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Ukrainian Forces Inside Azovstal Factory Remain Defiant; Russia, Ukraine Take Center Stage in French Presidential Contest; Volunteer Braves Russian Artillery to Evacuate Ukrainians; Boris Johnson in India to Discuss Security, Trade; Anger Mounts in Locked- Down Shanghai with No End in Sight; More Ukrainians Returning to Their War-Torn Country. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired April 22, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[00:00:09]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers, joining us from all around the world and in the United States. I'm Michael Holmes at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

A sprawling steel factory in Mariupol is all that remains of Ukrainian forces defending the strategic port city. They're surrounded by Russian troops, but have refused to surrender amid the nonstop shelling and gun battles.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has now ordered his troops to impose a blockade that, quote, "even a fly can't get through," rather than storm the facility.

Besides sheltering the Ukrainian fighters, the complex has also been home to hundreds of men, women and children, who are reportedly running out of food and water.

The factory owner describes the situation inside as, quote, "close to a catastrophe."

Now, not far away, the grim discovery of more suspected mass graves. Mariupol officials estimate 20,000 city residents have died so far. Many of those bodies now believed to have been dumped in the long trenches you see there on your screen.

Now, despite President Putin's incredible boast of, quote, "liberating Mariupol"; despite the images you've seen, the U.S. president, Joe Biden, says it is questionable how much of the city Russian troops actually control.

Ukraine, for its part, denies the city has fallen. For more, let's bring in Isa Soares, who is live for us in Lviv in Ukraine.

Good morning to you, Isa.

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Good morning, Michael.

And despite the dire situation that you are describing there inside the Azovstal steel factory that we have been reporting, in fact, for days. Ukrainian fighters remain defiant, surrender, it seems, does not appear to be in their vocabulary.

We have more now from our own Matt Rivers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ILYA SAMOYLENKO, AZOV REGIMENT STAFF OFFICER: We destroyed one tank today, two armored fighting vehicles, and one armored personnel carrier. The numbers of enemy losses are still increasing.

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT; This is Ilya Samoylenko, an officer in the Azov Battalion, currently fighting for his life and others, inside the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. The plant has taken constant bombardment for days on end, though he strikes a defiant tone.

SAMOYLENKO: Right now, Ukraine not just fighting for ourselves. We're fighting for the freedom.

RIVERS: And yet the reality in Mariupol is that Russia controls the vast majority of the city, apart from the last remaining pocket of Ukrainian resistance, enough that Vladimir Putin felt compelled to declare victory in a city he first tried and failed to capture nearly ten years ago.

"Completing the military task of liberating Mariupol is a great achievement," he says. "I congratulate you."

But Ukraine and its allies have rejected the notion that Mariupol has fallen. How could that be, the argument goes, when the Russians have yet to force out the remaining Ukrainian fighters? Putin, seemingly aware of this, acknowledged that fighters remain in the steel plant, and essentially said no problem, just wait them out.

He says, "There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities. Block off this industrial area so a fly cannot get through."

For those inside the plant, this new blockade strategy, a sign of weakness of the Russian military, a force that has tried and failed for weeks to force out remaining resistance.

SAMOYLENKO: Russia right now is cowardly, hesitating with the assault, final assault, as they call this, of Azovstal Steelworks, because they know that they will fail. And they will fail.

RIVERS: No matter whether the Russians cannot or will not fight their way into the steel complex, the end result is the same. Ukrainian fighters inside are not only responsible for themselves, but for the hundreds of civilians they say are sheltering there, some seen here in unverified video from Ukraine's government. SAMOYLENKO: Most heartbreaking thing in this, is that we have limited

supplies here, and we are trying to share everything with civilians. But Russia claims that we use them as a human shield. It's bull- (EXPLETIVE DELETED). It's complete bull-(EXPLETIVE DELETED). Because you know, a real military doesn't do this.

RIVERS: And even outside the steel plant, in areas firmly under Russian control, tens of thousands of civilians that need to be evacuated cannot. Only a fraction managed to leave in the last few days, some seen here arriving in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. Not thousands, not hundreds, but near dozens after Ukraine says Russian forces violated cease-fire agreements.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator) It is more like not a war, but a terrorist operation by Russia against Mariupol in the people of the city.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: A truly dire situation that you are witnessing inside Mariupol.

Meanwhile, a gruesome example of Russian soldiers' brutality is allegedly caught on tape. Ukrainian military intelligence says it intercepted Russian communications giving an order to kill Ukrainians' POWs, specifically those in the Luhansk region, which is bearing the brunt of Russia's renewed attacks. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What can I tell you, damn it? (EXPLETIVE DELETED) You keep the most senior among them, and let the rest go forever. Let them go forever, damn it, so that no one will ever see them again, including relatives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Now, CNN cannot verify the authenticity of the reporting. Ukraine says previous intercepted communications revealed Russia's plan to level everything to the ground at the steel plant in Mariupol, where soldiers, of course, and civilians, as we told you at the top of the hour, are holed up.

Well, let's dig deeper now into Russia's plans for Ukraine. We're joined by David Satter, former Moscow correspondent and Russia scholar at the Hudson Institute. David, thanks very much for joining us.

Let me get your thoughts on, really, the latest moves by the Russian forces, that you explained are in Mariupol. President Putin, as you probably heard in the last 24 hours or so, has been truly putting a spin on this, saying that it's been successfully liberated. Those were his words.

We know that's not the case. There's still that pocket of resistance, but he needs this to satisfy home, does he not?

DAVID SATTER, RUSSIA SCHOLAR, HUDSON INSTITUTE: Definitely, there's an important date coming up, which is May 9. That's the anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Second World War. It's a huge holiday in Russia, and it's really the symbol of the regime's strength and legitimacy.

So if they -- the reason why I think they've decided against a storm of the steel plant, is simply because they're afraid of the symbolism. During the Second World War, it was Soviet soldiers who fought in the ruins of Stalingrad, in a tractor factory and in the other factories in Stalingrad against the Nazi invaders.

Any depiction of Ukrainians fighting against Russian troops in that steel complex on May 9 will -- will evoke very, very inconvenient memories, because it will suggest that it's now the Russians who are in the role of the Nazis.

SOARES: But on that point, David, do you think that the Russian forces are -- are being made aware that perhaps they need some sort of win ahead of that key date?

SATTER: I think that's unquestionably the case. It's -- it's -- every Russian soldier will understand that.

But they will also understand that it's -- some of these attacks are just suicide attacks. They're aware of the incredible casualties that the Russians are taking.

And by the way, the Ukrainians are likely to mount a counterattack of their own on May 9.

SOARES: And so David, you know, the thought of taking Mariupol that has been encircled now for weeks on end, whenever -- if and whenever that happens, would still be a pretty big strategic price for Putin. Explain to our viewers why Putin needs this at this stage.

SATTER: Well, they -- they're attempting to create a land bridge to occupied Crimea, for one thing.

But it's important to bear in mind that they can take territory. The question is, can they hold the territory? They're now operating in areas that are pro-Ukrainian, as demonstrated by the incredible resistance and Mariupol. And you can take a city, but can you continue to occupy it in the face of partisan warfare, which is definitely what's going to happen?

If, in fact, they can even take it.

SOARES: And I mean, they really don't really -- the Kremlin that victory would come much more easily. We're down now, what, day 57. How's Russia -- I mean, we've seen Russia sustaining pretty heavy losses, losing some of its top brass, as well as that flag ship, that missile cruiser.

Where do you think the red line is for Putin? What would make him withdraw at this point, do you think?

SATTER: Well, if he personally is threatened; if it becomes clear that he -- that the forces, both internally and externally, are not going to allow him to go on, I mean, his first instinct is personal survival. And that's why this whole war was fought, in order to ensure the power of a very small kleptocratic group in Moscow, which is happy to waste the lives of innocent Russian soldiers, many of whom don't understand why they're fighting, in order to attack a country that has nothing -- that is not their enemy.

So I think that the combination, and if -- if the West can gather its -- its resources to cut off oil and gas purchases, which of course, may have consequences economically for the West and sustain the Ukrainian military resistance. The Russian invasion will be broken.

But it has to be a concerted and determined effort, and it has to have both economic and military components. We have -- and we have to go all the way. That means no money goes to Russia for oil and gas, at all.

SOARES: And that's what we've been waiting to see if it happens. That hasn't happened so far. We shall keep an eye on what happens in the next few weeks.

What is true, like you said, David, is the situation is just -- it's incredible to watch what is happening here, especially as we just heard in the last few hours or so, about those harrowing details of mass graves uncovered just outside of Mariupol.

David Satter in Washington, I appreciate you taking your time to speak to us. Thanks, David.

And I'll be back with more from Lviv in the next hour, but first let's go back to Michael Holmes in Atlanta -- Michael.

HOLMES: All right, Isa. We'll see you next hour. Thanks for that.

Now, polls suggesting a tight race in Sunday's runoff presidential election in France. Coming up next, how Russia and Ukraine took the political spotlight just days before voters head to the poll.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:16:30]

HOLMES: Welcome back.

The two French presidential candidates are about to make their final pitches to voters ahead of Sunday's runoff. President Emmanuel Macron will hold his last campaign rally a few hours from now.

In a speech to voters near Paris on Thursday, he warned against normalizing far-right ideology in France. His far-right opponent, Marine Le Pen, will hit the campaign trail in northern France. Friday's the last day of campaigning before voters head to the polls. The contest, a rematch of the presidential runoff in 2017 when Mr. Macron easily beat Le Pen. But this time around, polls suggest a much closer race, even though the president still holds a small lead.

Now, the last round of campaigning comes after Mr. Macron and Marine Le Pen traded barbs in a TV debate on Wednesday. As Melissa Bell reports that debate brought Russia and Ukraine to the forefront of the presidential contest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Two candidates, two visions for France, two possible outcomes for Ukraine. With Russia taking center stage in France's presidential race.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): You depend on Russian power. You depend on Mr. Putin.

MARINE LE PEN, FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): I am an absolutely and totally free woman.

BELL: As one of the few Western leaders with a line open to both Moscow and Kyiv. Macron led efforts to avoid the war, missing the start of the campaign back home, and leading to accusations that he was disconnected from the concerns of ordinary French voters.

His rival, the far-right Marine Le Pen, may have got a head start on the stump, but the war also cast her campaign in a different light. An early flyer reminded voters of her 2017 visit to the Kremlin where she called for an end to sanctions imposed against Russia after it annexed Crimea.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: They annexed Crimea. It was part of Ukraine.

LE PEN (through translator): They annexed Crimea. Crimea was Russian. It has always been Russian.

BELL: At the time, Ukraine had threatened to ban her from its soil. On Wednesday, President Zelenskyy seemed to offer an olive branch.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): If that candidate for the presidency will realize that she was wrong, then it will be a different issue.

BELL: Russia's jailed opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, also weighing in to France's election on Wednesday, urging the French to back Macron, tweeting about the bank from which Marine Le Pen party took a nearly $10 million loan in 2014, saying it's a well-known money- laundering agency created at the instigation of Putin.

Hours after Navalny's tweet, the candidates sat down for their first and only debate this election cycle.

MACRON (through translator): When you talk about Russia, you're not talking to other world leaders. You're talking to your banker. That's the problem, Madam Le Pen. BELL: Marine Le Pen insists the loan was strictly a financial

arrangement that her party is reimbursing in full. And the war has changed some of her positions. She now backs some sanctions, although she's wary about sanctions on energy.

LE PEN (through translator): To pretend that the French or other European peoples could absorb the consequences of a total cut-off of Russian gas, oil or raw materials is simply irresponsible.

BELL: France, though, has gone much further than just sanctions, sending 100 million euros worth of weaponry to Kyiv. Something Le Pen says she would be prudent about.

[00:20:09]

She also announced last week that after the war, she would seek a strategic rapprochement between NATO and Russia.

Like so often in this campaign, the war found its way into her press conference.

(on camera): Le Pen also wants France to leave NATO's integrated command and to transform Europe into a much looser alliance of sovereign nations.

Given the importance of the unity of both these last few months, the war may have intruded on the campaign, but this is also a campaign that could have a profound effect on the war.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And joining me now from Paris, CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas.

Always good to see you, Dominic. It may be early for you, so I appreciate you getting up.

Many are saying that, you know, while Macron won this debate, Le Pen performed much better than expected. Would you agree with that? And if so, how does better than expected help her campaign? Were any needles moved?

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes. So I think it's -- obviously, it's sort of a strange way of going about characterizing, you know, this debate.

What was so important about it is that the incumbent, Emmanuel Macron, well aware of the fact that this debate would be a referendum on his presidency, refused to debate in the first round. And so therefore, all attention was on what would happen here.

I think the advantage for -- for Macron in this situation, although he was, of course, under great scrutiny, was the fact that he got to talk about his experience as a president and to defend himself against all the attacks that were hurled at him during the particular debate.

Because the big struggle for Marine Le Pen in the three times that she has run for the presidency has been to convince the electorate that she is, in fact, capable of assuming the presidency and to overcome her low favorability ratings.

So she appealed a lot to -- to people's fears, anxieties and disillusionment. And Macron was able to turn that around, to actually underscore the fact that it is really her that people need to be afraid of as they -- as they move forward.

HOLMES: Yes.

THOMAS: And he was able to -- to step out and to appeal to the Greens. But at the end of the day, to go back to the heart of your question, I don't think it really moved the needle in any particular direction. If anything, it was to Macron's advantage, because it perhaps helped reassure some of those voters that were skeptical about voting for him in another runoff stage; that compared to Marine Le Pen, he is the only alternative.

HOLMES: And to your point, I mean, it does seem that a lot of voters don't want a far-right candidate, but they don't like Macron's performance or policies either.

Is it fair to say Macron's biggest challenge is -- is getting those people who fear the far right or voted for the far left to bother voting at all?

THOMAS: Yes. It's a huge risk, you know. And it's interesting to think in the last 20 years, not a single president incumbent has won, even since they changed it to a five-year term.

And the big lesson is really going back to 2002, when these major shifts occurred in mainstream parties. Because 28 percent of people in 2002 did not vote in the first round.

And Marine Le Pen's father then ended up going into that runoff stage. And really, since that moment, there's been a kind of a decline of mainstream parties to the extent that in this last election, together the main parties of the right and left only scored under 7 percent of the votes.

I think where the frustration comes from around Macron is also around the system. You remember when we covered the German elections when Scholz came out with over 70 percent not voting for him, the big difference, because the same numbers applied to Macron in the French election, is that the German system is a coalitional representative system. This is a winner takes all system.

And voters are frustrated that for the first time five elections, the runoff stage has delivered a Le Pen candidate. And as much as they are used to voting against candidates in the runoff stage rather than really for them, to have a Le Pen on the menu again is frustrating.

HOLMES: Right. THOMAS: And also, Le Pen has been exploiting this throughout the process, is trying to put a downward pressure on votes, knowing that she does better out of abstentions and people sort of staying home on that day. And that's really been the danger in the story of the Trump election with Hillary Clinton, and the Brexit vote, as well, Michael.

HOLMES: Right, right, right.

And outside of France's borders, Le Pen's policy, of course, was once to leave the European Union. She has changed that policy. But what would a Le Pen victory mean for the European Union, the European experiment? Are E.U. leaders nervous?

THOMAS: And they have every reason to be, Michael. Le Pen it's basically another Orban. She's an illiberalist. Her allies during her 13-year presence at the European Parliament as an elected member were the far-right from Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and so on. So she has a track record there.

[00:25:15]

And as much as she wants to claim that he moved away from that, I think the situation in Ukraine has underscored the fact that going it alone, not being a member of NATO, not being a member of the European Union, is a real problem.

And when you look at her nationalist, protectionist policies, these are exactly the kinds of things that would weaken the European Union that is able to stand up in a whole range of policy questions by being bigger than its national autonomous entities when it stands up to United States, to Russia and to China.

And to that extent, her policies around immigration control, border control, privileging French products and so on, all of these would undermine the European Union and the multilateral order.

HOLMES: Always great to get your analysis, Dominic. Dominic Thomas there in Pars. Appreciate it.

THOMAS: Thank you.

HOLMES: And do join us Sunday, 8 p.m. Paris time, 2 p.m. Eastern Time in the U.S., for our special live coverage of the French elections right here on CNN.

Up next, one man's brave mission to save those who so desperately want to escape. Do stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:44]

HOLMES: Welcome back.

U.S. President Joe Biden says another $800 million package of U.S. military hardware is heading to Ukraine as quickly as possible. He also announced an additional $500 million to support the Ukrainian government.

Now those weapons shipments include Howitzer cannons, 144,000 artillery rounds, and a type of attack drone the Pentagon tailored to Ukraine's specific needs.

The president invoked Teddy Roosevelt as he suggested the U.S. and its allies are doing more than they let on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We won't always be able to advertise everything we -- that our partners are doing to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom, but to modernize Teddy Roosevelt's famous advice, sometimes we will speak softly and carry a large Javelin, because we're sending a lot of those in, as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The president also said Russian-flagged or Russian-owned ships would be barred from U.S. ports. U.S. airspace already, of course, closed to Russian aircraft.

Well, many have been forced to flee as Russia intensifies its campaign in Eastern Ukraine. For those desperate to escape, it is almost impossible to avoid coming under fire of some sort.

But one brave Ukrainian is willing to face that danger and risk his life to help them evacuate. More now from CNN's Clarissa Ward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a road few are willing to take anymore, but every day volunteer Alexander Prokhapenko (ph) makes the dangerous drive towards Russian forces in his home town of Popasna to rescue fellow residents from the heavy fighting.

"They shell everything," he tells us, "school buses, the Red Cross, anything that moves."

(on camera): So why do you do this work?

(voice-over): "I love my town, and I can't leave it," he says. "I can't leave the people here. Somebody needs to help people."

He's hoping the rain provide some letup in the relentless artillery. "It's better for us, but it's worse for the road," he says. "You can't see the potholes and the shrapnel from the shells."

He arrives at the village of Komyshuvakha, on the outskirts of Popasna. In the last few days, it has come under heavy shelling.

Anatoly (ph) is now being evacuated with his son Vladimir (ph). A neighbor shouts at us to show what the Russians have done.

Those who stay here are now completely cut off from basic services. (on camera): So there's no electricity here, no water at all, and you

can see they're actually collecting rainwater.

(voice-over): It's time for Anatoly (ph) and Vladimir (ph) to go. Their entire life now packed into the trunk of Alexander's (ph) car.

Leaving the village, we spot a house destroyed by shelling. As we get out to take a closer look, a tearful Galina Nikoliana (ph) emerges. She tells us it happened two days earlier.

"The first hit was at 5:50, and then there was a second hit," she says. "And that hit my garage."

She takes us around what remains of her home. Steady thuds of artillery can still be heard.

(on camera): The roof is completely destroyed.

(voice-over): "This is where the first shell hit," she says. Galina had just woken up and was lying in her bed when it happened.

"We have nothing left," she says.

In the living room, she takes down the drapes that were hung to hide any light.

"This is how we tried to mask ourselves," she tells us. "There's no need for them anymore."

Galina and her husband still don't want to leave their home, but she understands that Russia's offensive here has only just begun, and it's going to get much worse.

"I lived until 60, and now I have lost everything," she says. "Honestly, I have no words."

[00:35:10]

For those like Anatoly (ph) and Vladimir (ph) who do leave, there are few good options. Alexander (ph) takes them to a dormitory in the nearby town of Bakhmut. They can stay five days for free. After that, it's up to them.

In the next-door bed, another couple rescued by Alexander (ph) tell us there is nothing left of their home. But they don't blame President Putin.

"Thank you, America," she says. "It's a horror. It's a nightmare."

(on camera): So it's interesting. She's saying that she thinks that Russia actually wanted to negotiate here, and she blames America, primarily, for this war.

"Putin wants to find a peaceful solution," her husband tells us.

"Please don't tell this bullshit to the whole world," Alexander (ph) says.

It's not an uncommon view in these parts of Eastern Ukraine, making the situation here all the more complex.

Alexander (ph) says he evacuates anyone, whatever their political views. He knows there are still so many out there who need his help.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Bakhmut, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Putting names and faces to the victims of this war.

Quick break here. When we come back on CNN NEWSROOM, the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, is overseas on a trade trip to India, but is it enough to distract from a new investigation over Partygate? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:40:50]

HOLMES: Welcome back. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face a third investigation into the so-called Partygate scandal. The probe will determine if Mr. Johnson knowingly misled Parliament when he denied any rules were broken at Downing Street.

The scandal concerns a party held in June of 2020 at the prime minister's residence when public health restrictions prohibited most gatherings.

Mr. Johnson was fined by Metropolitan Police for attending the gathering. And numerous fines have been issued for a number of events that took place at Downing Street during national restrictions.

Now, this is all happening as Mr. Johnson is scheduled to meet with the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, in the coming hours. Mr. Johnson on a trip to India that Downing Street says will seal two-way investment deals worth more than a billion U.S. dollars.

For more on all of this, I'm joined now by CNN's Vedika Sud in New Delhi. So Vedika, fill us in on what's been happening so far on this trip, and what we can expect from the meeting between two leaders?

The U.K. prime minister, while he faces that scandal back home in his country, he faces another controversy here in India. Already, Michael, yesterday, which is Thursday, Boris Johnson visited a heavy equipment factory in Gujarat, the Western city of Gujarat here in India, known for its bulldozers, owned by a British firm, wherein he did actually go in and mount one of those bulldozers.

And that has led to massive controversy here in India. Put into context why this happened, very recently, on Wednesday, in the capital New Delhi, where a predominantly Muslim neighborhood, some bulldozers coming in after a communal riot in that area on Saturday and actually demolishing some of the properties owned by the Muslims in the area. Muslims we have spoken to have claimed that this is essentially to

target them. They are a minority community here in India.

So when Boris Johnson actually went into one of those bulldozers and started driving it, Amnesty International came out with a tweet, slamming him for his actions, calling it ignorant and pressing for the U.K. prime minister to talk but human rights issues here in India while he talked to Prime Minister Modi. All eyes will be on that meeting.

You've already spoken about the trade deals that the two are looking at.

Boris Johnson has also come out and said that they're looking at another free trade agreement by autumn. That is what they will be focusing on along with security ties, as well as Ukraine.

Now, when he was pressed on the issue of Ukraine and India's stand, Boris Johnson had said that India's already taken a strong stand in on the brutal incident in Ukraine.

But of course, he will be talking about India's very neutral stand on Ukraine, which has been criticized by the West over the last few weeks. So all eyes will be on those talks today between Johnson and Modi.

HOLMES: All right, and we'll be checking with you to see how they go. Vedika Sud in New Delhi, thanks so much.

SUD: Yes.

HOLMES: Frustrations boiling over as residents of Shanghai have been on lockdown for weeks now, thanks to China's zero-COVID policy. It is taking a massive toll on residents and expats with no clear end on when the lockdown will be lifted.

The government reported 11 more deaths on Thursday. David Culver with the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Test positive for COVID-19 in Shanghai, and Chinese officials want you out of your home and sent to a government quarantine facility, assuming there's space.

JOSH VAUGHN, AMERICAN LIVING IN CHINA: There's nowhere for them to send me. I am not allowed to go in the hospital, and I have to stay here.

CULVER: American Josh Vaughn taken in early April to a pop-up tent outside a Shanghai hospital.

VAUGHN: This is supposed to be like a nice hospital. And this is where I'm sleeping tonight. CULVER: China's zero-COVID policy requires every positive case and

close contact to be isolated. In a city inundated with an Omicron- fueled surge that began in early March, there's been a scramble to build makeshift isolation centers.

The government evicting some residents from their homes so their apartments can be turned into quarantine facilities.

People living in mainland China's most international city frustrated by the city's admittedly mangled and chaotic execution of a harsh lockdown and mass quarantine efforts.

For expats, it's even more difficult.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was positive about 12 days ago. There's no way I'm still positive.

CULVER: This recording, widely circulated on Chinese social media, appearing to capture the agitation one German resident experienced with a Shanghai local official, who called to apparently take him to quarantine for a second time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been in the camp already. They didn't want me. They sent me back home. It's ridiculous. It's a disgrace for you --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- for the government, for Shanghai, for China. It's a really big joke. So get the CDC to come here to take a test. I'll be negative, and then we can talk.

CULVER: Others, left in COVID limbo.

GABRIELE, SHANGHAI RESIDENT: The only way I can open my door is that I need to call my community and tell them I need to receive food. Because actually, there's no other way I can get food from outside.

CULVER: Gabriele, who asked we only use his first name, fearing repercussions, spoke to us from his sealed apartment. He says officials told him his results were abnormal, never confirming he actually had COVID. Still, they've kept him inside for days, a COVID guard posted to keep him from leaving.

GABRIELE: It feels like they don't know what to do with foreigners. Or like their system doesn't really work with foreigners.

CULVER: China's gateway to the world, Shanghai, was widely viewed as a foreign-friendly metropolis. Hundreds of global companies have a significant footprint here, and even now, the financial hub trying to promote itself as a leading destination for foreign talent.

But after nearly a month of harsh lockdown measures and more than two years of relentless border controls, more and more foreign nationals are desperate to get out.

GABRIELE: This city really lost its shine, I would say. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) COVID. Especially for us international people, it feels like a completely different city. It's like we're going backwards in time, basically.

CULVER: In online chat groups, we found dozens of other expats now trying to leave, one person writing, "China used to really have it all. It's just not the expat-friendly place it used to be."

And this person saying, "The first four and a half years were just incredible. Shanghai just isn't the same anymore."

But some, like Josh Vaughn, eager to hang on. He's got too much invested in his company.

VAUGHN: I've worked so hard on this. I've put everything I have preparing myself for this season. And it's almost like a make us or break us moment.

CULVER: With each passing day, the impact of this lockdown is reshaping Shanghai's future, leaving locals increasingly frustrated and fatigued and expats preparing their exit.

David Culver, CNN, Shanghai.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: The mass exodus of Ukrainians into Poland has slowed, and in fact, might be turning around. Coming up, why a growing number of Ukrainians are returning home, despite the threat from Russia.

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[00:52:30]

HOLMES: Now, beyond the human cost of Russia's war on Ukraine, the monetary cost is also adding up. The president of the World Bank on Thursday put the current price tag at $60 billion. That's the estimated cost of damage to Ukraine's buildings and infrastructure. Ukraine's president broke down his country's economic needs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): At this time, we need up to 7 billion U.S. dollars each month to make up for the economic losses. We will need hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild all of this later.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: A growing number of refugees in Eastern Europe are returning to Ukraine, despite the threat posed by Russia. More than 5 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia's full-fledged invasion began two months ago.

But the mass exodus of Ukrainians into Poland has slowed. Scott McLean reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over) In the

early days of war, trains leaving Ukraine were standing remotely, packed with terrified women and children. Trains going the other way were virtually empty.

As the bombs fell and the tanks rolled, millions desperately tried to get out, most to Poland.

Almost two months later, there are now days when more people go back into Ukraine from Poland than come out.

(on camera): Do you think that the mass exodus is over?

PIOTR ZAKIELARZ, SPOKESPERSON, POLISH REGION'S BORDER GUARDS: No, we can never say that. We cannot -- it's hard to predict, actually, the direction of the -- of the crisis.

MCLEAN: In Przemysl, the first stop in Poland for many Ukrainians traveling by train, the mayor was once overwhelmed by the number of refugees showing up every day. Not anymore.

WOJCIECH BAKUN, MAYOR OF PRZEMYSL, POLAND: It looks better. We're better organized, as well, after two months of experience. And we're happy. We are so happy that the situation in Ukraine looks better at this moment.

MCLEAN: Inside the station, Natalia Belchik and her family are heading back to their hometown in south Ukraine, about 50 miles from the contested city of Mykolaiv.

NATALIA BELCHIK, FLED FROM SOUTHERN UKRAINE (through translator): In our town, we had about seven or eight people killed at a military unit when it was bombed. My child was so scared.

MCLEAN: They fled to a small town in northern Germany, where the government put them up in a nice hotel. but they say they had little help beyond that.

BELCHIK (through translator): We didn't know what to do. Nobody helped us to find jobs. Well, we were told we needed to speak German.

[00:55:07]

MCLEAN (ono camera): You're willing to take a small risk to get your life back?

BELCHIK (through translator): Yes, we want to go back. After all, home is home.

MCLEAN: Down the hall, Natalia Vyhivska fled Kyiv just days into the war. While she stayed with friends in Germany, her neighborhood withstood Russian shelling. Now that the Russians have retreated, she's going back.

NATALIA VYHIVSKA, FLED FROM KYIV: It's a bit scary, but I've been looking forward to seeing my husband. I never thought this would last a long time. I thought it would be for a week or two, I don't want to start a new life in Germany without my husband.

MCLEAN: At the border, the lineup to get into Ukraine stretches for five miles. And at the Polish side of the pedestrian crossing, there are more volunteers than refugees.

Oksana Deresh is going back to see her parents in Lviv.

OKSANA DERESH, FLED FROM LVIV: But actually for Easter, I want to meet my parents. I miss them very, very much.

Scott McLean, CNN, Przemysl, Poland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I will be back with more news after the break.

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