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Russia Demands All Fighters Leave Mariupol; Kyiv Suburb of Brovary Hit by Rocket Attack; U.S. Sending High-Powered Equipment in Latest Aid Package; Over 30,000 Ukrainians in Estonia; Pope Francis Condemns Cruelty in Ukraine; Hundreds Seek Shelter Near Sievierodonetsk; U.S. Wildfires; Ukrainian Rock Star Uses Music to Lift People's Spirits. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired April 17, 2022 - 05:00   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.

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Russia issues an ultimatum as Ukraine's president warns of inhuman conditions in Mariupol. We're live in Lviv with the latest.

Plus North Korea flexes its military capabilities with another missile test after a holiday parade remarkable for what it lacked.

And ahead, Pope Francis' Easter Sunday blessing.

Ukrainian officials for the besieged city of Mariupol are refusing Russia's demands to surrender. Russian troops are now in control across much of the city. And they earlier issued an ultimatum for all remaining Ukrainian forces to lay down their weapons and leave by 1:00 pm local time. That's about an hour from now.

On Saturday, Zelenskyy warned the city was in the grips of a humanitarian crisis. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The situation in Mariupol remains as severe as possible. Just inhuman, this is what the Russian Federation did, deliberately did, and deliberately continues to destroy cities. Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there in Mariupol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Russian strikes have continued to hammer other areas in southern and Eastern Ukraine. Officials in the northeastern city of Kharkiv say at least two people were killed and 18 injured after a cruise missile attack.

To the south, officials in the Luhansk region say Russian strikes damaged nearly a dozen facilities, including an oil refinery.

Meanwhile, the Russian military said Saturday it shot down a Ukrainian aircraft delivering Western military equipment near Odessa. The White House says more weapons, ammunition and other aid have already started arriving in Ukraine.

And for first time, the U.S. aid package will include additional high powered equipment like helicopters, cannons and more drones.

We have CNN correspondents across the region covering the conflict from every angle. Our Matt Rivers is in Lviv, along with Rafael Romo. Scott McLean is in Estonia with the latest on the refugee situation. And Ben Wedeman is in Sievierodonetsk, Ukraine. Let's begin with our coverage with Matt Rivers.

I want to start with that besieged city, Mariupol. We're about an hour or so from the ultimatum imposed by Russians who warned Ukrainian soldiers to surrender but a defiant response from officials in that city.

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, for weeks now, Kim, it has seemed like Mariupol has been on the verge of falling completely to Russian forces.

And yet, as we speak to you right now, that does not seem to be the case, even confirmed by the fact the Russians have laid down this ultimatum that will end about an hour from now, where they've said all remaining defenders of that city should lay down their arms without exception by 1:00 pm.

Now the Russians didn't say what would happen if they did not but clearly the Russians are getting frustrated with the fact there continues to be armed resistance in that city. As you mention we're hearing from Ukrainian officials saying there remains armed defenders in that city putting up resistance.

What we've heard from the Russian side the main pocket of resistance is around the steel plant. But the Ukrainians pushed back on that narrative just a few minutes ago, saying not only do their defenders remain there but also there was fighting 5 kilometers away from that steel plant as of last night, trying to push the message from the Ukrainian side there remains more resistance than the Russians are letting onto.

It's very difficult to get in touch with people who are inside that city, in large part because there remains difficulties to get communications. There remains a lack of supplies. So a very, very tense situation we're going to be watching play out over the next few hours, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Continue monitoring that. And then, Matt, in Kyiv, for yet another day now, more attacks on the capital.

What's the latest there?

RIVERS: Yes, this is the third day we've seen a missile strike in or around the capital.

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RIVERS: So overnight we heard from a mayor of a suburb, of Brovary, that the mayor saying a missile strike, power and water supply had been damaged as a result of that. No word on any casualties.

But this comes just one day where at least one person was killed in a missile strike in the southeastern district of Kyiv. Before that, there was another missile strike. So after a little while of not seeing the capital and surrounding region targeted by Russian strikes, there's the offensive in that city.

So while Mariupol remains a key focus for us, it is clear the Russians continue these isolated attacks in other parts of the country.

BRUNHUBER: Really appreciate the updates. Matt Rivers in Lviv, Ukraine. Thanks so much.

The U.S. says its first shipment of heavy weapons to Ukraine has arrived ahead of a renewed Russian offensive, expected at any moment. The U.S. has, for the first time, agreed to provide Kyiv with types of high powered capabilities. Some officials a few short weeks ago viewed as too great of a risk.

This package contains 300 more Switchblade drones, 200 armored personnel carriers, 30,000 sets of body armor and helmets and additional chemical, nuclear and protective gear.

Overall the U.S. has authorized some $2.6 billion of security aid for Ukraine since Russia invaded in February. The U.S. has committed more than $3.2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration.

All right, for more on all this, I want to bring in Garvan Walshe, a founder and CEO of Article 7, a database for democratic governments and civil society and a former policy advisor to the British Conservative Party. And he joins us now live from Brussels, Belgium.

Thanks so much for joining us here. You just heard the catalog of weapons and ammunitions the U.S. is now providing to Ukraine. What impact do you think it'll have?

GARVAN WALSHE, FOUNDER AND CEO, ARTICLE 7: This is an important start but it's only a start. It needs to be ramped up significantly before it can really have a proper effect on the battlefield; 18 Howitzers are great but 180 Howitzers is more like what they need.

The difficulty is trying to train people at the same time as they have to fight directly. In six weeks we can really ramp up our support for the Ukrainian armed forces, which needs to be stepped probably by a factor of 5 or 10. BRUNHUBER: When it comes to Soviet era weaponry, for example, they might have more familiarity with that, need less training. They have more ability to fix it and so on.

But this U.S. equipment, how quickly can it be sort of actually used, you know, from unpacking to being used on the battlefield, let's say?

WALSHE: I mean, quite a bit of this stuff can be used to a certain extent quite quickly. There's been a lot of training of Ukrainian forces going on for years now by Western militaries. They're able to use really sophisticated equipment.

And we see they have the kind of command and control that enables them to adapt very quickly and use Western weapons to maximum effect. Obviously, for things like fighter jets, going to take longer to get them up to effective performance benefits.

BRUNHUBER: I want to ask you about the jets a little later.

But right now, since we're focusing on where the Russian forces are repositioning, which is largely to the south and especially the east, how's the geography of the region influence the different types of weapons that are needed?

WALSHE: I mean, this is flat land. It's famously an area where traditionally armor would have been very effective. Obviously that can have been changed by modern technology. You can have things like the Switchblade drones and things sent up that can attack the Russians from the air.

These things make it much harder to use 1940s style techniques with heavy armor. But it's still important to have tanks. And Ukraine doesn't have enough. Where there are more tanks are in former Soviet bloc countries. Poland has a lot of tanks it could send to Ukraine. But if it is sending tanks, it needs to have other American tanks guarding its frontier, with Belarus and Russia.

BRUNHUBER: You've been critical about the U.S. decision to block the Polish MiG jet fighters being sent to Ukraine.

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BRUNHUBER: But according to the Pentagon spokesperson, John Kirby, he said, quote, "We believe the provision of additional fighter aircraft provides little increased capabilities at high risk."

You don't buy the Biden administration's argument this might be seen as a serious escalation?

WALSHE: I think, first, this shouldn't have been done in public. Some things should be supplied; no need to talk about them and then the Russians would have found there were more MiG 29s they were up against. And that would have been the best.

Unfortunately, the word got out and once it got out, a decision needed to be made. The Pentagon is half right here in that it will only make a relatively small difference. But with fine margins on the battlefield, every small difference counts.

But they were wrong about the potential for escalation. This has been a continual -- continuous mistake that Western countries have made since the start of this conflict and even since the Russian buildup last year.

They think Putin is playing a careful game, where he might respond to escalation; whereas actually, he has a clear plan. He wants to dominate Ukraine and he will execute that plan and will only be stopped from executing that plan if we offer stiff resistance.

It's not an case he'll increase escalations in response to a relatively small shipment of aircraft. Its that he's trying to deter the shipment of aircraft by threatening escalation, that we really have to ask, how much further can he escalate, given the kinds of things he's already doing in Mariupol, the kinds of things he's doing in Bucha and other places?

Russia is already systematically murdering innocent civilians. They're just laying waste to cities. And it's very difficult to see what further escalation he could do that he would also be allowed to do by his own military.

BRUNHUBER: Well, listen, we'll have to leave it there but thanks so much for your expertise on this, Garvan Walshe in Brussels, thanks so much.

WALSHE: Thank you very much, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Well, as Russia continues to step up the intensity of its campaign in Eastern Ukraine, it's getting tougher for civilians to escape. So far, more than 4.8 million people have fled Ukraine and more than 7 million are internally displaced. More than 4,200 civilians fled to Romania on Friday. One arriving Saturday saying she was afraid for her life. Listen to this.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Well, the situation is bad. There's a war in the country. We are afraid that the war will reach our regions.

So I'm leaving with my child to another country. Unfortunately, Russian troops are very ruthless toward Ukrainians. They rape women, kill children and it makes us very scared. So we have to leave Ukraine, our country, to another country, unfortunately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Frightening. I'm joined now by CNN's Scott McLean. He's in Estonia, where officials this week said they've taken in more than 30,000 refugees since the fighting began.

A huge influx there for a relatively small country.

What kind of strain is it creating? SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like a small number, considering Poland has taken in 2.5 million or more. Estonia has taken in 30,000. But 30,000 people is well over 2 percent of the population. And it's undoubtedly causing a strain, certainly on finances, at the very least.

People were initially being housed in hotels. Many still are being housed in hotels at the government's expense. So that's getting quite expensive. Some of them moved onto a cruise ship that normally shuttles between Sweden and Latvia.

I asked the minister responsible for refugees recently if there's limits to Estonia's generosity when it comes to Ukrainian refugees. And she said, there simply cannot be. Given the brutality in Ukraine, people need to go somewhere.

Obviously there is, though, a finite number of resources for Estonians to actually help people coming from Ukraine. Early on in the war, Kim, people were largely coming here from Poland, Romania, Hungary, on buses bound for Estonia.

And the reason this is an attractive place for people to come, is they have a large Russian speaking population here. We spoke to the spokesperson for the police and border guard and they say half of people show up and say they were forcibly pushed into Russia.

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MCLEAN: And others say it was their only option. They had no realistic possibility of going further into Ukraine. I spoke to a pair of neighbors who, after 40 days in Mariupol, finally managed to escape the city and ended up in Russia.

And with the help of strangers in Russia managed to get to St. Petersburg and then here to Estonia, where they've been helped by volunteers and the government. The minister also said she hopes they stick around.

Almost all of the Ukrainians I've met say they want to go home at the first opportunity. And so the minister responsible for refugees in Estonia actually hopes many stick around because this is a small country, a small country with an aging population. And they could use an influx of new people, especially young ones.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. Scott McLean in Estonia, thanks so much.

And to find out how you can help people in Ukraine, who may be in need of shelter, food and water, please go to cnn.com/impact. And to let you guys know, our CNN audience has donated around $7.5 million.

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BRUNHUBER: South Korea's president is telling his ministers to keep a close eye on North Korea's next moves, after a military test that Pyongyang says will boost its nuclear capabilities. Seoul reports the North fired two projectiles Saturday. North Korean

state media say leader Kim Jong-un observed a weapons test, saying this was a new type of guided weapon that will improve the nation's nuclear operations.

North Korea has stepped up its missile activity this year, including what's believed to have been an intercontinental ballistic missile test last month. That was North Korea's first such test since 2017.

But as much as North Korea flexes its military muscle with missile tests, it chose not to do that during its biggest holiday on Friday. It did hold a massive parade to mark the birthday of its founder, Kim Il-sung. But as Will Ripley reports, the usual display of troops and military hardware was missing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The grand finale of North Korea's biggest holiday celebration, the country launched a new tactical guided weapon, observed by its leader, Kim Jong-un, a show of force to mark the 110th birthday of the country's founder and Kim's grandfather, the late Kim Il-sung.

The show in the sky followed an extravagant parade on the ground. On Friday, Kim and his top aides, including sister, Kim Yo Jong, watched columns of colorful performers pass by. But there were no tanks, missiles or other military hardware that had been showcased in the past.

This latest launch not entirely unexpected by experts after the country conducted a powerful intercontinental ballistic missile test in March, though some experts now question North Korea's claim the launch in March was a new missile, saying it was actually an older model.

The Pentagon has also expressed concern Pyongyang is preparing for a possible underground nuclear test for the first time since 2017. In a New Year's speech, Kim praised military advances but mainly spoke about domestic issues, like food shortages, which have been made worse by the country's self isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last month, the United Nations warned more than 40 percent of North Koreans are food insecure. The new launch, an old tactic by the rogue nation, trying to deflect from the problems that are persistent in the country, even before Kim came to power.

And in another made-for-TV moment, Kim bestowed the gift of a luxury apartment earlier this week to long-time news reader Ri Chun-hee, who was given a VIP tour of the flat. Kim has a development plan to build 50,000 new apartments in Pyongyang over the next five years. This building, like so much else in North Korea, is reserved for the elite -- Will Ripley, CNN, Taiwan.

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BRUNHUBER: Today's the culmination of Holy Week in the Christian world. Pope Frances has begun his Easter mass. We'll get the latest details after the break. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, Pope Francis is celebrating Easter Sunday mass at a crowded St. Peter's Square right now. Now for Christians, it's a joyous occasion. It's the holiest day of the Catholic calendar and it commemorates Jesus' resurrection after His crucifixion.

Joining me now from Rome is CNN's John Allen.

John, bring us to speed on what the pope has been saying, in what must be a bittersweet Easter celebration.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SR. VATICAN ANALYST: Hi, Kim. Happy Easter to you.

Yes, clearly the war in Ukraine has cast a shadow over this Easter celebration. The pope is currently wrapping up Easter Sunday mass in front of a crowd, it's estimated around 50,000 people, in St. Peter's Square.

By the way, this is the first time the pope has been able to do this in the square with a large crowd since the COVID pandemic began. In that crowd are a number of Ukrainian dignitaries, including the mayor of one Ukrainian town, who was briefly arrested by Russian forces, who had entered his town, and then later released.

In about a half hour or so, when the mass is over, we expect the pope to deliver his traditional address, Urbi et Orbi, to the city and world, where he'll explicitly engage the crisis in Ukraine and probably reiterate his frequent denouncing of the war.

And we should note, without saying anything, the pope has already made in a statement in recent days about the war. On Friday, Good Friday, during the Way of the Cross ceremony at the Roman Colosseum, at one point, the pope asked a Ukrainian and Russian woman to carry the cross together.

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ALLEN: And that brought a great deal of criticism from Ukrainians, who felt it implied a kind of moral equivalence between a victim and aggressor in this. We'll see how he addresses that later today, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll be following along. Thanks so much. John Allen, appreciate it.

Ukraine's Catholics aren't letting the war stop them from celebrating Easter. They gathered at a cathedral in the Ukrainian capital Saturday for a vigil marking Easter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It feels very different now, of course. There's our view of reality and view of how God loves us, how he takes care of us, how he protects us, even at such difficult times like now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: I'm Kim Brunhuber. For our international viewers "INSIDE AFRICA" is next. For those in North America, we're back with more breaking news after this short break. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

We're following reports this morning of renewed rocket attacks near the Ukrainian capital, this time in the suburb of Brovary. In the ruins of what used to be Mariupol, Ukrainian fighters have been given until 1:00 pm local time to surrender. That's just about half an hour from now.

City officials rejected the Russian ultimatum a short time ago, saying Ukrainian troops were holding their ground.

Also along the southern coast, the city of Mykolaiv has been without running water for four days after a pipeline was damaged by shelling. People are drinking spring water, as Ukraine's military leader in the region says he expects to get alternate sources of water soon.

Russia is claiming it shot down a transport plane carrying military aid from the West. Despite that claim, the U.S. says its first shipment of heavy weapons has now arrived ahead of an expected Russian assault. Ukraine's military said it repulsed 10 attacks by Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine on Saturday.

As we mentioned, the situation in Mariupol is about as dire as it gets. Ukrainian troops are surrounded and Russian artillery continues to pound their positions. Earlier, my colleague, John Vause, asked a retired U.S. major general what he thinks will happen.

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MAJOR GENERAL MARK MCCAULEY, U.S. ARMY (RET.): From a military analytical perspective, it appears there will be no, as we call in the Army, no cavalry coming to save those Ukrainian service members.

We don't have any long range artillery. We can't attack the offshore Russian vessels throwing down fire on the remaining Ukrainian forces. I think in the next few hours the president of Ukraine is going to have to make a very, very difficult decision and relay it to the soldiers still on the ground.

It is not a good thing. I'm not going to necessarily go so far as to suggest this is beginning of the end but this is a significant loss, not only in terms of territory and access to the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea but really to the morale of the Ukrainian people. So, yes, I'm concerned.

VAUSE: This is the iron and steel factory, where the Russians suggested earlier the possible use of chemical weapons, clearing the site would be costly in terms of Russian troop losses.

But if the Ukrainian fighters in this steel plant don't give up, are chemical weapons on the table as far as the Russians are concerned?

MCCAULEY: You've asked perhaps one of the most important questions facing world leadership, especially the West.

Will the Russians, in the manner in which they've conducted the war, turn deliberately to use chemical weapons, especially as we move into what will be a protracted campaign in the Donbas region?

That's a difficult urban environment, densely populated. There's a huge temptation on the part of an army, with the tactics demonstrated by the Russians in the last six weeks, no doubt there's a big question whether they'll resort to some manner of chemical weapons. If that happens, everything's off the table.

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BRUNHUBER: The next phase of the war is expected to shift to the east, to the Donbas region. Ben Wedeman shows us what life is like in one city in Eastern Ukraine, where hundreds of residents have taken refuge from the Russian shelling.

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The shelling comes early and often. With Russian forces massing nearby this is a portent of things to come. Firefighters brave the threat of shelling but few others brave the streets of Sievierodonetsk.

Life for those who haven't fled is moved underground. To stuffy shelters where safety trumps comfort. Around 300 people call this temporary home on the grounds of a sprawling chemical plant.

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WEDEMAN (voice-over): Maxim and his wife Ira try to keep 7-month-old baby Artum (ph) distracted. They're recent arrivals having fled their home ten days ago. Maxim shows me cell phone pictures of the cellar they hid out in before coming here.

Disabled, Tatiana stays in bed most of the time. She would prefer to be at home but what home?

"There's no electricity, no cell phone signal, no water, no gas," she tells me. Everything is shaking from the bombing. The windows are shattered.

Tamara tutors her grandson, Timor (ph), a retired English teacher, she's been here for more than a month.

TAMARA: A lot of people can't leave this place because of problems with health and they don't have enough money to leave and other places. They have to stay here.

WEDEMAN: 73-year-old Vasyli (ph) struggles to move about the shelter. He's not leaving town.

"I was born here and I'll stay here," he says.

Nearby, tanks at an oil refinery burn after a Russian strike. Not the first time it came under bombardment. The shelling here comes early and often -- Ben Wedeman, CNN, outside Sievierodonetsk, Eastern Ukraine.

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BRUNHUBER: We're tracking yet another mass shooting here in the U.S. At least 14 people injured Saturday after gunfire at a mall in South Carolina. One person arrested in connection with the shooting. The incident happened in the state capital, Columbia. The police chief said earlier three people were detained.

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CHIEF SKIP HOLBROOK, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, POLICE: We believe that the individuals that were armed, knew each other and they were in some type of conflict that occurred that resulted in gunfire.

This was not a situation where we had some random person show up at a mall to discharge a firearm and this injured people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Health officials say at least nine of those injured in the shooting were treated and released from the hospital.

Police in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, say two people have died in a Saturday shooting. Two young men were among 11 people who were shot in the city's East Allegheny neighborhood.

Police are still looking for the shooter and have not reported a motive. Several people were injured running away or trying to escape by jumping out of windows.

Still to come here on CNN, health officials are sounding the alarm over two Omicron subvariants spreading across parts of New York state.

Plus multiple fires are burning in the Western United States, so we'll go to the CNN Weather Center for the latest developments. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Well, you're looking at Shanghai, China, where the COVID-19 outbreak shows no signs of slowing. More than 26,000 new cases were reported across the country on Saturday and almost all of them were in Shanghai.

The city's been in a strict lockdown for weeks as authorities try to curb the spread of the virus, also following signs of economic progress. CNN has learned some key industries in Shanghai will be allowed to resume production again, including companies that produce biomedicine, cars and integrated circuits. More than 600 companies are impacted.

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BRUNHUBER: Here in the U.S., new COVID-19 cases are ticking up again but are still a fraction of what they were at the height of the Omicron surge. Health officials are keeping a close eye right now on New York state. CNN's Polo Sandoval tells us why.

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: COVID cases on the rise in communities throughout the United States. Health authorities, though, are concerned about a recent uptick here in New York state, mainly in the central regions, where an average daily case count has nearly doubled in the last two weeks.

Two offshoots of the Omicron BA.2 virus are likely to blame, causing more than 90 percent of infections in central New York and also in the Finger Lakes region. It's unclear if these subvariants will eventually overtake the BA.2 variant here in New York and other parts of the country.

It's not the first time that these subvariants have made their appearance. They've already been reported in at least 50 states and territories here in the U.S. since January. As far as the global tracking efforts, they've already identified them in the U.K., India, Germany, also in Canada.

We should mention, though, the daily reported cases, they are still really just a fraction of what we experienced in the United States during the Omicron surge recently. That was certainly a reason for health officials here in New York state to remind the public of the steps they can do to stay safe.

The state health commissioner saying, while the subvariants are new, the tool we have to fight them are not: things like getting fully vaccinated, getting boosted and getting tested if you've been exposed to the virus and wearing masks in public indoor spaces.

In fact, recently Broadway announced, though they plan to relax their vaccine requirements and don't expect to require proof of vaccination at the end of April, they did announce that they will be extending the mask mandate for Broadway performances, at least until the end of May -- Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

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BRUNHUBER: And here in the U.S., more than half a million people are under critical fire danger, stretching from Western Nebraska to New Mexico. And parts of that state are under evacuation orders as firefighters fight five blazes.

Wildfires have killed at least two people, charred thousands of acres and destroyed hundreds of structures. Windy and dry weather conditions could allow these fires to spread even more.

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BRUNHUBER: And we'll be right back.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, it's maybe no surprise that a man who spent nearly a year in the futuristic realm of outer space is using new technology to raise money for Ukrainian relief.

Former U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly raised half a million by selling nonfungible tokens. Now NFTs, as they're nicknamed, are one of a kind assets, an original digital file. In this case, 3,300 images of Kelly in space created by the content studio Orange Comet sold out at auction in one day.

Proceeds are going to Global Empowerment Mission, which helps the victims of war in Ukraine.

Well, earlier, the former astronaut told CNN why raising money for Ukraine was deeply personal for him. And he also told us why he wanted to raise money using NFTs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT KELLY, ASTRONAUT: I have Ukrainian family members. I have a brother-in-law, who came to the United States as a teenager. His kids, my niece and nephew, are Ukrainian Americans, I have Ukrainian friends.

So this is a personal issue to me and I felt like if I could do anything to help, I was going to try.

I've been interested in the crypto world and the block chain and the interesting things it can do. So, you know, I felt like this was an opportunity to raise some money with an auction of over 3,333 unique, as you mentioned, NFTs.

And the auction or the sale was on Friday and the auction was on Friday as well. Actually, the sale was a couple days before. But we sold out all the NFTs within a few hours and the auction was complete yesterday. And we raised right around $500,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: That was former U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly there.

Well, music flowed in the streets of one Ukrainian town, as members of a local music academy played to boost people's morale. Have a look here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Musicians played well-known pieces, like that one you heard there, the James Bond theme, along with Ukrainian members. The orchestra's conductor said the goal was to bring some positivity to people in a difficult time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And a Ukrainian rock star has a similar idea. The famous musician, nicknamed the Ukrainian Bruce Springsteen, is trying to reassure his audience that, one day, things will be all right. CNN's Rafael Romo has 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.

ROMO (voice-over): Yes, that's -- this is it.

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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.

[05:55:00]

ROMO (voice-over): 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)

BRUNHUBER: John Lennon's iconic song, "Imagine," has been re-imagined by his son. Julian Lennon was 8 years old in 1971 when his father wrote the song. It became anthem for peace that transcended generations. It's one of the most performed and honored songs in history. Julian said he never wanted to perform "Imagine" publicly unless it

was, quote, "the end of the world." But the situation in Ukraine made him reconsider. Julian recorded the song to benefit the war-torn country, saying that his father's lyrics reflect the light at the end of the tunnel that we're all hoping for.

(VIDEO CLIP, "IMAGINE")

BRUNHUBER: Beautiful.

That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Our breaking news coverage of the war in Ukraine continues on "NEW DAY." You're watching CNN.