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British Prime Minister Visits Kyiv, Pledges More Aid For Ukraine; Odessa Marking Liberation Day Under Curfew; Ukraine Prepares For Escalation Of Fighting In Donbas; South Korea Drone Display Shows Solidarity With Ukraine; Kharkiv Shelter Cares For Pets Left By Owners Fleeing War; French Muslims React To Campaign Rhetoric; Putin Names New General; Refugee Recounts Harrowing Escape From Russian Shelling; Shanghai May Begin Easing COVID-19 Restrictions; Western U.S. Drought Worst in 1,200 Years. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired April 10, 2022 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello, I am John Vause live in Lviv, Ukraine. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world on this day 46 of Russia's war on Ukraine.
United Kingdom now joining the growing list of countries increasing military support to Ukraine ahead of a new Russian offensive in the east. British prime minister Boris Johnson made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Saturday, meeting with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Along with increased financial assistance and tougher sanctions on Russia, Boris Johnson promised to send dozens of armored vehicles and new anti-ship missiles. Ukraine's president says he hopes other countries will follow the example of the U.K.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We have to exert even more pressure on the Russian Federation, to exert pressure through supporting Ukraine. In defending itself, we have to exert pressure in the form of sanctions.
And I'm grateful to the United Kingdom that continues and intensifies the sanctions and also provides a significant support of Ukraine by reinforcing our defense capacities.
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VAUSE: Boris Johnson is the latest of the European leaders to visit Kyiv in recent days after Russian forces pulled back from areas near the capital.
And now, we have new images of the destruction left behind. This is the town of Hostomel, northwest of Kyiv, not far from Irpin and Bucha, where horrific images have emerged following weeks of Russian occupation. The British prime minister says those scenes, those atrocities, are now a permanent part of the Russian president's legacy.
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BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: What Putin has done in places like Bucha and in Irpin -- his war crimes have permanently polluted his reputation and the reputation of his -- of his government.
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VAUSE: Meantime, Vladimir Putin has appointed a new general to direct the war in Ukraine. This comes as experts warn Russian troops are regrouping and prepared to launch a new assault on the Donbas region.
CNN correspondents are covering this conflict from every angle. CNN's Brianna Keilar is in Lviv but we begin with CNN's Ed Lavandera, reporting in from the port city of Odessa.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These women are leaving flowers at a memorial in Odessa. It is a tradition usually reserved for April 10th, which marks this city's Liberation Day from the Nazis.
This memorial plaza would usually be filled with people but not this year. The entire city will be under an extended 36-hour curfew.
Sergey Bratchuk is the spokesperson for the Odessa military administration. He says the curfew is necessary because of the deadly attack at the train station in Kramatorsk in Eastern Ukraine.
He says, "When this treacherous missile attack on civilians took place -- and we know that there is a high probability that such missile strikes are possible in Odessa -- the main reason is to protect people's lives."
In the last week, there's been an increase in the number of airstrikes in Odessa. Most of the attacks have targeted strategic locations around the city, like a fuel storage facility and a military installation, where several people were killed and injured, according to Ukrainian military officials.
But just hours before the curfew went into effect, the head of the Odessa administration office said the latest explosion targeted this office building. It is not described as an attack by the Russian military.
"The cause of the explosion is under investigation," he says, "the information about possible act of sabotage is under consideration."
This kind of explosion heightens concern that pro-Russian saboteurs could be working in the city. Odessa is a city with a history of pro- Russian sentiment among some politicians and residents. It's a mood that lives just below the surface and it's difficult to get anyone to talk about it, especially during this time of war.
The usual buzz of this vibrant port city is now far more subdued. Many businesses are closed.
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LAVANDERA (voice-over): City officials estimate about 20 percent of the city has evacuated since the start of the Russian invasion in late February.
The chess players gathered in this park aren't reflecting on the recent attacks or the looming curfew. They were relaxed, more interested in chess strategies, not war strategies.
We did meet 70-year-old Yulia (ph), who sells paintings in this park. She poured me a cup of wine while we talked about the curfew on Odessa's Liberation Day. And if she is worried, it could mean her city is facing imminent attack.
She tells us she thinks the curfew was called to keep people from public gatherings on Odessa's Liberation Day.
LAVANDERA: Is there ever a moment where you think you would leave Odessa to save your life?
YULIA (PH), ODESSA RESIDENT: No. No.
LAVANDERA: "No, no," she says, "I won't leave Odessa, even to save my life" -- Ed Lavandera, CNN, Odessa, Ukraine.
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VAUSE: Earlier, the governor of the Kyiv region spoke to CNN's Brianna Keilar. He explains why it is so important for European and other world leaders to see firsthand the horrific scenes unfolding in Bucha, Irpin and other parts of Ukraine.
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OLEKSII KULEBA, GOVERNOR, KYIV REGION (through translator): It's very important for us that European leaders came to Bucha and could see this tragedy with their own eyes.
Also, from the line, we showed her -- when she visited, we showed her mass graves. In one of them, one of those, there were more than 200 bodies and we saw that some of these bodies were executed. They were killed by bullets.
And, yes, of course, it's very important for us that European leaders could come and see these huge tragedies with their own eyes.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: What else do you need from them?
KULEBA (through translator): After we visited the mass grave, we went to the street where there were lots of damaged Russian military vehicles. On the 27th of February, a huge Russian convoy, which is 3.5 kilometers long, was headed to Kyiv.
But it was stopped by artillery fire from the Ukrainian side. And we took European leaders there. And it was very symbolic because we could show them that, if we had enough weapons, enough ammunition, we would have stopped the aggressor a long time ago. And we would have brought them out of our country.
It is absolutely impossible to comprehend this brutality. It is absolutely impossible to understand the brutality of targeting just ordinary civilians. And we really want this footage that is going around the world, so that people in the world would understand that we are now at the doorstep of a new reality.
And it is a very dangerous reality. If we don't stop the aggressor here at the border of Europe, if you don't stop it, then there is nothing sacred to them. They are targeting civilians. And it will be really, really dangerous.
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VAUSE: Joining me now from Canberra, Australia, Malcolm Davis, senior analyst of defense strategy and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Malcolm, thank you so much as always for being with us.
As we head into this war, this new offensive in the east, let's look at what -- how this will be different, because the Ukrainians will no longer have the advantage of these heavily wooded areas. They won't be able to hide and carry out their insurgent-style warfare. They'll both be out in the open, both sides will see one another.
How big of an advantage will that be for the Russian military?
How do the Ukrainians counter that?
MALCOLM DAVIS, SENIOR ANALYST, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Look, you are quite right. Essentially, the east is essentially where the Russians may have the ability to impose quite a significant victory over Ukrainians.
The Ukrainians are operating, at the moment, very much in lightly- armed forces that are well suited for urban areas and narrow roads, where they have been able to isolate and attack Russian forces.
Out on Ukrainian plains of the east, in the Donbas, there is no such cover. So the Russians will have a clear advantage in terms of long- range firepower, of artillery and rocket systems, as well as their armored warfare capabilities.
Providing they can reconstitute and rebuild their logistics support; if they can't do that, then it is a much more uncertain prospect for the Russians.
VAUSE: With that in mind, Russians will have shorter supply lines, right?
Because they have territory already under their control in the east, so that would be, again, a distinct advantage that they didn't have when this invasion began, especially in the north.
DAVIS: Yes, that's correct. So I think that the Russians probably are in the stronger position in the east in general. And particularly, in terms of their potential to ensure adequate logistic supplies.
I don't think they will make the same mistake they made in the first phase of the war, whereby they tried to do these -- what's known as thunder runs, where they try to launch rapid attacks into urban areas.
I think what you will see is more classical, combined-arm operations by the Russians, using tanks, armored-fighting vehicles, supported by artillery and long-range fires and airpower.
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VAUSE: So as you mention, both sides now sort of in this race to rearm, resupply. The British prime minister visiting Kyiv. He promised the U.K. will provide 120 heavily armored troop carriers. British troops will help train Ukrainians on how to use those troop carriers. Britain will also supply anti-ship weapons.
How quickly can the Ukrainian military get up to speed to use this stuff?
Will it happen fast enough to be effective against the Russian offensive?
DAVIS: Look, I think the armored fighting vehicles are probably something they could adapt to relatively quickly. And certainly, you know, they are well used to using these sorts of vehicles, if not exactly the same vehicles, in their engagements up until this time.
More complex systems, like anti-ship weapons, that Ukrainian -- that the British don't have shore-based Harpoon but they do have a range of other systems, that is going to take a bit more time for the Ukrainians to train on.
But certainly, in the interim, I think you will see the Ukrainians making full use of those Switchblade drones and the shoulder-fired weapons, such as Javelin and Stinger, to continue to attack Russian forces. But really, it is -- it is critical that NATO and Europe start to send them armored fighting vehicles and tanks.
VAUSE: And when it comes to tanks and air defense systems, what we're looking at is essentially sending Ukrainians old Soviet hardware, if you like. Slovakia sent Ukraine an S-300 air defense system.
The U.S. President issued a statement regarding that. He thanked the Slovakian government for doing that but also added, "To enable this transfer and ensure the continued security of Slovakia, the United States will reposition a U.S. Patriot missile system to Slovakia."
How important is it now for the U.S. to backfill whatever equipment is sent from Central European countries to help the Ukrainians?
DAVIS: Oh, it's absolutely vital because you cannot afford to sacrifice the security of NATO's eastern frontier, particularly right now, whilst, you know, weapon systems are sent across to Ukraine.
As important as that is, we have to recognize the potential risk of some sort of incident occurring or some sort of escalation occurring, that sees a wider war between NATO and Russia.
And so, at that point, we would need the eastern NATO states to be fully ready for combat along their own borders. But let's hope it doesn't get to that. The main point is, I think the U.S. is doing the right thing by backfilling Eastern European states as much as possible to ensure they have effective combat capabilities.
VAUSE: Has there been a shift here this week in terms of the urgency and the type of weapons and the amount of weapons, which NATO and the U.S. and Western countries are willing to send to Ukraine?
It seems like they have now realized that this is all in, right?
DAVIS: I think so. And I think the atrocities at Bucha -- and then at Kramatorsk -- and the fact that we are continuing to uncover more and more atrocities, as Ukrainian forces advance into areas held by the Russians, I think it's really driving home the message to the European leadership and to the Biden administration that this is, you know -- this is a very serious threat in terms of a threat to Europe in general.
And the Ukrainians are quite right. They are fighting for Europe's security because, if we don't stop the Russians in Ukraine, if we don't defeat them in Ukraine, then chances are we will face a wider war down the track.
You know, the saying is, do we fight the Russians now or do we fight the Russians later?
Ukrainians are trying to prevent us from facing the choice of fighting them later by winning now. But we have to assist them in that regard because, if we don't, if we don't get that assistance done effectively, the risks are that Putin will be emboldened coming out of this war.
And he might try his luck against the Baltic states, for example, at some point in the future.
VAUSE: General Wesley Clark made the point that if they, Ukrainians, can't stop the Russians at this point, then pretty much no one else in Europe will be able to stop him. But Malcolm Davis, as always, appreciate your expertise and your insights. Thank you, sir.
DAVIS: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, voting begins in just a few hours in France. When we come back, millions of people there feel alienated, even targeted. French Muslims react to what they have heard during this campaign. That's in a moment.
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VAUSE (voice-over): Well, take a look at this. The message was pretty clear; 500 drones, lighting up the sky over South Korea, performing a light show in support of Ukraine. Each drone flying in blue and yellow to form the Ukrainian flag as well as a dove, at one point, even spelling out the message, "No war."
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VAUSE: The war continues, though, after Friday's deadly strike on civilians at the Kramatorsk train station. Ukrainian officials are adjusting evacuation routes and urgently telling civilians to leave before Russia escalates attacks in the east.
Ukraine says more than 4,500 people were evacuated through humanitarian corridors on Saturday. That is fewer than the 6,600 who managed to escape a day earlier.
Global donors, including Canada and the E.U., have now pledged nearly $10 billion to help refugees. That happened Saturday at an event in Warsaw, raising money for both internally displaced and those who have fled the country.
According to the United Nations, more than 4.4 million people have left Ukraine since the fighting began. Another 7 million are internally displaced.
Many Ukrainians who evacuated had to leave their four-legged family members behind. This is heartbreaking. But one Kharkiv shelter for animals has become a safe haven for many pets, whose owners fled the fighting. Many were found in the streets, others were rescued from apartments.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): According to my estimation, every second fleeing family leaves pets behind. These are mainly either big dogs or cats. Cats which have lived in the apartments were either locked inside or owners did not lock the apartment so that the animal can be released.
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VAUSE: Shelter volunteers say they are expecting a large number of neglected pets on city streets when the fighting, when this war is over. [00:20:00]
VAUSE: And remember, if you would like to help the people of Ukraine, please go to cnn.com/impact. Our viewers have helped raise millions of dollars so far for the people of Ukraine, as well as neighboring countries, to raise money to pay for things like shelter, food, water as well as other needs.
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VAUSE: Well, to other news now. Pakistan's prime minister, Imran Khan, following in the footsteps of his predecessors by not finishing his full term. It marks the latest chapter in a political crisis, which has been playing out in Pakistan for weeks. Sophia Saifi has details.
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SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Pakistan's prime minister Imran Khan has been ousted in a vote of no confidence in the early hours of Sunday, after a marathon session that started at 10:30 am on Saturday and went on to past midnight on Sunday morning.
The vote had been due to take place last week on Sunday. However, the deputy speaker of the assembly had blocked the vote on the grounds of it being a foreign conspiracy linked to the United States.
We've then seen a long week of deliberations by the supreme court of Pakistan, which had then ruled that this attempt to block the vote of no confidence was actually unconstitutional.
Imran Khan has a large following here in Pakistan. And he's called for protesters to come out in Lahore in large numbers, to come out and protest what's happened. He said that the sovereignty of Pakistan has been threatened.
He is now going to be in the opposition. And it just remains to be seen what happens next in the weeks and days to come here in Pakistan. One thing is for sure, that Pakistan has never had a prime minister who has completed a term in office. And Imran Khan is now just another name added to that list -- Sophia Saifi, CNN, Islamabad.
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VAUSE: In France, polls open in less than two hours in the presidential election. The incumbent, Emmanuel Macron, is looking to win a majority in this first round of voting to secure a second term.
But he is facing a crowded field of challengers. If no one wins a majority on Sunday, the top two will move on to a second round in two weeks. This campaign, though, is marked by a resurgence of right-wing candidates and, as Nada Bashir reports, the largest Muslim community in Europe found their rhetoric highly troubling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): A quick bite to eat and some water before dawn breaks. It is the first week of Ramadan and Hiba, like so many Muslims here in Strasbourg, is fasting.
It is a busy time for the 23-year-old law student, with exams just around the corner. But her focus is also on this year's presidential election.
HIBA LATRECHE, LAW STUDENT AND ACTIVIST: The current narrative but also the potential outcome of the election is -- it is something that keeps me up at night.
BASHIR (voice-over): Hiba has long been a vocal activist against racism and discrimination in France, issues she feels have only been heightened by politicians calling for tighter restrictions on the country's Muslim population.
LATRECHE: This is quite scary, especially when, as a French Muslim woman, I am part of one of the minorities of this country, because then it makes us wonder, if no real candidates is being serious as a candidate but also about protecting our human rights, what does that leave us for a future?
BASHIR (voice-over): While polls throughout the campaign have consistently put Emmanuel Macron as the front-runner in this year's election, right-wing candidates, like Valerie Pecresse, Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour have garnered significant attention across France.
The three candidates say they are defending French values. But their campaigns have often led on rhetoric some view as Islamophobic or anti-immigrant. Zemmour has even been convicted three times for inciting racial or religious hatred.
In order to actually appear on the national ballot, each candidate is required to secure 500 signatures from elected officials.
In the village of Avolsheim, just outside of Strasbourg, local mayor Pascal Gehin decided to put the question of his signature to his constituents. They chose Zemmour.
MAYOR PASCAL GEHIN, AVOLSHEIM, FRANCE (through translator): It does make me wonder why people vote for the Right here when we don't have the problems of insecurity that can exist in the big cities.
BASHIR: The role of Islam in French society has been a key talking point in political campaigns across the spectrum.
But the use of negative rhetoric by some presidential candidates has left members of the Muslim community here in France questioning which politicians, if any, truly represent them?
BASHIR (voice-over): An estimated 5.7 million people make up France's Muslim population. But French Muslims have often found themselves the target of policies many view as discriminatory, like restrictions around wearing the hijab.
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BASHIR (voice-over): Macron's government says the measures have been enforced to protect the value of French secularism, known as laicite.
At Strasbourg's Grand Mosque, one of the largest in France, there are also concerns that Islamophobic messaging in some campaigns could pose a direct threat to France's Muslim population.
WAGNER DINO, WORSHIPPER (through translator): There are indeed some problematic candidates. They have a very, very negative view of Islam in general. And I think that's a shame. I think people stigmatize a lot but don't have a lot of knowledge.
SAID AALLA, PRESIDENT, GRAND MOSQUE OF STRASBOURG (through translator): It raises some concerns in the Muslim community, when we notice the number of anti-religious acts beginning to swell in our society. We are living today in a society which seeks to divide itself and to cultivate fear rather than social cohesion.
BASHIR (voice-over): That sense of social cohesion not only an important aspect of the French identity but also a crucial teaching of the Islamic faith.
And as the sun sets on another day of Ramadan, members of this French Muslim community gathered together with people of all faiths, from all walks of life, to share in a meal to break their fast -- Nada Bashir, CNN, in Strasbourg, France.
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VAUSE: Time for a short break here on CNN. For our international viewers, "EXPO 2020" is up next. For those in North America, I will be back with a lot more breaking news of our coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine.
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VAUSE: Half past the hour, welcome back, everyone. I am John Vause live in Lviv, Ukraine.
U.S. and European officials say the Kremlin reorganizing its war against Ukraine, now under a single commander. General Alexander Dvornikov commanded Russian forces in Syria back in 2015. Britain's former ambassador to Russia says his track record in that conflict was savage.
Dvornikov will direct the next phase of the war, which is expected to be a renewed assault on Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. Some Western military analysts believe Russia's losses may be deeper than they appear. A European official says a quarter of Putin's army may no longer be
operable. Meantime, British prime minister Boris Johnson became the latest European leader to make the long journey overland to Kyiv, promising additional military, financial support for Ukraine.
Well, everywhere, the Russian forces have retreated. Ukrainian troops are discovering unspeakable scenes of carnage and brutality.
In the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, as Russian tanks moved in and began shelling homes, one woman was forced to hide in the basement with her children and many of her neighbors. After two terrifying weeks, they finally escaped to Poland. CNN's Brianna Keilar spoke with her. This is her gut-wrenching story.
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KEILAR (voice-over): At first Natalia Gaidei said she couldn't believe Russia would invade her adopted Ukraine. She was born in Russia, a native Russian speaker and was busy running a language school in Bucha.
NATALIA GAIDEI, BUCHA REFUGEE: After Putin's speech on the 21st of February, I just burst into tears, feeling that something was going to happen.
KEILAR (voice-over): On February 24th, Natalia's mother called to say the war had started.
GAIDEI: My balcony just has a view on to the highway, from Kyiv to Warsaw. And I saw a lot of cars leaving.
KEILAR (voice-over): She headed for the grocery store with her 17- year-old son and 19-year-old daughter, a little over a mile from the town of Hostomel.
GAIDEI: We heard some shots. I heard explosions. There appeared motorbiker and he was shouting, "The airport is being bombed. The airport is being bombed."
KEILAR (voice-over): Natalia and her kids headed home and then to her mother's flat nearby, where they surveyed the basement just in case they'd have to take shelter.
GAIDEI: I can see the sky over the airport, a lot of smoke over the airport.
KEILAR (voice-over): They were waiting outside the building.
GAIDEI: Something exploded again and then it was the first time I ran into the cellar. There were many, 30 people at that moment.
KEILAR (voice-over): The next morning, Natalia decided her kids would be safer if they left Ukraine and stayed with friends in Poland. Her car was old and difficult for her to drive. But another friend in Bucha knew of a reliable car with extra seats.
GAIDEI: The bridge between Kyiv and Bucha, it has been exploded. And it was the main reason I decided that the children should go.
KEILAR (voice-over): She stayed in Bucha, tracking their progress, through Borodyanka just down the road.
GAIDEI: We just got this information 30 minutes later that there were tanks.
KEILAR: Your kids got through Makariv like minutes before there were tanks there?
GAIDEI: Thirty minutes, yes.
KEILAR (voice-over): At the time, Natalia still thought the Russians would never attack civilians. But this was Borodyanka after the tanks came through. Back in the basement --
GAIDEI: We started getting to know each other. So there were families with children, with dogs, with cats. We heard shots. They were nonstop shots.
KEILAR (voice-over): She and her mother slept on plastic chairs. At first, there was electricity and gas, though later, she said, both would be shut off. And there were lighter moments.
Natalia said she would sneak up to her mother's apartment only to use the bathroom.
GAIDEI: One of the biggest fears in my life at that moment was if I start doing my toilet procedures, if I just put down my trousers, then they would kill me. I was afraid to die without my pants on.
KEILAR (voice-over): Sometimes from the flat, she could see tanks coming down the street. She recalled the women and children mostly stayed below ground, as the men ventured out for food. When they did, they would report back on the dead bodies they saw.
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GAIDEI: One of our managers came and said that he had seen a dead body and he recognized him. This was his neighbor, his friend, 200 meters approximately. There was the street that is shown in all the magazines, in all the news, about Bucha.
It is called (INAUDIBLE) street. And we just heard that battle, just shot, shot, shot, shot, shot, shot. One day there was shooting, nonstop shooting for 15 hours.
KEILAR (voice-over): On March 8th, after two weeks in the basement, Natalia was able to call a friend, whose husband convinced her to make a run for it.
GAIDEI: He just pushed me with his words and, besides, I just shouted to everyone, "Let's jump into the cars."
KEILAR (voice-over): Bucha was covered in smoke from a burning building. She drove through snow and ash, joining a miles-long line of other cars.
GAIDEI: It was very easy for me just to leave. It was a hell then. Around there was the hell. I didn't recognize the town I had been living for 17 years.
KEILAR (voice-over): Natalia says she heard shooting behind her and passed bullet-riddled cars, displaying signs that read "children," spelled out in Russian.
GAIDEI: It was shots, missiles and probably there were just burned people, burned bodies.
KEILAR (voice-over): She drove by the city of Irpin, through a number of Russian checkpoints. At one point, Natalia says a line of tanks merged into the middle of the column of civilian cars.
GAIDEI: They were hiding behind us. They were using us like living shield.
KEILAR (voice-over): After a few more miles, Natalia finally came to a Ukrainian checkpoint.
GAIDEI: All the time I have been calm but at that point I couldn't -- I just burst into tears. And it was kind of relief on the one hand and, on the other hand, it was just -- yes -- and we spent --
KEILAR: Natalia, can you finish that thought?
You said it was relief on one hand but what else were you feeling?
GAIDEI: Sorrow. Sorrow. Yes, probably sorrow.
KEILAR (voice-over): Days later, Natalia reunited with her children in Poland and, through connections with friends, they have been taken in by a German family in Dusseldorf, Mariana and Ulrich Padburg (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm happy now to give something back to Natalia and her family, yes.
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VAUSE: Our thanks to CNN's Brianna Keilar for that story. Paula Newton is standing by in Atlanta.
That is one story, one incredible story of what so many people here have gone through. And, you know, we are going to hear all of them but it's just incredible to hear what these people have endured and what they have survived.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: And what they survived. And, John, that is the second time, by the way, that I have seen that report. And it is more terrifying the second time that I have listened to it.
Can you imagine just her recounting it to us and, as you said, it makes you think how many more stories -- each person, having lived through that terrifying affair. And still at this hour, many of them just separated from their families and still, worrying about what's going on.
John, I know you will have a lot more on this at the top of the hour. Thanks so much.
VAUSE: We will.
NEWTON: Now frustration is running high in Shanghai. But there may be a small glimmer of hope on the horizon. The state of the COVID outbreak there -- when we come back.
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NEWTON: Shanghai residents may soon get some eagerly anticipated news. Officials may begin to ease restrictions, despite the city's climbing caseload. Shanghai has hit a daily high for the third day in a row, reporting more than 24,000 cases now.
Right now, all 25 million residents are under a strict lockdown. The easing of restrictions would be tied to mass testing, though. Areas of low transmission would, in fact, be granted more freedoms. Anna Coren has been following all of this from Hong Kong for us.
And, Anna, it's an open question if this slight change in China's -- if this does represent a slight change in China's zero COVID policy.
But rhetorically at least, China still continues to defend this policy, right?
ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: China's sticking by it, Paula. Make no, you know, mistake about that. It's something that China has adhered to for the last two years, this dynamic zero-COVID strategy.
So yes, they have been locking down cities across the country to stamp out COVID. When it broke out in Shanghai, at the end of last month, they thought they could manage it in this staggered lockdown.
You know, Shanghai which is the economic engine of China, contributes to 4 percent of the country's GDP, has managed to escape relatively unscathed from this very strict draconian strategy.
But as those numbers escalated, that is when authorities panicked and the entire city went into lockdown. So, you know, people have been voicing their anger and frustration as we have been talking about. You know, people taking to social media, saying that they are running out of food, running out of medicine.
And authorities perhaps are hearing that and that is why they are saying, OK, we may ease restrictions after the next round of mass testing, although, we should note, that no details have been given. No timeframe has been given.
They have also eased restrictions on ecommerce platforms. They have allowed them to resume operating, which means those delivery servicemen can now drop off groceries that have been ordered.
This is something that Shanghai residents have been doing, trying to organize groceries, because the community workers have -- haven't been able to, you know, look after to everybody. So people have basically been saying we're starving, we have no food. It looks like those grocery people will be able to finally do their job, Paula.
NEWTON: Anna, thank you for that.
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NEWTON: At this point, as we continue to await what would be the reaction to that mass testing. Thanks so much.
Just ahead here for us on CNN NEWSROOM, the water level at Lake Powell in Arizona has dropped an astonishing 177 feet since the mid-'80s. Our Bill Weir will show you what that means.
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NEWTON: Now as many of you know, the Colorado River is a crucial water supply for millions of people in the American Southwest. But the water level has been dropping at an alarming rate for years now, forcing residents and businesses of one of lakeside -- one of those lakeside towns in Arizona to try and adapt to the climate changes.
CNN's chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir, reports.
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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just a couple years ago, this part of Lake Powell was pretty enough to put in a brochure. But today, there is no water, only sand.
WEIR: Can't paddle around Lone Rock anymore.
WEIR (voice-over): If you haven't been out west in a while, haven't seen the state of the Colorado River and its reservoirs, you would be shocked. This is what Powell looked like just last spring, when you could still float around Lone Rock.
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WEIR (voice-over): But the satellite shows it losing island status, as the lake level fell over 40 feet.
WEIR: And the lake used to go -- used to go half a mile around the corner. And now, it starts way back here. I cannot believe this.
WEIR (voice-over): While hurricanes, floods and wildfires can upend your life in a moment, droughts are slow-motion disasters. And this one is now in its 23rd year.
With the region's population booming and another winter without enough snow, there are no signs of relief.
WEIR: But when you are houseboating on what's left of Lake Powell, it's still gorgeous. It's still so easy to forget that, just since the mid-'80s, the water level has dropped 177 feet. That is like 10 of these yachts stacked on top of each other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a temporary dock give us access to the marina.
WEIR (voice-over): So the tourism industry has no choice but to adapt, making ramps longer as the lake gets lower.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was connected straight up there.
WEIR: So, at one point, we would have been high enough that would have been a straight angle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
WEIR: This is not a decade or two.
This is a year or two since its drop?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this is within two to three years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it continues to go down another 10, 15 feet, we might have to shut down.
WEIR (voice-over): For Max Lapekas, the changing canyons means more people eager to explore them in his rental kayaks and paddle boards but not enough safe places to put them in.
And he knows that, big picture, 40 million people and their animals and crops in seven states and Mexico depend on Colorado River water, not to recreate but to live.
MAX LAPEKAS, LAKE POWELL PADDLEBOARD AND KAYAK: Manmade climate change I do believe is a thing to a certain extent. But I do believe the Earth goes through cycles. And this could just be another cycle. But I don't see any good evidence of it getting any better anytime soon.
WEIR (voice-over): In a first-of-its-kind Gallup poll, one in three Americans say they have been personally affected by severe weather the past few years and for those who have, regardless of party, they are much more likely to say the climate crisis demands action.
But only 3 percent say they have experienced drought. This may be because, for most, tap water keeps flowing. And here, houseboaters keep coming.
WEIR: What do you say to someone who sees this as proof, alarming proof, of sort of a manmade climate crisis?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of it is manmade, there is no doubt about it. You've got more users using the water out of the Colorado River. You have got more -- you have got more of everything than you had 50 years ago. It's that simple.
WEIR: Would you label your business a victim of drought?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have had to change the way, obviously the way we do a lot of things. At this point, I would not say we are a victim. I would say we are an adapter.
WEIR (voice-over): And from now on, it seems, anyone who wants to live in the American Southwest will have to be an adapter -- Bill Weir, CNN, Page, Arizona.
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NEWTON: Incredible story. Just to drive Bill's point home, the National Weather Service office in Sacramento has issued its earliest springtime red flag warning ever. It affects parts of Northern California and will last right through Sunday evening and warns that fires could start easier and spread rapidly, warning cities that strong winds, low humidity and, quote, "a mosaic of a dry fuels."
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NEWTON: And I'm Paula Newton, thanks for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM, stay with us, John Vause is live with the latest developments from Ukraine right after a break.
