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Kharkiv Governor: 5 Killed, 20 Hurt in Shelling on Sunday; Russian Forces to Close Entry, Exit to Mariupol; Missile Strikes Target Western City of Lviv; China's Economy Grew 4.8 Percent in First Quarter of 2022. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired April 18, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world, I'm Rosemary Church at CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

We are following the breaking news coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine just ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russian troops are preparing for offensive operation in the east of our country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, many families are cut off, seniors that are stuck in apartment buildings that have nowhere to go, markets and grocery stores are not accessible. It's too dangerous for many people to get in their car and leave certain areas and certain regions.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Ukraine and the people of our state are absolutely clear, we don't want anyone else's territory. And we are not going to give up our own.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He believes he is winning the war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHURCH: It is Monday, April 18th, 11:00 a.m. Ukraine. And we begin with breaking news. At least six people were killed and eight wounded in a missile strike on the western city of Lviv this morning. That is according to the regional military governor Lviv's mayor has confirmed several missiles hit his city within the last few hours.

CNN teams on the ground heard the explosions as well. And the city less than 100 kilometers from the Polish border has largely been spared the brunt of Russia's assault so far. In the last few hours, we've also learned of at least two missile strikes in Dnipro in central Ukraine. The regions military governor says two people were injured and some railway infrastructure was destroyed. This, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns Russia is preparing for a major offensive in eastern Ukraine soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): 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)

CHURCH: Russia is also intensifying its assault on Ukraine's second largest city. A warning this next video is graphic. The northeastern city of Kharkiv came under heavy shelling on Sunday. The regional governor says at least five people were killed and 20 injured in the attacks.

To the east, the governor of Luhansk region is urging all civilians to evacuate, saying there are, quote, no safe places left. Luhansk is part of the Donbas region where Ukrainian officials expect a Russian offensive to begin soon.

Well, Russia's unrelenting assault has left the port city of Mariupol in ruins. A city official says Russian forces announced they will close down the city for entry and exit on Monday and warned that the men who remained would be, quote, filtered out. But the Ukrainians are not backing down despite the onslaught and Russian reports to the contrary. Ukraine's Prime Minister said on Sunday the city still had not fallen and Ukraine's foreign minister says the situation in Mariupol may be a red line in negotiations with Russia. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: 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 became particularly difficult to continue talking with the Russians. But as my president mentioned, Mariupol may be a red line.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Matt Rivers joins us now live from Lviv. And Matt, before we get to the situation in Mariupol, what is the latest that you have on the four, possibly five missile strikes that hit Lviv where you are just a few hours ago?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, so we actually just left the scene of one of those missile strike. We're not too far away from it at the moment. But Ukrainian military officials at the scene are actually preventing us from going live from that scene at the moment due to what they call security concerns. And we've left that scene, a little away from there.

[04:05:00] But the scene that we visited was one of four missile strikes that according to Ukrainian officials took place this morning here across Lviv. Three of the places targeted we're told were military infrastructure. The fourth, which the place that we visited, was just a tire repair shop. It was clearly a civilian, you know, building. And so, we saw firefighters on the scene. We saw a large number of police and Ukrainian military personnel. And what we know so far -- and again, these numbers are going to be changing as we go throughout the day -- six dead so far across all four missile strike sites and at least 11 injured. At this point, again, those numbers could very well change.

What we saw at the strike scene that we were at was not only a building that was utterly destroyed, a fire that was on going, but across the street we saw civilian homes that were damaged.

We spoke to one woman who said she was terrified. She was washing her face when the strike hit and she said that it blew out multiple windows. She lived just across the street from that tire repair shop that we saw. Blew out multiple windows where she lives and she was clearly quite shaken up.

This is the first time, Rosemary, in several weeks that we've seen the Lviv region targeted. However, it was just two days ago that Ukrainian officials say they shot down using air defense systems in the region. They shot down four cruise missiles that had been sent to unspecified targets in this region. So, it has been an active couple days here in Lviv. But for the first time in several weeks, four missile strikes hitting four different locations around this region.

CHURCH: So, Matt, let's turn now to the dire situation in Mariupol. What more are you learning about what is happening there and what is likely to happen to the Ukrainian fighters who remain there pushing back against the Russian offensive?

RIVERS: Sure. So, this has been a city under siege for weeks now and that has not changed. Even though on Sunday we heard from the Russian military they actually put down an ultimatum saying that all remaining Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol needed to lay down their arms and surrender by 1:00 p.m. local time. That did not happen.

The Ukrainians basically said, no, we're going to keep on fighting. It's not clear exactly how many Ukrainian troops remain in Mariupol. Clearly the Russians control the vast majority of the city but there are some defenders left. They declined to surrender. And so, the Russians in response in part in a statement from the Russian defense ministry saying they would eliminate anyone who continued to put up resistance.

So, the siege in Mariupol that has gone on for weeks continues and the fact remains that there are some 100,000 people living in and around that city that need to be evacuated that can't be evacuated. There were no humanitarian corridors that were open during the day on Sunday. As far as we can tell, no large-scale evacuations going on today. So, the situation there remains incredibly dire.

CHURCH: Matt Rivers, thank you so much. Joining us live from Lviv and do take care there. Appreciate it.

In an exclusive interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's happy with the security assistance he's getting from the U.S., but says more help is still needed and fast. Mr. Zelenskyy is also warning that a Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine could begin in the near future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): For us, 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 40,000 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 war.

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 matter if they're able to capture Donbas. They won't come further towards Kyiv. That is why for us this battle is very important for many reasons. It is very important to win this battle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: President Zelenskyy there. Well, Russian forces have now entered Kreminna in eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region.

[04:10:00]

And that is according to the regional military governor. He says there's fighting in the streets and evacuation is, quote, impossible. The town has been under bombardment for weeks as Russian forces have pushed west into the Donbas region. The governor says Russian forces entered Kreminna with a huge amount of equipment. He added that a sports facility in the town is on fire as well with at least six police officers injured.

With me now is Malcolm Davis, he is a senior analyst of defense strategy and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and he joins us from Canberra, Australia. Thank you so much for being with us.

MALCOM DAVIS, SENIOR ANALYST, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: My pleasure.

CHURCH: So, I want to start with this apparent shift in Russian military tactics with these four, perhaps five missile strikes on targets in Lviv just a few hours ago. One hitting the city's railway infrastructure apparently. What do you make of this? What does it all mean to you.

DAVIS: Look, even though the Russians are focusing their plans on the Donbas region and particular with the desire to capture Donetsk and Luhansk by launching an offensive south from Izyum and north from Mariupol. They're still going to continue bombardment of key locations throughout Ukraine, including Kyiv and also Lviv. And those attacks in Lviv clearly went against the rail infrastructure which is where western military supplies and equipment have been coming through to Ukraine.

So, the Russians are trying to slow down the ability of the West to deploy Western military gear to Ukraine. And if they can do that, then they have a better chance of launching a successful offensive in the east in the Donbas.

CHURCH: Right and you mentioned Mariupol. And of course, that situation is dire. An official there says that Russian forces are threatening to close down the city Monday and what they call filter out any remaining men -- their words. And this after Mariupol rejected a Russian surrender ultimatum Sunday. So, how long do you think Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol can hold off Russian forces?

DAVIS: Well, look, putting a city under siege is a long-term business. If you think back to your history, the siege of Leningrad lasted many months where Russian forces were sort of outnumbered by superior German forces in the second world war. So, if you bring back the focus to today, it's possible that although the Russians have captured parts of Mariupol there is still enough Ukrainian fighters inside Mariupol to make life difficult for them and certainly impose cost on them if they try to take the city as a whole.

And without controlling Mariupol, it's very difficult for the Russians to do a coordinated pincer movement to control the Donbas region and to encircle Ukrainian forces in the JFO. So, seizing control of Mariupol I think is really important for the Russians, but it's not going to be easy or achieved victory for them.

CHURCH: Right, and as you mentioned, that focus shifts now to an imminent Russian offensive around the Donbas region in the east. How do you see this phase of the war playing out for Ukrainian forces as Russia tries to establish that land bridge in the east and south?

DAVIS: The situation in the east in the Donbas region probably favors the Russians if the Russians can sustain their logistics. And as I noted earlier, the Ukrainians are launching a counteroffensive from Kharkiv, east even into the Donbas to try to cut off the supply lines to the Russian forces there.

Now, if that counteroffensive doesn't succeed in doing that, then it's quite possible that the Russians can control their logistics, build up their forces and then the terrain favors the Russians at that point. Because it's wide-open plains which is good for armored fighting vehicles, tanks, combined operations and not so good for the Ukrainians.

So, this is a decisive phase of the war. This is probably more important in many respects than the first phase where the Russians tried to capture Kyiv. If the Russians can win here, then they have a position whereby they can rebuild and strengthen their forces so that they can then go on the offensive against Kyiv again in the future.

CHURCH: Right, and of course, U.S. officials, well, they're concerned that Ukraine's ammunition inventories may not be enough going forward, even after that first shipment of heavy weapons arrived in the region part of that $800 million U.S. security package. So, what more is needed? And how long do you think this might go on for?

[04:15:00]

DAVIS: Certainly, could go on for months. I don't think this war is going to be over any time soon. I do think that the Ukrainians are stating very clearly what they need which is heavy armor, artillery, air power, more long-range fire power in terms of those switchblade drones and also, of course, the shoulder fired weapons that they've been using so effectively up until now.

They also need logistic support in terms of sustaining counteroffensives closer to Russian forces in the Donbas. Because as they push their forces out to attack the Russians, their logistics gets a little bit more fragile. So, there needs to be greater support in terms of fuel and ammunition from the West there. So, it is becoming a prolonged and intense conflict that will go on for many months. And there's no clear idea of who wins this particular phase of the war.

CHURCH: Malcolm Davis, thank you so much for your perspective. We appreciate it.

DAVIS: Many thanks.

CHURCH: Thank you.

Well, China's economy beat market expectations in the first quarter, but its economic outlook is much dimmer. We will go live to Beijing to learn what's weighing down the world's second largest economy.

Plus, a remarkable reunion. A California teenager missing for nearly three years has been found alive hundreds of miles away. His family overjoyed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy crap.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little bit older but yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, sweetheart. Why? Oh my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:00]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, China says its economy 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 along with escalating lockdowns.

CNN Steven Jiang is following this story for us. He joins us live from Beijing. Good to see you, Steven. So, China beat economic expectations in the first quarter. But unfortunately, bad news lies ahead. What is the main sticking point here? And how does Beijing plan to overcome this?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Rosemary, the positive government and state media spin of that 4.8 percent growth rate for Q1, as you just mentioned, really belies the fact this is an economy in distress according to many experts and analysts. Because the increasingly brutal lockdown of Shanghai the country's biggest city and its financial hub and manufacturing center really started to happen only late in March into early April. So, the impact of those measures have yet to be fully reflected in economic data.

And even so, we already seeing some very worrisome downward trends in some key sectors where the government have been counting on to transform the growth model from being driven by manufacturing and export, to being driven by services and consumptions. So, that's why authorities must be very worried about the 3.5 percent drop in March for example in retail sales as well as rising unemployment figure.

And all of this, of course, is expected to get worse in the coming months because there appears to be no end in sight for the Shanghai lockdown. Remember, this is a country that continues to stick to a zero COVID policy and Shanghai has been reporting over 20,000 new COVID cases on a daily basis for the past few weeks. So, given Shanghai's importance especially its international port and airport, not just in the national economy supply chain but also in global trade, its implications and the ramifications of the continued lockdown will be felt far and wide. That's perhaps why the central government here has announced a so-called white list of over 600 companies in key industries in Shanghai authorizing them to resume production under a so-called closed loop management system. That's the system, remember, they used during the Beijing winter Olympics.

But the problem right now, of course, local officials and corporate executives see very little incentive to do this given the far greater potential risks if cases -- new cases emerge within their jurisdictions -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, Steven Jiang joining us live from Beijing, many thanks.

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 capabilities remain stable.

Well, here in the United States, a group of business owners and residents are suing the city of Philadelphia to overturn its renewed indoor mask mandate which takes effect today. The city is bringing back the requirement due to a rise in COVID cases. The White House COVID response coordinator says he supports local officials making mask mandate decisions based on the data they have. Dr. Ashish Jha also says an uptick in cases across the U.S. right now is being driven primary by BA.2, the highly contagious subvariant of Omicron. But he says hospitalizations remain low and COVID vaccines are helping to keep Americans safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ASHISH JHA, WHITE HOUSE COVID 19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: The good news is our vaccines are holding up really well against BA.2, against all of the Omicron variants especially if you've been boosted. So, the key here is you got to have the initial two shots and then you got to have a booster. That's what's really protecting people at this moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The pandemic and the war in Ukraine are taking an ongoing toll on the U.S. economy. Inflation hit a 40-year high of 8.5 percent last week with gas and food prices largely to blame.

[04:25:00]

The nationwide average of gas prices is just over $4 per gallon with the war in Ukraine keeping global commodities unsettled. A year ago, gas was $2.87 a gallon. And potential home buyers looking to escape record high rents are now facing mortgage rates of 5 percent for the first time in over a decade.

Well, still to come, the Austrian Chancellor is revealing more of what he discussed with Vladimir Putin in Moscow and what this might mean for the ongoing conflict.

Plus, many Estonians are using work arounds to watch Russian-state media channels broadcasting Kremlin propaganda. How it's affecting their view of the war when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Rosemary Church. An update on Russia's war on Ukraine. At least six people were killed and 11 wounded in a missile strike on the western city of Lviv this morning. That is according to the regional military governor, Lviv's mayor also confirmed several missiles hit the city within the last few hours. CNN teams on the ground heard the explosions as well.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have now entered Kreminna in eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region. That is according to the regional military governor. He says street fighting is now under way and evacuation is, quote, impossible.

The U.N. says more than 4.8 million people have left Ukraine since the war began nearly two months ago, but according to the Polish border guard, more people are going into Ukraine from Poland for two days running. It is the first time that happened since the Russian invasion began. Poland says some of those entering and exiting Ukraine are aid workers who cross the border frequently and aid workers are ...

[04:30:00]