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Kyiv Officials Say Heavy Fighting In Many Directions Around The Ukrainian Capital; U.S. Envoy To UN Accuses Russia Of War Crimes; Macron Welcomes EU Leaders For Ukraine Crisis Talks At Versailles; Zelenskyy Hits Back At Russian Chemical Weapons Propaganda; CNN Boarded A NATO Surveillance Plane Above The Polish-Ukrainian Border; Refugees Pour Into Romania Amid Mass Exodus from Ukraine; Images Tell the Story of Chaos, Love in Ukraine; Finding Solace in Music. Aired 1- 2a ET

Aired March 11, 2022 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:15]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes in Lviv, Ukraine, thanks for your company. And from the country's capital, Russian forces appear to be closing in with a new offensive from the east. New satellite images revealing that long Russian military convoy to the north of Kyiv has been largely dispersed to where as yet unclear, but Russian forces are moving in from an airport in the Northwest about 15 kilometers or nine miles from the city center. The fighting in the suburbs of Kyiv has been intense.

And we have these dramatic pictures too, Ukrainian forces claiming they have destroyed a Russian tank regiment and killed its commander. This was north of Kyiv.

Satellite images show the damage from Russian strikes on an industrial center and the supermarket, this is outside the capitol. As U.S. defense officials say that the Russians are relying more on long range strikes and missile launches.

Meanwhile, an Italian journalist recorded video of sick orphans being evacuated from a Kyiv suburb. Ukraine's Foreign Minister tweeting the images condemning what he called Russia's barbaric crimes. It's not clear if these children were injured in the fighting.

Well, joining me now from Canberra, Australia, retired Australian Army Major General Mick Ryan. He is the author of the book, "War Transformed: The Future of 21st Century Great Power, Competition and Conflict." Good to see you again, sir.

When you look at what's happened in Mariupol, it's hard to think of a worse thing to do even in war than bombed a maternity and children's hospital. What do you draw from that kind of act in the context of the overall conflict?

MAJOR GEN. MICK RYAN (RET.), AUSTRALIAN ARMY: Hi, Michael, it's good to talk again, what I draw from that as the Russians are getting desperate. Putin's warplane of taking care of in a fast, cheap and easy war in two days has failed. He has now committed 100 percent of his grand forces to this war. It's very difficult to see how the Russians can maintain momentum in the East, in the South and in the north at the same time. So they're resorting to these kinds of tactics to terrorize Ukrainian civilians, and the Ukrainian government into some kind of political accommodation.

HOLMES: Do you get the sense that, you know, despite what Putin's plans were before the invasion, that we might end up in a situation where there will not be a military solution to this that the mistakes and miscalculations mean that, you know, even if key falls there, there is nothing, nothing decisive about the conflict, it will go on.

RYAN: Now, I think you're right, Michael, I don't think there is any longer a military solution where Russia wins this. Even if they capture Kyiv or Kharkiv or even Mariupol, they're capturing rubble. The Ukrainians have not given up. They have plenty of heart. They got a large country to defend and it appears to me they're going to continue doing that, regardless of how many cities they lose in the east or the North.

HOLMES: I know you said and I think it's a very good point that this war has provided two very different examples of leadership in this war and perhaps obviously the underestimation by one of those leaders of the other, President Zelenskyy.

RYAN: I think so. We've grossly overestimated the strategic ness of President Putin. He's got all his underpinning assumptions about this war wrong. President Zelenskyy, on the other hand, is the exemplar of a wartime leader. And I would say that many leaders in the West have looked in the mirror and ask themselves, would they pass the Zelenskyy test?

HOLMES: Yes, What then and do you think President Zelenskyy's challenges ahead and his generals, both in terms of, you know, how he defends his cities militarily and also in terms of, you know, how he fires up his troops and his nation?

RYAN: Well, he's done a pretty good job of that so far. Not only has he fired up his troops and his people in the Ukraine, he's fired up the international community in a way we've not seen in a very long time. So he needs to continue doing that he'll be getting fatigued. And there are Russians and other mercenaries out there trying to kill him.

[01:05:07]

They need to keep Zelenskyy alive because he has become a symbol of hope for his people and indeed, the international community. He has some big decisions to make about does he stay or does he leave in your city, as well as a bit about places like the east where the fighting is very hard, and he may have to withdraw some forces just to save them.

HOLMES: Yes, we are already trying to pull back forces of Ukraine that are operating on UN missions abroad. I think one of the most striking things has been that, you know, obviously, as we've discussed, if Putin thought this would be easy, or his troops would be welcomed, he could not have been more wrong.

I mean, these images that we've seen of not just Ukrainian troops successes, but the people, ordinary civilians, literally standing in front of Russian troops and armor, telling them to go home. And again, even if the Russians prevail in the military sense, the war will not be over in terms of what will be a hostile population. Would you envision that switch to insurgency?

RYAN: Oh, I think so, Michael. I mean, the bravery and the resilience of the Ukrainian people has inspired all of us over the last two weeks, it's been tremendous to see that I would anticipate that any area that the Russians might occupy and forth. There will be some form of insurgency.

Indeed, the Russians have been terrible at securing their rear areas during their advances and Ukrainian territorial forces and civilians have really made them pay for that. I expect that to continue.

HOLMES: Yes, yes. As you and I've discussed before, taking territory is one thing holding it is very much another. Got it leave it there. Retired Australian Army Major General Mick Ryan in Canberra, really appreciate it. Always good to see.

RYAN: Thank you, Michael. Stay safe.

HOLMES: Thank you. It is been nearly a week since the city of Mariupol last received humanitarian aid and official say they are literally running out of food. Mariupol mayor spoke Thursday of two days of hell since that maternity hospital bombing that killed three people and wounded several others.

President Zelenskyy saying his government is still trying to get assistance to the town despite Russia's advance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Mariupol and Volnovakha remain completely blocked. Although we did everything necessary to make the humanitarian corridor work, Russian troops did not cease fire. Despite this, I decided to send a convoy of trucks to Mariupol anyway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now on Thursday, America's UN Ambassador agreed with other world leaders that Russia's actions in Ukraine are war crimes, but earlier on Thursday, the U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, well, she stopped short of an outright declaration of that and stuck with the official U.S. position that targeting civilians would be defined as a war crime and should be investigated. The U.S. State Department spokesman reiterating that call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We absolutely mat are supportive of efforts to document and to investigate reports of potential war crimes in Ukraine. The fact is that we've seen very credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians, which would under the Jima conventions constitute a war crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now warning there are images in our next report you might find disturbing almost certainly you will. They show some of the victims of the carnage in Mariupol. CNN's Phil Black without report.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over); When you hear Ukrainian city is under siege, cut off and under bombardment by Russian forces, this is what that means. No one knows how many people have been killed in Mariupol. But it's too many to allow the care and dignity that usually comes with death.

Relatively few images have escaped Mariupol since the siege began. These were captured by AP photo journalist, Evgeny Maloletka, who says he saw around 70 bodies buried in this trench over two days. They arrived wrapped in whatever people could find and use plastic bags even covered.

And this shows why it's likely there are many more, Mariupol suffering from above. Before and after satellite images reveal extraordinary devastation in commercial and shopping areas, residential neighborhoods too.

Russian munitions are steadily wiping out this city. It's already unlivable. There is no food, water, or power. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says a child in Mariupol has died of dehydration, probably for the first time since the Nazi invasion.

[01:10:00]

During a meeting in Turkey, the Ukrainian foreign minister says he asked his Russian counterpart for a humanitarian corridor to allow people to leave Mariupol.

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Unfortunately, Minister Lavrov was not in a position to commit himself to it, but he will correspond with respective authorities.

BLACK: That means Sergey Lavrov has to ask his boss, but Russia's top diplomat was comfortable repeating Russia's explanation for bombing a maternity hospital in Mariupol on Wednesday.

The Russian version says there were no patients or staff in these buildings, just soldiers. This was the reality captured in the moments immediately after the blast. And obviously pregnant woman is stretched from the side. Another hurt, bleeding walks out carrying what she can.

Russians often honor the bravery and determination shown by their own citizens who were besieged by Nazi forces in the second world war. Now, Russia is inflicting that same suffering on the people of Mariupol. Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HOLMES: Now in a few hours, European Union leaders will begin their second day of their summit in Versailles. Ukraine and several other former Eastern Bloc countries have applied of course for EU membership, but it doesn't seem like it will be granted just yet.

The French president telling reporters he does not think Ukraine a country at war should have its membership fast tracked. Emmanuel Macron describing the invasion as an immense trauma that will lead to completely redefining the architecture of Europe.

On Thursday, Ukraine's president said his people deserve to be welcomed into the EU and treated as equals.

All right, quick break here when we come back on CNN Newsroom, Ukraine successes so far against the Russian invasion, thanks in large part to weapons provided by the U.S. and NATO. We'll take a look at the arsenal at their disposal.

Also, the eye in the sky keeping track of Russia's military moves in Ukraine, we will take you to a NATO surveillance flight that monitored MiG fighter jets during their operation.

You're watching CNN Newsroom, we'll be right back.

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[01:16:35]

HOLMES: Welcome back. Ukraine hitting back at Russian allegations that Kyiv is planning to use chemical weapons. On Thursday, Moscow said Ukraine sent 80 tons of ammonia to its units near Kharkiv and train them on what to do in case of a chemical attack. But the Ukrainian president accusing Moscow of lying because he says Russia might be planning to use chemical weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: We are accused of attacks on allegedly peaceful Russia. And now what? What are these allegations of preparing chemical attacks? Have you decided to carry out dechemicalization of Ukraine using ammonia, using phosphorus? What else have you prepared for us? Where will you strike with chemical weapons?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now the British Prime Minister is on board with U.S. concerns that Russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine. The White House tweeting those concerns on Wednesday responding to Russian allegations the U.S. is developing chemical weapons there.

The Biden administration said those claims could be part of Moscow strategy to accuse others first before Russia would use those weapons themselves.

The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says that would hardly surprise him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, UK PRIME MINISTER: This time that you were hearing about chemical weapons. This is straight out of their playbook. They start saying that there are chemical weapons that have been stored by their opponents or by the Americans. And so when they themselves deploy chemical weapons as I fear they may, they have a sort of a maskirovka a fake story ready to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now we want to show you a cat and mouse game of surveillance playing out between NATO and Russia. The Alliance flying surveillance planes as you might expect over Eastern Europe keeping an eye on Russian moves in Ukraine's airspace, and CNN crew was on board one of the so called AWACS planes flown by NATO. As Natasha Bertrand reports, the flight spotted Russian made aircraft over Ukraine that didn't come from Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER (on camera): CNN was granted rare access to a NATO surveillance plate on Thursday, that was monitoring Russian air activity inside Ukrainian airspace and making sure that Russian jets did not get too close to NATO airspace.

Now what we're told from the NATO airmen on board today is that they were able to see on their radar, Russian made jets taking off from Belarus and entering Ukrainian airspace.

Now it was unclear to them exactly who was flying those jets whether they were Russian or Belarusian, because both countries fly the same kind of aircraft. But they agree that this aircraft has been taking off from Belarus in support of Russia's military operations inside Ukraine. And they say that this is just yet another example of how important Belarus has become to supporting Russia's war in Ukraine. Natasha Bertrand, Sittard, Netherlands.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HOLMES: The U.S. government has been united in its handling of the Ukraine invasion so far, but some cracks have now started to emerge. On Thursday, lawmakers from both parties called out the Biden administration for not letting Poland send jets to Ukraine. The White House says it would risk a further war between Russia and NATO. Despite that the senators believe the time has come to do more.

[01:20:03] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): I believe there's a sentiment that we're fearful about what Putin might do and what he might consider as an escalation. It's time for him to be fearful of what we might do. This is war, people are dying. We need to get this aircraft immediately to the people of Ukraine.

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-NJ): They did not have the wherewithal to compete in the sky. And so I understand why NATO and the United States are not engaged in a no-fly zone that has potential direct conflict with Russia. But I don't understand why we are not working expeditiously to facilitate planes to Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: A senior U.S. defense official says Russia is increasingly firing weapons from a distance these long range bombardments causing a lot of damage in populated areas. But Ukraine has been mounting stiff resistance in many of those areas boosted by us made weapons. CNN's Brian Todd with that part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Russian helicopter flying just above the tree line blasted out of the sky by what analysts say is likely a stinger anti-aircraft missile.

THOMAS KARAKO, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: If you're a Russian helicopter pilot, you never know where this is going to come from.

TODD: This video posted by the Ukrainian military. CNN is unable to verify when this happened. The Stinger, a heat seeking anti-aircraft missile with a range of five miles and 11,000 feet. A weapon so smart it can distinguish an enemy aircraft.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It starts to squawk friend or foe, it looks for targets that it's supposed to hit. So if you fired a stinger at a U.S. F-15 it probably missed but when you put a Russian made aircraft in the air and you use a U.S. Stinger, you're going to have contact.

TODD: U.S. officials tell CNN the U.S. and NATO have sent the Ukrainians thousands of stingers.

LT. GEN. SCOTT BERRIER, DIRECTOR, U.S. DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY: Weapons like stingers have moved in and that they have been used with effect and I think the Ukrainians will continue to be able to use those in small unit tactics so with great effect.

TODD: And the West has sent javelins, an anti-tank guided missile system shoulder fired with a range of over 8,000 feet.

KARAKO: By fire as a weapon that goes up into the air and then comes back down really hitting a tank or a vehicle from above, it does so because it's got less armor on the top generally is more vulnerable.

TODD: The Ukrainian military has put out several videos showing if lethal dexterity and using these western made weapons against the Russians. This video shows a destroyed Russian tank on fire. There's aerial footage of a Russian tank column getting slammed with missiles. Javelins and stingers crucial to the Ukrainians analysts say partly because they're so called fire and forget weapons.

MARKS: Fire and forget so you can fire it and then the person who fires it can scoop.

TODD: The Russians experts say have their own very effective weapons in Ukraine, Iskander and caliber missiles and light mobile T-72 tanks. But they're also accused of using cluster bombs and preparing to use so called vacuum or thermobaric bombs that are not supposed to be used in civilian areas.

MARKS: Thermal barracks are horrible, they explode and then they have a secondary explosion that sucks the air out of the immediate proximity.

TODD: Analysts say the Ukrainian success with their shoulder fired missiles is being aided by sometimes sloppy Russian tactics.

MARKS: They are lining their tanks and their armored personnel carriers, you know, nose to fanny, nose to fanny going down the street and there's no security, flank security to the left or the right. And so they become sitting ducks.

TODD (on camera): As effective as these weapons are, CNN is told that U.S. officials have been cognizant not to give the Ukrainians the newest versions of weapons like Stinger missiles out of concern that somehow on the battlefield, some of them might fall into the hands of the Russians, who then might steal the technology. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HOLMES: Hundreds of thousands making the arduous journey across Ukrainian borders in the hopes of reaching safety. When we come back, how one country is coping with the crisis and the overwhelming number of sudden refugees.

Also, images of the conflict in Ukraine telling the story in ways words cannot, we'll be one photojournalist who is trying to tell their stories through pictures. We'll be right back.

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[01:28:43]

HOLMES: Hello, everyone, I'm Michael Holmes live in Lviv, Ukraine. We do have some developments to tell you about from the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, where authorities say three air strikes have killed at least one person on Friday morning. The State Emergency Service in this country says the strikes hit close to a preschool and an apartment building and also hit a two-storey shoe factory causing it to catch fire. It is yet another attack on civilians in this country. The UN says nearly 550 have been killed since Russia invaded the actual toll though, will be much higher than that.

And again, we are following reports of airstrikes on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. We will keep an eye on developments there and bring you more information as we get it.

Now in about 90 minutes, European Union leaders will start arriving in Versailles for the second day of their summit which is sure to be dominated of course by the Russian invasion of this country.

The Ukrainian capital coming under increasing fire with Russian forces moving ever closer and from different directions. And you can see there on the map the growing amount of red marking the presence of Russian troops especially and newly to the east.

We got some satellite images now showing a heavy smoke and damage.

[01:29:50]

This is in Chernihiv, the city north of Kyiv has been cut off by the Russians, that's according to a senior U.S. Defense official.

But the besieged coastal city of Mariupol may be suffering the most as it has been for sometime now. Its mayor accusing Russia of genocide, saying no humanitarian aid has arrived in nearly a week and that some 400,000 people are being held hostage, as he put it.

In the past two days, a maternity hospital and a local emergency service building have been shelled. The CIA director says the Russian president underestimated the economic consequences of this invasion for them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BURNS, CIA DIRECTOR: The question is, is he simply going to continue to double down and grind down the Ukrainian military and the Ukrainian population. Or at some point, does he recognize that reality, that he does not have a sustainable end game and look for ways to end the bloodshed, to cut his losses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now the humanitarian crisis of course growing in Ukraine, shows no signs of slowing down sadly. According to the United Nations now, more than 2.3 million people have fled the country so far. Nearly a million and a half of those to Poland alone, and hundreds of thousands to other nearby countries.

Many of the displaced are braving freezing temperatures just to make the journey to safety. The U.N. says it expects millions more to flee Ukraine in the days ahead. Now, neighboring countries, such as Poland, Romania, Moldova -- they

are now trying to figure out how to house the thousands pouring across their borders every day. And that is a hard thing to do when you can't be sure how many more are coming.

CNN's Miguel Marquez with more on that from Romania.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The refugee crisis, deepening.

ANNA LEUKINENKO, UKRAINIAN REFUGEES: They opened just (INAUDIBLE) maybe about two hours.

MARQUEZ: Anna Leukinenko from Nikolayev in southern Ukraine, a city hammered indiscriminately by Russian rockets and artillery.

Leukinenko had two hours to pack up her two kids, her mother, and her children's godmother. Two hours to pack. No idea if she will see her husband, grandparents or country again.

LEUKINENKO: I've seen my house I said I think that Ukrainian will be free and everything will be ok, but who knows when.

MARQUEZ: Leukinenko trying to get from Bucharest to friends in Poland. One story of millions, families now being torn apart in Ukraine and across Europe.

DR. RAED ARAFAT, ROMANIA MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS: We will see people who are without capabilities, without possibilities, financial possibilities who are running from war. They are running for their lives, taking just very few things with them and sometimes even without documentation.

MARQUEZ: The speed at which Ukrainians are transformed into refugees increasing exponentially as Russia continues punishing attacks on civilian and military targets alike.

COSMINA SIMIEAN, GENERAL MANAGER, DIRECTORATE FOR SOCIAL SERVICES, BUCHAREST: We don't know what is coming and how many people are coming to Bucharest. As far as we know, the people coming here are only in transit, a few of them remain in Romania. But we don't know how many people will come so we need to be prepared.

MARQUEZ: Romanians not just waiting to receive Ukrainian refugees.

Now, they are collecting and organizing massive amounts of humanitarian supplies, all to be shipped directly to Ukraine.

NICUSOR DON, GENERAL MAYOR, BUCHAREST: They need drugs, and we have a specific list of what kind of drugs. They need medical kits and they need food that can be preserved.

MARQUEZ: Did you ever think you would be in this situation?

DON: No. I mean a war in 2022, it's unbelievable. MARQUEZ: Miguel Marquez, CNN -- Bucharest, Romania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now we have been giving you the details of this war around the clock since it started. But images really tell the human story. Whether it's a mother and child fleeing to another country or the town they leave behind being leveled.

The pictures convey the chaos, the courage, the kindness and the love in Ukraine right now. These images are from a daily photo essay by Peter Turnley called "An Exodus from Ukraine Visual Diary".

And I'm delighted to say Peter Turnley is with me right now. And we'll be showing some more of your photographs.

You have covered the human condition as a photojournalist nearly 50 years. Speak to the epic nature of this crisis and how it affects the country.

[01:34:43]

PETER TURNLEY, PHOTOJOURNALIST: I have photographed refugees around the world for the last 40 years. And this crisis, one of the things that strikes me, aside from the incredible magnitude of now more than two million people that have crossed the border, is that one of the distinctive things is that this is a refugee crisis that involves particularly women and children.

In many of the past refugee situations that I had photographed, there of course have been men. In this case, families have been disunited by this conflict.

There are many things that have been striking me in this crisis. First of all, this is taking place in eastern Europe. There is a particular kind of mood and look to the situation.

But I've been really struck by the courage, dignity and resilience of these mothers and children that I have been seeing.

HOLMES: And we deal with this too in the television side of things. The difficulty with something of this magnitude is getting past the numbers and having people identify with the humanity, with the individual.

And I think photography is very good in doing that. How do you go about capturing that humanity, to have people understand the person with the photo.

TURNLEY: Well, I've always said that I love photography, but I care a lot more about life. And what is important to me, is to try to convey and communicate the emotion of -- the essential emotion of the moment.

And I find that the emotion is often expressed in the eyes. So I like to work very close to people. And I actually like to look them right in the eye. I like to work in silence, quietly. I spend time in front of people. And I allow them to look at me and over a small period of time, I see that they understand that I care about what I am looking at. I care about their life and I'm trying to make photographs that allow people who look at my images to relate to the people that I'm photographing, to imagine and feel that this could be them as well.

HOLMES: What makes the perfect photograph? Is there such a thing, what are the elements?

TURNLEY: I'm not sure that there is a perfect photograph. But in my case, for sure, what would be most important would be a sense of emotion. This is a situation where the emotions of this moment are incredibly profound. Families are being divided.

Something that I think the average person may not think about, which is not intuitive. Is that the very moment that a mother and a child crosses the border from Ukraine into a neighboring country, this is a moment where they have lost everything of their prior existence.

HOLMES: Yes.

TURNLEY: They've lost every notion of life as they have known it. They suddenly have left behind their homes, their husbands, brothers, fathers, their family album. Possibly their bank account. Their friends. And all sense of reality that they have ever known in their life.

HOLMES: You and I are of a certain age. You're nearly 50 years in doing this. I'm about 44 in this business. Do you find it difficult to maintain some sort of detachment, enough detachment to do your job? Or does it get to you?

TURNLEY: Well, I've actually never really appreciated that notion so much, of detachment to journalism. I feel very committed and engaged with the subjects and the people that I photograph.

I want to express their life. And I don't know so much about this notion of objectivity. What is clear to me is when I am looking at two million people that have suddenly lost everything they have ever known, is that I do not know what is objective about that, except for the fact that it is profoundly tragic and sad.

HOLMES: That is absolutely true, there's not much objectivity when you look at that.

Peter Turnley, you are an amazing photographer. I'm glad that you are able to stop by and show people some of your photos.

And you can check out Peter's work online as well.

TURNLEY: Thank you, Michael.

HOLMES: Good to see you, my friend.

All right. If you would like to help people who might be in need of things like food, shelter, water. Do go to CNN.com/impact. You can find a lot resources there and ways that you can help. And I will have much more from Ukraine later this hour. But for now,

let's go back to Paula Newton in Atlanta, Paula.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks to you, Michael for that.

Now there is growing concern about Americans detained in Russia. After the break, we'll hear from some family members who are increasingly worried.

[01:39:18]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: The U.K. government has sanctioned a Russian oligarch who is also the owner of British football club Chelsea. Now Roman Abramovich was added to a list of sanctioned individuals to try and isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine.

Now just last week, you will remember that Abramovich announced plans to sell the club. Well, now his assets are frozen and transactions prohibited. But the government says Chelsea will be given a special license to continue football operations.

So as Russia's invasion of Ukraine grinds on, concerns are growing about the fate of three U.S. citizens currently detained in Russia.

CNN's Rosa Flores spoke with worried family members and has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As the diplomatic relationship between the United States and Russia crumbles in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine --

Concerns mount over the condition and safety of three Americans detained in Russia.

ELIZABETH WHELAN, SISTER OF PAUL WHELAN: Doing as well as can be expected in a forced labor camp in the middle of Russia.

FLORES: Elizabeth Whelan says her 52-year-old brother Paul Whelan, a former marine, was arrested in Russia on espionage charges in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Whelan and his family denied the charges.

WHELAN: He has not committed a crime. But a crime has been committed against him.

[01:44:55]

FLORES: The parents of former marine Trevor Reed, also worried about their son's safety. Telling CNN, in addition to coughing up blood--

JOEY REED, FATHER OF TREVOR REED: He had some sort of accident and he believes he might have broken a rib.

FLORES: Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison for endangering the life and health of Russian police officers according to Russian state news reports.

Little is known about the condition of WNBA star Britney Griner. She was last seen in this photograph posted on social media in mid February. She traveled to Russia and was detained at the Moscow airport on drug charges.

In a statement to ESPN, Texas Congressman Colin Allred said Griner has, quote, been held for three weeks now and that is extremely concerning.

As the United States continues to pressure Russia, the families of those detained there worry the fate of their loved ones is tangled in the escalating global conflict playing out in Ukraine.

WHELAN: This is called hostage diplomacy and we need to bring an end to it. It's a national security issue. Of course, we would like to see Britany come home, Paul come home, Trevor come home as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Our thanks to rosa Flores for that report.

Now, a Lithuanian backed initiative is making an effort to counteract or try to anyway the propaganda and misinformation in Russia about the war, and give the facts to Russians citizens one person at a time.

The initiative is named Call Russia and it's inviting Russian speakers worldwide to make random phone calls to people in Russia to tell them about Moscow's invasion.

The project's organizers have compiled the database they say of 40 million phone numbers of Russians, and a guide on what to say to them. The group says it has not been easy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMAS, VOLUNTEER AT CALL RUSSIA INITIATIVE: Russians are kind of isolated. They are unwilling to talk. So most of the calls were just rejected on some pretext that they don't have time, they are not interested, they don't want to talk, or they don't know anything, or they don't want to know anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: So far, the group says volunteers have called some 32,000 Russians.

So, music is helping many deal with the war in Ukraine. After the break, we will meet one composer finding solace in that music.

[01:47:20] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back.

A Ukrainian composer finding solace and fighting the war against Russia in the best way he knows how, with music. CNN's Anderson Cooper with the musician who says music gives him a feeling of power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: It's rare these days that Alexey Shmurak (ph) can lose himself in his music. The Ukrainian composer, he recently left Kyiv for the relative safety of Lviv.

How are you doing?

ALEXEY SHMURAK, UKRAINIAN COMPOSER: I am alive and now it's a privilege.

COOPER: It's a privilege to be alive.

SHMURAK: Yes. Yes, it's a privilege to be alive. And also it's a privilege to be in more or less normal mind.

COOPER: The war takes over the mind for some people.

SHMURAK: Yes, it's like, you know, very fast, apocalyptic changing of everything.

COOPER: Alexey is now organizing online concerts to raise money for Ukraine.

Is music a way of fighting for you?

SHMURAK: Music is a way of constructing and keeping me in some normal mind.

COOPER: Keeping you sane.

SHMURAK: Yes. Me playing piano, I feel like -- it's something like mysterious, even religious because I feel like some power is connected with me.

COOPER: When you play, you feel some power.

SHMURAK: Yes, like me doing something with piano keys, with harmonies, sounds, and voices. Like It makes me more powerful and healthy.

COOPER: It gives you a feeling of control, of power.

SHMURAK: Yes. You know, I understand that it's like a very beautiful illusion. But if it helps, just use it. You know.

COOPER: And music helps you right now.

SHMURAK: Yes, I think so. I hope so. COOPER: Music seems to help other people here as well. On Wednesday in Kyiv, the remnants of the Classic Symphony Orchestra performed in Maidan Square. And over the weekend at the Polish border, a German man set up a piano playing music for refugees streaming across.

Alexey often taught and performed in Russia. But that was before the invasion changed everything. You would no longer work and Russia?

SHMURAK: I will not -- not only won't but even visit Russia or places which Russia occupies or destroys, like, you know, Belarus and other things.

COOPER: You have relatives from your own family in Russia who support the war.

[01:54:44]

SHMURAK: Yes, unfortunately, yes. So imagine, killing Putin and changing the Russian government. But what should we do with these people, with millions of people that think that Ukraine is not a real country, that Ukrainians are not a real nation. What should we do with them?

COOPER: I mean it is one of the remarkable things that families are divided, that there are families, relatives in Russia who don't believe what is actually happening.

SHMURAK: It's even more dangerous.

I unfortunately, I know a lot of people in Russia who supports even war against civilians. And they like wish death to their brothers, kids. And so on.

COOPER: There is no telling when or if Russia will turn its artillery toward Lviv. There is no telling how much longer music here will be played.

The war can get much worse.

SHMURAK: I don't want to be like a Cassandra who say everything will be worser and worser and then apocalypse. I don't want to be this person.

COOPER: You can't think like that.

SHMURAK: I'm just afraid that I could be right.

COOPER: Anderson Cooper, CNN -- Lviv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And live from Lviv, Ukraine, I'm Michael Holmes.

Appreciate you spending part of your day with us.

Our breaking news coverage will continue after the break. [01:56:26]

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