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Lviv Hit with Five Missile Strike; Ukraine Forces Rejects Surrender Ultimatum; Putin Believes He is Winning the War Says Austrian Chancellor; Pittsburgh Public School on Modified Lockdown; Philadelphia Brings Back Mask Mandates; Shanghai Reports First COVID Death; South Korea Eases Restrictions; Deadly Floods Claims At Least 443 Lives In South Africa; Chinese Ships Near Contested Islands Fuel Concern In Japan. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired April 18, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause live in Lviv, Ukraine where there's now smoke rising from a number of locations around this city. The mayor confirms at least five missile strikes in the past 45 minutes. This comes after an air raid warning earlier in the day. The mayor now telling or the regional governor, rather, telling residents to remain in place, remain in their shelters, the threat is still relevant. It's still current.

What we heard earlier today was a number of explosions, at least five explosions ring out. We also believe that this obviously is the first attack on this city in about three weeks. The last being March 26th when a Russian strike hit a fuel depot setting that on fire. But right now what we're trying to work out is to find those areas that were hit by these five missiles, like at least missile strikes according to the mayor here, what those targets were.

We're also told by the city officials that emergency crews are responding to the areas that were targeted in this latest attack. They are now on the scene. We have no word at this point on (inaudible) of casualties. We don't know what was hit. We do not know if anybody has been killed. Those details, we'll get them to you as soon as we know them.

At this point what we can confirm is that there were five loud explosions which were heard -- I heard them, I counted them, one after the other within the last 40, 45 minutes. And now we have plumes of smoke rising over a number of locations from this city. This is an area which has been spared the worst of the Russian military assault for the most part. The last attack as I say being March 26th.

There was another missile strike, Russian air strike on a military facility not far from here and close to the Polish border, but for the most part, that has been it for the area of Lviv here in western Ukraine. Now, we have this situation with at least five loud explosions. Five missile strikes somewhere on the outskirts or around the city here of Lviv.

We'll continue to follow this story. We'll bring you details as soon as we get them. In the meantime, we'll follow the rest of the developments now out of Ukraine with the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, now saying Russia is preparing for a major offensive in the east and that will happen soon.

This comes as Russian troops appear poised to capture the southern port city of Mariupol. That's a crucial link in Russia's efforts to create a land bridge between a stronghold in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Weeks of heavy fighting have left Mariupol in ruins and Zelenskyy says the same kind of destruction could be coming soon for the Donbas region in the east.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): Russian troops are preparing for an offensive operation in the east of our country. It will begin in the near future. They want to literally finish off and destroy Donbas, destroy everything that once gave glory to this industrial region. Just as the Russian troops are destroying Mariupol, they want to wipe out other cities and communities in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Russia is also intensifying its assault on Ukraine's second largest city. And a warning, the video you are about to see contains some graphic images. The northeastern city of Kharkiv came under heavy shelling on Sunday. The regional governor says at least five people were killed, 20 were injured. But he says Ukrainian forces managed to push the Russians back to the east of the city, which could hamper Russian supply lines through the Donbas region.

In the coming hours, Russian forces are expected to close all exit and entry points into and out of Mariupol. An adviser to the mayor says that will leave tens of thousands of civilians with no way to escape. And also warns the men who remain would be "filtered out." CNN cannot independently verify that claim, but we have more now from CNN's Matt Rivers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A Russian ultimatum to Mariupol's defenders. Surrender by 1:00 p.m. Sunday. The Ukrainians did not listen. "Our defenders continue to hold the defense," said an adviser to Mariupol's mayor in response.

DENYS SHMYHAL, UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER: Now, city still has not fallen. There is still our military forces, our soldiers. So, they will fight until the end. And as for now, they still are in Mariupol.

RIVERS (voice-over): A main pocket of resistance centered here at the Azovstal steel plant. It is unclear how many fighters remain in the city. Still difficult for CNN to gather verified information. A lack of internet service makes reliably contacting people in the city extremely hard.

Still, what is coming out of the city shows that it is now almost completely occupied by Russian troops. Keen to show off their handing out rations to starving civilians, but the Ukrainian parliament human rights commissioner says such handouts are mere propaganda amounting to no more than a loaf of bread and a bottle of water per day.

It is the Russian military, remember, that has caused such suffering. It's weeks' long bombardment of Mariupol cutting off its population from food, water and medical supplies.

[02:05:03]

President Zelenskyy says 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.

An estimated 100,000 people remain in and around Mariupol and need to be evacuated, but they remain trapped. On Sunday, not one humanitarian corridor was open. Meaning getting large numbers of people out remained impossible. Russia's military goals are clear. Dominate Mariupol and move on.

SAMUEL RAMANI, OXFORD UNIVERSITY: Mariupol has to fall before they can move those forces back up to the rest of eastern Ukraine.

RIVERS (on camera): And those Russian forces getting freed up to move does what?

RAMANI: If you free up those forces that means that they'll be able to more aggressively conquer Kharkiv, for example, which is where they're already launching shellings almost every single day and also they'll be able to move more of those forces towards Odessa.

RIVERS (voice-over): But for now, Mariupol still has not fallen. Destruction from previous battles litter the city's landscape and as Ukraine's remaining forces decline to surrender on Sunday, Russia with a chilling response. Its defense ministry saying in part "in case of further resistance, all of them will be eliminated." Matt Rivers, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Let's go live to Kyiv now. Michael Bociurkiw is the senior fellow of the Atlantic Council, also a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Michael, I want to ask you about the strikes that we have had here in Lviv within the past hour.

But first a reminder to our audience and to you as well, of course, you know the rules. We cannot give away locations of where these strikes took place. We cannot act as spotters for the Russian military, which is why we'll speak in general terms about areas that might have been hit. So what do you know about these five missile strikes here in Lviv?

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Yes, as you reported, they were announced by the mayor. But somewhat I can see from open source data, it looks like it's different, John, from the last strikes, which were more -- there was a fuel depot, things like that, lots of black smoke. The smoke, again, we're not giving away any locations or anything, seems to indicate more residential neighborhoods. And there's a map that shows -- a general map, again, possibly closer to transport facilities. I'll leave it at that.

But you know, the main takeaway here is that, and I wrote this in my CNN op-ed last week, and I hate to be right sometimes, John, but as long as the Russians have the ability to target Ukraine with those long-range missiles, no area of Ukraine can be considered safe. And actually, right now here in Kyiv we are under an air raid alert as well.

There have been several over the past 48 hours. And that is why the Ukrainian government is so insistent on having the ability to control their own skies. The west won't do it for them, obviously. So, they need the missiles and the technology to do it themselves because, again, you can't consider any part of Ukraine safe right now while the Russians have that capability.

VAUSE: We -- I heard the sound of what was like a jet engine overhead. So just curious if we know if these five strikes, if they were missile strikes or the result of an airstrike. Do we know if which one it may have been?

BOCIURKIW: Yes. I saw -- I saw aviation as the Ukrainians call it from one of the videos as well. But normally when they do these targeted strikes on (inaudible), all of them in the past have been from a long distance away. The last one, if I'm not mistaken, being from over the Black Sea and the Azov Sea. So, either from ships or from aircraft.

So, that goes to show you how far they can strike. But I don't think the Russians would put any aviation (inaudible) revealed, but I have heard -- I mean, I was in the field just a week ago for the first time, what sounded like a Ukrainian helicopter or something like that. But generally speaking, in western Ukraine there is no aviation whatsoever.

VAUSE: Right. So missile strikes, it looks like.

BOCIURKIW: Yes.

VAUSE: We're also hearing from the regional military governor warning the population to stay here in Lviv under their -- in their shelters after that series of missile strikes, an indication that the danger, the risk is still very much real, still active.

There's some kind of, I guess discrepancy in the number of missile strikes. We're hearing from the regional military governor that it might have been four. The mayor says five targeted missile strikes hit the city. I certainly counted five. Very loud explosions after hearing that roar of an engine or some kind of jet engine overhead.

And as you say, this is all part of what appears to be an increased effort by the Russians to step up these long-range attacks, the artillery fire, the missile strikes, the air strikes, which as you say can happen pretty much at will on any part of this country.

[02:10:02]

So, the weapons that are now coming in from the United States, from the U.K., from other NATO countries, are they enough to counter the Russian ability to strike anywhere that they want in this country with these kind of missiles?

BOCIURKIW: I think there are enough, John, to lessen the number of missiles because the Ukrainians seem to have more of an ability in places like Lviv to shoot down incoming missiles, unfortunately, not as much this time. But what I'm hearing is that they're running out of missiles because they're using them very quickly.

But the main thing they need right now is the electronic surveillance capability but also the missile batteries that have lots of speed and lots of altitude because these types of missiles need to be targeted from quite a distance away.

Sorry, speed, altitude and also distance. I talked to a member of the National Guard just before I left Lviv a few days ago and he said that's the number one thing they need because that in a way, you know, gives you protection of the skies from hitting targeted areas.

But you know, it's just heartbreaking and horrifying because the other thing we have to remember is this is holy week coming up on the Julian calendar in Ukraine. So, usually it's a time of mass migration, people going to meet with families and so on.

And I think in Lviv, which is a very, very religious part of the country, believe me, is that a lot of people were hoping to celebrate more or less a normal Easter, if we can put it that way, even with these curfews. So, this will, number one, make that much more difficult.

But number two, I'm afraid that, you know, in Lviv we've had about 200,000 migrants staying there if not more. These types of strikes scare them, of course, and that may cause more migration to the borders. And that's exactly what Mr. Putin is trying to do as well, is weaponized migration, put more pressure on those European countries. It's a horrible set of circumstances.

VAUSE: Because just to recap what we can report here at this present point in time, these missile strikes appear to have hit more residential areas, which is different to March 26th, which is when a fuel depot was hit and set afire, which is different to what happened a week or so before that when a military facility between here and the Polish border was hit also.

So back then it seemed to be sort of more logistics or more military targets that they were going after. This now -- if this is in fact residential areas which have been hit, then that is an attempt to terrify the local population.

There is no other -- if there's no military point of view, no military purpose for those strikes. Then the only other reason for it is terror.

BOCIURKIW: Absolutely. This is in a way a game changer because up until now, as you correctly pointed out, Lviv has been, you know, that strikes have been limited to those let's say more strategic areas. But now that they're hitting residential neighborhoods that's, of course, an act of terror, but I think it's also a move to scare the local population.

And then on top of everything you and I have just said is that Lviv is also a humanitarian hub now. I mean, the U.N. has a big presence there. It's a big distribution hub. So, this could also disrupt that because the other thing we've had going on in the past few days even here in Kyiv is more embassies coming back, which was a good sign, another step to more normalcy. But this could change all of that in many, many different ways.

VAUSE: Yes. It does seem to be certainly a different set of circumstances around this latest attack here on Lviv. And of course the concern is what comes next. Michael Bociurkiw, thank you so much for being with us. Your time and insights very much appreciated. Thank you.

Well, the Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer says Vladimir Putin seems to have a full grasp on what is unfolding here in Ukraine. Nehammer met with the Russian president last week, the first European leader to do so since this war of choice began. He said that at the end of their meeting Putin warned him in German, "It is better the war ends earlier rather than later." Here's more now from Nehammer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARL NEHAMMER, AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR: I think he is now in his own war logic, you know. He thinks the war is necessary for security guarantees for the Russian federation. He doesn't trust the international community. He blames the Ukrainians to -- for genocide -- genocide in the Donbas region. I think he believes he is winning the war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Nada Bashir is live for us this hour in London. And what we're hearing from the Austrian chancellor, it does raise the question of how do you negotiate with someone who seems to be delusional if they believe they're winning this war?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Yes, absolutely, John. We heard from the chancellor there saying he can't fully understand Putin's war logic.

[02:14:58]

Now, he did have what he described as a frank and tough discussion with the Russian president. He said he wanted to confront him with the realities on the ground. He did of course visit Bucha where we saw those atrocities unfold, what has now been described as war crimes. He said he wanted to confront President Putin with these realities.

But as you heard there from Nehammer, Russian President Vladimir Putin believes he is winning this war. He still believes that this war is necessary in order to ensure Russia's security guarantees. That is the message we've been hearing from the Kremlin since the beginning of this invasion.

But the second key message we've been hearing from the Kremlin is that they are fighting what they've described as a genocide in the Donbas region. President Putin telling Nehammer that. He continues to reiterate this message. And that of course comes as we hear from Zelenskyy that he believes the Russian forces will be intensifying their attacks, their operations in the eastern region.

He says they completely want to finish off and destroy the Donbas region. So there is a serious concern then. Now, as you mentioned, Nehammer is one of several European leaders to have now visited Ukraine but he is the first to have sat down with President Putin.

Now, there have been numerous attempts by other European leaders, particularly French President Emmanuel Macron, to speak to Putin, to bring him to the negotiating table, to bring some sort of resolution to this conflict. But just as you said there, it is proving more and more difficult with President Putin completely pushing this by saying he doesn't trust western officials, he doesn't trust those attempts to bring some sort of resolution to this conflict. John?

VAUSE: Nada, thank you. Nada Bashir there in London. Back here in Lviv, we could now here the air raid sirens going off once more. I understand, I believe, that that could be the all clear after this city was hit by at least five missiles within the past hour or so, apparently targeting residential areas. We have yet to confirm that.

But this does appear to be the all-clear that people can now leave their bomb shelters, their safe places, that it is safe to do so. The emergency at least for now has passed. We have a lot more on this on the attack on Lviv when we come back. In the meantime, we'll take a short break.

The city of Philadelphia bringing back the mask mandate being driven by a rising number of cases. Not everyone is happy. Details on that.

Also, China reporting its first official deaths related to the current COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai. Details on that as well in just a moment. You're watching "CNN Newsroom." Back in a moment.

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[02:20:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Welcome back everyone. I'm Rosemary Church here in Atlanta. Deadly gun violence here in the U.S. has schools in Pennsylvania taking action. Pittsburgh public schools will be using a "modified lockdown" today after a weekend shooting killed two people at a party.

Police say two boys under the age of 18 died. Eight others received non-fatal gunshot injuries. And five others were injured while fleeing the scene. A search is under way for several suspects.

The city of Philadelphia is being sued over its plan to bring back its COVID mask mandate. In court documents filed Saturday, a group of business owners and residents claim the requirement goes against the state's constitution and guidelines established by the CDC.

Philadelphia would be the first major U.S. city to reinstate the mandate, assuming it takes effect as planned on Monday. The city's public health commissioner says cases have jumped in recent weeks and they're not alone. More than half of states are seeing a rise in cases. That's all the orange and red that you see there on that map. Sparking concern, Philadelphia could be a preview of what's ahead for other cities.

Well, joining me now is Dr. Scott Miskovic. He is the president and CEO of Premier Medical Group USA and a national consultant for COVID- 19 testing. Good to see you, and thank you, doctor, for all that you do.

SCOTT MISCOVICH, PRESIDENT & CEO, PREMIER MEDICAL GROUP USA: Thank you, Rosemary. Good to see you.

CHURCH: So in the coming hours, Philadelphia will become the first major U.S. City to reinstate its indoor mask mandate after reporting this sharp rise in COVID infections. And we're also seeing this rise in cases in other parts of the country. So, could more mask mandates be put in place or would perhaps hospitalizations be a better metric than cases going forward?

MISCOVICH: Wow. You nailed it with that. There is already a court challenge and there's going to be arguments because, you know, the CDC changed to that, you know, green, yellow, red guideline, which focuses on hospitalizations. I really think there will be patchy at best mask mandates across the country.

I do believe that we will probably see a preference where we have a red and blue divide where I think it's going to be hard pressed for states with election year coming up to be pressing a mask mandate regardless of how high the disease goes in some of those states. So, I commend Philadelphia, though.

When I look at what they're doing and you look at the details, they talked about the fact that a lot of their minority population suffered and that's one of the big reasons that they're making this mask mandate happen right now, because they knew it affected people in Philadelphia unfairly. So, I do commend them.

CHURCH: Though doctor, there is very little tolerance, isn't there, for wearing masks going forward. One very smart way around this imminent mask mandate in Philadelphia is for businesses, museums, et cetera, to require all occupants in each space to be vaccinated. If that happens instead, would that be a better approach given it might encourage more people to get vaccinated?

MISCOVICH: Well, you know, we've gone that way across the country and, you know, it's a push-pull. I think it's a lot easier to get people who are opposed to being forced to do anything to wear a mask than it is to have them, you know, get a shot. You know, I would tell you right now since my group across the country is still giving vaccinations --

[02:25:00]

Boy, there is not a big demand for vaccinations. You know, we had a little boost for the fourth shots going up. But I think if people at this stage have not decided to get vaccinated they're probably not going to get vaccinated. On the other hand, we should be pushing the third and fourth. Maybe we make them available more readily.

CHURCH: So what is your assessment, doctor, of where things stand with this COVID pandemic and when do you think it might end?

MISCOVICH: Well, you know, I think where we are right now its very predictable. We're watching what's going on through Europe where we're starting to see a downturn of the BA.2 omicron variant. Then just as we've seen before in all the other variants, east coast is getting hit more dramatically in the United States and then we're flowing across to some of the areas with lower vaccination rates.

So, I do believe that looking at what happened in Europe to looking what we're seeing right now in the United States, we're not going to see any major surge. I think that is very predictable. Rosemary, what we are all worried about is, you know, are we going to see a new variant being produced in the southern hemisphere's winter?

The majority of our variants have come out of the southern hemisphere winter. And that is what we're all concerned about and that is where we would have a game changer.

CHURCH: And that is certainly an understandable concern. But some suggest that it might be better while this subvariant is around and it's not as severe certainly for those non-vulnerable groups that perhaps it is better for people to expose themselves to this, which in essence offers them another booster. What would you say to that?

MISCOVICH: Boy, I think, you know, we all have come to the conclusion that herd immunity is a myth, you know. That, you know, you do get some residual immunity once you've had the infection, right? But to think that we're going to get herd immunity by having so many people get the disease.

You know, there is a great study that came out that showed that Sweden went that route and it just didn't work relative to its two other Scandinavian neighbors. So, from my perspective, the best defense is to get your vaccination. The second best defense is wear your mask and, you know, avoid COVID if you are at high risk.

Because remember, we have that other little thing lurking and that's called waning immunity. If you've only had two shots, you're very much going to be at risk. You're probably barely 20 percent protected if you've only had two shots.

So, we still have some concerns ahead but we are way better off, Rosemary, than you and I have been talking for 18, 20-plus months. Much brighter future right now.

CHURCH: Yes. You offer such great advice as always. Dr. Scott Miscovich, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

MISCOVICH: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Well, in China, officials say three people in Shanghai have died from COVID-19. It is the first official announcement of deaths in the city since Shanghai entered a strict COVID lockdown in March. More than 23,000 new cases were reported across China on Sunday and almost all of them were in Shanghai.

South Korea lifts most of its COVID-19 restrictions starting today. Curfews for businesses, caps on private gatherings and rallies and restrictions on religious activities have ended after more than two years. Indoor and outdoor mask wearing will remain mandatory, but officials say other restrictions will be lifted if cases continue to decrease and medical system capacities remain stable.

Well, still to come, Ukraine's president speaks exclusively with CNN and says he thinks his U.S. counterpart will visit his country. We will hear from Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That's next.

And the impact of sanctions coming up. A look at the price Russians are paying for President Vladimir Putin's war. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:32:54]

VAUSE: Welcome back everybody. 30 minutes past the hour. I'm John Vause live in Lviv in Ukraine. And columns of smoke are rising from multiple locations around the city, the result of at least five Russian missile strikes within the past hour or so. It's not entirely clear which areas were targeted. But there are indications that it was perhaps residential areas.

This is the first time in three weeks that Lviv has come under fire by the Russian military. Back then on, March 26, it was a field depo that was hit. A few days before that, it was a military facility that was hit between Lviv and the Polish border. If this is in fact residential areas, which have been the targets here that would indicate a significant shift in tactics by the Russians, because this city has been mostly spared the worst of the Russian aggression until now.

We are still waiting to find out if there are casualties, if anybody has been hurt. But we are told by the mayor that emergency crews are now on the scene of those missile strikes. As soon as we have more details on the extent of the damage, what was targeted, the number of casualties, the number of dead, we will bring it to you. We've also learned of at least two missile strikes in Dnipro in central Ukraine. The region's military government says two people were injured, some railway infrastructure was destroyed. And a White House official says shipments from the latest U.S. security assistance package to Ukraine have started to arrive in country as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns of incoming Russian offensive in the eastern part of Ukraine. He sat down for an exclusive interview with CNN's Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you want President Biden to come here?

VOLODYMY ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Yes.

TAPPER: Are there other any plans for him to come?

ZELENSKYY: I think you will.

TAPPER: You think he will.

ZELENSKYY: I think you will. And I think he -- but it's not -- it's his decision, of course. And about the safety situation, t depends. I mean, that -- but I think -- I think he's the leader of United States and then that's why he should come here to see.

TAPPER: President Biden just agreed to another $800 million in military aid for Ukraine, bringing the total American contribution to $2.5 billion. Are you satisfied with that? Do you need more?

[02:35:09]

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Of course, we need more. But I am happy that he is helping us now. I feel that right now we are having a cleaner dialogue. It's just been a dialogue that's had some twists and turns. And not just talk. It's been very, very difficult because there aren't many countries that have really helped us. The assistance from the United States led by President Biden and they are doing it again today. But there will never be enough. Enough isn't possible.

There is a full-scale war ongoing today. So, we still need a lot more than what we have today. Unfortunately, we do not have a technical advantages over our enemy. We're just not on the same level there. But our people are stronger. That's our main advantage. And we know our mission, our objective, what we're fighting for. We're defending our country with all these families and the kids that we discussed before.

We know what we stand for and from where we get our strength. But Biden's confirmed $800 million in support. What's most importantly, is speed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: President Zelenskyy there speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper. Meantime, international sanctions appear to be taking a toll on Russians. Even if one Moscow politician insists nothing in his life has changed. And economic contraction is expected. A major recession also seems likely. Here's ITN's Carl Dinnen with our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARL DINNEN, ITV NEWS REPORTER: It's not just the oligarchs, ordinary Russians are also finding their lives disrupted by sanctions. Diera (ph) rents a small apartment. She was about to buy her own place, but then interest rates hit 20 percent. And along with everything else, the price of dog food is going up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): More luxury products not everyday necessities have risen in price by about 30 percent. Everything else, bread, milk, eggs, potatoes, fruits and vegetables have increased by about 10 to 15 percent.

DINNEN: Who do you hold responsible for the economic problems that Russia faces?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The people responsible for these economic problems are the people who impose the sanctions. Our government is responsible for the fact we didn't properly find substitutes for foreign products. We should pay more attention to this now.

DINNEN: Those who are closer to the center of power talk tough on sanctions. Pyotr Tolstoy, deputy chairman of the Duma is himself under sanction.

PYOTR TALSTOY, DEPUTY CHAIRMAN, STATE DUMA (through translator): I'm under E.U. sanctions. I'm under British sanctions. Under U.S. sanctions and under Japanese sanctions. And you know what, nothing has changed. I have a Japanese car, a Toyota. Probably I should sell it in retaliation. That's all. Nothing else has changed in my life, I assure you.

DINNEN: In downtown Moscow, international designers have shut up shop. Temporarily they say and for what the signs on their doors euphemistically call technical reasons.

DINNEN (on camera): More than 600 global companies have voluntarily withdrawn from the Russian market and whole or in part, and economists are expecting a 10 to 15 percent contraction in the Russian economy. Potentially the sharpest recession since the days of the Soviet Union.

DINNEN (voice over): So far, Russia's central bank has managed to prop up the ruble and alleviate some of the initial financial shock. But the Russian economy is heading for a difficult place. Whether that has an impact on Russia's actions in Ukraine is another question. Carl Dinnen, ITV News, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Time for a short break. When we come back. Regional concerns on the agenda for U.S. and South Korean envoys. We'll have details on their meetings as North Korea steps off its missile launches.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:42:55]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The death toll from devastating floods in eastern South Africa has risen. Officials from the KwaZulu-Natal province say 443 people lost their lives in flooding from one of the worst storm systems ever to hit the area. At least 63 people are still missing. Officials say housing on steep slopes and bridges in low lying areas are still at risk of further damage.

South Korea and the United States will conduct military exercises for the next nine days. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced the plan on Sunday. The Defense Command Post training will use computer simulation without actual military forces training in person. The Joint Chief said the decision to go virtual was made based on conditions such as COVID-19 and maintenance of the combined defense posture.

Well, that's as the U.S. envoy for North Korea arrives in Seoul for talks on Pyongyang's missile launchers. Paula Hancocks is there and joins us live with the details. Good to see you, Paula. So, what will likely come out of those discussions on North Korea's missile launches?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, we know as you say that the special envoy Sung Kim is here in Seoul. He'll be meeting many officials over the next couple of days. And clearly there is plenty to talk about when you consider what Pyongyang has been doing over recent months. January was a record month for number of missile launches.

Just last week, you had a significant anniversary in Pyongyang with the 110th anniversary of the birth of the country's founder. Kim Jong- un's grandfather Kim Il-sung. Now we have in recent weeks also had an intercontinental ballistic missile launch from North Korea. So, there's a definite increase in the amount of activity from North Korea, the amount of launches, the amount of testing that has been going on and that is of concern to Seoul, to Tokyo, to Washington. And that will be one of the top topics when they are meeting.

[02:45:01]

HANCOCKS: Of course, this is a very busy time of year as well on any particular year because of those U.S.-South Korean military drills. Even if there are computers simulations, they would still irritate Pyongyang. And we have seen that in recent years and experts are saying that there will potentially be more testing, given the fact that the timing and the environment is quite positive for testing for North Korea.

The world is looking elsewhere. The United States is focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. So, potentially that could work in Kim Jong-un's favor. The fact that any U.N. Security Council meeting is not going to be speaking in unison, Russia and China are highly unlikely to be agreeing with the United States when pushing for more sanctions against North Korea if they are continuing to test.

So, that does play into Pyongyang's favor. Many experts and observers you speak to as well will say that they believe a nuclear test. The seventh nuclear test for North Korea could be imminent, could be in the next few months. And we have seen satellite images showing there is activity at their testing site. Rosemary?

CROWLEY: All right. Paula Hancocks, joining us live from Seoul. Many thanks.

It's a presence that isn't going unnoticed. Coming up. The concerns over Chinese warships being spotted around contested islands near Japan and Taiwan. We're back with that in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, there's growing concern in Japan about the increased appearance of Chinese ships around a chain of contested islands. This amid heightened tensions between China and Taiwan, and fears Beijing could be inspired by Russia's war on Ukraine to launch its own attack. As the political rhetoric heats up, Japanese fishermen are worried about their way of life. Blake Essig has our report.

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BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Surrounded by nature, a dramatic coastline in seemingly endless beauty. Life here on Japan's westernmost Island is simple. But with each new day, the future of this quiet island paradise where fishing as life becomes more uncertain.

ESSIG (on camera): 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.

ESSIG (voice over): For the past 25 years, Kazushi Kinjo has made a living fishing the waters surrounding Japan's Nansei islands. It includes the uninhabited group of islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. We started, Kinjo says, he never saw Chinese ships. But in the last few years, dangerous encounters specifically around the Senkaku Islands are guaranteed.

KAZUSHI KINJO, 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.

ESSIG: This video, he says, is from his first confrontation with the Chinese coast guard back in 2018.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.

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.

ESSIG (on camera): There are about 160 troops based at this coastal surveillance station inside camp Yonaguni within eyesight of Taiwan. And since last summer, what they've likely see.

ESSIG (voice over): Are Chinese warships routinely patrolling Japanese territorial waters in the waters north and east of Taiwan. That's according to Japanese and senior U.S. defense officials.

It's a presence that the Japanese government says has steadily increased every year for more than two decades. And it's not just at sea. In roughly the past two years, the number of times Japan has been forced to scrambled fighter jets because of China threatening its airspace has nearly doubled. An escalation in the air and its sea. That one of the men in charge with defending Japan says is increasing tensions.

GEN. YOSHIHIDE YOSHIDA, CHIEF OF STAFF, JAPANESE GROUND SELF-DEFENSE FORCE (through translator): We cannot easily speculate over their intentions, but we are concerned about it as it is a very provocative act.

ESSIG: Well, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to CNN saying those comments are wholly fabricated and malicious hype. General Yoshihide Yoshida says, it's that increased activity. The ongoing nuclear threat posed by North Korea and a growing fear that China may try to take control of land that the Japanese government claims is inherently theirs. That makes defending the strategically important Nansei islands a top priority.

YOSHIDA: Japan's territorial sovereignty extends to the Nansei islands. And I'm afraid that may be infringed in the future.

ESSIG: The Nansei islands consist of these 198 islands stretching about 1200 kilometers. 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, Miyako-jima and Yonaguni. Ishigaki is next.

ESSIG (on camera): Around this time next year, hundreds of troops and several missile defense systems will be deployed here on Ishigaki. And when that happens, this will become Japan's fourth missile armed island located in the East China Sea.

ESSIG (voice over): Despite Japan's increased spending on defense and continued militarization of the Nansei islands, some security experts say Japan remains vulnerable in part because it currently has no long- range strike capability.

ESSIG (on camera): How confident are you in Japan's ability to defend itself?

YOSHIDA: We are enhancing our capabilities, but our competitors are all also enhancing their capabilities at an extremely fast pace.

[02:55:03] YOSHIDA: It will be very difficult to maintain our deterrence and response capabilities unless we further increase our military capacity.

ESSIG: Through drills like this, Japan's self-defense forces are constantly preparing to respond to hostile forces whether it's during the day or at night. That includes threats from China, North Korea and Russia that military officials say has created one of the most alarming security environments surrounding Japan since shortly after the end of World War II.

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

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

ESSIG (voice over): 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.

ESSIG (on camera): Conflict here in Yonaguni isn't necessarily imminent, but China's constant presence off the coast and the possibility of war has many people living here worried. Wondering about their future. Blake Essig, CNN, Yonaguni, Japan

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CROWLEY: And thanks for watching. I'll be back next hour. CNN breaking news coverage continues with John Vause joining us live from Lviv in Ukraine. Do stay with us.

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