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New Images Show Damaged Russian Warship Before It Sank; Russian Forces Firing on Mariupol Steel Plant; U.S. Mask Mandate for Travelers No Longer in Effect; Dozens of Cities in China Under Full or Partial Lockdown; CNN Visits Remains of Camp That Once Held 6000 Russian Soldiers; Interview with Zelenskyy's Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak; South Africa Declares National State of Disaster; Dozens Injured in Riots in Sweden after Quran Burnings; Sloviansk Braces for Battle with Russian Forces. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired April 19, 2022 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:19]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause live in Lviv, Ukraine. What could be the start of a definitive battle for Ukraine. The long awaited Russian military offensive in the eastern Donbass region appears to be underway, with a surge in fighting reported along the frontline, which stretches for hundreds of miles.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Paula Newton and I will be covering some of the other top stories including the end of mandated masks for travelers in the United States, which airlines are now saying is mask option.

VAUSE: For weeks, Ukrainian, U.S., NATO officials have all warned the Russians were preparing for a renewed military offensive in the East. And now it seems the battle for the Donbass region has begun.

According to Ukraine's top security official, a 300 mile long frontline almost 500 kilometers came under attack by Russian forces Monday. And for the most part, that defensive line held. The Pentagon now believes 76 Russian battalion tactical groups have been deployed in the south and the east, 11 added in the last few days alone. Each BTG consists of up to 800 troops. That means 10s of 1000s of Russian soldiers. But Ukraine's president says despite being outnumbered and outgunned, his country will not give up without a fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): No matter how many Russian servicemen they're bringing in into that area, we will keep on fighting and defending on this and we will be doing this daily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So just Eastern Ukraine being targeted Western Ukraine here Lviv, as we've also seen, which was a relatively safe harbor, safe haven I should say, is now come under attack Monday.

Ukrainian officials say at least four missiles hit the city, killing seven people, wounding 11 others. Russia claims it destroyed a weapons depot near Lviv. But the local official says the missiles hit several warehouses that were not being used by the military. Also destroyed an auto repair shop. It's all comes just days after what appeared to be a huge blow to Russia's military, the sinking of its flagship in the Black Sea.

New images appearing on social media now appear to support Ukraine's claim that the warship was hit by two anti-ship missiles. Photos show large black holes on the port side of this guided cruiser just above the waterline.

Now in the coming hours, U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to hold a call with allies to discuss continued support for Ukraine and efforts to hold Russia accountable. This comes as the U.S. State Department accuses Russia of launching a campaign of terror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: The fact is that Russia, more than just launching an invasion, more than just launching a war has launched is undertaking a campaign of terror, a campaign of brutality, a campaign of despicable aggression against the people of Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: A small number of Ukrainian fighters continued to hold out against the Russian offensive for the key ports city of Mariupol. The U.S. defense official believes about a dozen Russian battalion tactical groups are committed to this fight, and are yet to take total control. Ukrainian forces are now holed up in a sprawling iron and steel factory, hundreds of civilians who have taken taking cover there as well. CNN cannot confirm that claim. But regardless, the site is now being targeted by heavy Russian bombardment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. DENYS PROKOPENKO, COMMANDER OF THE AZOV REGIMENT (through translation): Right now in Mariupol, at the Azovstal steel factory, hundreds of civilians are sheltering. Among them are children of all ages, women, the elderly, in the families in Mariupol defenders. They are sheltering in the basements and bunkers from the Russian world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Matthew Chance has more on what civilians are facing in Mariupol. A warning, some of the images in his report are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These are the kids Ukrainian officials say are at ground zero in the battle for Mariupol. This video posted on government social media, but which CNN can't verify shows dozens of children said to have been sheltering for weeks in a basement in the city, where Ukrainian forces are holding out against Russian attacks. Kids distracting themselves from the battles above.

[01:05:09]

We play with these toys, build things and imagine things. This little boy says. Do you want to get out of here? They're asked. Yes, yes, they all shout. But the adults here know, that's unlikely to happen anytime soon.

I'm with my three children and conditions are not the best here, this parent says. There's no way to study, not much food, and my kids teeth are starting to spoil, she says. But the alternative surrender to Russia may be worse.

Above ground, Mariupol has borne the brunt of Russia's brutal invasion. Latest images show the extent of the devastation. One Ukrainian commander has called this hell on earth. But troops defending the city concentrated at the vast Azovstal steelworks are refusing to surrender. Ukrainian officials say they will fight until the end.

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The situation in Mariupol is most dire militarily and heartbreaking. The city doesn't exist anymore, it seems from the way Russian army behaves in Mariupol they decided to raise the city to the ground at any cost.

CHANCE: But Ukrainian forces in Mariupol are making sure that erasure is painful. This video shows a counterattack against Russian forces by the Ukrainian Azov battalion, with their soldiers throwing grenades at Russian forces in the city. It is an act of resistance, but the outcome may be unchanged.

Already, the human toll of this battle for Mariupol has been appalling, with 1000s, including many civilians killed, but Ukrainian officials say another Russian offensive is now underway, posing another deadly threat to those trapped inside. Matthew Chance, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: I'm joined now from Los Angeles by Daniel Treisman. He's a Political Science Professor at UCLA, author of The Return: Russia's Journey from Gorbachev to Medvedev.

Good to see you, Daniel, thanks for coming in and speaking with us, we appreciate your time. A major objective for Russia in the south is to establish this land bridge from the legally annex Crimea region to the Donbass, can they do that without totally clearing the Mariupol area of the Ukrainian fighters? Are those last Ukrainian soldiers and defenders holed up in the steel plant essentially determining the course of this war right now?

DANIEL TREISMAN, AUTHOR, "THE RETURN: RUSSIA'S JOURNEY FROM GORBACHEV TO MEDVEDEV": Well, if they're holding up the Russian advance, it's really almost the last spot that the Russians have to take to establish this land bridge Crimea. So the heroic resistance of these fighters in Mariupol, has delayed the Russian effort to take this strip of territory. It's been really six weeks that they've been struggling over what they initially thought would be a very limited, straightforward operation to take this this town, and it's proved once again, just how faulty the intelligence was on which the Russian plans were based.

VAUSE: We're also getting word from those Ukrainian fighters here that there are women, children, the elderly, civilians also holed up in that steel factory and that the Russians continue with the attacks there. That clearly is not a surprise. But the concern is, this is one area where the Russian backed separatists in this region have raised the possibility of using chemical weapons to clear out that factory. Is that likely?

TREISMAN: Well, unfortunately, as with many things that depend on Putin's personal decision at this point, we just don't know. They've certainly hinted that that might be the next step. We just have to hope that that won't happen. It's heartbreaking to see the footage that you just showed of children sheltering in the basements there in the Azovstal Steel Plant, unable to go out.

The families are terrified that if they were to surrender, they might be deported like other Ukrainian families have been deported to Russia, where they're essentially untraceable. And I would point out that those families that we saw in the basement there, were speaking Russian, it's not a war to protect Russian speakers. It's a war which has forced these Russian speakers to shelter underground from the horrific bombardment.

[01:10:00]

VAUSE: U.S. is now saying that Russia has about 76 combat units, these battle tactical groups in the east. There's about between 50,000, maybe 60,000 troops right now. The standard calculation, I guess, is three invaders for one defender. Does that mean the Russians is still short on the numbers they need?

TREISMAN: Well, in terms of manpower, that's very possible. But they have massive amounts of artillery, they are very likely to bombard the whole area in the east of Ukraine, the Donbass, that's the usual way that Russians fight this kind of war. So even though the troops may not be as many as they would like, in order to move in, in force, they have plenty of artillery to pulverize the cities and the towns in that area. And what's really crucial now is that the Ukrainians get the ammunition, the artillery, the drones, to be able to fight against that really intense operation that's already begun.

In the south, we know that the guided missile cruiser, the Moskva is now sitting at the bottom of the Black Sea. With that out of commission, does that now mean that if there is some kind of amphibious landing, that the Russians were planning for the South, maybe targeting the Odessa region, does that now mean that is off the table, that they now have to change tactics that they have been at least weakened, if you like, in there, it will have their options reduce when it comes to the battle further south?

TREISMAN: Yeah, it seems that it does. The destruction of the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, it's not just a symbolic failure on the part of the Russian, Russian side, but also it means that any ships that try to make an amphibious landing around Odessa, as was planned, are going to face the same kind of missiles, the Neptune missiles that apparently destroyed the Moskva. And the Moskva was the ship, which provided the air support, air cover for planned attacks. So yes, amphibious landings can be much harder. And it's not clear that the Russians will even continue to focus on I guess at this point, they may choose to change their to narrow their goals to just the land bridge to the east of Crimea, plus the Donbass itself.

VAUSE: Daniel, thank you so much. We'll leave it there. Daniel Treisman, there in Los Angeles. We appreciate your insights and your experience. Thank you, sir.

TREISMAN: Thank you.

NEWTON: The U.S. mask mandate for public transportation is no longer in effect, a judge overturn the directive, saying the Centers for Disease Control overstepped its authority in enacting it in the first place. The White House Calls the ruling disappointing and says it's being reviewed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Certainly, no one here is trying to provoke uncertainty with passengers. We also think the mask mandate should be in place and that it's safer for individuals who are flying to continue to wear masks. So we would say to anyone sitting out there, we'd recommend you wear masks on the airplane. And then as soon as we can provide an update from here hopefully soon, we'll provide that to all of you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Despite what the White House said, as you can see there, airline passengers celebrated the announcement on some flights major carriers quickly made masks optional. Pete Muntean has our details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: This was one of the last major mask mandates to remain in place but federal transportation mask mandate was slated to end in two weeks on May 3. Now by order of a U.S. district judge in Florida, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, she says that goes beyond the CDC's authority. And now the White House has confirmed that the transportation mask mandate is no longer in effect, pending a federal review. This was required on planes, trains, buses, boats, and in terminal starting in February 2021, not long after President Joe Biden took office it was extended to March 18. Then April 18, then an extension to May 3. Now we know that this is going away.

And we have heard from airlines like Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines that they will follow through with this order essentially making it so that passengers and employees can wear masks only if they want to. We will see as this pans out if there was any pushback from the Biden administration or any appeal. Pete Muntean, CNN Reagan National Airport.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Meantime in China, dozens of cities are under full or part partial lockdown as authorities try to curb the spread of COVID-19 under the country's strict zero COVID strategy.

[01:15:07]

But an increasing shortage of food, medicine and other critical supplies due to disrupted supply chains is fueling growing problems and public frustration. CNN Steven Jiang is following this story from Beijing. And it doesn't matter how many times you've described it, Steven, these are strict lockdowns. What's the latest now in terms of the government really sticking to zero COVID policy?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: That's right, Paula. The grim reality is millions of people across China, including the 25 million or so residents in Shanghai continue to be sealed in their homes and many of them facing a shortage of food and other daily supplies despite repeated government pledges to improve distribution channels.

Now, one of the latest controversies comes in the form of a video that seems to show workers dumping a large amount of perfectly looking vegetables that were intended to be sent to Shanghai residents in desperate need of fresh groceries.

Local officials later insisted those vegetables gone rotten inside and had to be disposed of. And another rather disturbing development in Shanghai is authorities there have now tightened regulations in terms of sending all positive cases and their close contacts to dedicated government run isolation wards with no more exceptions. So that has meant a growing number of senior citizens, some of them in their 90s being forcibly taken from their homes, and that being taken to those facilities that are often in very crowded and primitive conditions.

Now, of course, we've been talking about Shanghai a lot because of its international recognition, but as you mentioned, lock downs are affecting millions in other parts of the country, as well. And in the past few weeks, we have seen sometimes cities locked down their entire jurisdiction set for just one or several cases. And in at least one instance, an entire city in Hebei Province been placed under lockdown without any single, without any cases, because according to officials, they were doing that in preparation for citywide mass testing.

Now, all of this, of course, is almost reaching a level of absurdity, according to many outside observers, but the reason is also clear that Beijing leadership has put their foot down saying COVID is here to stay. And it is, according to them, still the best way to protect people's health, to prevent the kind of deaths and destruction they say COVID has caused in the West. And officials have also made clear that order comes from the very top, from President Xi Jinping himself.

So for local officials around the country, the lesson they have drawn from Shanghai is not how almost impossible it is to contain, let alone eliminate the highly contagious Omicron variant with their current measures, but rather, when it comes to lock downs you have to do it early to do it big as if to show your political loyalty to the strawman leader. Paula.

NEWTON: And of course we will expect more frustrated residents there in China as this continues. Steven Jiang for us live in Beijing, I appreciate it.

And I will be back later this hour. John Vause will pick up live from Ukraine after the break with this story that you will not want to miss, CNN's Phil Black visited a town outside of Kyiv were occupying Russian forces left behind more than just a sprawling campsite. And later longtime friend now Chief of Staff to Ukraine's president a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy's right hand man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is a leader and he is the person who is coming to this politics career for one reason, to change our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[23:22:48]

VAUSE: A statue of former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin once again looming over Ukrainian community. Statue is reinstalled in the Russian occupied port town of Henichesk, which is just north of Crimea. It's come seven years after the town removed Lenin statue as part of decolonization efforts. New Lenin was placed in front of the Regional Council building with a Russian flag waving from his roof.

And Ukraine official says Russian forces are moving back in time trying to stir up nostalgia for the good old Soviet days.

Two British nationals, who were part of the Ukraine forces in Mariupol have been captured by Russian troops. That's according to a U.K. government source with knowledge of the situation. Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin had previously served with the British armed forces. According to the families of both men, the two were currently serving with Ukrainian Marines. They had been for several years. Aiden Aslan was taken by Russian forces last week. It's not clear when, you know, it was captured.

Senior defense official tells CNN the U.S. believes Russia is learning from its mistakes in the north of Ukraine. The official also said that they're applying those lessons now in this renewed focus in the east and the south. Russians have left a small town just outside of Kyiv leaving behind remains a giant makeshift campsite and the lingering human traumas and suffering they caused. CNN's Phil Black has that story and a warning here, his report contains some graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sign is a warning but where mines. The forest serves as protection to a natural screen concealing a vast secret. Here among the trees about an hour's drive north of Kyiv are the remains of a sprawling Russian military camp were shown around by Ukrainian special forces.

This soldier says the positions were held by Russian Marines. We see a sprawling network of underground fighting positions command post, sleeping areas and ammunition storage. While everywhere there is evidence of how the Russians lived and that evidence suggests their existence here it was neither disciplined nor comfortable.

[01:25:03]

(On camera): It is so quiet here now just some bird noise and a light breeze. But recently, there were 6000 Russian soldiers bedded down through these woods. In a camp that is so large, you can't see where it begins and where it ends. Living here would have been hard, it was through the coldest of the winter days, four weeks stopped here, short of Kyiv after they failed to take the capital quickly.

The silence is broken by efforts to deal with some unidentified ordinance. This camp is damning proof of Russia's failures on this front, poor preparation, desperately wrong assumptions about the numbers and resources needed to conquer Kyiv.

(On camera): What lessons do you take from all of this that will apply to the to the coming battle for Donbass and East?

He says, we see the volume of forces that invaded this area and we understand that will be two to three times greater in the Donbass.

This force wasn't confined to the forest. Its commanding officers lived a little more comfortably in the nearby village of these Zdvyzhivka, Ukraine.

Here civilians tell disturbingly familiar stories. Vitaliy, a local mechanic says he was detained and interrogated for almost 24 hours. He says he was beaten, blindfolded, tied up and subjected to mock executions.

He says, he's never known fear like it and constantly thought those were his last moments on Earth. Local priest, Vasily Benca describes dealing with the aftermath of even greater cruelty.

He says, he found five men tortured and killed in the garden. Two more in the forest. And the Russians brought him two dead women and told him to bury them.

Other Russians in this area, camped out in fields with their artillery pieces, and stole what comforts they could, a mattress, alcohol, the works of Shakespeare. (On camera): So from these firing positions, grad rockets flew through the sky towards Hostomel, which is only a relatively short distance away. And when they hit the Earth, it was often civilians who felt their power.

DMITRI NEKAZAKOV, HOSTOMEL RESIDENT: You can see the result. So many people.

BLACK: They were hiding in there.

NEKAZAKOV: Yeah.

BLACK: In Hostomel, resident Dmitri Nekazakov shows the aftermath of a Russian rocket strike.

NEKAZAKOV: This is epicenter of explosion.

BLACK: And where some of its victims were temporarily buried.

NEKAZAKOV: I feel only hate.

BLACK: Only hate?

NEKAZAKOV: Yes, we can't forgive it for long, maybe for life.

BLACK: For now, the enemies in the forest, fields and villages have left this part of Ukraine. The fruits of their brief stay, the pain, trauma and loathing remain. Phil Black, CNN Hostomel, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When we come back, not only Putin says there is tough international economic sanctions that have been put in place over the invasion of Ukraine. Well, they're not hurting Russia, he says. They're actually hurting the west, more on that when we come back.

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[01:32:31]

NEWTON: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Paula Newton, live at CNN Headquarters in Atlanta.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claims harsh sanctions imposed on his country over the war in Ukraine are actually hurting the economies of the western nations that imposed them. Mr. Putin making those remarks during a virtual meeting with top government officials. He went on to say that Russia's economy had in fact withstood international pressure, saying inflation was stabilizing and the ruble exchange rate is back up to early February levels.

Meantime, Ukraine's president says international sanctions could make things difficult for Russia's military in the months ahead. He says producing new planes, helicopters and artillery will be a daunting task, and missile stockpiles will suffer too. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The Russian army is not slowing down the use of missiles against Ukraine. Although it should have realized that it will be extremely difficult to restore its missile stockpile in the face of even existing sanctions.

Without imports, they can't even do that. And when all of the loopholes used to circumvent sanctions are closed and even tougher sanctions are imposed, restoring Russia's missile capabilities will be unrealistic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's road to the presidency and his career as a TV comedian have been well documented. And one of his best friends and closest advisors has been by his side through all of it.

CNN's Jake Tapper spoke with the president's right-hand man.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST (voice over): Before he became chief of staff to a celebrated wartime president, 50-year-old Andriy Yermak was a lawyer and filmmaker. His close friend, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, an entertainment executive and well known actor.

Now, just two years into his cabinet position, Yermak and Zelenskyy are fighting a war on the world stage. And Yermak says this is exactly where they are meant to be.

(on camera): How did you get here?

ANDRIY YERMAK, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY'S CHIEF OF STAFF: I can say -- first of all, I have my real profession as a lawyer. Yes of course, some period of time I'm in the (INAUDIBLE) -- I worked like a movie producer.

[01:34:53]

YERMAK: But if we are talking about Volodymyr Zelenskyy, I can say first of all, it is a very simple understanding of him. I think that this very tragic situation, this terrible war in Ukraine, showed all of the world that he is a real leader.

He is a leader and he is the person who is coming to this politics career, for one reason -- to change our country. Maybe two years ago, I sat in some interviews that I'm sure that our president will be about leader of minimum of our part of Europe and maybe more.

A lot of critics was here. A lot of politics think that Ukrainian said, what is this -- it's like a joke. But now all of these people understand, that it is true.

TAPPER (voice over): Russian forces have put Zelenskyy's leadership to the test with near constant shelling including in and around Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

(on camera): When the invasion began and the United States offered President Zelenskyy a way out of the country, he said "I don't need a ride I need ammunition." Was there ever a moment, where he thought of leaving, just to save his own life or the life of his family?

YERMAK: No. No. I didn't came to the office six hour in the morning of 24th. The president already was in his cabinet. And all these 50 days, he is in the office of the president.

TAPPER: If he had not stayed, do you think this war would have gone differently? Do you think maybe the Ukrainian people found inspiration in fighting because he stayed too?

YERMAK: Absolutely. 100 percent. It was so important. We here in the office of the president, and other government bodies, we are working, it is our obligation.

I think it is not heroic. It's real heroes -- it's the peoples which is our soldiers, it's our army.

TAPPER (voice over): Of course, the Ukrainian army was never supposed to be in this position with Russia. A now repeatedly violated agreement in the 1990s was meant to keep the two nations at peace, at least in theory.

(on camera): Let's talk about the Budapest Memorandum. Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear weapons in a deal with the United States and Russia in which it was pledged that nobody would infringe on Ukraine's territorial sovereignty.

Obviously Russia has violated that. Do you think the United States has also violated that by not doing more to stand up for the Ukrainian sovereignty, that the U.S. said it would stand up for?

YERMAK: No. Of course, violation of the Russia of our -- not just started in the 24th of February of this year. It started from the annexation of Crimea. And then the war in Donbas.

I think that it happened because we were a very young country. We were very young independent country. We have this experience.

TAPPER (voice over): The experience, but not the NATO membership, and not the protected airspace Zelenskyy has asked for.

While the international community has given massive financial backing to Ukraine, including more than $14 billion from the U.S., Yermak says Ukraine needs a new system.

YERMAK: All systems of the security not work and I can say not exist. Of course, we do our best, to talk with our part with the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, and (INAUDIBLE) these other countries to create this new system. And of course, after this war, after this fighting of Ukrainian nation, we have the absolute right not just to be a part of this new system, but be in the center and be one of the leaders of this new system of security. TAPPER (on camera): As a film producer, one of Andriy Yermak's most

famous movies was called "The Fight Rules: Your Spirit is Your Weapon". Now waging a real life fight -- a real life war -- that title could not be more appropriate.

Jake Tapper in Ukraine, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: And thank you Jake. Coming up for us here on CNN NEWSROOM, in Sweden more arrests are expected after days of violent clashes over Quran burnings.

And a disaster in South Africa. Tens of thousands of people lost their homes in a catastrophic floods. Straight ahead, search and rescue operations are underway.

[01:39:42]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: South Africa has declared a national state of disaster after floods, mudslides and extreme weather devastated parts of the country. A week of torrential rains have left thousands homeless, more than 440 people dead and dozens still missing. 10,000 troops are helping with rescue missions and supporting those who need critical medical care.

CNN's Zain Asher reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A rescue team on a mission to find a woman missing since torrential rain swept through parts of South Africa. They zero in on the river. It is where locals say they found the remains of other victims.

MBUKENI KHWELA, HERDSMAN (through translator): We are here looking for our neighbor who was swept away by the river. We are sure she was swept by the river because we have found her son but we have not found her.

[01:44:41]

ASHER: It's just one of several search operations underway in and around Deben where emergency workers probe the banks of rivers and sniffer dogs comb through piles of debris to try to find dozens of people still unaccounted for.

One relief official who just returned from the area says he hasn't seen this kind of flooding in decades.

DR. MICHAEL CHARLES, HEAD OF COUNTY CLUSTER DELEGATION FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA: They have lost everything. They've have seen their houses being swept away. They've seen their livelihood being swept away. And, you know, the situation is really quite dire. ASHER: Officials say 10,000 troops have activated to provide support

for rescue missions as well as to help clean up and bring aid to the more than 40,000 people left homeless from the floods.

Disaster management workers and volunteers are packing water and other supplies to deliver to communities without clean water and power. Some places are already getting help, now that floodwaters have receded in some areas.

But authorities here in the (INAUDIBLE) say many roads and bridges are damaged or washed away. The devastation is so widespread, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster.

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: This is a humanitarian disaster that calls for a massive and urgent relief effort. The lives health and the well-being of thousands of people, are still at risk.

ASHER: With dry weather expected, officials hope to get a better look at the scale of destruction and begin the long process of recovery.

Zain Asher, CNN -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Still to come for us, CNN heads to the Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, where residents are both praying for peace and bracing for war.

Stay with us.

[01:46:28]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Police in Sweden have arrested 26 people and more arrests are expected after a weekend of violent riots in protest right across several cities. Now, the clashes were sparked by Quran burnings in counterprotest to a far-right anti-Muslim rally.

CNN's Nada Bashir reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, Sunday marked yet another day of unrest in Sweden. Reportedly sparked by a planned rally by far-right Danish political group, Hard Line, the leader of which had a photo of himself on social media, burning a Quran, the holiest text in Islam and calling on supporters to join him in burning more.

Now, the move sparked violent protests and riots. In video shared on social media, rioters can be seen throwing objects at members of the police and cars set alight.

The leader of the far-right group, Rasmus Paludan, has expressed both anti-immigrant and islamophobia views, but is said to have received permission to carry out a number of rallies across Sweden over the Easter weekend.

Now, it is important to know that police are still investigating the main cause of these riots and have said that they believe some individuals who are linked to criminal gangs may have taken advantage of the situation.

According to a police statement, at least 26 people have been arrested so far. And more than a dozen members of the public were injured over the course of these riots.

The Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has condemned the violence and has also confirmed that members of Sweden's police force, were also injured over the course of the riots.

Now, the controversial incident has unfolded during the holy month of Ramadan. And a number of Muslim majority countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Egypt, have condemned the burning of the Quran by the far-right political group.

Jordan's foreign ministry warning that such acts, could pose a threat to peaceful coexistence.

Nada Bashir, CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now to the Vatican -- to Vatican City, where the Pope led an Easter Monday prayer vigil attended by thousands of Italian teenagers. You see them there in St. Peter's Square.

Now, this is reportedly the first gathering of young pilgrims in St. Peters Square since the start of the pandemic. Pope Francis said he was worried about their future and about Russia's war in Ukraine, which he called cruel and senseless on Eastern Sunday.

Meantime, CNN has visited Sloviansk, a Ukrainian city directly in the line of fire. As CNN's Clarissa Ward reports, residents there spent Orthodox Palm Sunday praying for peace but, of course, also bracing for violence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At the Alexandrov Nevsky cathedral in Sloviansk an ardent prayer from worshippers, under the shadow of Russia's war.

"We ask for your mercy, lord. Please hear us.'

They have gathered here for Orthodox Palm Sunday carrying willows instead of palms per the Orthodox tradition. It is supposed to be a celebration of Jesus's return to Jerusalem. But there is little joy in this congregation.

Ukrainian officials say this city will be a decisive battleground in Russia's imminent offensive in the Donbas region. The streets are getting emptier as the fighting gets closer. Those still here are being urged to leave. The air raid siren is an unrelenting wail.

(on camera): You can't hear it because the sirens are so loud, but we have heard a steady stream of booms coming from that way in the distance. But as you can see, people here are just used to it.

(voice over): The children continue to play. The adults try to stay strong.

This group is awaiting an evacuation bus to the safety of western Ukraine. Raisa tells us she's taking her grandchildren to Lviv. Their mother died three years ago.

[01:54:57]

WARD: "You hear what's happening here", she says. "My husband is still at home, his health is not good enough to make the journey."

Her granddaughter offers some support. "Oh grandma," she says, "I love you".

Anna Stepanovna (ph) is full of anguish that the international community has failed to rein in Putin.

"When they show the children killed, I can't. I cry," she says. "Why can't they stop this one idiot? If they will send me, I will shoot him."

Seven weeks into this ugly war, there is no end in sight. Pavel is saying goodbye to his wife, Olga. She does not want to let go of him.

Scenes of separation, that have become all too familiar. "Everything will be ok," the organizer tells her. Comforting words that mask a grim reality.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: So much misery, without end seemingly.

I'm Paula Newton. I will see you right back here tomorrow.

But stay with us. Our breaking news continues with John Vause live in Ukraine and Rosemary Church will be here at CNN Center.

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