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Russian Cruise Missile Strike Kills Two, Injures 18 In Kharkiv; Kyiv Comes Under New Russian Fire, Mayor Warns Residents Not To Return To City; Zelenskyy Warns Putin Could Use Tactical Nuclear Weapons; United Nations Faces New Scrutiny As Russia's War On Ukraine Rages; FDA Authorizes COVID Breathalyzer Test As NY Sees Uptick In Cases; Broadway Theaters Extends Mask Mandates Through End Of May; Shanghai Reports More Than 23,000 New COVID Cases Friday; Airlines Scramble To Fix Pilot & Worker Shortage. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired April 16, 2022 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:16]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All right. Happening right now. Russia unleashing a new round of merciless strikes across Ukraine attacks intensifying on the eastern front lines. A cruise missile blast rocking the hard-hit city of Kharkiv. Officials there say two civilians were killed and 18 others injured.
Cars and buildings simply destroyed in that attack. And CNN teams on the ground in Luhansk -- in the Luhansk region witnessed a Russian strike on a market. We'll have more on that in a moment. Western Ukraine not spared from the violence. Air raid siren sending chilling warning today in Lviv and Kyiv. Explosions in the capital city killing at least one person and then injuring several others.
The mayor warning those who fled the city, it's still not safe to return. And now we're getting a gruesome picture of the horror left behind as Russians retreat from Kyiv. Ukrainian officials say more than 900 bodies of innocent civilians have been discovered there so far. While in the south, the besiege port city of Mariupol is a hollow shell of its former self.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAVLO KYRYLENKO, HEAD OF DONETSK REGION MILITARY ADMINISTRATION (through translator): The enemy cannot see his Mariupol the enemy may seize the land that Mariupol used to stand on. But the city of Mariupol is no more. The city of Mariupol has been wiped off the face of the earth by the Russian Federation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Ukrainian officials say Russia's relentless new onslaught in the southern section of Ukraine is revenge for the sinking of a prized Russian warship in the Black Sea. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a dire message to the world that Russia could eventually use tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine. For more on this, I want to bring in CNN's Ed Lavandera joining us from Odessa.
So, Ed, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Armed Forces told reporters and I'm quoting now, we all realize that we will not be forgiven after sinking -- that sinking of a major Russian warship. How is the country bracing from where you are?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a few days ago, Fredricka, when the news of the sinking of that warship made headlines around the world, people here along the coast started kind of bracing for what was coming. And we're starting to see the effects of that in Odessa. And then just to east of here is the city of Mykolaiv. That is an area that is just very close to the frontlines in this war.
The city of Kherson, which is just on the other side of Mykolaiv is Russian occupied and there has been shelling launched from that general area into that city for several days now. And it's escalated and intensified in a deadly way. Five people killed yesterday. 15 others injured. The mayor of Mykolaiv says that today the rounds of attacks have continued. In fact, one strike hit a kindergarten building and also has damaged a playground.
So, extensive damage around the city. There have been many people who have evacuated, but it is stunning to see just how many people are still left in that city. People who will tell you that they refuse to evacuate because they have no place to go or they'll tell you that this is their land and this is their home, they will stay to defend it. But they are bracing for intensified tax. And we are really starting to see the effects of that in the last few days as shelling has continued.
And also, in the areas in the more rural areas north of there. And these are the farmland areas that are so crucial to the Ukrainian economy. You see convoys of civilians leaving. Some of those occupied areas in the describe horrific conditions inside the cities and terrible treatment from Russian soldiers in there. So, all of this area really becoming a much more dynamic, much more fluid situation and we'll continue to be so here in the days and weeks ahead. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: And ed, the Ukrainian military and regional officials are saying that there have been intensified Russian attacks in the east of the country. What more do you know about that?
LAVANDERA: As you mentioned off the top of the strikes and deadly strikes in Kharkiv, that's in the northeast. And that is essentially an area where Russian soldiers have been regrouping and restrategizing how they will begin a renewed offensive into eastern Ukraine. And we've also seen and heard reports today of more attacks a little bit further south of there. Ukrainian military officials say they believe that this is all part of an effort to soften up Ukrainian military forces on the ground, inflict as much damage as possible before the Russians engaged in a renewed ground offensive in possibly in the coming days.
[13:05:05] LAVANDERA: And again, this is much different terrain than what you saw in the areas north of Kyiv. Much of this area in the southern part of Ukraine is wide open farmland. And we have seen evidence of Ukrainian forces remobilizing, moving their pieces as well of troops and machinery to get into place to fight this -- on this new front. And that is an area that is expected to intensify as I mentioned in the coming days and weeks as well.
But right now, what we're seeing the evidence of is these continued airstrikes and Ukrainian military officials believing this is part of an effort to inflict as much damage as possible before that -- those ground offensives -- the ground offensive starts again.
WHITFIELD: All right. Ed Lavandera, thank you so much. And then there is this new video (INAUDIBLE) CNN of shelling at a market in a town in the eastern part of Ukraine. A CNN crew witnessed the strikes and captured this video in the Luhansk region of the videos shared on social media and geolocated by CNN also showing burning buildings following the attack at that market earlier today.
No word yet on casualties. And CNN crews also captured this video of a large plume of thick black smoke rising into the air after a fuel depot was hit by strikes in the same region. As Kyiv is getting hit with new attacks today, in Lviv to the west air defenses were activated in the early morning hours. Here's CNN's Matt Rivers.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we were awoken here in Lviv by air raid sirens around 5:45 a.m. local time this morning. And while that's not totally uncommon here in the Lviv, what is a bit more uncommon is getting detailed information from the Ukrainians about what caused those air raid sirens to go off. So, after they went off, we were under that every morning for about an hour and a half.
We got word from Ukrainian officials that those sirens went off because they say that Russian warplanes that took off from air bases in neighboring Belarus launched for cruise missiles to unspecified targets in the Lviv region with Ukrainian saying that they successfully shot down those cruise missiles using air defense systems in this -- in this region. But Lviv not the only area that was targeted by Russian attacks overnight.
We know such an attack took place in a south eastern district of the city of Kyiv. What the city's mayor saying at least one person was killed, several other people injured when a Russian attack damaged buildings in this southeastern district of the city with rescue workers continuing to be on scene throughout Saturday afternoon as officials work to get a better sense of the overall situation.
And we're also getting more word from the Ukrainians about the Russian military buildup in the eastern part of the country with Ukrainian defense officials outlining how there are some 22 Russian battalion tactical groups or BTGs consisting of about 1000 resident shoulders each that are now centered around the city of Izyum with the understanding that those troops could eventually move south and east into the Donbas region. This is the part of the country where defense officials say this latest Russian ground campaign, this latest defensive will likely kick off in earnest in a much more scaled up way in the coming days and weeks from now. So, this is the latest going on around Ukraine at this point, not only as we watch and wait for this offensive in the eastern part of the country, but also more isolated attacks and other parts as well. Fred?
WHITFIELD: All right. Matt Rivers, thank you so much. All right. Joining me right now, CNN National Security Analyst Beth Sanner. She's also the former Deputy Director of National Intelligence and a senior fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center. So good to see you. So, we're seeing these new strikes on areas across the country, including the cruise missile strike in Kharkiv. It seems the message is clear. Vladimir Putin is trying to flatten or erase as much of this country as possible. Is that the way you see it?
BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think there are two things going on. One is this more concerted effort in the Donbas, right? Where they really want to take territory. But the other part of this is twofold. One is, as you say, they want to erase Ukraine in a way. They want to make this a perpetually weak, unstable state that can never be able to be part of the west since they were unable to capture it.
But we also will see them attacking infrastructure. The more weapons we put in, they're going to go after arms depots and things that can really disrupt Ukraine's ability to prosecute this war.
WHITFIELD: Let's talk about this shipment, you know, of newly-approved U.S. military aid for Ukraine. It's expected to arrive at any moment, you know, today, a package that includes helicopters, drones. What's the immediate impact once this arsenal does get into the hands of Ukrainian forces?
[13:10:06]
SANNER: It's a pretty big impact. There are a lot of weapons there. There are heavy weapons for the first time. We did have the checks, sent tanks in earlier, but this is the first major shipment since then of heavy weapons. Then those heavy weapons have to be moved really rapidly to the front in the east. So, getting them down the road to the eastern battle is going to be the key thing.
And, you know, of course, just supplementing and building up some of the forces that have been already used, like the drones and other things that need to be replenished. Those drones are absolutely crucial in this war.
WHITFIELD: So, what's striking now is that Russia has also formally protested the weapons shipment by the U.S. and warned, you know, about what's next. Number one, I mean, protests really, you know, and number two, what is it -- what does the country mean by unpredictable consequences? What's being implied here?
SANNER: Right. So, Russia has sent a diplomatic note, which is called a demarche. And those of us in the business used to call demarche mallows because they just are pieces of paper that have statements on them, and sometimes warnings and stern warnings, right? And they don't have much impact. But I do think that this idea of unpredictable consequences, they're just trying to warn us off.
I think they know pretty well, given that this was all a regular diplomatic statement. And it wasn't like a red line issued by Putin. They don't want to put a red line down that they know we're going to cross because we're not going to listen to this. And so, I don't think it has much of an impact right now. But obviously, everybody has to be on alert and are concerned about escalation.
WHITFIELD: Does Putin have the real possibility of taking hold of the Donbas region? And if so, what are your concerns?
SANNER: Do they have the ability to take control of that?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
SANNER: I think that there is that huge risk, when you talk about 22 BTGs in Izyum, the whole idea is to move those down to south and try to surround the Ukrainian troops that are on the Line of Control on the eastern part of the Donbas. So, they're going to try to take more of that territory. The Mariupol -- being able to seize Mariupol which is really only a matter of time, also gives them this ability to connect Crimea overland and resupply.
And so, the idea that Russia has, is to connect all of these things and have a solid control in the north. And if possible, have that bump up against the Dnieper River, so they can really have a physical barrier. But the Ukrainians, you know, they're bringing a lot of heart and now they're bringing a lot of material to the fight. And the Russians are going to have to reverse momentum. It's going to be tough.
WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, it's pretty ominous and frightening, right? To hear both the U.S. and the U.K. say that this conflict could be going on for quite some time, months, many months more. What kind of Intel are they basing that on?
SANNER: I -- not sure, obviously, because I'm not seeing those things now. But the kind of intelligence that you get from that is you put together a whole kind of mosaic based on what are you seeing that the Russians are bringing to the fight, you're looking at how did they perform? So, a lot of the information of how they did in the -- in the west is now being baked into the new assessments.
And I would say that there's also this whole political element of it as well. You know, what does Putin want, what will he take. What is the absolute bottom line that he will accept? And then you put that all together and probably putting together some scenarios, because for something this fluid is in a war, you can't be certain about anything. And frankly, the intelligence community did get it wrong in the beginning about how well Russia would do in part, probably based on the assumptions that the Russians were making themselves. WHITFIELD: And that it would do it at all, right? I mean, initially was the buildup and, you know, so many thought Russia was bluffing. Right. And they actually did it.
SANNER: The (INAUDIBLE) part right, but not how well the Ukrainians would do and not how -- just amazingly badly the Russian would do.
WHITFIELD: All right.
SANNER: But I think you know a lot more now.
WHITFIELD: OK. We sure -- we certainly do sadly. Beth Sanner, thank you so much. All right. Tomorrow on CNN State of the Union, our Jake Tapper has this exclusive interview with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. That's on State of the Union tomorrow morning 9:00 a.m. right here on CNN.
Also coming up. A spot of good news out of Ukraine.
[13:15:01]
WHITFIELD: We'll show you the remarkable story of an 86-year-old woman frightened and alone in the midst of a warzone. And now thanks to an outpouring of support from people who saw her story right here on CNN, her life has gotten better.
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WHITFIELD: A senior U.S. defense official says the first Russian troops that had left northern Ukraine to regroup are now appearing in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Parts of which are controlled by Russian-backed separatists. Much of the area is in during constant bombardment and civilians are paying the price. CNN's Clarissa Ward shows us the anguish in a town near Donetsk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The town of Avdiivka is no stranger to war. For eight years, this has been the front line of Ukraine's battle with Russian-backed separatists. People here are used to shelling. They have never experienced anything like this.
[13:20:09]
WARD: A missile can be heard overhead. This emotional man approaches us. They smash the old part of town, he says.
As we talk, the artillery intensifies.
WARD (on camera): I told him it's better to go home now because there's a lot of shelling and he said there's more shelling where he lives.
WARD (voice over): As Russia prepares a major offensive in the east, frontline towns like a Avdiivka are getting pummeled.
WARD (on camera): So, you can hear constant bombardment This is the bomb shelter down here but you can see this building has already been hit.
WARD (voice over): More than 40 people are now living in what used to be a clothing store. Lita (ph) and her two sons had been here for three weeks. She wants to leave but says her boys are too scared to go outside.
We're afraid to stay and afraid to go, she tells us. But it's fate. Whether you run or don't run. On an apartment block, an icon of the Virgin Mary has been painted. Plea for protection. But there is no respite in the bombardment.
WARD (on camera): If we look over here, you can see the remnants of some fresh strikes.
WARD (voice over): Thirty-seven-old government worker Rati Slab (ph) looks at what remains of his family home.
[10:15:03]
WARD (voice over): He takes us inside to see the full scale of the destruction.
WARD (on camera): It's completely destroyed.
WARD (voice over): Mercifully, no one was at home at the time of the strike.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was photo albums. My children's photograph.
WARD: His family has already left but he says he plans to stay.
I'm afraid like anybody else. Only the dead aren't afraid he tells us. But a lot of people are still here on Avdiivka living in bomb shelters and we need to support them. Authority say, roughly 2000 people remain in this town. There is no water, no heat. Electricity is spotty. The local school has become a hub to gather aid and distributed to the community.
Volunteer Igor Golotov (ph) spends his days visiting the elderly and disabled. Today he is checking in on 86-year-old Lydia (ph), petrified and alone, he has yet to find an organization willing to come and evacuate her.
When there's no electricity and it's so dark and there's shelling, she says, you can't imagine how scary it is. She tells us she recites prayers to get through the night. I never imagined that my end would be like this, she says. You can't even die here because there's no one to provide a burial ceremony. For Igor, it is agony not to be able to do more.
I promise you, Igor says, I will help you to be evacuated. As we leave, Lydia is reluctant to say goodbye. It is terrifying to live through this time to do it alone is torture. It's so nice to see real people, she says. Probably it's going to get worse. A prediction all but certain to come true a second Russian offensive draws near.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And a follow up on Clarissa's reporting bringing some uplift. The story of Lydia, who we just saw, the 86-year-old woman frightened and alone in the midst of that war, well, it prompted a massive response from people wanting to help and now Lydia's life has gotten much better. Here is Clarissa with an update.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WARD: Lydia Mihayluk (ph) thought this day would never come. After weeks of horror, she waits outside her apartment to be evacuated.
WARD (on camera): So, we're here at the big heart living facility and we're just waiting for Lydia to arrive.
[13:25:04]
WARD: She's been driving for some hours and we're excited to see her. Here she is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to see you, man. We got her out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
WARD: Lydia greets cameraman Scottie McWhinney.
SCOTT MCWHINNEY, CNN CAMERAMAN: Hey.
WARD: It's our old friend, she says. I'm so glad to see you again. After we left Lydia Thursday, there was an outpouring from people who wanted to help. We managed to connect volunteers to a care home and the relative safety of Dnipro.
Leaving Lydia alone in her apartment was incredibly tough, to see her safe is a huge relief.
Today, I will finally feel calm, she says. This is so important. Thank you
Her journey out Avdiivka was far from easy.
She's saying that there was a lot of shelling this morning. It was terrifying.
It took six long hours to get here and she made it.
I'm so lucky, she says. Safe and comfortable at long last.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: Oh, so glad, Lydia has safety now. But sadly, we know there are so many others who have not. Clarissa Ward, thank you so much for bringing us that story and that uplift. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:31:21]
WHITFIELD: Well, it's a question Russia's war on Ukraine is forcing on the world and one the country's president is directly asking: What is the role of the United Nations?
The Security Council's role is to maintain international peace and security. But they are paralyzed right now, unable to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for the possible war crimes.
Here now is CNN's Gloria Borger on why that's happening.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): It didn't take a translation to feel President Zelenskyy's outrage.
ZELENSKYY (through translation): Where is the security there the Security Council needs to guarantee? It's not there.
BORGER: Then the final insult. Without action --
ZELENSKYY (through translation): Then the next option would be dissolve yourself altogether.
JOHN BOLTON, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Well, he was absolutely right. And I thought one more convert to understanding what's wrong with the United Nations. It's political institutions are fundamentally broken.
BORGER: Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton has never been a United Nations booster.
BOLTON: I think it is unfixable.
BORGER: Neither has Liz Cheney.
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): It is not the kind of effective entity people hoped it would be when it was created.
BORGER: That was in 1945, when the World War II victors established the U.N. Security Council with five permanent members. Today, those are the U.S., France, the UK, China and Russia. Each with veto power, as Joseph Stalin himself insisted.
The world has changed, but the council still remains largely as it was 77 years ago. That is, Russia has the power to veto any resolution it opposes. (on camera): It's like giving a Senator on the floor a veto over any
legislation without any override.
BOLTON: Exactly. And what we're seeing is, when there's a fundamental disagreement among permanent members, nothing happens.
BORGER (voice-over): Suggestions to reform the council by adding more permanent members or removing vetoes all together have been nonstarters.
As former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson points out, it's all about keeping power.
BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: I'm being honest with you. I don't think anyone is going to want to give up their veto.
BORGER: And Russia is not about to vote itself off the Security Council either.
Although, weeks ago, it was condemned twice by the U.N. General Assembly. But those were in nonbinding resolutions. Russia was also thrown off the Human Rights Council. But even that wasn't a unanimous decision.
BOLTON: Here's the real headline: A majority of the members of the United Nations did not vote to expel Russia.
BORGER (on camera): What does that tell you?
BOLTON: It tells you Russia has significant support around the world.
BORGER (voice-over): What Putin really cares about is the stature of permanent membership on the Security Council confers.
RICHARD GOWAN, U.N. DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Now, in the real world, Russia is not that important. It's China and the U.S. that are the dominant players.
But in the Security Council, the Russians stand as a pause to the U.S. And they're very, very proud of having that status.
BORGER: All of which leaves the Security Council paralyzed, And if the U.N. can't stop what's happening in Ukraine, what's it for?
RICHARDSON: The U.N. is for airing, publicly, the tragedies of the world, like the refugee crisis in Ukraine, like the possible war crimes.
At the same time, the U.N. is providing food. The U.N. is providing refugee assistance.
BORGER: Yet, in a bizarre looking-glass moment on TV --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- special military operation in the Donbass.
BORGER: -- Russia chaired the Security Council session as weapons were unleashed in Ukraine. Diplomacy could not stop the killing.
[13:35:08]
A point the Ukrainian ambassador made recently as he read a letter from a 9-year-old boy to his dead mother.
SERGIY KYSLYTSYA, UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: "You are the best momma in the world. I will never forget you."
Such letters should not have to be written. If they are, it means that something has gone terribly wrong, including here at the United Nations.
BORGER (on camera): Even so, Fred, no matter how many times the Ukrainians ask for it, reform of the U.N. Security Council is not about to happen anytime soon, if ever.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, Gloria Borger.
Still ahead, New York health officials are on alert as COVID-19 cases have been on the rise in the state. While the FDA granted emergency use authorization to a breathalyzer test. We'll have the latest on the pandemic next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:40:41]
WHITFIELD: COVID cases on the rise in parts of the country just weeks after many states ended their masking mandates.
On Thursday, the FDA authorized a COVID breathalyzer test for emergency use. One exhale and doctors can trace chemicals linked to the virus in your breath in less than three minutes.
Meanwhile, health officials say they are seeing an uptick in infections in central New York.
CNN's Polo Sandoval back with us with more on all of this -- Polo?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, that COVID breath test is really fascinating. Though the manufacturer hasn't said when it would potentially be available.
But it would certainly come at a good time when we start to see certain upticks in COVID cases throughout the country.
What really concerns some health officials are some of the cases that are being seen here in New York State alone, specifically in the central part of the state.
And when you look at the map of the current trend map, you can see why. There's an average daily number of cases that have nearly doubled in central New York in the last couple weeks. There are two offshoots of the original Omicron BA.2 variant that is
really to blame for about 90 percent of those cases that have been detected there. It's unclear, though, if these new subvariants will eventually dominate the cases in New York or throughout much of the country.
It's not the first time that we've seen these subvariants. We've seen them throughout the country. And those global trackers have noticed them also in terms of cases in Canada, India, Germany, the U.K. as well.
So it's certainly not the first time. But at the same time, it's certainly an opportunity to really emphasize all of those tools that we have heard from the beginning.
Again, keeping in mind that the increase in cases we're seeing right now is only a margin, a small fraction of what we saw during the Omicron surge.
Back to those tools, we heard from the state's health authority, basically saying that right now is just an opportunity to make sure that everybody's reminded that it's still important to get vaccinated, to get boosted, to obviously test if you've had potential exposure.
So it's really not that those subvariant spreads are new, the tools we have to try to keep those numbers down and to fight those subvariants, they are certainly not new.
WHITFIELD: OK. What's not new is, if mask mandates, which are back in some places. Broadway theaters are extending the mandates recently. Tell me more.
SANDOVAL: Yes. It's certainly not going to go away, at least anytime soon. You have the owners and the operators, Fred, of about 41 theaters here in New York that have again decided to extend the mask mandate at least through the end of May.
What's interesting though is, starting at the end of April, they will no longer be asking for vaccination proof. So that's certainly a small return towards normalcy, though that mask will remain.
But, look, about five million people have enjoyed a show since Broadway started opening up. So people are still willing to leave that mask on if it means catching a show.
WHITFIELD: All right.
Polo Sandoval, thank you so much --
Thank you.
WHITFIELD: -- in New York.
Meantime, Shanghai is reporting more than 23,000 new cases for Friday. That's more than 95 percent of the newly reported cases in China. China's most populous city is one of at least 44 places across the
country that have been subjected to lockdowns as authorities try to curb the spread of a highly contagious new variant.
CNN's David Culver has more from Shanghai, where he's been documenting life under these strict measures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SHOUTING)
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A few steps of freedom granted to some Shanghai residents, strolling their own neighborhood as if taking in some strange new world.
(on camera): But where are you going to go? There is nowhere to go.
CULVER (voice-over): Most shops still closed. And public transportation halted. Still, this woman can't hold back her joy, recording as she and her neighbors roam the empty streets.
After forcing 25-plus million people into weeks of harsh lockdown, government officials, facing mounting pressure, lifted some restrictions.
For communities like mine, without a positive case in the last seven days, that meant we could actually step outside our apartments.
My neighbors enjoying the taste of relative freedom. And so, too, are pets, eager to stretch their legs, still keeping within the confines of our compound.
The extent of my freedom? Is all the way to here, the compound gate, still double locked. It has been like that for about a month.
In recent weeks, we had to get community permission to leave our homes, mostly for COVID tests, of which there were many.
[13:45:03]
We could also step outside to pick up the occasional government distribution.
(on camera): Today's delivery, a bag of rice.
(voice-over): But even with heavy restrictions still in place, we have it good, for now at least.
(SHOUTING)
CULVER: A majority of this city remains in hard lockdown, kept to their homes, some hungry and suffering.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CULVER: This woman heard begging in the middle of the night, pleading for fever medicine for her child.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CULVER: And this man --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CULVER: -- recording his dwindling food supply.
Then there were those who've tested positive. Tens of thousands being sent to cramped government quarantine centers, whose residents have described a host of problems. Facilities that were quickly and apparently poorly constructed.
Outside of Shanghai, panic spreading quicker than the virus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CULVER: The horror stories from China's financial hub have residents in other Chinese cities stocking up, from Xuzhou to Guangzhou.
Online, sales for prepackaged foods surging.
This, as China's National Health Commission warns of more cases.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CULVER: And publicly calls out Shanghai for not effectively containing the virus, shifting blame to local officials for allowing it to spread to other places.
China's strict zero-COVID approach forcing dozens of cities into weeks-long full or partial lockdowns.
(MUSIC)
CULVER: Residents in Jilin (ph), banging on pots to protest.
(BANGING)
CULVER: Most of the 24 million people in the northern Chinese province confined to their homes for more than a month now.
Back in Shanghai, the joys of freedoms for some might last only a few hours, as it takes just one new case nearby to send them back inside, resetting the clock for their community.
Another 14 days sentence and lockdown, a seemingly endless cycle.
David Culver, CNN, Shanghai.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: A frightening cycle.
All right. Coming up, understaffed airlines and overworked flight crews. Some carriers are struggling to cope with the increase in travel demand and are canceling hundreds of flights. What that means for you, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:51:38]
WHITFIELD: All right. Some airlines are slashing their summer flight schedules despite the heavy demand for people because of major staffing shortages.
CNN's Pete Muntean has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is the latest challenge to your next trip. Understaffed airlines and overworked flight crews causing carriers to cancel flights.
After hundreds of cancelations last weekend, JetBlue announced it is cutting 8 percent to 10 percent of its summer schedule citing a challenging staffing situation.
The latest numbers show that airlines are still shy more than 30,000 workers compared to before the pandemic.
HENRY HARTEVELDT, ATMOSPHERE RESEARCH GROUP: There was a lot of burnout. And especially among some work groups, I'm hearing from folks saying, I just can't take it anymore.
MUNTEAN: Crew shortages are hitting airlines, large and small.
Alaska Airlines is canceling 2 percent of its flights through June. Delta pilots say they are being pushed to the limit on a regular basis.
EVAN BAACH, AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION: Longer days with shorter nights at home, shorter layovers, and our pilots are tired and fatigue.
MUNTEAN: Pilot reports of fatigue spiked at Southwest Airlines last month. Their union says the company is struggling to retain its newest hires.
CASEY MURRAY, CAPTAIN, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: This is going to be a critical issue every month and every month and every year that we move forward.
MUNTEAN: Help comes in the form of sky-high hiring goals. Delta wants to hire 200 new pilots each month. JetBlue has already hired 3,000 new crew this year alone.
United Airlines came up with a different solution, opening up its own flight school, a first for any major airline in the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pilot shortage is real. We can hire pilots at United Airlines. But the regional airlines and smaller airlines have a real pilot shortage and are having real challenges.
MUNTEAN (on camera): United's flight school is called the Aviate Academy and tuition costs about $70,000 to get all the licenses necessary to become an entry level airline pilot.
But consider this. An airline captain make up to $400,000 a year. It is a great time to learn to fly.
Airlines worldwide need to hire about 30,000 pilots by 2025. That's to keep up with demand and retirements. Remember, there's a mandatory retirement age for airline pilots, right now, set right now at 65 years old.
Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.
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WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
And the CNN NEWSROOM continues with Paula Reid after the break.
But first, a restaurant tour in New York City designed a Peruvian- inspired eatery accessible for all, in today's "START SMALL, THINK BIG."
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YANNICK BENJAMIN, CO-FOUNDER, CONTENTO RESTAURANT: We like to call ourselves a barrier-free restaurant. Five people in wheelchairs can actually congregate at the bar.
If I'm with someone that's able-bodied, we can look at each other eye- to-eye.
I'm Yannick Benjamin. And welcome to Contento Restaurant.
For people that are part of the low-vision and blind community, we have a menu that is in Braille. We have adaptive flatware for people who might have issues opening and closing their hands.
My entire family were all somehow connected to the hospitality industry. By the age of 13 I chose to work in a restaurant.
I was in a car accident that left me paralyzed in 2003. After I left rehabilitation, I didn't know where to go, what to do.
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A very good friend and a partner here at Contento was actually assigned to me as a mentor when I had my car accident. And he was always encouraging me to do my own thing.
Our three most popular dishes are the octopus with the black chimichurri, and the cauliflower gazpachos, the ceviche, and the short ribs and the Udon noodles in spicy peanut sauce. We got this wonderful recognition from the "World of Fine Wines" and
"Best of Micro Wine List of the World."
We often fear the unknown. But the worst thing that can happen is that, years from now, you look back and you say, I never even took the chance.
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