Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Putin Aiming to Control Donbas by Early May; Ukraine Needs Heavier Weapons as Military Focus Shifts East; Aid Groups Struggle to Get Ukrainians out of War-Ravaged Areas; Russia Tries to Stabilize Economy; Pope Francis Considering Trip to Kyiv; Ukraine Raises over $500,000 through NFT Sales; Senior Ukrainian Defense Official Says Kyiv Region "Liberated"; Zelenskyy-Putin Meeting a Possibility; Children Paying the Heavy Price of War; Sri Lankan Police Arrest over 600 for Curfew Violations. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired April 03, 2022 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: And this is where the best trained, best equipped soldiers with Ukraine's military are based.

And soon they could be outflanked and surrounded. All of this seems to explain the urgency among Western nations to supply more lethal, more effective military aid to Ukraine.

Sources telling CNN the U.S. is now helping with the transfer of Soviet-era tanks from the Czech Republic. Armored vehicles are coming from Australia and Germany. Britain sending long-range artillery.

Without that increased capability for Ukrainian fighters, experts believe the Russians could wipeout the bulk of Ukraine's military in a matter of days. U.S. intelligence believes Putin is looking to a schedule to have some kind of military victory by May 9, the same day Russia celebrates victory over Nazi Germany.

The next images are graphic, it is the true horror of the Russian aggression on full display in Bucha, north of Kyiv. Journalists report at least 20 men found dead in the streets, all of them wearing civilian clothes.

When Russian forces withdraw from around the capital, they leave behind a trail of destruction, devastation and death. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more now from Kyiv. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's certainly gotten a lot quieter here in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. We have air raid sirens a couple of times during the day.

But by and large, it's certainly a lot less than we've seen the past week and even the past couple days. And the Ukrainians are essentially saying the Russians are leaving the districts around Kyiv, are retreating.

The Russians, of course, claim this was always part of their plan and they're 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 many some of the districts around Kyiv. And we saw a lot of tank carcasses destroyed, armored vehicles and also positions that were abandoned by the Russians as they moved out of here.

The other thing, unfortunately, we're also finding, there are still a lot of dead bodies yet to be recovered. In fact there was video that came out off of a district called Bucha, to the northwest of Kyiv, where the streets 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 of 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. It's certainly something that they're bracing for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Earlier we spoke with CNN military analyst General Wesley Clark, the former Supreme Commander of NATO. He said Ukrainian forces should be commended for pushing Russians away from the capital but he did warn, this conflict is far from over. Here's General Clark.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think it's great tactical success on the part of the Ukrainians. They've driven the Russians back. But this is so far from over they've got to be very, very careful not to raise expectations.

What has to happen now is lots more support has to come in to help Ukraine to drive the Russians out, to drive them out on the south and to strengthen the Ukrainian force in the Donbas area.

Now what's going to happen is, as you can see from the map, the Russians are north and south of Dnipro. It's going to be the next key objective. If they can drive through Dnipro, they'll cut off the Ukrainian forces that are holding back the separatists in the Donbas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joining me now from Kyiv is a member of Ukraine's parliament, Kira Rudik. She's the leader of the Holos party or the Voice party.

Thank you for taking time to speak with CNN. As we see these Russian forces withdraw, especially from around the capital, we're seeing this trail of destruction and death left behind. In one city, Bucha, bodies left on the streets. And you recently tweeted this.

"This is Bucha, the outskirts of Kyiv. Russians were killing people with their hands tied behind their back and left the bodies near the road. I am shaking. Stop Putin now."

There had been reports of extrajudicial killings in Bucha.

Did you see those bodies with their hands tied behind their backs first-hand or are you hearing this from residents who were there during the weeks-long occupation?

And do you think those scenes will be repeated in towns and villages elsewhere?

KIRA RUDIK, UKRAINIAN MP: Hello, thank you so much for having me.

Yes, I have seen these bodies with my own eyes. I have seen the destruction. And this is something I have never seen before in my life.

There were so many bodies; we have found a grave of 300 people, who were killed right there, women, children and men. And it's just unspeakable what happened there. And I cannot mention what is happening right now in occupied territories, in occupied cities, where Russians are still holding.

[01:05:00]

RUDIK: We will work on fixing the destruction but we cannot possibly return people who were killed. And we are extremely frustrated. Everybody who was there, I think, will not be able to forget what we have seen.

Many, they were killed, were shot in the back with their hands tied behind their backs. It's like since Second World War, when Nazis committed the same crimes. I cannot imagine who gave this order and why. They were civilian people. They were not military.

VAUSE: Just to be clear, you're saying there are mass graves in Bucha, with hundreds of civilians who've essentially being executed or murdered, their hands tied behind their back and shot in the back of the head.

This is compelling evidence that Russians have committed war crimes during this invasion of Ukraine. You want Putin to be held not only accountable but to stand trial in Ukraine.

Is that even in any way possible?

RUDIK: I think the international tribunal is possible. This is the point where we as politicians, members of parliament, are working. We are gathering evidence. We are creating the judicial baseline for that.

So at some point, not only Putin but everybody who gave the word, who executed on the orders, will be able to come to trial and be prosecuted and then executed. We want a Nuremburg process, not less.

This is something that would need to happen. Because what we have seen, it's not war crimes, it's just crimes against humanity. It's a devastation.

How is it possible that people would do something like that?

And here in the peaceful outskirts of the capital. You know, like more than a month ago, these people were alive. They were living their normal lives. They were, like, creating well known (INAUDIBLE). They were living like Europeans. Everything was just normal.

And now it is -- it is like in the movies from the Second World War but it is worse because you can see it in your own eyes.

VAUSE: It is horrific what has been happening. There are also reports, too, that the Russian soldiers have been using children as human shields, placing them on tanks, holding them hostage so that their parents would not give away the position of the Russian soldiers, you know, to the enemy, if you like.

What do you know about that?

RUDIK: Yes, we had evidences of Russian soldiers using children. We know the children had been taken back with Russian army, again, as hostages, to make sure that Ukrainian army wouldn't be following them.

We have also seen Ukrainian women being burned alive and raped or taken away for the same reason. This is all being documented so we can then present it to the world and show what Ukrainian nation is suffering.

VAUSE: Oh, my God. That is horrendous. There's now talk from Ukraine negotiators that maybe negotiations will allow for a meeting between President Zelenskyy and Putin.

Do you know if that's likely in the coming days?

How do you trust a leader like Putin, who's a proven liar?

RUDIK: We cannot be trusting Putin and this is definite that all the agreements, if any, needs to start with the security guarantees that would come from Putin, that would be in the security guarantees from Turkey, from United States, from United Kingdom and some European countries probably. That should be point one from all the negotiations. Then we can think

of talking to Putin and having some agreements with him because, so far, everything that we have seen from him was just simple breaking his word and bringing more and more death and devastation to Ukrainian land, to Ukrainian people.

We cannot trust him. We can only gather all the powers from the world to make sure that, at some point, we are all standing against him.

VAUSE: You have some horrific stories that you've shared with us over the last few moments. But we thank you for that and wish you all the best.

RUDIK: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Even as Russia pulls back in some parts of the country, aid groups are still struggling to reach Ukrainians and get them out of harm's way. The International Committee of the Red Cross has managed to get into Irpin in recent days.

[01:10:00]

VAUSE: Treating the injured, delivering food, hoping to return next with more essential supplies. The (INAUDIBLE) was unable to reach Mariupol on Saturday after arrangements and conditions made it impossible to continue.

Some 100,000 residents remain trapped in Mariupol. According to the U.N. more than 4.1 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the fighting began. Ukraine says more than 4,000 people were evacuated by humanitarian corridors on Saturday.

But despite Russian promises not to target those corridors, the journey out can still be incredibly dangerous, leaving some to find safety through more unconventional methods. CNN's Ben Wedeman has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Everything will be all right," he sings, "for every one of us," words of comfort for those desperately in need. Popular singer and former lawmaker Svyatoslav Vakarchuk goes from village to village with a simple message.

SVYATOSLAV VAKARCHUK, MUSICIAN AND POLITICIAN: Just be glad, smile.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): His church in the village of Bashtanka is now home, temporary home, for those who have managed to flee Russian occupied territory. Volunteering in the kitchens, Svetlana Lyashuk finds peace but not peace of mind.

"It's really hard," she says. "People here are very nice but I just want to go home."

Vitaly Butuchel, a mechanic in peacetime, now runs a complex operation feeding and housing the displaced.

VITALY BUTUCHEL, VOLUNTEER: This war, this dilemma (ph), this all make us like a family, very closer.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): The church feels like an oasis of the ordinary far from the madness outside.

Early evening and a bus approaches, marked "deti," Russian for children; alas, no guarantee of safety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

WEDEMAN (voice-over): It's coming from the town of Snihurivka under Russian control. But it didn't pass through a humanitarian corridor negotiated by the Red Cross.

WEDEMAN: The arrangement whereby these people are able to get out of the Russian occupied areas to hear is very simple: the men on the bus give Russian soldiers food and cigarettes and the Russian soldiers let them pass.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Larisa Shevchenko made it out but remains tormented by fear for those who couldn't get away.

"Everything is really bad," she says.

Her parents in Snihurivka are still hiding out in the basement. She hopes they'll get out tomorrow -- Ben Wedeman, CNN, Bashtanka, Southern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When we come back, a closer look how Russia is trying to avoid the economic impact of those global sanctions as the war in Ukraine now enters its sixth week.

Also ahead, the carnage unfolding across Ukraine is a familiar playbook from Vladimir Putin. We'll look back at more than 20 years of Moscow's unbridled aggression.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:15:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause.

Russia's war here in Ukraine has claimed the life of another journalist. Maksym Levin was killed by Russian forces in Kyiv, according to the office of Ukraine's attorney general. The photojournalist was found unarmed, two gunshot wounds. He worked

for a number of major Western news outlets, including Reuters and the BBC.

In a statement, Reuters said it is deeply saddened by his loss, called his death a huge loss to the world of journalism. His bio described himself as a documentary photographer, videographer, father and a human being.

Now the Russian government is dealing the weight of those global sanctions, doing everything it can to protect its economy and trying to keep it afloat. Meantime, a fuel depot near the Ukraine border was recently attacked. And for more on both of those issues here's Atika Shubert.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, JOURNALIST: Two issues we're following out of Russia today. First are the attempts to try and keep the Russian economy from collapsing under the weight of sanctions.

Russia's central bank has moved very aggressively to try to stabilize the currency, jacking up interest rates, imposing very strict capital controls. And now the Russian ruble is at about the same level as it was before the start of the invasion.

Russia also threatened to cut off gas supplies to Europe unless existing energy contracts were paid in rubles. That deadline was Friday and it came and went and gas is still flowing to Europe.

But I think it's important to remember that Europe is still heavily dependent on Russia; nearly 40 percent of its energy needs come from Russian oil and gas.

Now the second issue we're following is this announcement by the Russian ministry of defense, that the Ukrainian air force conducted a missile attack on a fuel depot inside Russian territory on the city of Belgorod. This is located across the border from Ukraine. It's very close to the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Now a video has surfaced of this attack. CNN has geolocated the video but we cannot confirm that the two helicopters seen in that video are, in fact, from the Ukrainian military. The Ukrainian government has refused to deny or confirm the attack.

Citing local emergency services, however, Russia's state news agency, Tass, is reporting that 16,000 cubic meters or more than 3 million gallons in fuel were set on fire as a result of that attack.

So that would be a significant logistical blow for Russian troops that have been using Belgorod as a staging ground for conducting attacks in Ukraine -- I'm Atika Shubert, for CNN, in Valencia, Spain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Pope Francis has not ruled out a trip to Ukraine. He was asked by a reporter if he was thinking about coming to Kyiv. And the pope replied it was on the table. Pope Francis also received a photograph and a letter from a family of the FOX News cameraman, who was killed in Ukraine, along with his producer.

[01:20:00]

VAUSE: The pope told the family he is up there.

Russia's brutal war in Ukraine follows a pattern of military aggression going back more than 20 years. CNN's Matthew Chance covered all of those conflicts and he filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russian troops, fresh from battle, cruising through the devastated streets of a deserted city, virtually leveled by rockets and artillery fire. You can see the apartment blocks in the background reduced to rubble.

It could easily be Ukraine in the past few weeks but this is footage from 22 years ago in Chechnya, a breakaway Russian region, brutally suppressed by the Kremlin, an early glimpse how uncompromising Vladimir Putin would be.

CHANCE: The almost unanimous opinion of these soldiers is, if he's elected on Sunday, Vladimir Putin will make a strong president to lead this country and its armed forces.

CHANCE (voice-over): At the time, he vowed to chase terrorists to the toilet and wipe them out in the outhouse. He later expressed regret for those words but not the actions.

Europe's first war of the 21st century was also Putin's war. The tiny Georgian enclave of South Ossetia was a back quarter for the former Soviet Union. But it was here that Putin got a taste for violating international boundaries, intervening to support the breakaway region, pounding Georgian forces and rolling his tanks across the border.

CHANCE: Well, there's been a lot of speculation about where the Russian troops are. Well, here they are, well inside Georgian territory and outside the main conflict zone of South Ossetia.

The big question is how far will they go?

CHANCE (voice-over): Then, as now, the invasion provoked international scorn. But just after the short Georgia war, Putin seemed confident. Relations with the West would endure.

CHANCE: Do you think that this is a turning point in relations between Russia and the West?

Do you think that period of post-war calm has come to an end?

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): I think no. I hope not. CHANCE (voice-over): He was right. The Western backlash against a

resurgent Russia never came -- until this.

In 2014, protesters toppled the pro-Russian president in neighboring Ukraine and Putin moved quickly to secure Russian interests.

CHANCE: What astonishing developments in Crimea because, without a shot being fired, Russia has moved into the Ukrainian territory and, despite international condemnation, effectively brought it under its control.

CHANCE (voice-over): Sanctions followed but so, too, did an unstoppable wave of nationalism. President Putin, the victor of Crimea, had, for many Russians, restored a sense of pride.

PUTIN (through translator): We understand that it is not about the territory which we have enough of; it is about historical routes of our spirituality and statehood. It is about what makes us a nation and a united, unified nation.

CHANCE (voice-over): Soon Putin unleashed his growing military swagger even further afield. The shock and awe of Russian airstrikes in Syria propped up the regime of Bashar al-Assad, each missile helping to change the course of the Syrian conflict and sending a potent message of Russian resurgence.

CHANCE: This really does feel like the center of a massive Russian military operation. The air is filled with the smell of jet fuel. And the ground shudders with the roar of those warplanes returning from those bombing missions.

CHANCE (voice-over): Now the missiles and the roars are being heard once again. And Putin's destruction in Chechnya, then Georgia, then Syria is now being visited on Ukraine.

Of course he's ridden out tough sanctions and international condemnation before. But this time, it's unclear how much support Putin has at home.

CHANCE: This is one of those Russian Soviet era vehicles, which is completely burned out.

CHANCE (voice-over): Given painful Russian losses on the battlefield, it's unclear, too, whether he'll now double down as he has in the past or back down like never before -- Matthew Chance, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, the Ukrainian government is raising money through the sale of digital art through nonfungible tokens or NFTs.

[01:25:00]

VAUSE: According to the META History Museum of War, which is organizing the sale, the proceeds will support the Ukrainian military as well as civilians. The auction was announced on Wednesday. Within 24 hours, they sold more than 1,000 pieces of art, raising more

than half a million dollars. The digital art pieces were made by Ukrainian and foreign artists, depicting various moments and aspects since this conflict began on February 24th.

I'm John Vause. For our viewers internationally, stay with us. "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS" is up next. For our viewers in North America, our rolling coverage of Putin's war of choice continues in just a moment.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause, live in Lviv, Ukraine, with the very latest developments on the Russian invasion here.

We've received reports of an apparent Russian airstrike on a fuel depot in Odessa. It's now in flames, creating plumes of smoke that can be seen for kilometers. One witness reported hearing six explosions at the fuel depot. Others say they'd seen drones in the skies around the area for the past few days.

Now Ukraine's deputy defense minister says the entire Kyiv region has been liberated, cleared of Russian forces. CNN cannot independently confirm that claim. But still Ukrainian troops have been gaining ground around the capital, as the Russian military says it's de- escalating.

[01:30:00]

VAUSE: Meantime U.S. intelligence now believes Russia is seeking a victory of sorts by trying to take control of Eastern Ukraine by early May. A possible target date could be May 9, when Russia celebrates victory over the Nazis during World War II, what Russia calls its great patriotic war.

Those Ukrainian soldiers who successfully defended the capital, Kyiv, said it was a stronger morale that gave them the edge over the Russian fighters. Still, life in Kyiv had become increasingly difficult as residents suffered acute shortages over weeks. CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The first thing you notice approaching the front northeast of Kyiv are the lines of villagers, waiting for humanitarian handouts. They receive a bag of bread and basics to get them through these difficult days.

"The first week of the war, a shell hit us near the greenhouse. We barely survived," says this woman.

"We had help from strangers around us. They gave us bread and canned food. We wouldn't have managed otherwise."

No one here knows when this war will end or whether Russia still has designs on Kyiv. The front line is about a mile away. For now, an uneasy calm prevails, ever since the Ukrainian defenders stopped the Russian advance here. It was February 28th, they say, day four of the war.

They want to show us how they did it. But first we have to clamber over the bridge they downed to see the armored column they managed to take out. The riverbank is littered with their skeletons.

This was a turkey shoot; Russian armored vehicles and tanks had come off the road to avoid the anti-tank mines, only to find themselves unable to cross the bridge and unable to reverse in time. Ukrainian forces tell us, none of the soldiers inside survived.

A little further up the road, two tanks have been virtually smelted, blasted almost to smithereens. Forty-year-old Yevgeny (ph), a veteran fighter, proudly tells us this was his handiwork.

"We all here have one role, to keep the enemy off our land," he says.

"First thing they did after seeing the village, they started to shell houses, just like that. They didn't see us. They didn't know we were here. So they just started to work on houses.

"So I took the tank in my sights and I fired a rocket and goodbye to him."

The destroyed vehicles are stamped with an O. The Ukrainian officers here tell us this identifies them as Russian units that entered from Belarus to the north.

Oleg (ph) is the officer who commanded this operation.

"As for now, looking at previous fighting we've had, I can tell you that we are trained better," he tells me.

"We have stronger morale and spirit, because we're at home. They are afraid. But they go because they're made to."

He's been battle hardened ever since the first Russian invasion from 2014, saying his side has enough weapons, ammunition and determination to win.

"I can tell you, I'm almost sure the Russians are regrouping and not retreating," he says.

"Besides, we are preparing ourselves to go forward. We're not preparing just to defend here."

U.S. and British intelligence say Putin seems to have, quote, "massively misjudged this situation," and clearly overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory.

This old lady tells us, "I have seen one war and here we go again. I wish Putin would go away."

The people of this land remain stalwart and the soldiers remain dug in, hoping they can continue to withstand whatever Putin has in store for them next -- Christiane Amanpour, CNN, east of Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: With that, let's head back now to New York and Alison Kosik live with the other day's news.

It's been incredible to see how the Ukrainian fighters are standing up to this Russian military and continue to do so now in the sixth week of this conflict.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: You're right and the stories coming out of there are incredibly heartbreaking to hear. You've done a great job. Stay safe where you are, OK?

Weary Ukrainians struggle to get out of war-ravaged areas and hope that an end to the fighting is near. Just ahead, I'll ask a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine if this conflict can be resolved -- and how.

And a Ukrainian museum is raising money by selling nonfungible tokens documenting the war. Find out how much they raised in the first 24 hours.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:35:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

KOSIK: There is a glimmer of hope on the peace talks front. There is a possibility of direct talks between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian president Vladimir Putin. That's the word from a member of Ukrainian negotiation team that's in talks with Russia.

He says the talks were brokered by the Turkish President Recep Erdogan and that the talks would likely take place in Turkey. According to the negotiator, the issue of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, has so far been a sticking point in the negotiations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: Joining me now is Steven Pifer. He's a research fellow at Stanford University and a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

Thanks so much for being with us.

STEVEN PIFER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Happy to be here. KOSIK: Well, how do you see the war in Ukraine playing out?

How is this going to be resolved?

Is it resolved through negotiations or is it -- just something going to be happening on the battlefield in kind of diplomacy by force?

PIFER: Well, there is a negotiation to be had. I believe that President Zelenskyy is prepared for a serious negotiation. Unfortunately, however, there's no sign yet that Moscow is prepared seriously to engage in negotiations.

And so I think that for the time being, the fighting is going to continue and it would be useful for the West to continue the flow of weapons to Ukraine to better enable the Ukrainians to defend themselves and, at some point, perhaps force the Kremlin to conclude it cannot achieve its goals on the battlefield and that it needs to negotiate. But

unfortunately, we're not yet at that point.

[01:40:00]

KOSIK: Do you see Russia ever getting to that point?

And how much can Putin really be trusted?

PIFER: Well, I think there is some point where simply the accumulation of both losses of Russian soldiers -- bear in mind the estimate is as many as 10,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in action in Ukraine in just five weeks. And they've lost an incredible amount of materiel -- tanks, aircraft, armored personnel carriers.

At some point presumably it becomes too painful. And the Kremlin will look to negotiate. And that's why it's important that the West continue to provide arms to the Ukrainians so they can reach that point.

Now any negotiation, once you get to it, is going to be very difficult. There's some hard questions there. But it's pretty clear that President Zelenskyy on the Ukrainian side is prepared for a serious give and take negotiation.

The question is, when will Moscow reach that point?

KOSIK: If true peace talks between Russia and Ukraine unfold, one possibility on the table is that Ukraine becomes a neutral state. First explain to us what that exactly means.

And is that a good idea?

And would that really ensure peace in the region?

PIFER: The Russians, one of their demands is that Ukraine be neutral. And President Zelenskyy has said he's prepared to move away from Ukraine's ambition to join NATO. Ukrainian negotiators last week said they were prepared to accept neutrality. That would be non-bloc status for Ukraine.

They would agree there would be no foreign military bases on Ukrainian territory and they would agree Ukraine would not develop nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction.

However, Ukraine has said, for that kind of nuclear Ukraine, they would want firm security guarantees that there would not be a future invasion. And that's where it gets a little bit difficult, because some Ukrainians suggested what they're looking for is something like the Article 5 security guarantee in the NATO treaty.

That's the article that says an attack against one will be considered an attack against all. And at this point, I'm not sure if there are many countries that would be prepared to commit to Ukraine that they would be prepared to give Ukraine a guarantee that they would come to its aid with their military forces, were Russia to invade at some future point.

To my mind the best security guarantee actually, though, would be to help Ukraine acquire and maintain the military with sufficient weapons, that they could either defeat another Russian invasion or, better yet, make it appear to the Russians that no invasion would make sense in the first place, because the cost would be so high.

KOSIK: Do you think sanctions at this point are having any impact on Russia?

You know, we're seeing its economy certainly go through devastation right now.

But is it having any impact, you think, in what's happening on the battlefield?

PIFER: I think the sanctions are definitely having an impact on the Russian economy. There's already, in the last six weeks, been an acceleration in inflation. Russia is headed for double digit inflation in the coming months.

There's projections, for example, by the International Financial Institute that the Russian economy will contract by 15 percent this year. That's more than the American economy contracted during the Great Depression.

So there are going to be severe impacts on the economy. The problem is that those impacts are coming in the months to follow. And they may not be applying enough immediate pressure to cause the Kremlin to change its course.

Now there are certainly people -- the head of the Russian central bank, the Russian minister of finance -- who understand just how much damage it's going to be doing to the Russian economy as these sanctions take hold.

But it's not clear Mr. Putin, in that very close circle in which he operates, are these people having the chance to talk to him and explain to him just what's coming down the road for the economy. KOSIK: OK, Steven Pifer, thanks so much for your perspective.

PIFER: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: Now to the incredible story of one teen's survival in wartorn Mariupol. The 14-year old says she turned to art as a coping strategy. She drew these sketches you see here to help distract her from the violence that surrounded her family as they hid inside a basement while Russia attacked the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINA IVASHCHENKO, ARTIST (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 a little. Then, a huge fire started in the house. It was very scary. When I came out of the basement into the street, all the houses were on fire. Black smoke, everywhere, all houses.

[01:45:00]

IVASHCHENKO (through translator): All glass, it was simply gone. I drew this for myself, for future, so that later I could see what I experienced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Her family sheltered in the basement for days, without electricity, heating or any kind of water supply. They have since escaped to Poland but had to leave her father behind.

Sri Lankan police are cracking down as protesters defy a weekend curfew. The latest on the economic crisis fueling unrest.

Plus it's April but we just learned who'll take the stage for the final act of March Madness. Who's still in the running for one shining moment -- after the break.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

KOSIK: Police in Sri Lanka say they've arrested more than 600 people for violating a weekend curfew. The curfew was launched amid unrest over a struggling economy and as anti-government demonstrations grow.

People have been crowding stores to buy food and other essentials after the president declared a state of emergency. This as a foreign exchange crisis batters the local currency. CNN's Vedika Sud is tracking developments in Sri Lanka from New Delhi and she joins us live.

[01:50:00]

KOSIK: Vedika, Tell us about the crack down by the government on the people of Sri Lanka.

VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the worst economic crisis Sri Lanka has witnessed ever since its independence in 1948. Let me quickly give you a sense what's happening.

Like you pointed out, on April 1, the president ordered a public emergency across Sri Lanka, which essentially means it gives powers to the authorities to detain people without a warrant.

The next day, another order was passed, which is a nationwide curfew across, which started on Saturday evening and goes up until Monday morning. Now this essentially was an order passed after civilians called for a massive protest today.

And we are expecting people to gather but, because of the curfew, we don't know how many people will assemble on ground in Colombo. Now we have heard from people on the ground that media government establishments are surrounded by army personnel, barricading has taken place.

But people have been defying this call for a curfew. There have been sporadic protests across, people chanting and asking for the entire administration to step down. Public anger has been mounting, not only because of the shortage of fuel, cooking gas, medicines and food but also against authoritarianism, against nepotism and against corruption.

People are seething with anger on the ground at this point in time. A quick word on the economic crisis as well. This has been going on for a while. There's been a lot of foreign lenders, who have been giving money to the Sri Lankan government.

And this is spiraling. There is no money in government coffers at this time. They're reaching out to regional powers for help. And people on the ground are suffering. They've been asking a pertinent question through their protests.

Will the government ever face the problems we civilians are facing on ground?

Now very important development took place this morning. There's been a social media ban when it comes to Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp across Sri Lanka. This is happening because of the call for protest this afternoon. We don't know if those protests will really be taking place today.

But the anger is really mounting and we saw, on Thursday also, people gathering around the president's home, protesting against him, calling for his resignation. Alison.

KOSIK: Vedika Sud in New Delhi, thank you. Voters in Hungary are heading to the polls right now. Prime minister

Viktor Orban faces a rare challenge from a united coalition of opposition parties. He's faced international criticism over Hungary's backslides from democratic standards and his close ties with President Putin have come under renewed scrutiny.

Leading the opposition is Peter Marki-zay, a small town mayor, who has painted Mr. Orban as a budding authoritarian following Putin's model.

And in the next hour, Pakistan's parliament is set to hold a vote of no confidence in prime minister Imran Khan. He said in a televised address he would not resign and accused the opposition of toppling a government and being under foreign influence.

Last week he lost the majority in parliament. The current thinking is he could lose the no confidence vote barely. And we'll bring you the latest on the vote throughout the coming hours.

Monday night's March Madness men's title game is now set. Kansas defeated Villanova 81-65 in the first semifinal game. They'll meet six-time champions North Carolina for the title. The Tarheels defeated their bitter rival, Duke, in a nail-biter.

(WORLD SPORT)

[01:55:00]

KOSIK: Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Alison Kosik. Stay with us. Our coverage live from Ukraine continues in a moment.