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Ukraine Won't Confirm Or Deny Strike On Russian Fuel Depot; Bodies Seen On Street In Bucha, Where Ukrainians Have Retaken Town From Retreating Russians; U.S. To Provide Additional $300 Million In Security Assistance In Ukraine; Russians Panic-Buy Sugar, Essentials As Sanctions Grip Economy; Dems At Odds Over Biden Rescinding Trump- Era Border Policy; Archrivals Duke & UNC Square Off In First Ever March Madness Clash. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired April 02, 2022 - 12:00   ET

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

[11:59:58]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST (voice-over): And this new assaults coming just a day after Russian officials say Ukrainian helicopters crossed into Russia, for the first time, destroying a fuel depot. Ukrainian officials' not yet confirming nor denying responsibility for that attack.

And then, overnight, Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, giving an update on Russian troop movements saying Putin's forces are slowly but noticeably moving out of the north of Ukraine.

And this morning, Ukraine's flag, back over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant once again, weeks after the facility was captured by Russian forces.

And new satellite images show Russians -- Russia's military, rather, abandoning a strategic airport outside of Kyiv, which they captured on the first day of the invasion.

All of this happening as new evacuations are underway in several besieged eastern Ukrainian cities. Seven corridors are set to open today.

1000s escaping the violence on Friday, but over 100,000 still remain trapped in the ravaged city of Mariupol. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in the key southern port city of Odessa.

Ed, NATO warns that Russian forces are repositioning rather than withdrawing. What are you learning?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When that is the thing that many residents here in Odessa and in the southern part of Ukraine, are closely watching.

And so, we wanted to kind of bring you out here and show you this perspective. This is the coast of the Black Sea, those Russian naval warships are out there somewhere. And this is what they would be confronting here on The Odessa coastline. So, it's not exactly clear if there was to be some sort of amphibious landing. That this would be where they come from. This is an incredibly treacherous ground, there are areas to the south and north of this area.

So, anyway, we wanted to kind of show you that perspective. Odessa is still very much in the crosshairs of what's going on. There was a missile strike. Three missiles launched from the Crimean peninsula, which is just off in that direction.

We don't know many details about exactly what happened. But we do understand, according to one military official that there were some casualties, the extent of the injuries, we don't know.

And another military official saying that the Russian forces did not hit their intended target. So, that's what's happening here in Odessa.

In other parts of the country, a couple of headlines that we want to cover. We had mentioned that there is an oil refinery in the center of the country that was struck by Russian forces last night as well that's significant. It continues to follow, you know, the path that Russian forces have been carrying out for several days now, striking those key oil and gas facilities.

And then also, the humanitarian crisis that continues to unfold. And we can't stress enough just how dramatic this has been. There are supposed to be seven humanitarian evacuation corridors opened up in various parts of Ukraine today. Whether or not that's actually happening is very much in the air.

In Luhansk region, which is in the northeast of Ukraine, there was supposed to be an evacuation route. But we understand then we have reports that's one of those paths has come under fire as people were trying to evacuate.

Also, they're trying to continue reaching Mariupol to get more than 100,000 people evacuated out of that city. And that is still not coming to fruition. Many people trying to escape from there. Essentially having to drive themselves out to get to a place about 60 miles away that they can then take a bus to get away from.

So, really just paints a picture of just how intensely serious and how difficult it is for so many of these civilians to get away from the most dangerous hotspots in this country right now. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And now, Ed, it looks like this is the first time I've seen a live shot from your location where you see people in the background, even a dog running around.

I mean, kind of give me an idea of how tense or -- you know how on edge people are there.

You know, it's sometimes a little bit hard to describe it's like this surreal kind of experience. They know, you know, last night there's a missile strike, there is a -- but for about a minute, you hear this barrage of air defense systems blasting into the sky. So, it's a serious reminder that this is a country at war, but during the daylight hours in a place like Odessa and I've driven through about half of the country now, you see people out and about doing what they want to do.

I spoke with one group of people who were saying, you know, kind of continuing to carry on, going about your daily life. That is almost like an act of defiance. So, it's not uncommon to see, you know, people out here on the boardwalk, overlooking the Black Sea, enjoying a little bit of the afternoon, because they tell you, all of this can change dramatically, very quickly in a moment's notice. And that's why they're taking advantage of this time right now.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that makes sense. Another way to try to hold on to the country that they have known and love. Ed Lavandera, thank you so much.

All right, one day after our Russian fuel depot inside Russia was attacked backed by military helicopters, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy still won't confirm or deny that his forces are responsible for that strike.

[12:05:09]

WHITFIELD: But earlier today, I spoke with former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. And asked him about the fuel depot attack, and another critical issues facing his country as the war with Russia grinds through its six week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): All right, joining me now to talk more about all of this is Petro Poroshenko, the former President of Ukraine. Mr. President, good to see you again.

So, Russia, claiming Ukrainian helicopters struck that fuel depot in southern Russia yesterday. So, Mr. President, did Ukraine hit that fuel storage facility as far as you know and on purpose?

PETRO POROSHENKO, FORMER PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: I don't have -- thank you very much indeed, for covering Ukrainian war, and I don't have any information if the -- these attack was connected with Ukraine. But I cannot exclude that, that can be on to war, activate the real action to stop Putin's disaster at all.

And we have, in the previous year, these type of operation before. And I have to don't exclude these operation now.

WHITFIELD: And what are your concerns, if any -- if indeed, Ukraine did on purpose, a strike those fuel depots in Russia? What are your concerns about what that might trigger? If anything more?

We are responsible for depend in our space, our soil, our people, and our children.

And this is the Russian fate. We're trying to pretend -- to present that Ukrainian -- Ukraine is danger for us. Eight years of war, Ukraine, we will give time and reason for Russian to blame Ukraine for not respecting their global security.

And with this situation, just today, soldiers of our battalion, brothers in the arm, return back from Bucha, from Irpin, from the (INAUDIBLE). And I hope you will see the video today on the situation in this town, which is a suburb of Kyiv, which is just -- people who keep the soldiers (INAUDIBLE).

These are the hundreds of dead people on the street. With a tied hand, with a tortured and killed by Russian barbarians.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

POROSHENKO: And with these situation, definitely. And their mind -- their lawyer seem immediately inform all the international authorities including the International Criminal Court, the director responsibility to 1000s of 1000s Ukrainians, civilians who was killed by this crazy mind.

WHITFIELD (on camera): And you talking about these atrocities and people being killed. We now have video showing of the horrible atrocities that played out in Bucha.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): The village on the outskirts of Kyiv. And we certainly want to warn you the video is very graphic very disturbing. You see a body's splayed about on the road. You see the body of a person who clearly was on their bike at the time of this attack.

Tell me what this says to you about the technique, the methods of Russian forces. And how much worse can it get?

POROSHENKO: This is not possible with a person with a normal brain, with a normal (INAUDIBLE) to see these people. Please understand this is not a film of horror. This is the real today life of Ukrainian capital. This is how we live in Kyiv.

Just behind me, this is the children basketball center (INAUDIBLE) built. Here was the land of the Babi Yar.

And this is Russian missile who attack this 14 children. And we are here. This is the respect of the memories of the victims of the Babi Yar, which happening here in Kyiv.

And this is just a demonstration how disastrous is the war. And our brave arm forces is fighting and protecting Ukraine. But Russian Arm Forces is not fighting with our arms. They fighting with the women, with the children, with the elderly people, (INAUDIBLE) and torturous (INAUDIBLE).

[12:10:03]

POROSHENKO: And we should stop this. We should stop those, and we should understand that if we do not stop them here in Ukraine, definitely, they go further. They make a public statement further. And we will stop -- fighting would be in Poland, so, in Baltic States, so I and might (INAUDIBLE).

He wave this deep situation. Definitely, we need some more weapons.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

POROSHENKO: This big situation, definitely, can you imagine, just one thing. Ukraine and future of Europe and the world defending from 100 fighter jet, from 300 tanks, and from 500 armed personal carrier.

And this is this long lives of dozens of 1000s Ukrainians who stayed in life to be enlisted in the armed forces. And the battalion of the territorial defense is just heavy weapons to attack into throughout Russian force from Ukrainians.

WHITFIELD (on camera): Yes, you are living the horrors right now. Russian leadership would like the world to believe if all of these images are staged, you actually wrote an opinion piece in the Financial Times a few days ago. This, as you're also trying to keep your safety and then speak candidly, as you are right now.

And you issued this warning to other countries in the region writing, I know that if Putin gets away with what he is doing in my country, he will not stop here, and other authoritarians across the globe will be emboldened to do the same elsewhere.

Mr. President, do you feel like the world is getting this message as it watches the horrors unfold in your country?

POROSHENKO: First of all, I want to thank you for delivering this message. Because this is not only me to saying that, but independent journalists with a risk of their own life, delivering this messages about the core of which Russia to hear in my camp.

And with that situation, definitely, I really count that it would be no lost in peace without the full territory, free from the Russian troops. And please don't count, don't trust the de-escalation ala (PH) Putin. Because this would be words without deeds.

And if were Putin just regrouping, and the NATO information, say that today said that this is not the withdraw of the Russian troops from Ukrainian capital. This is just because of the we hit the Russian troops and they need to withdraw it, to regrouping and to review the ability to fight and send it either to Kyiv back or to the Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, or Donbas.

And without every tiny point of brain and lens with the Russian boots on it, piece is unreachable. And don't trust Putin. Don't trust the documents which Putin signed.

I leave with that five years during my presidency, since year 2014- 2019. But if me, do not create the new armed forces of Ukraine, with the NATO standard, with the great assistance of our partners from NATO, U.S. Definitely now, picture of the war would be completely different.

Without unity of Ukrainian people, without unity of the whole world supporting us, nothing (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: At the same time, do you words also come out of frustration that other countries are not doing more to stop this Russian invasion? Can they do more?

POROSHENKO: They should definitely need to do more. Every single day while Putin do not understand how dangerous for him (INAUDIBLE) war, he should increase the sanction. We should introduce the embargo, especially on Russian oil and gas. Because the every single day of absence of the embargo means that the world pay to Russia $1-1/2 billion per day. And this is every single day, 500 tanks or 300 Iskander missiles.

And I want to address to this nation who is reluctant that they need to be strong, united against Putin, please have my conclusion and advice. We can go as far as we together allow him to go.

That's why we should be united to stop him in Ukraine. Ukraine paid for there may be the highest price. Every single day by tons of Ukrainian blood, by lives of Ukrainian hero, and they are fighting here not only for Ukraine, but for the whole world. Come please, help us to save you.

[12:15:08]

POROSHENKO: This is very important message.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Very, very powerful. Former president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko. Thank you so much. Continued to be safe, and thank you for sharing your thoughts and your passion.

POROSHENKO: Thanks a lot.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): That was my interview with the former President Poroshenko earlier today.

Meantime, you're looking at live pictures right now. The USS after its ceremonial commemoration. The ship is now officially brought to life and is now ready to report for duty.

We'll have much more and a live coverage right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:19:53]

WHITFIELD (on camera): All right, the U.S. is set to give Ukraine an additional $300 million in security assistance. The Pentagon announced Friday the new package will include some of these items: drones, armored vehicles, ammunition. What's notable though is what it will not be providing Ukraine's biggest request for more advanced weaponry, such as aircraft will not be met.

CNN's Jasmine Wright, joining me now, again, from Wilmington, Delaware, where the president has been spending the weekend, and was just at that formal commemoration ceremony for the USS Delaware. And then, he left, he departed wearing the ball cap of the USS Delaware.

So, Jasmine, tell me more about what the Pentagon said, as it pertains to this commitment to Ukraine.

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Well, commitment is a great word there, Fred.

The Pentagon says that this latest package just shows how invested the Biden administration is in the security in the sovereignty of Ukraine. And they said that this latest package now brings their total up to about 1.6 billion that the Pentagon has a really aligned to Ukraine for its own assistance.

And you're right, it does come after the Ukraine -- after Ukraine continuously asked for more advanced weaponry, including those fighter jets that the Biden administration says it just would not be practical to ship.

But again, we just heard from the president just now -- right next to the USS Delaware, though he did not directly mention Ukraine, he did talk about security and how that naval capacity provides security not only for the U.S., but for its NATO allies, something that has been a big, big part of the U.S.'s response to this Russian invasion into Ukraine.

And just this week, Fred, we know that the president has had multiple talks with NATO allies, including France, Germany, Britain, as well as talking to Zelenskyy, just a few days ago. And after that conversation, the White House announced that they would deliver another $500 million in security and humanitarian aid to Ukraine as it fights this war that the U.S. is supporting on their side.

So, again, these are really deliveries of support, we can look at them that way, though they may not go as far as President Zelenskyy may want them to, the U.S. has continuously said that they look and assess in real time, the capacity that Ukraine has to fight this war, and will update what they are giving to Ukraine in real time based on that assessment.

But for this latest package, it comes with drones, more ammunition, more machine guns and other things. Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Jasmine, the president just wrapped up his appearance at this commissioning -- commemoration for the USS Delaware, really was, as the president, you know, put it, this really was the show for, you know, Dr. Jill Biden. She was the one who made the bulk of the remarks and the significance of the commissioning of this ship.

Is there an expectation of the president might be speaking later about the current state of affairs?

WRIGHT: Well, there -- that's not currently on the official schedule from the White House. But I think that one thing that we did hear from the president, in addition to him talking about just how important this naval capacity is, in terms of the U.S.'s and ally security is that he had really commendable words for Dr. Joe Biden talking about her commitment to military families.

He said that, since she's become First Lady, for the past year, she's had over 20 events for military families. He talks about her long history of Delaware and also her long history as that ship sponsor, something that where she is really involved in celebrating the milestones of that ship.

In her remarks that were much longer than the president, she talked about how in 2018, she celebrated the ship with a -- with, you know, a champagne shower. So, I think that the today's events really shows just how deeply tied Dr. Jill Biden is to military and to its service members.

And I think that that's something that the president spoke about at length here today.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jasmine Wright, thank you so much traveling with the president there in Delaware.

All right, let's talk more about Ukraine's request for military assistant. Let's bring in former Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus.

Secretary, thank you so much for being with us and help us having a better understanding of how important the USS Delaware will be, in addition to the U.S. Navy's fleet.

But as it pertains now to Ukrainian -- Ukrainian's military needs, and this new $300 million commitment in arsenal, how important are these items such as drones and armored vehicles that will be added?

RAY MABUS, FORMER SECRETARY OF THE NAVY: I think they're really important, particularly the drones that can use to be attack, but also the drones for Intel that troops on the ground can get a much better picture of where the Russians are, what they're up to, and how they can be best met.

As the Pentagon said, they are doing this in real time. They're looking at what the Ukrainians need and can use immediately.

[12:25:06]

MABUS: And one of the things that has been pretty amazing about this is just how fast this weaponry. And these supplies have gotten to the Ukraine.

Now, the Pentagon is often accused and sometimes rightfully so for being slow. They have been anything but slow here, they use weapons once their nails, they get to the Ukraine very, very fast

WHITFIELD: And oftentimes, an entry point for U.S. military assistance arsenal assistance will be, you know, by way of sea. And in this case, as we have been able to showcase, thanks to great reporting of a lot of our team members, including Ed Lavandera there, Odessa is a very important port city. That seems to be particularly important and appealing to Russian forces as well. Can you help people understand why it is what is so appealing to a port city like Odessa for Russia? Why is it targeting and -- or perhaps even using that space to launch its weaponry?

MABUS: Russia has wanted a warm water port like Odessa for literally centuries. And it is crucial to this war to Ukraine. And to the future. You saw that some of the attacks on Ukraine have been launched from Russian ships, cruise missiles, things like that.

And if they were able to capture Odessa, it would be -- it wouldn't be anywhere close to the end, but it would be a pretty big blow.

Odessa represents the Ukrainian outlet to the sea. And it represents a lot of the defensive capabilities of Ukraine.

But as we've seen, Ukrainians have really stood up and fought exceptionally well, and have really beaten the Russians. And the final thing, one of your reporters talked about a possible amphibious landing around Odessa.

But amphib landings are incredibly complex, they take an enormous amount of planning, and they just are really hard to do.

And if the Russian ground troops are any indication, it's really hard to see how Russia could pull off something like this. They haven't been able to pull off a pretty straightforward surface attack, much less a complicated sea shore amphibious attack.

WHITFIELD: And then, strategically if there's a way in which to really assess how Russia's military is carrying this out, by way of its strategy, when we're now hearing about these reports of these humanitarian corridors that are being targeted by Russia,

And this after negotiations, that there would be an opportunity for people in which to evacuate. What do you -- what does this signal in Russia's operations?

I think it signals that they have no strategy. They're only strategy now, because of their failures for weeks now, is terror. Is attacking civilian population centers, is attacking things like hospitals and daycare centers, but it's also attacking these humanitarian corridors.

And it shows that first, the Russian word cannot be trusted. They just don't live up to it in these negotiations. But second, that they -- that they're becoming increasingly desperate because these -- and they can only be labelled terrorist attacks. These attacks on civilians, and particularly on humanitarian corridors to get civilians out of harm's way, just there is -- their war crimes. There is no excuse for this.

And Russia has shown that they don't have a strategy and they really don't have many tactics either. They don't have when we didn't go as planned. They didn't have a backup plan and is Mike Tyson famously said everybody's got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

Russia not have that plan when Ukraine punched him in the mouth.

WHITFIELD: All right, Secretary Ray Mabus, thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

MABUS: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): All right, coming up, the U.S. and Western allies have placed hefty sanctions on Russia as a result of their invasion of Ukraine. So, how is this affecting everyday life there in Russia? We'll show you what it's been like.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. The Treasury Department announced a new round of sanctions on Russia targeting Russian tech companies, high profile hackers, and the networks that enable the Kremlin to avoid sanctions. But as CNN's Matthew Chance reports, as Putin continues to shield himself, it's the Russian people who are taking the hit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Russia, they're calling it the sugar panic. As Western sanctions on the country bite, ordinary people have been snapping up essentials here jostling with each other in the Russian city of Saratov to buy sugar off the back of a truck.

[12:35:05]

God bless youthe voice says, as a supermarket worker pushes a trolley of sugar towards anxious shoppers, scrambled to grab as much as they can before supplies run out. This from Russian officials for the public, not to panic buy are going unheard. And now, a prominent Russian economist tells CNN, this economic pain is set to this.

(on camera): Yes, we're seeing the shortages now. And that's bad enough for some people in Russia. But what you're saying is that that soon, we could see a much bigger, much more serious economic impact, because of these sanctions.

RUBEN ENIKOLOPOV, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS: Yes, the shortages, it's a temporary -- most of the shortages, it's temporary problem so that will be solved, like these goods will appear, so it's like, it's really acute phase, and then everything is fine. With the quality of life, they go, actual real income, that is not that apparent yet. But that will be -- this problem will be accumulating and becoming more and more apparent in the coming months.

CHANCE (voice-over): In fact that impact on quality of life is already being felt. These are the crowds that flocked to an Ikea superstore in Moscow the day before it closed down last month. Across Russia, Western brands have suspended production or simply pulled that over the invasion of Ukraine. Jobs may soon go permanently.

Even more seriously, there are concerns of shortage of Western medicines is starting to have a real impact on people's health. People like Anastasia in Moscow and her father, who she says has been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm.

We asked everywhere, but no one had his medicine, she says, now he feels sick. Russian officials say they're aware of the shortages and are trying to address them. But if sanctions persist, Russia faces being cut off from medical advances and other technologies that may set it back even cause harm.

For many Russians accustomed to hardship remain unshaken by the economic doom, threatening their nation. I was born in Soviet times, says Larisa in the Russian town of Pokrov. She then speaks of the challenges since then, like economic restructuring and food stamps. We got over it all, she says.

Valentina also in Pokrov says she doesn't mind that prices have gone up at all. In a month, it will all straightened out she hopes after years of navigating Western sanctions, there's a belief perhaps misplaced. Things will work out this time too.

ENIKOLOPOV: When Russians are seeing this, I mean, yes, psychologically, they are used to sanctions. But in terms of the effect of on the economy, it is much more damaging than the sanctions that were previously.

CHANCE (on camera): Well, I mean, previously, as well, the sanctions haven't really worked in terms of changing Russia's policy, changing the Kremlin's policy. Do you think there's a chance that these sanctions in that case will work and they will force the Kremlin to change course?

ENIKOLOPOV: Honestly, I doubt that. Just with the logic of the current regime in Russia, they -- it's a thing about Putin, that he doesn't give up under pressure, it's like makes him even more persistent at the expense of the country.

CHANCE (voice-over): Economic pain it seems, is a price the Kremlin is willing to let its own people pay.

Matthew Chance, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[12:38:54]

WHITFIELD: And for more information on how you might want to help the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, go to CNN.com/impact.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The CDC says the Biden administration will end a Trump-era pandemic restriction next month that's blocked migrants from entering the U.S. Now the Department of Homeland Security says it's bracing for a record number of crossings as many as 18,000 per day. CNN's Polo Sandoval is near the Mexican border in Hidalgo, Texas. Polo, what are our officials bracing for? POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So far there's absolutely no question that this predicted increase in asylum seeking families showing up in the nation's southern border will certainly put a strain, an additional strain on resources and border communities just like this one, just up and down the border.

What we can see though, are some of those numbers that have been recently shared by the Biden administration. In fact, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas with the Department of Homeland Security right here on CNN laying out those numbers just yesterday saying on average, you're seeing about 7,000 of those people, of those families basically showing up at the nation's doorstep seeking asylum.

However, because of that Title 42 Public Health Authority that was put in, that was enacted or at least put into play by the Trump administration and allowed to continue during the Biden administration, about 50 percent of those, according to the Secretary, are basically expelled back south of the border. And that has created a situation that many of those nonprofits that help these families, a fairly workable number.

And that's where some of those concerns then pick up here. The worry is that in about seven weeks when that Title 42 provisions is basically removed is that that will now allow many of these families the legal right and ability to actually show up in the U.S., seeking asylum. And that then, however, is feeling those concerns that the infrastructure right now that's in place.

[12:45:14]

And also, most importantly, the policies in place may not be quite ready to handle that large influx, because here's the thing, for the last two years that that Title 42 has been in place, we've seen thousands of families just across border -- bridges, like the one that you see behind me, basically staging in a backlog of thousands of families that once given the opportunity, they are determined to show up at the nation's doorstep and declare asylum.

And that's really caused some sharp divisions in border communities. You have some of those immigration advocates that are applauding this move by the Biden administration and the CDC. But you also hear from other people in these communities, including even the lawmakers that represent them. And they feel that the federal government is not quite prepared to be able to handle that demand.

I want you to hear a portion of the conversation that I had just this week with Representative Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat, who basically signed on to a letter that was mainly signed by Republican lawmakers calling on the Biden administration to really prepare themselves for what's to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. VICENTE GONZALEZ (D-TX): When I say I'm against lifting Title 42, and I'm against of the disorderly process of migrants crossing our southern border, I'm not saying this as a Democrat or as a Republican, I'm saying this as a South Texan and as an American, that we need to find an orderly process.

If we're going to allow migrants into this country, I think they should be applying for asylum in their home country or in their neighboring country. And we should find better ways and a better process for people to either be accepted or denied asylum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Department of Homeland Security for his part said that they are taking steps right now including boosting up its temporary housing ability and also boosting resources along the border ahead of the removal of Title 42, as our colleague Priscilla Alvarez has reported recently here.

But really the question that remains, Fred, today, tomorrow, and really leading up to the removal of Title 42, will this be a well- organized and coordinated effort here on behalf of the federal government to admit many of these families? Or will it once again, lead to overcrowded facilities? And, of course, that very contentious political debate as we approach the midterms about immigration.

WHITFIELD: All right, Polo Sandoval, thank you so much for that.

All right still to come, evacuations are underway right now in besieged Ukrainian cities. And we're now hearing that Russia is shelling civilian convoys. We're live on the ground in Ukraine straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:51:56]

WHITFIELD: All right more legal trouble for former U.S. Olympic and World Cup soccer player Hope Solo is facing charges of misdemeanor, child abuse, resisting arrest, and drunk driving. Police in North Carolina say on Thursday, the 40-year-old was found passed out behind the wheel of a parked car with her two-year-old twins in the backseat.

She was arrested and released on bail. Back in 2014, Solo was arrested after an altercation with family members. Her attorney tells CNN, she looks forward to defending these latest charges.

And the final four, well it's finally here. The last teams still standing in the NCAA men's basketball tournament will square off today in the national semifinal games. Retiring a Duke Head Coach, Coach K, hopes to cut down the nets one last time on Monday night. But to get there his Blue Devils will have to get past archrival North Carolina. CNN's Andy Scholes is in New Orleans with the preview of tonight's big showdown. Oh my gosh, I know the excitement is simply electric there in New Orleans.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Fredricka, it's incredible. You look down Bourbon Street, all you see is fans wearing blue because actually every single team that's here in the final four their colors is just a different shade of blue. But this is arguably one of the best final fours we've ever had. We've got three of the four winningest college basketball teams in history of the game in Duke, North Carolina, and Kansas, and then the other team Villanova has won two national titles in the past six years.

But of course, all the talk here in New Orleans and really around the country is Duke versus North Carolina. It's the first time we've ever had this amazing rivalry here in the NCAA tournament ever, getting it in the final four. And this is Coach K's last ever weekend coaching. Will he be able to go out on top here in New Orleans? We'll have to wait and see. We'll find that answer out in the coming days.

But I got the chance to catch up with Coach K yesterday after practice. I asked him, how is he feeling here in New Orleans? And I of course asked him about facing off against Dukes archrivals, the North Carolina Tar Heels later tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI, DUKE HEAD COACH: It's great because both programs are two of the greatest in the history of the game and, you know, it's an honor always to compete against them. But the game isn't about a rivalry. It's about getting to the championship. And then the rivalry is there and familiarity and all that. But you can't get caught up with that, you got to get caught up with advancing.

SCHOLES: That was your final, final four Friday practice. What are you going to miss the most about this?

KRZYZEWSKI: I'll know that when it's over. I want to be in this moment, this team is giving me so much joy especially to see them grow there in the month of March. They've been my youngest team and they've grown the most.

SCHOLES: NCAA tournament always had Cinderella's after 42 years. How special would it be if you got a fairytale ending here in New Orleans?

KRZYZEWSKI: Well, I'd look at as that my ending got -- as a coach you're always in the moment with your team and I'm thankful that they've taken me this far on their bus. And let's see if the bus keeps going through Monday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:55:17]

SCHOLES: Yes, I tell you what, Fredricka, it's just been incredible that this Blue Devils team with all the pressure of Coach K's career coming to an end has gotten here to the final four. We'll wait and see if they come through with two more wins and get him to cut down the nets one more time on top as he walks away from coaching. We have all the action get started tonight a little after 6:00 Eastern on TBS with Kansas and Villanova, I can't wait.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And you're right, all that blue. How crazy is that? Villanova, Kansas, I mean always blue and all the uniforms. That's really great. All right, it's hard to tell I'm sure when you walk around town who's rooting for who because there were a lot of blue. All right, Andy Scholes, thank you. We'll be right back.

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