Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Dozens Killed in Strike at Kramatorsk Train Station Crowded with Evacuees; Some Russians Flee to Georgia to Protest Putin; Russian Forces Almost Ready for Donbas Assault; Over 6,000 Evacuated via Humanitarian Corridors on Friday; Biden Signs Sanctions Bills on Russia and Belarus; U.S. Issues Warnings about COVID-19 in China; French Residents in Shanghai Will Miss First Round of Voting; Ketanji Brown Jackson Speaks about Her Historic Confirmation. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired April 09, 2022 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello, I am John Vause, reporting live from Lviv in Ukraine. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world.
A devastating missile strike has targeted a train station, where thousands of men, women and children in Eastern Ukraine were trying to flee ahead of a Russian military offensive.
Local authorities say two missiles struck the Kramatorsk terminal. At least 50 people were killed, many more were hurt. Ukraine's president vowed to pursue this attack as a war crime. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): We expect a firm global response to this war crime. Like the massacre in Bucha, like many other Russian war crimes, the missile strike on Kramatorsk must be one of the charges at the tribunal, which is bound to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: There are allegations the Russian missiles delivered cluster bombs, which scatter and explode over a wide area.
Despite Moscow's denials of the involvement, the head of Ukraine's national rail system says this airstrike shows Russia deliberately trying to prevent civilians from evacuating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLEKSANDR KAMYSHIN, UKRAINIAN RAILWAYS: Yesterday, they bombed the bridge which connects all the cities, like Kramatorsk, Slovyansk, Lyman and others, with Ukraine. And they keep shelling stations. They keep shelling trains. And they do whatever they can to stop the evacuation program of civilians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Meantime, Ukrainian military commanders warn that Russian forces, regrouping near the Eastern Donbas region, are almost ready to launch an all-out assault.
CNN correspondents are covering this conflict from across the region. We have Matt Rivers in Tbilisi, Georgia; Kyung Lah in Warsaw, Poland; Rafael Romo here in Lviv. And we begin our coverage, though, with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. And a warning: the images in her report are extremely graphic and are difficult to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): You can hear the fear and the anguish, you can see the desperate efforts to rescue civilians after an attack on this train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk.
A crowded platform hit by Russian missile strike as people tried to escape heavy fighting. Russian forces also struck the station building itself, the head of the railway told CNN. Now dozens are dead, including children and many people remain unaccounted for.
I asked Ukraine's Chief of Military Intelligence for his reaction.
MAJOR GEN. KYRYLO BUDANOV, CHIEF, DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE OF UKRAINE (through translator): What can I say this is another example of criminal activity of war criminal dictator, Putin.
It is in our case that I hope that would be added to the criminal investigation against him in the international courts conducting a powerful missile strike against a civilian infrastructure during the evacuation of civilians. It's an act of terrorism.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): In the hours and days before this attack, the station was crowded with thousands of refugees. Kramatorsk has been a hub for internally displaced people in the Donetsk region.
Families desperately boarding trains to escape the Russian assault. Now body bags and abandoned luggage are all that remain. The hundreds wounded are one step further from evacuation.
Painted on the side of this deadly rocket were the words, "for the children," a chilling message, the European Commission president tells me, just strengthens her resolve to make sure Vladimir Putin fails in Ukraine.
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: If you look at the attack today at the train station, I watched on pictures where the shelling had written on, "for our children," which means like revenge for children. So they are building indeed this awful narrative, as if they would be returning something, a nightmare.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): Russia has denied responsibility for the strike, calling it a provocation by Ukraine. But the brutality of this invasion is well-documented despite Russia's military consistently denying attacking civilians.
Kramatorsk was one of the first places targeted when the Russian invasion was launched February 24th.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Why do they need this war against Ukraine?
Why do they need to hit civilians with missiles?
Why this cruelty that the world has witnessed in Bucha and other cities liberated by Ukrainian army?
AMANPOUR (voice-over): On Friday, Ukraine announced 10 humanitarian corridors, including one in the Donetsk region.
[02:05:00]
AMANPOUR (voice-over): But civilian casualties are increasing every hour that Russia's bombardments continue -- Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: International condemnation has been quick. French president Emmanuel Macron calling it an abomination, saying the only things in the victims' hands, push carts, teddy bears and suitcases.
U.N. secretary general Antonio Guterres tweeted that there must be accountability for a gross violation of humanitarian and human rights law.
And the president of the European Parliament saying, there can be no doubt that war crimes are being committed in Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTA METSOLA, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Children's lives cut short; mothers and children, women and men, bombed indiscriminately. What we are seeing there are crime scenes, international war crimes, being committed against a sovereign people, who are simply fighting for democracy and for their country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Moscow continues to attack civilian infrastructure in this country. Russian armed forces seized the offices of Ukraine's national telecom provider, Ukrtelecom in the city of Enerhodar.
On its official Telegram channel, it said all equipment had been removed and the city may be left without Ukrainian communication and the internet.
The U.S. now believes that Russia has already lost more than 15 percent of its military assets sent into Ukraine. A senior U.S. Defense official says Moscow is down to less than 85 percent of the combat power it initially set aside for the war.
The assessment including Russian tanks, fighter jets, missiles and troop numbers. But the official did not say how many Russian troops have actually been killed.
Many Russians apparently are not happy with Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine. In the week after the war began, the Google search term, "how to leave Russia," hit a 10-year high inside Russia, as people look for ways to get out of the country.
CNN's Matt Rivers, in the neighboring country of Georgia, talking to Russians who left everything they know behind in search of freedom from Putin's oppression.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Down into Tbilisi Side Street across from a church lies a bar called Grail, a holy place of sorts for a cold lager in a conversation. And bar owner Vincenty Alexeev, who is Russian says he's had one particular conversation a lot more lately.
VINCENTY ALEXEEV, RUSSIAN BAR OWNER IN TBILISI, GEORGIA: Hello, what are you doing here?
I just moved two days ago. I just moved three days ago.
RIVERS (on-camera): So there's a lot more Russians coming in?
ALEXEEV: Yes.
RIVERS (on-camera): 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-camera): 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, signal as much as I can.
RIVERS (on-camera): With the Ukraine flag there?
(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.
(on-camera): 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.
(voice-over): Another sign at the 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 there's sometimes grouped in with Putin and his supporters, nonetheless.
Over coffee the day after we met drinking out of cups 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 (voice-over): Back at the bar, every single Russian told us that the vast majority of Georgians had been kind and welcoming and that they're grateful to live in a freer place. Because everyone we spoke too also said, there'll be here for a while.
KUZNETSOVA: I love my life there.
[02:10:00]
KUZNETSOVA: But I am not returning there anytime soon.
RIVERS (voice-over): Matt Rivers, CNN, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, Ukrainians in the southern region of Crimea have been living under Russian occupation since 2014. With us now, Maria Tomak. She represents the mission of the president of Ukraine in Crimea.
So Maria, thank you for coming in.
What is the situation right now for Ukrainians living in Crimea under Russian occupation right now?
What are their fears?
What are they going through? MARIA TOMAK, CRIMEA PLATFORM DEPARTMENT: Indeed, Crimea is under occupation for eight years. And it's not only about Ukrainians but all the nations and indigenous population, including Crimeans, that are living in Crimea.
And they have really complicated life now even more, because of this all-out aggression of the Russian Federation, because they also are oppressed for protesting against this war.
For instance, those people who go to single protest or who speak up in social media, they immediately become a target for the administrative and criminal prosecution for the so-called discreditation of the armed forces and the Russian Federation.
That new article was established by Russian government, by Russian parliament, right after the beginning of the all-out war.
VAUSE: There is also a concern that there could be Ukrainians drafted by the Russian military to fight with the Russians.
TOMAK: They are drafted, already. I mean, the Ukrainians are -- Ukrainian citizens in Crimea are being conscripted illegally to the Russian army, throughout the eight years of the occupation.
And there's been more than 3,500 of people who want -- 35,000, excuse me -- people who went through this.
But now, of course, some of the people end up in the front line against their own country. So that's the dramatic development of this story. So and we cannot estimate the very approximately -- the number of those people who, being sent to war against their own country.
But we can say that at least 35 Crimean residents have died as a result of this war. I mean, they died because of they've been participating in the fighting in Ukraine. And we know at least about 15 of those who were captured as prisoners of war by Ukrainian army.
VAUSE: How do you help Ukrainians in Crimea?
How do you help them avoid all of this?
TOMAK: I should say that now it's extremely complicated even to stay in touch with our citizens in Crimea, because, for them, even contacting Ukrainian state authorities is a threat.
However, we try to circulate the instruction on how to avoid serving at the Russian army, being conscription -- conscripted to the Russian army. And it includes basically -- the key idea is that they have to avoid any contacts with the occupying authorities.
They have to avoid so that they cannot get this announcement about the conscription. So they have to, you know, run away somewhere in the mountains or just get lost in order just to abstain from any contact. So that's probably the one.
But you know, even if the person is conscripted illegally, this person should -- still has a choice, even if he is sent to war. He can still surrender to the Ukrainian army. He can provide information about the personnel and military, you know, equipment and vehicles.
And that's how he can avoid, you know, some punishment in Ukrainian mainland.
VAUSE: This war did not begin February 24th. This war began 2014, with the Russian invasion and the annexation of Crimea. The world didn't really do anything back then and Putin got away with it.
Is that why we are now here where we're at?
TOMAK: Thank you for pointing that -- this out because that's how we are paying, basically. The world did not react. It -- by the way, it's not the first time in Kramatorsk that you mentioned, in Eastern Ukraine, is under attack. It was already under Russian occupation in 2014.
And there were awful victims. And now it is really important to say that we need really to be tough on Putin. We need to impose fossil fuels embargo on Russian fossil fuels. We need to provide Ukraine with armings (sic).
As our minister of foreign affairs says we need arms, arms and arms. And also, of course, we need to realize that Russia is a threat.
And we need to think how to deal with this threat, because I think that this threat is really underestimated in terms, not only Putin and his, like, allies, in terms not only Russian army, that commits awful war crimes all over the place in Ukraine but also the moods of the Russian society, which is extremely aggressive and obsessed with this violence, unfortunately. I am sorry to say so.
VAUSE: If the Russians move in on the eastern Donbas region, if Putin takes hold of that, will he stop there?
Or will he just keep going?
Will he then go on to Kyiv and to Lviv and then to Poland and then to the rest of Europe?
What do you think?
TOMAK: He won't stop.
[02:15:00]
TOMAK: He won't stop unless we don't stop him. So that's -- I think that that's the lesson that we can learn from his previous activities, because, also, Ukraine is not the first.
Before Ukraine, there was Georgia, that Russia invaded in 2008. There was numerous gray zones, so to say, which was established de facto by Russia all over the place in post-Soviet Union space. So Putin will not stop, as his predecessors did not stop -- I mean, within the Russian empire or USSR. So he just tried to repeat all those -- all those schemes of the
previous existence of Moscow.
VAUSE: How much longer can the Ukrainian people put up this fight?
TOMAK: Ukraine has been on fight throughout centuries, I should say, and dozens of years. I -- I'm sure that we are going to win.
The question is when?
And how many victims will there be?
And how many casualties we will have?
It also depends on how active international society is. So, therefore, again, I call on supporting Ukraine, not only with humanitarian help, which is important, but with something that we can defend us with, like weapons and economical pressure on Russian Federation.
VAUSE: Weapons, weapons, weapons. Maria Tomak, thank you so much for being with us.
TOMAK: Thank you.
VAUSE: Best of luck. Take care.
TOMAK: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, Maria Tomak joining us here in Lviv.
But when we come back, distance and dark times couldn't stop a Ukrainian family from celebrating their daughter's birthday. How they made sure the birthday girl could still blow out the candles and how they could still be there with her. More on that in a moment.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:20:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
VAUSE: With Russia on the verge of stepping up attacks in the east of the country, the Ukrainian government urging all those who can leave to evacuate. According to officials, more than 6,800 people have fled via humanitarian corridors on Friday.
In the coming hours, there will be others open from Mariupol, as well as bloc areas, cities in the Zaporizhzhya region and the Luhansk region.
According to the U.N., more than 4.3 million people have fled Ukraine for other countries. More than 7 million have left their homes and are internally displaced. This war has affected every aspect of life here in Ukraine, even
something as simple and ordinary as a birthday. Despite these dark days, one Ukrainian family did their best to give their daughter a bright and joyful celebration. CNN's Rafael Romo has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The cake is ready and most of the family has arrived.
And what's a birthday party without birthday hats?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy birthday.
ROMO (voice-over): Grandpa and Grandma get their hats, too. And it's time to light the candles.
But there is something missing or rather, someone: the birthday girl herself.
Is that why her father seems pensive, sad, perhaps?
Arena Pelenskyy, a girl from the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, turns 10 today. But she is far, far away -- 1,500 kilometers away.
Technology allows for long-distance birthday wishes.
"We congratulate you on your birthday," Arena's grandmother tells her on the phone.
"We wish you happiness and health. And although we are not together, our hearts are with you."
The story about how this family is celebrating a long-distance birthday is a story of thousands upon thousands of Ukrainian families, whose lives have been upended by a Russian invasion.
ROMO: How would you describe the experience of having witnessed the bombing?
YURIY PELENSKYY, LVIV RESIDENT: It was scary.
ROMO (voice-over): Yuriy Pelenskyy is Arena's father.
ROMO: You told me that you could actually hear the bomb coming here?
PELENSKYY: Yes. Yes.
ROMO (voice-over): He says he wanted to keep his family together in their home but, when bombs flew right above his apartment building and exploded at a military base a few kilometers away, he knew it was time to say goodbye.
PELENSKYY: It's horror. It is like a horror film. It is like a bad dream. And you wake up in the morning you understand that it is not like bad dream. ROMO (voice-over): The following day, he drove his daughter, wife, Marta (ph), and mother, Lesya (ph) to Krakow, Poland. There, they took a flight to Milan, Italy, where they are currently staying with family, far away from any airstrikes.
ROMO: How do you explain to a 10-year old girl that the only country she has ever known is at war and that bombs are falling?
PELENSKYY: We explain that it's Russia come to our country and bad things are happening now, people die. And it is very dangerous.
ROMO (voice-over): When the family finishes singing "Happy Birthday," there is not a dry eye in the room. Everybody gives the birthday girl a virtual kiss. And moments later, they all have to run to the underground shelter after the air raid siren goes off once again.
ROMO: What is your hope for the future?
PELENSKYY: I hope for the future is that everything will be OK. I know that everything will be OK. We will win the war.
ROMO: And when Ukraine wins the war, Pelenskyy says, he will be able to be reunited with his family. Arena's eighth and ninth birthday parties were canceled because of COVID-19.
Her father hopes the whole family will be able to celebrate her 11th birthday next year, together, in a country at peace, where children are no longer afraid of falling bombs -- Rafael Romo, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Remember, if you would like to help the people of Ukraine, please go to cnn.com/impact. At last check, CNN viewers helped raise millions of dollars to help Ukraine and neighboring countries with shelter, food, water and other needs for refugees.
Well, a message from NATO to Vladimir Putin. How the West is making a big show of military exercises not far from Ukraine's border. More on that when we come back.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:25:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
VAUSE: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I am John Vause, reporting live from Lviv in Ukraine.
Ukraine's president says Russia will be held accountable for a missile attack on a train station, which left at least 50 people dead and wounded dozens of others.
[02:30:00]
VAUSE: Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls it a war crime. Thousands of people were waiting at that train station for a journey away from Eastern Ukraine to relative safety. Here is how one Ukrainian member of parliament described what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRA RUDIK, UKRAINIAN MP: This is one of the next level of Russian crimes. I cannot even describe in words what we feel here. Russians are hitting where it hurts the most. They are hitting train stations, where there are people trying to evacuate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And much of northern Ukraine is in ruins after Russia's failed push on the city of Chernihiv. Russian forces have now abandoned the region as they focus on the east. CNN's Clarissa Ward shows us the trail of destruction they left behind in their wake.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what remains of Russia's presence in much of northern Ukraine, a hastily abandoned camp by the roadside, just 30 miles in from the Russian border, where soldiers dug in and prepared for their advance, their foxholes still littered with their rations.
WARD: So this is where it looks like they were doing their cooking. You can see onions, coffee and water, some cans over there. But what's so striking, walking around this camp, is that it's just a mess. It seems there was a total lack of discipline.
WARD (voice-over): Around the corner in the village in Chernihiv, Lyudmila Stefanov (ph) tells us residents hid their valuables as Russian forces looted the area.
"Five weeks they were staying here. Tanks were all around us. At night, they would shoot at the houses with machine guns," she says. "But, praise God, they didn't touch us."
As the Russians continued their lightning offensive down to the city of Chernihiv, their tactics grew more brutal. Faced with stiff resistance on the ground, they doubled down on bombardment from the skies.
Ukrainian soldier Bogdan Barditski (ph) shows us what's left of this village of Novoselivka, just outside Chernihiv. The scale of the destruction is jaw-dropping. Not a single house is untouched.
Bogdan explains this was the final push to get into the city. He's saying this was a Ukrainian position, the Russians bombed it heavily and then Russian soldiers were actually here in this area just a mile away from the city.
Nikolai Krasnato (ph) never saw the Russian soldiers here but felt the full force of their assault.
"This is my cellar," he says. He tells us his nephew was sheltering from the bombardment there when it took a hit. Pinned down, Nikolai was forced bury him there in a shallow grave in the garden.
"We put a cross and we covered it with the shields, so the dogs won't give dig him up," he says.
"I feel such hatred for Putin. I want to tear him apart. I lived through 70 years but I never saw a beast like this."
Many here fear they haven't seen the last of him. On a destroyed bridge, an emotional Tatyana and Svetlana are returning from their first visit with their parents since the war began. They're worried they may not see them again.
"We don't know if the Russians will come back to the village where my parents are," Tatyana says. "And this is so scary."
In the end, Russia's offensive in the north was a failure but the scars of its assault remain deep, with the prospect of a return to normalcy still seems far away -- Clarissa Ward, CNN, Chernihiv region, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: If Vladimir Putin thought that invading Ukraine would be a warning on NATO expansion, well, that now appears to be another miscalculation by the Russian president.
Officials tell CNN that discussions are underway with Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. And those discussions and those negotiations are now extremely serious.
Public opinion in favor of the alliance has grown significantly in both countries. The Kremlin says Russia would be forced to rebalance the situation if Finland joins NATO.
We note that Finland was hit by two cyberattacks and an airspace violation by a Russian plane on Friday.
U.S. President Joe Biden has signed two bills that will further sanction Russia and Belarus for the invasion of Ukraine. The first will suspend normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus. And the second will ban any imports of Russian energy.
[02:35:00]
VAUSE: Both bills were unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate, overwhelmingly supported by the House.
The Ukrainian mayor killed in the Kyiv region has been laid to rest. The Ukrainian authorities say she was brutally murdered, along with her husband and son, while being held captive. They were shot in the head with their hands tied behind their backs. The gruesome nature of their death is shown in a photograph and we
want to warn you, it's very graphic and very disturbing. The family is shown here, half buried here in a shallow grave. A friend of the mayor and her family spoke with CNN's Erin Burnett earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLENA SUKHENKO, MAYOR SUKHENKO'S FRIEND: When the wars came, lots of villagers left the city in order to escape from war. But the family decided to stay because they really wanted to help others. I think they're really heroes of Ukraine, because they stayed in order to help others and support others.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: At least 11 mayors from the Kyiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Donetsk regions are believed to be held captive by Russian forces. That is according to one of Ukraine's deputy prime ministers.
Our Paula Newton standing by in Atlanta.
Let's go back to you for other news.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: John, thank you very much.
And now to a very public display of military might from NATO on its eastern flank. For the first time, a close-up look at American troops, training on the ground in Poland. CNN's Kyung Lah has our report from a base where joint military exercises have been taking place.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No words needed. This is the NATO message to Russian president Vladimir Putin. This is the first look at American troops firing weaponry on the ground in Poland since the war in Ukraine began.
U.S. and Polish forces publicly showed off the might of the West in a bilateral, live fire training exercise. One by one, Polish tanks lined up heavy artillery and paratroopers dangled from helicopters, landing on a battleground that is designed to prepare for a war just a short drive away.
The 82nd Airborne Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based at Ft. Bragg, has been drilling with American Blackhawks here in Poland for weeks, deployed in mid-February before Russia invaded Ukraine.
As the U.S. soldiers run across the field, a U.S.-made Javelin missile launches. It's a portable surface-to-air system that's been critical for Ukrainian forces in the war.
What we understand is that there are two platoons here, about 60 American troops, taking part in this live fire act. It's a show of force. We're about just two hours away from the Ukrainian border. The Americans trying to show that they are indeed working with the Polish troops. This is just a small snapshot of the greater U.S. force here. A U.S. official says approximately 11,000 U.S. troops are deployed in this NATO country. They're a visible sign of a larger military ramp-up near Ukraine.
A senior U.S. official tells CNN about eight to 10 aircraft a day land at airfields near Ukraine, with weapons and security assistance materiel that is moved into the war-torn country by truck convoy.
This bilateral drill ends with a photo-op for the cameras, the two countries side by side.
LAH: What is the message you're sending to Russia?
COL. MICHAL MALYSKA, POLISH TERRITORIAL DEFENSE FORCES: We are strong. We are cooperating with our forces from all NATO. We're ready for any action. We are ready to defend our country.
LAH: You may notice we didn't interview any members of the 82nd Airborne in that story. That's because there is a blanket no-media policy with the Army right now here in Poland. At least that's a directive from Washington.
But we did speak to them. And they told us that, since they have arrived in Poland, mid-February, they have been sleeping in tents. It's been winter out here. They haven't seen any of their families. But this isn't being presented to us as complaints. They just look at it as part of the job -- Kyung Lah, CNN, Warsaw, Poland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Despite a strict lockdown and widespread testing, a COVID outbreak in China shows no sign of slowing. Details on that and the latest travel warning from the U.S. government -- after the break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:40:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
NEWTON: A number of people who attended a Washington event and are now infected with COVID just continues to grow. The Gridiron Club says 53 people have now tested positive. They all attended a dinner of Washington power players last Saturday.
Now among the high-profile guests who have COVID include the attorney general, Merrick Garland; the Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo; several members of Congress and President Joe Biden's sister. And no one has reported severe symptoms from their infections.
The coronavirus still has not loosened its grip on Shanghai. Health officials there report more than 20,000 daily infections for a second day in a row now. Of the 25,000 cases reported in all of China, 23,000 are in Shanghai.
Officials are now planning new citywide testing to help them decide how to go forward from here. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is closely monitoring the lockdown in Shanghai, which could lead to delays in the shipment of goods to the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The port is continuing to operate normally. And where we are seeing impacts, which still could have an impact over the course of time, of course, is factories, warehouses and trucking, where we are seeing shutdowns within the region, which we know could cause delays, especially for air cargo, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now more fallout from this. French citizens living in Shanghai will not be he able to vote in Sunday's first round of the presidential elections.
[02:45:00]
NEWTON: Now the French embassy says China has refused to open a polling station in the city's consulate. Voters and polling officials wouldn't even be allowed to leave their homes to cast those ballots. One French voter says it's a shame his voice will not be heard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID IOSUB, PARIS RESIDENT ABROAD (through translator): It's a shame, as it's the first time that I am not able to vote. We don't have many opportunities to voice our opinions, because French people living abroad have few opportunities to vote.
We hope to be able to vote in the second round. That's the small glimmer of hope that we still have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: A reminder here: those are all the candidates on this weekend's ballot. President Emmanuel Macron is seeking re-election, while far-right candidate Marine Le Pen gains popularity. Now on Friday, Mr. Macron tried one final push to appeal to younger, progressive-leaning voters. Polls show he is slightly ahead in opinion polls.
But Le Pen rising fast. The poll on Friday showed the tightest gap between the two with Le Pen winning 49 percent of votes and a likely runoff against Macron. A reminder that the presidential election will likely have the two rounds as opposed to just one.
All right. Turning to Will Smith and the repercussions that he is facing for slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. How the Academy is punishing the actor. That's ahead.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
NEWTON: It got a little emotional on the lawn of the White House Friday. It was the first time we heard from Ketanji Brown Jackson since her historic confirmation to the Supreme Court. She will be the court's first Black woman justice, a title, she says, she does not take lightly, of course. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTICE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, U.S. SUPREME COURT: I am just the very lucky first inheritor of the dream of liberty and justice for all.
I strongly believe that this is a moment, in which all Americans can take great pride. We have come a long way toward perfecting our union. In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: You can hear the emotion in her voice. She will be sworn in this summer when justice Breyer officially retires.
The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences reveals the repercussions that Will Smith will face after slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. Brian Todd has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Oscar winning superstar Will Smith banned by the Academy from attending the Oscars for 10 years for the now infamous slap heard around the world.
CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: That was a nice one.
OK. I'm out here -- uh-oh.
Richard --
(LAUGHTER)
ROCK: Oh, wow. Wow.
TODD: The decision to ban Smith for a decade comes after a meeting today of the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences. A board member telling CNN there was, quote, "tons of debate" on what the consequences for Smith should be.
BILL CARTER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: I'm a little surprised that he got a 10-year ban but I'm not surprised that this was the way they went. I knew they would give, I believed they would give a long-term ban. I thought maybe three, five years because I think it was incumbent on
them to send some kind of message that this was actual punishment, that there would be accountability.
TODD: An uncensored feed from a Japanese outlet the night of the Oscars shows how Chris Rock and Smith reacted immediately after the slap.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROCK: Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me.
WILL SMITH, ACTOR: Keep my wife's name out of your (INAUDIBLE) mouth.
ROCK: Wow, dude.
SMITH: Yes.
ROCK: It was a "G.I. Jane" joke.
SMITH: Keep my wife's name out of your (INAUDIBLE) mouth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD (voice-over): In addition to announcing Smith's ban, an extraordinary admission from the Academy that it mishandled the incident.
In an open letter obtained by CNN, it said, quote, "We did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world and we fell short, unprepared for the unprecedented."
CARTER: They bungled it. They had an opportunity to do something on the spot and at least address it. They didn't even address it, which was kind of absurd.
TODD: In the statement today, the Academy expressed its, quote, "deep gratitude" to Chris Rock for maintaining his composure under, quote, "extraordinary circumstances."
Will Smith, in a statement, says, quote, "I accept and respect the Academy's decision -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: All right. Tiger Woods continues his remarkable comeback after the car crash that almost cost him his leg and career.
(WORLD SPORT)
NEWTON: The New York Yankees paid tribute to Ukraine before the season opener on Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (MUSIC PLAYING)
NEWTON (voice-over): The Ukrainian national anthem was performed by --- you see her right there -- an 11-year-old Brooklyn resident.
[02:55:00]
NEWTON (voice-over): Her family emigrated to the United States in fact from Lviv in 2006. The Yankees also flew the Ukrainian flag alongside the U.S. flag at Yankee Stadium.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Mentalist Oz Pearlman is attempting a new world record. He's trying to run the most miles ever in Central Park for one day. All the money raised will go to save the Children's Ukraine Relief Fund. He never backs away from a mental or physical challenge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OZ PEARLMAN, MENTALIST: I figure, if you are doing something this crazy, you better put a good mission behind it. I'm a parent of three young children. I've been seeing the situation in Ukraine. My heart has been breaking. Still very powerless, like seeing families just like mine that are there, that, within the stretch of a week or two, their life is upended.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: His GoFundMe page has now raised more than $108,000 to date.
I'm Paula Newton. We will be right back with more CNN NEWSROOM in a moment with the latest developments from Russia's war on Ukraine. We will be live in Ukraine. Right after the break.
