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Russian Forces Regroups, Targets Donbas; German Intelligence Intercepts Russian Atrocities; U.N. Suspends Russia from Human Rights Council; Fifth Round of Sanctions Against Russia; Thousand Fleeing from Ukraine; Europe's Top Diplomats to Meet with President Zelenskyy; Shanghai COVID Cases Soar to 21,000; Shooting in Tel Aviv Kills Two, Many Wounded; Senate Confirms Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 08, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: Hello and 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 new warnings about Russia's renewed military offensive in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region.

The Ukraine foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba says the battle still to come will be reminiscent of World War II. And the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin now vetting (ph) for the first time the United States is providing intelligence to Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region.

Ukrainian authorities claim Russian shelling has destroyed all the hospitals and medical facilities in the Luhansk region. And officials say a Russian air strike has taken out a crucial rail way link with the east. About 500 evacuees are now reportedly stuck in nearby train station.

And Ukraine's prosecutor general says search crews have now found 26 bodies under the rubble of two houses on Borodyanka. That's a town northwest of Kyiv, which have been left in ruins by Russian forces. Ukraine's president says he expects more atrocities will be discovered there, also in Mariupol in the south.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: And what will happen when the world learns the whole truth about what the Russian military did in Mariupol? There, on almost every street, is what the world saw in Bucha and other towns in the Kyiv region after the withdrawal of Russian troops. The same cruelty, the same heinous crimes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And British intelligence reports Russian forces in the north have completely withdrawn from Ukraine to Russia and Belarus as they plan their next move. Ukraine foreign minister though says negotiations will continue with Russia to try and prevent more Buchas as more atrocities continue to be revealed from that city. And also the stories of how the victims died. We get this report from CNN's Phil Black and a warning it contains a very graphic details as well as images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Irina Silkina (ph) in a happier time. Before the Russians came. It's likely this video shows Irina (ph) after the invasion in early March just moments before her death. She is seen cycling through Bucha heading towards a large number of Russian vehicles. As she approaches a corner she dismounts.

One of the vehicles fires. She moves around the corner out of sight. And it fires again and again, at least five more times. Then, a large muzzle flash from a second concealed vehicle. Moments later, smoke rises from near that corner.

A different video geolocated by CNN to the same corner shows a dead woman on the ground next to a bike. Other images of that body clearly show her hand and her distinctive nails. The woman who only recently taught Irina how to apply make-up recognized them instantly.

UNKNOWN: She draw a heart on her finger because she started to love herself. This woman was incredible.

BLACK (voice-over): Olga (ph) (inaudible) didn't need to see the nails to know that was her mother's body.

She tells me she doesn't know what she feels now. It's such a void she says. When I saw it was my mother, the war faded away. The war ended with her and I lost the war. Olga (ph) says her mother called her while she was cycling that day not long before she was killed. She had been sheltering at her work place and decided to go home because she thought it would be safer.

(On camera): Tell us about your mother. How would you like the world to know her?

She says Irina had a hard life, overcoming obstacles, only really starting to live in the last two years, but she could do the impossible and inspired others to believe they could too.

Elsewhere in Bucha, someone recorded the moment three men were found. All shot in the head. This video is how Olga (inaudible) found out her son, Roman (ph) and son-in-law, Sergei (ph) had been killed. She says, I don't want to live anymore. The grief, I cry day and night. I don't know how to live.

Images from Bucha have taught the world undeniable truths about the brutality of the Russia's invasion. For some that knowledge is deeply personal and impossibly painful. Phil Black, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE) [03:05:00]

VAUSE: Now the word of radio chatter between Russian troops that could be evidence of possible war crimes. This is according to a source that Germany's intelligence service has intercepted audio of Russian troops speaking amongst themselves about talking about shooting civilians. To be clear, these are radio comms that could link Russian forces with the killings in the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha that have horrified the world. There's no shortage of proof that atrocities happened in Bucha. But this apparent German evidence could be a key factor in future war crimes prosecution.

Okay. Let's move on now. Russia has now lost its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council because of the brutality here in Ukraine. The general assembly voted on Thursday to suspend Moscow's membership. The vote it seems was overwhelming. There was 93 in favor, 24 opposed, and 58 countries abstaining. China and Iran among those who opposed the measure. Russia later slammed the vote as a U.S. attempt to maintain "human rights colonialism."

Well, the European Union also stepping up its pressure on Russia by further tightening sanctions on the Russian economy. On Thursday, the group slapped more sanctions. A fifth wave on Moscow. This includes bans on coal imports and on selling high-tech products to Russia.

E.U. Ports will also be off limits for Russian vessels. Let's go now to Melissa Bell. She is live for us in Paris with more on this. So, let's talk about what the U.S. is also doing when it comes to ramping up the pressure on Russia.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Two extra sets of sanctions announced overnight, John, this time targeting first of all Russia's biggest diamond extraction company and the other one targeting its largest shipbuilder. So, sanctions that continue to target individual companies, individual sectors also in those European sanctions that were announced on Thursday.

There are more sanctions targeting oligarchs. More sanctions targeting individuals and individual companies as well. So, in very close coordination, I think, this is one of the things that's been most striking about what's been happening this last few weeks. London, Brussels and Washington continuing to ratchet up the pressure.

Now, this is the first time that a fifth round of sanctions that you mentioned from the European Union, John, that the E.U. has targeted Russia's energy sector. And yet, there are hints, fears that it may not go far enough, not at least within the European Union, but also expressed by Ukraine's foreign minister.

He said, look, it's all very well to target the energy sector, but until there is an oil and gas ban, really things won't be as hard as they need to be. Tough times require tough decisions he said. And this is something the E.U. has indicated that one, it's going to be difficult step for it to take, it is willing to go further when it comes to looking at what sanctions it might take that will target those energy sectors in particular. But for a start, those imports on coal banned, a step in the right direction as far as Brussels is concerned, John.

VAUSE: Also, Melissa, what about the negotiations which are ongoing in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine? Is there any hope there of any kind of breakthrough?

BELL: Well, look, you know, we've been hearing there in that report we just heard about those chilling images and all of the evidence that is coming out of places like Bucha and Borodyanka. And the trouble for Turkish negotiators, those trying to bring together Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Turkey is that it really doesn't help bring anyone back around the table. The aim had been to bring the Ukrainian foreign minister and the Russian foreign minister back together face to face. Have a listen to what Sergey Lavrov had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translation): Such inability to negotiate again shows the true intention of Kyiv. Of dragging out and undermining negotiations through a withdrawal from attainable goals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: Sergey Lavrov there accusing Ukraine of having gone back on some of its negotiating positions. And this is something we have been hearing from Turkish officials saying look, the problem with the images that had been coming out this week from Ukraine is that they simply don't encourage Ukraine to sit down at the table and negotiate. So no sign yet, no confirmation yet, John, as to when those higher level talks will be able to resume. And for the time being, more distrust and a great deal of anger and certainly on the Ukrainian side looking ahead to that, John.

VAUSE: Absolutely. Melissa, thank you. Melissa Bell reporting live for us in Paris.

Well, the Kremlin spokesperson says Russia pulled out of regions near Kyiv as an act of goodwill, meant to lift tensions and create comfortable conditions for ongoing negotiations. Iuliia Mendel is with me here live in Lviv. She's a former press secretary for the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

So Iuliia, thank you for coming in. First to those peace negotiations with Russia. Is that even possible to have an agreement with Moscow given everything that's happened here? How will the Ukrainian people actually accept some kind of compromise after they have seen what happened?

IULIIA MENDEL, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY FOR UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: John, it's very difficult indeed to negotiate after what we have seen was done to the people in Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, and we know that more is even coming because these are towns for population of 30,000 people.

[03:10:05] Mariupol is for instance a home for 400,000 people, right? So we are even afraid to reveal the information what was going on there. And of course it's very painful and it's -- it causes a lot of anger among politicians and among population to keep negotiating. But the president was pretty clear that he wants to keep negotiating because he wants to use every way to move towards peace and withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

Let me mention that we consider actually Russia to be a terrorist country. And it's very difficult, incredibly difficult to negotiate with the terrorist country. Russia manipulates. Russia accuses Ukraine in its own crimes. Russia plays games.

But the president insist on talking to Putin. I'm sure that personally for him it will be very difficult, but this is the way when Putin can take the decision to withdraw the troops.

VAUSE: Okay, NATO, moving on, has promised more support for Ukraine. More shipments of much needed lethal weapons, heavy weapons as well. There is an urgency to that. The Ukraine foreign minister said days not weeks. If that doesn't come, what happens?

MENDEL: You know, we rely on nature's (ph) civilized democracy here because we are not fighting only for Ukraine. We are fighting for independents for the democratic values here. And we hope that our partners understand that this is crucial to provide us all the weapons right now. And we are fighting on all fronts, I mean, the diplomatic front, political front, to get all necessary weapons.

You know, we don't have time here. Every time you say it takes time, it means it takes Ukrainian lives. So when you change these wording you will understand that this is just the cause of lies. Really understand that we need it crucial in here.

Ukrainian army, you know, we understand that we have done really heroic things here. I am proud personally as a citizen of the country for my people, for my army, for the volunteers. My fiance is on the front lines right now. And we understand that we are doing everything possible because Ukraine is the value for millions and millions of people here.

And we want to win and we will need to win. We know Secretary Blinken said there is no chance we will not win, so help us to win and provide us all needed means for this.

VAUSE: The sacrifices and the bravery have been immense on both sides -- for all round for the Ukrainians. But there are also disturbing reports of, you know, possible, you know, war crimes being committed by Ukrainian troops. There is images which are out there of Ukrainian troops apparently shooting a Russian soldier who was wounded and killing him.

This is yet to be confirmed but, you know, the video is pretty gruesome. Will there be an investigation into that? How transparent will that investigation be? And will those results be made known and then what happens? MENDEL: Well, I'm sure that if we are standing here for democratic

values, then all the investigations must be done appropriately and the justice must prevail in the future, right? I have not seen the reports that you are telling right now. It's very difficult to understand what's really going on in the war.

But I must say you that Ukrainians are here to defend our home. We are not attacking another country. We are not going against civilians. We're fighting here for our home. So, all the issues of course will be investigated in the future. But right now, we'll need to stand against the invaders who behave really very cruel and aggressively.

VAUSE: That's right. It's just on the surface. This does appear to be, I think as the foreign minister said, an isolated incident. It is not a systemic attempt at carrying out atrocities and war crimes as it appears happening by the Russians as they move from town to town. So there is a distinct difference here, these two armies right?

MENDEL: And Ukrainian authorities are actually insisting on the fact that we are treating the prisoners as they must be treated by Geneva conventions because we actually respect human lives and we respect the fact that we will need to deal in the future with the international community, and of course we have Russia as the neighbor.

VAUSE: Yeah. Well, we wish you all the very best and thank you for being with us and thank you for answering the questions about, you know, the investigation into, you know, the possible war crimes committed by the -- on the Ukrainian side. But we'll see how that works out. Do let us know.

MENDEL: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: Thank you and we appreciate that.

MENDEL: John, thank you.

VAUSE: Well, Iuliia Mendel there. Thank you. Now, thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing the country's eastern war zone. Many of them by rail. When we come back, a closer look at the journey to safety. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.

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[03:15:00]

VAUSE: Welcome back everybody. This war now entered its seventh week and more and more Ukrainians are making that difficult decision to pack up everything they have, leave their homes behind and head to safety. U.N. says more than 4.3 million Ukrainians have made the decision to leave the country. Over 7 million are internally displaced moving mostly from the east to the west.

Hospitals are among the civilian infrastructure frequently targeted. The World Health Organization now reporting there are being more than 100 attacks on Ukraine healthcare facilities. Dozens have been killed in those attacks as well as wounded. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL: Attacks on healthcare are a violation of international humanitarian law. Peace is the only way forward. I again call on the Russian federation to stop the war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Nearly 5,000 Ukrainians made it to safety via by humanitarian corridors on Thursdays, 1,200 from the besieged city of Mariupol.

[03:20:03]

They are mostly leaving on bus convoys because rail services stopped in late February soon after the invasion. But others in this war zone can still manage to get out by train. CNN Ivan Watson has an inside look at their journey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ukrainian families on the run. More than a month after Russia invaded, civilians are still fleeing from the threat of the Russian military. Hurrying towards a waiting train. An air raid siren rings out as the train begins to move. This couple just a few minutes too late.

(On camera): The evacuation train is now leaving the station. There are about 1,100 passengers on board this train. All of them ae evacuees who are traveling for free. They'll be traveling for the next 24 hours. This train carrying this human cargo to safety in western Ukraine.

(Voice-over): The war forced everyone here to flee their homes including the crew of the train. Head conductor, Sergey Hrishenko ran the last train out of the city of Mariupol on February 25th, the day after Russia launched its invasion. There have been no trains from Mariupol since as a month long Russian siege has destroyed much of the city.

SERGEY HRISHENKO, HEAD CONDUCTOR (through translation): My whole team, 20 conductors, everybody left with me. Many of them were made homeless, lost their apartments. Some of them lost relatives.

WATSON (voice-over): Hrishenko says his team spent the next month living and working on the train non-stop, struggling to evacuate crowds of desperate and panicked Ukrainians especially during the first weeks of the war.

(On camera): Sergey estimates that during the month that he and his team were working, they evacuated around 100,000 people.

(Voice-over): These days the crowds have gotten smaller but strangers are still packed together for this long trip. Everyone seems to be fleeing a different part of eastern Ukraine.

Galina Bondarenko fled her village outside the city of Zaporizhzhya with her 19-year-old son after enduring two weeks of Russian shelling.

GALINA BONDARENKO, FLED RUSSIAN INVASION (through translation): I feel outrage. Complete outrage. And I feel fear when they are shooting.

WATSON (voice-over): Some evacuees brought their pets.

(On camera): The kitten is handling the train ride a little better than the puppy. The two families sharing this compartment met each other on the train for the very first time.

I have been speaking with Katya (ph) who is eight months pregnant right now and she's traveling alone with her daughter heading west because they don't know what will happen. And I asked where are you going give birth to your child? And she said, well, wherever it's safe right now.

And that's just -- that's just an example of one family. She's left her husband behind. He's serving in the military right now.

(Voice-over): Further down the train, I meet a group of women and children who just escaped southern Ukraine.

(On camera): How long did you live under Russian military occupation?

UNKNOWN: One month, when was from 27th February.

WATSON (on camera): How would you describe that experience?

UNKNOWN: All this time I went outside only two times just because I heard a lot of cases of (speaking in foreign language).

WATSON (On camera): Rape?

UNKNOWN: Rape. Raping.

WATSON (voice-over): In addition to hearing unconfirmed stories of rape, the women tell me they have seen drunk and filthy Russian soldiers asking residents for supplies like food and toilet paper.

UNKNOWN: They just put flags on our building, main building.

WATSON (on camera): Which flags did they put?

UNKNOWN: Russia flags. Just like that.

WATSON (on camera): On the police station?

UNKNOWN: Everywhere. They just love this I think and do they think that flag can change our minds, our Ukrainian minds. But it's not work like this.

I want the Russian people also come back on their land. They have a lot of land. Just a lot of land on their map. And I hope it will be enough for them, just because enough. Stop please. It's very painful for everyone here. For everyone in this train and outside. It was very peaceful life without this attacks.

WATSON (on camera): I have gotten off after a relatively short journey. This train still has more than 20 hours to go across country. It will end up in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. But for most of the more than 1,100 evacuees on board, all forced to flee their homes by this terrible war, their final destination is likely unclear.

[03:25:02]

Ivan Watson, CNN in eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: If you would like to help people of Ukraine who are need of shelter, food, water, medical supplies, they need to restart their lives, please go to cnn.com/impact. And there you will find a number of ways that you can help.

Still ahead here, we'll take you to the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, a city which has been under constant Russian attack for weeks. And now, many there are just desperate to leave. More on that when we come back.

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[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back here. I'm John Vause. Half past the hour here. I'm John Vause live in Lviv, Ukraine.

Two of Europe's top diplomats now on their way to Ukraine for a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell tweeted out a picture as they prepare to board a train.

Now, Russia says it's not targeting Ukrainian civilians, but all the evidence continues to show otherwise. Ukrainian officials say one person was killed when Russian artillery shelled this bread bakery in the northern city of Kharkiv near the Russian border. Ukraine says at least 26 bodies have been found in rubble of two homes in Borodyanka that's near Kyiv. Ukraine's president warns that the world now needs to come to grips with the brutal reality of Moscow's aggression.

But so far, the Russian state and Russian military are the greatest threat on the planet to freedom. To human security. So the concept of human rights as such. After Bucha, this is already obvious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (translated): But so far, the Russian state and Russian military are the greatest threat on the planet to freedom, to human security, to the concept of human rights as such. After Bucha, this is already obvious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: In the southeast now and the port city of Mykolaiv where nowhere is safe from Russian air strikes. That means the city's cancer hospital or market filled with shoppers.

CNN's Ben Wedeman met some of the victims of Russia's military offensive and others now desperately trying to get to safer ground.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This has become Mykolaiv's daily routine, picking up the pieces, sweeping away the wreckage from Russian missile attacks. Random shelling throughout the city with what appeared to be cluster munitions. Glass shards and shrapnel tore into Marina as she lies in a hospital, her thoughts with her teenage daughter, also injured, now in a children's hospital.

My daughter and I were caught between two bombs, she recalls. It's a miracle we're still alive. It was terrifying. The hospital where Marina is recovering was hit in the morning. Dirt covers the blood from one of the injured.

Closed circuit television video from the city's cancer hospital captures the moment it was struck. Earlier this week, a missile barrage killed nine people in wounded more than 40 at this market.

We were able to count 23 impact points in a radius of just 100 meters, and each one of these incoming rounds sprays shrapnel in every direction.

Danilo was working in this store and rushed outside when he heard the blast. Over there a woman was screaming, help me, her leg was shattered, he says. Behind the store, two people were killed. Dried blood and flowers mark the spot where people died.

Last week a bomb struck the regional governors office, killing 36 people. Every day in Mykolaiv, this relentless bombardment shatters any semblance of normal life.

Midafternoon, people lean up to escape the danger, this bus bound for Poland. Victoria (ph) cradles her one-year-old daughter, Ivana (ph). Her husband stays behind. Soon we'll be back home, says Victoria (ph). Everything will be all right. How soon that will be, nobody knows.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Mykolaiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Let's go back now to CNN's world headquarters. Linda Kinkade standing by. I guess, the question now is, obviously, how long will this conflict drag on. And all the assessments appear to be that it will go on for months. Some even say it could go on for years. Linda?

LINDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: I hope not. But yeah, that seems to be what analysts are saying right now as the war changes strategy and it seems the Russians are moving to the east. John Vause, good to have you with us. Thank you so much. We will check in again at the top of the hour. John Vause for us in Lviv.

Well, a stubborn COVID outbreak is taking its toll on Shanghai citizens. Coming up, the adverse effects of life under lockdown in one of the worlds biggest cities. Plus the shooting in Tel Aviv leaves two dead. Israeli security forces say they have now killed the gunman responsible. We're going to go live to Tel Aviv next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:35:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Linda Kinkade coming to you live from Atlanta. Shanghai has yet to get a handle on the COVID out break there. And in the last few hours, the government has announced more than 21,000 new cases in the city. That's nearly all the cases in the entire country. The outbreak has reached nearby cities and they too are now under lockdown.

Kristie Lu Stout is live from Hong Kong with the details. Kristie, with China's punishing zero COVID policy still enforced, people are being driven to the brink. What's the latest there?

[03:40:06]

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Shanghai is undergoing this punishing lockdown with no end in sight. And a number of residents there have basically hit a breaking point, and they are speaking out.

Earlier today we heard from Shanghai health authorities. They announced that the city has over 21,000 new cases of COVID-19 and the number of cases keep going up but China keeps clinging to this punishing zero COVID strategy, which is punishing to both lives and livelihood.

This video that we're going to play in just a moment has been going viral in China. I want you to watch how this man is venting his frustration about life under lockdown in Shanghai.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: (Spoken in foreign language).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: He yells out loud, where is the Communist Party? CNN cannot verify the authenticity of the video. It has been widely shared online before it was taken down.

Now, there's mounting anger over food shortages in Shanghai. And in this video clip, you'll see an angry stand off between residents and a lockdown Shanghai compound and the police. In this clip at one point, the residents say we are starving as they try to break out of the compound. Again, we cannot verify the authenticity of this clip. On Thursday, the Shanghai government announced that it acknowledged there's this issue and they're working to resolve the food distribution problem in Shanghai.

And finally, another clip making the rounds and is causing a lot of distress is what happened earlier this week where a COVID prevention worker was caught on camera bashing to death pet corgy. Apparently, this happened after the pet's owner had tested reportedly positive for COVID-19 and taken away to a quarantine center. It was a resident in the compound who filmed this video and filmed how this health worker used a shovel to strike the dog three times before the pet dog died on the scene.

And look, the reason why we're sharing these videos, it all underscores just -- not just the brutality but also the desperation as a result of the extreme measures taken during this time of zero COVID and the outcry in Shanghai among the lockdown residents is only growing. Back to you.

KINKADE: All right. Kristie Lu Stout, good to have you on that story for us. We will speak to you soon.

LU STOUT: Thank you.

KINKADE: Kristie Lu Stout there in Hong Kong. Israel officials say the gunman who carried out a deadly attack at a popular Tel Aviv dining area has been killed. At least two people died and several others were wounded in Thursday's mass shooting in Tel Aviv. It's the latest in a series of violent incidents that have put Israel and Palestinian territories on edge.

Joining me now from Tel Aviv is journalist, Lauren Izso. And Lauren, a massive man hunt was under way to find the suspect. I understand the suspect has been killed. What can you tell us about the suspect? Do authorities believe anyone else was involved?

LAUREN IZSO, JOURNALIST: Right. So, as of now, authorities haven't said anyone else involved except -- anyone else was involved except for the gunman that you mentioned.

Now, after an overnight manhunt, those security officials said they shot and killed the gunman responsible for the shooting attack that took place last night in Tel Aviv on Dizengoff Street that killed two people and police said injured at least a dozen others. Officials have called it a terror attack.

Security officials caught up with the assailant right here in Jaffa. Just a few meters to my right, a gun battle took place around 5:00 a.m. this morning. And if you look to the left, you can see damage on a car that remains here as a result of the gun battle earlier today.

Police have named the suspect as 28-year-old Ra'ad Hazem, a -- like I said, a 28-year-old from Jenin in the West Bank. They say he has no affiliation to any terror organizations, no security background or any previous arrests but that he was in Israel illegally.

It's important to note that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the attack while militant groups in Gaza and the West Bank have praised it but have not gone as far to say as that they are responsible for it. They have not claimed responsibility for it. Security officials say this investigation is ongoing.

KINKADE: All right. Lauren Izso for us in Tel Aviv. Thanks very much.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan will face a no confidence vote on Saturday. That's after the Pakistani Supreme Court unanimously ruled that effort to block that vote were unconstitutional. The top court also Mr. Khan's order to dissolve parliament and hold early elections in attempt to cling to power.

[03:45:00]

The opposition has accused him of economic mismanagement, poor governance and treason. The prime minister also lost the backing of key allies and the military.

Still to come, another barrier broken and a glass ceiling smashed in Washington. The Supreme Court will soon have its first black woman justice in history. We'll look at how Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation changes Washington.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:50:04]

KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Linda Kinkade. You're watching CNN. Sri Lanka's president insists he will not quit as protests intensify over the economic crisis. Sri Lanka is suffering from a shortage of fuel, power and medication with doctors warning that the entire health system could soon collapse.

History was made on the floor of the U.S. Senate Thursday when senators confirmed the first black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson watched the vote with President Joe Biden, both overcome with emotion.

Our Jenn Sullivan looks at this Supreme Court milestone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: On this vote, the yays 53, the nays are 47, and this nomination is confirmed.

(APPLAUSE)

JENN SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Roaring applause erupting in the Senate chamber as Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court with bipartisan support. She'll become the first black woman to ever sit on the bench when she's sworn in.

HARRIS: It's an extraordinary day. I think it's a very important statement today about who we are as a nation that we put Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on the highest court of our land.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): And she really made the case that to be the first you have to be the best.

SULLIVAN: Jackson watched the historic confirmation vote alongside President Biden in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. Biden tweeting, we've taken another step towards making our highest court reflect the diversity of America. She will be an incredible justice, and I was honored to share the moment with her. Jackson will be sworn in after Justice Steven Breyer retires at the end of the current Supreme Court term, which is expected to be sometime in the last week of June or early July.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT): And here, I see somebody extraordinary well qualified, somebody who will make the court look more like America.

SULLIVAN: I'm Jenn Sullivan, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: There was also a contentious hearing the last time a black nominee was confirmed for the high court. Justice Clarence Thomas was accused of sexual harassment during his 1991 hearing. His accuser, Anita Hill, spoke to CNN about what Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation means.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANITA HILL, PROFESSOR BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY: In the history of Supreme Court, only less than 10 have been anything other than white males. That we have moved away from that. Even by one appointment, i think it's important for us as a culture. It enables the possibility of us seeing the court of a more representative body at the highest level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: That was Anita Hill commenting on Judge Jackson's confirmation. We are hours away from the launch of Axiom 1, which will carry four civilians to the International Space Station. It's the inaugural mission for the commercial space flight company, Axiom Space, and the first time an all private crew will go to the ISS. They're expected to dock with the orbit Saturday and spend eight days working on experiments alongside America and European astronauts and Russian cosmonauts. Despite tensions between Russia and the West, hope remains the ISS can remain a symbol of cooperation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK VANDE HEI, NASA ASTRONAUT: I think that's one of the reasons we've been able to have the International Space Station. Some people that don't care so much about space care about international relations. And having a space station where we can cooperate, I think it's really important for peaceful future.

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KINKADE: Tiger woods served notice he is back to place following that harrowing car crash last year that almost cost him his leg and his career. Walking with a slight limp, he shot a one under par in the first round in the Masters tournament and almost got a hole in one. He's tied for 10th place and four shots behind the leader, and hopes to win his sixth career green jacket. Woods was seriously injured in a single vehicle crash in February 2021.

Legendary band Pink Floyd is releasing a new song in support of the people of Ukraine. It's their first single in 28 years with proceeds going to relief efforts. It's called, "Hey, Hey, Rise Up".

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KINKADE: The single features Ukrainian singer, Andriy Khlyvnyuk, who was seen in the video or heard in the video. The band used audio of the performance in Kyiv. Khlyvnyuk later joined the Ukrainian resistance and now recovering from injuries on the battlefield.

I'm Linda Kinkade. Thanks so much for spending part of your day with me. Our breaking news coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine continues with Max Foster in London after a short break. Stay with us.

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[03:55:00]

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MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Max Foster in London. We're following breaking news coverage of Russia's war on Ukraine. Just ahead.

UNKNOWN: So, far the Russian state and the Russian military on the greatest threat to freedom on the military.

UNKNOWN: The battle of Donbas will remind you what second world war.

UNKNOWN: There was a body that was here and I'm trying to look for any physical evidence as to how she was killed or where she was killed from.

UNKNOWN: From Bucha, there are many more towns Russia has occupied.