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Devastation Around Kyiv Comes Into View As Russians Pull Back; U.S. To Facilitate Transfer Of Soviet-Era Tanks To Ukraine; Small Businesses Grapple With Inflation, Staff Shortages; Biden Announces Record Oil Reserve Release To Reduce Gas Prices; Hungary Prime Minister In Election Fight Due To Putin Ties; January 6 Committee Member Says They Will Find Phone Log Gaps; Ukrainian Teen Draws To Cope With War. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired April 02, 2022 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: So we're in a bomb shelter in Odessa and this is where they're making bulletproof vests.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All of these vehicles have been branded with the Red Cross to try to ensure that they cannot be attacked on the road. I interviewed a young girl who was shot through the face her mother says by a Russian soldier while trying to make this journey.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can see charities from all over the world. Everyone here really sincerely feels that this is a humanitarian crisis that they have to address.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's so difficult. It's psychologically challenging when all of your life is back there in Ukraine, your soul aches.

PETRO POROSHENKO, FORMER UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: If we do not stop them here in Ukraine, definitely they go further. Definitely we need more weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Thanks for joining us, I am Erica Hill. Pamela Brown is off tonight.

We begin this hour in Ukraine and a shift in strategy for Russia. The Kremlin's new goal, seizing control of eastern Ukraine by early next month. That's according to several U.S. officials familiar with the latest intelligence.

Also today, a terrifying reminder that any suburban neighborhood, any city square, frankly, any civilian building is a target for Russia and its lethal firepower.

So this video you're watching, you hear the gunshots, you hear what's happening. There are explosions. You see the people scattering. Why? They were peacefully protesting Russian occupation of their town.

I'm going to show you that attack now from a different angle. Take a look.

At least four people were reported to be injured. Ukraine's deputy defense minister says the Kyiv region, meantime, has been, quote, "liberated." And these images, lending some support to that claim. Outside of Kyiv, Russian forces have apparently just abandoned a strategic airport that they had captured back on day one of the invasion.

Also today in central Ukraine, Russia attacking military airfields and a major oil refinery. This of course, comes just one day after Russia accused Ukraine of striking a fuel depot on Russian soil. Ukraine, in a statement, would neither confirm nor deny that accusation.

The Ukrainian flag is once again flying over Chernobyl, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. Russian troops have withdrawn from the area. Some of them reportedly sick from radiation exposure.

Meantime, in and around the capital of Kyiv, a cautious welcoming as these Russian attacks -- seems to be a reprieve from the Russian attacks but as CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports, the war is still being felt.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Erica. Well, it's certainly gotten a lot quieter here in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. You know, we have air raid sirens a couple of times during the day but, by and large, it certainly is a lot less than what we have been seeing this past week and even the past couple of days. And the Ukrainians are essentially saying that the Russians are leaving the districts around Kyiv, are retreating.

The Russians, of course, claim that this was always part of their plan and that they are just pulling back right now. What we're seeing now as the Russians are moving out is that they certainly have taken some serious losses. You know, I was out in some of these districts around Kyiv and we saw a lot of tank carcasses, destroyed armored vehicles, and then just also positions that were abandoned by the Russians as they moved out of here.

The other thing unfortunately that we're also finding is that there are still a lot of dead bodies that have yet to be recovered. In fact, there was some video that came out part of a district called Bucha which is just to the northwest of Kyiv, where the streets just seem to be lined with corpses. The Ukrainians now say they are obviously going to try and bring some of them away and clean that whole area up.

The Ukrainians, for their part, are saying that this is definitely not the end. They say they believe that the Russian forces were beaten as they tried to invade the capital Kyiv and are now essentially trying to regroup. In fact, Ukrainian officials say they believe that attacks will intensify, especially in the southeast of the country. And it's certainly something that they are bracing for, Erica.

HILL: Yes. Absolutely, Fred, appreciate it. Thank you. Joining us now, national security expert Jason Beardsley. He's a

national executive director for the Association of the U.S. Navy, a veteran of the U.S. Army Special Forces.

Ed, it's good to have you with us tonight. As we look at what is happening now, there is this new U.S. intel which reportedly shows Putin looking to claim victory in eastern Ukraine in early May, which coincides with a major Russian holiday, Victory Day, May 9th. Is this further confirmation of what there were rumblings of earlier this week that this is perhaps Putin looking for a way to save face?

[19:05:02]

JASON BEARDSLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY EXPERT: Yes, absolutely. He is kind of gotten hammered from the outset. You know, within 48 hours, this looked like a failed invasion. Logistics, supply, morale, equipment. They are absolutely getting their lunch handed back to them by the Ukrainians. So this looks like Putin saving face.

He is trying to get in front of this. He doesn't want to look -- lose the Duma, he doesn't want to lose the Kremlin and he really doesn't want to lose the people. There is a lot of bodies coming back to Russia or being crematoriumed on site in Ukraine. So this is not a good situation for him. I think he is trying to make the best out of a bad situation.

HILL: As he is trying to make the best out of it, if he were able to gain control of parts of the east, is there any reason to think that it would stop there?

BEARDSLEY: Well, one of the main reasons he's likely to have to regroup for a while is again, he's lost a lot of equipment, generals that have been killed in this battle and troops. So everything points to the fact that they are trying to clean this up. And Ukraine has to take advantage of -- it's not quite a lull but the repositioning of forces and where they can, they have to continue to press.

They need to be adaptive, innovative going in, harassing and interdicting the lines. This is their best chance of putting Putin so far on his back heels that he has to get at the negotiation table before he is threatened in power. And that's a long way off for him if he can settle things now. But that's part of what you're seeing is a scramble to retreat, pound the cities while he is doing it. That's a little bit of a retrograde military operation. And he is angry. So this is a little bit of a vengeance play.

HILL: Yes. Look, there's been a lot of concern about how this is impacting him, right, on that personal level if he is, and especially, after we learned this week that he was apparently not being given the full story by some of those closest around him. When you look at this, though, we have Ukrainian officials saying listen, you got to prepare for difficult days ahead in the south and in the east. They don't see this ending anytime soon.

I think it's interesting you bring up this idea of negotiations and diplomacy. Do you think that the Russians are actually involved in these negotiations? Are they actually coming to the table with an idea that they could meet somewhere in the middle on something?

BEARDSLEY: They're not ready to meet in the middle yet. They are going to play the game and try to appear as if they are part of the talks. But all the actions on the ground, I mean, they are killing civilians in atrocious manners. This is not a professional military. And yes, Putin's been lied to.

But that's not a surprise. He's run his government in such a way that he was never going to get the truth anyways. So what they are trying to do again is to keep the Ukrainians from gaining too much leverage at the eventual negotiation table and when we say this is ending, we don't mean a hard end.

For example, after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, there's been a hot war in the east since then. So Ukrainians have been rotating forces to the frontline to get this experience, this combat experience. You see it paying off, all the training, our special operations green berets have been in there for eight years really training this stuff. So it is paying off now. Putin is trying to, again, make the most face-saving efforts possible. But Ukraine -- it's up to the Ukrainians now to break his will on the battlefield and let the negotiations play out after that.

HILL: When we look at where things stand, so we are learning today -- we heard yesterday from Germany, right? Transferring armored vehicles, that the U.S. is now going to facilitate the transfer of Soviet-era tanks. Also, another $300 million in support, including some of these switch-blade drones and some anti-drone equipment. How important is this new influx, if you will, of equipment? And how long do you think that could last?

BEARDSLEY: So it's very important but the right equipment. So you mention the tanks. Don't forget that the Ukrainians have been battlefield recovering Russian tanks from the beginning of this onset and tanks are not the preferred advantage in this occasion. So right now, the switch blade drones you mentioned that loiter over a target, and then come in like a kamikaze and blow up, those are very powerful and as soon as Zelenskyy gets his hands on them, he needs to distribute them to places like Mariupol and Chernihiv in order to break the siege.

If they don't break those artillery pieces which they haven't been able to do by manpower, then this is going to go on forever. He has got to demonstrate with those weapons immediately that he can shift the battlefield focus. And that means the U.S. had better get on top of the game for supplies and logistics. Not easy to do but it's got to be done right.

HILL: Jason Beardsley, great to have your insight and your expertise with us tonight. Thank you.

BEARDSLEY: You bet.

HILL: Still to come here, much more on the new U.S. efforts to get that Soviet-era military equipment into Ukraine to bolster the Ukrainian fight against the Russians. Plus, as sky-high gas prices hit your wallet, just how much will

President Biden's plan to release an unprecedented amount from -- of oil from the nation's strategic reserves really help?

[19:10:01]

And the tiniest refugees. Ukrainian babies born in Poland just after their mothers were able to safely cross the border. We are going to introduce you to the women who fled their war-torn country and now are now facing with the tiniest survivors, an uncertain future.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: More than five weeks into this war in Ukraine, it is the next five weeks which may be perhaps even more pivotal. CNN has learned Russia is shifting its strategy, now aiming to take control of eastern Ukraine by early next month for what it hopes it could claim as a victory. This is according to U.S. officials familiar with the latest intelligence.

CNN's Arlette Saenz joining us now from the White House.

So, Arlette, what more do we know about these intel intercepts and what it reveals about Russia's plan?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, U.S. officials have said that Russia is looking at a target date of May 9th.

[19:15:04]

They believe that Russian president Vladimir Putin is starting to shift his focus to try to take control of the Donbas and other regions in eastern Ukraine. These officials say that Putin is feeling the pressure to show some type of victory, especially as his forces have really been squeezed and not been able to keep control in some of the areas where they have been fighting.

Now that May 9th date has some historical significance. It is a major holiday in Russia where they celebrate the Nazis surrendering in World War II. But, also, there are some tactical concerns as well. As the winter starts to fade away and the ground is softening, U.S. analysts say that essentially, they need to get their troops and units in there ASAP. Additionally, that area in Ukraine, there's already been these Russian-backed fighters there for years going back to the annexation of Crimea.

Now, additionally, we have also learned that U.S. officials believe that Russia may soon name an overall commander for this war. Likely someone from the south where they've seen some successes in their fighting. This comes after previous reports that there was no theater wide on the ground commander for Russia in Ukraine. Really contributing to some of the disorganization and dysfunction that has been seen over the course of this war so far.

But clearly, these next five weeks for Russia, they are trying to show that there is some type of victory that they can achieve. But officials say that even if there is going to be some type of celebration in Russia, it doesn't mean that an actual victory is at hand and that Putin is preparing for an extended war in Ukraine.

HILL: Well, meantime, the U.S., we're learning, Arlette, is also sending more aid to Ukraine. There is this new $300 million package of security assistance, including some of those switch blade drones we were just talking about. Also a plan to facilitate the transfer of some Soviet-era tanks. What more do we know about that package and these tanks?

SAENZ: Yes, it's clear that the U.S. and allies are really trying to get more equipment into Ukraine to help the Ukrainians defend themselves. Last night, the Pentagon announcing that they were sending $300 million worth of security assistance to Ukraine. This includes suicide drones, as well as night-vision equipment and anti-drone systems. In addition to that, sources have told us that the U.S. is planning to help facilitate the transfer of Soviet-era tanks from allied countries into Ukraine.

It's unclear how many this will be. But this is something that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has really been pushing for over the course of this past week, saying that he needs tanks. He needs more defense mechanisms to continue this fight against Russia. And one official has told our colleagues here that this essentially these tanks would be delivered within days, not weeks. So we'll see what else we learn but this is a very prominent and pivotal step coming from the U.S. and allies as they're preparing to send those tanks over to Ukraine.

HILL: Arlette, appreciate the reporting. Thank you.

Still ahead here, tough to miss this one. The impact of inflation. We all feel it, right? Just ahead, you will hear from one small businessowner struggling to sleep at night thinking about how his business can actually survive amid this spike in prices.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY ADELEYE, CO-OWNER, KUPCAKERIE: Last year, we actually had our busiest year ever and our lowest profit margin ever as well.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How does that happen?

H. ADELEYE: Just everything is going up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:23:12]

HILL: Like so many Americans, small businesses right now are coping with high costs and hard decisions. CNN's Nadia Romero visited a small Atlanta bakery forced to raise its prices for the first time in five years because everything from ingredients to deliveries is costing so much more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMERO (voice-over): Each step of the baking process now costs more.

KASCHA ADELEYE, CO-OWNER, KUPCAKERIE: When you look at your cost of goods sold, you're like, whoa.

ROMERO: Almost eight years ago, Kascha and Henry Adeleye started Kupcakerie in East Point, Georgia. Their baking business almost a bust during pandemic shutdowns.

K. ADELEYE: So that first two weeks was probably the scariest time of my life, period, because we just did not know.

ROMERO: But Kupcakerie has kept baking and surviving. The president touting booming job growth nationwide. Wages up, unemployment down. Georgia commissioner of Labor, Mark Butler, says the state is an example of record-breaking bounce back.

MARK BUTLER, GEORGE LABOR COMMISSIONER: You take a look right now in Georgia, we have, you know, been breaking records in a lot of the different sectors like, you know, talking about professional services, healthcare, you know, warehousing, transportation, and so we are doing really good all the way around.

ROMERO: But inflation plagues the economy. Deliveries carried Kupcakerie through COVID. But now skyrocketing gas prices sour the sweet treats.

K. ADELEYE: Gas prices are ridiculous so we had to, you know, increase our delivery costs for the first time ever.

ROMERO: And baking staples?

K. ADELEYE: It's double. The cost for each cupcake at this point.

ROMERO: In 2019, Kupcakerie would pay about $18 for 15 dozen eggs. Now?

H. ADELEYE: They are $55 for 15 dozen.

ROMERO: Cream cheese, about $6 per three-pound loaf. Now?

H. ADELEYE: $11 for a loaf. So almost double the price of that.

ROMERO: Their bottom line just didn't add up.

[19:25:02]

H. ADELEYE: Last year, we actually had our busiest year ever and our lowest profit margin ever, as well.

ROMERO (on-camera): How does that happen?

H. ADELEYE: Just everything's going up. Like tenfold. ROMERO (voice-over): So for the first time, Kupcakerie's cupcakes now

cost 5 percent to 10 percent more.

K. ADELEYE: You want a cupcake, we have to -- we have got to charge the cost to make them.

TONIE BUDGETT-PRICE, KUPCAKERIE CUSTOMER: Banana pudding. Red velvet.

ROMERO: Customers take note.

BUDGETT-PRICE: I did frequent another bakery where their cakes are -- they're nice. But the prices are excessive. So again, another reason for me to come and have the opportunity to try something different at a cost that I feel is inviting.

ROMERO: A recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey shows most small business owners have raised prices due to inflation, while also making big changes to attract a strong workforce.

BUTLER: I still think we are a ways off to figuring out what the landscape is going to look like because there's just been so many resets when it comes to the cost of goods, the cost of doing business, and wages.

ROMERO: With baby number two on the way, the Adeleyes fight to open a second Kupcakerie location despite their challenges.

H. ADELEYE: Some days you can't sleep at night when you see the numbers but we're a business. And we know we have to stay in business.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMERO: Georgia Commissioner of Labor, Mark Butler, says when inflation is driven by increases in wages, that's not something you can easily roll back but he says answering the question of how do you stop inflation is harder now than it's ever been -- Erica.

HILL: Yes, a lot of people agree with that. Nadia, appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, speaking of inflation, how about the price of gas? The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded? $4.20 today according to AAA. And as the administration continues to pin the rise in gas prices on Putin and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, President Biden this week in an unprecedented move announced a plan to tap into the nation's strategic petroleum reserves. It's an effort to ease that burden on you, the consumer. The president authorizing the release of one million barrels of oil per day for the next six months.

Joining me now with more, Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy.

So the U.S., Bob, goes through about, what, 20 million barrels of oil a day. I think the question for most Americans is, will these extra barrels have any impact on prices at the pump?

BOB MCNALLY, PRESIDENT, RAPIDAN ENERGY: Hi, Erica, and great to be with you again. Unfortunately, probably not in a good way. Oil prices are probably headed higher because while the U.S. consumes about 20 million barrels a day, the right way to think about the United States adding one million barrels a day from the strategic stocks is to compare it to the amount of oil that we could lose from Russia due to Putin's invasion of the Ukraine.

Russia is the world's largest oil exporter at almost eight million barrels a day. Some three million barrels a day is directly threatened by sanctioning or self-sanctioning. So the problem the president has and we all have because crude oil prices in the world is what determines our local gasoline price is that one million barrels a day isn't enough to address the Russia problem. So unfortunately, as long as Russia poses a problem to the global oil market, a disruption risk, gasoline prices are probably headed higher.

HILL: So they are probably headed higher. But, you know, again just put this in perspective for us. The U.S. is not Europe, which relies on Russia for, what, some 40 percent, right, of oil and gas and its energy. The U.S. does not rely on Russia like that. So just remind us, again, why is it so important what's happening with Russian oil if we are not really using it in the U.S.?

MCNALLY: Right. Well, the hard truth about the oil market is that even if you are like the United States, blessed to be self-sufficient in oil, we are a net exporter of oil, but it doesn't matter because a supply disruption anywhere leads to a price increase everywhere, including here. All consumers, whether you are Saudi Arabia, Canada, the United States, an importing country, China, it doesn't matter. We all pay the same price and that's determined in the global crude oil market pool.

HILL: So, when we look at that price, right? So releasing these barrels of oil every day for the next six months may not have a big impact at the pump. Might have a psychological impact, right? Even perhaps on the markets. Eventually, we're going to need to replenish that back into the strategic reserves. Typically, that's done, from what I understand, when oil is pretty cheap.

Do we have to worry about now replacing these barrels, these 180 million barrels, at today's prices?

MCNALLY: Well, I don't think the administration will replace at these prices or higher most likely. They will wait until oil prices go lower, say, $80 a barrel or $70 a barrel is what I believe they are thinking about if we see those prices again anytime soon.

[19:29:58]

But you know, if we don't refill the reserves, we're in trouble because there are all kinds of other disruptions in the world. Houthis are attacking Saudi facilities, Libya is unstable. If we don't replenish that emergency reserve in the coming years, we will be even more vulnerable to price spikes when as they always do these geopolitical disruptions occur.

So one way or the other filling, the SPR is going to be a challenge. HILL: But just that you say if we don't replenish in the coming year,

so just to -- I don't want people to freak out too much at home. Right? So we're talking about 180 million barrels, there will still be more than 400 million barrels, correct me if my math is wrong there, in the strategic reserves, which are also there for things that happen in the United States. Right? So natural disaster, other issues here. Are we okay, for the time being?

MCNALLY: You know, not really. Unfortunately, Congress, and this has been a bipartisan problem, Erica, this is the Democrats and Republicans have been very irresponsible to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It has been sold down since 2008, when we had over 700 million barrels to 568 now, down 21 percent, and that's to pay for non-emergency expenses.

And in addition to the 180 million barrels, there are more barrels that are being sold again, just to pay for regular expenses. So I think that they're going to see a need to have to replenish this because the world is still dangerous, and consumers are still vulnerable to these price spikes.

HILL: Let me ask you one other question. You know, we talk so much right now, understandably, about the price of oil. It has been seesawing around $100.00, it's up, it's down one day, depending on, you know, what's being talked about in Washington, what's happening overseas?

Should we really be as, consumers, right, if we're not trading this oil, should we be looking at this every day? Or is this more like your 401(k), where you're told, don't look at this every day, it's going to continue to change and a lot of it is out of your control?

MCNALLY: Yes, you know, I think you should look at sort of averages, the volatility now is even making professional traders dizzy and fall down. It is crazy, the volatility we're seeing in the oil market, so I wouldn't worry about that as a consumer.

I would just look at the general trend, the general trend, the averages over recent weeks, and that is headed higher, unfortunately. And I think it will continue to do so as long as Russia poses one of the biggest disruption risks in modern times to the global oil market. So look at those averages.

HILL: Bob McNally Great to have you with us. Thank you.

MCNALLY: Thank you.

HILL: Well, as the country is grappling with these soaring gas prices, the Biden administration announcing some landmark new fuel economy standards. So by 2026, all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. must have an average fuel economy of 49 miles per gallon.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says this move isn't really -- it's not just about saving, you, the individual driver, money. He says, there is a bigger goal here in making America less dependent on oil. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Even if all of the oil we use in the U.S.A. were made in the U.S.A., the price of it is still subject to powers and dynamics outside of the U.S.A., which means that until we achieve a form of energy independence, that is based on clean energy created here at home, American citizens will still be vulnerable to wild price hikes like we're seeing right now during Putin's war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The new standards also aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.

Protests in Hungary today where polls are set to open in just a few hours. The war in Ukraine now upending a major political race there.

We are live in Budapest as Hungary's leader tries to shift strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABOR TOKA, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, CENTRAL EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY: Pro- Russian for Russia policies of Viktor Orban, which are a very important building block of his entire political vision are now exposed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:35:12]

(VIDEO CLIP OF WOMEN MARCH IN BUDAPEST.)

HILL: These scenes from Budapest earlier today where women marched through the streets to highlight the child victims of Russia's war on Ukraine. The war has put tremendous pressure on Putin's allies including Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Tomorrow, Hungarians head to the polls to determine his fate.

Now, he is considered the most Kremlin friendly leader in Europe and his relationship with Putin has become part of the campaign for the opposition. His opponent says he is just following in the Russian leader's footsteps.

CNN's Matt Rivers is in Budapest.

Matt, just how likely is Orban to hold on to power at this point?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's probably the toughest re- election campaign he has faced in his 12 years in office as Prime Minister if only because every single opposition party has united in what is pretty much a desperate attempt to get him out of office. But one thing I can tell you is that no one here in Hungary, let's say two months ago expected that the biggest issue in national politics right now will be a war in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIVERS (voice over): Viktor Orban, by most measures is the E.U. leader closest to Vladimir Putin recently. Just three weeks before the war began, Orban took a trip to Moscow, welcomed by Putin across a very long table.

National elections in Hungary on Sunday will test whether Orban's 12- year run as Prime Minister will go another four years and his relationship with Putin is suddenly at the center of Hungarian politics.

What began as a campaign focused on local issues now has opposition leaders determined to link Orban with Putin and his bloody war in Ukraine, with political attack ads painting Orban as Moscow's puppet, a strongman leader determined to side with authoritarian Russia instead of the Democratic West.

[19:40:17]

This ad saying, quote: "We want Hungary to be a Western country again. If you're voting for Orban, you're voting for Putin." Or this one saying, quote: "Orban, tell your friend of 12 years don't kill."

Orban has undeniably supported Putin vetoing sanctions against Moscow over the years and expanding the Russian-Hungarian partnership.

TOKA: Pro-Russia policies of Viktor Orban, which are a very important building block of his entire political vision are now exposed.

RIVERS (voice over): And with Putin's popularity plummeting, the opposition calculus is simple, Orban plus Putin equals a winning political strategy.

But not so fast, because Orban is fighting back, call it a flip-flop, call it a pivot, but Orban is no longer Putin's best buddy. Even though he is not openly criticizing him personally, the Hungarian leader went along with initial E.U. sanctions against Russia, has described the invasion as Russian aggression, and despite being vehemently anti-immigrant for years now, has let in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees in the past few weeks.

(VIKTOR ORBAN speaking in foreign language.)

RIVERS (voice over): He says, "We are a great country, which gives everything to people who are fleeing trouble."

Since the war began, Orban has refused to let weapons pass through Hungary to Ukraine or provide military aid, but he has deflected any criticism of that by claiming he is simply a man of peace, counting on the notion that many Hungarians want nothing to do with the war.

TOKA: I think the gut-reaction of most of the public is that oh, oh, oh, we should just not get involved with this thing.

RIVERS (on camera): Yes. And Orban has taken advantage of that sentiment.

TOKA: And that is what they are trying.

RIVERS (voice over): Whether it works remains to be seen, but polling which isn't always reliable in Hungary has Orban and his party out in front. One big name the opposition hopes will change that --

(PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: Listen, Viktor, do you know what's going on in Mariupol?

You have to decide for yourself who you are with.

RIVERS (voice over): That's of course Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who has criticized what he calls Orban's lack of support for Ukraine's fight for its existence, but it's not clear if that will be enough.

At an anti-Orban rally on Saturday, Ukraine flags flew and the crowd kept pushing the Orban-Putin narrative, but not many people showed up, whether that's an ominous sign for the opposition or just the result of cold rainy weather, we will find out when the votes come in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIVERS (on camera): Now, Viktor Orban is still finding ways to help his old friend Vladimir Putin despite not initially going along with the E.U. sanctions. Orban has drawn a line essentially saying that he will not impose a ban on Russian energy imports here to Hungary. He says that's because it would make life harder and more expensive for ordinary Hungarians. And while that's probably true, it also conveniently allows Vladimir Putin continued access to energy markets here in Hungary -- Erica.

HILL: Matt Rivers, great reporting. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Next, a White House diarist speaks to the January 6th Committee about Donald Trump's activities ahead the insurrection as lawmakers work to fill the gaps in the White House official phone log on that day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:48:03]

HILL: Former President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner spent six hours with the January 6th Committee this week. His wife, Ivanka Trump could appear before the panel soon.

Meantime, one Committee member tells CNN they will fill the gaps left by the White House official phone log with the seven hours of Donald Trump's phone records during the assault on the Capitol that are not in that log. Now, the White House says its phone logs are complete. We know though the President made phone calls during that time, although apparently, if they're not on the log that means they didn't go through the White House switchboard. Now, CNN has confirmed that during that seven-hour gap the former

President spoke with House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Republican Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and an identified person on a call listed in the White House diary, but not in the phone log.

CNN legal analyst Jennifer Rodgers joining me now. So, Jen, you're a former Federal prosecutor. How tough will it be for the Committee to piece together its own record of Trump's calls during that seven-hour period?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Erica, if this were a normal case, I would say it wouldn't be tough at all. You just go to the people that you know the former President was speaking to, you start to look at their phone records. You talk to witnesses who were with the President that day and find out who they think the President talked to and proceed from there.

The problem is, in this particular instance, with so many of those people around former President Trump stonewalling the Committee, they're not able to get the answers in the way that they would in the normal case.

So I think it'll be more challenging, but they are starting to break through a little bit. You know, they're hearing from some witnesses now. We heard they heard from Jared Kushner with some -- for six hours the other day. So, I think they're starting to break through with some of the people close to the former President, so that certainly will help in this endeavor, as well as their overall goal just finding out what happened.

HILL: Six hours with Jared Kushner, what does that tell you?

RODGERS: Well as some of the folks who were there are saying, he was very good cooperative. You know, he wasn't stonewalling them, he wasn't pleading the Fifth every other question. He was cooperative.

[19:50:05]

RODGERS: He spoke to them. He answered the questions and that can only be a good thing for the investigation. It likely means, I would guess also that Ivanka will cooperate as well. So, it's a very good thing. It's good to see someone who was very close to the former President understand that, that now he should cooperate, and he should tell them what he knows. So, it's a positive sign.

HILL: So that's the positive sign. There is a lot of frustration. It's hard to avoid this growing frustration from some Committee members, specifically aimed at Attorney General Merrick Garland. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): This committee is doing its job. The Department of Justice needs to do theirs.

REP. ELAINE LURIA (D-VA): And the Department of Justice must act swiftly. I will echo what my colleagues have already said. But more bluntly, Attorney General Garland, do your job so that we can do ours?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Well, on Friday, Garland made clear he is going to continue to do things his way saying only the only pressure he feels is to do the right thing. What's the impact? Does this public pressure have any impact on the Department of Justice and the Attorney General?

RODGERS: Well, he's certainly feeling that pressure. And it can, you know, you can't help but have it affect you in some ways, but I don't think it's going to change what they're doing. You know, listen, they can't be swayed by public sentiment, they can't be swayed by political pressure. Otherwise, they're not doing what they're supposed to do, right, pursuant to their oath to uphold the rule of law without fear or favor.

So I think he is doing the right thing. For now, it is frustrating to wait for accountability and justice the way that we are. But we just have to trust in the system, we have to trust in Merrick Garland's integrity, and the Department of Justice's integrity, and hope that what's going on behind the scenes is a lot more than we are saying and that ultimately they'll come to the right decision.

HILL: Do you have any sense of what that timeline could be?

RODGERS: I don't, of course. I mean, they've been working at it for some time, I will say a couple of things. One, that if you're going to indict the former President, or even some of his closest associates, you have to have a rock solid case. This isn't an instance where you go for probable cause, and then know that you can kind of fill in some of the gaps later, you have to come with everything you have, and it has to be strong at the beginning.

So they're really going to be doing their work here at the outset even more than is usually the case. But also, there is kind of an exploding timeline on this, which is, I think they want to be sure that they can complete this case before potentially losing the Department of Justice. They don't care about the politics of the midterm elections, and they don't care in theory about the 2024 election, except that if Republicans take over, I think it is fair to say that there will likely be political interference in this case.

And so I think they're going to want to make sure to get it done before that. And to me, that probably means charging sometime early next year to make sure you can get through pretrial, get through a trial, get to a point where interference wouldn't actually succeed.

HILL: Really quickly, CNN has learned that Federal criminal investigators are looking into the fundraising for the rally ahead of the insurrection. What's your sense -- what kind of charges could come from that?

RODGERS: Well, you know, they're looking at conspiracy against the United States. So if you think about this as a conspiracy to interrupt Congress in, you know, what they were doing and doing their duty on January 6th, and the rally is being a big piece of doing that, as they marched to actually, you know, invade the Capitol, than the people behind the rally start to see potentially to be part of that same conspiracy.

So I think they're still looking at the same things, a conspiracy against United States. They might also be looking potentially kind of fraudulent fundraising, and that sort of thing. But I think they're really keyed more into this broader conspiracy.

The Stop the Steal, the Big Lie, ultimately, what happened on January 6, and they want to know, who brought those people there, right? What were they planning and so this is all a part of that? This broader investigation that we're now seeing a little bit more of as it moves forward at D.O.J., and of course, with the Select Committee as well.

HILL: Jennifer Rodgers, always good to see you. Thank you.

RODGERS: Thank you.

HILL: Still ahead here, Russia claiming a shift in its war strategy as a Ukrainian official says the capital region of Kyiv is liberated. We're live in Ukraine, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: When Russian missiles rained down on the City of Mariupol, 14- year-old, Karina took out her pen and paper and started to draw.

For this young Ukrainian cartoonist, her art became her refuge for the two weeks that she was hiding with her family in their apartment basement, witnessing missile strikes and shelling from underground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINA IVASHCHENKO, 14-YEAR-OLD UKRAINIAN CARTOONIST (through translator): I drew my fears. I was afraid of the war. I was afraid when they shot in the streets. Every day it got worse and worse, then strong explosions began, even in the basement, the walls began to shake.

The shooting also hit into the basement. Then a huge fire started. It was very scary. When I came out of the basement and into the streets, all the houses were on fire. Black smoke everywhere. All houses, all glass, it was simply gone.

I drew this for myself for the future, so that later, I could see what I experienced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Karina's family sheltered in their basement, this one you see here, with no electricity, no heating, no water supply. They have since escaped to Poland.

For more information about how you can help humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, just log on to CNN.com/impact. CNN audiences have already donated more than $7 million. [20:00:49]