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Ukrainians Bracing for More Intense Fight; Rape Now Being Used in War Crimes; Russian Teacher Facing Jail Time; India Remains Neutral with Russia's War. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 12, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause, live in Lviv, Ukraine.

And here, Ukrainian forces are bracing for a Russian offensive in Donbas as Russian troops continue to mass in that region.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rosemary Church in Atlanta following the situation in Shanghai.

Residents grow desperate as the ongoing lockdown causes food and medical shortages.

VAUSE: Ukraine bracing for a full-scale Russian assault to the east. There's already a heavy Russian troop presence to the south as well as to the east. The area is marked in red in that map.

Military analysts say Russia likely wants to take control of the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Meantime, Ukrainian officials say their soldiers still defending the city of Mariupol which has endured weeks of bombardment. But President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine needs more heavy weapons to end that siege.

On Monday, there are also unconfirmed reports of a Russian chemical attack in Mariupol. CNN cannot independently verify that claim. And to the north, in the capitol of Kyiv, Zelenskyy says Russian troops have left behind thousands of land mines when they retreated. A move he calls a war crime.

Explosions have also been heard in Ukraine's second biggest city Kharkiv, as well as nearby areas. Authorities say the strikes have destroyed more than 2,000 home in that region. And CNN's Nima Elbagir is there.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You can see all around us just the sheer devastation. Right here is the crater from where a bomb was dropped just two days ago. North of here, about 25 miles away, is inside Russia. That's where the Russian positions are shelling. That's where they're throwing devastation and death into places like this in Kharkiv into civilian areas.

Most of the people who have been able to evacuate have already left the city. Those that remain have told us it's because they believe that nowhere in Ukraine is safe. They wouldn't speak on camera because they are worried what will happen when and if the Russians finally arrive.

And that's what U.S. and Ukrainian intelligence officials believe is about to happen. They believe that Russian troops are amassing. That was just a mortar strike as we were talking. It's about the third or fourth that we have heard. It's coming from that direction over there.

We're continuing to hear strikes. Imagine what it's like to live here. Imagine what it's like to be in one of these apartments. To have been unable to evacuate. Hearing that every day since this war began. Knowing that you cannot evacuate. Knowing that as one woman told us there's nowhere safe here in Ukraine.

U.S. and Ukrainian intelligence officials say that they can see Russian forces amassing just the other side of the border. Some 25 miles to the north of Kharkiv. They believe that they are amassing to come here. And to come here as soon as they can.

Nima Elbagir, CNN, Kharkiv.

VAUSE: The British defense ministry reporting that a continued Russian fire in Luhansk and Donetsk and Ukrainian troops there have repelled a number of Russian assaults. Meantime, new video shows a large column of Russian military vehicles just across the border in Russia that's moving towards Donbas.

Ukrainian and western officials say Russian forces pulled from northern Ukraine are now resupplying and will soon be heading east. And getting civilians out of the region is proving to be a difficult and deadly.

Here's from Ben Wedeman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The air raid siren rings out over a scene of carnage past. In a Kramatorsk railway station, a ripped shoe, a discarded hat, a cane left behind. They came to this station with only what they could carry. Hoping to reach safer ground but nearly 60 never left.

Lives cut short by a missile on it someone scrawled in Russian, "for the children." Four thousand people were here waiting for a train west when the strike happened. The massacre accelerating the exodus.

Most of the residents of Kramatorsk have left the city. Having been urged to do so by local authorities as this part of the country the entirety of eastern Ukraine braces for what could be a massive Russian offensive.

[03:05:06] At the city's bus station, Nikolay, a volunteer, has been helping with the evacuation. For him news of the pull back of Russian forces around the capitol Kyiv was bittersweet.

NIKOLAY, VOLUNTEER: When I heard about Kyiv, I was happy. You know? But then I realize a couple seconds later that they move into Donbas. Or their forces. I'm a little bit -- I can't say scared. But I'm worried about my people, about people with mothers, about grandparents.

WEDEMAN: Some are heading west. Others north to the town of Sloviansk where trains still run. Oksana (Ph) and her friend and their children are bound for Lviv in the far west. "There's a lot of bombing here," says Oksana (Ph). "I'm afraid for the children." The children thankfully still children.

A handful of adult relatives stay behind. Far more aware of the danger ahead.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Sloviansk, Eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A teacher in western Russia is under criminal investigation. Her crime, telling a student about the bombing of Mariupol. Her comments were secretly recorded by students and later posted on Telegram. That's according to an interview the teacher gave to Radio Liberty on Thursday.

Her name is Irina Gen. She was an English teacher at a school for young athletes. She told Radio Liberty she believes the parents of the students persuaded them to make a recording which was turned over to the authorities. She's being investigated for breaking a new law which targets anyone in an official position to spread what the government there calls, quote, "false information about the Russian military."

If convicted, she could face a 10-year prison sentence and a fine close to $60,000. She has since resigned from the school.

U.S. marine veteran is set for appeal hearing this hour in Moscow. Trevor Reed was detained back in 2019, he was later convicted of endangering the life and health of a Russian police officers during an altercation. He received a sentence of nine years and his parents say he's in the hospital with tuberculosis but they don't know if he's receiving any actual proper medical care. They are urging the Biden administration to help bring him home.

The head of the WNBA is reaffirming the league's commitment to bring home Britney Griner. The American basketball star has been detained in Russia since mid-February on drug charges. ESPN reports Griner has been able to see her legal representative in Russia twice a week and she's able to receive letters.

The WNBA commissioner says they're doing everything they can to bring her home. But they do not want to jeopardize her safety amid Russia's war on Ukraine. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CATHY ENGELBERT, COMMISSIONER, WNBA: Obviously, we're in a very complex geopolitical situation with Russia and Ukraine. And so, this continues to be complex. And obviously we're getting a ton of support from the government, from specialists, from, you know, in her representation are able to visit with Britney. We know she's safe. But we want to get her home.

So, it's just a very complex situation right now and we're following the advice. There's not a day that goes by that we're not talking to someone who has views on what we have been doing and how we're moving forward. I know we're all frustrated but we do need to be patient.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Lesia Vasylenko is a member of the Ukrainian parliament; she is with us this hour from the capitol of Kyiv. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us.

I want to bring up the issue of violence against women here in Ukraine at the hands of Russian soldiers. Because it's something which came up at the U.N. on Monday. And I want you to listen to this first and we'll get -- talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: The fund is also providing institutional support to these organizations to sustain them. With your help we can do much more.

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VAUSE: Unfortunately, we don't have the exact sound bite there. But what we heard from the U.N. is that basically they're now investigating a lot of cases of women being raped by soldiers. Often being raped repeatedly in front of their children. And often children being raped as well here in Ukraine.

So, the question is rape now being used as a weapon of war by the Russian soldiers?

LESIA VASYLENKO, UKRAINIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: This issue will be coming up more and more as we occupy more territories from the Russian army and from the Russian barbarians who cannot even be called soldiers. Because the things that the Russian men do to Ukrainian women and the Ukrainian children are more than the atrocities or crimes of war.

It's inhumane. It's barbaric. You know, no human being should even be thinking those things, let alone doing them.

[03:10:05]

I mean, we have reports of mothers being raped in front of their kids. Of kids being raped as their mothers are tied to chairs and made to watch. Like who could even face them doing that to another human being. Let alone be responsible for those acts. But what I know for sure is that every single soldier who committed these crimes will be tracked down and will brought to justice.

VAUSE: Well, I hope you do that. I guess the question is how, though? How do you find them? How do you prosecute them?

VASYLENKO: There are legal mechanisms enough. Unfortunately, rape as an instrument of war is not something new. It's not an invention of the Russian army. Well, at least not in the 21st century. The Russian army used plenty of this weapon, abusing women and children in the Second World War as they were taking Berlin.

But there are plenty of mechanisms in international law to investigate and to report. First and foremost, it's about providing assistance to the women, it's about creating safe spaces where the victims can come forward and speak up these crimes. Seek assistance. Then these crimes can be put on record and they can be filed as part of the wider war crimes and crimes against humanity. Case that will be regarded by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

of course, these proceedings will take years, and yes, so national proceedings are also on the way to seek punishment for the perpetrators of these crimes.

VAUSE: And they should know that that possibility, that very real possibility is out there, every Russian soldier should be aware of that. We now have this situation with the offensive now shifting to the east of the country are the only uncertainty at the moment seems to be when? When this actually begins in earnest and now that we have this general in charge, Aleksandr Dvornikov, how much worse are you expecting these atrocities to be? Because this is a man who has a reputation of being savage and being a butcher.

VASYLENKO: Most of Russian generals are like that. Most of the army is like that. We have seen it in the vicinities of Kyiv, in Bucha, Irpin, and all of those towns. Now a new geographic name from Ukraine will be making the news because these atrocities will be now repeating and repeatedly, repeating in the east of Ukraine.

We, of course, we await the worst. We await the tragedy. But we are set as Ukrainians as the Ukrainian army as the Ukrainian people to keep fighting this Russian aggression. And for us to be doing that to be doing that efficiently, and to reduce the number of civilian casualties we need more weapons coming from the west.

And we need a stronger stance of the west on the sanctions to weaken Russia and to weaken their economy so that they are not able to sustain this army of butchers. And we need to support here on the ground to provide cover for humanitarian mission and humanitarian corridors and evacuation corridors for our people.

VAUSE: What's your assessment right now of the areas to the north where the Russian troops have now withdrawn around Bucha, Borodyanka, and now that you have had a good couple of days to get access to look at the extent of the devastation, and everything that's being left behind. An incredible loss of human life. What is the extent of the destruction there? And how will Ukraine be able to rebuild?

VASYLENKO: Ukrainians rebuilding as we speak. We already passed a law allowing diversion of funds from the budget to be able to rebuild Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka and all the cities. Because people are essentially trying to get back to their homes and to start living their life. Because they feel like they are in safety now.

So, the question is how do we do it swiftly and how do we do it safely. Because in reality, Russian soldiers have also left a lot of souvenirs so to speak for the Ukrainian families to find when they come back home. These are booby traps, these are explosives which are attached in the most unexpected places like fridges, like cupboards, wardrobes.

And we already have several casualties where people are coming back home a little too early and opening up their furniture and receiving wounds that are tearing off their limbs. So, the Ukrainian authorities are now trying to do demine and to make the living spaces as safe as possible. We are asking for aid in form of construction materials that we can rebuild as fast as we can.

And of course, all of the Ukrainian people have the opportunity to also put in a claim to have money and financial compensation for what they have lost.

[03:14:57]

Sixty-six thousand of these have already been placed in the national system of Ukraine. And the government is working to pay out the compensation so that people can rebuild as fast as they can and return home.

VAUSE: Lesia., just very quickly, I'm out of time. But I want to know there are reports out there that even some children's toys were booby trapped with land mines and explosives. Do you know much about that?

VASYLENKO: No. As you said, we're dealing with savages. We're not dealing with people. We're not dealing with an army, let alone a modern army. We are dealing with brutes and savages who stop at nothing to hurt the civilian population. And they hurt the most vulnerable of the vulnerable. The children.

So, yes, these are cases which I hear plenty of. And it saddens me and really there's not much that we can do but to unite efforts not just in Ukraine but internationally as well. To fight off this aggression once and for all and put a stop to this.

VAUSE: Absolutely. Lesia, thank you so much. We really appreciate you being with us.

VASYLENKO: Thank you.

VAUSE: Lesia Vasylenko there, a member of the Ukrainian parliament. Thank you, ma'am.

Still ahead, Vladimir Putin welcoming his best friend in the region in this war on Ukraine. We'll take a closer look at what's on the agenda of these two best pals.

Also, President Biden and the Indian prime minister candid exchange over Russia's war on Ukraine. Why India's neutral position has case a lot of concern in the U.S. My colleague Rosemary Church picks up that story after a very short break. You're watching CNN.

[03:20:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. A White House official says there was a candid exchange of views about India's neutral stance on Mr. Putin's war in a virtual meeting Monday between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but Mr. Biden did not specifically ask the Indian leader to take a side. India's neutral position has caused increasing concern in Washington.

Later, America's top diplomat, Antony Blinken pressed India and other countries to use their leverage with Russia to end the war. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: India has to make its own decisions about how it approaches this challenge. We as a general proposition are consulting with all allies and partners on the consequences of Putin's war, the atrocities being committed against the people of Ukraine. In our judgment it is important that all countries especially those with leverage press Putin to end the war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is visiting Russia today for talks with Vladimir Putin. Belarus is one of the few countries that are still maintaining good relations with Russia as Moscow actively looks for a new trading partner.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is tracking developments from London. She joins us now. Good to see you, Clare. So, is this meeting largely about optics, Putin trying to show he has an ally at least or can we expect something significant to come out of this?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, certainly on the surface it does seem to be about optics. We don't know yet what they have discussed according to Russian state media as state news agency TASS, they're going to be talking about bilateral cooperation and the situation in Ukraine and their joint efforts to oppose western sanctions.

But their meeting not that somewhere sort of mutually convenient. They are meeting in Russia's far east, seven and a half thousand kilometers from Moscow. A six-hour time difference at Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome, a massive infrastructure project that Putin has presided over this cooperation existing between Russia and Belarus on space.

SO, clearly, this is a show of sort of cooperation between the two, the fact that Russia hasn't been rendered friendless by this war. But I think the question as we see the sanction regimes tighten and we see more and more pressure from the likes of the U.S. on countries that have maintained a neutral stance on the war, how long can Russia keep up these friendships especially when it comes to doing business.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEBASTIAN (voice over): Less than three weeks before invading Ukraine, Russian president visited China to attend the Winter Olympics and most importantly, shore up relations with his biggest trading partner. In early April with western sanctions tightening on Russia, it was Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the travel circuit. This time in India. The country dependent on Russia for about 60 percent of its military equipment.

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We will be ready to supply to India any goods which India wants to buy.

MARIO BIKARSKI, ANALYST, ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT: What Russia is now trying to do is to find the replacement of these markets that it has lost. So, to replace investment, to replace businesses, and to replace goods that are traded.

SEBASTIAN: And Russia has options. This U.N. vote on March 2nd serves as rough guide. Five countries voting against the resolution urging Russia to end the offensive in Ukraine. Russia, of course, and Belarus, North Korea, Syria, and Erythrina, 35 abstaining including China and India, 141 countries voted in favor.

What you're starting to see is that this conflict is splitting the world. This map produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit sets out what they see is the long-term stance of countries on this war. Those that broadly support the west in the very pale orange. Those that are trying to stay neutral like India are in the darker orange here.

And in red those that either directly support Moscow or staying close to its narrative on the war including China. So, this is not an isolated Russia. But a potential redrawing of the global order when it comes to geopolitics and trade.

[03:24:58]

There are signs this could be happening. Pakistan whose now former prime minister was in Moscow the day the war broke out struck a deal in March to buy Russian wheat and natural gas. And says it's close to an agreement for Russia to build a gas pipeline in that country.

Meanwhile, some Indian refineries have bought Russian oil at a discount, according to Reuters. Analysts say this kind of deal making could though, get harder as the conflict goes on.

BIKARSKI: The sanctions regime that is currently in place is constantly expanding. And it's also really unclear what the sanctions actually involve and whether companies will fall on the secondary sanctions and whether something is not sanctioned now could be sanctioned tomorrow. So, there's a lot of uncertainty there and a lot of companies are really, really wary of doing business and doing trade with Russia.

SEBASTIAN: Despite saying publicly it opposes sanctions on Russia, China is staying silent on whether it will let Moscow convert its yuan reserves into dollars or euros. Critical for a country facing default.

Brazil whose president visited Moscow in February and which heavily reliant on Russian fertilizer is set to receive its last shipment at the end of April according to risk management consultancy StoneX. It says no more have been scheduled because banks and shipping companies didn't want to fall foul of sanctions.

Russia facing an 1 percent contraction this year according to the World Bank is working overtime to keep its remaining markets open as the risk for its allies grow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SEBASTIAN (on camera): And the risks for its allies, Rosemary, growing in lock step with more and more evidence of atrocities emerging in Ukraine. This sparked the fifth round of sanctions that we saw from the E.U. last week where they banned Russian imports of coal into the region. They have now according to the E.U.'s top diplomat advanced discussions on a next round of sanctions which could of course include oil. Josep Borrell tweeting nothing is off the table.

CHURCH: Clare Sebastian, we thank you for that report. Joining us there from London. I appreciate it.

And we'll go back to John Vause in Lviv, Ukraine after the break. And we'll have details on a disturbing new report from UNICEF as Ukrainians of all ages try to escape the war.

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause live in Lviv, Ukraine. Just 31 minutes past the hour.

Ukraine's president is pleading for increase weapon shipments from the west to defend against an expected Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine.

President Zelenskyy warn Russia could also resort to chemical weapons in a fresh assault on the port city of Mariupol. If Russian forces capture that port city, they could link up with troops advancing from Crimea in the south and surround Ukrainian forces in the east.

No good news from the Austrian chancellor's meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Karl Nehammer the first western leader to meet with Putin since he began this war. He said the offensive is now being prepared on a massive scale and Putin is deeply involved in that.

U.N. Refugee Agency says more than four and a half million people have now fled the country since the fighting began in late February. Most crossing into Poland. That's been the case now for weeks. But Romania, Hungary, Moldova together have accepted close to two million refugees as well.

Meantime, the number of those internally displaced in this country is now north of seven million. UNICEF says nearly two-thirds of all Ukrainian children are among those displaced. Almost 1.6 million children here are maybe going hungry. They just do not have enough food to eat in Ukraine.

Let's bring in CNN's Salma Abdelaziz tracking this live from the Polish Ukrainian border. And Salma, what we see time and time again is the people crossing the border from Ukraine into Poland. Moms with kids. Lots of kids. How are they caring for so many children?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, John. And you have to remember that men are fighting age are not allowed to leave Ukraine. That means most of these children have been separated from their dads. They have been pulled away from their uncles, these wives are not with husbands. So, it makes it even more difficult that these children are asking where their fathers are. They have to flee alone and they have to make a plan alone.

I want to show you around this train station because it's really become a half way point, a hub for families. Fleeing Ukraine, yes, but their journey when they arrive here is not over. You can see this little one is just sleeping it out in his stroller while his mom figures out what's next.

She's got a warm soup from the volunteers outside. And that's a lot of what's provided here, is a little bit of help. Just over there actually there's a play room for the children. So, if moms need a break, they can leave the children in that playroom and give themselves an opportunity to work the phones. Figure out where they're going to sleep tonight.

You can see everyone just has their bags with them. These ladies have brought their dogs, their pets with them. And that's what people are carrying. Their most precious possessions with them and they have to figure out with this possession that they are just carrying in their hands where will they spend the next few days.

Many of these families are essentially nomadic, John. They can find a shelter for a few days. Maybe stay with a friend in a spare room for another few days, then they come back to this train station and move somewhere else in Europe.

[03:35:02]

Every day they're trying to make another plan. Every day they're trying to figure out what to do next. So, yes, you're talking about over two and a half million people. But there's no one big central point. There's no huge refugee camp where everyone goes to. People are constantly on the move, constantly relying on the kindness of strangers.

And you'll see all over this train station volunteers in high vest dockets and that's what they're constantly doing is answering questions. Here's another little one just sleeping it away in his stroller while his mom waits it out for the next train. And it's really a scene here this train station. A scene of help, a scene of generosity, of overwhelming support and open doors for these many, many families.

Again, who oftentimes have been separated from husbands, dads, uncles, brothers. But it's also a place where you see families, kind of, finally get that bit of relief. That bit of breath and begin to realize, OK, where do I go next, John?

VAUSE: Salma, I can hear it in your voice that it is difficult to be there because I guess there's so many different emotions which are happening. So many people who have lost everything. But there's also so many people giving everything they can.

I guess the question is, how much longer can the people of Poland continue to have this welcome mat open to have this welcome door open and have this welcome put out for the people of Ukraine? Because they are countries which also have limited resources at the end of the day.

ABDELAZIZ: You know, we've been speaking to volunteers all across the border region. And you'll hear the same thing over and over again, John. We want to help. We want to keep the doors open. We want to support these families as much as we can. But that costs money. That costs energy. That cost resources. And we're running out of all of those things.

This country feels like, yes, it wants to continue to support Ukrainian families, but they can't do it alone. The Polish government has repeatedly called for the international community to step in and really think about the long term here, John. If you have families with children and they're going to be here long term. Where do you put them in schools? Now they speak a different language. They're going to have different language schools. You have to find jobs for these families. It's a really big struggle, John.

CHURCH: Salma, if you didn't feel anything while you were there, you wouldn't have a heart. Thank you for your reporting.

We're following a political tumultuous weekend in Pakistan. When we come back, the new prime minister taking office just 24 hours after leading the campaign to oust his predecessor. We'll look at the challenges facing Shehbaz Sharif, in a moment.

[03:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, France's two remaining presidential candidates kicked off the final leg of their campaigns by attacking each other's economic plans. President Emmanuel Macron on Monday told potential voters in Denain, a stronghold of his rival Marine Le Pen, that he's heard their concerns about the rising cost of living and he slammed the far-right Le Pen as a demagogue lying to voters.

Le Pen didn't mince words either. She blamed the centrist president for inflation and its dark clouds looming over France. And Le Pen repeated her attacks painting Mr. Macron as a member of the elite, detached from the struggles of everyday life.

A struggling economy is also the top priority for Pakistan's new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is calling for unity after a dramatic week which saw his predecessor ousted from office.

CNN's Sophia Saifi has more details on Pakistan's new leader and the challenges ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: A political whirlwind in Pakistan. On Monday, Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in as the country's new prime minister just a day after his predecessor Imran Khan lost a no confidence vote. It was a dramatic start for the new leader in which more than 100 lawmakers loyal to Khan resigned in protest.

Despite the chaos, Sharif vowed to begin his term by tackling yet another problem in the country. The economy.

SHEHBAZ SHARIF, NEWLY ELECTED PAKISTAN'S PRIME MINISTER (through translator): At this point in time, only the poor man is devastated and destroyed. I will provide some relief to them on behalf of this coalition government. And would like to say that at the very least, we will raise the minimum wage to 25,000 rupees.

SAIFI: Sharif blames Khan for mismanaging the economy and let calls for a no confidence vote against him after urging him to resign. Just over a week ago, Khan announced he was dissolving parliament and calling for early elections to avoid the vote. But that move was struck down by the country's highest court. And on Sunday, there were loud cheers in parliament after Khan lost the highest stakes political battle.

UNKNOWN: The resolution the vote of no confidence against Imran Khan, the prime minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan has been passed.

SAIFI: Sharif is the younger brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who was convicted of corruption charges in 2018. But later left the country for medical treatment after serving only a brief part of his prison sentence.

[03:44:56]

The new prime minister is set to have support in the Pakistani military, which had distanced itself from Khan. Sharif also has allies in China after playing an influential role in a multi-billion-dollar deal between the two countries. And says he wants to improve relations with the west. Khan remains defiant after his defeat and says the U.S. was behind his downfall which Washington denies. He also says he would not support an opposition government if it succeeded in ousting him.

IMRAN KHAN, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN (through translator): I will not accept an imported government. I will go out to my people. I do not belong to a political family. Neither my father nor any relative was in politics.

SAIFI: Thousands of Khan supporters have been protesting in major cities around the country. Yet another challenge for Pakistan's new leader on this dizzying first day in office.

Sophia Saifi, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And just ahead, we will go to Shanghai for a firsthand account of life during the world's biggest COVID lockdown. Back with that in just a moment.

[03:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, after two weeks of lockdown, to try to contain the coronavirus in Shanghai, there are signs of life beginning to emerge from some neighborhoods. Restrictions are now being eased in areas with lower case counts.

As you can see in this video shot by a resident showing his wife celebrating on an empty street. But some are still frustrated and angry over the government's tough control measures which they say have led to food and medicine shortages.

CNN's David Culver is living through the lockdown with Shanghai's 25 million residents and here's his report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You'd never expect to see people in Shanghai, China's most affluent and cosmopolitan city screaming for food. "We are starving, we are starving," they yell. But after weeks long COVID lockdown, with no promised end, desperation.

One community volunteer recording the home of an elderly woman. She says neighbors heard the 90-year-old shouting help for three days. Pleading for food. Her fridge is empty. Volunteers were finally able to get her a meal.

China's central government now in charge of managing Shanghai's COVID outbreak. In a month's time the daily case count went from double digits to more than 26,000. A Shanghai city leader choked up at a news conference over the weekend apologizing to Shanghai's more than 25 million residents for failing to meet expectations and promising improvement. Those of us living here kept to our homes.

CNN the only U.S. TV network with a team living through the lockdown. In my community, we're only allowed out when summoned by workers using a megaphone and when dark out, a flashlight.

Getting late evening now request to go get a COVID test.

My neighbors and I line up. Ready for health workers to scan our QR codes which link the results to our I.D. night or day the testing is constant.

Someone in the community tested positive. So, they'll test now each of us once again.

We can also leave the house to line up for government distributions or to get approved deliveries. Usually the most exciting part of the day.

A vacuum sealed pork and then several boxes of traditional Chinese medicine. A bunch more of face masks. A box that has a bunch of fresh fruit. On top they have some frozen meat and then two antigen kits.

Food deliveries this plentiful are rare. So, most of us spend our morning trying to order groceries online. But orders sell out quickly. Not enough delivery drivers to get through the lockdown barriers. Communities like mine resorting to group buys. We come together in chat groups and try to source food directly from suppliers in bulk. Neighbors helping neighbors is a common theme across the city. We found a safe drop spot to trade. Cheese for oranges.

Our community volunteers help us source food where they can. Though they too are exhausted and hungry. From above you see this metropolis. Quiet. Eerily empty. But on the ground, there are tragedies shared daily online.

This man recording his father who says he's unable to get admitted to a hospital in a strained system. His dad later died, he says. In this video a neighbor capturing the wailing of a heartbroken woman crying out that her loved had died because of the lockdown.

And this video sparked outrage on Chinese social media. It shows a worker in a hazmat suit brutally killing a pet corgi because local officials worry that it might have carried the virus. The owner was in government quarantine. All of this as a result of China's zero COVID policy. A directive from the top.

President Xi Jinping on Friday praising China's zero COVID approach. State media echoing a glowing narrative. Showing an orderly mobilization in Shanghai with an abundant food supply and rapid construction of more than 100 makeshift hospitals with capacity to treat 160,000 people infected.

[03:54:58]

But patients taken to those government quarantine centers sharing a very different reality online. Posting videos of unsanitary conditions and people using isolation facilities still under construction. Some seem frantically running at distribution sites. Scrambling for food and blankets.

The uncertainty leading this man broken. Doing the unthinkable. Questioning the leadership allowed. Asking, where is the communist party?

David Culver, CNN, Shanghai.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Incredible report there. I'm Rosemary Church. Thank you so much for spending part of your day with me. Our breaking news coverage continues with Max Foster in London after a short break. Do stay with us.

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