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Russians Claim to Leave Chernihiv and Kyiv; Ukrainians to Fight Every Inch of Their Land; Vladimir Putin Not Informed by His Men; Red Cross Targeted by Russian Forces. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired March 31, 2022 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers around the world and also in the United States this hour. I'm Hala Gorani reporting live from Lviv, Ukraine.
We begin with a battlefield victory for Ukraine on a day that Russia promised it would scale back its military operation in some areas only to intensify its attacks. Ukrainian forces claim they have retaken a key town near Chernihiv in the north of the country.
Now you can see a bombed-out Russian tank on the video that we're showing you now, as well as Ukrainian soldiers in the streets. Recapturing this town is crucial to Ukraine's push to break Russia's encirclement of Chernihiv.
Moscow had said that it would reduce military activities around Kyiv and Chernihiv. Ukraine and western countries believe Russia wants to shift more of its forces to the Donbas region in the east and Ukraine's southern coast. However, what we're seeing on the ground tells a different story.
A CNN team reports heaving fighting on the outskirts of Kyiv. The mayor of Irpin reports of his city has been destroyed but that it is now fully under Ukrainian control.
The Pentagon for its part says about 20 percent of the Russian forces moving against Kyiv are now repositioning. Some are returning to Belarus. Others will be deployed elsewhere in Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: We have seen none of them reposition to their home garrison, and that's not a small point. If the Russians are serious about the escalating, because that's their claim here, then they should send them home. But they are not doing that, at least not yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, Ukraine's president is vowing that its forces will fight for every meter of their land. And he blasted Russia for breaking its promise to pull back some of its troops.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Yes, we have a negotiations process, but it is only worse without anything concrete. For us, the support from the U.S. is essential. Now it is particularly important to lend a shoulder to Ukraine and to show the whole might of the democratic world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well as Mr. Zelenskyy slams Russian words the U.N. human rights chief says some of its deeds may amount to war crimes. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet says Russia has struck civilian targets in Ukraine and may have cluster bombs which are widely banned. Some cities just outside Kyiv saw just how brutal Russian attacks can be.
Christiane Amanpour has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Missiles have struck the town of Brovary, a suburb of eastern Kyiv twice in the last week alone. This tangled jiggered massive metal and cladding is what's left of a massive warehouse that stored food, paper, and the beer and alcohol that's no longer allowed to be consumed under martial law. This happened at almost exactly the same time that the Russians were announcing their de-escalation around Kyiv.
[03:05:01]
This missile struck right here, imagine the good fortune of the truck driver who was loading up to take crates and packages and boxes of food and supplies to the supermarkets in this town and also to Kyiv. He managed to survive.
We are told three workers were killed but Brovary has never fallen to Russian forces. Directly west of here Russian and Ukrainian troops have been fiercely fighting over the town of Irpin. And now it does appear that the Russians are retreating from here. A clear indication that this war around Kyiv has simply not gone the way that Russia planned.
Whatever the reason Moscow says it's retrenching their intercepted radio conversations verified by the New York Times show their soldiers in distress from the very start.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (on screen text): I urgently need refueling, water, supplies. This is Sirena. Over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP) AMANPOUR: This was west of the capital in Makariv in the very first days of the war, already signaling the focus on civilians once their own so-called properties were out of harm's way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (on screen text): There was a decision made to remove the first property from the residential area and to cover the residential area with artillery. Over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: The security video shows a Russian armored vehicle just blowing up a car instantly killing the elderly couple inside. Ukraine has lost its fighters too. Here in the Brovary cemetery, Boris, the caretaker shows us freshly dug graves.
This guy, this soldier died on the first day of the war. It's raining, it's drizzling here today. It's almost as if the city is crying as it mourns its war dead. Because all of these graves are for the fighters of this place who have fallen in combat since this war began.
This grave has been dug but the family can't yet bury their son. A soldier who was fighting in a village 15 kilometers away that's held by the Russians. They haven't yet been able to get his body released.
And even Boris' heart breaks when he tells me about a father who's has just lost his son his only child and who asked what do I have to live for now.
Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Brovary, Ukraine.
GORANI: Well, the U.S. says its latest intelligence suggest that Vladimir Putin and his top advisers maybe at odds over the war in Ukraine. U.S. officials now believe that President Putin is not getting an accurate picture of how badly the Russian military is doing. The head of British intelligence says Russian troops are played by low morale as the offensive continues.
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JEREMY FLEMING, DIRECTOR, U.K. GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS HEADQUARTERS: We have seen Russian soldiers short of weapons and morale, refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment, and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft. And even though we believe Putin's advisers are afraid to tell him the truth what's going on and the extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That's the assessment from U.K. intelligence.
For the latest CNN's Jim Bittermann is in Paris. Nic Robertson joins us now from Brussels. Let me start with you, Nic, and ask you about what intelligence officials in two countries, the U.K. and the U.S. are saying is extremely low morale on the Russian side.
That in some cases, according to the U.K. they may even have accidentally shot one of their own aircraft by mistake. That there are dissertations and major miscommunication between military officials in Russian and the President Vladimir Putin. What more can you tell us about that?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Intentional miscommunications is what they are saying that Putin's military, top military officials and advisers are flat out afraid to give him a frank and clear assessment of what's going and the capabilities of the military. No surprise that Putin has been in power for over 20 years, has surrounded himself by a cautery of yes man, that he has a very, very small trusted circle around him.
Indeed, Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister was in that trusted circle, so it makes Putin look even more isolated. So, it's not just a question this time for officials in Russia about President Putin's knowledge of capabilities of his military and what he can hope that they can do in the future going forward in Ukraine.
It's not -- not just a question of Putin's domestic decisions, if you will, of a domestic impact, but it is a question for intelligence agencies across the world. The U.K. and the United States who are clearly seeing a President Putin.
[03:10:04]
We know from the Pentagon and the United States that there was, probably not fully accurate assessment of what the Russian military can do. The assessment was greater in the Pentagon of the Russian military's capacity than actually was borne out on the ground.
So, the question is for intelligence officials around the world know is what other missteps and miscalculations is Putin going to take, and increasingly if he's going to his back against the wall, what are the implications of those. So that's an ongoing concern.
But in terms of the battlefield and strategy at the moment, the Russian military refocusing on the east of the country, regrouping to some degree is the latest intelligence in Belarus. But as we've heard, no indication that the Russian troops are actually going back to permanent bases. And that is a principal cause for concern because it means the war is far from over even with inadequate and incorrect and misguided decisions coming from the top.
GORANI: All right. And Jim Bittermann in Paris, I wonder western allies, NATO allies with promises broken on the Russian side within minutes of having made them, what is their -- the path forward as far as they're concerned? Because there is a real possibility and Nic has been talking about a redeployment certainly not a drawdown of troops. There is a real possibility that this war will drag on for quite some time.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. And I think a lot of the intelligence officials are saying that they basically are skeptical about these talks, these negotiations that are being held. That maybe it's just a delaying tactic on the part of the -- part of the Russians.
They want to see results on the ground. And you know there's a lot of contradictory information coming out about whether or not the Russians, for example, are actually pulling back from Chernobyl. There was a report by John Kirby at the Pentagon that seemed to be that they were pulling back from the Chernobyl nuclear site but on the ground, we are hearing just the opposite.
So, the question is how much can be relied on, Vladimir Putin has certainly lied in the past. He wasn't going to invade Ukraine in the first place, but in fact, he did. So, there is a lot of -- a lot of sort of waiting around and waiting to see if something happen on the ground that confirms the suspicions that Nic was mentioning.
GORANI: All right. Jim Bittermann in Paris, Nic Robertson in Brussels. Thanks to both of you. We'll keep in close touch.
The number of people fleeing Ukraine has hit a disturbing new milestone. Details on that as we got word of a new evacuation corridor.
Plus, Russia is accused of striking a Red Cross facility in one of the most ravaged corners of Ukraine. I'll ask the Red Cross about the attack just ahead.
[03:15:00]
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GORANI: The United Nations says that in just the past five weeks more than four million people have poured out of Ukraine. And that half of them are children. Most of the refugees are being taken in by neighboring countries but hundreds of thousands are moving on to other parts of Europe.
More than six and a half million people are displaced inside Ukraine. Many of the refugees lucky enough to reach safety are mourning the lives they once knew and the family members and friends they have lost as they face a future filled with uncertainty.
Meanwhile, military strikes in ravaged Mariupol have hit an unlikely target, or is it unlikely given what we've seen? A Red Cross warehouse in the city. The satellite images show the warehouse was struck at least twice. Ukraine says Russia is responsible. There is no word on casualties but the Red Cross says it did not have a team there at the time of the attacks and that the supplies on site had already been distributed.
Earlier, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. agencies in Rome spoke about the importance of keeping aid facilities safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CINDY MCCAIN, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N. AGENCIES IN ROME: I am very concerned about it. This has been the issue with having a corridor that's safe to be able to move humanitarian goods, and of course people through. It's something that we've seen repeatedly coming out of Putin, and just these kinds of things. Bombing -- bombings buildings that are full of civilians, bombings areas like -- like the IRC building that just occurred. It's tragic.
I mean, the only way that we can stop this and that it can be stop is for Putin to stop bombing and get out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Alyona Synenko is a spokesperson for the Red Cross, and she comes to us from Kyiv. Let me just try to confirm some of these fact with you. What exactly happened to that Red Cross warehouse in Mariupol?
ALYONA SYNENKO, SPOKESPERSON, RED CROSS: We can't tell you what exactly happened because our team unfortunately had to leave Mariupol on March 15th because they came to the condition where they were no longer able to work, where they were sitting in a basement without food, without water with small children, and they had distributed absolutely everything they had in that warehouse and they -- they were oblige to leave because they could no longer work under these conditions.
So now we see the satellite image we can confirm that this is our warehouse and it was damaged, but we don't know what happened to it.
GORANI: How does it work with a Red Cross? Do you give coordinates to the military on both sides, saying we have a warehouse here, we have a position here, do not target us? Or do you just rely on their goodwill and the signage that you put up on the roof for -- and that sense make it possible that this is a Red Cross facility?
[03:20:08]
SYNENKO: We make our facilities visible and we are in constant dialogue, constantly in touch with both sides and constantly reminding them of their obligations under the international humanitarian law. And their obligation to protect and respect civilians and civilian infrastructure, because as we all know the humanitarian situation in Mariupol is dire and has been deteriorating now for weeks.
And our major concern right now is to be able to send supplies to Mariupol and do it safely and also help people who want to leave the city do it in a safe manner as well.
GORANI: I mean that makes that very hard to believe that the military doesn't know that that's where your warehouse is. Now the Russians are promising a humanitarian corridor out of Mariupol. Do you -- do you trust their word? How will you take advantage of that corridor? How will that work?
SYNENKO: We speak to both sides and we remind them that this is not a matter of goodwill. It's their obligation on both sides under the international humanitarian law just to give us the humanitarian space that we need. And to give our staff the safety guarantees that they need to be able to reach Mariupol and to bring humanitarian assistance there without putting our own lives at risk.
GORANI: The Russians have said they are going to allow a humanitarian corridor to operate out of Mariupol. In the past, though, Ukrainian authorities have said that these corridors have been shelled and attacked by Russian forces. Will you try and take advantage of the recently announced opening of one of those corridors?
SYNENKO: We have our teams who are ready and we have the supplies ready and we want to bring them in. But again, what happened in the past and what we hope will not happen this time.
GORANI: Yes.
SYNENKO: In the past we had lack of concrete, very concrete specific agreement from both sides about the days, about the time, about the roads and this is exactly what we need. We don't need announcement and public rhetoric. We need concrete agreements on both sides that will be respected on both sides that will give us the humanitarian space and that will enable us to help people leave the city and to bring the supplies in.
GORANI: And talk to us about the rest of the country, it's not just Mariupol that is suffering, it's other parts of Ukraine. Are you able to reach the people you need to reach elsewhere?
SYNENKO: We are doing everything we possibly can to reach people where they need help most. We had some progress in this respect. We manage to send essential humanitarian assistance through the city of Kharkiv that was also --
GORANI: Yes.
SYNENKO: -- that also suffered considerably from the conflict. Now some of our priorities we are working every day and talking to both sides to be able to reach the city of Chernihiv where the situation is also extremely worrying and is getting worse.
So, we hope that we start having the humanitarian space that we need to be able to go to places where people need us most. Places like Irpin, Bucha just outside Kyiv, places like Chernihiv. And until now unfortunately, the agreements we need have not yet materialized.
GORANI: And why not? Can you explain to viewers why the agreements have not materialized with the forces, especially the Russian forces that we have seen in Mariupol hit civilian infrastructure?
SYNENKO: We -- what I can say is that on our behalf we are doing everything fulfilling our role, the role in our mandate under the Geneva conventions to talk to both sides and to remind them of their obligations under the international humanitarian law. So it's not a choice. It is an obligation that both of them have --
GORANI: Yes.
SYNENKO: -- to ensure that civilians do have access to humanitarian assistance.
GORANI: Alyona Synenko, thank you very much and good luck to the Red Cross teams on the ground. And if you would like to help people in Ukraine who may be in need of shelter, food, and water, go to cnn.com/impact. You'll find several ways you can help.
[03:24:57]
That is going to do it for me here in Lviv, Ukraine. I want to hand things over to Rosemary Church at the world headquarters in Atlanta.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And thank you, Hala, for your incredible reporting there in Ukraine. So much appreciated.
And still to come, Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeals to Australia for urgent assistance. Details on the Ukrainian president's address to Australian lawmakers.
[03:25:00]
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[03:30:00]
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.
Well, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to address the Dutch parliament next hour after speaking with Australian lawmakers just a short time ago. Mr. Zelenskyy received a standing ovation from parliament before he delivered his remarks. He then thanked Australia for its support and said more assistance is urgently needed. Warning, the fate of global security is being decided right now.
Well, CNN's Angus Watson joins us now from Sydney with more on all of this. Good to see you, Angus.
So, just before President Zelenskyy made his video address, the Australian prime minister announced an additional military support package for Ukraine and said they would also help with rebuilding the country. What's the latest on all of this and all that we have said?
ANGUS WATSON, JOURNALIST: Well, Rosemary, it was a very important message that Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had not just for Australians, but for the rest of the world and to Moscow. By speaking to Australian lawmakers today, he is saying we have friends across the world, far away from our own borders, and friends who are willing to pitch in to help us.
Australia has given well over a $100 million both in lethal military aid and in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine as it fought this war of defense against Russia. Now, Australia pledging even more adding 2 -- $25 million Australian dollars to that figure. Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a very particular ask to Australia, this time
he wants the Bushmaster armored vehicle. Armored personnel carrier that is designed and made here in Australia and that Australia has used to effect in wars such as Afghanistan and Iraq.
But another point that Volodymyr Zelenskyy was making here is that it's not just Ukraine that is being attacked, he painted this as a war of autocracy versus democracy and he said, wherever one is in the world they could be touched by this aggression and this new security state of affairs in the world. Have a listen to this portion of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): The distance between our countries as you said is big, but there is no such thing as distance for the brutality and chaos that Russia brought to the east of Ukraine into the region of our Black Sea and Azov Sea to our Ukrainian land.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: So -- so, Australia has been very receptive to requests from Ukraine in the past and all leaders speaking today. Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, the opposition leader here, Anthony Albanese, and the President of Ukraine, Zelenskyy, were all careful to draw this link that Australia and Ukraine already have.
In 2014, you'll remember, MH17 shut down over Ukraine by Russian- backed rebels there in the east of the country. Twenty-seven Australians dying there. That's part of the shared history that Australia and Ukraine have.
As for the introductions that Australian leaders gave to Mr. Zelenskyy, they frankly could not have been more glowing. Prime Minister Morrison referred to Zelenskyy as a line of democracy. On the other hand, he didn't even name check Vladimir Putin. Instead, just referring to Russia's president as the war criminal of Moscow, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. Angus Watson joining us live from a very windy Sydney there. I appreciate it.
Well, two words Vladimir Putin probably doesn't want to hear, war criminal, as we just heard there. But that could be in his future.
Up next, we will get an expert opinion on whether this will ever happen. Back in just a moment.
[03:35:00]
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CHURCH: An update on a story we are following. Ukrainian officials said Thursday an evacuation corridor had been agreed upon with the Russians for the hard-hit City of Mariupol. A Ukrainian cabinet minister says 45 buses are being sent to pick up those who haven't been able to leave yet.
Now despite this, multiple agencies report the humanitarian situation in Ukraine continues to worsen. They are condemning Russia's attacks on civilian targets and the plight of Ukrainian refugees. Attacks that some say amount to war crimes on Russia's part.
So, what, if anything, can be done about this. Well, Alex Whiting is the head of investigations at the Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor's Office and formerly worked in the International Criminal Court's Prosecutor's Office. He joins us now from The Hague. Thank you so much for being with us.
ALEX WHITING, HEAD OF INVESTIGATIONS, KOSOVO SPECIALIST PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE: Thank you. Good morning.
CHURCH: Good morning. So, just days after the start of Russia's war on Ukraine, the ICC announced it was investigating possible war crimes being committed there. Since then, we have been witnessing the targeting of civilians, hospitals, homes, schools, theaters, churches, humanitarian corridors, even bread lines.
[03:40:00]
And yet, there is a reluctance on the part of many to actually directly call these attacks war crimes. Why is that? And what does constitute a war crime?
WHITING: So, first off, a war crime is a violation of the rules of war. During war time there are rules, laws that apply under international law, also under national law. And it makes it a crime to do things like targeting civilians, abusing prisoners, committing any acts of sexual or gender-based violence.
And if the -- if those things are done intentionally, those can be crimes and they can be prosecuted by courts like the International Criminal Court.
The particular crimes that you referenced targeting of civilians are very difficult to prove. Those are the hardest war crimes to prove, because you have to prove that there were no military targets in the area, and most importantly, that they -- the civilians were intentionally targeted.
It wasn't an accident, it wasn't a bomb that gone astray, that there was an intentional targeting. Now, the pattern that we've seen of targeting of civilian targets starts to make it look like it was likely pretty intentional. But putting together the details of an investigation like that and proof of actual war crimes is fact intensive. It requires a lot of investigation and it takes time.
CHURCH: Right. So, let's -- let's talk about that because if a war crime is defined as an intentional violation of the laws of war as you say, what is to stop Russia saying these strikes on civilian targets were not intentional, but instead, wayward missiles that missed their mark. So, how would the ICC deal with that defense, for instance, and what is the legal process of proving a war crime was committed. WHITING: Right. So, for sure, there will be defenses like that, either way, were targets or the other defense is that, there were, in fact, military targets in the area near or around hospitals, churches and so forth. And the way to overcome that defense is to prove that, that's simply not true. That -- that there were no military targets, that it was purely civilian targets that were hit.
That's hard to prove because it requires evidence from the ground. But it can be done, it's been done in prior cases. The Siege of Sarajevo cases at the Yugoslavia tribunal, for example, that I participated in. The process of doing this, of proving the cases, is -- is a painstaking one. But the ICC already has investigators on the ground, they're collecting evidence.
And once they have evidence of a pattern which shows an intentional campaign, if that's what is going on, they'll bring that to the judge and indictments will be -- will be issued and arrest warrants and then, you know, it's possible that there would be arrests.
That's the most challenging part for the ICC, because of course, it does not have the power to arrest people that are in Russia. So that the only way that people would be arrested, whether it's mid-level commanders or senior leaders including Putin is, if they traveled outside of Russia or if there were a change in government in Russia and the new government surrendered them.
CHURCH: Right.
WHITING: Those seem like unlikely scenarios. Those seem like unlikely scenarios but it has happened in the past with leaders who thought that they would never face justice in The Hague.
CHURCH: So, how long will this legal process take do you think, and do you think we will ever see Vladimir Putin brought to justice for committing war crimes?
WHITING: So, it's a great question about how long it takes. These investigations can sometimes happen very quickly when the evidence comes together. Cases like this have been brought sometimes within months, but -- but it depends on -- it depends on the evidence. Sometimes it will take longer than that.
And so, it is very difficult to predict. Once the charges are brought then, the process of getting an arrest can sometimes happen quickly or can take years and years and years. Will Putin ever face justice in the Hague? You know, of course, if you had to bet, it seems unlikely that that would ever happen.
But again, Slobodan Milosevic never thought he would be in The Hague. Charles Taylor thought -- never thought he would be in The Hague. There is a long list of leaders who never thought that they would face justice and ultimately they did. So, it seems unlikely, it seems far away, but it's -- it's possible, and it's important to start the investigation and to do it now.
CHURCH: Yes, and to be thorough for sure. Alex Whiting, thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate it.
WHITING: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: Well, soaring COVID numbers have prompted officials to effectively lockdown Shanghai. It is the latest move to contain a new outbreak sweeping through China. We are live in Beijing with the latest.
[03:45:06]
And it's a moment most everyone has seen or at least heard about. Now Chris Rock is making his first public comments about what happened at the Oscars. The details just ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, in China, Shanghai is directing all of its residents to stay home, effectively putting the city of 25 million people under lockdown.
[03:50:07]
It comes as the city tries to contain the worst COVID-19 outbreak China has seen in two years. Shanghai has reported more than 30,000 new infections since the start of March. More than 5,000 cases on Wednesday alone.
CNN's Steven Jiang joins me now from Beijing with more on all of this. Good to see you, Steven. So, what is the latest on this lockdown, of course, the massive COVID testing that's underway?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Rosemary, the situation in Shanghai has become so dire. Local officials just a few hours ago basically apologized for being ill- prepared for this surge of COVID cases in their city. Acknowledging problems dealing with mass testing and quarantine, as well as providing medical care and daily necessity items to millions of residents.
This kind of mea culpa, if you will, came after days of confusion and chaos. Remember, for days initially, they denied there would be a citywide lockdown. And then, of course, there was a very flawed rolled out and enforcement leading to a lot of panic buying throughout the city which some experts have blamed for the further spread of this highly contagious Omicron variant.
Then of course, we started seeing reports of thousands of people who tested positive being crammed into very crowded and primitive conditions in those hastily constructed makeshift isolation facilities. And with very little medical care be providing on site.
And even more worrying phenomenon, of course, was a lot of elderly people being left to fend -- to fend for themselves, not to mention a growing number of people seeking medical attention for non-COVID causes being turned away by hospitals and leading to some deaths including, most recently, yesterday, a man suffering from a severe asthma attack died because he was unable to receive emergency care even though an ambulance was parked just outside of his apartment complex.
Now the government has now acknowledged this tragedy and suspended a doctor. But this is an increasingly bleak picture in China's biggest and wealthiest and long considered best managed city. So, all of this obviously is because now we know this strategy of zero COVID is ordered personally by President Xi Jinping so it's very unlikely we're going to see local officials change course face anytime soon. Rosemary?
CHURCH: It is. It is a tough situation for all of those people there. Steven Jiang, many thanks joining us live from Beijing.
Well, in his first public comments since the Oscars comedian Chris Rock says that he is still processing what happened at Sunday night's ceremony. Rock performed a sold-out show in Boston Wednesday and got two standing ovations from the crowd. He said that at some point he will talk about the slap he received from Will Smith for telling a joke about Smith's wife.
In the meantime, the film academy is considering what action to take against Smith.
Brian Todd has our report.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The board of governors at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has initiated disciplinary proceedings against actor Will Smith for violating the Academy standards of conduct, according to a statement from the Academy. Violations which it says include inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior, and compromising the integrity of the Academy when Smith slapped Chris Rock live at the Oscars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: That was a nice slap. OK. I'm out here. Wow. Wow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: In its statement, the Academy also apologized to Rock, and said Will Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused. Comedian Wanda Sykes, one of the three co-hosts of the Oscars broke her silence on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WANDA SYKES, COMEDIAN: And I just felt so awful for my -- my friend, you know, Chris -- and it was sickening. I was absolutely sickening -- I physically felt ill and I'm still a little traumatized by it.
ELLEN DEGENERES, COMEDIAN: Me too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Sykes' co-host Amy Schumer posted a statement on Instagram saying, I'm still in shock and stunned and sad. And uncensored feet from a Japanese outlet shows how Rock and Smith reacted immediately afterwards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROCK: Will Smith just smack the shit out of me.
WILL SMITH, ACTOR: Leave my wife's name out of (muted) mouth.
ROCK: Wow, dude.
SMITH: Yes.
ROCK: It was a G.I. joke.
SMITH: Keep my wife's name out of your (muted) mouth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: How could the Academy punish Smith?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CARTER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: I can see them possibly taking steps about his membership to the Academy. I mean, they could remove him from the Academy. They could take away his voting rights for future Oscar votes. They could take away his participation in other Academy events. And they could ban him from coming back next year. I think that's most likely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:55:04]
TODD: What most observers don't expect is for the Academy to take away the Oscar that Smith just won for best actor in the movie "King Richard." The Academy didn't take Oscars away from Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein after sexual assault allegations were leveled against him.
And director Roman Polanski was awarded an Oscar while he was a fugitive from the U.S. decades after he pleaded guilty to having unlawful sex with a minor. The Academy did expel Weinstein. And once expelled actor Carmine Caridi for violating the Academy's voting rules.
Chris Rock is now back on tour his standup comedy acts sold out at several venues across the U.S. Rock's younger brother Tony , also an actor and comedian has spoken out on Twitter. Asked if he approved of Will Smith's apology to his brother. Tony Rock replied no. Asked how his brother was doing, he replied, still rich.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
CHURCH: And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. CNN Newsroom continues with Isa Soares.
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