here, they do get moved on in buses. There's an army of volunteers here, offering free housing, free rides, food, water. But there's still this sense of fear and confusion.

I'm sorry.

Did she have to leave her husband?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, her husband left there and old people (INAUDIBLE). DAMON: They weren't able to come out?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

DAMON: So they had to say goodbye to their family?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their family, their husbands.

DAMON: I'm so sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They also said goodbye to her father.

DAMON: Your dad stayed?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, and I give him my car.

And that's why the (INAUDIBLE).

DAMON: How were you able to say goodbye to your father?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that it was the most awful thing to say.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was crying then.

DAMON: I'm so -- that's just impossible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we were just waiting for -- in our car, in queue, it wasn't so scary to say goodbye. But when it actually happened, I was crying a lot.

DAMON: I'm sure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh, the bombs (INAUDIBLE), we started to panic.

I left my father in Kyiv.

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DAMON: So you left your father there, too?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And eight cats. (INAUDIBLE). I did everything to take them out. But it was one car. (INAUDIBLE).

DAMON: You know, Michael, we're also meeting a lot of people on this side, who have elderly family members inside, who, quite simply physically are not able to make this journey.

You heard it from these young women, you heard it from the others. It's walking for hours. It's standing for days in the freezing cold. Someone who's ill, someone who's elderly quite simply can't make this journey.

There really is this sense also -- and this is frightening -- this that is just the beginning. So as the numbers keep swelling along all these borders, you really feel as if something needs to change within the processing system.

There maybe needs to be some sort of humanitarian corridor that opens up to get people out safely, so they're not suffering on top of all the fear they have had to go through and the uncertainty of it all.

HOLMES: That is such an important point, Arwa. There's been 160,000, who have crossed over, some number like that, according to the U.N. The projections are it could be up to 5 million.

How are they going to handle that sort of exodus if that number actually proves to be the case?

And as you always do with your reporting -- and we try to impress upon people -- put yourself in their position. You've just fled your house, you've fled your family, you've headed to another country. You don't want to be doing this. Your country's being invaded. Imagine what that's like.

Powerful stuff. Thanks for bringing us the humanity of this, as you always do. Appreciate that.

For people watching, if they want to help people in Ukraine, who might be in need of shelter, food, water or assistance on borders, go to cnn.com/impact. People are trying to help these people. And you can find several ways there that you can help.

Before we go to break, I want to leave you with these scenes of resilience out of Ukraine, people singing their national anthem while huddled in a shelter in Lviv.

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HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes live in Lviv in Ukraine. We're getting reports of new clashes on this, the fourth day of Russia's assault on Ukraine.

Fighting has broken out in the center of Kharkiv as Russian troops enter that city. That's coming from the head of the Kharkiv regional state administration. Ukrainian armed forces posting video that they say shows Russian vehicles set on fire in Kharkiv.

Meanwhile, Russia claims its troops have made advances in southern Ukraine, including in the city of Kherson. That also said that there was a mass surrender by Ukrainian troops. Of course, we can't independently verify those claims. A delegation from Russia has arrived in Belarus for peace talks with

Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says the delegation includes representatives of the ministry of foreign affairs, the ministry of defense and the presidential administration.

But one thing apparently missing: a delegation from Ukraine. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said he would be willing to hold talks with Russia but not in Belarus. He doesn't see them as an objective player. Russian troops entered his country from there.

And in a new address on Facebook, Mr. Zelensky also calling for people around the world to join in the fight against the Russians saying, quote, "Anyone who wants to join the defense of Ukraine, Europe and the world can come and fight side by side with the Ukrainians," against what he called "the Russian war criminals."

Let's go back to Fred Pleitgen who is on the Russian side of the border in Belgrade.

What more are you seeing there, Fred?

PLEITGEN: It's interesting because, since the last half hour or so that we spoke, we saw several bursts of Russian artillery rocket fire, fired toward Ukrainian territory. All of that most probably being fired toward the area around Kharkiv, where Russian forces say they've entered that city.

And reports are there are street battles going on in Kharkiv. We have to point out, we're the final checkpoint before the frontline of Kharkiv. When we spoke, there were three ambulances standing around. Two of those have actually gone into that area. Not sure why or what they're doing.

But there's only one there standing right now. What we're seeing still, a lot of motion, a lot of movement on the part of the Russian forces. We saw a couple of convoys go in and out of that area as well.

On the whole, we can see there does seem to be a lot of momentum. We saw operations here on the Kharkiv front. We're south of where Russians have a considerable troop concentration.

If you go to the towns here on the side of this checkpoint, you see a lot of big Russian military hardware, battle tanks, Howitzers, parked there. That's one of the things that we have to point out to our viewers.

When we hear reports of the Russians possibly running into trouble, possibly some of these offenses slowing down, the Russians certainly on this side of the border still seem to have the big capacity to escalate the situation, to escalate their offensive, if that's something that Vladimir Putin chooses to do.

Certainly, the hardware is here and the troops are here as well.

HOLMES: All right, Fred Pleitgen on the Russian side of the border, always great to get your reporting from there. Thanks so much. We will be right back after the break.

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, welcome to all of you watching in the United States, Canada, around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's update our top story.

Fighting has broken out in the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine, as Russian troops advance into the country's second largest city. Officials are urging people to stay in shelters and not travel.

Kharkiv was approached shortly after the invasion started on Thursday. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is calling for people around the world to join in the fight against Russia, saying, "Anyone who wants to join the defense of Ukraine, Europe and the world, can come and fight side by side with the Ukrainians against the Russian war criminals."

Protesters have been demonstrating around the world against Russia's aggression against Ukraine. From demonstrations in the streets to landmarks lit up in yellow and blue, people are showing their support for Ukraine and venting their anger at Vladimir Putin.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Thousands of Swiss protesters in Bern chant with a mix of sadness, outrage and disbelief. They carry signs and a clear message: they stand with the Ukrainian people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand with Ukraine.

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): From Munich to Milan and London to Ankara, similar outpourings of support are ringing from the streets and city squares in many languages. Crowds of protesters gather in Munich, many carrying or wearing blue and yellow flags.

For some, war seemed a thing the past. Now they stand in disbelief.

One demonstrator says, "We are worried about our brothers, sisters, our relatives. We had peace for 80 years and, all of a sudden war, is back in Europe."

In Milan, protesters wave a giant rainbow flag, signifying peace across the Duomo Square.

In London, streets are flowing blue and yellow, as protesters sing Ukraine's national anthem and urge governments to do more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's going to be much worse consequences if we let it go.

[04:45:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really hope that Putin will listen. But the only way how he would listen is with all the countries helping us. If we just stand here, if it's putting a runners (ph), this is obviously not enough.

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): In Turkey's capital, some 200 people, including Ukrainian and Turkish nationals, repeated slogans against the Russian invasion. A few chanted between tears.

One woman says, "We are all aware of this ugly attack against the Ukrainian state. Children there should live there, laughing and playing happily."

Some world leaders are joining in on Twitter. The U.K.'s Prince William and his wife, Kate, wrote that, quote, they "stand with the president and all of Ukraine's people."

Pope Francis showed his support with a tweet, addressing the, quote, "senselessness of violence and urging people to pray for Ukraine."

In other parts of the world, people are lighting up buildings and appealing to higher powers. The Atletico stadium in Madrid lit up in the national colors of Ukraine on Friday. A message at the front of the stadium sent out another plea to stop the war.

In one north Indian city, people gathered to perform a holy ritual, praying for peace between Russia and Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Russia, go home. Russia go home.

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Many across the world are standing up against the invasion with prayers, protests and pleasure, as Ukraine's future hangs in the balance.

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BRUNHUBER: And many in the sporting world are condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, especially in international football. Signs of support were visible when Everton hosted Manchester City on Saturday. Both teams wore Ukrainian flags.

In Germany, Bayern Munich traveled to Frankfurt, where the stadium was lit up with the Ukrainian flag colors. The message, "Stop it, Putin," displayed on the JumboTron.

In Leverkusen, the two teams joined in solidarity and fans held a moment of silence before the game.

And a high-profile Ukrainian athlete is urging an end to the war. Former boxing heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko posted this sobering message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO, FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING CHAMPION: You need to act now to stop Russian aggression with anything you can have now. In an hour or by tomorrow is going to be too late. Please get into action now. Don't wait. Act now. Stop this war.

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BRUNHUBER: The boxing legend's brother, Vitali, is the mayor of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. He's also a former boxing champion.

"Saturday Night Live" is also showing its solidarity with Ukraine. The program replaced its typical opening comedy sketch with this.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): That's the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York singing, "Prayer for Ukraine." Afterwards, cast members returned to say the show's catchphrase, "Live from New York, it's Saturday night."

But rather than cutting to the opening credits, the camera panned to candles arranged to spell out "Kyiv."

And we'll be right back.

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[04:50:00]

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HOLMES: Hello, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes, coming to you live from Lviv in Ukraine. I want to give you the latest on the ongoing Russian invasion.

The Ukrainian President Zelensky calling on volunteers around the world to fight side by side with Ukrainians, a short time ago, saying, "Those who want to join the fight should contact the Ukrainian embassy in their own countries."

Zelensky also said he is ready to talk to Russia but not in Minsk, Belarus, which Moscow proposed as a venue.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces say this video shows Russian military vehicles set on fire in Kharkiv. Ukraine says Russian troops have entered its second largest city and there is fighting on the streets there.

Moscow also claiming progress in Kherson and other cities in the south, saying almost 500 Ukrainian troops have been captured. We could not independently confirm those claims, of course. The people of Kyiv are making it clear they will not let go of their

homeland easily. Many ordinary residents taking it upon themselves to fight the Russian invasion. CNN's Matthew Chance talks to one such group of men.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are Ukraine's civilian defenders, local residents taking up arms and ready to fight.

CHANCE: That's blood on the ground?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is his blood.

CHANCE (voice-over): Already here in a suburb of the capital, Kyiv, there's been blood spilled, deadly contact between these volunteers and Russian forces.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never served in an army.

CHANCE (voice-over): Volunteers like Yuri, who was an economic analyst. He tells me, before this Russian invasion made him a fighter --

CHANCE: You work in an office but now you're defending your country, your city?

YURI, VOLUNTEER DEFENDER: Correct. I didn't think I would join this unit just two days ago. I thought that, you know -- I don't know how to handle guns. And yesterday it came to me that, Russians are in the city.

I mean, it's close to the point that I have completely changed my mind and I have decided that I should do something about it.

[04:55:00]

CHANCE (voice-over): Just hours before, this northern Kyiv suburb was the scene of firefights as Russian forces probe the Ukrainian capital. And the entire city and its residents are bracing and preparing for more.

CHANCE: Those are your Molotov cocktails?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CHANCE: Show me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what I have to use to stop the tank.

CHANCE: These are your Molotov cocktails, your petrol bombs?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CHANCE: You made these yourself? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. The people bring me this.

CHANCE: The people?

From the local --

CHANCE (voice-over): And they may be needed soon, very soon. As we left the building, more shots ring out. Russia's assault on the city seems at hand -- Matthew Chance, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.

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HOLMES: Again, if you would like to help people in Ukraine who might be in need of the basics like shelter, food and water, go to cnn.com/impact. Several ways there that you can help.

I'm Michael Holmes in Lviv, Ukraine. Our breaking news coverage of the Russian invasion in Ukraine continues with Boris Sanchez and Christi Paul on "NEW DAY." You're watching CNN.

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