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Thousands of Civilians Trapped Inside Mariupol; Talks Between Russia and Ukraine Far from Happening Again; Vladimir Putin Thinks He is Winning the War in Ukraine; World Central Kitchen Undeterred by Strikes; Philadelphians Not Happy with Mask Mandates; Russian Forces Targets Railroads; Violence Erupted Between Israelis and Palestinians Sunday. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 18, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause, live in Lviv, Ukraine, a city where there is now smoke rising from multiple locations after Russian missile strikes between the last hour and a half.

We did not know the exact areas that were targeted but we understand that there may have been residential areas. We did not if there have been casualties, we did know if anybody has been killed. We do know that emergency crews are now on a number of locations after those missile strikes within the last hour and half or so.

What happened is that we heard loud explosions around 8.30 a.m., local time. They came after an air raid siren warning about 45 minutes earlier advising the residents of the city to take cover to shelter in basements and to shelter in bomb shelters, that kind of thing.

So, after that warning happened, we heard the loud explosions. One of our producers here is Ingrid Forman, a senior producer who's covered multiple conflict zones. She actually saw one of the missiles, believed to be the fourth missile, as if it flew over the city on its way to that target. As we say, we do not know what those targets were. We'll get those details for you as soon as we can.

But Lviv has been spared the worst of the Russian military aggression since this war began. There was a missile strike about three weeks ago on a fuel depot. There was another strike on a military facility a few days before that between here and the Polish border. But for the most part they are military targets. These targets could possibly be residential, which would indicate a change of tactics by the Russian military.

Certainly, compared to what we have seen recently for Lviv, and in terms of what the Russian military has been targeting. As we say, a lot more details. A lot more we need to learn about these missile attacks. Soon as we get that we will bring it to you.

We also have learned in the last hour of at least two missile strikes in Dnipro in central Ukraine. The region's military governor says two people were injured. Some railway structures, infrastructure rather, was destroyed.

Meantime, Russian forces appear poised to capture the southern port city of Mariupol. They've surrounded the city. They've been there for more than a month. Ukrainian troops are now confined to small pockets of resistance. But on Sunday they rejected Russia's demands to surrender or die.

The city itself is in ruins after weeks of heavy fighting. Many residents have fled but there's still an estimated 100,000 people trapped in that city. On Sunday Ukraine's foreign minister said the situation in Mariupol could further derail already stalled negotiations with Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: The situation in Mariupol is both dire militarily and heartbreaking. The city doesn't exist anymore. The remainings of the Ukrainian army and large group of civilians are basically encircled by the Russian forces. They continue their struggle. No high-level talks are taking place. After Bucha it was -- it became particularly difficult to continue talking with the Russians. But as my president mentioned, Mariupol may be a red line.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says the devastation in Mariupol could soon play out across eastern Ukraine as Russian troops prepare for a major offensive in the Donbas region. He says Russia also intensifying itself on Ukraine's second largest city.

Here's a warning. Like so much of this coverage we have seen, the images you are about to see are graphic. The northeastern city of Kharkiv came under heavy shelling on Sunday. The regional governor says at least five people were killed. Twenty others were hurt in that attack.

In the coming hours, Russian forces are expected to close all exit and entry points into and out of Mariupol. An adviser to the city's mayor says that will leave tens of thousands of civilians with no way out, no way to escape. Also, a warning that the men there who remain will be, quote, "filtered out."

CNN cannot independently verify that claim. But for what's happening in Mariupol here's CNN's Phil Black.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: an ultimatum was given and it was ignored. Russia's military gave Ukraine's soldiers in Mariupol until Sunday afternoon, local time, to put down their weapons and leave the city peacefully or be eliminated. Ukrainian officials say no one is leaving, they are not putting down their weapons, they are not giving up the fight.

That fight increasingly resembles a last stand. But it does not mean Mariupol is set to fall imminently. Ukraine's defenders there have consistently defied expectation, holding out against Russian forces since the start of March while being surrounded, cut off, and without resupply.

[03:05:02]

Those Ukrainian forces have been pushed back to a relatively small patch of territory in the city. But Ukrainian officials say they are still engaging with Russian forces in other parts of the city as well. Ukrainian officials say that residential areas in the city are also still suffering under Russia's bombardment. There are thought to be more than 100,000 civilians still trapped there.

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy says Russia's actions, its behavior in Mariupol, the possibility of more atrocities against civilians being uncovered there, could mean the end of any further negotiations between the two countries.

Phil Black, CNN, Kyiv.

VAUSE: Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer believes that Vladimir Putin thinks he's winning the war in Ukraine. Nehammer met with the Russian president last week, the first European leader to do so since this war began. He said when the meeting ended Putin warned him in German, quote, "it is better the war end earlier rather than later."

CNN's Nada Bashir joins us now live from London. On that I think we can all agree, that it is better that this war finishes sooner rather than later. But I guess what precisely did Putin mean?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, Putin according to Nehammer has been clear in his concerns around the war. He sent a clear message to Nehammer during their meeting that he still believes that this invasion is necessary in order to protect Russia's security guarantees. That has been his message since before the invasion began.

But of course, we heard from Nehammer, he said they had a frank and tough discussion, particularly on the front of Bucha, where we saw those atrocities unfold, what many western leaders have now described as war crimes. He said he traveled to Moscow after witnessing the evidence of those atrocities to confront Putin directly. He said he would cooperate with an investigation but also stressed that he doesn't trust western leaders.

But separately from that we also heard from Nehammer saying he addressed what he witnessed in terms of Russian troop losses. Now we've consistently heard from western officials that Russia has experienced significant logistical challenges, low morale amongst its troops, and of course significant troop losses. But despite this President Putin told -- according to Nehammer that he still believes Russia is winning this war. Take a listen.

(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)

BASHIR: Now, Putin has also consistently said that Russia's invasion has been about the genocide, as he's claimed it to be in the Donbas region. Of course, there are concerns now, President Zelenskyy warning for an intensification of Russian attacks in that region in particular.

VAUSE: Nada, thank you. Nada Bashir there live for us bringing us up to date with what may be happening in Putin's brain. We appreciate it. Thank you.

An update now on a story from over the weekend about a Kharkiv restaurant partnered with the relief group World Central Kitchen which was hit by a missile, hurting four workers there and causing a lot of damage. World Central Kitchen says it's been serving upwards of 250,000 meals a day since the Russian invasion began. And that work will continue despite this missile attack. Workers at that restaurant are back at work. They're salvaging whatever they can so they can continue to feed the hungry.

And joining me now from Kyiv is the founder of World Central Kitchen, chef Jose Andres. So, Chef, thank you so much for being with us, sir. I just would like to find out how you are coping with all of this and how are those injured staff members? In hospital, their wounds. What's the latest on their condition?

JOSE ANDRES, CHEF & FOUNDER, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: The good report is that the four members of the restaurant that was badly damaged by the missile strike in Kharkiv, they are all fine, they're in good spirits. Their injuries were taken care of and they're almost joking that they want to go back to cooking.

The good news is that yesterday all the team with the help of Nate Mook, the CEO of World Central Kitchen who is himself in Kharkiv, they move all the equipment that was saved to a new location and they're going to be cooking between today and tomorrow. This is the spirit that you have here in Ukraine. Everybody is hands on. Everybody is doing whatever it takes to do something for what they say is to win this war.

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VAUSE: Glad that the staff members are on the mend and doing well. But there was also a 15-year-old boy who was killed as a result of these missile strikes. Now A.P. reporting that there were other people who died. How does that change your perspective on this war? How has it affected you personally? ANDRES: Well, listen, obviously it's 40 million Ukrainians that they

are having their heart in their palm. So, I'm one more person who brought to this. There are so many other people who have come to Ukraine or to the surrounding countries to do whatever it takes, to give comfort to the refugees leaving Ukraine or to the displaced Ukrainians that they're moving to another city.

I just got reports before I got into this call that there's been some missiles that hit it seems Lviv and is being some casualties because these are friends of people, now we call family and friends. In any moment from the sky in any city across Ukraine something may fall that is ending the lives.

That's why this war has to end. It's not fair that they are target targeting schools, supermarkets, places where people are waiting only for a little loaf of bread. This war has to end, and especially the shooting of civilians that actually they cannot wait for the end of the war and for peace.

VAUSE: From your lips to God's ears, sir. With regards to the explosions that we heard in Lviv, are you saying that your facilities here, your workers here may have been caught up in those missile strikes?

ANDRES: Right now, we have our friends and obviously the news seems travel fast. So, these -- when you get the alarms that seems almost all of Ukraine is under siren alert, you know that when sometimes the defense of Ukraine they are able to stop many missiles in the air, even if a small percentage of them make it the possibilities of doing a lot of damage taking lives very high.

That's why this war needs to end and we need to tell Russia, please stop killing civilians nonstop day and night. That's why people are afraid. That's why a lot of people are still in bunkers. It's why many people, they don't want to be in the comfort of their homes and many nights they go to the safety of a subway. That's why, again, this war needs to end.

At the World Central Kitchen, we do our little contribution. More than 11 million meals in those places that people are in desperate need. Like when we arrived in Bucha for more than 30 days people had almost no access to food. And if they ventured in the streets, they had high possibilities of being shot by a sniper only because it seems they were taking life like a piece of PlayStation. This needs to end. And especially targeting women, children, elderly and civilians has to end.

VAUSE: Very quickly, do you believe that the strike on the restaurant in Kharkiv, was that accidental or was it more targeted? Do you think that there was a specific reason to hit that restaurant? Because it was helping so many people, because it was, if you like, a western aid group.

ANDRES: I don't have intelligence. We are only in the -- on that matter. We are only in the business of cooking. Obviously, we look for the safety of all our teams. But remember, we have more than 350 restaurants across our operation. The vast majority of them in Ukraine. The possibilities of something to happen somehow are high.

This missile didn't target specifically in the heart of the restaurant. If not, we would be having a very different conversation. But it hit a very big building, as you can see, in the images, and was a lot of damage done obviously the death that we have to be so sorry about.

But I don't think we were target in any way or form. We are only here to help people that need our help as I repeat and let's hope that these missiles will end very soon. But again, I don't think at all that we were target because we are coming from the outside.

VAUSE: Very, very quickly, we're almost out of time, sir, but we'll be taking -- can you take any more precautions to keep your people safe?

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ANDRES: I'm sure we can be -- I mean, the best way to take precautions is not being in Ukraine a lot. At all. But are we going to do the millions of Ukrainians here alone to fight this war for liberty and freedom and democracy alone? I think this war can be won in many ways.

The cooks of America. The cooks of the world, we do what we know. Which is one plate at a time giving hope. This is a way hopefully to be supporting the Ukrainian people as this war keeps going. We're going to be here for the long run. We cannot leave the Ukrainians alone. And again, we can be fighting this war just with food, one plate of food at a time and giving hope.

VAUSE: Chef Jose Andres, thank you so much, sir. Thank you for what you do. Thank you for being with us. And please stay safe.

ANDRES: Thank you.

VAUSE: Well, the city of Philadelphia bringing back a mask mandate being driven by a rising number of cases. But here's a surprise. Some people aren't happy. My colleague and friend Rosemary Church will have details on that when we come back.

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church here in Atlanta.

The city of Philadelphia is being sued over its plan to bring back the COVID mask mandate. In court documents filed Saturday a group of business owners and residents claim the mandate is illegal. They say it goes against the state's Constitution and guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CNN's Polo Sandoval has more. POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At this neighborhood just north of

downtown Philadelphia you already see some of that signage that's self-requiring masking. Though some of those signs may have been there since the start of the pandemic while others may have just been put up.

All of them will apply starting on Monday morning as the city of Philadelphia will require it masking at all indoor public spaces. That includes schools, offices, museums, restaurants and businesses as well. According to the city of Philadelphia, businesses and institutions can remain mask-free so long as they can ensure that all the occupants in their spaces are vaccinated. So, we'll have to see if any businesses decide to go in that direction.

Meanwhile, the city does have three key data points that basically determine what kind of response, at least what approach they take here. For example, as of last Monday, Philadelphia seeing a little over 140 daily cases. That's still well below the 225 that would be needed to enter the next phase or the next response level.

As for hospitalizations as of last Monday, still about 44, which is still well below what would be needed to enter the next response level. Really these numbers are just a fraction of what we saw here in Philadelphia during the last Omicron surge.

As for the business community, this is certainly causing some criticism directed towards the city. In fact, there's a group of businesses that have basically moved to sue the city to try to make a stay for this mask mandate. Their argument here is that the city is not following the CDC's own guidelines and -- guidance and that at the end of the day it would potentially be bad for business.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, Philadelphia.

CHURCH: In China officials say three people in Shanghai have died from COVID-19. It's the first official announcement of deaths in the city since Shanghai entered a strict COVID lockdown in march.

And in economic news China says its GDP grew 4.8 percent in the first quarter of this year, beating market expectations. But the country's economic outlook has worsened since March as China struggles to contain its biggest COVID outbreak in two years.

Well, Jerusalem is on edge after Palestinians and Israelis clashed in and around the Al Aqsa Mosque compound on Sunday. Resulting in some people getting injured. And this comes after violence flared at the holy site on Friday morning.

CNN's Hadas Fold joins me now from Jerusalem with more. Good to see you, Hadas. So, what is the latest on these clashes in Jerusalem?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, it was a uniquely Holy Weekend because in something that hasn't happened since the 1990s, Ramadan, Easter weekend and Passover all overlapped over the same weekend. So, there was already a sense of anticipation that something could happen. So yesterday there were more clashes at the Al Aqsa compound, which is

also known to Jews as the Temple Mount. And also, near the old city, public city buses were attacked by people throwing rocks at them. Now, these are buses normally often used by Jews to reach the holiest sites of the old city. We saw videos showing buses with broken windows, and according to emergency services seven people were treated in hospital for light injuries.

At the Al Aqsa compound police once again clashed with people there. They said that they entered the compound in order to clear out young people, young Palestinians they said were stockpiling rocks which they said they were going to use in order to disturb visits to the site by Jewish groups.

Now, Jewish groups and police entering the site are seen as very provocative and offensive to many Muslims. But the clashes we saw yesterday, and I should note that 19 people were injured according to the Palestinian Red Crescent in those clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at the Al Aqsa compound.

But those clashes we saw yesterday and the overall tension yesterday was nowhere near the levels that we saw on Friday. On Friday there were very intense clashes early in the morning between Israeli security forces and people at the Al Aqsa compound according to the Palestinian Red Crescent more than 150 people were injured in those clashes. And we hadn't seen clashes to that level since right around this time last year.

And keep in mind it was clashes like that at the Al Aqsa compound that helped spark off that 11-day war, helped spark off Hamas, the militant group that runs Gaza, for them to launch those rockets into Israel. That was an 11-day war between the Israeli army and the Hamas militants in Gaza. So far, though, we haven't seen any level of that sort of reaction from Hamas, and things have been relatively calm in Jerusalem. But still, it's very much a city and very much a region edge. Rosemary?

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CHURCH: Most definitely. But thanks for giving us the update there. Hadas Gold joining us with the latest from Jerusalem. I appreciate it.

And we'll take a short break. We're back in just a moment.

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VAUSE: Twenty-eight minutes past the hour. Welcome back, everybody. I'm John Vause live in Lviv.

We're following breaking news on the missile strike here on this city earlier today. We're now receiving word from a number of officials exactly what those targets were, the extent of the casualties. It does appear that those missile strikes were going after military targets, we're told, targeting part of the railway infrastructure.

Now, there were fires which were caused by these missile strikes. Those fires are now still under way. They're still trying to be controlled. But it does appear that at least six people were killed. This according to the regional military governor. And that eight people were wounded including one child among those who were hit because of these missile strikes which happened about two hours ago now, directed at military infrastructure. One also hit a tire repair shop.

But it does seem that they're going after the railway infrastructure, and the reason for that would be, one reason at least, is that, because that's how this country will ship in those heavy weapons which are coming in from the United States, from the U.K., from other NATO allies as well.

The only way to ship Howitzers and tanks and APCs from the western part of Ukraine to the eastern part is via rail. And so, there was an expectation that rail would become a target by the Russian military, and that does appear to be what is happening.

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And of course, the railway, the railway lines have been a vital link in evacuating many from east to west, to the relative safety of the west.

Also, these missile strikes caused a huge delay in those train services, which we're told they're now trying to sort out, trying to get those trains running again so they are back on time so those people who are evacuating from the eastern part of Ukraine here in the west so that they can make those journeys as safely and as quickly as possible.

There obviously is still a lot of confusion, a lot of chaos as they try and clean up after these missile strikes, these five missile strikes. Four actually if you can believe the regional military governor. The mayor says there were five.

So that's another issue, which we need to look into as well. Was it four strikes? Was it five strikes? The end result is six people dead, eight people wounded, and a lot of infrastructure damage to the railways.

Meantime, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is warning a Russian offensive in the eastern part of Ukraine could begin in the near future. This as the Luhansk region military governor says there are no safe places left in that part of Ukraine.

To the south and the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukrainian forces have rejected Russia's demands to surrender despite Moscow's threat to eliminate, eliminate all resistance. That unrelenting assault has leveled the port city, which has been surrounded by Russian troops since March 1st.

And now according to an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Russian forces say the city will be closed for entry and exit today and they will be issuing passes for any movement within that city. Well, joining us now to discuss the latest developments is Brian

Bonner, editor at Geopolitical Intelligence Services, former chief editor at the now closed Kyiv Post.

Brian, thank you for being with us.

What more do you know about these strikes which have happened in Lviv on the railway infrastructure here and the extent of the damage? I mean, we under -- my understanding is this is not to be unexpected because the railways, the rail system has been a vital link in getting heavy artillery and heavy weapons to the east, so it is to be expected that it would be targeted at some point.

BRIAN BONNER, EDITOR, GEOPOLITICAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICES: Yes. John, can you hear me, OK?

VAUSE: I can, yes, sir.

BONNER: Yes, thanks for having me on. I hear what you hear. I think I follow about 10,000 of the most reliable people in Ukraine. And that's what I'm hearing. That's been the fear all along from day one of the war, that they would actually strike the railway system, which is the heart.

There are two things identified as most important for Ukraine and that is the army and the railway system. And it looks like they're moving into -- hopefully they'll stop or they will be stopped but they're moving into the railway territory. And I'm sure as you know that's not the only action today. Dnipro is reporting bombings. Kharkiv. Kreminna in Luhansk Oblast is reporting Russian forces are in. So, it's heating up.

VAUSE: It is heating up. And as you've been speaking, we're now hearing the sirens over Lviv once again. This is another warning of what they call an air emergency. This happened earlier today, then 45 minutes after that we had those five loud explosions, those five missile strikes here in Lviv.

So once again an air raid warning in Lviv. This is happening across Ukraine. We'll just listen to this. That is a familiar sound. In so many parts now across this country as the Russians begin the sort of long-range attacks, if you like. They're sending in missiles, they're having air strikes, using long-range artillery. As you say it's happening especially around the area of Kyiv which I guess many people might have thought may have been spared by now.

BONNER: I don't think Kyiv is going to be spared at all here. I don't think any place is going to be spared. But I think what this highlight is the need to get more weapons systems in more quickly in greater quantity, in greater quality, before the worst happens.

Mariupol, as you said, has been under siege since March 1st. It hasn't fallen. If Ukraine got the military equipment it needed, it might be able to retake that, save the Donbas, which would save, which would save a lot of lives. VAUSE: And again, we're still hearing those sirens here in Lviv. So,

you're saying if they can hold Mariupol, if there's some way that those, what, 2,500 last remaining Ukrainian troops holed up in that iron and steel works, if somehow they can stand their ground and hold Mariupol and keep it away from the Russians they can prevent the further invasion of the east?

BONNER: Well, I think what's bothering Ukrainians and those of us in Ukraine is the lack of urgency and the way in which the military equipment is being dribbled in instead of flooded in.

[03:34:59]

It really -- the only option now is victory, and victory means defeat of Vladimir Putin's military's ability to menace neighbors like you're being menaced right now. I can hear that. And it's not coming in. I mean, today my -- I highlighted a German proposal for a billion in military aid that's going to go through parliament. Parliament might take it up in the end of June. And then only weapons that Chancellor Scholz approves can go to -- that's nonsense.

It's not going to win the war. Putin needs to be stopped. I think we all agree on that in the western world. It's just I wish people would -- and Ukrainians wish people in the west would act more quickly.

VAUSE: Because there really is this disconnect, right? Because from what is happening in capitals like Washington, in Brussels, in Berlin and in London where they see the speed in which they are acting here both diplomatically and in the supply of weapons is happening at warp speed, is happening incredibly quickly through these normal channels.

People of Ukraine, though, it is an agonizingly slow wait, and every time there is a delay and every time it takes -- the longer it takes for that -- for those weapons and everything else to get in place we're looking at more people dying. And that's the bottom line in all this, right?

BONNER: That is. And they've -- you know this is not a military war, this is a war of genocide now and nobody considers that an exaggeration now. They are terrorizing civilians, targeting civilians, and you know, Ukraine has the ability to fight back. The world would be a much better place if Ukraine wins this war.

And it's, you know, every general -- I'm a fan of CNN. Every military expert you've had says the same thing. We need more faster. And every military expert in Ukraine says the same thing. Zelenskyy says the same thing to Jake Tapper. I mean, it's -- hopefully the message will get through because this war can be won. The Ukrainians are going to fight to the death. But how many of them have to die? How many more cities like Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Mariupol? How many more deaths have to happen?

VAUSE: It's a good question. It's a good question to finish on, Brian. It's a good question for people to think about. Thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate your time, sir.

BONNER: Thank you.

VAUSE: We'll take a short break, be right back. You're watching CNN.

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VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. We're following breaking news on Russia's war in Ukraine. I'm here live in Lviv and now we are getting word from the military governor of this region that at least six people have been killed, as many as eight people have been hurt in at least four missile strikes, maybe five on the city of Lviv.

They now believe that the railway infrastructure was the target of those strikes. It appears that maybe that was one reason for that was to stop the flow of heavy weapons from the west of the country to the east. That is still unclear at this point.

But a short time ago we did hear another air raid warning that another possible air strike could be on its way. So, we'll continue to follow those details, follow the very latest here.

Well, I'm John Vause. Thank you very much for joining us. For our viewers internationally African Voices Changemakers is up next. For those in the United States Rosemary Church will be back with more news. Stay with us.

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(AFRICAN VOICES)

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