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Ukraine And U.N Slam Plan For Civilian Evacuation Routes That Mostly That Lead To Russia And Belarus; Russian Military Steps Up Attacks On Key Ukrainian Cities; PENTAGON: "All The Combat Power" Putin Amassed For Invasion Of Ukraine Now Inside The Country; ICRC Pleas For More Humanitarian Access In Ukraine; New Images Show Attack That Killed People In Iprin; EU: We Need To Prepare For 5 Million Ukrainian Refugees; U.N: Six In 10 Ukrainian Refuges Are In Poland; Frantic Rush To Escape War. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 08, 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, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: -- like Belarus where many refugees obviously do not want to go. The Ukrainian president reportedly called Russia's proposal immoral, and it was loudly condemned by the UN.

On Monday, meanwhile, Russia ramping up its bombardment of key Ukrainian cities. This is just a sliver of the damage in Kharkiv and in Mykolaiv where residential neighborhoods are not being spared. UN Human Rights officials say more than 400 civilians are confirmed dead since the attacks began with about 800 others wounded.

In Northern Ukraine, this blue wall church caught fire after an alleged Russian military strike there. One of the priests from St. George's says a shell hit the dome. Russian troops shot at houses and the fence was riddled with machine gunfire. He says, "Thanks God, no one was there."

Meanwhile, Ukraine's president has reportedly returned to his office for the first time since the Russian invasion began. And he had a defiant message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): We are all on the ground. We are all working. Everyone is where they should be. I am in Kyiv. My team is with me. The territorial defense is on the ground. The servicemen are in position. Our heroes, doctors, rescuers, transporters, diplomats, journalist, everyone, we are all at war. We all contribute to our victory which would definitely be achieved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The Ukrainian military digging in this artillery unit firing at Russian forces. This is just north of Kyivv. The Pentagon says that giant Russian convoy outside the capitol is still stalled. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We know that we are defending our country, and the enemy should know that we are always on guard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There's a feeling of strength that the enemy clearly cannot resist. We're defending our children. So the truth clearly is on our side. God is on our side. Ukraine will last forever. Victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, the Pentagon says nearly all the combat power that the Russian president amassed for his invasion of Ukraine is now inside the country. We're told these images posted online appear to show the Russian army taking up positions near residential apartments in Irpin using civilians there for cover. The suburb west of Kyiv has been hammered in recent days. And police say another 2,000 people were evacuated from there on Monday.

The United Nation says more than 1.7 million people have now fled Ukraine for other countries since this all began, and the EU warning that figure could reach 5 million.

CNN's Chief U.S. Security Correspondent, Jim Sciutto is here in Ukraine and has details now on the day's developments on the ground. We do warn some of the images are disturbing.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Russia is closing in on the Ukrainian Capital Kyiv. Russian tanks on the streets of European just west of the Capitol with heavy fighting all around the city. This video captures the moment a Russian airstrike hits Kyiv.

When the smoke clears, the devastation becomes clear. The air strike killed an entire family, two adults and two children.

The New York Times showed the horrible aftermath on their front page for the world to see. In the South, Russia's assaulting the port city of Mykolaiv. NATO says Russia is using cluster bombs, a weapon widely banned due to risk of civilian casualties when used in populated areas. This rocket landed unexploded in the zoo.

In the town of Mariupol which Russian forces have now surrounded, citizens lined up for water. Their homes cut off from utilities for more than a week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGIE ORLOV, DEPUTY MAYOR, MARIUPOL, UKRAINE: We absolutely sure that the aim of Putin and the Russian army to kill as much citizen as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Today the UN has confirmed more than 406 civilians killed in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, while emphasizing that the real figures are considerably higher. Still, the U.S. military is pointing to problems Russia is having with its advance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PRESS SECRETARY, PENTAGON: The Russians continue to get frustrated and slow down, and they really haven't made any noteworthy progress in the last few days with the exception of down south.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Ukrainian leaders are trying to inspire and strengthen their people. Mayor of Kyiv posted this video of his visit to a maternity ward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV, UKRAINE: Life goes on. 82 kids were born just in this hospital. This is the beginning of the war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Russia says the third round of talks with Ukraine did not meet its expectations.

[02:05:08]

SCIUTTO: As Ukraine's president, in a new interview with ABC News, invited the Russian President Putin himself to come to the table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): What needs to be done is for President Putin to stop talking, start the dialogue instead of living in the informational bubble without oxygen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: The U.S. and NATO allies have accelerated the flow of weapons into Ukraine. A senior U.S. official tells me they have sent 17,000 anti -tank missiles, 2,000 anti-aircraft missiles. The U.S. and Poland are now considering sending fighter jets from Poland to Ukraine.

According to a White House spokesperson, though the office of Poland's Prime Minister tweeted quote, "Poland won't send fighter jets to Ukraine."

Polish officials say publicly, they're worried such a transfer could make their country a target for Russia. Jim Sciutto, CNN, Lviv.

HOLMES: Liana Fix is a Historian and Political Scientist as well as a Resident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund. She joins me now from Buffalo, New York for the second time, too.

Because when we spoke last it was about a fascinating piece you wrote in foreign affairs headline, "What if Putin wins? Well, it's a new piece. Headline, "What if Russia loses?" What would Russia losing look like?

LIANA FIX, RESIDENT FELLOW, GERMAN MASHALL FUND: Well, thanks so much for having me again. My colleague, Michael Kimmage and I, we try to think through what the situation looks like right now for watching it. And we argue Putin made a strategic blunder because he underestimated the international response, the Ukrainian resistance, but also the Russian population, and the public.

Russian lose could look-- could take different forms. We could see first, some attempt of occupation of Ukraine, which would be very costly, and perhaps could lead after a couple of years to withdraw.

But we could also see pockets and parts of Ukraine that remain under Ukrainian control, and would be leading in Ukrainian insurgency and resistance against Russian occupation, which would be very costly.

So an entire rollback militarily of Russia and Ukraine would be difficult, but Putin can certainly not win this war anymore on his preferred terms.

HOLMES: And to that point, I mean, the thing I think people feel about Putin is, it's not in his DNA to back down or even look like he's backing down. How dangerous is that make him if he is indeed losing on the battlefield or stalled and then perhaps to lose public support at home? How dangerous is that making?

FIX: Absolutely, he will use everything. And we've seen this in the last days. He would use more aggressive military power, we've seen the bombardment of cities. He will use the strength that he has. He will use repression and terror. That makes him definitely more dangerous. And that also will define the outcome of the war in general.

What-- this gives us an opportunity for Ukraine is that they are better positioned at the moment on the ground with the support of Western weapons, and they have a cause they fight for. And this is what the Russian president and especially his army are lacking.

We argued in our piece, autocratic rulers have a lot of difficulties losing a war and remaining autocratic rulers. So for the Russian president, this can be a very existential war.

HOLMES: It's a long list of miscalculations by him from the very beginning. Meanwhile, though, you know, what damage has he wrought on his own economy, on his own people particularly if this drags out? What could that do to his own political survivability?

I mean, you know, as you said, in the piece, and it's a great line, the lesson autocratic rulers is-- cannot lose wars and remain autocrats. What then would the people in the-- or the Kremlin possibly turn on him? What would it take?

FIX: Well, it would certainly take the realization that the war in Ukraine is not only the-- or the aim of Russia is not only to destroy Ukraine. But that, in the same way Russia would be destroyed. The Russian economy would be destroyed. Russia is a political identity-- political entity would be weakened. So one, it's certainly very difficult to imagine after a rational loss

to see a liberal Russia emerging from such a defeat which will be certainly a humiliating defeat if it is comparable to the war, or if at some point Russia has to as one.

[02:10:12]

FIX: We could see for instance, Russia fracturing, for instance, in Chechnya, we could see the Russian president losing control over the leads, and also over the military elites in his power.

In any case, this will be a very dangerous scenario, because Russia will not come out of that as a prosperous liberal country, but as a country that has lost a war, and is in a very dire state internally.

HOLMES: Which is a fascinating aspect of your article. I mean, you do write that a Russian defeat would be little cause for celebration for the rest of the world. I mean, the fallout of a humiliated pariah state with nuclear weapons intact, that fallout could be considerable, couldn't it?

FIX: Absolutely. I mean, the challenge would be first, to rebuild Ukraine in that case, and then, this would be a huge task for the West Ukraine would want to join EU and NATO, but it would be a war zone after years of fighting. So, that would be a big task.

But as much of a challenge would also be to-- we integrate Russia somehow into the international community, and to prevent that Russia becomes a weapon to power in the middle of the international community that especially you will have to worry about, because at some point, the United States will say, "Well, now we finally have to focus on China and Russia is now very much Europe's responsibility."

HOLMES: It's a fascinating piece, you and your co-author wrote. Both of them are on Foreign Affairs urged people to read them. Great analysis. Liana Fix, we'll get you back. Thanks so much.

FIX: Thank you.

HOLMES: All right. Well, Ukrainian officials said Monday that civilians are under fire as Russia hits evacuation routes this coming as the International Committee of the Red Cross sounds the alarm over a lack of safe passage for civilians and aid workers.

The ICRC tweeted that it failed to evacuate some 200,000 civilians out of the city of Mariupol when safe passage there was halted for the second consecutive day. The Ukrainians say because of Russian shelling.

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry releasing video Monday, showing civilians stuck in Mariupol, unable to leave Ukraine because of the shelling and the violence, and many running out of food and other supplies.

The ICRC says there is an urgent need for a functioning agreement to allow their safe passage out and aid in. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN SCHUEPP, EUROPE REGIONAL DIRECTOR, ICRC: The situation in Mariupol today is devastating. People are increasingly desperate. Our team remains today in Mariupol under the most difficult of circumstances, and stands ready to help if an agreement is reached.

However, in order to do so, they need necessary security to operate. And to all those who are affected by the conflict in Ukraine today, please hear that we do everything in our power to help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry says Russia meanwhile sabotaging efforts to create safe humanitarian corridors if had agreed to in a third round of talks that ended Monday in Belarus.

It's also slamming Russia's proposed humanitarian corridors out of Ukraine because almost all of them go to Russia or Belarus. Not a lot of refugees from this country want to go there. Andriy Dupchak captured the horror of what millions of Ukrainians are facing with this video from the city of Irpin, just west of Kyiv. Showing the Russian military strike which killed a family as they tried to escape.

A warning once again, this video is graphic and might be hard to watch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get over here (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no. Both, back.

HOLMES: Now, speaking with CNN. Dubchak described the moment of the attack saying there is no doubt in his mind that people who died were targeted as they tried to flee.

ANDRIY DUBCHAK, FOUNDER, DONBAS FRONTLINER: We arrived to the-- this place approximately like maybe 20 minutes before. And it was started artillery shelling by mortar, and explosion was far from us, but then closer, closer, closer, closer.

And this last one explosion is due to the explosion near the people who tried to escape this bridge here. And I'm, like, confident artillery observer 100 percent saw the explosion like, and saw the people in the bridge who tried to escape this region, this location.

And there was a lot of children, woman, man, retired people. And you can see there at my photo all the people who tried to escape, and 100 percent it's more crime.

HOLMES: Now, photojournalist, Lynsey Addario was also in Irpin covering the attack for the New York Times. She captured these images which are graphic and disturbing. We'll show them to you.

The Mayor of Irpin meanwhile, says, at least eight people were killed in Russian attacks on Sunday including that family of four, two children, two adults senselessly killed as they attempted to escape war. Targeted as they did so. Addario describes what she experienced on the scene.

LYNSEY ADDARIO, PHOTOJOURNALIST, NEW YORK TIMES: There's no question in my mind, I mean, the mortars when they first started coming in, were about 200 meters off in the distance. Still pretty close, given that this was a pedestrian evacuation route. There was sort of no place for incoming mortars, but it was still often a distance.

And so at one point, my security adviser said, "You know, we should think about pulling out", and I said, "Well, they're actually firing mortars toward where our vehicle was parked. And in order to get there, we'd have to run through that line of fire. And I thought, they're not going to start targeting the civilian. So let's just stay here until it dies down."

Well, in fact, within minutes, the rounds were coming closer, and closer, and closer to where that civilian path was, until one landed, 30 feet from me, and next to this poor family.

HOLMES: Now, Ukrainians not backing down from the fight despite the carnage. One refugee now in Poland is confident the Ukrainian people can handle Russian ground forces if only they had help from NATO.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLENA, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE (through translator): If Ukrainian just hopes that NATO will close the sky for us because we're ready to fight, and we're ready to protect us from tanks, and from artillery. But we're not able to protect our sky. We beg God to protect the sky because NATO is just watching.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Do stay with us here on CNN for much more on this war in Ukraine.

Just ahead. A 100 people are said to be crossing from Ukraine into Poland every minute. We'll have a report from the border coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:22:03]

HOLMES: Welcome back. The European Union's Foreign Policy Chief Joseph Borrell is warning the EU needs to prepare for 5 million refugees from this country as the Russian bombardment intensifies.

More than 1.7 million have already fled for other countries. The UN believes about half of them are children.

Borrell says he is afraid countries around Ukraine may be heading for the same kind of overwhelming refugee crisis as we saw in Syria, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, Romania, all welcoming people though, fleeing the war.

DR. RAED ARAFAT, HEAD OF EMERGENCY SITUATIONS DEPARTMENT, ROMANIA: We see children, a lot of children, we see children coming only with their mothers because their fathers are staying there to fight. And this is a real humanitarian crisis.

No one in Europe expected to see this happening again after what happened in World War II.

HOLMES: Poland has taken in the most refugees by far well over a million. CNN Correspondent, Sarah Sidner is there for us.

SARAH SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are here at the border between Poland and Ukraine. This is one of the many borders, a very large one. There is both a border where you can get lots of cars through, and then there's a walking border.

And what we've noticed over the past 48 to 72 hours is that there are far more people coming over by foot than we have seen since the beginning of this. And almost everyone is a woman or a child. There are very few men in this crowd. And we know why they are back in Ukraine fighting against Russia.

Now, I want to give you some idea of what these numbers mean, because you hear the number 1.7 million over these several days. And you're wondering what does that mean. Well, the UN says, look, that means that a 100 people are coming over every minute, and every hour. That means that 6,000 people coming over every hour. And that means in 24 hours, that's a 144,000 people who are coming out of Ukraine and trying to find refuge in other countries.

This country, Poland, has the vast majority of them with more than a million people now who have crossed over these borders. Sarah Sidner, CNN Medyka, Poland.

HOLMES: Now, some refugees are hoping to find a temporary home in Belgium. Hundreds were lined up outside of registration center in Brussels on Monday morning. That center setup last week after EU interior ministers unanimously backed a plan to grant temporary residency to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.

KATERINA DEBERA, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE: I just want to leave in peace and in freedom. And I hope that here it will be possible. And I hope that here we could stay and live normal life without war.

MAX SHAPOVALOV, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE: In Ukraine it's very dangerous. There is war. That's why I take my family and comes here, because here is much safe than there. All buildings where we live is destroyed by Putin army.

HOLMES: Now, those seeking temporary residency can stay in Belgium for up to two years with access to jobs, housing, schools, and health care. Well, so far more than 40,000 of our viewers here at CNN have helped

raise more than $3.2 million to help Ukrainians in need of shelter, food, and water. If you'd like to join them, go to cnn.com/impact.

Still to come here on the program. New efforts to get Ukrainian civilians out of the country under way at this hour. Our breaking news coverage after the break.

Also, the frantic rush to a state war. Just ahead. We'll hear from Ukrainian struggling with a harsh and heartbreaking reality triggered by Russia's invasion.

[02:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back. More now on our top story this hour. Another attempt to evacuate civilians from five of Ukraine's most besieged cities, could get underway at any moment. Russia proposing the ceasefire which was supposed to start in the last 30 minutes. But right now, unclear if either side is actually sticking to the plan. We'll let you know when we hear.

Now, all of this coming as Russia's attacks on Ukraine intensified. Videos posted to social media showing the devastation left behind after reported Russian strikes in Mykolaiv and near Kharkiv. UN officials say, at least 400 civilians, including 27 children have been killed since Russia invaded. But, cautioned, the actual number could be much higher than that.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's President remaining defiant, appearing in his office on Monday for the first time since Russia invaded. And saying, he is not leaving, and he is not afraid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Here I am. I'm staying here in Bankova. Not hiding. And I am not afraid of anyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: A unit there opening fire on Russian troops near Kyiv. And the Pentagon says, that massive Russian convoy, that had been making its way towards Kyiv before it stopped, still appears to be stalled outside the capital.

One senior U.S. defense official, also telling CNN, nearly all of the Russian troops that were once massed along Ukraine's border are now inside the country. Now, this video taken from social media, showing Russian tanks taking up positions among residential apartment blocks. This is in suburban Kyiv, and certainly it looks like civilian shield is being used there.

Meanwhile, U.N. reporting more than 1.7 million refugees have fled Ukraine in the last two weeks. And the EU warning, the number could eventually reach five million. Now, so many Ukrainians are facing a dangerous and desperate scramble to flee the Russian assault. Leaving behind loved ones and their country for an uncertain future. That unimaginable heartbreak, witnessed on the streets of Irpin. Rohit Kachroo with ITV News was there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROHIT KACHROO, ITV NEWS GLOBAL SECURITY EDITOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): To cross the river is perilous. To not cross it, is far more so.

This is the escape from Irpin. Where the lucky leave alive. As the sound of shelling moves closer, not everyone have the good fortune to be able to run.

This was hardly a dash to safety but it was no less desperate. An elderly woman, struggling to keep up. Other evacuees, streaming past, as she inched towards safety.

KACHROO (on camera) (through translator): What was -- tell me what last night was like?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It was hell. It was scary and it was hell. We looked for help.

KACHROO (voiceover): Then, we spot another group emerging from underneath the broken bridge. Some have left with few possessions from long unsettled lives. But if this looks like agony, imagine those they left behind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I panicked a lot. Especially this -- at night. But this sound, as you can hear now, is not comparing to that usual struggle in this night because it was light and bombing and the whole building was shaking. And we have been sitting in the doorway, like, half a night.

KACHROO (voiceover): They've now reached the end of one road. The start of another.

KACHROO (on camera): Where are you going now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To Kyiv Railway Station.

[02:35:00]

KACHROO (on camera): And where are you going after that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After -- I -- my family go to East. I go to war.

KACHROO (on camera): You're going to war?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. It's my land.

KACHROO (voiceover): Then, another evacuee arrives with news from the town beyond Irpin.

It is done for, he says. Everyone has been killed.

A moment to reflect does nothing to help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): How can you talk about humanity in this world when the whole country is being destroyed? We are a small country but we have everything, we are happy with everything. How can the whole wide world allow our country to be wiped from the face of the Earth?

KACHROO (voiceover): The next stop is towards Kyiv. Along the same route, Russian troops want to take.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We are going to the train station, that's -- that's all we know. We are just fleeing. We'll go wherever we can.

KACHROO (voiceover): We're invited into one of the tower blocks in the path of Russia's advance, where, for now, some refused to go anywhere.

KACHROO (on camera): So, why doesn't she leave and get on one of those buses outside?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I don't know. I don't have an answer for that.

KACHROO (voiceover): At Kyiv's central train station, those who did leave Irpin are taken West, as far as they can go. One man tells us, he was hit by Russian bullets on his way here.

KACHROO (on camera): Who shot you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Russian soldiers, I saw their vehicles with the letter "V" on them.

KACHROO (voiceover): Across the waiting room, he spots his wife. They'll travel to Lviv together.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I think we've been very lucky.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's like another birthday. It feels like another birthday.

KACHROO (voiceover): They are not alone in making a journey which would have seemed unthinkable 10 days ago. An escape from shootings and shrapnel means an escape from home. All this is the painful consequence of the decision of one man. Rohit Kachroo, ITV News, Kyiv.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And we will have much more from Ukraine, coming up. But first, let's head over to Atlanta and Rosemary Church. Rosie?

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANCHOR: Thanks so much Michael. We'll see you again at the top of the hour. While their cities have come under attack, but they are staying. Coming up, the Ukrainian women who are providing vital support to those on the front lines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:40:00]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, it has become disturbingly clear that Ukrainian civilians are targets in this war. The U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. is especially concerned about women and girls, who are vulnerable to gender-based violence. But for some Ukrainian women, there is no choice but to stay and support their loved ones who have gone to the front. Anderson Cooper, spoke with several of them in Lviv.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): In a volunteer center in Lviv, moms whose husbands and children have taken up arms gather supplies for those fighting further East.

ERINA, ANGEL ON YOUR SHOULDER: We understand we need to hold strong. Like a fist. Like this. We have a very strong face. We believe that we will win. And this will hold us together.

COOPER (voiceover): Erina (ph) works for a group called, Angel on Your Shoulder. She's recruited more than a hundred women to pack boxes around the clock.

ERINA: Nonstop. Nonstop.

COOPER (voiceover): Everything is donated. Medicine, toiletries, all kinds of prepackaged food.

COOPER (on camera): They're looking for things which are easy to prepare or you could just add water to for troops at the front or families.

COOPER (voiceover): Nothing stays here for long. The work is hard, the war is harder. Angela's husband left for the front yesterday.

ANGELA, VOLUNTEER TO HELP UKRAINE'S DEFENDERS: My husband, yesterday.

COOPER (voiceover): He's a doctor, a veteran of the Soviet War in Afghanistan.

COOPER (on camera): Does it help to work here? To stay busy?

ANGELA (through translator): We are doing what we can. We keep on praying. People ask, how you're not crying? But, you know, crying doesn't help. Each person does what they can.

COOPER (voiceover): Angela is in the reserves as well. But for now, she's taking care of her family and volunteering.

COOPER (on camera): Thank you for your strength. You give me and everybody strength.

ANGELA (through translator): Thank you very much.

COOPER (voiceover): In another building, more mothers, more volunteers making camouflage netting to hide tanks and artillery.

ALINA, VOLUNTEER TO HELP UKRAINE'S DEFENDERS (through translator): Let me teach you. Do you see? Just like this.

COOPER (voiceover): Alina's son is already in the fight.

COOPER (on camera): What made you want to come here?

[02:45:00]

ALINA (through translator): We need to protect our country. It is difficult to speak. My son is in the army since 2015. I didn't want to let him go. And he said, who will go if not me? How will I be able to say to people that I hid in shelter? So, he left, and it was extremely difficult for me.

COOPER (voiceover): Many in this room have had to flee their homes in Kharkiv and Kyiv. They wonder when the bombs will fall here.

COOPER (on camera): If you could talk to mothers in Russia, what would you tell them?

ALINA: I would tell them to take their sons back. We are all sorry for them. They are also humans. Human life was created by God. How can it be taken away just like that? They will be judged and face punishment for this. You cannot do this. Let them take their kids.

COOPER (voiceover): This war has many fronts. And for mothers, there are many ways to fight.

Anderson Cooper, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And still to come, more pain at the gas pump as the price climbs to an all-time high in the U.S. We will have the numbers next. And pleas for freedom, growing calls for Russia to release a WNBA star who's been detained for weeks. Coming up, the international diplomatic efforts underway will explain. Stay with us.

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[02:50:00]

CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, Russia's assault on Ukraine has rattled global markets and sent oil prices surging. Now, the price of gasoline in the U.S. has reached an all-time high. According to the oil price information service, the average price for a gallon of regular gas has climbed to $4.14. Breaking a record set in 2008. Brent Crude also rising to levels not seen in nearly 14 years. Oil prices soared further over the weekend, after the U.S. Secretary of State said the U.S. and its allies are looking into the possibility of banning Russian oil imports.

And investors in the U.S. remain on edge as the war continues in Ukraine. Monday marked the worst day of the year for the Dow and S&P 500. The Nasdaq closed down more than three and a half percent and is now in a bear market.

Well, right now, the exact whereabouts of two-time Olympic basketball champion, American Britney Griner, remains unknown. So, to her fate after Russian authorities say that she was detained at Moscow's airport last month on drug charges. Russia's main state-owned news channel reports this photo shows Griner holding a sign with her name on it at a Russian police station. More than 27,000 people have signed an online petition demanding her immediate release. According to a statement by Russian officials, hash oil was allegedly found in her luggage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IRINA BEGISHEVA, FEDERAL CUSTOMS SERVICE (through translator): An expert determined that the liquid is a not conduct drug, cannabis oil. A criminal case has been opened against an American citizen for smuggling a significant amount of drugs.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: While the Biden Administration is working to secure her release, many fear she could now be used as a political pawn by the Kremlin.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov has the latest now from Phoenix, Arizona.

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BRITNEY GRINER, WNBA PLAYER: What am I going to do for the rest of the day? It's freezing cold outside.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): WNBA star Britney Griner, in her own words, telling ESPN about the isolation of playing basketball off-season of Russia.

GRINER: It made me open up to my family more on telling them, like, how much I love them.

KAFANOV (voiceover): Those lessons, now more grim, as Griner seen here at the airport entering Russia is detained at a security checkpoint for allegedly having cannabis oil in a vape pen. The video and details just emerging. But Russian customs officials say the arrest happened in February. A criminal case has been opened with a possible punishment of up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

All of this against a backdrop of war.

DEBBIE JACKSON, BRITNEY GRINER'S HIGH SCHOOL COACH: They're really like your second family.

KAFANOV (voiceover): Debbie Jackson coached Griner at a Houston high school, calling her disciplined and humble. Jackson isn't surprised Griner went on to become a seven-time WNBA all-star in Phoenix and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Her message now for her former student.

JACKSON: You've always had a true resolve and grit to get to the finish line. And now that you will get to the finish line.

KAFANOV (voiceover): Griner's wife on Instagram telling her, my heart, our hearts, are all skipping beats every day that goes by. I miss your voice. I miss your presence. Those familiar with Russian policies say, Griner's sexual orientation may also be a complicating factor.

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): Russia has some very, very strict LGBT rules and laws. That may be part of this also.

KAFANOV (on camera): You're worried that's part of this?

GARAMENDI: I wouldn't be surprised.

KAFANOV: California Congressman, John Garamendi, says the lack of a diplomatic channel with Russia, amid a war in Ukraine, is a huge roadblock. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said the U.S. is working this and other cases. Like that of Trevor Reed, held in Russia for more than two years. Telling the U.S. Embassy, he has no medical attention behind bars.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're doing everything we can to see to it that their rights are upheld and respected.

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KAFANOV (voiceover): Like others, Griner plays in Russia during the off-season where the pay is better. Now, her toughest challenge moves to a different kind of court.

JACKSON: You're always hoping for the best and cheering for them to stay on top.

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KAFANOV (on camera): And there are so many unanswered questions about this case. We don't know the exact date of Griner's arrest. We don't know where she's being held or under what conditions. CNN has reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other officials for comment, no response yet. The basketball star's fate, meanwhile for now, hanging in the balance.

Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Phoenix Arizona.

CHURCH: And thanks for being with us. I'm Rosemary Church in Atlanta. Michael Holmes will be back in just a moment from Ukraine with more of our breaking news coverage. You are watching CNN.

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