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Putin Names New General; Resources Stretched Thin At Polish Shelter For Refugees; Europe Under Pressure To End Reliance On Russian Oil And Gas; First Round Of Voting In French Presidential Election; French Muslims React To Campaign Rhetoric; British Prime Minister Visits Kyiv, Pledges More Aid For Ukraine; Georgia Volunteer Soldiers Die Fighting In Ukraine; Pakistani PM Ousted In No Confidence Vote; Axiom's Inaugural Mission Arrives At ISS. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired April 10, 2022 - 02:00 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): I'm John Vause live in Lviv, Ukraine. Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world.
An even tougher fight on the horizon now for Ukrainians, as Russian troops regroup and prepare to launch a renewed assault on Eastern Ukraine's Donbas region. And now Russian president Vladimir Putin has named a general to direct this war.
Until now, it's believed Russia has not had a theater-wide commander in Ukraine. The appointment comes after outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian fighters were able to stall the Russian offensive and defend the capital.
This as Western nations move to ramp up military support for Ukraine. On Saturday, the British prime minister made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Along with increased financial assistance and tougher sanctions on Russia, Boris Johnson promised to send dozens of armored vehicles as well as new anti-ship missiles. Zelenskyy urging more countries to step up their support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The task of our anti-war coalition is quite clear: to end this war started by Russia as soon as possible, to liberate our land from invaders and to guarantee the security of Ukraine and, consequently, the security of democracy and freedom of the nations of Eastern Europe.
That is why it is not just the moral duty of all democracies, all of the forces of Europe, to support Ukraine's desire for peace. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: As CNN's Brianna Keilar reports, the British prime minister the latest in a string of European leaders to visit Ukraine's capital in recent days. And they've all been left outraged by the missile strike on a crowded train platform in the town of Kramatorsk.
And a warning: Brianna's report contains some graphic images that could be hard to watch.
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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): In the middle of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson made a surprise visit to Kyiv, promising new sanctions against Russia and military aid for Ukraine.
Johnson follows a stream of European diplomats visiting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer, top E.U. diplomat Josep Borrell and European Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen, who toured the atrocities committee in Bucha and gave Zelenskyy paperwork to begin joining the E.U.
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Ukraine belongs to the European family. It is where your path toward Europe and the European Union begins.
KEILAR (voice-over): As the European Union and Italy announced they would be resuming their diplomatic presence in Kyiv, the Russian front has shifted to the east where death, destruction and chaos are unfolding.
A day after a Russian missile struck the train station in Kramatorsk, a hub for Ukrainians trying to escape Russian-controlled areas in the region of Donetsk and Luhansk, there is a clearer sense of the carnage.
At least 50 people died and nearly 100 people, including 16 children, were injured as they waited for a train to take them to safety.
ANASTASIA RADINA, UKRAINIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: I can't -- I don't just -- I even don't have words to describe that. This is undescribable, unbelievable. And more importantly, this is unforgivable.
KEILAR (voice-over): President Zelenskyy demanding an international response.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (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 tribunal, which is bound to happen.
KEILAR: It is likely the start of a larger assault on Eastern Ukraine. In the hardhit northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainians are evacuating and bracing for an onslaught that government officials believe is on the horizon.
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VAUSE: Our thanks there to Brianna Keilar for that report, from Lviv, here in Ukraine.
And following that deadly strike on Kramatorsk's train station, Ukrainian officials now say they're reevaluating their evacuation routes and urgently telling those who can leave to evacuate before the Russian offensive in the east begins in earnest.
So far, Ukraine says more than 4,500 people were evacuated via humanitarian corridors on Saturday, far fewer than the 6,600 who managed to escape on Friday.
According to the United Nations, more than 4.4 million people have left Ukraine since the fighting began. More than 7 million have left their homes and are internally displaced. More than half of those refugees have eventually ended up in Poland.
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VAUSE: CNN's Salma Abdelaziz shows us how many there are doing all they can to make home for women and children on the run from the war.
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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What does it take to care for just a few dozen refugee families?
Storerooms packed with food, endless hot meals, hundreds of bunk beds and lots and lots of love, says volunteer Kamil Prusinowski.
KAMIL PRUSINOWSKI, VOLUNTEER: As you saw, this women with the child on hands and they simply have nowhere to go.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): This abandoned school dormitory was in disrepair, unused for over a decade but in just three days, Kamil and his best friends turned it into a shelter for women and children fleeing Ukraine.
PRUSINOWSKI: I need to use my skills, everything what I've got, to help these people.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Now the challenge is to keep these place up and running, the organizers say.
PRUSINOWSKI: Until now, we received zero USD, zloty, pound or whatever from any NGO or government. And there are huge bills which we need to pay.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Behind each of these doors is a story of trauma.
Victoria and her grandkids arrived here only yesterday. They still feel so raw. "It was so scary but we had to go for the children," she says.
ABDELAZIZ: I'm very, very sorry.
Do you finally feel safe?
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): "It will come," she says.
"Every time we hear a loud sound, we flinch and look up at the sky. We still feel fear."
Irina and her son, Kriyal (ph), fled from Chernihiv after spending days hiding in a cellar.
"It's getting easier," she says, "but he flinches in his sleep."
"Mom, I have nightmares," he tells her.
ABDELAZIZ: Does he still feel scared?
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): "Yes, sometimes. But I try to calm him. We go outside and breathe fresh air," she says.
And that's what is most needed here, a sense of security, stability. But Kamil doesn't know how much longer he can provide it.
ABDELAZIZ: You have zero money.
How does this work?
PRUSINOWSKI: The friends who are helping, some volunteers who are helping. But there is no sustainable support for us.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): These helpers need help to keep their doors open for the many forced out of their homes -- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, Radymno, Poland.
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VAUSE: The Stand Up for Ukraine fund-raiser held in Warsaw on Saturday has raised billions of dollars for the people of Ukraine. Companies, individuals, governments, the E.U. and Canada all pledged close to $10 billion to help the victims of Vladimir Putin's war of choice.
During the Saturday fund-raiser, the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, stressed the need for ongoing support for the people of Ukraine.
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JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Our collective response must keep pace. That's exactly why we're gathered here today. Together, let's keep working to mobilize governments around the world, private companies and the people in our communities, to support refugees from Ukraine and, indeed, support all Ukrainians. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The money that was raised will help those who have been internally displaced, as well as Ukrainians who've been forced to leave this country and are now refugees.
Joining me now, Maria Shagina is a visiting senior fellow at the Center on U.S. Politics and Power at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.
Maria, thank you for taking the time to speak with us.
I guess at the end of the day all this talk and all this support Europe is willing to give Ukraine, is it totally negated while countries like Germany continue to pay Russia hundreds of millions of dollars for their supply of natural gas and oil?
MARIA SHAGINA, CENTER ON U.S. POLITICS AND POWER, FINNISH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: Indeed, the absence of energy sanctions constitutes the major weakness in the current sanctions regime.
Russia receives around $850 million per day for the export of its hydrocarbons. So time is of the essence. Every day Russia can replenish its coffers, which means de facto canceling out the impact of central bank sanctions -- the West froze about two-thirds of Russia's central bank reserves -- and with energy piping to Europe, with gas, Russia's budget is solidifying.
VAUSE: I want you to listen to the German chancellor. He was speaking in London on moves to end dependence on Russian energy. Here he is.
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OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: It will be important to get the supply of fossil resources from other places than from Russia.
We are actively working to get independent from the import of oil.
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SCHOLZ: And we think we will be able to make it during this year. And we are actively working to get independent from the necessity of importing gas from Russia.
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VAUSE: All of that, though, will take time.
So hypothetically speaking, what would be the economic impact on Germany's economy and Europe's economy, if there was an embargo placed on Russian energy supplies today?
SHAGINA: Germany is indeed dragging its feet on triggering an energy ban. And it goes back to history between Germany and the Soviet Union. It's been historically in tandem Russia was perceived as a reliable partner. And now Germany needs to phase out. And it's been caught in a situation where it's not prepared. It has
decided to phase out nuclear energy and there is a lack of investment in renewables. So Russian gas, Russian oil were meant to be that bridge to enable energy transition.
The discussion about recession is the main discussion currently in Berlin. There is lack of discussion on moral standing here, that, with the income from Russian oil and gas, Germany basically funds that war.
So in terms of economic impact, experts predict that the forecast can range between 0.53 percent of GDP. But in a larger context, Germany is a country that can manage the cost.
It has ample financial resources and also reaching a summer period, where less gas is needed. So with the reluctance to trigger the ban, Germany is burning its political capital faster than it's burning the Russian gas.
VAUSE: A recession of 0.5 percent, maybe 3 percent. That's the cost for Germany, which does not seem to be that big of a deal, to be honest.
But if this embargo was in place, where would that leave Moscow?
Where would that leave the Russian economy?
SHAGINA: Indeed, as I said, Russia receives around -- below $1 billion per day. And with the ability, with the ban on Russian oil and gas, the Russian state can no longer support its economy; in particular, the Russian ruble.
We heard that the ruble has rebounded. But it's a lot of artificial capital controls being in place. If we take that out, the Russian economy will be on the verge of the default.
VAUSE: So they'd be on the verge of collapse. They could no longer fund this war.
So would this be a short-term strategy?
Would that embargo need to be in place for a long period of time?
Or, once Europe goes down this road, would there be no turning back?
I just want to work out the period of time that Europe would have to go, without dependency on Russian oil and gas.
SHAGINA: It's not easy to do because there are infrastructural bottlenecks. It's much easier to ban, for example, Russian oil than Russian gas.
But the faster we trigger it, the time is of the essence, as I said, because Russia can replenish its coffers. In the long term, the dependency on Russian oil and gas will diminish anyway, because decarbonization by 2030 is meant to rely less. So we'll see more investments in renewables, more LNG terminals, as
Germany also promised, and more also pan-European burden shared in mechanism in terms of common purchases of oil, LNG and hydrogen. So the dependency on Russian gas, the status of Russia as a superpower, is doomed in the long run.
VAUSE: Yes, it just seems it's a question of either bite the bullet now, have a real impact, or drag this out for a much longer period of time. Maria Shagina, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate your time.
Let's go now back to Lynda Kinkade, standing by at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
That's what it all comes down to: Russian oil, Russian natural gas and whether or not the Europeans are willing to bite the bullet.
KINKADE: Yes, certainly highly complicated, not easy to pull the plug on that dependency. But an interesting discussion. Thanks so much, John, to you and your team there. We will come back to you shortly.
Well, Russia's war in Ukraine is one of the issues looming over today's presidential election in France. Polls opened just a few moments ago. We're going to go live to Paris for the latest on what is expected to be a close race.
And millions of voters feel alienated, even targeted. French Muslims react to what they heard in the campaign, just ahead.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade, live in Atlanta. Good to have you with us.
Polls opened just a few minutes ago in the first round of voting in France's hotly contested presidential race. CNN's Melissa Bell is following the race and joins us live from Paris.
And Melissa, opinion polls going into this shows it's a very close race. President Emmanuel Macron has spent much of the leadup to this election focused on the war in Ukraine, starting this campaign for the election quite late.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And in fact that's something he said he regretted just a few days ago, that he hadn't been able to enter the race as early as he would have liked.
And it has been entirely dominated by Ukraine because of the events that have been happening there and because of the positions of the various candidates until then, on the right position for France to adopt to Russia.
All of them had had fairly well-defined positions, some of them on the wrong side of history, over the course of the last few weeks. So it has very much dominated the campaign.
There are, of course, other issues; the cost of living. Remember this is a mandate during the last five years, that Macron has seen the Yellow Vest movements. There's an awful lot of worry about the cost of living out there and a vast array of candidates, looking for that top spot, 12 of them in all, 11 against Emmanuel Macron that joined the race earlier than he did.
And they go from the very far Left to the very far Right, not only with people like Marine Le Pen, traditionally the standard bearer for the French far Right.
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BELL: But characters like Eric Zemmour, the author and television personality, who outflanks her to the Right and has caused quite a buzz, especially in the early days of the campaign.
Then you have the more traditional Right in the shape of the Valerie Pecresse, Republican Party candidate but who's been really struggling in the polls so far, struggling to make herself heard and be sufficiently audible.
And it goes right through to the far Left. As you always do in French presidential elections you tend to get a vast array of political opinions. So 12 candidates fighting.
And what's been interesting, Lynda, is while this is a campaign that was described by the French, by the press often as lackluster, as boring, too much dominated by Ukraine and not enough focus on the issues that matter to French voters, what we've seen in the last week is polls that have substantially narrowed, making it a much tighter race than we imagined we'd be facing.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. So Melissa, 49 million people are eligible to vote, to decide which of the two candidates of the 12 will participate in that runoff vote.
What sort of turnout are we expecting today?
BELL: That's one of the big questions. If it is not big enough, of course, it is thought to be penalizing several candidates. Everyone looking at a lack of what strong participation could mean.
Of course, given those polls have substantially narrowed over the course of the last few days, there is some feeling people could get out and vote. But clearly that would be one of the big hurdles for several of the candidates, worried about what happens if their electorate doesn't turn out.
And I think on that front, Lynda, one of the most interesting questions is the fortunes of Emmanuel Macron. Remember that, when he came into office five years ago, he came in as a new political force, creating his own party, brushing aside the two main parties, the Republicans and the Socialist Party, that had essentially shared power since 1958.
The question is, five years on, without a strong political base, a traditional political base, will he be able to bring back all those voters who voted for him the first time?
Will he be able to get his vote out and in great numbers?
Especially given the fact that he's proved a fairly divisive character. There are those who are campaigning against him or planning to vote for other candidates than him that have been out on the street.
Remember I said the Yellow Vests; there's been a great deal of political discontent out there during his tenure. So the question is whether he can convince enough people, those, at least he convinced last time, to get out and vote for him again.
That's one of the big questions going into this. And again with a vast array of new political forces around him -- Lynda.
KINKADE: All right. We will stay across this and check in with you again. Melissa Bell for us in Paris. Thanks so much.
Well, as Melissa mentioned, France's presidential campaign saw a resurgence of right-wing candidates. And as CNN's Nada Bashir reports, the largest Muslim community in Europe found that rhetoric highly troubling.
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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.
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BASHIR: 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.
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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KINKADE: When we come back, Moscow tries to retool its war against Ukraine ahead of an anticipated offensive in the Donbas. We'll take you back live to Ukraine for the latest from there.
And the people of Georgia using the anniversary of an historical event to show their solidarity with the people of Ukraine and to criticize their own government. Matt Rivers will bring you that story.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone, I'm John Vause, live in Lviv, Ukraine.
Western officials say the Kremlin now reorganizing its war against Ukraine under a single commander. General Alexander Dvornikov led Russian forces in their relentless bombing of Syria in 2015.
Britain's former ambassador to Russia says his track record in that conflict was, quote, "savage." Dvornikov will direct the next phase of this war, which is expected to be a renewed assault on Ukraine's eastern Donbas.
Some Western military analysts, though, believe Russia's losses may be deeper than Moscow has admitted. A European official says a quarter of the Russian army may no longer be operable.
Meantime, British prime minister Boris Johnson became the latest European leader to make the journey to Kyiv. He promised additional military and financial support to Ukraine and had harsh words for Vladimir Putin.
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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: Earlier I spoke with military analyst Malcolm Davis. I asked him about Russia's next phase of this war, focused on Ukraine's eastern flank.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MALCOLM DAVIS, SENIOR ANALYST, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: 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.
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 --
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DAVIS: -- 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Military analyst Malcolm Davis there, we thank him for his time.
Some of the Ukrainians who know what it's like to be invaded by the Russian military are the people of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, who fought a war with Russia in 2008. Then on Saturday, there was the anniversary of the 1989 pro-independence protests.
That's now become a rallying point, not just in support of Ukraine but also against the current government in Tbilisi. CNN's Matt Rivers reports.
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MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Here in Tbilisi, Georgia, a twofold event. On the one hand, a day of national remembrance, people coming out to remember the events that happened here in 1989, outside of the parliament building here.
That's when Soviet troops opened fire on protesters that were here, trying to advocate for Georgian independence from the then Soviet Union. But this day obviously taking on added importance this year because of what we're seeing now Russian forces doing in Ukraine.
This is something that people in Georgia are paying very close attention to. A lot of the people here, when I say twofold event, is because this is a protest, in part, against the current national government.
Critics are saying that the national government is not taking a strong enough stance, choosing to be on the side of Ukraine. Basically accusing the national government here of kind of playing both sides of the fence.
On the one hand, not criticizing Putin and Russia openly enough for what they're doing in Ukraine. On the other hand, not advocating for Ukraine and for its government forcefully enough.
But some Georgians have taken the ultimate step when it comes to advocating for Ukraine. I want to show you a memorial that was set up here outside the parliament building. There's actually been Georgian volunteers that have gone to Ukraine to fight.
So you can pan off me and show that these are some of the photographs of a few of the Georgian volunteers that have actually died in the fighting in Ukraine.
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RIVERS: They chose to volunteer to go to Ukraine and lay down their own lives in order to fight for Ukraine.
What people here will tell you, is that there's a lot of sympathy here in Georgia, given Georgia's own history fighting with Russia. There's a lot of sympathy here for what's going on in Ukraine. Many Georgians, like these soldiers here, who died, want to do whatever they can to help Ukraine fight for its own existence -- Matt Rivers, CNN, Tbilisi, Georgia.
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VAUSE: I'm John Vause in Lviv, Ukraine. Let's go back now to Lynda Kinkade, standing by at World Headquarters in Atlanta.
What is interesting, Lynda, is whether it's Germany, whether it's Georgia, what the opinion polls are showing is the support for Ukraine is much higher among the population. And their governments seem to be behind where public opinion is, in terms of taking stiff actions against Moscow.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yes, exactly. A lot of support for Ukraine, for their resistance and everyone wants to see this war end soon. John Vause for us in Lviv. We will check in with you again at the top of the hour. Thanks so much.
We are going to take a short break. But coming up, COVID controversy as the virus continues to ravage Shanghai. China not happy with the U.S. move to protect its citizens abroad. We're going to go live to Hong Kong for the latest.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade back at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Good to have you with us. A quick check on one of our top stories this hour.
The first round of voting underway in the French presidential election. These images coming to us from Paris. Incumbent president Emmanuel Macron is seeking a second term. He's up against nearly a dozen challengers.
But his biggest competition coming from far right candidate Marine Le Pen, who he defeated in 2017 to win the presidency. We will have much more on what is expected to be a close race throughout the day.
Pakistan's prime minister Imran Khan is out of the nation's top job and banished to the opposition benches after he lost a key vote in Parliament. As Sophia Saifi reports, the former cricket star turned politician is the latest Pakistani leader to have his term in office cut short.
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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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KINKADE: More evidence on an elite Washington event last weekend, which turned into a superspreader event. The Gridiron Club, which held a dinner packed with D.C. power brokers, says so far 67 people who attended have tested positive for COVID.
The latest is the Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Two other Biden cabinet members got COVID after the event, attorney general Merrick Garland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Vaccinations were required but negative COVID tests were not.
Shanghai has hit a daily high in COVID cases for the third consecutive day. It comes as the once bustling city remains under lockdown and frustrations are running high. Shanghai's deputy mayor says some restrictions may be lifted in some areas. Our Anna Coren is following the story for us from Hong Kong and joins us now live.
Good to see you, Anna. So despite the strict lockdown, symptomatic COVID cases are increasing. But restrictions for some are easing.
ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, as you just mentioned, Lynda, officials are indicating that restrictions could ease, following another round of mass testing.
Few details other than that have really been released. We don't have a timeframe. But this is obviously welcome news to the 25 million people, who've been locked inside their homes since the end of March.
Now we've seen these snap lockdowns happen around China over the last two years but never to Shanghai; perhaps individual buildings but never a citywide lockdown. And that's because it's the economic engine of China. It contributes to 4 percent of the country's GDP.
And officials would always say it is too important to seal off. However, due to the surging cases, this is the worst outbreak in China since the pandemic began, officials took those drastic, draconian measures, some may say, to lock down the city.
So yes, obviously, if people can get out, even if it's just to go to the grocery store, because obviously we've been hearing complaints of food shortages, medicine shortages, people screaming from their windows down at community workers, saying we are starving, feed us, this is making the rounds on social media.
We're hearing also today from officials, Lynda, that they're easing restrictions on e-commerce platforms. They're allowing them to resume operations, which means deliveries of groceries will be made to homes, which has been a huge problem.
KINKADE: Yes. That is some good news. Anna Coren for us in Hong Kong. Thanks so much.
Well, space tourism just took another giant leap for mankind.
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KINKADE: And the history-making mission comes with an astronomical price tag. I'll have the details on that story after a short break.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. It was moving day at the Masters tournament Saturday when the world's top golfers try to get into the very best positions for a shot to win on Sunday's final round.
Tiger Woods likely won't contend for another green jacket. He carded one of his worst games ever, making too many bogeys and is now in 41st place.
Woods is still on the mend from that car crash last year when he badly mangled his leg. Tournament leader and world number 1 ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler also struggled in the windy conditions. He holds a three-shot lead over Australia's Cameron Smith.
A new era of human space travel has been launched as the first fully private crew is settling into their new quarters at the International Space Station. It's the inaugural mission of a startup called Axiom Space, although SpaceX supplied the rocket.
A seat on board came with an astronomical price tag of $55 million. CNN's Rachel Crane reports.
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RACHEL CRANE, CNN BUSINESS INNOVATION AND SPACE CORRESPONDENT: The crew of AX-1 successfully docked at the International Space Station Saturday morning following a 20-hour journey.
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CRANE: Now this was a first of its kind mission. That's because all of the astronauts on board were private astronauts. And they were greeted, once they boarded the International Space Station, by the entire crew of Expedition 67, which included three NASA astronauts, a European astronaut as well as three Russian cosmonauts.
Larry Connor, the pilot of AX-1, had some words about the historic nature of this mission. Take a listen.
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LARRY CONNOR, ENTREPRENEUR, AX-1 PILOT: We're here to experience this. But we understand there's a responsibility. And the responsibility is for this first civilian crew to get it right.
And that's what we're fully committed to, with the support of everybody here at the ISS and on the ground. So it's going to be a busy week of research for us. And I'm sure it's going to fly by.
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CRANE: And it's going to fly by because they will be very busy on the station. They're not just taking in those breathtaking views. They'll be conducting over 100 hours of scientific experiments, doing 25 different experiments, one on hologram teleportation, which is essentially a fancy way of saying a two-way video dialogue.
But also doing research into aging as well as brain health and cardiac health. So a very busy eight days on station before they splash down here next week -- Rachel Crane, CNN, Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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KINKADE: I'm Lynda Kinkade. Thanks so much for spending part of your day with me. Stick around. John Vause is coming up next live in Lviv with more of our breaking news coverage after a short break.
