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NATO Expecting "Concentrated" Russian Attacks In Donbas; Official: Strike Hit Children's Hospital In Mykolaiv; Devastation And Horror In Borodianka After Russian Retreat; U.N.: At Least 1,480 Civilians Killed In Ukraine; Zelenskyy Urges U.N. To Do More To Punish Russia; Zelenskyy Calls For War Crimes Tribunal For Russians; Ukraine: Russia Targeting Medical Facilities; IOM: More Than 7.1M People Internally Displaced In Ukraine; Ukrainian 3,300+ People Evacuated Through Corridors Tuesday; Ukrainian Refugees Find Shelter In Warsaw Office Building; U.S. Authorized Additional Anti-Armors Systems For Ukraine; U.S. Secretary Of State In Belgium For NATO Meetings; U.K. Says Humanitarian Situation In Mariupol "Worsening"; Freed Ukrainian Troops Recount Time In Russia Captivity. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired April 06, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:20]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

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

And we begin with signs at Russia's war on Ukraine. Now, entering a new phase which could see this conflict lasting months, possibly years. NATO expects Russia to launch a major offensive in Southern and Eastern Ukraine in the coming weeks.

NATO's secretary general says, it's part of the plan to secure the entire Donbas Region, which is already partly controlled by Moscow backed separatists and then build a land bridge to Crimea, which Russia annex in 2014.

The city of Mykolaiv is already coming under renewed assault. Local officials say Russian troops showed a children's hospital on Monday. Security footage appears to show the moment the strike hit an ambulance parked outside. A team with Doctors Without Borders was at a site nearby hospital, and confirm the strikes there as well as at the Children's Hospital.

Meantime, new horrors are coming to light (ph) in the town of Borodianka on the outskirts of Kyiv, just like Bucha, it spent weeks under Russian occupation and it has just recently been taken back by Ukraine's army.

And to the East in the Kharkiv Region, there have been more than 50 Russian strikes in the past 24 hours alone, about two strikes an hour killing at least six people, according to Ukrainian officials. The United Nations reports nearly 1,500 civilians have been killed,

more than 2,100 injureds since Russia invaded Ukraine. But there is an understanding that those numbers are drastically underestimated. CNN's Ivan Watson received permission to speak with some of the more gravely wounded Ukrainians, and a warning, his report contains some graphic images.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Shattered bodies in the intensive care unit of a Ukrainian hospital. Men and women from the Ukrainian military whose war wounds are so catastrophic, they need machines to breathe. These deeply uncomfortable images, a glimpse of the physical toll this conflict is taking on both soldiers and civilians.

The general director of the hospital says that after the first couple of days of this new war, at least 30 medical personnel resigned because of just the trauma of seeing these kinds of injuries up close.

A soldier name, Yuriy (ph) wants to communicate. He can't speak because he's still on a ventilator. He has regained consciousness after 11 days in a coma. We won't identify him because doctors say his family does not yet know of his injuries.

He has one child, Mazik (ph). A daughter he signals, 13 years old. Writing in my notebook, Yuriy tells me he's been in the military for two years. The doctor say that he has a very good chance of surviving very serious shrapnel injuries to his body.

We were given permission to film here provided we not name the hospital, nor the city that we're in. And that's because the Ukrainian authorities fear that, that information could lead to the Russian military directly targeting this hospital.

In every room here there's a patient whose bones and tissues have been ripped apart by flying metal. Vladimir (ph) is a volunteer. He signed up on the second day of this war in 2022. This electrician turned volunteer-soldier comes from the Russian speaking city of Kharkiv. Three days ago a battle left him with two broken arms and wounds to the stomach.

Vladimir says his sister lives in Russia, and he no longer communicates with her. I asked why? He said that she believes that the Ukrainians are enemies. This is a family that is split apart by this war and different narratives of who started it.

Vladimir and the soldier with a fresh amputation lying next to him, both insist that only force can stop Russia's war on this country. Down the hall I meet a young civilian also horrifically wounded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WATSON: Deema (ph) is 21 years old. Where are you from?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mariupol.

WATSON: Deema is a recent university graduate photographed here with his mother, Natasha (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My mother died when this happened to me, he says, adding, I've cried it off already. I'm calmer now.

WATSON: He says on the night of March 9th, he and his mother were hiding in bathroom of a two-story house in the center of Mariupol when they heard warplanes overhead bombing the neighborhood.

[02:05:08]

WATSON: Mother and son were hiding in the bathroom shortly before 1:00 a.m., he says, when the bomb hit the house. When he woke up, his legs were gone. He never saw his mother again. During my visit, a friend gives Deema a phone.

This is the first time he's seeing the building where he and his mother were sheltering when they were hit. The red car here that is destroyed in front of the ruined building was his mother's car before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Of course I get angry, I get sad, I get depressed at times, but I can't lose my cool because those who did this to me, they probably want me to sit here crying and weeping.

WATSON: Don't let the silence in these halls fool you. There is deep seething anger in this hospital at the country that launched this unprovoked war on Ukraine. Ivan Watson, CNN, in Eastern Ukraine.

VAUSE: Ukraine's president is demanding the United Nations to do more to punish Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. He said either Russia is punished or Russia should be removed from the U.N. Security Council. Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council. If Russia could not be removed, then he said the U.N. Security Council should dissolve itself.

He went on the call for Russia's actions he said were no different from those of other terror groups serious. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): As today as a result of Russia's actions in our country, in Ukraine, the most terrible war crimes of all times are-- we see since the end of World War II, and they are being committed. Russians troops are deliberately destroying unite-- Ukrainians cities to ashes by-- with artillery and air strike. They are deliberately blocking city, creating mass starvation. They deliberately shoot columns of civilians on the road trying to escape from the territory of his (INAUDIBLE) they even deliberately blow up shelters where civilians hide from airstrikes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Since Russia invaded Ukraine, President Zelenskyy has spoken to lawmakers in 19 different countries. He's also addressed the U.N., the European Council, G7, NATO leaders, and he made an appearance via video link at the Crimea Awards (ph).

President Zelenskyy and many other world leaders calling for war crime charges against Russia. Joining me now from London is Toby Cadman co- founder of the Guernica Group and joint head of the Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers.

Thank you for being with us, sir. What is the process here for collecting evidence and building a case for war crimes or even crimes against humanity? How long will it take?

TOBY CADMAN, CO-FOUNDER, GUERNICA GROUP: Thank you. Good morning. Well, unfortunately, processes like this are not quick. They take not weeks and months, but they can take years to do.

What's important now, and what's actually being done by a number of different groups on the ground, working alongside Ukrainian authorities, prosecuting authorities is collecting the evidence, making sure that the evidence is strong and compelling as it is as we are seeing in Bucha and other parts.

It may-- will be that this will be done by the International Criminal Courts. We may see a separate international tribunal created as some people are calling for. But I think a lot of this is going to fall on Ukrainian prosecuting authorities. And that's really what we've got to be supporting.

VAUSE: Surely there has to be a sense of urgency though given the fact that there are other towns and cities in Ukraine that could fall under Russian control within the coming weeks.

CADMAN: Absolutely. And, you know, we've seen this since the-- since what is a crime of aggression on the 24th of February in absolute. But we've seen this-- regrettably, we've seen this in Yemen, we've seen this in Syria. And I think if we had acted in Syria with the Russian intervention in Syria in 2015, 2016, then we may not be looking at what we're looking at now.

But regrettably, what we have to do is, it has to be done properly. The evidence has to be properly collected. Of course, the evidence is compelling, and we don't want to see more incidents like what we've seen in Bucha. And we need the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to act with a sense of urgency and to move forward quickly. But unfortunate experience tells us that this will take months and months.

VAUSE: But we're also seeing another horrific tactic, which is straight out of Vladimir Putin's playbook. And that is targeting medical facilities. He did it in Aleppo, he's doing again here in Ukraine. It if it's not stopped now, is that a green light for him to do it again and again, and again?

[02:10:05]

CADMAN: Absolutely. I mean, our group, Guernica 37 is-- has been working on for a number of years, the targeting of the (INAUDIBLE) hospital, particular in Aleppo. And absolutely, he was not stopped there. And he's not being stopped now. We've seen hospitals targeted, we've seen schools targeted, all which are protected under the Geneva Conventions Constitute War Crimes.

And yes, if he's not stopped it, it will happen time, time, time again. And, of course, what we're also seeing it's a war of the narrative. We're seeing that the propaganda which has been used, we've heard just yesterday from state institutions and state media outlets in Russia calling for the de-Ukrainization. And I mean, it is terrifying to see this.

And yes, if we don't act now, then he will take over the whole of Ukraine. And then what comes after that. That's one thing that we have to be very, very concerned of.

VAUSE: Absolutely. But is there any value, is any point in listening to the statements coming from the Kremlin and claiming, you know, the images from Bucha are fake, or they've been staged? And they're telling you put the blame on Ukrainian troops, and this is asinine.

CADMAN: It is absolutely. And that's the only way that it can be described. No, we should not pay any attention to this. What we saw by the Russian delegation in the U.N. yesterday is absolutely despicable to say that this has been created. This is a false flag by the Ukrainians.

I mean, it is the narrative that they frequently saw. We'll have to disregard that. It is just utterly ridiculous. And it's the same that we've been hearing, year after year coming from the Kremlin, coming from, from Putin. It's-- that's their justification for their actions. And we cannot buy into that.

VAUSE: So for all the talk of war crimes being committed and genocide being carried out, even if this is an open and shut case, the Russian atrocities here, if they've risen to the level of crimes against humanity, what then? You know, what-- and then, Russian soldiers will keep doing this over and over again, unless there is a stick to these prosecutions?

CADMAN: Absolutely. And that's where the test or the resolve of the international community is really going to be tested as to whether the International Criminal Court is going to stand up, whether there-- it can be an internet-- a separate international tribunal established.

The problem that we face is with the U.N. Security Council. And President Zelenskyy yesterday was calling for either Russia has to be suspended, removed from the U.N. Security Council, or it should be resolved, because you have a situation now, where any one of the five permanent members right now, Russia is able to prevent any action being taken by using its Veto. That has to change.

The ability to prevent the U.N. Security Council, and the U.N. itself from taking any proper action against a state for the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and as we say, possible genocide.

It is at a stage now where the U.N. is needed more than it has been in its entire history and it is lacking in power at-- for the first time in its history. I mean, it really is a very, very disturbing time.

VASUE: Yes. And watching the U.N. Security Council play out and deal with this is like the theater of the absurd right now. Toby Cadman, we are out of time, sir. But thank you so much for being with us.

CADMAN: Thank you. Thank you.

VAUSE: Still to come. Finding safety and shelter in an office building up next we'll hear how. One company in Poland opened their doors to Ukrainian refugees have in their hearts as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:18:00]

VAUSE: A growing number of Ukrainians are fleeing their homes amidst Russia's brutal invasion. More than 7.1 million people have now been internally displaced in Ukraine. That's a 10 percent increase since the first survey by the International Organization for Migration three weeks ago.

U.N. also reported more than 4.2 million people have now fled the country altogether. All this, made an urgent push to get even more civilians to safety.

On Tuesday, a Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister said almost 4,000 people were evacuated via humanitarian corridors. And we're getting more images of the devastation left behind by Russian forces and the heartbreaking human toll as well.

The U.N. official says more than 1,400 civilians have been killed since the start of Russia's unprovoked war, but says the actual number is really much higher.

Poland alone has seen more than 2 million refugees cross their border. Most of them are women and children. They're finding safety in shelters homes, and for some, an office building. Here's CNN's Kyung Lah.

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This office building in downtown Warsaw is not just real estate, it's refuge. Ukrainian children play with toys and what used to be a storage room.

Strollers sit in corporate hallways, computer desks, are dining room tables. Two stories of the seventh floor office building are now home to refugees. Like 18-month old, Milana (ph) and her mother.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We feel safe, she says. There's no sirens, no horrible sounds.

LAH: Two and a half million Ukrainians nearly all women and children have crossed into Poland since the start of the war. And you just remove the lights?

ANNA FIJALKOWSKA, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, TFG ASSET MANAGEMENT: Yes, we removed the lights and we installed this here. LAH: The country has managed to absorb them in just six weeks through

ingenuity.

FIJALKOWSKA: Like elevators that serves offices, and behind the column, there is an elevator that serves just refugees.

[02:20:02]

LAH: Anna Fijalkowska is CEO for TFG Asset Management which owns the building.

FIJALKOWSKA: We have beds and shelves whatever is necessary.

LAH: The war started on a Thursday, but company had the space available and pivoted from commerce to crisis.

FIJALKOWSKA: So, here we had like a small reception desk.

LAH: Three days later.

FIJALKOWSKA: None of this existed. It was just a matter of putting an additional installation in piping.

LAH: They had the first of nearly 250 women and children move in.

FIJALKOWSKA: We have this place, we can do something. There's something for real people, right? So we just decided to do it.

LAH: Was that the hard part or the easy part?

FIJALKOWSKA: That was the easiest part to set it up. The hardest part right now is to make them feel good, solve their problems, the refugees' problems.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm from Ukraine.

LAH: Seven-year-old Marga (ph) lives here with her mother Oxana Korobka.

OXANA KOROBKA, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE (through translator): This used to be office furniture, she explains, with the addition of a donated bed.

LAH: It's exaggerate (ph). Oh, it is. It's pretty comfortable. This has been home since the start of the war. Korobka is an accountant, her husband fights in Dnipro near the eastern Flank. Oh, it's your husband?

KOROBKA: Husband.

LAH: No, please talk to him.

KOROBKA: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LAH: They never know when he'll be able to call.

KOROBKA: This is my husband, Max (ph). (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) I can't comprehend it says Korobka. It's as if we're in a 40-day horror movie and we can't wake up.

LAH: One floor above, employees do their best to carry on with their jobs.

GRZEGORZ MROCZEK, VICE PRESIDENT, CAELUM REAL ESTATE ASSET MANAGEMENT: I do not know anybody who is saying I don't care. Everybody cares. Everybody wants to help.

LAH: His employees sending whatever they can downstairs.

MROCZEK: Whatever is needed either desks, either vacuum cleaners, we just tried to help a supplement to our new neighbors.

LAH: But war has meant the days of business as usual are over.

FIJALKOWSKA: We really also learning from them. We see how they are coping with these tragic events in the tragic situation. And it's really make you feel happy, but also makes you feel that you're doing something good.

LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Warsaw, Poland.

VAUSE: And you can feel like you're doing something good too. If you want to help the people of Ukraine, please go to cnn.com/impact. There you'll find ways to guarantee that your money gets to those who need it the most. There are a lot of ways to help people of Ukraine. They need everything food, shelter, water, whatever you can do to help will be appreciated.

Still to come. Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers have been freed up to being captured by the Russians. And now they're telling CNN about what they went through as POWs in Russian detention. A Christiane Amanpour exclusive when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:27:42]

VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. The U.S. has authorized extra $100 million in military aid for Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion. This includes the Javelin anti-armor systems, Fire-and- Forget missiles, a Scoot-N-Shoot, which approved devastating to Russian tanks during this invasion.

The weapons will be pulled from existing Pentagon inventories to speed up delivery. This comes as America's top diplomat warns the world is likely to see more atrocities revealed in Ukraine as Russian forces redeploy from many areas.

U.S. Secretary State, Antony Blinken has been in Brussels for meetings with NATO foreign ministers, and he's supposed to hear from the Ukrainian counterpart about their latest assessments on the ground.

Meantime, U.K. says heavy fighting and Russian airstrikes have continued in Mariupol. British intelligence says in their latest update just a short time ago, humanitarian crisis in that precedes Ukrainian city is worsening with most of the remaining residents without heat, without water, without medicine.

The group of Ukrainian POWs returned home recently as part of a prisoner exchange with Russia. CNN's Chief International Anchor, Christiane Amanpour spoke with several of them about treatment in Russian captivity, and the humiliation they endured. She's more out in this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Back home and free, these former Ukrainian prisoners of war once held by Russian forces are greeted by friends and colleagues in Kyiv. Freedom for now is the drag of a cigarette walking on home turf, even if that means using crutches.

Bags of food are handed out to the more than 80 former Ukrainian POWs released in a prisoner exchange with Russia. It's a welcome meal and a moment to decompress and reflect on what many here say was the physical and mental abuse they endured in Russian custody.

One POW name, Gleb says he was captured nearly a month ago while evacuating civilians. He was beaten by Russian soldiers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They hit me in the face with machine gun butts, and kicked me. My front teeth were also chipped.

AMANPOUR: Anya (ph) and Dasha (ph) were in the same unit. It was shelled by Russian troops, who they say try to break them, making them shout, "Glory to Russia", and they shaved their heads telling them that it was for hygiene purposes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Maybe they were trying to break our spirits in some way.

[02:30:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It was a shock, but then we are strong girls, you know.

AMANPOUR (voiceover): Dmytro says he was taken by Russian soldiers in Mariupol and suffered daily beatings during his captivity.

DMYTRO, FORMER POW (through translator): They would beat us five to six times a day for nothing. They would just take us into the hallway and beat us up.

AMANPOUR (voiceover): It's an ordeal, and it will take time to heal both mentally and physically. Though many say they want to go back to their units and continue fighting. But before that, Gleb shows us a slip of paper with what he says, are the phone numbers of love ones of prisoners still held captive by the Russians. He says, he will tell the families they're still alive and not to give up hope. Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: We'll have a lot more from Ukraine at the top of the hour. But first, let's go to Rosemary Church, live in CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Hey, Rosie.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANCHOR: Hi. Good to see you, my friend. John, we'll see you, as you say, at the top of the hour. Many thanks.

Well, the U.S. and EU are getting ready to impose new sanctions on Russia. We will look at the likely targets and whether they could include members of the Putin family. Back in just a moment.

AUDREY DECKER, CO-FOUNDER, STREET ART FOR MANKIND: Art is a universal language that inspires people to make a difference and to think about the situation. It doesn't only touch the mind. It touches their soul.

My name is Audrey Decker, and I am the co-founder of Street Art for Mankind. Today there are 152 million children, one child out of 10, who is suffering from child labor. Street Art for Mankind is a non- profit organization that believes in art for social change. And that's what we do with big murals made by artists from all around the world.

We started Street Art for Mankind to run the fight against child labor and trafficking. And we have a series of murals in the financial district of New York which are called the freedom murals. We also have a billboard campaign that we did, and that's called the Free Children Campaign. And this one we did with street artists, but also with people who are really involved in the cause. Such as Ashley Judd, Mira Sorvino, Kailash Satyarthi, Siddharth Kara, and also Nocholas Kristof.

Our dream for Street Art for Mankind is really to create an outdoor museum everywhere around the world to have this capacity to inspire people and create art.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: They may look similar, they may taste similar, but sweet potatoes and yams have some differences. These root vegetables are not even related. True yams are native to Africa and Asia. Most yams today, 95 percent, are harvested in West Africa. While many of the yams sold in the U.S. are typically grown and Caribbean countries. And yams are closely related to lilies and grasses. While sweet potatoes are native to the Americas and are part of the morning glory family.

Now, when it comes to your health, both of these root vegetables are low in calories and high in nutrients. One half of a large sweet potato has just 81 calories. And the flesh of a medium baked sweet potato has enough vitamin A, that's in the form of beta carotene, to meet your entire recommended daily amount. Yams tend to be starchier. They also are good sources of nutrients like vitamin C.

JAMES ROBEY, GLOBAL HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY, CAPGEMINI: I'm James Robey. I'm the Global Head of Environmental Sustainability at Capgemini. People often ask, why should business care about sustainability? Well, first of all quite frankly, an unsustainable pathway is not going to be good for any business. Businesses are reliant on having consumers that will buy from them, they're reliant on having employees who want to work for them.

You know, increasingly, all the stakeholders of business are asking difficult questions. So, businesses which aren't taking sustainability seriously essentially are going to be out of business. But in reality, it's never too late to start. A great way to start is by trying to understand your own impacts as an organization. Perhaps calculate your carbon footprint.

[02:35:00]

Ultimately, we need everybody on this journey. So why not start today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, the atrocities in Ukraine are accelerating efforts to ramp up the economic pain on Russia. A Biden Administration official says, the U.S. will impose new sanctions in the coming hours. It's expected to ban any new and investment in Russia and take aim at its financial institutions. The U.S. is also going after Kremlin officials and their families, and that could include President Putin's adult children, according to one Western official.

Meantime, the European commission is pushing for a fifth sanctions package against Moscow. This time, it's proposing everything from a ban on Russian coal and seafood, to kicking Russian ships out of EU ports. The EU has also designated a group of Russian diplomats as persona non grata. And Russia has warned it will reciprocate.

Meantime, Lithuania has become the first EU country to cut Russian gas imports to zero. They pulled the plug this weekend, beating other member states to the punch. Lithuania's Prime Minister and President explained why urgent action is needed against Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INGRIDA SIMONYTE, LITHUANIAN PRIME MINISTER: Europe needs to wake up to the situation, and definitely push the pedal to the maximum speed to get the disconnection, the decoupling from Russian gas, as soon as possible. Times will never be back where they were before this invasion.

GITANAS NAUSEDA, LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT: War crimes committed in Ukraine are so evident and so horrific that normal people just will realize that we have to be decisive. We have to be united. And we cannot just save some measures for the future. Because the most terrible things are happening right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: But other parts of Europe still rely heavily on Russian energy. And I want to bring in Simone Tagliapietra from Rome, who is a Senior Fellow at the European economic think tank Bruegel.

Thank you so much for joining us.

SIMONE TAGLIAPIETRA, SENIOR FELLOW, BRUEGEL: Thank you.

CHURCH: So, sanctions on Russia, Putin, and his cronies haven't done much to stop this brutal war on Ukraine. So, pressure is building now on Europe to stop funding Putin's war machine by banning Russian energy imports. So, will that happen? Particularly, in light of these atrocities committed by Russian troops in Bucha and Borodyanka?

TAGLIAPIETRA: Well, today the European Union will start negotiating a ban on Russian coal, which is a good step, because for the first time Europe breaks the energy taboo on sanctions. But this is not going to eat Putin much. Because Europe, every day, pays Russia around $15 million for the coal it imports. But 450 million for the natural gas it imports, and 500 million for the oil it imports. So, it is clear that to be effective, energy sanctions must target natural gas and oil.

Of course, that's difficult for Europe, because while the United States imports less than five percent of its oil from Russia, so it was easy to put a ban. For Europe it's difficult because we import 40 percent of our natural gas and 25 percent of our oil from Russia.

CHURCH: Right.

TAGLIAPIETRA: But this is necessary.

CHURCH: So, we know officials EU officials are working on a sanctions package. But will it include a ban on all imports of Russian oil? And will it be sweeping enough and bring Germany on board? Because Germany is really stopping all of this movement forward on this, isn't it?

TAGLIAPIETRA: Well, Germany and other countries that are more dependent on Russian energy are certainly slowing down the process. Even if there is momentum building, also in these countries towards action on energy. The action on oil and gas doesn't necessarily need to be a full-fledged embargo. Europe can start by imposing a tariff on Russian oil and gas exports to Europe.

[02:40:00]

This tariff would limit Putin energy rent while ensuring that the flows of oil and gas to Europe keeps going. This idea could be the one that represents the best compromise to have all countries on board.

CHURCH: Right. Of course, Germany may consider -- I mean, I think that's a very interesting idea, the tariffs. But Germany may consider cutting Russian oil but it's less likely to stop purchasing Russian gas. So, what needs to be done to, perhaps, help Germany find alternative gas supplies? Because that's really the stumbling block here isn't it?

TAGLIAPIETRA: You're right. Germany imports more than 50 percent of its gas from Russia. So, it will be extremely challenging for the country to move forward. But we have done analysis at Bruegel showing that this is possible. It will have to be a mix of options. On the one hand, increase the LNG imports in Europe and also in Germany, in particular. And that's why Germany now is planning to build LNG plants and the floating regasification and storage units.

Then, there will be the need to open up again the coal fired power plants that currently sit idle in order to produce electricity with coal for a certain period of time rather than gas. And then Germany needs to double down on renewable energy, energy savings. And all these options are important to get rid of Russian gases as quickly as possible. This is viable. We can do that.

CHURCH: Right. Just very quickly, why did Germany ever think it was a smart idea to become so dependent on energy from Russia?

TAGLIAPIETRA: Look, this is a long-lasting energy policy and foreign policy line that the country, like other countries in Europe, has assumed over the last, I would say, 50 years. The President of Germany yesterday, made remarks about the fact that this was a mistake. The idea was to engage with Russia also from the energy perspective, in order to keep Russia into an international order, let's say. But clearly that was not the view from the Kremlin.

CHURCH: Right.

TAGLIAPIETRA: So, that was a mistake. And now we are paying the price for that mistake.

CHURCH: Most definitely. Simone Tagliapietra joining us live from Rome. Many thanks. Appreciate it.

TAGLIAPIETRA: Thank you. Thank you very much.

CHURCH: While Peru's President rethinks a curfew for the country's capital after protests intensify. The demonstrators aren't backing down, and there are calls for his resignation. We will have the latest after a short break.

TAKESHI NIINAMI, CEO SUNTORY HOLDINGS: It is forecasted that about 40 percent of the population of the world suffer from water shortages in 2050 due to climate change and the population growth. And water is one of nature's, I mean, greatest gift. So, we decided to upgrade our water intensity by 50 percent and replenish more water than we use in watering the plants. So, globally by 2050.

As a matter of fact, we have been working on this almost a full 20 years. By setting up a local water shed conservation and education for children. We are moving towards the international -- I mean, global expansion. We want to raise awareness in the world, that the water shortage will come and we have to be careful. We have to take action together. So, we want to lead this initiative.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:00]

CHURCH: Severe storms this week have killed at least two people here in the United States. One of those deaths came Tuesday in Georgia. It happened in Bryan County, where video shows what appears to be a tornado churning away outside of a Savannah. Another person was killed in Texas. And the violent weather stretched across the Southeastern U.S. The national weather service says, at least four EF-1 tornadoes hit Mississippi, with winds as strong as 110 miles per hour. This video shows the moment a suspected twister hit Newton, Mississippi.

Well, Peru's President, Pedro Castillo, suddenly cut short a 24-hour long curfew for the City of Lima, after a massive backlash. The curfew had been an attempt at quieting protests over inflation and the cost of fuel. But as Stefano Pozzebon reports, it did not have the intended effect.

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STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: The Peruvian President, Pedro Castillo, withdrew a 24-hour curfew order for the metropolitan area of Lima after protestors spread across the city over the cost of fuel and rising inflation. Castillo had announced the major in a televised address late on Monday night. But that did not stop hundreds of protesters to take to the streets demanding his resignation. Antiriot police employed tear gas to curb the crowd as Castillo, and his cabinet, were holding emergency meeting with the leaders of congress.

And while he announced that he was withdrawing the controversial measure, Castillo also said, that his government will issue new measures to deal with the crisis later on Tuesday. Peruvian economy is suffering hard as the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic combined with the global shortage of fertilizers and other key products due to the war in Ukraine to substantially increase the cost of living. For example, the price of petrol increased dramatically, after the oil price soared across the world after Russia invaded Ukraine. And at least three people were killed in Peru since the transport unions called for a general strike on March 28th to protest the higher fuel prices. For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Atlanta.

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CHURCH: Well, to China now. Authorities in Shanghai say, the lockdown in the city will continue until further notice amid yet another round of citywide COVID testing. More than 17,000 new cases were reported in the city on Tuesday. And officials are building makeshift hospitals to hold thousands of newly infected COVID patients.

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Authorities are also amending the policy for separating COVID positive children from their families. Parents who test negative can now applied for special permission to be with children who have tested positive.

And CNN's Selina Wang joins me now live from Tokyo with more on all of this. Good to see you, Selina. So, Shanghai authorities are struggling, aren't they, to contain this outbreak, despite an extended lockdown in the city with apparently very few supplies being made available to citizens. What is going on?

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, the scale of this lockdown is just staggering. You've got 25 million residents in Shanghai locked in indefinitely. This is in China's most populous and cosmopolitan city. And people there, they're feeling helpless and frustrated. But much of the dissent, is being censored. Numerous complaints online of people struggling to get daily essentials. Some even turned away from urgent medical care. Most of the social media videos shown in our story were wiped off of the internet in China, almost immediately after they were posted.

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WANG (voiceover): Anger is reaching a boiling point in Shanghai. Chinese social media showing residents in lockdown protesting. Chanting, we want jobs. We want freedom. Hundreds in one Shanghai neighborhood broke out of confinement. Pleading for affordable food. This resident confronts the police, yelling, why are we being starved? Residents in another neighborhood crowded at the gate inside their compound asking, why not put us all in prison? We've been locked in for 26 days anyway.

Shanghai is now the center of China's worst crisis since the early days of the pandemic. Most of the city's 25 million residents are under strict lockdown, with no clear and insight. Residents aren't even allowed to briefly step outside. CNN filmed this man walking in his apartment compound. He was immediately escorted back home.

Social media shows children, even infants, separated from their families at a Shanghai hospital after testing positive for COVID-19. Isolated alone, crying. CNN cannot independently verify the images but spoke to a mother who was separated from her two-year-old daughter. The hospital later said in a statement that, it was moving its pediatric ward to make more room for COVID patients.

CNN spoke to the daughter of this man, who has late-stage stomach cancer. He's supposed to be hospitalized for chemotherapy, but isn't allowed to leave his apartment. He presses his chest in pain. In another heartbreaking case shared online, a woman is screaming in desperation for the paramedic to help an asthma patient. His heart has stopped, she said. Pleading to borrow the ambulances' defibrillator. The paramedics refused to help. Soon after, the patient died.

Since confirming its first Omicron case in Mid-December, Mainland China's average new daily case count has surged, from double digits to more than 9,000. There are more than 110,000 active cases and counting.

But across China, every single case is required to stay at a hospital or quarantine center. Like this make shift one in lockdown Northeastern Jilin province. This patient describes the unsanitary conditions. He says, there is nothing here, no masks, no medical alcohol, no disinfection. Look at the garbage, the toilets.

And social media shows this chaotic scene outside of a makeshift hospital in Shanghai. CNN spoke to a woman who was there. Patients battling for limited blankets and food, no medical staff insight. As medical resources in the city are stretched to the limit.

The outbreak in China's financial hub is a grim setback for China's economic recovery. To keep operations running, some businesses are quarantining their employees at the office. This video diary shows 75 office workers locked down and in 3,000 square feet of space. The workers said, they have lived in the office for 12 days earlier in March.

Shanghai, China's bustling cosmopolitan city, now a ghost town. While most of the world is learning to live with COVID, entire cities and provinces in China are grinding to a halt. But for how long and at what cost?

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WANG (on camera): The Chinese government's big fear here is COVID-19 completely overwhelming China's hospitals leading to a catastrophic number of deaths. So far, the reported death toll from COVID-19 is extremely low. And that is how officials are justifying these draconian measures, despite the huge economic and social costs. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Selina Wang, thank you so much. An incredible report, too. Joining us there live from Tokyo. Appreciate it.

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Well, legendary golfer, Tiger Woods, is returning to the Masters Tournament, 14 months after a car crash that almost ended his career. He's played a few practice rounds at Augusta National this week, with fans and the media in tow. He is set to tee off in the tournament's opening round on Thursday. And he spoke to reporters about his chances in the tournament.

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TIGER WOODS, PRO GOLFER: As of right now, I feel like I am going to play. As of right now. I'm going to play nine more holes tomorrow. My recovery has been good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think you can win the Masters this week?

WOODS: I do.

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CHURCH: Tiger fans, very excited, of course. And thank you so much for watching, I'll be back late next hour. CNN's breaking news coverage continues next with John Vause, live in Lviv, Ukraine.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Korean automaker, Hyundai Motor Company says, the future of transport may go beyond traditional passenger vehicles. And that robots may change the way we move.

DONG JIN HYUN, VP & HEAD OF ROBOTICS LAB, HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY: As an automotive company, we are thinking about the future of vehicles. We can make some strong synergy between automotive engineering and robotics technology.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In 2021, Hyundai acquire Massachusetts based robotics company Boston Dynamics for $1.1 billion. The company showed off its robots at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

MARC RAIBERT, FOUNDER, BOSTON DYNAMICS: People are incredibly able to move, to maneuver, to grasp things, to perceive their environment. And robots aren't really in that realm yet. But our long-term goal is to be able to do all that stuff.

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