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Russian Military Airstrike Hit Civilians' Home; Russia to Open Humanitarian Corridors; Svyatoslav Vakarchuk Calling Russians to Protest Against Vladimir Putin; Russian Strike Kills Civilians At Evacuation Crossing; U.S.: Russia Fired 600 Missiles Since Invasion Began. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 07, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNNI HOST: 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 Ukraine, and we are following the breaking developments in Russia's assault on this country.

This hour, the Russian defense ministry expected to allow the opening of humanitarian corridors from four Ukrainian cities including Kyiv and Mariupol. This comes as Ukrainian civilians have been increasingly caught in the cross fire as Russia intensifies its attacks.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

Now this video shows Russian missiles screaming towards Vinnytsia. That's an airport just southwest of the capital of Kyiv. Ukraine's president says the airport is destroyed. We are also witnessing the brutal reality for civilians on the ground in Ukraine. Intense Russian shelling has hit the town of Irpin. That is complicating evacuation efforts for terrified residents trying to flee the fighting.

Irpin is on the outskirts of Kyiv and in the path of Russian forces ramping up their efforts to encircle the capital. Now, this next video may be disturbing to some viewers. It shows a Russian military strike targeting Irpin literally as Ukrainians were attempting to leave.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

Now the mayor of Irpin says a family was killed in that strike. Eight people in all died during evacuations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accusing Russia of planning deliberate murder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): It seems it is not enough for the Russian troops. Not enough ruined destinies, crippled lives. They want to kill more. For tomorrow, Russia is officially announced an attack on our territory, our defense facilities. Most of them were built decades ago under a Soviet government. They were built in cities and now they are in the urban setting where dozens of people work and hundreds of thousands live nearby. This is murder. Deliberate murder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, since the start of the invasion, Russia has fired 600 missiles according to senior U.S. defense official who says Moscow now has 95 percent of its amassed combat power inside Ukraine. The U.N. says more than 360 civilians have been killed, but it concedes the real number is likely much higher.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We've seen very credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians, which would constitute a war crime. We have seen very credible reports about the use of certain weapons. And what we're doing right now is documenting all of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, Russia's assault continues to be met with strong resistance. Ukrainian National Police Special Forces saying this video shows members taking out two Russian tanks. This is in a small village, northeast of Kyiv. And amid all of this a growing refugee crisis, of course. The head of the U.N. refugee agency says more than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine and crossed into neighboring countries in just 10 days. He calls it, "the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II."

Meantime, there are growing questions about whether Russia is actively targeting civilians or just doesn't care what it hits. CNN's Alex Marquardt reports from a small village southwest of Kyiv devastated by an airstrike on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The small country road is now lined by piles of rubble, burned out cars, collapsed homes, and a deep crater where a Russian missile struck. The attack caught on a village security camera, hit the home of Ihor Mozharev in a small village of Markhavlivka, about 15 miles south of Kyiv, where he lived with his family.

Now, they are gone. Killed, in an instant. Five family members, and a friend including his 12-year-old daughter who was disabled in an accident with a drunk driver, his wife just 46 years old and his son- in-law, the father of his grandchildren.

[02:04:57]

IHOR MOZHAREV, RESIDENT OF MARKHALIVKA: There was a massive explosion and we all got trapped under rubble. My daughter has died in her wheelchair. Me and my grandchildren were rescued from under the rubble.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Today, Mozharev, black eye face bruised, picked through the debris trying to find belongings and documents. There was a brief moment of happiness when he found one of his missing cats. But the reality of how his life is forever changed has not yet sunk in.

MOZHAREV: I have no thoughts now. What thoughts can I possibly have? It's terrible. Terrible. I just want peace for Ukraine, just leave Ukraine alone already. God help this to end as soon as possible. I will bury my relatives tomorrow. That's it, I don't know what will happen then.

MARQUARDT (on camera): There is simply no explanation for all of this destruction, for the deaths that happened right here. There is no military target around four miles. This isn't a strategic village or town that needs taking. So, as the Kremlin continues to deny that they are targeting civilians, it is indiscriminate attacks like this one that show the reality of what is going on here.

(Voice-over): Olha lives down the street. She points to a mat that was used to carry the children out of the rubble.

OLHA, RESIDENT OF MARKHALIVKA: The main thing is for this hell to end as soon as possible. How is it possible that a brother goes against a brother? This is unthinkable. Everybody used to go to Russia and back, relatives everywhere, and now --

MARQUARDT (voice-over): It is too much for Olha and for millions across Ukraine who are in utter disbelief about what is happening to their home. Praying and pleading for the violence to end. Alex Marquardt, CNN, Markhalivka, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now, music can do many things, of course. One of Ukraine's top music stars is using it to boost morale for Ukraine's fight against Russia.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

And that was the song called "Not Your War" by Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy, one of the country's most popular acts. The group's lead singer, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk is using his star power to draw support to fellow Ukrainians. No stranger to social activism, he has been visiting wounded soldiers, delivering food, and fuel, and even singing with troops in the moments between battles.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk joins me here live in Lviv. I mean, everybody around here knows you. You are one of the most famous figures, politician, activist, and of course, music star. You have been out visiting the troops. You've been to a military hospital. Tell me what you have seen and what the morale is like.

SVYATOSLAV VAKARCHUK, LEAD SINGER, OKEAN ELZY: First of all, thanks for having me here and it's great to talk to such a big audience. And the morale is very high. I would say it's higher than anybody in the world expected. In my opinion, Ukraine is today the most brave -- the bravest nation in the world and I'm proud of that. So, where will I go? A hospital in Zaporizhzhia, empty streets of -- shelled and bombed streets of Kharkiv. Military units, everybody is ready to fight, everybody stands by other people. And like Ukrainians, 40 million of people, it's an army ready to fight. Everybody on its place.

HOLMES: And I only heard a little while ago, you just joined up with the Territorial Defense Force.

VAKARCHUK: Yes, I did. I did because I think I agree and convinced that everybody in this country, all men, should do that. This is an example that we are now all equal and we all fight for our country. And certainly, I will continue doing what I do now, going to the east and boosting up the moral and helping people because I think so far for the time being, it is the most effective thing I can do. But now, I am officially commanded to do that.

HOLMES: Okay. All right. I get it. You will fight if you have to?

VAKARCHUK: Absolutely. Absolutely. No doubt.

HOLMES: One thing that was interesting looking at your Facebook, you have posted messages direct to the Russian people. What were those messages?

[02:10:00]

VAKARCHUK: These messages were very simple. You can stop this war even more, in fact, than anybody in the world. If millions of you flood the street and say to crazy Putin stop -- millions, not thousands. That can be changed. Remember the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991when millions flooded streets of Moscow, and that worked.

I don't want now Russian people to stay home and say we are for peace, but doing nothing because at the end of the day, when we will win the war, if they do nothing, they will be to blame. The whole country. Not only Putin. And it's very simple.

The other reason -- the other thing I have to say, I'm appealing to the mothers of soldiers. I say, take your children home. Take your kids home, otherwise, they will come back like, you know, in packages. And we don't want you to feel that. If you don't want just go out to the streets for Ukraine, do it for your own children. You can stop it.

HOLMES: The music industry here has been pretty united in this environment here. What have they been doing? Your industry? It's not just, you its other musicians.

VAKARCHUK Many people join territorial defense, other people are helping, you know, once again in hospitals. They are volunteering. So, everybody is united. And all Ukrainian, you know, celebrities and all Ukrainian well-known people are doing the same job. We want to win this war and we will fight until the end because this is our motherland. We don't have any other choice.

HOLMES: You know, I've been here several weeks now and the one thing that just keeps coming up is people here, like people I think around the world, just didn't think this would happen. Can you believe what is happening right now, that Russia has invaded your country? VAKARCHUK: I will tell you honestly, I have some feeling, internal

feeling that one day it would happen because Russian elite does not recognize the very existence of Ukrainian nation. So this is similar to some Arab states formally didn't want to recognize the state of Israel existence.

So, in their DNA, political DNA, they just don't want Ukraine to go independently. But it's our choice. We want to be European nation, we are not a part of Russian world, and certainly, we will fight. If they kill our children and women, we will go even more furious and we will fight until the last boot of their soldiers (inaudible).

HOLMES: What do you think Putin's plan is?

VAKARCHUK: I don't know. He's crazy. I'm not sure that anybody can predict him, but we need to be ready for the worst. And that's why the claim to clothe the sky over Ukraine is not just cry for help, it's very practical thing. And some say that it might trigger World War III. I actually believe the opposite is the truth.

So, if we don't do it, if you don't stop Putin now and if he is able to win, it will be just the beginning of a nightmare for the whole world. He will grow more and more and more and all countries, including the United States and the allies who are now suddenly very cautious to deal with Russia, will inevitably be doing much more than even now they want to do.

So, the more effect that we stop him now and the quicker we stop him now, the better for all nations. So, not only a no-fly zone, but certainly some military aircrafts and ati-defense missiles is badly needed. Ukrainian tanks and soldiers are ready to fight and they will never let the troops come in.

But you look, they are shelling our cities. They're killing children, women, they are destroying hospitals, kindergartens. So this is crime against humanity. This is World War II, Hitler crimes. That scale.

HOLMES: What, I mean, I'm just getting to know your music in the last couple of days. I can say that our --

VAKARCHUK: We played Madison Square Garden.

HOLMES: -- our Ukrainian staff here were so excited when we found out that you were here and that's why we brought you up here. You were such a big figure in this country, influential. What is your message to Ukrainians?

VAKARCHUK: To Ukrainians, it's very simple to what, I know Winston Churchill, but it's very simple to what he did say in the darkest hours of 1940 to Brits. So we will fight, we will surrender, we will fight on the beaches, we will fight in the sea, on the land, everywhere. And we will fight until we shall never surrender and we will fight until the end.

And I know that I mean it and 40 million of Ukrainians mean it. And 20 million of Ukrainian diaspora mean it. And I hope the whole world also understands and supports this.

HOLMES: Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, thank you so much for being with us. We're going to come back after the break with a lot more. Give us a Ukrainian song as we go to break.

VAKARCHUK: (Singing in foreign language).

HOLMES: All right. We will be right back. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:15:01]

HOLMES: Welcome back. The refugee crisis is getting worse as thousands are fleeing the fighting in this country every day. Many traveling long distances, braving freezing temperatures in their struggle to get to safety. The exodus has been so overwhelming in neighboring countries that tent cities such as this one in Moldova have been popping up near the borders.

The U.N. says more than 1.5 million people have now fled Ukraine since this war began and the crisis is escalating at a pace Europe has not seen in decades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FILIPPO GRANDI, U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES: We have not seen, in Europe, I'm talking about Europe now, a crisis escalating so fast since the Second World War. That's a long time, because of course in Europe there have been many refugee crisis including in the Balkans with the Bosnian wars, but it was a longer period of time. Now it's 10 days, 1.5 million in 10 days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And these images coming to us live from Kyiv at the moment. This is a checkpoint manned by Ukrainian forces as civilians start to evacuate some of those shelled towns there. This humanitarian corridor that are being meant to be opened up in four Ukrainian cities. You can see civilians moving through there.

[02:20:00]

These corridors, there had been a couple of attempts in Mariupol, the port city over recent days, and both of those attempts ended with continued Russian shelling, according to Ukrainians, and that collapsed basically and people were forced to basically go back to a city that had no food, no running water, no electricity.

They weren't even able to go out and collect the dead. So, heartening scene here. This is just outside Kyiv, people making their way out from the violence. That is some good news, there.

All right, now I want to bring you two views of the city where I am now, Lviv, in the west of Ukraine. In the moment, I'll show you how some people who work with Ukraine's most vulnerable children hope Lviv can be a haven, but first, CNN's Scott McLean takes us to the city's train station and talks with those for whom the city office promise of escape.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With each new round of bombing and shelling comes a new wave of people seeking refuge outside Ukraine. Many arrive in the western train hub of Lviv where people are lined up at the doors of the station for the next train to Poland. Those who wait are almost entirely women, girls, and boys who suddenly look a lot like men.

This family fled central Ukraine. (Inaudible) left her brother, father, and husband behind to fight the Russians. Now, she's going to Poland with her mother and her two boys aged one and 16.

UNKNOWN (through translation): When my husband left, he said to our son, you are the man of the house. And now, at 16 years old, he's become a grown man. Our children need to have a childhood. They shouldn't become adults under these circumstances.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Well over a week into the war, there are swarms of volunteers handing out food and hot drinks and heated tents for a break from the frigid winter cold. But sometimes tempers still flare. This woman says she's been here since 5:00 a.m. with her 10-year-old son.

UNKNOWN (through translation): I don't have another choice. I came from far away. I need to evacuate my child. My husband stayed.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Exhausted on frustrated, the volunteer suggests she tries a bus to the border. There are lineups for those, too. Standing room only to make the 50-mile journey to the pedestrian crossing to Poland. 72-year-old cancer patient Tatiana (ph) wanted to stay in Kyiv, but said the bombings were hitting far too close to home.

UNKNOWN: Not nice and (inaudible).

MCLEAN (voice-over): As darkness arrives, so does this family who say they drove for three days across the country from a village near Kharkiv. They're trying to figure out where they can stay the night, but seemed resigned to sleeping in the car. (Inaudible) says her elderly mother and husband stayed behind. She not only has to get her own children to safety, but her friend's daughters, too.

UNKNOWN (through translation): I don't know when this nightmare will end. I'm so tired.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Back at the station, the next train won't leave for another four hours. But for the masses of people here, it's worth the wait. Scott McLean, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: But leaving the country isn't an option for all Ukrainians. Some can, some don't want to. The E.U. estimates more than 7 million Ukrainians could be internally displaced by Russia's invasion, with the number of refugees fleeing the country potentially much higher than that. Major fighting hasn't reached the city of Lviv here in western Ukraine, where I am, but that could change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(Voice-over): In a government-run children shelter in Lviv in western Ukraine, kids being kids. No parents looking after them, though. They are foster children from troubled homes among several hundred evacuated here from places where Russian shells are falling. They say, for now, they're already scarred by this war.

SVITLANA HARVYLIUK, FOSTER CARE DIRECTOR (through translation): We could tell those kids were very worried when they arrived. When they heard the first siren here during the day, some had a panic attack. They were looking at me with their scared eyes shaking from anxiety.

HOLMES (voice-over): Several humanitarian organizations are helping shelters like this take care of the children. And the many more who will come in the days and weeks ahead. The Russian military not in this part of the country, yet.

HARVYLIUK (through translation): We are ready. We only hope that the situation doesn't get worse here because then we will have to move somewhere with all those kids, too. And it is scary. They're just kids.

[02:24:57]

HOLMES (on camera): Now, compared to other parts of the country, the city of Lviv has remained free of the shelling and the missiles. But they're preparing for what could be to come. There's more security. There's more controls and checkpoints. Even some of those beautiful historic city statues are being wrapped to protect them from war.

(Voice-over): John Shmorhun is a Ukrainian-American living here working with an NGO, the Ukrainian Education Platform, providing humanitarian assistance for people headed to the borders, but also helping those who left their homes, but don't want to leave their country, the internally displaced.

JOHN SHMORHUN, VOLUNTEER, UKRAINIAN EDUCATION PLATFORM: I think the city is preparing for the worst and are ready. I mean, we see thousands of people coming into Lviv today, of families that are looking for a place to stay. And I think one of the objectives for the families, for the children is to provide the necessary accommodations so they don't have to become a refugees and go abroad.

HOLMES (voice-over): Lviv, a city so far spared the physical impact of war, but ready for when that war might arrive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (on camera): now, so far, one port city has held the Russians off, but the repercussions of stalling the invasion are deadly. Coming up, a report from Mykolaiv.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:35:15]

HOLMES: Welcome back. Let's recap the hours developments for you. Russia's Ministry of Defense says it is opening humanitarian corridors from for Ukrainian cities in order to allow civilians to evacuate. They are the capital Kiev, also Kharkiv, which has been under heavy bombardment, of course. Sumy and Mariupol also under heavy bombardment.

Now we've got these images to bring you. I believe these are live pictures. They're at a checkpoint manned by Ukrainian forces. We've been seeing in the last few minutes the civilians leaving that -- through that checkpoint there and you can see some more there on the right of your screen leaving as well. Obviously, some very relieved people there. Now all of this coming after a Russian military strike hit an evacuation crossing in a Kiev suburb on Sunday.

A family with two children, several other civilians were killed in open. Our opinion is northwest of the capital has been targeted with intense shelling for days. We must warn you that the next images are graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice over): And debris, you can hear it there -- heard falling on the building. As the dust clears, someone seen pulling the Ukrainian soldier waist in running out grabbing and pulling him away. And then others go to the aid of that family who are across on the other side of the street. Now, a U.S. defense official, meanwhile, is estimating that Russia has fired 600 missiles since the invasion began.

And 95 of its -- a percent of its mass combat power is now inside this country. The U.N. says that more than 360 civilians have been killed and admits the real number is likely much higher.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today is forgiveness Sunday. But we cannot forgive the hundreds upon hundreds of victims nor the thousands upon thousands who have suffered. And God will not forgive. Not today, not tomorrow, never. And instead of forgiveness, there will be judgment.

HOLMES: Now that video shows Russian missiles shooting towards an airport about 120 miles southwest of the capital. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the airport is destroyed.

There is of course still resistance all around the country. A video published by the Ukrainian National Police shows a number of officers ambushing Russian tanks using rocket-propelled grenades.

Now more than 1-1/2 million refugees have fled Ukraine in the past 10 days. The U.N. says it is the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (on camera): Turning down to the Ukrainian defense of the city of Mykolaiv which has kept it from falling into Russian hands so far. But Nick Paton Walsh reports for us the civilian death toll is rising, as Russia repeatedly targets that city with rockets. We do warn viewers some of the images are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice over): Putin needs it but he's having real trouble getting it. Drive to the last Ukrainian position outside the port city of Mykolaiv and you can see the mess made of the Kremlin's plans. Even the Z, Russian propaganda says it's from the denotification they ridiculously claimed to be an acting is charged.

Its occupants captured or dead. Their missiles on display along with their names says the army of Russia. Further down this road are the rest of the Russian tanks. But one was left behind. And now farmers, pensioners and bemused locals are picking it over. The model may be newer, but the empire it seeks to restore is long gone.

Just saying it goes forward but doesn't turn around.

WALSH (voice over): The same can't be said for its crew who fled. The Ukrainians here a little gleeful, this keeps happening.

WALSH (on camera): Did they left the tank or --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They needed to do that.

WALSH: Right, OK. They didn't have much of a choice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're -- yes (INAUDIBLE)

[02:35:07]

WALSH: Then, a warning.

WALSH (on camera): Is that helicopter coming?

(voice over): A helicopter is spotted and we have to leave. Bringing up the Stinger. Rushing in the weapons. This David has hit the Russian Goliath with again and again.

But the Kremlin is sure to impose a cost on anyone it can.

Grand rockets have slammed into homes regularly. This woman thinks she has broken her back. The house collapsed on me she says, and then they pulled me out. There are no other patients in this hospital. All the injured treated here died in their beds we're told, including 153- year-old man brought in on Sunday morning.

WALSH (on camera): Just here.

WALSH (voice over): Across town, the rockets apparent cluster munitions that seem to fall just anywhere.

WALSH (on camera): So, another rocket landed up the street here. From cars, to vegetable gardens. At the morgue, the toll is growing. At least 50 bodies they told us, 20 of them incinerated in a Russian missile strike on the naval port of Ochakiv they said. The bodies so often of the elderly, who would have survived being a Soviet citizen but not this. Russland has worked here for 13 days straight and is from Crimea where Russian state propaganda still calls this a special operation against Nazis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, you understand, I am from Crimea and my friends who live there think it's just like that. And I have to say that my former friends you betray, you are supporting Putin who is a fascist, a real one. My family is hiding in the basement now because of you monsters. I'm telling you it's really scary to watch it. My friends who are in Kyiv and Kharkiv and Sumy, they're sitting in the basements. And hiding because they are being bombed by Russian missiles. When will it stop?

WALSH: They show us the corpse of a Russian soldier and ask us to fill him up close which we don't do. Loading here, set in deep and lasting with each body in the ground. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Mykolaiv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Much more from Ukraine coming up. But first, let's head back to Atlanta and my friend and colleague, Rosemary Church. Hi, Rosemary.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Michael. Thank you so much. And we'll see at the top of the hour. Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM. From credit cards to entertainment, we will look at the international companies pulling their business out of Russia.

Plus, we're following more anti-war protests inside Russia. One human rights group says thousands of protesters were detained on Sunday alone. Stay with us. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:42:50]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, more companies are severing ties with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. American Express is the latest credit card company to end operations. Its globally issued cards will no longer work in Russia. And streaming giant Netflix is joining entertainment companies pausing operations in Russia. It will stop selling and providing its video service there.

But two global giants are not abandoning Russia. Coca-Cola along with fast food giant McDonald's so continuing to operate there. And that has angered Ukraine's foreign minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DMYTRIO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Upset to hear that companies like Coca-Cola and McDonald's remain in Russia and continue providing their products. It's simply against the basic principles of morale to continue working in Russia and making money there. This money has soaked with Ukrainian blood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the sanctions being imposed are not enough and nations must do more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: The aggressor's audacity is a clear signal to the West that sanctions imposed against Russia are not enough. But they haven't got them. They haven't felt them over there. They've not noticed that the world is truly resolute truly seeking to stop this war. You will not hide from this reality. You will not hide from new murders in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And major energy companies are feeling the economic pressure both in Russia and beyond. Russia's second largest oil firm Luke Oil is breaking ranks with President Putin and calling for an end to the war.

And U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. and its allies are discussing what to do with Russian oil imports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: We're adding to the sanctions virtually every day. We're doing it in coordination with Europeans when there's a difference between us if there's a loophole on one side or the other. We're closing it. That's part of the work that I was doing here. And when it comes to oil, Russian oil, I was on the phone yesterday with the president, other members of the cabinet on exactly the subject and we are now talking to our European partners and allies to look in a coordinated way at the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil. While making sure that there is still an appropriate supply of oil on world markets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: More than 4500 people were detained across Russia Sunday in connection with anti-war protests. That's according to an independent human rights monitoring group tracking detentions in the country. In St. Petersburg video posted to social media shows anti-war protesters in a violent altercation with police. See an NGO located and verify the authenticity of the video which was taken on Sunday.

In New York City, the war in Ukraine has shaken a tight knit Russian and Eastern European neighborhood known as Little Odessa. CNN's Gary Tuchman spoke with residents there who strongly oppose the conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Here on the boardwalk next to the ocean. Anger about the war in Ukraine and about the men who started it, Russian President Vladimir Putin. And Anastasiia Stepanova was born and raised in Russia, South of Moscow. She came to the United States eight years ago,

ANASTASIIA STEPANOVA, NATIVE OF UKRAINE: I think that he's drunk with power. And I'm not sure what goals he tries to pursue. But I just hope that he will wake up one day and look in the mirror and ask himself, is he happy with what he's done? And one day the answer will be no, and he will step away and he will keep his hands of the people out there.

TUCHMAN: The boardwalk is in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach neighborhood. Where the elevated train noisily rumbles over businesses that have signs in Russian. So many people from the countries the former Soviet Union live here that the neighborhood is also known as the little Odessa. Liliia Rakhmanguvola moved here about five years ago from the city of Smolensk, Russia.

Lillia, you're from Russia. What do you think of Putin?

LILIIA RAKHMANGUVOLA, NATIVE OF RUSSIA: Putin is a killer.

TUCHMAN: Putin is a killer, she says. This should not have happened. We live together with Ukrainian brothers and sisters. This has to be stopped.

Inside the blatant bizarre grocery store full of Russian specialty foods and delicacies we meet Michael, who moved here about 20 years ago from Moscow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Government of Ukraine and government of Russia should negotiate. The war shouldn't be. I agree with this.

TUCHMAN: But do you think Russia has any business invading Ukraine?

KRUGLAK: Probably not.

TUCHMAN: Up the road a bit is the Brooklyn Banya. A traditional Russian bathhouse with a T.V. tuned to Russia news and clientele from the countries of the former Soviet Union. Alona Kruglak is a Ukrainian, has own the business for two decades and says everyone has always gotten along here.

ALONA KRUGLAK, BROOKLYN BANYA OWNER: And now all of a sudden, we're being divided saying you're Ukrainian, I hate you. You're Russian, I hate you. It just not so. Nobody hates anybody. Nobody wants this war.

TUCHMAN: Here at the Brooklyn Banya, we meet one woman who says both her parents were sent to a Soviet Gulag in Siberia after World War II for political activities. Tia Altosaar immigrated to the U.S. from Estonia.

TIA ALTOSAAR, NATIVE OF ESTONIA: I think it's unbelievable. Especially because this war is now like a 20th century war on 21st century. And I feel hopeless because knowing what Putin could do, it could be forevermore.

TUCHMAN: Back at the beach, Anastasiia says, for her this is unbearable.

STEPANOVA: I lost my sleep. I lost my appetite. I cry every day, I read the news. And I just -- can I say one thing in Russian?

TUCHMAN: Yes. And what does that mean?

STEPANOVA: I said that please hold on and we're together here for you and there, for you. And everything will be good because there's no other way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: The people we talked to here were passionate and eloquent. But nobody is optimistic that this will come to an end soon. Instead, people seem frozen in fear about the next terrible thing that will happen. It's a very traumatizing time here in Little Odessa. This is Gary Tuchman, CNN in New York.

CHURCH: And still to come. New details on the arrest of WNBA Star Brittney Griner in Russia and what U.S. officials are saying about her detention. We're back with that in just a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, there is a lot of mystery surrounding the arrest in Russia of WNBA Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner. Customs officials at an airport near Moscow reportedly found cannabis oil in her luggage last month. But news of the arrest just went public over the weekend. CNN World Sports Anchor Don Riddell has the details.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: One day after we learned that the American basketball star Brittney Griner had been arrested in Russia. The U.S. government suggested that it was working to help with her case. Speaking at a press conference alongside the President of Moldova, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke briefly about Griner's situation.

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BLINKEN: With regard to the individual you mentioned, there's only so much I can say given privacy considerations at this point. Let me just say more generally, whenever an American is detained anywhere in the world, we of course stand ready to provide every possible assistance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: Much about this case, however, it remains unclear. News of Griner's detention only emerged on Saturday when Russia's Federal Customs Service said an unnamed female basketball player had been arrested at an airport near Moscow in February. A Russian news agency later identified the U.S. citizen as Griner. [02:55:08]

RIDDELL: The Customer Service claimed that Griner was carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. As a result, the two-time Olympic champion and seven-time WNBA all-star could be facing a jail sentence of up to 10 years. Her case is now significantly complicated by Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine and the global condemnation of its hostile actions.

That may limit the U.S. government's ability to help especially as it is actively applying economic sanctions against Russia and trying not to further escalate tensions in the region. Underlying the sensitive nature of her case, Britney's wife has written about it on Instagram. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to me regarding my wife's safe return from Russia said Cherelle Greiner. Please honor our privacy as we continue to work on getting my wife home safely.

Meanwhile, there remains a great deal of concern for Brittney Griner's health and well-being. The American-Iranian journalist Jason Rezaian telling me, "It appears to be the most audacious hostage taking by a state imaginable." Rezaian calling for Griner's release and the release of other American citizens being held in Russia on Twitter. Rezaian spent 544 days unjustly imprisoned by Iran before he was released in January of 2016. Back to you.

CHURCH: Thanks for that. Well, thank you for your company. I'm Rosemary Church here in Atlanta. Michael Holmes, we'll be back in just a moment from Ukraine with more of our breaking news coverage. You're watching CNN.

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