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Ukraine: Body Count Near Kyiv Nearly 1,000; CNN Reconnects With Woman Trapped In War Zone; OSCE: Patterns Of Possible War Crimes; Ukrainian Military To Compete In Invictus Games; Twitter Board Keeping Musk At Bay; Pop Singer Flees Ukraine, Finds New Life In Philadelphia. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired April 16, 2022 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello, welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause, live in Lviv, Ukraine. It's 10:00 am here.
A short time ago, we received report of explosions near Kyiv. The mayor says the city is under attack. Rescuers on the scene of one attack on the outskirts. No reports of casualties so far. We'll bring more details as we get it. But Moscow warned there would be renewed attacks on the capital in retaliation for the sinking of the Russian warship.
Ukrainian authorities are reporting a significant increase in Russian shelling along the eastern and southern fronts. The governor of Mykolaiv says Russians hit the city on Friday with cluster munitions. At least five people were reported killed, more than a dozen wounded.
Ukraine's president says the Russians are rounding up and terrorizing civilian populations across the south.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): In the occupied district of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions, the Russian military continues to terrorize civilian residents of our country.
They are looking for anyone who has ever been associated with the Ukrainian army or government agencies. The occupiers think that this will somehow make it easier for them to control the territory.
But they are wrong. Maybe somewhere in Russia, cruelty is respected. But in Ukraine, cruelty is despised and punished.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The Russian military continues to resupply and rearm in the east with a renewed offensive expected within days. But Ukrainian military officials claim recent Russian attempts to secure more territory have been repelled.
Confirmation from the U.S. says the guided missile cruiser Moskva was sunk by two Ukrainian antiship missiles. Moscow claims the flagship of the Black Sea fleet sank while being towed to port after an onboard fire set off munitions. Still no word on the fate of the nearly 500 crew on board.
CNN has correspondents spread out across the region, coming from every angle. Salma Abdelaziz is in Poland near the border, Clarissa Ward is in Dnipro in Ukraine, Alex Marquardt in Washington, with more on the weapon shipments.
But we begin with Phil Black in Bucha, Ukraine, as more gruesome scenes are uncovered and a warning: images in the report are disturbing and graphic.
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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The operation to recover and investigate Bucha's dead is now industrial in its scale. Teams of people are working to empty the town's mass grave and many smaller ones. The victims of Russia's occupation are being retrieved from the earth.
There are so many bodies rarely do those doing the digging know the stories of how each person lived and died. Here two men are being exhumed from the grounds of a small church. The priest who oversaw their first burial didn't know them.
ABBOT MYKOLA VOLOSYANSKIY, VORZEL CHURCH OF TRANSFIGURATION: (Speaking foreign language).
BLACK (voice-over): He says he thinks one was a scientist, the other a school bus driver. He thinks they were shot and killed in the street.
Among the now notorious images from Bucha's road of death, Yablonska Street, was this man lying beneath his bike. His name was Vladimir Brovchenko, Svetlana is his widow.
SVETLANA BROVCHENKO, WIFE OF BUCHA VICTIM: (Speaking foreign language).
BLACK (voice-over): She says, she told her husband, "Don't go. They're shooting. The tanks are already on Yablonska Street."
But he insisted on leaving the house. She says the 68-year-old grandfather was killed as soon as he reached the road. His bike is still there.
This building stands near Bucha in the village of Vorzel. Among those killed here were Yulia's (ph) parents, Natalia and Victor Mezoha (ph). She says her mother was helping a young injured woman who had been discarded by a Russian soldier when more soldiers suddenly entered their home.
YULIA, DAUGHTER OF BUCHA VICTIMS: (Speaking foreign language).
BLACK (voice-over): She says, "They came in. Shot the woman. Shot my mother. And then, my father ran out, when he heard something was wrong. And they shot him."
The young woman was Karina Yershova. She was 23 years old. Karina's mother says, police told her, her daughter was raped, before she was shot.
It's more than two weeks since the Russians withdrew and the operation to account for all the bodies they left behind, isn't finished.
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BLACK (voice-over): Mourning each victim, remembering how they lived understanding why they died will take much longer -- Phil Black, CNN, Bucha, Ukraine.
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VAUSE: Soldiers deployed in the north have been seen appearing in areas of the south and east of Ukraine, sent there because cities like Mariupol have refused to fall, even though they have been under siege for weeks.
Attacks on Mariupol occurred in the early days of the war, when Ukraine says Russian military shelled a maternity hospital. The attacks sparked global outcry after photos emerged of pregnant women, injured from the blast, trying to escape from the hospital.
This includes the image we're about to show you. Warning: like so many other images in this story, it's difficult to watch. It's graphic.
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VAUSE (voice-over): The woman you see now, she died, along with her child. They're among the people who paid the highest price so far for Russia's war in Ukraine. CNN's Erin Burnett spoke earlier with the director of the maternity ward. She barely escaped that airstrike, leaving moments before it actually happened. Here's the chilling account.
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DR. LYUDMILA MYKHAILENKO, ACTING DIRECTOR OF BOMBED MARIUPOL HOSPITAL (through translator): When I came back, I found a huge crater and the cars that were burnt and the three buildings of the hospitals that were completely ruined.
The feeling of disaster that everything, everything was ruined, I was just feeling desperate. Everything that was dear to your life, all your life, was ruined with just this one blow. And it was not clear at all why and what for this aviation bomb fell on it. I couldn't understand what was -- what was the fault of our patients,
of the children, of the doctors who were helping the patients, why our hospital was chosen to be the object of the strike.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Dr. Lyudmila Mykhailenko there, speaking with CNN's Erin Burnett.
With Russia's war losses mounting, Ukraine's president warning, Moscow may soon resort to tactical nuclear weapons. He spoke exclusively to CNN's Jake Tapper.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: The director of the CIA warned that he's worried Putin might use a tactical nuclear weapon in this fight.
Are you worried?
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Not only me, I think all of the world, all of the countries have to be worried. Because, you know that, it can be not real information, but it can be the truth, because when they begin to speak about one or another battles or involved enemies or nuclear weapons or some chemical, you know, issues, chemical weapons, they should do it. They could do it.
I mean, they can. For them, life of the people means nothing. That's why, we should think not be afraid. I mean, not be afraid. Be ready, but that is not a question to Ukraine, and not only for the Ukraine. But for all of the world, I think so.
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VAUSE: When a group of European leaders recently visited with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv, there was one E.U. leader notable by his absence. The German president says he was also offering to come but was turned away by Kyiv.
Steinmeier is considered to have close relations with Moscow and Ukraine has previously been critical of those links with Russia.
Alexander Rodnyansky is an economic adviser to President Zelenskyy, joining me from Berlin. He's been there trying to convince the Germans to increase their military assistance to Ukraine.
It looks like you're having some success. We're hearing from the finance minister, confirming reports media reports of the tweet that Berlin has decided to increase its international aid for defense spending, 2 billion euros.
With much of that earmarked for Ukraine and former military aid -- and that seems to be a significant move in terms of what Germany has been willing to do until now.
So how do you explain that?
And do you welcome that move?
ALEXANDER RODNYANSKY, ECONOMIC ADVISER TO PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY: Yes, of course, we welcome the move. We're also hoping there will be more weapons supplies soon. We're still waiting for heavy weapons to come from Germany, as they are coming from other Western partners now.
And we're hoping for an embargo or a stepwise embargo when it comes to the sales of Russian oil and gas to Europe.
VAUSE: Are you getting any closer to that oil embargo with the Germans?
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VAUSE: Is Berlin giving any indication there's movement there?
RODNYANSKY: I think we're getting closer. There's no doubt in the medium run this will happen. Germany and Europe in general want to turn away from Russian fossil fuel and import of Russian oil and gas.
But we need to act now. That's the issue. The war is being financed now with the sales. And there's some hope that oil is the first step. And I think the German side is thinking hard about this, perhaps through a tariff or a tax on oil as another option. But so far, it's not happening; hopefully soon.
VAUSE: Was it a mistake to withdraw the invitation or not invite the German president?
What we have seen time and time again, when world leaders visit Ukraine, they get to places like Bucha and they see the atrocities. They are then more determined to help Ukraine in the struggle with Russia.
RODNYANSKY: So I'm not going comment on whether it was a mistake or not. I think we should obviously work closely with our partners. We're very grateful for their support and Florida the German support.
And in principle, all of the German leadership is welcoming here. And so that's the position we have. That's the position which will remain.
VAUSE: So you'd like to see the German president make the trip to Kyiv sometime soon?
RODNYANSKY: I would be happy to see the German president and the chancellor in particular.
VAUSE: Yes.
Can there be a negotiated end to the conflict?
Or is this all about military overrunning the Russians, forcing them into retreat?
Are there any guarantees Putin won't launch another attack at a time of his own choosing? RODNYANSKY: Absolutely, there's this constant risk that all the negotiations are just a deceptive move, as they have been throughout essentially. They were part of the strategy by the Russians to deceive the West into thinking further sanctions aren't necessary. And so pressure shouldn't be increased.
Economic or military support to Ukraine should not also be increased. That's the whole purpose of these negotiations on the Russian part. But there's a serious risk that Russia will, of course, intensify its attacks in the east. They are currently building up troops there.
By some reports they are already outnumbering our troops in the ratio of 5:1. So it's a serious threat.
VAUSE: Is the possibility -- are you concerned about this coalition, this unity, with U.S. and NATO and the E.U., especially on the issue of sanctions?
The longer this goes on, are you concerned that that unity will start to dissolve and maybe cracks begin to emerge or does it look rock solid from your point of view?
RODNYANSKY: So far it looks rock solid. I have confidence in the unity of our Western partners. But there's a risk. You are right. If this goes on for too long and the war is not stopped soon enough, we don't know what will happen and what the trajectory for the country.
VAUSE: Alexander Rodnyansky, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate your time.
RODNYANSKY: Thank you for having me.
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VAUSE: In recent days we brought you the heartbreaking story of an elderly woman unable to leave an area in Eastern Ukraine. She was in a wheelchair. She couldn't leave. And this brought out a very passionate response from viewers around the world.
They saw the story and they wonder what happened to Lidia. Clarissa Ward was able to track her down and has this update.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lidia Mikhailuk thought this day would never come. After weeks of horror, she waits outside her apartment to be evacuated.
WARD: So we're here at the Big Heart living facility and we're just waiting for Lidia to arrive. She has driving for some hours and we're excited to see her.
Here she is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm glad to see you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to see you, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got her out.
WARD (voice-over): Lidia greets cameraman Scott McWhinnie.
SCOTT MCWHINNIE, CNN CAMERAMAN: Hey.
MIKHAILUK: (Speaking foreign language).
WARD (voice-over): "It's our old friend," she says. "I am so glad to see you again."
After we left Lidia, Thursday, there was an outpouring from people who wanted to help. We managed to connect volunteers to a care home in the relative safety of Dnipro.
MIKHAILUK: (Speaking foreign language).
WARD (voice-over): Leaving Lidia alone in her apartment was incredibly tough. To see her safe is a huge relief.
MIKHAILUK: (Speaking foreign language).
WARD (voice-over): "Today, I will finally feel calm," she says. "This is so important. Thank you."
MIKHAILUK: (Speaking foreign language).
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WARD (voice-over): Her journey out of Avdiivka was far from easy.
MIKHAILUK: (Speaking foreign language).
WARD (on camera): She is saying that there was a lot of shelling this morning and was terrified.
WARD (voice-over): It took six long hours to get here but she made it.
MIKHAILUK: (Speaking foreign language).
WARD (voice-over): "I'm so lucky," she says. "Safe and comfortable at long last."
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VAUSE: Lidia safe at last, out of that war zone. Thanks to Clarissa Ward and Scott McWhinnie for that report.
Coming up next, we'll go to Poland. Millions of Ukrainians flee the fighting. Some are coming back.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody.
The bodies of 900 people have been discovered in the area around Kyiv in areas like Bucha, according to Ukrainian police. Most of the bodies are civilians. Many of them are found dead with bullet wounds to the head.
Russia is facing ongoing accusations of war crimes, targeting, torture and killing of civilians. CNN spoke with the former world heavyweight champion and the brother of Kyiv's mayor. And this is what he would like to tell war crimes investigators.
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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: As Russia steps up attacks in Eastern Ukraine, many are leaving their homes behind, because the fighting gets worse. The U.N. is keeping count of how many Ukrainians left the country since the war began. The number continues to tick upwards; 4.7 million people have left Ukraine for other countries.
That's since the fighting began; over 7 million are internally displaced, mostly in the east for the safety of the West. That's a quarter, 12 million people, about a quarter of the entire population.
According to the Ukrainian government, nine humanitarian corridors were opened on Friday, more than 2,800 people were evacuated. But the increasing Russian attacks are making it difficult for civilians to leave the areas, where the fighting is worse.
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OKSANA POKALCHUK, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL UKRAINE: The situation is really quite challenging because there are problems with evacuation on each stage. The roads are broken. They are damaged. There are shell fire and ongoing airstrikes.
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VAUSE: Caring for refugees fleeing war is never easy task. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz takes us into one shelter where selfless, everyday people are stepping up to meet this responsibility.
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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're at an office building that has been turned into a shelter for people who are fleeing the war in Ukraine.
You can see the children have put some drawings on the wall. The gentleman here is actually the owner of the office building. He's on the phone. He's always working the phone because everything that is happening here is on his own dime.
He's paid thousands of dollars out of pocket to care for hundreds of people fleeing war. As you can imagine, it's a complicated operation.
There's something I want to show you here, a board. And you can see refugees looking for a host. Each room and name and what they're trying to do is match them to more semi-permanent places, possibly get visas.
Germany on there, Holland, the U.K. That's what some of the volunteers are doing, working to try to find the families, again, a more permanent home. All over this office building turned refugee shelter, you'll see the signs, people sending love.
Here's one here. "Ukraine, keep smiling. We're with you. Sending love."
There's volunteers from all around the world. There's signs from United States. That's what is so extraordinary about what you're seeing along the border area. Good Samaritans, kind strangers, opening their doors, using their own money to care for the families forced out of their homes -- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, near the Poland-Ukraine border.
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VAUSE: A tournament that celebrates the endurance of the human spirit itself will welcome members of the Ukraine military this weekend in a powerful display of solidarity.
The Invictus Games, founded by Prince Harry, was born on the very idea of resilience. Injured service members compete in a wide range of sports, like rowing, archery and wheelchair basketball. This year's event in the Netherlands will see Ukrainian athletes taking part, many of whom were on the front lines days ago.
President Zelenskyy has given his full support.
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VAUSE: Saying he believes the competitors will make Ukraine proud. If you would like to help the people of Ukraine, if you'd like to
contribute something, for people who lost so much. They are need of shelter, food and water. Go to cnn.com/impact. Make sure what you give goes to those who need it more.
I'm John Vause. "AFRICAN VOICES" is up next. For North America I'll be back with more breaking news right after this.
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VAUSE: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and Canada. I'm John Vause, live in Lviv, Ukraine, with the latest developments in Russia's war on Ukraine.
The capital, Kyiv, appears to come under renewed assault this morning. A number of loud explosions were heard on the outskirts, according to the city's mayor. Emergency crews are there now on the scene. Unclear if there are any casualties. More on that as soon as we get it.
Meantime, Ukrainian police say the remains of over 900 civilians have been recovered near Kyiv since the Russian troops pulled out. Russia is facing accusations of atrocities. The top prosecutor at the ICC visited the area this week.
The U.S. confirmed two Ukrainian missiles sank the pride of Russia's Black Sea fleet. But Russia says it suffered an accidental explosion. Tass says at least some of the surviving crew arrived in Sebastopol on Friday.
This update halting Mariupol bus evacuations. Civilians fleeing that besieged city are told to make their own way to Zaporizhzhya. Ukraine deputy prime minister says buses are not able to travel through a washed-out section of the road. The weather is certainly turning nasty where we are.
A new batch of U.S. weapons to Ukraine will start arriving in the coming hours. Moscow has threatened what it calls "unpredictable consequences" if U.S. weapons shipments continue. If you look at what Ukraine is about to receive, it's clear why Russia is upset. Alex Marquardt explains.
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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): With Russia's war, against Ukraine, about to enter its third month, the battlefield has changed significantly.
The region, around the capital, Kyiv, is quieter, for now. But U.S. and NATO officials warn that a dramatic escalation, by Russia, in eastern Ukraine, is coming. With that shift and escalation, Ukraine's needs for weapons, are changing and growing. This week, the Biden administration announced a weapons package, worth $800 million, with new and more sophisticated systems.
JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Some of them are reinforcing capabilities that we have already been providing Ukraine and some of them are new capabilities that we have not provided to Ukraine.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): Among the bigger items, are MI-17 helicopters, a 11 of them, which the U.S. redirected, from Afghanistan, to Ukraine.
Small drones, called Switchblades, 300 of them, also called Kamikaze killer drones that can target Russian soldiers and armored vehicles.
And, for the first time, Howitzers, which fire artillery shells, at long range targets. Ukraine is being sent 18, with 40,000 rounds of ammunition.
The list goes on and includes coastal sea drones, to defend against Russia's ships, in the Black Sea, 200 armored personnel carriers, counter-artillery radars, equipment for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks and thousands more Javelin and Stinger missiles, to use, against Russian tanks and aircraft.
Countless Russian armored vehicles have been destroyed, by weapons, provided by NATO countries. Ukrainian forces have been able to repel Russian advances, thanks to them.
DMYTRO KULEBA, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF UKRAINE: I think the deal that Ukraine is offering is fair. You give us weapons. We sacrifice our lives. And the war is contained, in Ukraine.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): But Ukraine says it needs more.
OLEKSIY DANILOV, SECRETARY OF UKRAINE'S NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE COUNCIL (through translator): We are grateful for what we have already been given. We need helicopters, planes, powerful weapons, Howitzers. We need a lot.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): A point of contention, with U.S., is over fighter jets. Ukraine wants them, while the Biden administration is worried Russia will take that as too much of a provocation. Moscow has warned it would target weapons, heading into Ukraine. And, this week, sent a protest letter, to Washington, over the growing weaponry, being sent.
But the State Department said, Friday that, nothing will dissuade the U.S. from continuing its support -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: We're getting the first idea of how many Ukrainian fighters died since the conflict began. It's coming from President Zelenskyy, who says about 3,000 have been killed in action. But that's just an estimate. I spoke earlier to the CNN military analyst Dana Pittard about the losses on both sides and what that says about who is winning and who is not.
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MAJ. GEN. DANA PITTARD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: The Russians have suffered quite a few losses, not just in equipment but obviously in personnel.
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PITTARD: 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. I'd like you to listen to this.
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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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Mariupol will fall. It's only a matter of time, they say. It's held out for so long for weeks since the invasion began beyond all expectations. We're back to Kim Brunhuber, standing by in Atlanta.
Kim, it's getting cold and nasty here so over to you.
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Stay warm and, most importantly, stay safe, John. Thanks so much. Taiwan is strongly condemning the military drills by China that came
during a visit from U.S. lawmakers to Taipei. China's military conducted joint combat drills around Taiwan on Friday, saying they were responding to signs of U.S. support for Taiwan. Will Ripley has more from Taipei.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These are some of the largest military exercises that we have seen China engage in near Taiwan in recent months. And they come with a 24 hour or so visit of bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers, a visit that has drawn a strong response both rhetorically and also with military action from Beijing.
These were naval raids and other military exercises, involving warships, bombers and fighter jets in the East China Sea and in the airspace near Taiwan, a response, China says, to U.S. "wrongful signs of support for Taiwan," U.S. bad behavior and tactics that China calls "futile and dangerous."
China, of course, claims this democracy as its own territory:. They have, since the end of the Chinese civil war, even though Communist rulers in Beijing have never controlled this democratic island with its own government and military.
The Chinese foreign minister opposes official exchanges in any form between the United States and Taiwan and has warned repeatedly that the U.S. stop going down what it calls a dangerous road, a road that Chinese officials have said, over the years, could lead to a military escalation, a conflict between the U.S. and China.
On that delegation was Senator Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, saying China is very unhappy with the fact the U.S. lawmakers are here.
But he said they are here to reassure the Taiwanese government and the Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen that the U.S. is dedicated to the alliance with Taiwan and says Taiwan security has a global impact, has a global importance, given the fact Taiwan produces 90 percent of the world's high-end semi-conductors, the chips that power everything from computers to cameras, to smart phones.
Senator Graham talked about the fact Taiwan is a beacon of democracy, a small country just about 100 miles from a very large authoritarian Communist country.
He said for the United States abandon to Taiwan would be to abandon democracy and a freedom as a whole and reward the worst in humanity -- Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Well, Elon Musk wants Twitter. But Twitter doesn't seem to want him. The social media board launches a plan to keep him out.
But can they stand up against the world's richest man? We'll take a look. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Twitter's board of directors has come up a plan to make it harder and more expensive for Elon Musk to buy the social media company. They basically plan to sell shares to anyone not named Elon Musk at a huge discount. That would dilute his 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.
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STELTER: But there are many 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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BRUNHUBER: All right. Now to a lucky escape for a family in the U.S. after they survived something straight out of a disaster movie.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Imagine driving along and seeing this, headed straight for you. That's what happened to Tony McBee and his two kids while they were getting food in Kentucky.
Thinking it was a bad storm, they rushed back to their Jeep to head home. Within seconds, they were surrounded by a tornado.
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TONY MCBEE, TORNADO SURVIVOR: The whole car was surrounded with just black. There's debris and trees, mailboxes, everything you can imagine flying everywhere through the air.
We were definitely in the air because I was pushing the gas and we were going nowhere. Movies don't really do it justice. When you are in it, it's so much darker and the sheer power of it that it had.
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BRUNHUBER: Thankfully, they made it out safely.
A rising Ukrainian pop star is making a new life in the U.S. but her thoughts are never far away from her wartorn home. We'll have details ahead. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: We end our program with a curtain call. A rising pop stair in Ukraine displaced by the war. She spent most of her life performing and even competing in "Ukraine's Got Talent." Now she's starting over in Philadelphia. Alexandra Field has the story.
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ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before the explosions, the sound echoing through Ukraine's port city of Odessa was music.
ANASTASIYA PETRYK, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE (through translator): Wherever you go in the center, you will see bands playing, street musicians, guitars, saxophones.
FIELD: And perhaps you would have heard the voice of Anastasiya Petryk, a 19-year-old rising star who has spent her young life performing on stages all across the country, at one point, earning a spot on "Ukraine's Got Talent."
And as a child, taking home the top prize in the 2012 Eurovision Junior Competition, the first Ukrainian to do it.
A. PETRYK: Whenever I would participate in any kind of a singing competition and shows, I would always make sure to tell everyone that I'm from Ukraine and I'm really proud of it.
FIELD: Last month, Petryk arrived here in Philadelphia after a harrowing journey out of her war-torn country. She will never forget what it was like to be under attack.
A. PETRYK: Five o'clock in the morning, that's when the first explosions pretty much woke us up. Understanding that you will have to leave came right away.
FIELD: How did you manage to get out?
What was that journey like?
Petryk and her mother managed to pack into a train, evacuating people from Odessa.
A. PETRYK: Later on, a lot of people started getting on that train. There was a lot of panic around. They were trying to open the doors of our compartment to get in there. Of course, it was very strange and scary.
FIELD: From there, they traveled into Poland, to Warsaw and finally to the U.S. where they were reunited with Anastasiya's father, Igor, who had been visiting Philadelphia when Russia invaded Ukraine.
IGOR PETRYK, ANASTASIYA'S FATHER (through translator): The worst of this story is that our parents are still there. My brother is still there.
FIELD: Today the streets of Odessa are filled with the sounds of resistance. Across the country, musicians have played on through the war, amid the wreckage.
What does it mean to you when you see the other performers and these musicians representing Ukraine in this fight?
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A. PETRYK (through translator): I feel like it's going to be impossible to describe those feelings with mere words.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
FIELD (voice-over): Instead, she is hopeful she, too, will soon be able to represent what she describes as the strength and the beauty of Ukraine on stage, here in the States and one day back home.
FIELD: Are you already imagining a day when you might go back there or perform there again? A. PETRYK (through translator): Every day of my life.
FIELD (voice-over): Alexandra Field, CNN, Philadelphia.
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BRUNHUBER: I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM and the latest developments from Ukraine in just a moment. Please stay with us.
