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Mykolaiv Governor: At Least Five Killed by Cluster Munitions; U.S. Confirms Moskva Sunk by Ukrainian Missiles; Moscow Formally Protests U.S. Military Aid to Ukraine; Wladimir Klitschko, Kyiv Mayor's Brother, on War in Ukraine; Ukrainian Academy in Ohio Talks about War with Kids; Ukraine: Body Count Near Kyiv Nearly 1,000; War Expert Makes Case against Premature Cease-Fire; NYC Workers Honored for Saving Lives in Subway Attack; Drumbeat of War Echoes through Good Friday Services. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired April 16, 2022 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause, live in Lviv.
Here, Ukrainian authorities reporting a dramatic increase in shelling along the southern and eastern fronts. The governor of Mykolaiv says Russian attacks using cluster munitions have left at least five civilians dead on Friday. More on that in a moment.
Meantime, the Russian military continues to resupply and rearm in the east, with a renewed offensive expected within days. Ukrainian military officials claim recent Russian attempts to seize more territory have been repelled.
And confirmation from U.S. officials, the guided missile cruiser Moskva was sunk by two Ukrainian missiles. Still, no word about the fate of the 500-plus crew on board.
Over the past 24 hours, Mykolaiv appears to be the target of multiple Russian attacks. Local officials say Russian artillery fired cluster munitions into residential areas, killing at least five. CNN's Ed Lavandera is there.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The cluster of explosions jolted this residential neighborhood in Mykolaiv Friday morning.
Witnesses say some people were walking their dogs in a park at the time. One of the munitions struck just feet away from an orthodox church.
You can see the impact spot of one of the munitions that went off this morning. As you look around here, you can see the impact and the damage done to this church here as well.
Multiple people were killed and more than a dozen others injured. Paramedics treated victims on the scene.
Across the street, under the shattered windows of an apartment building, this man told us, he help drag two injured people into a store for safety.
YURI ZAYTSEV, MYKOLAIV RESIDENT (through translator): The noise. The noise of a rocket flying and explosions, that's what I saw and heard when I was in the shop. People ran into the store and I saw people scared. I saw people dropping to the ground from explosions.
LAVANDERA: The sounds of explosions inside the city started around mid- morning and appeared to strike at least three different locations.
Mykolaiv authorities released this video of a private home burning after a rocket strike.
Mykolaiv strikes come as residents in southern Ukraine are worried about Russian retaliation for the sinking of the Moskva warship in the Black Sea and Russia's renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine.
In recent days, CNN has witnessed long convoys of families fleeing Russian- occupied areas near Mykolaiv. This bombing struck a densely populated area.
Galina Mironchuk says she was brushing her hair when the bomb landed just outside her apartment window. The blast shattered the glass and shattered her sense of peace.
Did you think something was going to happen to you?
I didn't think of anything, she tells me. I thought that was the end of the world.
The recent attacks have also crippled parts of the city's infrastructure. The water has been out for three days, forcing hundreds of people to get water from a river and natural spring. This man evacuated his mother and plans to stay in the city to fight off the Russians.
How worried are you that the Russians are getting closer?
It worries me a lot, he tells me. That's why I sent my mother away. That's why we are getting ready. We are still working. But if the Russians are close, I will fight them.
For now, residents are left to clean up the bloody aftermath and brace for the next attack -- Ed Lavandera, CNN, Mykolaiv, Ukraine.
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VAUSE: You may be able to hear these air raid sirens going off behind me in Lviv. This is actually the all clear from a previous alert, about an hour or so ago. This is the all clear that that period of concern, there may have been some coming, it's now over.
The warning is that everyone can return to normal. So that's what the sound is.
We move on: in an exclusive interview with the Ukrainian president, he spoke about the sinking of the Moskva, saying it would reduce Russia's military capability but he would not say how Ukrainian's military was able to sink the pride of Vladimir Putin's navy.
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VAUSE: He also talked about the pain he felt about the deaths of so many innocents.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: The Russian warship, the Moskva, that one that Ukrainian soldiers told to F off, sank. The Russians say and the Russians are liars but the Russians say it sank on its own.
Can you offer some clarity and evidence as to what happened to that ship?
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We know that it does not exist anymore. For us, it was a strong weapon against our country.
So it's sinking is not a tragedy for us. I want you and the rest of the people to realize that. The least weapons the Russian Federation that attack our country has, the better for us, the less capable they are. This is important. And about what happened to it, the history will tell.
TAPPER: Do you have any idea how many Ukrainian soldiers or Ukrainian civilians have been killed?
ZELENSKYY (through translator): I know. I know about --
TAPPER: How many?
ZELENSKYY (through translator): As of now, based on the information we have, because it's very difficult to talk about civilians since the south of our country where the towns and cities are blocked, Kherson, Berdyansk, Mariupol, further east, the area to the east, where Volnovakha is. We just don't know how many people have died in that area that is blocked.
Let's take Volnovakha as an example. Volnovakha as other towns are empty, they are all destroyed. There are no people there. So it's difficult to talk about it now.
As to our military, out of the numbers we have, we think that we lost 2,500 to 3,000. In comparison to the Russian military who lost about 19,000 to 20,000.
That's the comparison. But we have about 10,000 injured and it is hard to say how many will survive.
TAPPER: I'm sure you've seen the video of the Ukrainian mom finding her son, her sorrow, her crying. It is devastating to hear. And you have seen a lot of videos out there. What is it like for you as the president of this country to see those videos, to hear the crying of the moms?
ZELENSKYY (through translator): This is the scariest I've seen in my life in principle. I look at this first of all as a father. It hurts so, so much.
It's a tragedy. It is suffering. I won't be able to imagine the scale of suffering for these people, of this woman. It is a family's tragedy. It's a disaster.
It's the dreams and the life you just lost. We live for our kids. That's true. Kids are the best we were given by God and by family. It is a great pain for me.
I can't watch it as a father, I know because all you want after this is revenge and to kill. I have to watch as the president of the state where a lot of people have died and lost their loved ones and there are millions of people who want to live. All of us want to fight but we all have to do our best for this war, not to be endless.
The longer it is, the more we will lose. All these losses will be just like that one.
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VAUSE: Moscow has officially warned the U.S. to end shipments of military supplies. Two sources telling CNN, the Russian embassy in Washington sent a diplomatic message warning of consequences should that continue.
The latest $800 million package has MI-17 helicopters, which the U.S. redirected from Afghanistan to Ukraine, small drones called Switchblades that can target Russian soldiers as well as armored vehicles with devastating effect. And for the first time, Howitzers.
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VAUSE: CNN military analyst Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard joins us now from Indianapolis.
General, thank you for your time. We appreciate you being with us. For the first time, we're getting an estimate of the number of Ukrainian fighters that have been killed, around 3,000. Compare that to Russian losses, NATO puts that at 15,000 dead soldiers.
Does that say anything about what is winning or losing the war?
MAJ. GEN. DANA PITTARD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good evening. I agree. The Russians have suffered quite a few losses, not just in equipment but obviously in personnel. I would say at least 10,000 troops killed and thousands wounded, missing or captured. Russia has had major setbacks in the Kyiv region, lost that area.
Whatever little gains they had, the Ukrainians have repelled them and pushed them back. Now they're trying to have a push in the Eastern Ukraine area, where they will probably suffer even more losses.
VAUSE: In this Russian renewed effort to take the city of Mariupol, the military governor gave his assessment to CNN.
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PAVLO KYRYLENKO, UKRAINIAN MILITARY GOVERNOR (through translator); The enemy cannot seize 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.
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VAUSE: So there may not be anything left of the city itself.
But how important is that piece of real estate for the Russians to take hold of?
PITTARD: Mariupol is very significant because it will help the Russians to link their gains from Eastern Ukraine and the Donbas region all the way down to the Crimean Peninsula, one of their major objectives.
So hat goes off to the courage of the Ukrainian defenders there. But most likely, Mariupol will fall to the Russians.
VAUSE: And Moscow is warning of renewed strikes on the capital of Kyiv; retaliation, it seems, for the sinking of the Moskva. One of the unanswered questions is how it is that these Neptune missiles managed to avoid the air defense systems of the Moskva.
PITTARD: It's an absolutely audacious attack. What it looks like occurred was that the Ukrainians, using a TB-2 drone, moving to the Baltic -- sorry -- Black Sea side of the Moskva, kept their major radar systems busy.
There was rain going on at that time. The Neptune anti-ship battery repositioned without the Russians even detecting that. They didn't turn on their radars so the signature wouldn't be detected.
And then they shot two anti-ship cruise missiles that went just above the water, skimming the water at almost Mach 2 speed, and hit the Moskva twice, enough to sink it. It was a major, major victory for the Ukrainians.
VAUSE: It's the biggest ship sunk in battle since World War II, that's now significant that is, right?
PITTARD: Absolutely.
(CROSSTALK) PITTARD: Go ahead.
VAUSE: I was going to say --
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PITTARD: Go ahead.
VAUSE: Will the conditions allow further attacks like this on the other Russian ships in the Black Sea?
PITTARD: They could, because the range of the Neptune anti-ship missiles is about 100 kilometers. That's why the Russian fleet, the Black Sea fleet, was forced to move further and further out.
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PITTARD: Which means they really can't support, at least very well, the ground operations, with either naval gunfire or missile fire. Again, that's a major boost for the Ukrainians, certainly morale-wise. And a hit at the Russian prestige and that's why Moscow is trying to bomb different places in Ukraine right now.
VAUSE: You mentioned the Falklands conflict. That was a big get for the British navy but it was not as big as the Moskva. It was a good point to raise. General, thank you very much for being with us and apologies for interrupting with the satellite delay. But thank you for joining us.
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PITTARD: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: Take care.
Ukrainian Academy in the U.S. is trying to teach its youngest students about war. We'll hear from the Ukrainian American children in just a moment.
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VAUSE: Hundreds, possibly thousands, of bodies of civilians have been discovered across Ukraine, leading Russia to be accused of war crimes. CNN spoke with the brother of Kyiv's mayor.
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WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO, UKRAINIAN DEFENSE FORCE, BROTHER OF KYIV MAYOR: And there is, behind every crime, first name and last name. And that must be investigated as well as an order -- who made this order to go and kill, go and torture, go and rape.
It's genocide and that's what is happening, actually, genocide of the Ukrainian population. That's what is occurring nowadays in Ukraine. It has been done multiple times in different places for 51 days.
How long can we wait for this justice and consequences?
I cannot forget these lines of the world leaders, saying, if the Russian troop going to cross the line and invade Ukraine, there are going to be severe consequences. These severe consequences for 51 days have been taking the Ukrainian population.
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VAUSE: The U.N. says nearly 4.7 million people have left Ukraine and 7 million more are internally displaced. The increase in Russian attacks is making it difficult for civilians to leave areas where fighting is intensifying.
New York's Empire State building is shining its tower lights in the colors of the Ukrainian flag for 15 minutes every night until June 1st. If you want to help, go to cnn.com/impact, where you can find a number of ways to help.
An after-school program in the United States is helping Ukrainian American children understand the war in their native country. Gary Tuchman visits, to hear what the kids think about the invasion of their homeland.
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GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's called the Ukrainian academy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good afternoon, everyone. So today we are going to speak about war and peace.
TUCHMAN: In the Cleveland suburb of Parma Heights in Ohio.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you raise your hand if you have grandparents in Ukraine?
TUCHMAN: Almost all of their parents were born Ukraine and many of these children were also born there. This is a private preschool, daycare as well as an afterschool program for children ages 6 months to 12 years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are we in a state of peace or are we in a state of war in this country?
STUDENTS: Peace, peace, peace.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about Ukraine?
STUDENTS: War. TUCHMAN: The feeling here is that they know what's happening in Ukraine is frightening, it's important for these children to learn about it and talk about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What can you say about soldiers?
How do you feel about them?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're brave.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're brave, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Soldiers help people to not die.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If someone comes to your house, start destroying it or taking your stuff, you know, would you be happy about that?
STUDENTS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think this is right?
STUDENTS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When another country like coming to another country and taking stuff and bombing and do you think this is right?
STUDENTS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. Who came to Ukraine?
STUDENTS: Russia.
TUCHMAN: The teachers ask how the children are feeling about all this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Worried.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Worried.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scared. What other words is war?
How can we describe a war?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sadness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sadness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My family is -- well, are very scared for my grand, my great grandma, my relatives that are also in war. And it's very anxious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope Ukrainian win, because some Russian people are good and saying stop to the other Russian who is being bad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So not all the Russian people are bad, right? There are some people who just, you know, say no war, please stop it. They're asking the president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. It's not because of the Russian people. It's because of the president. He's greedy and trying to take over the country.
TUCHMAN: Roman and Helena Dutka are the owners of the academy.
Do you think your students here are now prouder to be Ukrainian- American than even before this war?
ROMAN DUTKA, UKRAINIAN ACADEMY OWNERS: Yes, I think they are proud about their roots.
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R. DUTKA: That they're Ukrainians and about that Ukraine is standing strong. I think that --
HALYNA DUTKA, UKRAINIAN ACADEMNY OWNER: Staying together.
TUCHMAN: Before we say goodbye to the students, I get to talk with them a bit.
If you had superpowers, what would you do if you had superpowers?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Save the good people.
TUCHMAN: Save the good people?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TUCHMAN: That's what you would do as superwoman?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes and make the house fly into the air.
TUCHMAN: Make the house fly into the air?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Fly to safety?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TUCHMAN: The laughter of children who have a lot on their minds -- Gary Tuchman, CNN, Parma Heights, Ohio.
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VAUSE: We'll take a short break. For our viewers internationally, "INSIDE AFRICA" is next. For others, our breaking news coverage continues, after this.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. I'm John Vause live in Lviv, Ukraine.
Russian troops appear to be testing Ukrainian defenses in the east. Shelling and artillery fire is picking up across the region and multiple rocket attacks have killed 10 people in Kharkiv on Friday. Local prosecutors say 35 others were injured.
Ukrainian police say the remains of more than 900 civilians have now been recovered near Kyiv since Russian troops withdrew about two weeks ago.
The senior prosecutor at the International Criminal Court went there this week. The U.S. now says it was a Ukrainian missile which sank the Russian pride of its Black Sea fleet. But Russia says it suffered an accidental explosion and then sank while being towed.
Tass says at least some of the surviving crew arrived in Sebastopol on Friday. The Moskva sinking was a big blow for Russia's military, the biggest wartime loss of a naval ship in four decades. CNN's Nic Robertson explains how the top news program in Russia tried to bury the lead.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Russia's biggest naval loss in a generation hidden by propaganda state TV.
Top story on Russia's most watched primetime new show gas exports, anchors railing against the West. Almost half an hour later, the first mention of Russia's prestigious prize Black Sea Fleet flagship the Moskva, they've buried the lead, now they lie about it, claiming it's a float. There's no open fire. Ammunition explosions are contained.
It's another six hours near midnight most Russians asleep when Russia's military finally acknowledged what Ukrainian officials have been saying for hours that the $750 million according to Forbes Ukraine, nuclear capable guided missile cruiser has sunk.
It's not the first Russian naval ship the Ukrainians say they've hit. March 24th, claiming to have destroyed an amphibious assault ship.
Putin's losses are mounting. A failed assault on Kyiv, thousands of troops killed, massive economic sanctions. His apparent callous indifference to naval losses has a track record as long as his reign.
In 2000, during training exercises, the nuclear powered Kursk submarine sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea. Putin was on vacation, reluctantly only returning to Moscow nearly a week later, 218 men died.
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LARRY KING, FORMER CNN HOST: What happened?
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ROBERTSON (voice-over): When confronted back then by CNN's Larry King, Putin's stark solitary comment.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA: (Speaking foreign language).
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ROBERTSON (voice-over): It sank.
Lithuania's defense minister claims 485 crew were board the Moskva, noting Turkish rescue boats picked up only 54 of them. State TV claims all the crew survived. Russia's most disastrous naval adventure was 117 years ago against Japan. They lost the whole fleet. Eventually, the tsar and his family paid the ultimate price in Russia's revolution.
Too soon to say if the Moskva's sinking can punch a hole below Putin's propaganda waterline -- Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: More from Lviv at the top of the hour. But now, let's go to Michael Holmes.
Michael, there's some debate about this.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I find the outrage in Russia, that Ukraine would dare fire back, after all they've been through, quite something, the chutzpah of that.
VAUSE: Yes.
HOLMES: They're firing back. All right, John. I still love that background behind you. I miss it. What a beautiful city you're in.
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VAUSE: Let's hope it stays that way.
HOLMES: Yes, exactly.
We'll check in with John at the top of the hour.
We are now more than 50 days into the war in Ukraine. With all the destruction and loss of life you've seen, you would think a cease-fire would be a good thing. But at least one war expert says that's not always the case.
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Nataliya Bugayova is a non-resident security research fellow at the Institute for the Study of War and joins me now from Washington.
Thanks for being here. Your piece on the institute's website about this is fascinating. You write that a Russian cease-fire could be a threat.
How so?
NATALIYA BUGAYOVA, INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR: I think there are several risks associated with any Russian cease-fire offer. But all of them fundamentally come from one fact: that the Kremlin's intent with regard to Ukraine hasn't changed for many years.
And Vladimir Putin made it very clear, he will take nothing less than control over Ukraine and its sovereignty. So any Russian cease-fire offer will be likely used to adjust and adopt the ways in which the Kremlin tries to do so, rather than scale down.
I will also say that, in the next couple of weeks, we're unlikely to see serious conversations about a cease-fire. However, if the Russian offensive in the east is going poorly, Putin may offer such a cease- fire in order to freeze the front lines in the best possible way he can hope for in this war.
HOLMES: I want to get to frozen front lines in a minute. But first, concessions, I guess, they are normal in peace negotiations; you give, you take. But it's true that Putin's personality makes him see concessions as weakness or failure.
What, then, are the risks of concessions that leave the door open so that, in a few years, Putin can do it all over again?
BUGAYOVA: Sure. I think for Ukraine, the risk is actually existential. The way Putin framed this war leaves very little room for the middle ground.
In his speech, Putin stated openly he doesn't believe in Ukraine's statehood. So he leaves Ukraine with a choice of either obliteration or existence. And I think our assumption should be whether it's Putin or his successor, who would keep coming back for Ukraine's sovereignty.
The only way forward is for Ukraine to keep fighting. And, fortunately, Ukraine won the first round in this war and has a chance to win the next phase.
HOLMES: So if Putin suddenly says, all right, we'll stop with Donbas and Crimea. Let's make a deal. As you were just saying, you also write that, frozen front lines, which that would be, can set the conditions for future conflict; while some cease-fires lead to peace, others lead to more war. Explain that more for us.
BUGAYOVA: Sure. First, it's really important to elaborate on the implications of any Russian forces staying on the occupied territories. Russia is conducting a deliberate terror campaign against civilians. And it's the only way Russia can govern. There's significant pushback to their presence, even from the Russian
speakers. Even stopping fighting will not necessarily stop the killing. Actually, it can make those trapped the behind the enemy lines unable to defend themselves. So that is risk number one.
Number two, make no mistake: if Russia is allowed to dig in, especially in Ukraine's south, the only place where it truly made military gains, it will establish permanent military footholds that it will use to both threaten Ukraine but also Europe and more.
HOLMES: And the things, of course, Putin has many, many times, including in the buildup to this war, used, quote-unquote, "talks" as a tactic, delaying so he can regroup or reposition.
So obviously, he shouldn't be trusted when it eventually comes to peace talks, right?
And then, what should Ukraine and the West's tactic be?
BUGAYOVA: Look, Russia had eight years of opportunities to make peace and it never chose to; in part, because peace was never a goal, the control was. And so far, we have no indication that that has changed.
I think the center of gravity in this war is Ukraine's will to fight. As long as Ukrainians are willing to defend themselves, the West should do everything to support that.
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BUGAYOVA: One change of tactic that should happen in the West is ramping up the scale and speed of the military aid, so it matches Ukraine's requirements on the ground.
HOLMES: It's a terrific article, a fascinating article. I urge people to look at it.
Nataliya Bugayova, thanks so much.
BUGAYOVA: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Twitter's board is not exactly excited to have a new boss. Their plan to keep Elon Musk from buying the social media giant, that's after the break.
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HOLMES: Welcome back.
New York is honoring a group of city workers, who helped saved lives Tuesday during the subway attack in Brooklyn. On Friday, the mayor joined other officials virtually to recognize the subway and bus operates with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Here's more from the mayor.
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MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D-NY), NEW YORK CITY: Your actions were indicative of what is great about the service that you deliver every day in general but, specifically, the service you deliver during times of crisis.
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HOLMES: In addition to those heroes, five people will share a combined $50,000 reward for providing critical information that led to the arrest of the shooting suspect. Officials blame 62-year-old Frank James of shooting 10 people in the attack and committing multiple other crimes.
The board of Twitter has come up with a plan to make it harder and more expensive for Elon Musk to buy the social media company. They basically plan to sell shares of Twitter to anyone not named Elon Musk at a big discount. That would dilute Musk's stake in the company. Brian Stelter explains this social media showdown.
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BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there. All eyes are on Twitter now that Elon Musk has set his sights on the company. Musk filing paperwork early Thursday, pitching a takeover of the company, offering to take Twitter private to the tune of more than $40 billion.
He said he wants to preserve free speech and help civilization. But there are opponents to this offer, including Twitter's board of directors, announcing on Friday a limited term shareholder rights plan, called a poison pill, that could make it harder for Musk to acquire the company.
This is all part of a dramatic negotiation over the future of Twitter. It's a common move in the business world to halt a hostile takeover bid. It would preserve the right for Twitter shareholders other than Musk to acquire more shares at a relatively cheap price, effectively diluting Musk's stake.
Right now, he owns about 9 percent of Twitter. He wants to buy up the rest. But this poison pill would be triggered if Musk or anybody else acquires more than 15 percent of the company.
This wouldn't necessarily stop Musk entirely but it could push him to the negotiating table to talk to the board. That may be the next step. We don't know what could happen next for Twitter.
Now the poison pill idea, it's a common move in the business world. But Musk is anything but common. He's the richest man in the world, thanks to his wealth from Tesla and SpaceX.
And he is unpredictable. He may in fact just go ahead and tweet what his next plans are for the company. But we're heading into a holiday weekend in the United States, with a lot of uncertainty about what is next for Twitter -- Brian Stelter, CNN, Philadelphia.
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HOLMES: We've heard many stories of artists in Ukraine, taking to the streets to comfort people. CNN speaks to one rock star, who is using his voice to help civilians forget about the horrors of the war. We'll have that when we come back.
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HOLMES: The war in Ukraine casting a shadow over Holy Week activities. Pope Francis presiding over a somber service at Saint Peter's Basilica on Good Friday, which is when Jesus died on the cross.
Some Ukrainian Catholics objected to the Vatican's decision to invite both Ukrainians and Russians to participate in the Way of the Cross procession, calling that "inopportune." The planned recital of a meditation was scrapped for several minutes of silence, the pope adding his own final prayer.
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POPE FRANCIS, PONTIFF, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): Allow adversaries to shake hands so they can taste the mutual forgiveness to disarm the hand raised by a brother against a brother, so that concord can spring from where there is now hate.
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HOLMES: The pope has been outspoken in his criticism over Russia's actions against Ukraine.
Just as prayer can lift people, so, too, can a song, which is why a Ukrainian rock star is using his voice and influence to lift civilians' spirits in this time of war. CNN's Rafael Romo with that story.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): There was the orchestra that performed the concert for peace in the public square in the middle of the day in spite of the danger of an airstrike.
And the cellist who defied the invaders by playing his instrument in front of bombed-out buildings.
And who can forget the little girl with the sweetest voice, who made those around her forget they were in a bomb shelter?
One by one, singers and musicians in Ukraine have defied the Russians by using their talent to unite a nation and soothe a terrified population.
SVIATOSLAV VAKARCHUK, UKRAINIAN SINGER: We love singing.
ROMO (voice-over): The most famous one is Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, better known as Slava, who some call the Ukrainian Bruce Springsteen.
VAKARCHUK: Dignity and freedom are basic values.
ROMO (voice-over): At the beginning of the invasion, Slava could have chosen to flee the country. Instead, he decided not only to stay but to visit terrified civilians, like these people seeking shelter in a Kharkiv subway station.
ROMO: You went to a subway station by yourself, where there were many people, and, unannounced, and you started singing.
Why did you do something like that?
ROMO (voice-over): "The whole idea," he says, "is to help people forget, even if it is for a fleeting moment, about the horror of war."
VAKARCHUK: Imagine somebody like me comes and says, hey, guys, everything is fine. Let's sing together. Let's have some fun.
ROMO: Let's forget for a moment that we are at war.
[00:55:00]
ROMO (voice-over): Yes, that's -- this is it.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROMO (voice-over): And so he's visited hospitals like this one in Mykolaiv to cheer up victims of a rocket attack, survivors of an airstrike at a train station at Kramatorsk and troops on the front lines.
Songs, he says, are his answer to Russian bullets. Empathy and goodwill are more powerful than any bomb.
VAKARCHUK: Ukrainians are one of the most -- sorry -- the freest nations in the world. We have this gene of freedom in our DNA. That's why probably many Americans instinctively, intuitively support us now.
ROMO (voice-over): In the streets, people greet him and ask for pictures. Slava happily obliges and takes the opportunity to give everybody the same message: everything will be all right, which happens to be the title of one of his songs; his most popular nowadays. "I hope that everything is going to be all right for everybody," the
song says. "Our time is going to come" -- Rafael Romo, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: I met him when I was there. A very nice man.
I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. Our coverage live from Ukraine continues in a moment.
