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Horrific Scenes Emerge as Russian Troops Leave Kyiv Suburb of Bucha; Russia Denies Involvement in Bucha Killings; Thousands of Refugees Returning to Ukraine from Poland; Family of Missing Journalist Say She's Being Held by Russia; Russians Destroy Odessa Oil Refinery; Ukraine Calls on U.S. and NATO to Provide More Weapons; Shanghai Begins New Round of Testing as Cases Surge. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired April 03, 2022 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:11]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout live in Hong Kong. And we begin with mounting evidence of possible war crimes in Ukraine as Russian forces retreat from the Kyiv region and leave scenes of horror and devastation in their wake.

A warning. These images are graphic, disturbing and may be hard to watch. CNN teams on the ground captured these images of a mass grave in Bucha. The mayor says up to 300 people, many of them civilians, could be buried there. The discovery of that mass grave coming so soon after these images emerged, revealing streets strewn with bodies. Some with hands tied behind their backs. Others seemingly killed execution style, with a shot to the back of the head.

These horrific scenes in Bucha, a northwestern suburb of Kyiv, drew swift condemnation from world leaders with many demanding war crimes investigations and accountability. Meanwhile, the president of Ukraine is accusing Russia of trying to wipe out his entire country and its people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE (through translator): Indeed, this is genocide. The elimination of the whole nation and the people. We are the citizens of Ukraine. We have more than 100 nationalities. This is about the destruction and extermination of all these nationalities. We are the citizens of Ukraine and we don't want to be subdued to the policy of Russian federation. This is the reason we are being destroyed and exterminated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: On Sunday, Russia denied killing any civilians. The Ministry of Defense claimed that the images coming out of Bucha are fake. Another statement alleged that the footage was staged. But similar stories have emerged across Ukraine. On Sunday, the Regional Military Governor of Kharkiv said 23 people were killed when Russian forces fired on part of the city. And Human Rights Watch says it has documented allegations of war crimes in areas around Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv.

Our Fred Pleitgen was part of the CNN team on the ground in Bucha on Sunday. He's in Kyiv with the latest, and again, his report includes disturbing images.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as the Russians continue to withdrawal from areas here around Kyiv and towards the border with Belarus, and the Ukrainians move into these territories, I think two things are becoming increasingly clear. On the one hand, a lot more Russian military hardware was taken out than anybody would have thought, and on the other hand, a lot more civilians also came to harm as well. We witnessed some of that firsthand. Here's what we saw.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): As Russian forces retreat from the area north of Kyiv, in their wake, scenes of utter destruction. Whole blocks of houses flattened, Ukrainian authorities saying they believe dead bodies are still lying underneath. But here, the dead also lay in the open. Ukrainian National Police showed us this mass grave in Bucha, saying they believe up to 150 civilians might be buried here but no one knows the exact number. People killed while the Russian army occupied this town.

This is what it looks like when the hope is crushed. Vladimir has been searching for his younger brother, Dmitri, now he's convinced Dmitri lies here even though he can't be 100 percent sure. The neighbor accompanying him with strong words for the Russians.

Why do you hate us so much, she asks, since the 1930s, you've been abusing Ukraine, you just want to destroy us, you want us gone, but we will be, everything will be OK. I believe it.

Video from Bucha shows bodies in the streets after Russian forces left the area. Some images even show bodies with hands tied behind their backs. The Russian Defense Ministry denies killing civilians and claims images of dead civilians are, quote, "fake." But we met a family just returning to their house in Borodianka, which they say was occupied by Russian soldiers. They show us the body of a dead man, in civilian clothes, they had found in the backyard. His hands and feet tied with severe bruises and a shell casing still laying nearby.

Russia's military appears to have suffered heavy losses before being driven out of the area around Kyiv. This column of armored vehicles in Bucha completely destroyed.

(On-camera): The way the Ukrainians tell us is that the Russians were trying to go towards Kyiv and they were then intercepted by Ukrainian drones, artillery and also the Javelin anti-tank weapons.

[23:05:09]

It's not clear how many Russians were killed here but they say many were and others fled the scene.

(Voice-over): A national police officer says the Russian troops were simply too arrogant.

They thought they could drive on the streets and just go through, he says. That they would be greeted as though it's all right. Maybe they think it is normal to drive around looting, to destroy buildings and to mock people, but our people didn't allow it.

And now it appears all the Russians have withdrawn from here. Ukraine says it is now in full control of the entire region around Kyiv but it is only now that the full extent of the civilian suffering is truly coming to light.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: What we saw there in Bucha was obviously awful. But unfortunately, it is not something necessarily unique just to that one small town around the capital of Kyiv. In fact, just today we were in various other places, various other small towns and satellite towns around the Ukrainian capital, and every single one of them, we saw the same scene. We saw utter destruction, destroyed buildings where the local authorities said there are still dead people underneath. You know, dead bodies in the street. Dead bodies in backyards. And as the time progresses, as the Ukrainians make more and more inroads and access a lot more of these areas, unfortunately, they're probably going to find more of the same.

STOUT: The gruesome images in Bucha have been met with almost universal condemnation and many world leaders say it is more evidence that Russia is committing war crimes. Ukraine's foreign minister likened the carnage in Bucha to the savagery of jihadists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The Bucha massacre is the most outrageous atrocity of the 21st century. And by saying we all refer to Bucha but we should not forget about other towns and villages in the Kyiv region which also became the crime scene for Russian army. Without an exaggeration, by what we've seen in Bucha and vicinity, we can conclude that Russia is worse than ISIS.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: The head of NATO says he is shocked by the scale of civilian attacks that have occurred since the invasion began.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: It is a brutality against civilians that we haven't seen in Europe for decades. And it is horrific and it is absolutely unacceptable that the civilians are targeted and killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: And the U.S. is once again describing the scenes in Ukraine as war crimes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: You can't help but see these images as a punch to the gut. And look, we've said before Russia's aggression that we thought it was likely that they would commit atrocities. Since the aggression, we've come out and said that we believe that Russian forces have committed war crimes and we've been working to document that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: To discuss more, let's bring in former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty who was in Russia at the beginning of the war.

Jill, it's good to see you. Thank you so much for joining us. Let's talk about Bucha. Ukraine has called out Russia for war crimes there. We know that some E.U. governments are pushing to impose new sanctions. The pressure is building on Putin right now. So what does this moment mean for Russia and the war in Ukraine?

JILL DOUGHERTY, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Well, ccertainly, you know, Russia realizes how big this is. It's really enormous. The reaction is angry and really distraught from the rest of the world to see this happening. Now I think it's important to note that no one directly yet can prove that Russia did this. But there are calls from many countries for a real investigation of possible war crimes.

And Russia knows that it looks at this point as if it happened while their troops were there. So what is Russia doing? I mean, they are calling it, number one, an egregious provocation by Ukrainian radicals, and then they're also very quickly going on the offensive and saying that it is actually fake. That the video that we've been seeing on our screens is fake. And this is what Russian citizens are seeing in the Russian media.

Exactly that same message, that it is the Ukrainians who are faking this, and in fact, that there is, like a fake factory in a way for producing videos like this. This is all, of course, Russian propaganda for what they say is happening.

[23:10:03]

STOUT: It's incredible to see and to hear how Russia is reframing this. Look, there are photos of civilian bodies on the streets of Bucha. There are satellite images showing a mass gravesite. And yet as you laid out, the Kremlin is framing this all as fake. This is how Moscow is spinning this. And the people in Russia, they're buying it?

DOUGHERTY: Well, it's the usual thing that that is what they are exposed to. That is the usual answer, that it's fake. And I think it's important to kind of look at the psychological part of this. Because, you know, Russian, let's call it maybe ideology or the way that Russians look at themselves, and even going back to Soviet days, is that they couldn't possibly do something like this because they are the victims.

That is the way they look at the world. And look at the comments by Patriarch Kirill. He's, you know, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. And he gave a service for Russian soldiers at the Cathedral of the Armed Forces, by the way. The Russian Orthodox Church is quite, you know, connected to the Kremlin. And he said, and here's a quote. We absolutely do not strive for war or do anything that could harm others.

So that really is, for many Russians, the perception that they have of themselves. So it's really inconceivable in a world like that that they could possibly do something as horrendous as this.

STOUT: It was on Sunday when Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, urged Russian soldiers to defend a peace-loving Russia. Why does he support Russia's military action and how influential is his support?

DOUGHERTY: Well, he's influential among, let's say, obviously religious people. And also, in a political sense. Having the heft of the church, the real, you know, religion, the primary religion of Russia, is important politically. And as I said, the Russian Orthodox Church is very tied politically to the Kremlin. So this is a message that is being repeated in the media, in the churches, from Patriarch Kirill, and from every single official in the Russian government.

STOUT: And I got to ask you about peace talks, Jill. Of course there is still a lot to hash out before Vladimir Putin could sit down with President Zelenskyy. But assuming that they do sit and talk and assuming they do reach a deal, would Russia even adhere to a peace settlement?

DOUGHERTY: Well, there are many peace settlements and agreements that Russia has not agreed to. Has not actually carried out, I should say. So it's hard to say. I mean, at this point so many promises have been broken and in fact even going back.

You know, Kristie, when I was in Moscow, as the war was just beginning, Russia was insisting up to the very last minute that it had no intention of invading. In fact, they were mocking that idea. And then of course, they went in. So we just have to I think draw our conclusions from that behavior.

STOUT: Jill, Dougherty, we always appreciate your insight. Thank you.

Humanitarian groups are doing their best to get vulnerable civilians out of harm's way but continued Russian strikes are making this effort difficult.

Just take a look at this. This drone footage that shows the havoc wreaked by Russia on the city of Mariupol. Nearly 500 residents there escaped that devastation in their own vehicles on Sunday. And although numbers have slowed considerably, displaced Ukrainians continue to flee the country. More than 4.1 million refugees have fled since the fighting began.

But not all of those who fled are staying. Tens of thousands are returning to Ukraine from Poland despite the threat of war. CNN's Kyung Lah spoke with refugees in Warsaw to find out why. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): In some ways, we've almost become accustomed to these images because they are now so common almost six weeks into the war. Ukrainians carrying everything they own in bags that they can roll. Their babies in tow. Except they are not fleeing to safety. We are on a platform. A bus platform in Warsaw, Poland. And what you are looking at are Ukrainian refugees here in Poland but they are not running from the war. They are returning to Ukraine.

(Voice-over): At the bus station in Warsaw, Poland, the platform is packed. But not with people arriving from Ukraine. They're heading back. The reality of life as a refugee more unbearable than war. Katarina (INAUDIBLE) says after two weeks she's returning to Kyiv.

[23:15:02]

(On-camera): What is it like trying to live away from home all this time?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So bad. Because you don't know what's wrong with your relatives, with your family.

LAH: It's not a permanent way to live.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

LAH (voice-over): The Polish government says 2.5 million Ukrainians have come in since the war began. As of this weekend 442,000 have gone from Poland back to Ukraine.

Housing is a problem as Poland struggles to absorb the influx of women, children and the elderly. Poland's residents have welcomed Ukrainian families into their homes but living on strange floors and out of bags can only go on for so long.

Poland allows Ukrainians to work and collect government assistance but there's the red tape, standing in long lines with fellow war refugees to file the proper papers. And then there's child care and schooling, trying to raise kids with new language and cultural barriers. Poland wants to help but nearly six weeks into this war, the signs of strain are getting harder to ignore.

RAFAL TRZASKOWSKI, MAYOR OF WARSAW, POLAND: The Polish people will welcome Ukrainians whatever happens because they are fighting for our freedom and we do understand that. But of course there is a certain limit, human limit, of what we can do.

LAH (on-camera): When you say you're at capacity, what do you mean?

TRZASKOWSKI: The population of my city has grown almost by 20 percent in a month. So of course it puts an enormous strain on the city, on its services. And we are doing our best. We are welcoming everyone who needs help but, you know, improvisation has to end. LAH: Some of the stories that we're hearing from these passengers who

are heading back into Ukraine, a pregnant woman who says that she does not want to give birth in Poland alone, that her husband has remained in Ukraine to fight in the war. She wants to be with him. Another woman who owns a business who says her heart is shattered into a million pieces being here in Poland. She plans to try to pick up her life in Ukraine. This bus to Lviv has just pulled up. It's going to be leaving in minutes.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Warsaw, Poland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still to come, as people continue to go missing in Ukraine, the family of a journalist is holding Russia responsible for her abduction. We'll have their story just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:21:06]

STOUT: Russian forces deny allegations that they have detained scores of civilians since the war began. But the family of a missing Ukrainian journalist isn't buying that denial. They are in agony, waiting to hear from her again and hoping that she is safe.

Ivan Watson has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Masha plays by the banks of the Dnipro River, under the watchful eye of her grandmother. In a few days, she'll be turning 4, but her mother may not be there to celebrate.

Irina Dubchenko is missing, taken captive, her family says, by the Russian military. The family last heard of Irina on March 26th when she called from her home in the Russian-occupied village of Rozivka saying Russian soldiers had searched her house.

ALEXANDRA DUBCHENKO, MISSING JOURNALIST'S SISTER (through translator): She was very frightened. She told us that the Russian soldiers said we know everything about you and you should be shot on the spot for what you did.

WATSON: The next day neighbors say the Russians returned and detained Irina, who worked as a freelance journalist. They haven't heard from her since.

DUBCHENKO (through translator): We don't know where she is right now, we have no information about her.

WATSON: The alleged Russian abduction of Irina Dubchenko fits a broader pattern. Ukraine's Commissioner for Human Rights accuses Russian forces of detaining at least 55 civilians since invading Ukraine on February 24th. A Kremlin spokesman has told CNN he is not aware of cases of disappearances but adds that they should be examined carefully.

At least 11 detained civilians are elected mayors like Ivan Fedorov. A security camera caught Russian troops kidnapping Fedorov on March 11th in the Russian occupied town of Melitopol. He says he was later released in a prisoner exchange for nine captive Russian soldiers.

I would happily offer myself in a prisoner exchange for her freedom, Irina's mother Larisa says. Just let her go. She has a child.

Larisa and her husband tried to rescue Irina from her Russian occupied village on March 7th.

(On-camera): This is your mother's car.

(Voice-over): But they were forced to turn back after gunfire shattered their car window.

(On-camera): Larisa is showing me a bullet encasing from a round that she says hit her car on March 7th when she tried to reach the village that her daughter lives in. She says Russian soldiers opened fire on her vehicle.

(Voice-over): At some point, in the first weeks of the war, Irina took in a wounded Ukrainian soldier.

DUBCHENKO (through translator): Irina told me on the phone that this military guy was at her home. That she was treating him, changing his bandages.

WATSON: When Russian troops searched Irina's house on March 26th, Alexandra he says they detained the wounded Ukrainian.

DUBCHENKO (through translator): He was wounded in the arm and the leg. They handcuffed him and took him out right away.

WATSON: On March 28th, after Irina's alleged abduction, her mother made it safely to the occupied village. She says the Russian officer told her that Irina had been taken to the Russian-backed separatist city of Donetsk to be tried in court for sheltering the wounded Ukrainian soldier. But that's not a crime, according to international laws of war.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The First Geneva Convention is a convention that protects wounded and sick soldiers in the field.

WATSON (on-camera): If a civilian treats a wound combatant, according to the Geneva Convention, is that allowed?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is not only allowed, it is also protected. Article 18 of the First Geneva Convention is crystal clear about it and says that no one may be molested or convicted for treating wounded.

[23:25:00] WATSON (voice-over): CNN reached out to Russia's Ministry of Defense regarding the alleged detention of Irina Dubchenko. The ministry never replied. Irina's family now wait in terrifying limbo.

CORDULA DROEGE, CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (through translator): Masha often asks, where is mama? Every day, I say she's coming soon. She's coming tomorrow. She'll be here in an hour or two.

WATSON: The truth is no one here knows when Masha will see her mother again.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: A Lithuanian filmmaker has been killed in Ukraine. And he was 45 years old. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, he was killed by Russian forces while trying to leave the besieged city of Mariupol. His film "Mariupolis" premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2016. He won the Amnesty International Film Prize in 2011 for his documentary about Russia's war in Chechnya.

At least six journalists have been killed since the war began. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has posthumously awarded a medal for bravery to one of them. A Ukrainian photojournalist. Ukraine's attorney general's officer said Saturday that Maksim Levin was killed by Russian forces near Kyiv. Levin worked for a number of major Western news outlets including Reuters and the BBC.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still to come, Russian missiles hit an oil refinery and fuel depot in Odessa. We'll have the report from the scene just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:19]

STOUT: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.

We are following a horrific discovery in Bucha, Ukraine. As Russian troops retreat from the area around Kyiv, they're leaving behind evidence of a massacre. And a warning, these images are very, very graphic.

This is a mass gravesite. Up to 300 people could be buried there. This is according to the town's mayor. Russia wants you to believe that this is staged. But a CNN crew saw it with their own eyes. At least a dozen bodies piled here on church grounds. And some people are not yet buried. Their bodies still contorted on the streets or tied up with their hands behind their backs.

The president of Ukraine is accusing Russia of genocide and war crimes. Russia has denied any involvement in Bucha, maintaining it doesn't target civilians. Russia also claims that the images of bodies on the streets of Bucha are fake.

Russia fired a series of missiles at an oil refinery and fuel depot in the port city of Odessa. The attack happened during the early hours of Sunday morning. And CNN's Ed Lavandera went to the scene and spoke with some of the shaken residents who live nearby.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The missiles exploded in a startling, violent barrage. About six strikes lit up the sky. Russian military officials say the attack on Odessa was launched from the sea and land using high precision missiles.

The massive plumes of black, swirling smoke covered much of the city of one million people. The strikes landed in a largely industrial area, destroying an oil refinery and fuel storage facilities.

(On-camera): Multiple air strikes hit the port city of Odessa here in southern Ukraine just before sunrise, Sunday morning. There were no air raid sirens that went off before the blasts, and the explosions could be felt and seen from miles away.

(Voice-over): Ukrainian officials say there were no injuries but Tatiana Gerasim says the explosions threw her from the chair she was sleeping in and window glass shattered all over her. Tatiana volunteers in this building late into the night cooking meals for Ukrainian soldiers. In recent days, she says reconnaissance drones were flying over the fuel storage facility. Two other residents told us they saw the drones as well.

TATIANA GERASIM, ODESSA RESIDENT (through translator): The drones were flying around and I knew they were up to something, and could bump the depot. And we've been thinking where we could hide in case something happens.

LAVANDERA: A small pocket of apartment buildings and homes sit just across the street from the bombing site. Families stood outside their homes under the clouds of dark smoke. Watching flames shoot up into the air. The explosions shattered windows and any remaining sense of security these residents had left.

GERASIM (through translator): Of course I'm scared, and now they're hitting everywhere. They are doing it in all cities. We know it. We see it.

LAVANDERA: The attack on Odessa follows a similar pattern Russian forces have carried out for weeks, hitting fuel storage facilities across the country it claims are supplying their Ukrainian military. But if the Odessa strike is a precise attack, Ukrainian officials say the strikes hours later in the neighboring city of Mykolaiv have no rhyme or reason and are designed to harass and panic civilians.

Despite being this close to the bombing and with tears in her eyes, Tatiana Gerasim says she refuses to leave Ukraine. She tells me these bastards won't get away with it.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Odessa, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: For analysis, I'm joined now by Josh Rogin. He is a CNN political analyst and "Washington Post" columnist.

Josh, good to see you. Thank you so much for joining us. In your recent column, you argue that Ukraine needs more weapons. It needs better air defense systems. What impact would they have and would they be able to blunt the kind of strikes that we saw happen, for example, on Odessa on Sunday?

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's very clear that the Ukrainian forces have many different types of air defense systems with many different types of capabilities. What the Ukrainian officials are telling us is that they need more and they need the better and more advanced systems.

[23:35:03]

Specifically, they need more of the S-300 Russian made systems that can simply cover more land and intercept more advanced missiles and planes than the lesser capable systems. And there are a number of reasons why they're not getting them but there are systems like these sitting in NATO countries, unused. And there is a lot of bureaucratic problems with getting them into the Ukrainian forces' hands.

And when you talk about Odessa, what the mayor of Odessa told me is that he needs anti-ship weapons. And why don't they have anti-ship weapons? The shells are coming from ships and they can't attack those ships. So these are just a couple of things that they could use more of. And what they would do is they would save more lives.

STOUT: So what will it take? What will it take for the Biden administration to send weapons to Ukraine including anti-ship weapons or defense systems like the S-300?

ROGIN: The Biden administration is sending a lot of weapons and NATO countries individually are sending a lot of weapons into Ukraine. But the pattern has been that they only send the weapons that they feel are not escalatory. In other words, the Biden and the White House will make a decision about what is going to provoke Putin and what is not going to provoke Putin. What the Ukrainians are saying very clearly is that those calculations are nonsense and that Putin is going to escalate anyway. And so the best way to stop the war would be to give them more weapons now.

And the pattern has also been that the Biden administration eventually gives them the weapons that they ask for after the pressure mounts. Not always. For example, the fighter planes, they didn't get them at all. But I think what's going to have to happen is people are going to have to see unfortunately more of these horrendous photos and then the pressure is going to have to rise and might actually the Biden administration will eventually increase its appetite for a risk and give the Ukrainian forces more weapons that they are asking for. STOUT: Yes, are the Ukrainians right, that sending these weapons would

not necessarily antagonize Vladimir Putin or escalate things even further? What is the best way to handle him?

ROGIN: Right. I think the Ukrainians have a different priority than the Biden administration, frankly, if we're being honest. The Biden administration wants to limit the scope of the war to get to the negotiating table to make a deal to end the fighting. And the Ukrainian government, while open to negotiation, and open to a deal, prioritizes winning the war. And that means pushing the Russian forces out before the papers are signed.

And this has been the basic divide between Washington and Kyiv this whole time. And yes. I agree more with the Ukrainians. I think that the quickest way to limit the violence is to push the Russian forces out sooner. And I think they know what they need more than we know what they did. And I think the reasons that Washington isn't giving the Ukrainian forces what they need is a lot more to do with Washington frankly than it has to do with what's going on in Kyiv.

And American politics and American considerations, and, you know, all of that is very complicated but suffice to say that the longer it is that we debate whether you should send weapons, the more innocent Ukrainians are going to get killed. And that's not the Americans' fault. That's the Russians' fault but if we can do more to stop it, in my opinion, we ought to.

STOUT: Let's talk about getting to the negotiating table. Ukraine has said that it's prepared to discuss becoming a neutral country and President Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine must recognize that it will not join NATO. But what would a neutral status outside of NATO mean for the future of Ukraine?

ROGIN: I mean, we have a really good answer to that. It's because Ukraine did have a neutral status before 2014. They did have assurances from the international community that if they gave up their weapons in 1994 that they would be secure. And that didn't work out really well for Ukraine did it, Putin attacked anyway. So I think what Zelenskyy is doing is very practical, it's very pragmatic. He is saying since NATO won't accept us anyway, we're not going to stick to that demand because we're not going to get it anyway.

So that's an easy thing for him to negotiate the offer but even in that scenario where they strike a deal and Ukraine declares its neutrality, that could end the fighting for a little bit but it won't solve the problem because history has shown us that Russia doesn't care about neutrality claims, and unless the only countries that are safe in Europe are the ones that have alliances. The NATO countries. Those are the ones that Russia actually won't attack.

STOUT: And talks to get to the negotiating table are currently underway. Would sending military aid now to Ukraine in the middle of these talks be a bad idea?

ROGIN: You know, I have to think it's obvious at this point that these talks will go on for a long time and therefore there's no way to stop sending military aid to Ukraine while they're talking. In other words, Putin is not stopping killing Ukrainians while they're talking so we can't stop helping the Ukrainians defend themselves while they are talking.

So they're going to have to fight and talk at the same time. And if we stop sending them arms while the talks are ongoing, well, then the talks become a thing that the Russian can use against the Ukrainians to keep them down, to keep them weak. And so very unfortunately, we have to keep sending them arms and keep encouraging them to talk, and that seems a little crazy but that's what we're going to see for the next weeks and months.

[23:40:07]

STOUT: Josh Rogin, always appreciate talking to you and appreciate hearing your argument to send weapons, to send arms to Ukraine. Take care.

Russia's war on Ukraine dominated parliamentary elections in neighboring Hungary on Sunday.

Hungary's Viktor Orban called Ukraine's president one of the many opponents he overcame to win reelection. The right-wing prime minister and Putin ally secured a fourth consecutive term after his party won a supermajority in parliament. Mr. Orban has drawn international criticism, particularly from Europe and the West over the erosion of democratic rights during his time in office. And he made light of his long-running tensions with Europe during a victory speech in Budapest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIKTOR ORBAN, HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We have scored a victory so big that it can be seen even from the moon. But definitely from Brussels.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: His main challenger from a rare coalition of parties conceded defeat late on Sunday. Peter Marki-Zay questioned the fairness of the election but says that he accepts Mr. Orban's victory.

You're watching CNN. And still ahead, Shanghai hopes more COVID testing will help curb the latest rise in new cases across the city. We'll have the latest in a live report next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:45:18]

STOUT: Economic unrest is leading to widespread anger in Sri Lanka. Police there using tear gas to disperse protesters. This happened on Sunday. All amid a weekend curfew and a state of emergency declared by the government. A shortage of foreign currency as well as the COVID-19 pandemic all fueling an economic crisis there. The country has seen rising prices, scarce essential goods and rolling power cuts. Pakistan's prime minister will stay on the job despite his country's

own economic problems and efforts to oust him. Pakistan's president says that Imran Khan will continue as prime minister until the appointment of a caretaker government citing the country's constitution. This after parliament's deputy speaker blocked a vote of no confidence in the prime minister on Sunday. Mr. Khan dissolved the national assembly and called for fresh elections sparking protests from opposition members who accused him of mismanaging the country's economy and foreign policy.

Chinese officials are holding firm to the country's Zero COVID Policy as cases skyrocket throughout the region. Now residents of Shanghai have been ordered to complete another round of COVID testing after a weekend of rising cases. The city in fact reported more than 9,000 new infections on Sunday. That's the highest Shanghai has ever seen. Shanghai is effectively under lockdown until Tuesday as officials rush to complete COVID testing for every one of the city's 25 million residents.

CNN's Selina Wang joins us now from Tokyo with more. And Selina, record-high infections being recorded in Shanghai. What's the latest on the outbreak and the lockdown?

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, as these COVID cases in Shanghai rise, public frustration continues to grow. On Sunday, Shanghai reported more than 9,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 10,000 medical workers from across China are being sent to Shanghai for additional medical help.

Now these numbers, they may pale in comparison to some numbers we're seeing in other parts of the world including the U.S. but for China, this is the biggest COVID-19 outbreak they've been dealing with since the early days of the pandemic and it is a critical test for China's harsh containment strategies.

Right now essentially, the entire city, some 25 million people, are under strict lockdown. The scale here is just staggering for China's the most populous city, for China's financial and economic cup. Now for part of the city, half of the eastern half of the city, that went into lockdown early last week. That lockdown is now being extended.

Now on Friday, Shanghai's western half went into a strict lockdown. The city is also now implementing more rounds of mass testing for its residents. But for the frustration here, it is important to note that for many of the residents in Shanghai, Kristie, they've been in strict lockdown for weeks. Even before this citywide lockdown went into effect and they are confined to their homes indefinitely until their entire community tests negative for COVID-19.

On top of that uncertainty, people are dealing with struggles to get daily necessities, food, even medical care --Kristie.

STOUT: And Selina, just horrific stories of family separations happening as it did happen here in Hong Kong, in Shanghai as well.

WANG: Exactly, Kristie. Now in Shanghai, photos and video circulating online. Some of which we are showing here, showing babies, young children, even infants, separated from their families. They're quarantining alone, isolating alone, many of them even sharing hospital beds together. The anonymous poster of these photos and video said that these children had tested positive for COVID-19.

Now CNN was not able to independently verify those videos but a mother did tell CNN, she told us that she was separate from her 2-year-old daughter after her baby tested positive for COVID-19 and she wasn't able to see her baby for a week -- Kristie.

STOUT: This is the cost of Zero COVID. Selina Wang reporting live for us. Thank you so much. Take care.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still to come right here in the program, Russia's bombardment forced a father from his home with a newborn baby. But that did not stop him from singing. His inspiring story is next.

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[23:53:34]

STOUT: Just outside of Kyiv, the suburb of Irpin is finally free of Russian troops but the city lies in ruins. Too dangerous for civilians to return.

Alex Dayrabekov, he made it out just before Russian strikes destroyed his apartment building and since then he has been recording videos of life inside of war zone. All while taking care of his infant son.

(ALEX DAYRABEKOV SINGING BEATLE'S "YESTERDAY")

STOUT: His son was born just two weeks before the war started. And earlier he spoke to my colleague, Jim Acosta, about raising a son in a war zone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX DAYRABEKOV, FATHER OF INFANT, IS STAYING IN UKRAINE: I will tell him that he started his life in the time, in the historic time when the entire country got together against this evil, against this devil because this is not even a war. It's a massacre. It is genocide. That they came to erase our nation and everyone is fighting. Everyone is fighting in this country for our country, for our land and for human values and for freedom.

[23:55:04]

And I am sure that what is happening now will change the entire history of the country, of Europe, and of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Alex says he started singing to his first son 25 years ago during a time of peace. Now the Grammy Awards on Sunday featured a special guest, Ukrainian

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who appeared in a pre-taped message. The president appeared to the international community for help sharing the truth of what is happening in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals. Even to those who can't hear them. But the music will break through anyway. We defend our freedom to live, to love, to sound. On our land, we are fighting Russia, which brings horrible silence with its bombs, the dead silence. Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today, to tell our story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: The singer John Legend later joined Ukrainian performers and musicians performing his new song called "Free," celebrating the power of music in dark times especially war.

I thank you for spending part of your day with us, I am Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And do stay with us. Our coverage live from Lviv, Ukraine is next after this break.

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