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U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Meets With Zelenskyy In Kyiv; Odesa Curfew Begins Tonight Amid Threat Of Russian Missile Strikes. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired April 09, 2022 - 12:00   ET

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

[11:59:53]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Kateryna Cherepakha, thank you so much. I'm so sorry, we're having to talk about it, I'm so sorry that it's a reality that too many are having to deal with right now.

KATERYNA CHEREPAKHA, PRESIDENT, LA STRADA UKRAINE: Yes, thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

All right. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And this breaking news out of Ukraine, a surprise meeting in Kyiv.

WHITFIELD: (voice-over): British Prime Minister Boris Johnson traveling to the capital to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A stunning show of solidarity as the war rages on across the country.

Ukrainian officials now bracing for a major offensive by Russia in the East. Heavy shelling already underway in Kharkiv. And much of the city reduced to ruins. Officials urging civilians to evacuate in advance of heavy fighting.

Today, 10 new humanitarian corridors opening in eastern and southern Ukraine.

WHITFIELD (on camera): And now, we're also getting horrific images from the aftermath of a Russian strike on a train station.

This happening on Friday. A warning some of the video is disturbing to watch. But we feel it is important to show you exactly what's happening to civilians there.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): The Russian strike killed at least 50 people including five children. Almost 100 others wounded in the blast, all attempting to escape the carnage.

And fears are mounting that Russia may be getting desperate to seek victory by any means necessary. One European official now saying a quarter of Russia's forces are effectively inoperable, following heavy losses and poor planning. WHITFIELD (on camera): Now, let's go to CNN's Nima Elbagir in Kyiv. Nima, this surprise meeting there between Boris Johnson, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And this is pretty significant. Why is this happening?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, it comes off to the U.K. announced a new package of what they call defensive aid, much of the same weaponry that we've seen used to such devastating effects by the Ukrainians.

In fact, Kyiv and much of its surroundings are a testament to the Ukrainians' ability to wield what they have been given up to this point in support. But we are definitely at an inflection point in this conflict, Fred.

And what our investigative team has been able to show is that much of the ordinance that are raining down on Kharkiv and on the east of the country is not coming from inside Russia.

So, the concern for some of the Ukrainian officials and many of those that we have been speaking to is that what they are receiving will not enable them to defend themselves, against an enemy that is seeking refuge within its own boundaries, and shelling and killing civilians on Ukrainian territory.

And it feels like, in fact, the international community support is coming to an inflection point, because what we had heard from the U.S. and from European capitals previously is that they didn't want any of the defensive aid, as they call it, anti-tank capabilities, anti- aircraft capabilities to be used to go inside Russia. Because their fear is that Russia would read that as an escalation, a proxy attack by the U.S., the U.K. or other your European supporters.

But we've seen those pictures from that appalling strike on the train station. We've seen 1,000s of civilians attempt to evacuate from the horror raining down on them from the skies from inside Russia.

The question is whether the world -- whether the European allies, the U.K. included, have the ability now to take that next step and fully support Ukraine in the way that the Ukrainians are saying, Fred, that they need to be supported.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Nima Elbagir, thank you so much for your report. We'll check back with you.

All right, and now to the war being waged on the ground.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): New video just obtained by CNN, showing the destruction in Hostomel, just outside of Kyiv. The town had been occupied for over a month, buildings and homes, they are destroyed.

Reports of at least 400 killed, including the town's mayor.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Odesa, Ukraine, covering the latest.

WHITFIELD (on camera): Ed, this curfew takes effect there in a few hours. But tell us more about the after effects of so much devastation, really throughout so much of that country.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): All right. This city, in particular, dealing with the after effects of about a day and a half of different attacks, and also dealing with the effects of the attacks in other parts of the country.

So, here in a few hours, starting at 9:00 local time, there will be a curfew, a city-wide -- region wide in place until Monday morning. Now, this coincides with April 10th was -- which is a significant city holiday here. It's known as Liberation Day.

And many people often come out and gather and leave flowers at a memorial for the unknown soldier here, and it celebrates the liberation of the Nazis. But because of that, then, the usual, large gatherings that happened on this particular day, and given the strike that we saw at the train station in Eastern Ukraine yesterday, officials here felt it was prudent to issue a curfew for the basically the rest of this weekend.

[12:05:08]

LAVANDERA: And that's not something that we have seen. But it comes after several days of missile strikes, and one in particular that targeted a military facility, where Ukrainian military officials are say several -- say several people were killed, and several more injured as well. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And now, let's talk about these humanitarian corridors. You know, how much stock are people putting into those humanitarian corridors as safe spaces, given what we've already seen, particularly, in that train station?

LAVANDERA: Well, Ukrainian officials say on Friday, some 6,600 people nationwide were able to escape into a safer areas through these humanitarian corridors. But if you really think about it, that is a fraction of the help that is needed.

For Mariupol, for example, you know, 10s of 1000s, close to 100,000 people still desperately need to be evacuated, and then in other places that are now coming under heavier fire, and becoming dangerous situation.

Plus, you have Ukrainian officials urging evacuation of areas in -- predominantly, in eastern Ukraine that are coming under heavy attacks. So, these humanitarian corridors are key lifelines to saving people's lives. But they're often very treacherous -- It's often unsteady, and requires a great deal of negotiation, and planning to establish these.

And even with all of that, it's not always guaranteed, for example, there is one road out of Mariupol that requires you, citizens or civilians to drive themselves out. And you can imagine how treacherous and dangerous that can be for a civilian family trying to escape the horrors there.

But, you know, some of these routes have had to be adjusted official say today, but you know, they still try to move out as many people as they can, but it's definitely a slow process.

WHITFIELD: Ed Lavandera in Odesa, Ukraine. Thank you so much.

All right, the bombing of hospitals, the targeting of civilians by Russian forces attacks on a nuclear power plant, the use of rape as a weapon of war, and the use of banned weapons, all are among accusations of war crimes against Russia.

President Biden himself has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, and now Ukraine's President Zelenskyy is calling the attack on the train station, a war crime.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): On Friday, the European Commission president visited a mass grave in Bucha, vowing those responsible would be brought to justice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: It is the unthinkable has happened here. We have seen the cruel face of Putin's army. We have seen the recklessness and cold heartedness with which they have been occupying his city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (on camera): Kelebogile Zvobgo is with us now. She is the founder and director of the International Justice Lab, and an assistant professor of government at William and Mary.

So good to see you, professor. So, we have seen the video of the train attack, the after effects of that, the atrocities in Bucha, hospital attacks in Mariupol. Does this help make the case for war crimes? Or are we already far beyond trying to make the case for war crimes?

KELEBOGILE ZVOBGO, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE LAB: I think together these abuses, these attacks, if proven will be tantamount to war crimes in a court of law. That's what I mean by proven.

Generally, as legal scholars, as analysts, we wait for courts to make determinations a little bit different from policymakers, but certainly attacking civilians known areas where there are civilians, where that's the train station, whether that's hospitals, whether that's residential areas, these are all prohibited under the laws of war.

WHITFIELD: And when you say proven, it has to go beyond the videotape. I mean, there has to be also included, individual testimony, right? How long is this investigative process, this gathering of evidence?

ZVOBGO: It depends on what court, what jurisdiction, but these tend to take years and years and years. So, right now, as people are crossing over into neighboring countries, testimony can be collected from victims directly.

Of course, there will be the forensic investigation into mass graves, for example, in Bucha, and also, video, photographs, and other types of evidence will take a very long time to collect.

And very importantly, to connect to the suspected perpetrators, right? So, it's not just that oh, there were Russians in this area. And then, in this other area, Ukrainians died, but being able to tie specific people, specific weapons, the shell, the rocket, the missile to individuals so that they can be held criminally accountable.

[12:09:58]

WHITFIELD: So, it might mean it also takes the cooperation of the Russian soldiers that Ukraine says it has also captured, that they could potentially share stories or strategy or direction from whom they receive direction?

ZVOBGO: Certainly, it is possible. And being able to establish command responsibility that it's not just soldiers on the ground, but that this is part of a broader mission that is being led by higher ups, including an all the way up to Putin will be very important to establish. Being able to tie not only those soldiers on the ground, but indeed their leaders all the way up the chain of command.

And these -- those captured may be able to provide testimony, I'm not sure how likely that is. They certainly would confront severe risks upon their return to Russia, should they return to Russia, or any type of cooperation. So, that remains to be unknown.

WHITFIELD: So, last month, judges at the International Court of Justice ruled that Russia must halt military operations in Ukraine. So, this -- the, I -- you know, C.J., might play a role here in potentially prosecuting.

You say it could take years in some cases for, you know, a case to be built. Why does it take so long when the world is watching what it is watching?

ZVOBGO: Sure. Well, I think, first, we want to separate the International Court of Justice from the International Criminal Court, both have jurisdiction in slightly different ways.

So, the International Court of Justice is the U.N. court, the World Court, and it settles disputes between the states. And so, Ukraine, on February 26th, bought a complaint against Russia, saying that Russia had violated Ukraine's sovereignty, and that the basis for the invasion, the so-called humanitarian -- these so-called humanitarian reasons were false.

And so, asked the court to judge on this question of where Russia's intentions to prevent a genocide in Ukraine valid or illegitimate?

And so, Ukraine asked for the court to say this is false. And -- but in the meantime, to order interim measures, including, as you said, that Russia must halt operations until the judges can get to the bottom of this. So, that would -- that would only resolve the dispute between the states, Russia and Ukraine.

But then you have the International Criminal Court, which is -- which is designed to hold individuals criminally accountable. And so, both of these institution is going to take some time.

Ukraine is going to have about six months to build its case at the ICJ and then Russia will have time to respond as well. So, maybe a year from now, we'll have a determination.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

ZVOBGO: Meanwhile, on the International Criminal Court side, that can take much, much longer years, we only just saw the first arrest warrants related to the 2008 war with Georgia. Those just came within the last month.

WHITFIELD: Right at The Hague.

All right. Kelebogile Zvobgo. Thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

ZVOBGO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, more than 4 million Ukrainians have fled Putin's brutal assault. For those who managed to escape without physical harm, the emotional trauma may be just as difficult to bear. We'll hear from some of those refugees straight ahead.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Plus, here in the U.S., an investigation is underway after three people were found dead following an apparent robbery at a gun range. Details' next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:17:44]

WHITFIELD: An investigation is underway in Georgia after an apparent robbery at a gun range turn deadly, Friday night. Police say the owner, his wife, and their grandson were found killed, and dozens of weapons were stolen.

WHITFIELD (on camera): CNN's Nadia Romero is with us now with much more on this.

Oh my gosh.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, this is really scary.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ROMERO: Especially because it happened in such a tiny town. 40 firearms are missing along with the three people that were found dead it just last night.

So, if you take a look, I mean, this is a small town, at Grantville, which is about 50 or so miles southwest of Atlanta, in a rural part of a county there. And that's where this all happened.

And so, investigators say that when they arrived, they found three people dead, the shop owners and their grandson, 40 firearms missing, and no suspects. They are still looking for suspects and the camera DVR equipment. So, like the surveillance equipment that was used at the gun range, that was taken along with it.

So, now there's a $15,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest and a conviction for the murders and the robbery.

Now, this is something that is so dangerous and it happens far too often in our country when you look at those crime stats, what happens to stolen guns? 40 firearms missing in this case.

And if you remember back to January, in Harlem, there were two New York City police officers who were responding to a domestic disturbance call, and they were gunned down during that call. They were so young, just 27 and 22 years old.

Police say the suspect used a firearm that was stolen from Baltimore, Maryland back in 2017. That same firearm that was stolen showed up in this incident. Police say that was what was used, a Glock 45, to kill those two police officers.

So, as you might imagine, this is a top priority for the ATF just within the last hour releasing this statement, saying that the "ATF and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to bring the killer -- killers to justice. The brutality of these senseless murders along with the fact that these killers have acquired additional firearms make solving this case our top priority."

And Fred, we had a similar incident that happened back in 2020, a gun shop in Bryan County, so, out by like the Savannah, Georgia area.

WHITFIELD: Yes, yes.

[12:19:57]

ROMERO: And that was burglarized five people, just this past summer, convicted, sentenced to prison, and the ATF says this is their top priority because those guns have a tendency to travel.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Right.

ROMERO: And show up in other crimes.

WHITFIELD: Yes, some very dangerous common threads. Thank you so much, Nadia Romero, appreciate it.

All right. And family and friends are now mourning the loss today of a woman who shed new light on the horrors of the Holocaust.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Gerda Weissman Klein passed away earlier this month.

She was just a teenager in Poland, when the Nazis forced her from her home during World War II. Klein miraculously survived and then wrote about her struggles in her autobiography, All But My Life. It was later adapted into the Oscar and Emmy. Award winning documentary one survivor remembers.

For decades, Klein was an outspoken activist. And in 2010, was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as you see right there. The nation's highest civilian award by President Obama.

Gerda Weissman Klein was 97. May her memory be a blessing.

WHITFIELD (on camera): Straight ahead, women and children make up the majority of those who have fled Ukraine. Many of them fleeing right in the middle of a school year.

Next I'll talk with the head of the American Federation of Teachers, who travelled to Poland and saw firsthand what these kids need.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:25:49]

WHITFIELD: A bipartisan group of more than 60 lawmakers is urging President Biden to do more for Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia's invasion. More than 4 million people have fled so far and many of them are suffering with mental and emotional trauma.

Here now is CNN Dana Bash.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 8-year-old Yana is used to go into gymnastics class, six days a week in Odesa, Ukraine. Now, she practices here, a refugee center in Warsaw, Poland.

Do you know why your mom decided it was time for you to go?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YANA BATS, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE (through translator): Well, because there were explosions there and stuff like that.

BASH (on camera): Did you hear explosions? Did you see any of the war?

BASH (voice-over): She left Ukraine with her brother and mother Liudmyla.

LIUDMYLA BATS, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE: The journey was very hard because we decided -- we decided to go there through Moldova, through Romania, through Hungary, and through Slovenia, and then, Poland.

BASH: Yana sits at a table full of donated supplies and goes to school remotely on her phone right in the middle of this Warsaw refugee center.

And she is OK?

L. BATS: She says yes.

BASH: Yes.

Liudmyla Bats is not so sure about her own trauma,

L. BATS: Even here, every time over here, there are some sounds and when their plane is flying, I'm afraid.

BASH: Poland's generosity towards Ukraine's flood of refugees, shelter, food baby supplies is well documented. Less known is a focus on what you cannot see. The mental health of the mostly women and children who crossed the border.

You've redirected a lot of the psychiatrist -- psychologists to the Ukrainians.

RAFAL TRZASKOWSKI, MAYOR OF WARSAW, POLAND: Yes, I have.

BASH. Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski says tending to Ukrainians' emotional wounds is critical. Foundations drop leaflets encouraging Ukrainian refugees to seek counseling.

TRZASKOWSKI: Those kids are incredibly resilient, but you never know, you know, what's beneath the surface.

BASH: But it wasn't that long ago that people just kind of said, suck it up. You just deal with it. But that's not where we are in society anymore.

TRZASKOWSKI: No, I mean, when you -- especially, when you see what's happened in Ukraine, how vicious this war was, and all of those atrocities committed by Russian soldiers, I mean, those kids watch T.V., you know they see it.

BASH: In this group session, the mental health professional for Ukrainian women is a fellow refugee.

In The Women's Circle, as they call it, varied emotions sprang to the surface.

While mothers tend to their own mental health, their children are in a makeshift daycare on the other side of the room.

Little Yana (PH) is thrilled by the toys and new people to play with, young enough not to know too much.

Her big sister Antonina (PH) knows far more, experienced more, than any 8-year-old ever should.

Antonina, why are you here in Poland? Do you know?

ANTONINA, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE (through translator): Because of the war. Because, I don't know, Putin has something in his head.

BASH (on camera): It turns out not all grown-ups make good decisions.

ANTONINA: When it comes to Putin, yes.

BAHS: To better take care of her girls, their mother takes care of herself in this therapy session.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): With like-minded people, it's easier to talk. They understand you.

BASH: Why did you want to have these sessions?

MILENA KONOVALOVA, CRISIS PSYCHOLOGIST AND UKRAINIAN REFUGEE (through translator): When we talk to other women, we hear that we have the same problems. And we see our situation from a distance.

The most prominent trauma is that women don't see tomorrow. They're not sure. They're frightened and scared. They don't feel protection anywhere. And it's important to convey to them that there is tomorrow.

BASH: As for today, seeing their children, playing, smiling, laughing, it helps get them to tomorrow.

Dana Bash, CNN, Warsaw, Poland.

[12:30:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: And most of those who have fled Ukraine to escape the violence are women and children. And many of those kids also fled right in the middle of a school year. Well, this week Randi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers went to Poland to deliver educational materials to Ukrainian teachers and kids.

And Randi is back now in the United States and joining us. So good to see you. So tell me what it is that you saw when --

RANDI WEINGARTEN, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS: They're too (inaudible).

WHITFIELD: Yes, whether you were in Warsaw, and then I understand you were also along the Polish/Ukrainian border.

WEINGARTEN: Right, in Medyka, and in a surrounding town, which is named Przemysl, although spelled in Polish quite differently than the phonetic pronunciation. But look, we -- the labor movement and our union, in particular, have had a long relationship with Ukraine and with Poland.

We, you know, when Solar Danetch (ph) started that labor union, started to try to get freedom years ago, Al Shanker helped them. So they invited us, the Ukrainian teachers and the Polish Teachers Union and we went this week for all the obvious reasons.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

WEINGARTEN: And I want to say three things. Number one, the Polish people have been incredible in terms of opening u their hearts and their, you know, living rooms for Ukrainian refugees. There are more Ukrainian refugee students in Poland right now than in the entire Los Angeles school system.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

WEINGARTEN: Number two, there's lots, and lots of fear and uncertainty. And lots of need for hope, and for seeing a future. And the Ukrainians -- the Ukrainian Education Ministry and teachers all over the country -- all over the world who are Ukrainian are doing their classes remotely. Like there's now a silver lining from what happened in COVID because they learned how to do remote education, and everything like that. And number three --

WHITFIELD: So we saw that -- oh, go ahead, yes, number three, yes, please.

WEINGARTEN: Oh, I'm sorry, I was just going to say number three, there (technical difficulty) we give -- we gave cases and suitcases full of school supplies, and stuffed animals, and crayons, and books, and the kind of stuff that Americans are now giving every single day. And my members are giving to try to support Ukrainian students and their families.

WHITFIELD: So what was the reaction like when you gave some of these supplies? We're looking at pictures now of, you know, you're demonstrating -- you're about to do some hand painting. You know, but we saw the little girl in Dana Bash's, you know, piece earlier showing how she's trying to attend school via phone. And we know because of the pandemic, we heard from our kids here how frustrating, how difficult it really was.

WEINGARTEN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: But at the same time, it sounds like you're also saying that this is a lifeline for these kids who are removed from the setting --

WEINGARTEN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- that they know, the country that they know.

WEINGARTEN: I mean, look at this, they are -- they're -- this is a war.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

WEINGARTEN: And because of social media, and the press, you know, we can see a war right now. But this is the largest humanitarian crisis that we've had since World War II. And probably the biggest, longest, largest war certainly in Europe since World War II. And so, what you're seeing firsthand is the trauma and the effects of war.

The most moving piece of my trip was that I got to spend 45 minutes in a classroom of Ukrainian high school students in Warsaw. And look, I'm a high school civics teacher, and the Ukrainian students could speak more English than I could ever speak Polish or Ukrainian. And they understand what's going on.

One of the girls said to me, you heard what happened in Bucha, and just looked at me with that kind of sense of sadness and fear. And one of the younger men, and this I will always remember, he gets up, young adult, ramrod straight and he says to me, please tell your students in America that I had what -- last month what they have.

Please tell them be grateful. It's -- we have to help, never again has to mean never again.

[12:35:00]

WHITFIELD: Yes, you're so right. Randi Weingarten, thank you so much. And thank you for making that journey. I know you, you know, brightened and helped illuminate some hope for a lot of the people there including those two kids that you spoke with. And you know, message from them loud and clear, loud and clear. Thank you so much.

WEINGARTEN: Yes. Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right, just minutes from now Tiger Woods tees off for his third round at the Masters. Will he earn a sixth green jacket? Will he advance after the third round? We're live from Augusta, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:40:00]

WHITFIELD: Golfer Tiger Woods tees off in about 20 minutes at Augusta National. He's trying for another remarkable comeback at the Masters. USA Today Columnist and CNN Contributor Christine Brennan is there, and with us right now. Oh my gosh, so it must be electric there that he would now make his way to the third round. What are people bracing for? What are you bracing for?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, COLUMNIST, USA TODAY & CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, absolutely, I mean, to think that Tiger less than 14 months ago was -- crashed his car in that -- a horrible accident. And ended up, of course, having a shattered right leg. He was concerned he might lose the leg or be able -- never be able to walk again.

And less than 14 months later he not only plays well at Augusta, he makes the cut. And he is now moving on as you said to tee off in a few minutes in the third round. And of course, he'll have the fourth round as well. This is a sports story unlike any other I've covered.

I you know, the superlatives, I'm running out words, Fredricka, because it is that extraordinary. At 46-years-old for Tiger to be doing this on a terrible bad leg, as he said he's got to put -- have an ice bath every night.

He is just icing it, he's freezing his leg. This is an extraordinary thing and it's not just the golf, its' the hills of Augusta, you don't see those on TV but there they are. Now watch him try to trudge up those hills, going slowly, shoulders hunched. You know it's hard for him but he made it through for that second round on Friday despite not having his --

WHITFIELD: Yes.

BRENNAN: -- best golf game. And he is ready now for, of course, Saturday and Sunday.

WHITFIELD: Oh, it's incredible. But you know, I love that he also gave credit to his team, right. Because he, you know, his talk -- he's essentially alluding to without giving us detail, he's had to make some adjustments in this game as a result of, like you mentioned, there's a little bit of a limp, we don't know all of what he is feeling.

But obviously, it does require icing, you know, in the -- in the evening, et cetera. But then tell me, you know, what the reaction has been for fellow players, who I'm sure are thrilled that he's there as well as the fans who just explode whenever they see him on any course. But this weekend it just must have reached an incredible peak unlike seen before.

BRENNAN: Oh, it has. It has, it has. Everyone knows the story, everyone knows Tiger. He's been coming here since an amateur, days in 1995. Of course, he won his first of his five Masters titles 25 years ago as a 21-year-old. And it's like a prized fight feeling, as he's moving through the rustle and the murmur and the crowd and then the explosion of applause, thunderous applause.

It is -- it is a great reaction, the players are thrilled to have him here. It creates interest, the TV ratings will be better. Everything about this --

WHITFIELD: Yes.

BRENNAN: -- it's -- Tiger, it, you know, needs golf but golf needs Tiger much more. And those TV ratings should be huge.

WHITFIELD: Right, I mean, he -- he's changed the sport unlike anybody. He's made an impact on this sport unlike anyone has ever done before. And you know what I think was interesting in just listening to him talk to folks yesterday, and prior to that during this journey at the Masters.

I feel like he's smiling more, it almost seems as though he is exuding a different kind of appreciation of, you know, life given what he's been through. And maybe even the game, and maybe too, I mean -- is Charlie there, by the way, his son?

I'm sure he'll be there later if not now but I feel like that too was part of his happiness, this beautiful relationship father/son on the golf course.

BRENNAN: Well, exactly, and, of course, his daughter, soccer player, Sam, as well. And yes, you know, Tiger is a different guy. I mean, he was not the easiest person to deal with back in the late '90s and early part of this century, Fredricka. He could be very brusk, he could brush off questions.

He would not divulge much of what he was thinking; it was his right to dot hat, of course.

WHITFIELD: Yes. BRENNAN: But he wasn't the greatest guy by any means. And he has changed, it's perspective, it's seeing what life would be like without golf, there's no doubt about that. He is -- he's laughing, he's smiling, he is -- he is a different guy. And I think it all comes from the fact that he thought his golf career was going to be over.

He wasn't sure he could walk again. And so, when you're given this gift of a second chance, and he's worked very hard, and as you said, his team, the doctors, the therapists, he talks about them all the time.

How they have gotten him to this position, and, of course, now every night have to get him back ready with recovery to be able to do it again the next day.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, perhaps everything that you described too, that was part of his focus, you know. That was part of his method of being competitive, and clearly, it worked even though some people might have been taken aback thinking that he was being unfriendly or something. But hey, he's Tiger Woods.

[12:45:00]

OK, so now let me shift gears if we could. I mean, this is tragic, and very sad. The Pittsburgh Steelers is reporting that Quarterback Dwayne Haskins has died. It -- a big loss for he and his family. And it involved a car or an accident, right?

BRENNAN: That's correct, 24-years-old, Ohio State star, many people know him from that. Played for Washington, now with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Apparently on a team-building exercise with other teammates in Pittsburgh -- from Pittsburgh down in South Florida. Absolutely tragic, not even 25-yeas-old yet. And obviously, a young quarterback, and just a horrifying and incredibly sad story.

WHITFIELD: So terribly sad, and, of course, we'll learn more about it. Our hearts go out to he and his family. And of course, his team. All right, Christine Brennan, thank you so much. And we'll be right back.

BRENNAN: Fredricka, Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:00]

WHITFIELD: Well, Vladimir Putin continues to wage war in Ukraine. Some Russians are opting to flee to neighboring Georgia. CNN's Matt Rivers shows us now why they've decided to cut ties with their country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS (voice-over): Down a Tbilisi side street across from a church lies a bar called Grail, a holy place of sorts for a cold logger and a conversation. And bar owner Vincenty Alexeev who is Russian says he's had one particular conversation a lot more lately. VINCENTY ALEXEEV, RUSSIAN OWNER OF "GRAIL" BAR, TBILISI, GEORGIA: I love what they're doing there. I just moved two days ago, I just move three days ago.

RIVERS (on-screen): So there's a lot more Russians coming in?

ALEXEEV: Yes.

RIVERS: And why are people leaving?

ALEXEEV: Why are people leaving? Because they're scared.

RIVERS (voice-over): We met about a half dozen such people here but one stood out. Alisa Kuznetsova left Russia with her husband just a few days after the war began.

RIVERS (on-screen): You couldn't take it anymore after this invasion?

ALISA KUZNETSOVA, LEFT RUSSIA FOR GEORGIA AFTER INVASION: Yes, it was like an additional trigger. I just had to leave.

RIVERS (voice-over): The 33-year-old has long been a member of Russia's opposition in favor of democracy, she says not Putin. This is her being arrested in 2016 while she was working as an independent poll watcher in her hometown in Russia.

She says pro-Putin authorities accused her of vague elections violations, and held her in detention until voting ended. But the invasion was the final straw. Alisa could no longer live in Russia. Now in Georgia, she wants everyone to know what side she's on.

KUZNETSOVA: I'm just trying to take it in stride, and signal as much as I can that --

RIVERS (on-screen): With the Ukraine crime (ph) there?

RIVERS (voice-over): It's a public show of support matched across Tbilisi. Ukraine flags fly all over in Georgia, a former Soviet Republic also invaded by Putin's armies in 2008. Many here have deep sympathy for what Ukrainians are going through.

RIVERS (on-screen): But it's not just about pro-Ukraine sentiment, it's also anti-Putin. So look at this coffee shop door, it says, "You are more than welcome here if you agree that Putin is a war criminal and respect the sovereignty of peaceful nations." Pretty clear how the owners of this store feel.

RIVERS (voice-over): Another sign at a shop not far away says in part, "Putin is evil, if you do not agree with these statements, please do not come in." Many Russians in Georgia feel the same way. Some even taking part in recent protests where an effigy of Putin was burned.

But they're sometimes grouped in with Putin and his supporters nonetheless. Over coffee the day after we met, drinking out of cups in emblazoned with Ukraine's colors, Alisa says that a cab driver told her recently that she was one of the good ones because 90 percent of Russians should be hanged.

KUZNETSOVA: It's not nice knowing that you're the Nazis now.

RIVERS: Back at the bar every single Russian told us that the vast majority of Georgians have been kind and welcoming, and that they're grateful to live in a freer place. Because everyone we spoke to also said they'll be here for a while.

KUZNETSOVA: I love my life there but I'm not returning there any time soon.

RIVERS: Matt Rivers, CNN, Tbilisi, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Still ahead we're live from Ukraine. CNN is learning more about a surprise meeting between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy that took place just this morning. Details on that straight ahead.

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[12:55:00]

WHITFIELD: At the start of the pandemic many restaurant workers lost their jobs as restaurants started to shutter. And in an industry in which people typically work paycheck to paycheck, and don't qualify for unemployment, there are few safety nets.

Well, this week's CNN Hero, Chef Kim Calichio couldn't let her community go hungry. And even though Kim was also out of work and struggling, she immediately got to work doing what she does best, feed people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM CALICHIO, CHEF, HELPING PEOPLE DURING PANDEMIC: I had a choice to either sit here in my house and be overwhelmed or I can do whatever it is that I could possibly do without thinking about whether it's going to work or not. We're going to do two apples, a bunch of bananas, two tomatoes. We started a GoFundMe to direct deliver groceries to families across Queens.

And within a week we raised $10,000. We thought the pandemic was going to be over in two weeks so we were like, we'll spend this $10 grand, and then we'll go back to work and that never happened. The first week we delivered 25 grocery packages to 25 families. And within a month's time, we were delivering 400 to 500 groceries to families every single week.