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Heavy Shelling, Fighting Across Eastern Ukraine; Violence Erupts Over Quran Burnings, Dozens Hurt; Japan Steps Up Defenses On Remote Islands Amid Tensions; CDC Mask Mandate For Travelers Struck Down By Federal Judge; North Korea Carries Out Its 12th Missile Launch Of The Year; Florida Rejects 41% Of New Math Books Citing Critical Race Theory Among The Reasons; Sources: Secret Service On The Defensive Over Allegations That Agents Duped By Men Impersonating Feds; California Teen Missing For 3 Years Found Alive In Utah. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired April 18, 2022 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

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HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: As shelling batters cities across Ukraine's Donbas, Ukrainian military officials say Russia's Eastern offensive now appears to be underway. Artillery shells rain down today on Rubizhne and western Luhansk, igniting fires across the city.

Also, take a look at this. This is Kramatorsk, air raid sirens wail. There's an elderly men boarded up windows shattered by shelling. Heavy ground fighting was reported today across the east.

And in an exclusive interview last week, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told our Jake Tapper how well Ukraine resists Russia's assault in the East may determine the course of the entire war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): For U.S., the battle for Donbas is very important. It is important for different reasons, for the reason of safety. First of all, our grouping that is located in Donbas is one of the best military we have. It is a large grouping, and Russia wants to encircle them and destroy them. It is nearly 14,000 people. It is 44,000 professional military men who survived a great war from the beginning of 2014.

This is why it is very important for us to preserve that part of our army. That is one of the most powerful. This is why it is very important for us not to allow them, to stand our ground because this battle, and it can happen so there will be several battles, and we don't know how long it is going to take, it can influence the course of the whole rat because I don't trust the Russian military and Russian leadership.

That is why we understand that the fact that we fought them off and they left and they were running away from Kyiv from the north from Chernihiv, and from that direction, it doesn't mean if they are able to capture Donbas they won't come further towards Kyiv that that is why for us, this battle is very important for many reasons. It is very important to win this battle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, that was President Zelenskyy. I want to turn now to Tymofiy Milovanov via Skype from Kyiv. He's an adviser to President Zelenskyy and the president of the Kyiv School of Economics. Thanks so much for being with us.

So we've been reporting, other outlets have been reporting, that it appears as though perhaps the Russian offensive on Eastern Ukraine may have begun, but we can't confirm this obviously. What can you tell us about this?

[14:35:07]

TYMOFIY MILOVANOV, ADVISER TO UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT ZELENSKY: I agree with you that it appears it may have begun. Over the last days, there has been a continuous increase in shelling and attacks. And Russia has also been concentrating its military units in the east of Ukraine. But it does appear that they have started moving forward.

GORANI: But not in a full scale offensive kind of way yet?

MILOVANOV: No, no, that's, you know, it appears to be that it's just trying certain areas, also multiple areas at the same time, it is not a full scale, throw everything in the way they have done it in and around Kyiv.

GORANI: Sure.

MILOVANOV: Not yet.

GORANI: So what -- not yet, but you're expecting this to happen. How imminent do you think it is?

MILOVANOV: Well, you know, if we take a history lesson from 2014 2016, what Russia has tried and has achieved in the east of Ukraine, they have twice encircled Ukrainian troops in the East, in the Baltics, Ilovaisk, and have destroyed them a certain units. And after that they negotiated peace treaties with the Ukrainian government from the position of strength to an extent possible under the circumstances.

So I think that we might be seeing a similar tactic where they are trying to encircle Ukrainian troops in the area. And if they succeed in it, then they will be ready to negotiate again from the position of strength. However, I don't think that's going to happen this time.

GORANI: OK. What do you -- first, why do you think it won't happen this time and secondly, I must ask you, obviously, what more Ukrainians need to make sure this doesn't happen the second time around in terms of armaments?

MILOVANOV: I think the second question is the answer to the first.

GORANI: Yes.

MILOVANOV: This time around, Ukrainian military is ready. It's much more, you know, it's large in numbers, much more experienced, but it does require ammunition. It's as simple as that. The war will be won not by those who have better strategy at this point in time, you know, in the next week, this episode will be won by those who have better supply lines, you know, better morale, better -- prepared better. So there's no question about morale and the troops. But we do need ammunition. We do need specifics, from heavy artillery, to heavy armor to just simply bullets, you know.

GORANI: Yes. So -- and you're not getting what you need?

MILOVANOV: Well, you know, I have to be diplomatic here. But the way it works is that we submit the list or that's what I do. You can even check it from the open sources. So we submit certain requests that then we have provided some other things. We're very grateful for what we are being provided, but it's not quite always what we expect or what we really need. And sometimes there are delays. We do need ammunition now. It really is needed.

GORANI: Can I ask you what it is that you need that you're not necessarily getting? Is this something you can share with us or not?

MILOVANOV: Yes, artillery, everything related to the artillery mortar and artillery, just ammunition for the artillery, that mean -- just rounds and even basic things like armor and simply, as I mentioned before, simply bullets, you know, huge, you know, the amount, it's a war, it's ongoing, and, you know, whatever was sent, we could go last for several days, and then you need to, you need to replenish it. I think it's not just your sent, you know, $100 million of support and it's gone within a couple of days.

GORANI: Can I ask you about -- before I get to those two Brits who have been captured by the Russians, Mariupol, there are holdouts there who are not surrendering to the Russians, they are confined to this industrial steel plant area. Is Mariupol essentially lost in your opinion to the Russians? It's what military experts have been telling me. They've been saying this is just now a matter of days.

MILOVANOV: Well, we have heard that it's a matter of days for, you know, several weeks now. But again, we can look in the -- into the history of 2014, 2016, there was the battle for Donetsk airport where, OK, it was much smaller scale, but 120 Ukrainian troops were there, 20 made it out and eventually it was last but they held out for days and weeks and it was really brutal. A lot of people, a lot of troops died. And I think we're seeing a similar scenario unfortunately.

GORANI: And I want to ask you also about these British fighters who were volunteering on the Ukrainian side in Mariupol, the name's Sean Pinner and Aiden Aslin.

[14:40:08]

The Russian state TV showed hostage videos essentially of them which we will not air because it would be in contravention. It would be breaking the Geneva Conventions on displaying POWs. They asked in the video to be swapped for a pro-Putin politician and Ukraine, Viktor Medvedchuk, who also in a video released by the Ukrainian Intelligence Services wants to be swapped. Is this a discussion that is taking place?

MILOVANOV: I actually do not know. But I wouldn't be surprised that that is something which is -- which might be taking place because Medvedchuk is a very important Russian figure. He had a faction in the parliament, he has been operating, you know, under the kind of disguise of a politician. But, you know, when I was in the government as the minister, and when I was advising in the Office of the President, I've seen him work. And he always worked against the government of Ukraine and against the sovereignty of Ukraine.

So I can see that he is a very important figure for Russia, at least symbolically, and they would want to protect their own so they would be swapping people.

GORANI: But would the Ukrainians want to swap for two British fighters? I mean, is this something that would make sense on the Ukrainians' side?

MILOVANOV: Ukrainians probably would -- well, you know, we care about everyone who have fought for Ukraine. But, you know, we probably would want to have many more people returned to Ukraine.

GORANI: All right. Well, thank you very much for joining us. We really appreciate having you on the program, Tymofiy Milovanov in Kyiv, an advisor to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Thanks so much.

MILOVANOV: Thank you.

GORANI: And still to come tonight, another part of Europe in the news. Riots, Quran burnings, clashes with police, cities in Sweden descend into chaos over the weekend. We'll bring you that story coming up.

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GORANI: Riots erupted in Sweden this weekend over planned Quran burnings. Dozens were injured as police and protesters clashed. The protesters were responding in anger to anti-Muslim rallies.

[14:45:00]

One far right leader posted a picture of himself on social media burning the holy book and vowed to burn more. CNN's Nada Bashir has been following this story closely and she joins me now to discuss how it all unfolded. So what happened over the weekend in Sweden?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, we've seen a series of counter protests and riots across a number of cities now, in Sweden, this all unfolding triggered by a far right rally held by the far right Danish political party, the Hard Line Party, which has openly and vocally been anti-immigrant and Islamophobic in its policies and its stance.

Its leader, Rasmus Paludan, has posted or posted a photo of himself, as you mentioned, burning the Quran, that is of course the holiest text in Islam, and called on his supporters to join the rally to burn more of these Qurans with him.

So he's done this before a number of times. This isn't the first time he's pulled a stunt like this. He's called for similar stunts to be carried out in France and in Belgium and across other parts of Europe. This really triggered what's been described as a counter protest. It sparked into a riot. We saw videos of rioters throwing objects at police officers. We do know that dozens -- more than a dozen of -- members of public have been injured. At least 26 people were arrested.

But the key point really now is that the investigation is still ongoing. Police have said they are still trying to figure out the exact cause of the riot. They said that some members of the rioters, the counter protesters, may be individuals linked to criminal gangs who are taking advantage of the situation.

GORANI: So provocateur and troublemakers. We saw with the Muhammad cartoon protests a few years ago that there was a lot of violence also associated with that, but not necessarily, you know, an effort from some Muslim countries to kind of calm the tensions. Quite the contrary. But in this case, what is the reaction of countries like say Saudi Arabia or the Gulf countries in the Middle East?

BASHIR: Well, a number of Muslim majority countries in the Middle East have now come out issuing statements condemning the acts of burning the Koran by the far right party. We've heard from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, amongst them, Iraq even summoning its Swedish envoy there.

Saudi Arabia has issued a statement. It's condemned violence, but it's also calling for dialogue and tolerance. And we heard as well from the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, they warned that such acts could pose a threat to peaceful coexistence.

GORANI: Right, thank you very much Nada Bashir with that story.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem continues to be a flashpoint on a weekend where Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Holy Days coincided for the first time in a very long time. Now on Sunday, Israeli security forces and Palestinians around the compound, there was some violence there.

Israeli police say they entered this very holy site for Muslims to stop Palestinians who planned to throw rocks to disrupt visits by Jewish groups. The site is holy to both Muslims and Jews. All of this follows some violence on Friday. The Palestinian Red Cross says more than 150 people were injured then among Palestinians. And now as a result of this unrest, Israel's fragile government coalition may be in danger.

United Arab List Party, the first Arab party to fully enter the Israeli government as a coalition partner says it is freezing participation in the coalition to protest police violence against Palestinians at their mosque. Still to come tonight, an exclusive look at the coastal community with

front row seats to rising tensions in the Pacific Ocean. We take you there after this.

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[14:51:19]

GORANI: So three people are reported to have died in Shanghai during the latest COVID-19 outbreak. These are the first officially announced deaths of this latest outbreak raising questions about the authenticity of the official numbers.

It comes as other Chinese cities go under harsh lockdowns and when we say harsh we mean harsh. I mean people are just sent to these COVID centers, they are locked in their homes. Wuhu banned all 3.6 million residents from leaving their homes after one case was reported. And in Xi'an around 13 million people are locked down after 43 positive cases were reported this month. By the way, the three people reported to have died in China, unvaccinated elderly underlying conditions.

The security situation in the Pacific Ocean is becoming more volatile amid fears that China could launch its own operation resembling Russia's in Ukraine. Japan is stepping up its defenses. Here's CNNs' Blake Essig speaks exclusively with the Chief of Staff of Japan's military and takes a look at what life was like on some islands not far from Taiwan.

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BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the past 25 years, Kazushi Kinjo has made a living fishing the waters surrounding Japan's Nansei Islands, that includes the uninhabited group of islands known as the Senkakus in Japan and Diaoyu in China. When he started, Kinjo says he never saw Chinese ships, but in the last few years --

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KAZUSHI KINJO, JAPANESE FISHERMAN (through translator): You can see it in the video. The bow of one of their ships was pointed straight at us and they were chasing us.

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ESSIG: Dangerous encounters specifically around the contested Senkaku Islands that Kinjo says are guaranteed.

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KINJO (through translator): I don't know for sure. But I also saw what looked like cannons. Looking back, they definitely could have shot at us if they'd wanted to. I felt that fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG: In response to CNN, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it's carrying out law enforcement duties in its territory. But it's not just the Chinese Coast Guard trolling these contested waters. Japanese and senior U.S. defense officials say Chinese warships are routinely patrolling Japanese territorial waters in the waters near Taiwan. And according to one of the men in charge with defending Japan, that increased activity isn't limited to the sea.

From where I'm walking on the shores of Japan's Yonaguni Island, the east coast of Taiwan is only 110 kilometers away. It's so close that on a clear day, you can actually see it. It's this stretch of water. It's been viewed as a potential battleground if China invades Taiwan.

It's that close proximity that has Japanese officials claiming Taiwan's peace and stability is directly connected to Japan's, a security threat amplified by the ongoing nuclear threat posed by North Korea and a growing fear that China may try to take control of land the Japanese government claims is inherently theirs.

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GEN. YOSHIHIDE YOSHIDA, JAPANESE MILITARY CHIEF OF STAFF (through translator): Japan's territorial sovereignty extends to the Nansei Islands, and I'm afraid that may be infringed in the future.

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ESSIG: It's for those reasons that General Yoshihide Yoshida says defending the Nansei Islands is a top priority. The Nansei islands consist of these 198 islands. Since 2016, in a clear departure from Japan's post World War II pacifism, Japan's Self Defense Force has increased its footprint, building bases on Amami Oshima, Miyakojima, and Yonaguni. Ishigaki is next.

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ESSIG: How confident are you in Japan's ability to defend itself?

[14:55:02]

YOSHIDA (through translator): We are enhancing our capabilities but our competitors are also enhancing their capabilities at an extremely fast pace. It will be very difficult to maintain our deterrence and response capabilities unless we further increase our military capacity.

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ESSIG: Back on Yonaguni, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is sparking fears that China could be emboldened to act off Japan's shores.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KINJO (through translator): The people are terrified of the situation that's happening. I think that the Senkaku issue and the Taiwan contingency are similar to the Ukrainian issue. I have a strong sense of crisis, but this island will eventually cease to be Japan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG: But in the face of geopolitical concerns well out of his control, Kinjo and his crew do what they know. They prepare for another day at sea. Blake Essig CNN, Yonaguni, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Thanks to all of you for watching tonight, I'm Hala Gorani. I'll see you next time. Stay with CNN. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is next.