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Biden Meets with World Central Kitchen Volunteers in Poland; Ukraine Forces Stage Counter-Offensive Around Kharkiv; Biden to Deliver "Major Address" as Refugee Crisis Escalates; Russian General Claims First Stage of Moscow's Military is Complete; 11-year-old Girl Shot in the Face by Russian Soldier; Ukrainian Officials Says Private Fighters in Ukraine to Kill Zelenskyy. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired March 26, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:31]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me for this special CNN coverage. I'm Fredrika Whitfield in Atlanta alongside my colleague John Berman in Lviv, Ukraine.

Right now, President Biden is heading in to meet with Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, Poland. You see somewhere in the crowd there the president of the United States. Live pictures right now at the World Central Kitchen just moments ago where the president was also meeting with people and chef Jose Andres.

This follows a bilateral meeting with Poland's president. Biden expressing the importance of unity among NATO allies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. President, we have the most important thing that binds us together are our values, freedom, freedom of the press. Making sure that people are -- the government is transparent. America's ability to meet its role in other parts of the world rests upon a united Europe and the security of Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Earlier the presidents there meeting with officials there in Poland, talking among a number of things the refugee crisis. More than two million Ukrainians have sought refuge there in Poland. And in just a few hours, President Biden will deliver what the White House is calling a major address about the war in Ukraine. We'll bring that to you live as it happens. Also, you see the U.S. Defense secretary there, Lloyd, with him as well.

All of this comes as Ukrainian forces say they are launching a new counteroffensive against Russian invaders in the hard-hit city of Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine. John Berman is there in Lviv.

So, John, this is -- this is critical, potentially pivotal, for this moment and President Biden's European trip.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Fred, it's really interesting. The Ukrainians I've spoken with today see this as a big moment. They've told me today is a big day. One of those reasons is what's going on in Poland. President Biden meeting with European leaders, Polish leaders, and also Ukrainian officials. Part of the reason also they're keeping a close eye here in Ukraine on what Russian military leaders said yesterday. That they were going to redirect their entire effort away from places like Kyiv, perhaps, and toward the eastern part of the country.

The Ukrainians, frankly they don't trust Vladimir Putin as far as they can throw him, still they're watching to see if any actions follow up that statement. So again, today they see this as a big moment, and they are watching President Biden very closely.

You're looking at these pictures right now of President Biden meeting with refugees. This is not far relatively speaking from where I am right now. About a five-hour drive here. Well, over a million, I think, what, over two million Ukrainian refugees have gone into Poland. A mass influx of humanity from here to there and so many connections on the ground between this country and those people in Poland right now.

President Biden in his speech later, he will speak at Warsaw's Royal Castle. That is being billed as a very important address. That's a building that was destroyed by Nazi bombs during World War II and later rebuilt. Let's get -- let's listen in.

BIDEN: Anyway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These sausages are really good, Mr. President.

BIDEN: Oh, I know, I just ate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Polish sausages are awesome.

BIDEN: Believe me I know. I just had. Thank you. I'll just stay a little over here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't know how many missions we've been going the last two years, Mr. President.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice to meet you, Mr. President.

BIDEN: What's your name?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alissa.

BIDEN: Where are you from, Alissa?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I grew up in Georgia, but I live in Washington, D.C. now. We're neighbors. (INAUDIBLE) circle.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Again, there's the president there meeting with refugees, meeting with volunteers, helping to feed them, people who work with Chef Jose Andres. Let's go to CNN's Kaitlan Collins who is in Warsaw following the

president's movements and preparing for this big speech today.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in this stadium where they are right now, it's just right here to my right where President Biden is. These are members of the World Central Kitchen staff.

[10:05:01]

And John, as you know, this is a group that was founded by Jose Andres back in 2010. They go to disasters all over the globe. Remember after Haiti and the earthquake there, they went and helped feed people. They've been at disasters in Florida when the Surfside building collapse happened and of course they're here on the ground in Poland and other places helping with refugees who are coming across the border over the last month with, you know, little more than the clothes on their back with them.

And so you saw Jose Andres there meeting with President Biden and the other members of the staff. That's been a huge aspect of this because this stadium where President Biden is going today, it's been a big processing center for refugees who have come into Poland. And obviously, over two million of them have come in since the invasion began. A lot of them here in Warsaw itself.

And it's been something that obviously the Polish President Dudas has welcomed. He has said that they are their guests, they are their brothers, they are their sisters, but obviously logistically speaking, it's a very complex undertaking. And they've said that it has been a struggle to cope with because it is such a weight on the infrastructure here of actually getting all of this done. And so this has been a big aspect of it.

I think that's why you see President Biden meeting with the members of the staff who have helped feed these refugees meals, something just so simple. And of course, this is where President Biden is going to come face to face for the first time on this trip with some of the Ukrainian refugees. This is where they've been processed to get cards to work here, to live here. Obviously, need to put their children in schools, things like that.

Those everyday things that you don't think about when an invasion happens and now it's something that is part of their reality. And so I think that's going to be a big aspect of this. And President Biden does have several hours slated here to meet with these Ukrainian refugees. Though, John, after that, we will see, as you noted, a major address as the White House is billing it from President Biden as he wraps up his time here on this trip.

BERMAN: All right, Kaitlan Collins for us in Warsaw, again, following the president there. Kaitlan, we'll come back to you as we see more of President Biden.

There are also major developments here on the ground in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces fighting back against the Russian invasion in many different locations.

CNN's Phil Black with me here in Lviv.

Phil, again, this has been a process over the last few days where the Ukrainians say they're launching these counteroffensive efforts.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. We've been talking about this through the week because it seems they've been doing it to some effect. Notably around the capital Kyiv. But today, officials in the east of the country, around the second biggest city, Kharkiv, it's very close to the Russian border. They say they've also been mounting counteroffensive operations somewhat successfully, clawing back the territory from the Russians.

We haven't been able to verify that ourselves yet. But that's certainly the claim. And it does fit this recent trend. Overnight we had some cruise missile strikes by the Russians. They say they hit some key Ukrainian targets, including a weapons warehouse and a fuel depot, different parts of the country. But that fits that other trend as the fight on the ground hasn't been going so well for the Russians, they have increasingly been firing their big weapons from a safe distance.

Air power, artillery, that's the assessment that has been made by Western intelligence and it is playing out here still. I want to show you pictures from a city in the north, in Slavutych. This is a town, a city, very close to the Belarusian border where Ukrainians -- where the Russians, I should say, have only now taken control. It's incredibly close to the border, essentially being cut off for some time.

And what we understand there is that there have been big crowds of angry Ukrainians out on the streets with their Ukrainian flags. And they have been chanting, "This is Ukraine." And the Russians have been trying to control them, gunfire, stun grenades. But it is another one of these spontaneous protests with Ukrainian civilians showing just how unhappy they are at the Russian occupation.

BERMAN: It is just one example. Everywhere the Russians have been able to take some modicum of control they have not been welcomed. It's been very difficult for them to hang on.

Phil Black, thank you very much.

All right, joining us now, CNN military analyst, General Wesley Clark. He's a former NATO Supreme Allied commander.

General, thank you so much for being with us. I want your take on what we heard from the Russian military. They say the first phase of their mission is accomplished. They say they were only ever attacking Kyiv and other places as a diversion for their primary operation in the east. Is there any reason we should believe what they're saying out loud? I mean, if they were serious, would they telegraph it to the world?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Of course not, John. I mean, you're exactly right. This is propaganda. They're not going to tell you what they're going to do. The first phase of the mission was an attempt to seize the capital and assassinate the president. That failed. Then they attempted to attack the capital, that's failed. And then they have attempted to pound the Ukrainians into submission and bully President Zelenskyy into surrendering, and that's failed. So they've got their forces that are basically -- they're being -- or attempting to be resupplied, putting more manpower in, and they've lost leadership.

[10:10:09]

They don't have good command and control. They are on the defensive in the north and northeast part of the country. Now what has to happen there is the Ukrainians have to basically encircle those forces and get them to surrender. They've got to eliminate that force, then they've got to mass forces and go after the elements that are coming in in the south and in Donbas. So this is -- this war is far from over. The Ukrainians are not about to give up any territory.

But what they do need desperately is they need air support. Those MiGs that have been talked about and talked about and talked about, it's time to get those aircraft in. And not just from Poland. But there are aircrafts that are flyable by the Ukrainians from all over the world and they should be brought in. Russia has committed a war of aggression. Ukrainians are not going to surrender.

The Americans and the Europeans have got to understand this, you can't go to Ukraine and say, oh, please, the war is so ugly, please give up your territory. They're not going to do that. So we've got to support them. This is about the rules-based international system.

And, John, if I could just add one point, President Macron of France announced on Friday he's putting humanitarian refugee relief mission to Mariupol. And I think the whole world should be grateful for that kind of French leadership.

BERMAN: Yes, we need to see how exactly that will take place but it was announced by the French president.

General, the word initiative is something you hear about a military conflict. Do the Ukrainians have the initiative right now? Are they in a place where they can dictate the pace of this campaign?

CLARK: Well, the Ukrainians are right now in an offensive state. So, yes, it's up to them to maneuver left, right, whether to attack on the ground or with their limited armored vehicles, whether to put -- but here's the thing, this is a struggle of competitive reorganization and reinforcement. So the Ukrainians aren't kidding when they've asked for those 500 Stingers and 500 Javelins from the United States. They need it.

We need more than that. They need artillery ammunition. They probably need replacement artillery tubes and systems and they need some armored vehicles. Though these aren't things that necessarily will come from the U.S. (INAUDIBLE) but we need to be working with nations to give the Ukrainians what they need. Their fight really is our fight.

And I just would say this to our viewers, John. You know, the best way to protect NATO is to have the Ukrainians (INAUDIBLE) against the Russians, then most of this problem goes away. I see about, you know, battle groups that are coming in and all the talk from NATO. But it's really the Ukrainians who are carrying this fight right now. And if they do it the right way and force the Russians out, Putin realizes his strategy doesn't work. And it's a worldwide message, (INAUDIBLE) with the 21st century, follow the rule of law, don't invade independent nations.

And it sets the course right. So it's not only this is a tragedy, but it's also a great opportunity for the West if we handle it right, to set new terms of relationships on the 21st century.

BERMAN: General Clark, I just want to tell people what's going on where I am right now. There are air raid sirens here in Lviv which is in western Ukraine. There haven't been many of them over the last several days. Once yesterday and a few very quiet days. There are air raid sirens going off now. There hasn't been -- this is an area that hasn't been targeted all that much. Right? We have one strike a few miles out of the city center, one near a military location about 20 miles out.

These sirens go off, doesn't necessarily mean there's an air attack, but there are people here on alert. It is interesting what we've heard over the last day, I'd say, General, is that we've spoken to people who have friends going back to Kyiv, those who evacuated Kyiv now say they think it might be safe to go back, the Ukrainians. Do you feel like that's premature?

CLARK: I feel like there's a tremendous outpouring of sympathy and determination among the Ukrainians there and I think they do want to go back and they want to (INAUDIBLE) its independence. And so I'm not surprised that people are going back in there.

But, John, I just want to remind you, we can't prematurely think that this is over just because the Ukrainians have launched a successful counteroffensive north of Kyiv. I see a lot of premature exaltation in the Western media about this. I see military commentators say, oh, this is really great and so forth. Yes, it's great. But this is a tactical part of the battle. It really depends on convincing Putin he can't win.

[10:15:01]

And I think our leaders from all NATO countries should be saying directly to Vladimir Putin, Mr. Putin, you're not going to win this. You're not winning. Get out. Get out now. This is the best message we could deliver to Putin. Not that we're going to help -- not just that we're going to help the Ukrainians and so forth, not that NATO is united, but you can't win. Get out. And, you know, he may not like that message. It doesn't sound a provocative message, it's not a threat, it's just an explanation of the existing circumstances and what's lying ahead. He's not going to win. And as long as we continue to support Ukraine,

these Ukrainians are going to fight for their country and they're going to fight very well for it and they're fighting for all of us.

BERMAN: General Wesley Clark, I really do appreciate it. It does sound like you think it is premature for anyone to think that this is a guaranteed success. That's why I was asking. Really appreciate the insight, General. Thank you.

CLARK: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: And still ahead, Ukrainian officials say at least 136 children have been killed since the start of the Russian invasion. Many more injured. CNN went inside a children's hospital in Ukraine and spoke with an 11-year-old who was shot in the face by a Russian soldier. Her story ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:20:27]

WHITFIELD: All right. We return with our coverage now. Live pictures of the president of the United States. He's in Warsaw, Poland right now. He's meeting with volunteers who are helping to feed the some two million refugees from Ukraine who have crossed the border into Poland. The president there meeting with volunteers with the World Central Kitchen, Chef Jose Andres, who you have seen profiled so many times on CNN, who travels the world, to hard impact areas, helping to feed, well, he's there in Poland trying to do the same thing and the president meeting with volunteers and also meeting with Ukrainian refugees, trying to instill some hope for better days.

All right. And just hours from now, President Biden will deliver what's being called a major address as he wraps up his stop in Poland after attending this week's NATO summit. Here's what the president said just a short time ago talking about the response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I'm confident that Vladimir Putin was counting on being able to divide NATO, to be able to separate the eastern flank from the west, be able to separate nations based on past histories. But he hasn't been able to do it. We've all stayed together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's bring in now Richard Burt, he is the former U.S. ambassador to Germany and former chief U.S. negotiator in the Strategic Arms Reduction talks with the former Soviet Union. He's also board president at Global Zero. A whole lot of titles.

Good to see you again, Ambassador.

RICHARD BURT, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO GERMANY: Thank you. Good to see you, Fredricka. WHITFIELD: So -- wonderful. So the president's upcoming speech, it's

being described as a major speech. What might that mean to you and what does he need to say or perhaps even promise?

BURT: Well, I have, of course, haven't seen this speech. But if I were -- if I were writing this speech, I would say this is really a pivotal week. Not only for American foreign policy, but for the European- American relationship. A lot has been accomplished and as the president was saying, we can thank Vladimir Putin strangely for this. I don't think the United States and Europe have been as close together on fundamental military, economic and political ties at any time since the Cold War.

You've seen a major decision by the United States to reinforce its military presence in Europe. You've seen a very important decision by Europe and especially Germany to increase their defensive spending. You have the president in Poland today with this remarkable display of polish humanitarian aid for the Ukrainian refugees. This has been an important strategic development.

For 10 years, people have been talking about the decline of the West. I think this is a turning point in the role of the West and global affairs and the European-American relationship, in particular.

WHITFIELD: Yes. You spell out some great examples of real cohesion, you know, on display. I mean, President Biden also during this visit reiterated the commitment to Article Five, an attack on one is an attack on all. But what is the promise among NATO members -- you know what, I'm going to let us listen in right now in Warsaw, Poland, where the president is meeting with refugees. Let's listen in.

BIDEN: Thank you. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language)

WHITFIELD: All right, you're seeing, you know, real tender moments that the president is having with this woman here. She's talking to him. You can almost hear a bit of the translator. We're going to rerack this tape. You saw earlier he was holding a baby, then perhaps we'll be able to get -- we'll be able to decipher a little bit more clearly what is being said. But, again, a very tender moment. I mean, he really does know how to show compassion, particularly in times like this.

So back to you, Mr. Ambassador.

[10:25:01]

I was asking about the -- you know, commitment, you know, the reiteration from President Biden while they're in Poland about the importance of Article Five, an attack on one is an attack on all. However, during this session or these talks, these meetings, was there also perhaps a commitment on how these NATO members should be handling the non-NATO country of Ukraine, how far, how willing it is able to go as things continue to escalate. Because nobody sees anything de- escalating here. It's only escalating further. BURT: Well, I'm sure there was. There are a lot of very difficult

issues that have to be addressed. We're hearing, for example, that the Russians are not performing well on the battlefield. We're even talking about a so-called recalibration by the Russians and maybe falling back to defending -- or fighting only in the eastern Ukraine. I doubt Putin is going to take a retreat. I think he's going to fight on and we do have to think about scenarios, especially in the event that chemical weapons or even battlefield nuclear weapons are used.

Now that doesn't necessarily mean that I think there's going to be a NATO decision to respond with nuclear weapons. But it could involve escalation on our side as well, perhaps using our very precise conventional weapons against a Russian military target on the Russian homeland. So there are options. I don't think any hard and fast decisions were taken, but I'm sure there was a discussion of the various scenarios that might take place and the various options that could be used by NATO.

WHITFIELD: OK. And especially, you know, the issue of chemical weapons. I mean, chemicals travel. And while, you know, those weapons, if indeed used on Ukrainian soil, that's how it will directly impact NATO allies, neighboring nations, right, because chemicals will travel and that is among the biggest concerns here.

And we saw, again, the great picture of the president there taking a selfie, actually, with a little girl in this place of Warsaw, in this stadium now, where many refugees have gathered to get a warm, hot meal provided by the World Central Kitchen. We'll continue to watch these images.

Ambassador Richard Burt, always good to see you. Thank you so much for joining us again today.

BURT: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: Thank you. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:32:10]

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've been to an awful lot of places like this, a lot of refugee camps in my life, and what I -- what I never -- I'm always surprised by the depth and strength of the human spirit. I mean it sincerely. And it's incredible. It's incredible. See all of those little children, just want a hug, I just want to say thanks. I mean, it's -- it just makes you so damn proud. I mean, they're wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

And, you know, the Ukrainian people are -- each one of those children said something to the effect, say a prayer for my dad or my grandfather, or my brother. He's back there fighting. And I remember what it's like when you have someone in a warzone every morning you get up and you wonder. You just wonder. You just wonder. You pray you don't get that phone call. And they're an amazing group of people.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How does this make you think of Putin --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- cities like Mariupol that's got, you know, they've got nothing.

BIDEN: They get nothing. I met two people from Mariupol. It's astounding.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What were the commitments with Ukraine?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What is this -- I mean, you see this in your -- you know, you're dealing every day with Vladimir Putin. And look at what he's done to these people. What does it make you think?

BIDEN: He's a butcher.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did you make additional commitments --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, guys. Thank you. guys. Thank you. Thank you.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. You were just listening to President Biden after he met with refugees. Let me tell you what's going on here where I am. We just heard a series of three blasts and now we see smoke rising from behind that hill behind us. We're trying to get confirmation of what that was, but this does follow air raid sirens that did take place in the city of Lviv.

Now we don't see any strikes in the city itself, per se, but smoke rising from the horizon back behind that hill following three large blasts. As I said, we're going to get much more information on that as we can. It's interesting that this is happening. Let me give you a sense of geography here. I'm in Lviv, which is in far western Ukraine. This is not that far from the border with Poland, right, where President Biden is today in Warsaw meeting with the Polish president.

Any kind of strike in this part of the country today, you could reasonably read as a message to the world, perhaps, that Vladimir Putin doesn't fully care that President Biden is in Poland or meeting nearby. Again, because we are reasonably close to the border.

[10:30:02]

And also what's interesting about this is it follows the claims from a Russian general yesterday that they are doing some kind of a shift in strategy, right? That they are shifting strategy now after the beginning of invasion of Ukraine, the general announced on Friday that the first stage of Moscow's military plan is complete and now his claim was they were going to focus on eastern Ukraine.

Again, I bring that up because I'm in the far western part of the country. So if the military focus -- his claim was on the eastern part that is hundreds and hundreds of miles away, nevertheless, we now hear explosions and see smoke coming from that hill behind you. We'll keep this shot up. I do want to bring in Atika Shubert who was following that angle for

us of the claims from Russian leaders that they were now shifting their focus -- military leaders to, the eastern part of the country.

Atika, what was that claim at least?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean this was a claim made by the first deputy chief at Russia's General Staff, General Sergei Rudskoy. So this is a very senior voice. And I'm not sure if it's a shift in strategy or simply a reframing of how Russia wants the world to think of its -- what it's doing on the battlefield. And he said, essentially, that the first phase was complete. It was a success. And that the focus had been and continues to be the, quote, "liberation of the Donbas," that's the disputed eastern Ukraine region which is already partly controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

So this is the way he framed it. I think it's very far from the reality we're already seeing on the ground. Simply by seeing these -- what appears to be possible strikes in Lviv, where you are now. This is a part of the country, I was there earlier at the start of the invasion, which was relatively untouched and now we see it's still being possibly hit today. So I think what's clear is that Russian claims could be very different from Russian actions on the ground. However, one of the reasons we might see this kind of reframing or public messaging coming out of Moscow is that it gives -- sort of saves face and allows the military to come up with a tenable reason to perhaps walk it back to the negotiating table.

Now I don't think that means we're going to see direct talks at any time soon. But it is a reframing to allow for it and, unfortunately, it could mean an intensification of the fighting on the ground.

BERMAN: It could mean an intensification of the fighting on the ground, Atika, if they were even telling the truth, right? If it was not some kind of a head fake because again, as I look behind me at this hill behind me, there is smoke rising and we most definitely did hear some explosions.

Atika Shubert, thank you so much for that report. I keep looking over my shoulder, everyone. You will forgive me for doing so because I want to see the smoke rising from that hill. We're trying to get more information from the ground here, from officials to find out what, if anything was hit. We're going to have much more on the breaking news straight ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:42:51]

BERMAN: All right, welcome back. I'm John Berman in Lviv in western Ukraine. Let me bring you up to speed on what's been happening right where I am.

About 15 minutes ago, we heard air raid sirens. Then a few minutes after that, we heard three what sounded like small explosions and then smoke rising from that hill behind the TV tower right behind me. You can still see the smoke rising there and we heard those three blasts.

I want to be clear. We don't know what happened. We don't know what that is. We don't know what the smoke is from. We don't know if the three bangs were explosions or not. That's what it sounded like. We're trying to find out more information if we can. We're talking to the officials here in this city.

This has been relatively spared. This part of Ukraine relatively spared. A couple strikes over the last few weeks. But not too much major. If that was a strike behind me, that would be one of the closer strikes to this city of Lviv that we've seen.

As we check on this or continue to, let me give you some more reporting here. Ukrainian officials say at least 136 children have died so far in this war and nearly 200 have been injured. Among them, 11-year-old Milena who was seriously wounded while fleeing Mariupol.

CNN's Ivan Watson has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This 11-year-old Milena Uralova lies in a hospital recovering nine days after a Russian soldier shot her through the face. Horribly wounded and yet quick to show off how she can count in English.

MILENA URALOVA, SHOT BY RUSSIAN SOLDIER: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, (speaking foreign language).

WATSON: She can't speak loudly, her mother Elena explains. She has a bullet wound to her jaw and the base of her tongue, she says. The bullet was lodged in her throat near her carotid artery.

(On-camera): Milena does gymnastics. She's going to show me a couple of videos.

(Voice-over): This was Milena before Russia invaded Ukraine. Flipping and dancing. But now she can barely walk.

[10:45:04]

We met Milena here in a makeshift bomb shelter in the basement of a children's hospital.

(On-camera): The nurses here say that six or seven times a day and night due to air raid sirens, they have to bring these newborns who all have medical complications in and out of this room for hours at a time for their safety.

(Voice-over): The windows protected by sandbags. On March 16th, Elena, her two daughters and mother-in-law fled from the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol after enduring weeks of Russian bombardment. Jumping into the back of a car with two strangers to escape. They navigated many Russian military checkpoints and then at around noon Elena says they made a turn towards the town of Vasylivka and stumbled across Russian soldiers who opened fire on the car without warning. ELENA URALOVA, DAUGHTER SHOT ESCAPING MARIUPOL, UKRAINE (through

translator): We started turning and that's when they started firing at us from submachine guns. After that, of course, the driver stopped. We started opening our doors, walking out with our hands up. After which they were shouting something, we did not know what. And that is when we saw what happened to my daughter. The younger one. We took her out of the car as she was wounded.

WATSON: Her mother says, realizing their mistake, the Russian soldiers gave her daughter first aid and sent her to a nearby hospital in the Russian-occupied town of Tokmak. A Red Cross vehicle later brought her to this hospital for life-saving surgery.

The hospital has treated nine wounded children in the last two weeks.

(On-camera): What injuries are you seeing now?

DR. IVAN ANIKIN, ANESTHESIOLOGIST: Different injuries, different trauma. It's head trauma, it's amputation, it's bullets trauma.

WATSON (voice-over): Dr. Ivan Anikin says Milena is now stable and will live, hopefully without long-term physical disabilities.

ANIKIN: But she has not so good psychological status. She worries, she cries, she's afraid of different sounds.

WATSON: Milena's mother has a message for the Russian soldiers who shot her daughter.

URALOVA: Go back home. Why are they here? They're mercenaries who don't care about us, don't care about the situation in this country or this war. They don't care who they are shooting at.

WATSON: As for Milena, she shows photos of her cats Musya and Busya, and looks forward to one day going back to doing gymnastics.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: So many innocent victims here. For more information about how you can help the humanitarian efforts here in Ukraine, go to CNN.com/impact.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:51:59]

BERMAN: All right. Welcome back. I'm John Berman in Lviv in western Ukraine. Behind me you can see smoke rising to the sky from behind that hill that is north and east of this city. Smoke rising there. We did hear a succession of three bangs. What sounded like explosions. And then we did see the smoke rising. We're trying to get more information on this now to find out what, if anything, was hit.

It's not in the downtown area of the city, which is teeming with people, I should say. This city is packed not just with the normal 800,000 residents, but with hundreds of thousands of refugees who have been coming from the rest of the country through here for safety. And now that they're here, this is what they're seeing. They're seeing what appears to be some kind of explosion and blast with the smoke now rising.

We will keep you updated as we get more information. One other thing I should note, we're close to the Polish border here. So it is interesting on the day when President Biden is giving a speech in Poland that the Russians, if this was, in fact, a military strike, chose to strike here near the Polish border. Again, more information on this as soon as it comes in.

In the meantime, we do have other news from this country. A senior Ukrainian official tells CNN that a group of Russian military contractors nicknamed Putin's private army is allegedly in Ukraine with the goal of assassinating the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. The mercenaries are a part of a group of fighters with a proven track record for committing horrendous acts of violence.

A warning, some of the information and images you're about to see are graphic. David McKenzie has more.

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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Russian mercenary takes a selfie video in Syria. It's a recruitment style pitch. Allegedly for the notorious Wagner Group, a brutal force believed to be linked to the Kremlin. In the shadows of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian Defense official tells us that Wagner contractors were in the country and had a very specific mission.

(On-camera): What is the objective, do you think, in Ukraine right now?

MARKIYAN LUBKIVSKY, ADVISER TO UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: They want it to assassinate the leadership of Ukraine, our president and prime minister. So that was the goal and the couple of groups -- couple of people who are sent to Ukraine without any success.

PRES. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE (through translator): I am here. We are not putting down arms.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): The primary target, he says, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine's military says documentary evidence gathered by intelligence officials and special forces outlines their alleged mission. He says several Wagner operatives have been eliminated, identified by their unique dog tags. CNN couldn't independently corroborate the account.

[10:55:01]

LUBKIVSKY: We need to find all these people and they need to go to the court. They're absolutely illegal. MCKENZIE (voice-over): Wagner contractors surfaced in Eastern Ukraine

in 2014, exposed by research groups and CNN investigations. Their operations span the Middle East and Africa.

U.S. officials accuse Wagner of multiple human rights abuses in multiple countries. In this disturbing 2017 video investigated by CNN, Wagner mercenaries appear to be torturing and murdering a Syrian man as they make jokes. The Kremlin said the incident had nothing to do with the Russian military operations in Syria. And they've repeatedly denied any links to Wagner.

U.S. officials say that Wagner was started by this man, Dmitry Utkin, a veteran of the Chechen conflict and allegedly bankrolled by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, an oligarch so close to Russia's leader he's nicknamed Putin's chef. Under multiple U.S. sanctions, Prigozhin denies any involvement in Wagner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want blood. They want to fight.

MCKENZIE: But this senior researcher at the Dossier Center says Wagner is Putin's private army. We agreed to hide their identity for their safety. They've spent years investigating Wagner's links to the Kremlin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They operate without any law, without any rules. They can do whatever -- in a way, whatever they want. Then when there is a call to MOD or there is a call to Mr. Putin, "What your guys are doing in this particular country?" the response will be, "These are individuals. They have no link to the Kremlin."

MCKENZIE: Despite the invasion and new allegations of an assassination plot, Ukraine's president says he isn't going anywhere.

David McKenzie, CNN, London.

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BERMAN: Our thanks to David McKenzie for that report.

This comes, again, as smoke continues to rise from this hill behind me in Lviv after we heard three blasts here, trying to get more information on what might have been hit in this city, in western Ukraine not far from the Polish border. Poland, of course, where President Biden is right now.

Straight ahead, we're going to take you back to Poland where President Biden is meeting with Ukrainian refugees. Stay with us. Our special live coverage continues after this.

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