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Horrific Scenes Emerge as Russian Troops Leave Kyiv Suburb; U.S. and NATO Leaders Condemn Bucha Killings; Mayor Killed as Russians Strike Mykolaiv; 'The Wild House' Opens Door to War Refugees; Shanghai Undergoes New Round of Testing as COVID Cases Surge; Florida Man Takes in Ukrainian Family. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired April 04, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[00:00:23]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause, live in Lviv, Ukraine.

We begin this hour with mounting evidence. Possible war crimes in Ukraine.

As Russian forces retreat from the Kyiv region, they leave scenes of horror and devastation in their wake. A warning: the images you're about to see are disturbing, and they're difficult to watch.

CNN teams on the ground captured these images of a mass grave in Bucha. The mayor says up to 300 people, most of them civilians, could be buried there. The discovery of that mass grave coming so soon after other images emerged, revealing streets, strewn with that bodies, Some with hands tied behind their backs.

Others seemingly killed, execution-style, with a shot to the back of the head. Those horrific scenes in Bucha, a northwestern suburb of Kyiv, drew swift condemnation from world leaders, many demanding war crimes investigations and accountability.

In his nightly address, Ukraine's president echoed those calls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The world has already seen many war crimes at different times, on different continents. But it is time to do everything possible to make the war crimes of the Russian military the last manifestation of such evil on Earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: On Sunday, the Kremlin denied killing any civilians. The Ministry of Defense claimed the images coming out of Bucha are fake. Another statement alleged that the footage was staged. Similar stories, though, have emerged across this country. On Sunday,

the regional military governor of Kharkiv said there were 23 casualties 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.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen traveled to Bucha to witness firsthand the atrocities carried out during what the Kremlin calls its special military operation. And a warning: this report includes disturbing and graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As the Russians continue to withdraw 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.

(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 that 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 (ph) has been searching for his younger brother, Dimitri (ph). Now, he's convinced Dimitri (ph) 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 shows 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 Borodyanka, 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, sill 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 are trying to go towards Kyiv, and they were then intercepted by Ukrainian drones, artillery, and also the Javelin anti-tank weapons. 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."

[00:05:11]

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.

(on camera): What we saw there in Bucha was obviously awful. But unfortunately, it's not something that is necessarily unique just to that one, a 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. In every single one of them, we saw the same scene. We saw utter destruction, destroyed buildings, where the local authorities said there's 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Fred Pleitgen, thank you for that report.

Well, from the United States and NATO, swift and unequivocal condemnation of the horrors committed in Bucha and beyond. Details now from Arlette Saenz, reporting in from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Biden administration expressed shock on Sunday over the horrific scenes emanating out of Bucha, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken describing it as a punch to the gut.

But while Ukrainian President Zelenskyy described it as genocide, both Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg refrained from using such a term. But both men insisted that Russia must be held accountable for what they described as a pattern for brutality.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: You can't help but see these images as a -- a punch to the gut. There needs to be accountability for it, but I think the most important thing is, we can't become numb to this. We can't normalize this.

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: It is a brutality against civilians we haven't seen something in Europe for decades. And -- and it's horrific, and it's absolutely unacceptable.

SAENZ: Now Blinken said that the U.S. will gather evidence and document each of these incidents to help with any investigations into possible war crimes.

Of course, the United States, last month, did say that they officially believe Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine, but there is that official investigation with the International Criminal Court, that is still underway.

Now, the next steps to watch, whether the Biden administration might decide to impose additional sanctions on Russia, something that they've said will be on the table.

The U.S. is also expected to continue supplying the Ukrainian fighters with additional military equipment, with sources telling CNN that the U.S. is expected to help facilitate the transfer of Soviet-era-made tanks from allied countries into Ukraine, possibly in the coming days.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Ukraine's foreign minister likened the carnage in Bucha to the brutality of jihadists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: 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 the Russian army. Without an exaggeration, by what we've seen in Bucha and the vicinity, we can conclude that Russia is worse than ISIS.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, says Russia is acting recklessly as it loses ground in Ukraine, saying this: "Russia's despicable attacks against civilians in Irpin and Bucha are yet more evidence that Putin and his army are committing war crimes in Ukraine. No denial or disinformation from the Kremlin can hide what we all know to be the truth. Putin is desperate, his invasion is failing. Ukraine's resolve has never been stronger."

And from the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, calling for an investigation into the killings in Bucha and an end to the war. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): I call on President Putin, and Russia, to finally agree to a cease-fire and stop the fighting. It is a terrible war, a senseless war, one that cannot be justified by anything. It is a war that is causing endless suffering and benefits no one. It must stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Joining us now from Washington, CNN military analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Colonel, good to see you again. I wonder what's happening with these Russian forces as they withdraw any evidence of what life is like for the residents living under Russian occupation. I want you to listen, once again, to the Ukrainian president, Zelenskyy. Here he is.

[00:10:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): When we find people with -- with hands tied behind their back and decapitated, such things, I don't understand. I don't comprehend. The kids who were killed and tortured, so it wasn't enough just to kill for those criminals. Indeed, this is genocide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So he doesn't understand it. I don't understand it, but is this typical for the Russian military? Will they receive orders to carry out these atrocities? Or is this -- are they freelancing? Or is it straight out of Putin's playbook?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's -- you know, John, it's such a tragedy that words can almost not describe this. But the Russians in the past have done these kinds of things in many of the wars they've fought in the last hundred years.

So they -- they come with this reputation. They've done very little, if anything, to mitigate it. You know, you can go back to World War II. You can go back to what happened in Chechnya. You can go back to some of the things that happened in Georgia and, of course, in the Donbas region in 2014. And they have done things like this many, many times.

Basically, what happens is they -- they lose control of their army. It's a very centralized army, until the call for withdrawal happens, and then the soldiers are given free rein to do whatever they want in terms of looting, killing, pillaging, raping, all of those terrible things. And that is precisely what I think we're seeing in Bucha and in several other cities and towns throughout the region around Kyiv.

So it is, unfortunately, a hallmark of the Russian military. And it is not going to go anywhere at all. VAUSE: Zelenskyy went on to say that he now expects those areas where

the Russians have left to, they will still be targeted with airstrikes and artillery fire.

And also, he points out that, when the Russians were withdrawing, they left the region heavily mined. Bodies were left with mines on them. Buildings and roads were mined.

What is the point in that? Is this just a scorched-earth policy?

LEIGHTON: It is very much a scorched-earth policy, John. It is designed to terrorize the civilian population and make it extremely difficult for the Ukrainian forces to come in and take over and assert control over the land.

And of course, the population is certainly in favor of the Ukrainian forces, coming in, but the mines and booby traps are going to be a severe hindrance on the Ukrainians' path to reclaiming their land. And it is very much an aspect of Russian warfare, and it's a very dangerous, deadly one.

VAUSE: There have been a number of airstrikes in the past 24 hours, notably on the port city of Odessa. So I'm wondering, does this now signal the Russians are about to ramp up the offensive in the south and the east?

I mean, what's the timeline here? And they had enough time to resupply, to re-arm, to get reinforcements, or is that still a ways off?

LEIGHTON: Well, it looks to me as if they've had some plans to occupy parts of the south for some time. And of course, the east is always in their plans, at least the ones they've publicly told us about.

So it does seem that they have at least some of these supplies that they need in order to move forward. I would expect them to try to attempt some kind of amphibious landing and also a land maneuver to Odessa in the next few days.

But the question remains it's very good you pointed this out, and it remains whether or not they have the sustainment capability to actually carry out an attack on Odessa and occupy the town.

So that's going to be a major aspect of the next few days, I believe. And certainly, in the east, I think they do have enough to, at least move forward in some of the areas in the east.

But I also think that they are going to be hard pressed to keep any gains that they may achieve. It -- they do have some of the advantages when it comes to being close to supply lines, compared to where they were in Kyiv, for example.

But it does remain to be seen how they will deal with the Ukrainian forces that are arrayed against him in the east and as well as in the south.

VAUSE: Just very quickly, what is the strategic value of the port city of Odessa?

LEIGHTON: It's huge. It's the third largest city in Ukraine, but it is the major port, basically all of the agricultural exports that Ukraine has, which is a large preponderance of its economic lifeline go through there. It's also the lifeline for a lot of military supplies. It is critically important for Ukraine, and critically important for the Russians.

VAUSE: Col. Leighton, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

LEIGHTON: You bet, John.

[00:15:05]

VAUSE: We will take a short break. When we come back, Russia changing its strategy. But that's no relief for parts of Ukraine. We'll have the very latest on the attacks on a seaport that's in the Odessa region.

Also, a safe place with a unique name, how people on the

Also, a safe place with a unique name. How families on the run from death and destruction are taking refuge in Lviv's Wild House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Well, the Russian forces are withdrawing from around the Kyiv region. There are still devastating attacks taking place on cities such as Mykolaiv.

Ukrainian officials there say on Sunday at least one person was killed, more than a dozen were hurt and taken to hospital.

CNN's Ben Wedeman has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The city of Mykolaiv came under multiple Russian missile strikes Sunday. The first one just afternoon, local time, in what appears to be cluster munitions slammed into a residential neighborhood in the center of this city.

Shortly afterwards, Mykolaiv regional governor Vitaly Kim put out a video of himself walking down the street, saying the Russians were trying and failing to panic residents at a time when many people are beginning to return to their homes after having fled the city.

The Russian strikes killed one person and wounded more than a dozen, according to a statement put out later by the governor's office.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk has accused Russian forces of detaining 11 mayors and killing one in areas under Russian control, although CNN cannot independently verify those claims. She said the Ukrainian government would alert the International

Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and other international organizations to their captivity.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Mykolaiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Humanitarian aid groups are still struggling to reach the most vulnerable civilians and get them out of harm's way. Those efforts have been made more difficult by continued Russian airstrikes.

Take a look at this drone footage which shows the havoc wreaked by Russia on the city of Mariupol. Nearly 500 residents there escaped that devastation in their own vehicles on Sunday, where the numbers have slowed considerably.

Displaced Ukrainians now continue to flee the country. More than 4.1 million refugees have fled since the fighting began.

The U.S. says more -- much more help is needed for the Ukrainian refugees, and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says the U.S. is pledging $50 million to the country of Moldova to assist with the influx of people there fleeing this war. The funding will help support training and equipment for border management, as well as efforts to counter human trafficking.

CNN's Bianna Golodryga is traveling in Moldova, which is where she was born, along with the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: You know, I have been watching the news reports. Refugees crossing borders into Poland. And as I look at the map, Moldova is the smallest country. It's the poorest country. And per capita, it's taking the most.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: It's a mutual country, and it doesn't have the protection of fellow organizations like NATO, like even the E.U. They applied for rapid membership. Given all of that, given that there are new threats coming from Ukrainian officials telling Moldovan officials that they think Russians may be eyeing Ukraine next, what more can the U.S. do and is willing to do to support this country, not just financially, but its own security?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: You know, I will be meeting with the president and the prime minister later today. And that will be part of the discussion I will have with them.

In terms of what else can we do to give you more confidence about your security, to address the problems that you might foresee in the future.

And I will take that back to Washington and share it with other cabinet officials to see how we can better support them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: CNN's Bianna Golodryga with the ambassador, Linda Thomas- Greenfield.

Well, as millions flee from the east of this country to the west, to the relative safety of the west, that means that accommodation is becoming increasingly difficult to find. So aid workers are sleeping outside the box. That includes an offbeat refugee shelter here in Lviv located in what some call the Wild House.

Don Lemon paid a visit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was a photo studio and TikTok room. And now, it's still shelter.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): When bombs started falling on her country, 29-year-old journalist Nadiya Opryshko knew she had to act.

NADIYA OPRYSHKO, OPERATES LVIV SHELTER: One day, morning 24 February, we woke up, and we understood that this war is coming onto the territory of Ukraine.

LEMON: So everything changed?

OPRYSHKO: Everything changed.

LEMON (voice-over): So she and her friends founded what might be Lviv's most eclectic shelter in a building she calls the Wild House.

OPRYSHKO: We for young adult who feel that he can be not just passive on this war. We decided what we can do.

We have place, and we understand that a lot of people like our friends have started to come to live. And they need a place to stay. Next day, we take the first things that we could take from our place, like pillows, like medicine, food.

LEMON: They provided housing for more than 300 people.

OPRYSHKO: There was a big table. You can take some tea, coffee. Everything was free.

LEMON: Now, evacuees live here. Across the hall from a barbershop.

Oleg Malapura is one of those stranded here, unsure when, or if, he will be able to return to his home in the Donetsk region.

OLEG MALAPURA, DISPLACED BY WAR: I have no idea. I dream about this, but it's very hard. And I think some years, I need to wait.

[00:25:13]

LEMON: But he is grateful to have a safe place in Lviv, found through his friends. MALAPURA: Thank God. Thanks to my friends. Thanks my lucky fate that I

finds this place.

LEMON: As the war continues, Opryshko is working to place the displaced in an informal network of 20 small shelters across the city.

OPRYSHKO: We want to give caring support and other people.

LEMON: Doing good in the midst of the bad.

OPRYSHKO: When people, kids, families, when they're in danger, you need to do the best of what you can. So we did.

LEMON: Don Lemon, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When we come back, the Russians say they did it. They launched the missiles at an oil refinery and fuel storage depot in Odessa. And when we come back, we'll look at that strategic port city, and how it could influence the outcome of the war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause, live in Lviv, Ukraine, and we are following an horrific discovery in Bucha.

As Russian troops have retreated from areas around Kyiv, they're leaving behind evidence of a massacre.

[00:30:04]

A warning: the images you're about to see -- once again a warning, these are very graphic. The site of a mass grave, up to 300 people may be buried here. That's according to the town's mayor.

Russia would like you to believe it's all staged; it's all fake. But CNN had a team on the ground witness it for themselves. At least a dozen bodies piled here on church grounds.

Some people are not yet buried. Their bodies, still contorted on the streets. Tied up, hands behind their backs, or to the back of the head.

The president of Ukraine is accusing Russia of genocide, but the Kremlin has denied it's actually killing or targeting civilians. Russia also claims the images of bodies on the street in Bucha are fake. Judge for yourselves.

Lawrence Sheets joins me now. He's a former Moscow bureau chief from National Public Radio. He's in Odessa on the Black Sea coast.

So Lawrence, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Life in Odessa, I guess, up until this point, was a bit like what is here in Lviv. The war rages around you, but for the most part, the city has been spared. That is until that missile strike on a fuel depot Sunday. Is this a sign the Russian military now has its sights on Odessa?

Because there's been a noticeable shift I guess, in the atmosphere there.

LAWRENCE SHEETS, JOURNALIST: It's the signs of Odessa from day one, I believe, so that's really nothing new. The larger problem is that actually around 60 to 70 kilometers from the front line here.

Yesterday, indeed, was the first time that Russian forces with high- caliber rockets launched from afar hit the main seaport in the city. That set off enormous fires in the port area. This is the biggest port in Ukraine, by far.

Seventy percent of Ukrainian imports and exports used to go out of here before the Russian blockade. They've always had their sights on the city.

But the fact is, it's extremely well-defended, and there are catacombs, tunnels, and you can imagine Normandy. Because if you had a city on a hill, with a million people, and then three or four layers below the city of tunnels and what have you. So anyone who would step into here, military, would face a very, very difficult fight, I would think.

VAUSE: How much does the fate of Odessa rest with the battle for Mariupol? Mariupol has been all but destroyed. But Russian forces continue to face resistance from Ukrainian fighters. And that fall, it actually falls entirely into Russian hands, free up Russian manpower and logistics to advance on Odessa.

SHEETS: I don't think that, of course, that's theoretically possible. There's no question, the fact that Mariupol remains, at least half of it, in Ukrainian hands. It's nothing more than a miracle.

Mariupol is less than a third, a quarter of the size of Odessa. It's not nearly had the importance in terms of export and import potential. What it has -- what it has done is bogged down Russian forces and force them to divert resources to that area, therefore making it possible for Russian forces to move into other areas. That is true.

VAUSE: So, you touched on this, just the preparations there in Odessa. You said it's a million people, heavily fortified, catacombs, that kind of stuff. Any idea how long they could hold up the Russian army for?

SHEETS: I think that, well, there's air raid sirens going on now. They just started this week. But they could hold out indefinitely. This is an extraordinarily well-fortified city. They've been preparing for this war for a long time.

There's also another question. This is an historically Jewish city. It was a majority Jewish city until 1941. Many people still will tell you, openly, that even though their names have been changed, they have deep ties to Israel, to -- well, and identify as partially Jewish.

This creates great problems in Israel, and this has been mentioned in Israel. So if Russia were to come in here or carpet-bomb, or indiscriminately bomb the city, it would create many political problems in Israel itself.

The air raid sirens are getting louder in the background. That's often -- that often precedes some sort of bombing or a rocket, missile attack.

VAUSE: Do you think there could reach a stage, if it does become indiscriminate, like we saw in Mariupol, if the Russians repeat that in Odessa, that you'd see some kind of Israeli involvement in all of this?

SHEETS: Israeli involvement, I think, wouldn't be troops, of course, but it could be logistical support. It could be the use of extremely adept Israeli special services, secret services. No question about that.

If you change the political balance in Israel -- there have been reports about this, including on CNN, of course, on your network, earlier (ph). Of course, it's possible, that there would be an enormous price to pay. Would it make any sense? No. But a lot of things which have gone in this war make absolutely no sense from the Russian side.

VAUSE: What are the people there saying about their preparations and what they're expecting, and how -- how they think this is actually going to end. Is there -- I guess, for one of the great (ph) question, what is the mood like there? Clearly, people are anxious, people are scared, people are worried.

[00:35:08]

SHEETS: People are definitely worried. After the rocket strikes yesterday morning at 6 a.m. I ventured out into the streets during the normal hours. There is a major bazaar, market, nearby my house.

And I would say that there are 20 percent of the normal flow of traffic in this area. So no question that people are afraid. But people aren't fleeing the city.

The area where I am happens to be closer to the port. There are fewer people here, for the reason that it's not as safe. But the closer you get to the center, the more normal it seems, and if there's a couple of days -- when a couple of days go by when there's no bombing or rocket attacks, then things tend to return to normal. Things open. Transports works, so on and so forth.

This is a very resilient city. It's a very big melting pot. So people are a bit different here. It has its own individualistic culture.

VAUSE: And very quickly, what does Putin gain if he gets control of Odessa? Why is it so important?

SHEETS: It's important symbolically, because it was founded by Catherine the Great, and Mr. Putin is taken to reading historical books about Catherine the Great, and perhaps considers himself in the same vein.

Odessa is part of what Mr. Putin likes to call "Novorussiya," which means "new Russia." In 2015, this concept emerged. It included that Russia really was the progenitor of Ukraine, and moreover, of the south and southeast of the country. The Donbas, Crimea, Odessa, the entire coast of Ukraine. So theoretically, this is what he is interested in.

The problem, we haven't seen Mr. Putin for the last 10 days. We've seen one instance of footage which could be authentic. Everything else we've seen, including on the news last night, is old file footage. We don't know where he is. We do know he's hiding.

The same is said of the defense minister. We've seen him once in 24 days. Whether that footage was new or not, probably new. This emerged four days ago. But out of the last 24 days, he's been seen one time.

VAUSE: It is a good question. It's a good point to end on.

Lawrence, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. Please stay safe. We hope to talk to you again.

SHEETS: You're welcome. Thank you.

VAUSE: Well, one of Vladimir Putin's best friends in Europe just secured another four years in power. Coming up, my colleague, Kristie Lu Stout, has that story.

Viktor Orban, taking a dig at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his reelection victory speech.

Also ahead, Shanghai starts another round of COVID testing, as new cases surge across the city. But patience is wearing thin for this zero-COVID policy. No wonder. More details, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Kristie Lu Stout.

Now, Russia's war in 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 super-majority 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. 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 VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: His main challenge, from a rare coalition of parties, conceded defeat late on Sunday.

Now Peter Marki-Zay questioned the fairness of the election but says he accepts Mr. Orban's victory.

Now, Pakistan's prime minister will stay on the job, despite his own economic problems and efforts to oust him.

Pakistan's president says Imran Khan will continue is with the prime minister, until the appointment of a caretaker government, citing the country's constitution.

This, after the 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 accuse them 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. Residents of Shanghai have been ordered to complete another round of COVID testing after a weekend of rising cases.

The city reported more than 9,000 new infections on Sunday. That is a highly day count to date. Shanghai is effectively under lockdown until Tuesday, as officials rush to compete COVID testing for all 25 million residents.

CNN's Selina Wang joins me now from Tokyo with more,

And Selina, record high infections being reported in Shanghai at the weekend. What's the latest?

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, as we see those COVID cases rise, the public frustration in Shanghai continues to grow.

More than 10,000 medical workers from across China are being sent to Shanghai for additional medical support. This is the epicenter of China's biggest COVID-19 outbreak, since the early days of the pandemic. And it is proving to be a critical test for China's harsh containment policies.

Essentially, all of Shanghai's 25 million residents are under a strict lockdown. And authorities have implemented it in stages. So he eastern half of the city, it's been in lockdown for about a week now. And it's being extended in many places.

Then on Friday, Shanghai's western half went into lockdown.

Meanwhile, the city is also carrying out rounds of mass testing. And the scale here is hard to overstate. Shanghai is China's most

populous city. It's the country's financial and economic hub. And for many of these residents, important to note here, that they've been in lockdown already for weeks, even before this citywide, mass lockdown went into place.

That's because of neighborhood-targeted community lockdowns. And they're, essentially, indefinitely confined to their homes until their entire neighborhood tests negative for COVID-19.

[00:45:04]

And there are even some people who are sleeping where they work. In one of Shanghai's airports, the freight section, more than 7,000 of their staff members have been living in the airport for more than a week now, Kristie.

STOUT: There is outcry over the prolonged lockdown in Shanghai. Also, outcry for how authorities are separating COVID-positive children from their parents. Tell us what's happening.

WANG: Well, Kristie, there are now these photos and videos circulating online, some of which we are showing up here, which shows these children being separated from their families; even infants separated from their families.

They're isolating alone, sharing hospital beds. Even even though CNN wasn't able to independently verify these images, what we have learned from the anonymous poster is that these are children who have tested positive for COVID-19.

CNN also spoke to a mother who told us that, in Shanghai, her 2-year- old daughter was taken away from her after she tested positive for COVID-19, and she wasn't able to see her for nearly a week.

All of these harsh policies, Kristie, they are taking an economic, financial, and of course, a strong human toll.

STOUT: Selina Wang, reporting live. Selina, thank you.

U.S. President Joe Biden has asked for Congress to renew talks on gun control after a fatal shooting in California.

Residents of Sacramento awoke to the news that 18 people had been shot, six of them killed, early Sunday after police say multiple shooters opened fire.

President Biden wants Congress to put stricter barriers in place to ban certain weapons, require background checks for gun purchases, and more. He says this, quote, "In a single act in Sacramento, six individuals left dead and at least a dozen more injured. Families forever changed. Survivors left to heal wounds, both visible and invisible. But we must do more than mourn. We must act."

Refugees from Ukraine are pouring into neighboring countries. But some are finding safe havens on the other side of the Atlantic. We report on one family's Florida reunion, next.

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STOUT: Welcome back. As families free Ukraine, some are finding refuge in places that they never imagined, as CNN's Randi Kaye reports from outside Miami, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IRYNA TIMOSHENKO, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE: I realized that something happened, because at 5:30, maybe, a.m., their neighbors, they call me, and ask, did you hear something?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iryna Timoshenko was on a business trip last month in Lviv, Ukraine, near the Polish border when Russia started bombing her country. Her husband, and their three children, were hundreds of miles away, at the family's home outside Kyiv.

TIMOSHENKO: I just asked my husband to bring the kids to me.

KAYE: Iryna and her husband, Alexander (ph), devised a plan. He would drive them through the night, about seven hours one way, to meet her in Lviv.

(on camera): So as your husband drove toward Lviv, you were able to track him on your phone?

TIMOSHENKO: In WhatsApp, it's the -- one option. Share your location. And I can online check where he is, because you know, it was like the hardest hours, when you realize that all your family, your husband and your kids, driving. And it can bomb them, and it can be anything.

KAYE (voice-over): When the family reunited, Iryna thought her husband wasn't able to cross the border, since men of a certain age were being told to stay and help defend Ukraine. So Iryna and her kids, ages three, seven, and nine, boarded a train to Poland.

Meanwhile, around the same time, half a world away, this man. Philip Bradford, was watching the Russian siege on TV at his Florida home. Philip's mother was Croatian, and his wife's stepmother was from Ukraine. So he felt the urge to help.

PHILIP BRADFORD, OPENED HOME TO TIMOSHENKO FAMILY: Initially, I heard my wife, and my stepmother, my mother-in-law, telling me, get off of my "dupa," which is rear end, and go do something

KAYE: Just a few minutes away from Philip's home in Cooper City is St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

BRADFORD: I went to the church, and I gave them a couple of hundred dollars, thinking, I've done my good deed, like a Boy Scout might. And I said, "If I can help more, let me know." KAYE: Turns out, there was more. A lot more. Iryna had made her way to

Miami with her kids. She'd visited that same Ukrainian church last year. So when she went back and shared her struggle, a church volunteer called on Philip to help.

BRADFORD: I was told about this mother with three children from Ukraine.

TIMOSHENKO: And he said, Yes, I want to help. I have a big house, I want to give you the place to stay with your kids, and you have a separate room for all of them.

KAYE: Philip's wife has been in a nursing home for the last four years. So he's been living alone. Not anymore. Iryna and her kids moved right in.

BRADFORD: I'm almost 80. So it's like having grandkids running around again.

KAYE (on camera): How do you feel about a stranger opening up his home to your family?

TIMOSHENKO: You know, I was shocked. And now, we are like one family, all together.

KAYE (voice-over): Philip even insisted Iryna take the kids to Disney world, his treat.

(on camera): You sent them to Disney?

BRADFORD: She told you about that?

KAYE: We know all your secrets.

BRADFORD: That's what grandfathers do, I guess.

KAYE (voice-over): Meanwhile, soon after Iryna left Ukraine, she found out men who had three or more children were allowed to leave the country. So a few days ago, this happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Papa!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Papa!

KAYE: Upon his arrival, as a gesture of thanks, Iryna's husband, who will also live with Philip, brought him this bracelet, in the same colors as the Ukrainian flag.

(on camera): What does that bracelet mean to you?

[00:55:04]

BRADFORD: Well, it kind of makes me one of them, in a sense. You know?

KAYE: Bonded.

BRADFORD: Right.

KAYE (voice-over): Randi Kaye, CNN, Cooper City, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: That's such a beautiful story.

Now, the Grammy Awards featured a special guest, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who appeared in a pre-taped message. The president appealed to the international community to help share the truth of what is happening inside Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos. They sing to their 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: 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.

And, finally, golf fans on the edge of their seats, wondering if Tiger Woods will play in this week's Masters golf tournament. The five-time Masters champ tweeted that he will be making a game-time decision after he played a practice round at the course.

Woods suffered serious leg injuries in a single-vehicle crash in February of 2021. He has not played in an official tournament since November of 2020.

I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Our coverage from Lviv, Ukraine, continues after the break.

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