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Ukrainian Officials: Heavy Fighting in Donetsk, Luhansk; Suspected Mass Graves Discovered Near Mariupol; A Bombed-Out Theater Provides Shelter, Little Else; French Presidential Candidates to Hold Rallies Ahead of Sunday's Vote; U.K.'s Boris Johnson in India to Discuss Security, Trade. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired April 22, 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]
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Isa Soares live in Lviv, Ukraine, and just ahead.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If someone wants a new annexation, it can only lead to a new powerful sanctions strike on Russia. It is better to seek peace now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Ukraine's president is calling for peace as Russia attacks the east and the south, including Mariupol, where defenders are still holding out in massive steel plant.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster in London with another big story we're following. Sunday's presidential runoff in France, where President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are making their final pitches to voters.
SOARES: Welcome to the show, everyone. It's now 11:00 a.m. here in Ukraine. And we are receiving fresh reports of heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine this morning. Now, an adviser to the Ukrainian president's offices says 42 settlements in the Donetsk region fell to Russian forces over the past 24 hours. This situation is made even worse by the fact Ukraine says no evacuation corridors for civilians could be agreed upon on Friday.
New allegations, meanwhile, of Russian atrocities are also coming to light. Ukrainian officials say the grim discovery of suspected mass graves near Mariupol is yet more evidence of Russian war crimes. Satellite images -- you're looking at that right now on your screen -- indicate about 200 new graves were recently added. An unknown number of Ukrainian civilians as well as soldiers are still holding out in Mariupol's Azovstal steel factory. And they are reported to be critically low on water as well as food. And Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a blockade that even, quote, a fly can't get through. Mariupol's mayor says the Russians have made evacuations from the site too dangerous. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VADYM BOYCHENKO, MARIUPOL, UKRAINE MAYOR (through translator): Unfortunately, right now, there is no possibility to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal plant, because we ask for a stable cease- fire for at least 24 hours so we can notify residents that are sheltering there for almost 57 days. The civilians are sheltering there now, and they are constantly bombarded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Constantly bombarded, were his words. While the U.S. military believes that Russia now has 85 battalion tactical groups inside Ukraine, with three more units added over the past 24 hours. Ukraine's president says his forces won't be deterred by the Russian buildup.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENSKYY (through translator): They are accumulating forces, driving new battalion tactical groups to our land. They are even trying to start the so-called mobilization in the occupied regions of Ukraine. None of these steps will help Russia in the war against our state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden says another shipment of U.S. military hardware is heading to Ukraine, as quickly as possible. Mr. Biden said he'll soon ask Congress for more, a fact House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also addressed while meeting with the Ukrainian Prime Minister. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We won't always be able to advertise everything that our partners are doing to support Ukraine and 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)
SOARES: Well, in that same press conference, President Biden also announced that Russian ships have been barred from entering U.S. ports. U.S. air space is already closed to Russian aircraft.
Well, constant bombardment has been a way of life for many left in Ukraine's battered cities. Russian and Ukrainian forces battle for control, while civilians find themselves in the middle, just huddling for safety. Ben Wedeman takes us to the basement of a bombed-out theater, where people are g finding shelter and little else.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And it begins again. Hell, rains down. [04:05:00]
A dozen people are hiding in the basement of a bombed-out theater in the town of Rubizhne.
Let it stop, oh, lord, he says. Now there's incoming.
A white flag hangs outside to no effect. The theater above has been bombed and bombed again and again. Yet they stay. Too poor, too old, too frightened to flee. Nina, 89 years old, has been here for five weeks. I want to go home, she says. I've suffered too much. I've seen the fire and the smoke. I've seen it all. I'm scared. Nina's plea, simple. Help us. Help us.
Her daughter Ludmilla struggles to comfort her. We're praying to God to stop it, she says, to hear us. Ina says, I have nowhere to go. I have no friends, no relatives.
With the shelling intensifying, volunteers are finding it hard to deliver food. As Russian and Ukrainian forces fight for control of Rubizhne, there are people down there praying, as hell rains down.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Rubizhne, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Can't stop thinking about 89-year-old Nina, what her life has come to. 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 Ukrainian POWs, specifically, those in the Luhansk region, which is bearing the brunt of Russia's renewed attacks. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What can I tell you, dammit. You keep the most senior among them and let the rest go forever. Let them go forever, dammit, so that no one will ever see them again, including relatives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, CNN can't verify the authenticity of the recording, Ukraine says previous intercepted communications reveal Russia's plan to level everything to the ground at a steel plant in Mariupol, where soldiers, of course, and civilians have been telling you are hold up.
Joining me now from here in Lviv Julia Mendel, is a former press secretary for president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And Julia, thank you very much for joining us this hour. Let me start off by asking about this discovery that we've seen and these mass graves in Manush. What do you know?
JULIA MENDEL, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY FOR VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: Well, thank you for having me. Actually, Ukrainian authorities were pretty sound about the fact that we were afraid to reveal what was going on and what is going on right now in the territories that are being attacked and that are under occupation of Russia. In fact, we know that the mass grave is of the length around 300 meters. And this is a very, very long grave. And we cannot even imagine how many bodies can be found there.
We know, definitely, that from the previous experience, it is some of the bodies are very difficult to identify, that many people try to appeal to say that they lost their relatives and their beloved ones. So, right now, the major thing that Ukrainian authorities want to show is just the fact, how cruel the war crimes of Russia are in Ukraine.
And in fact, this is not just about war crime. This is about mass atrocities. This is about massacre, and this is about the genocide. And we are very glad that many leaders of the world already see this, including Joe Biden, the President of the United States, who are supportive about the fact that this is really this is really the side of hatred from Russians toward Ukrainian identity and Ukrainian people.
SOARES: And Julia, as you and I are talking and looking at these satellite images of these mass graves, any sense on your side of how many lives have been lost here?
MENDEL: We know that the U.N. was billing there number of actually found just deaths in Ukraine. But we know that the U.N. produces the number that is only by person by person. And we believe that it is not even close to truth. We believe this is about tens of thousands of lost lives already.
[04:10:00]
Because the cities that are being bombarded by Russia, they are homes to hundreds of thousands. So, for like for instance, Mariupol, it used to be a home for 400,000 people. Right now, we know that our service men still are fighting there and there are civilians still there. And Ukrainian authorities was trying to provide them the ammunition, the weaponry, food, and water. We know now that it was provided through the helicopters but we still know that, you know, they are on the verge of all capacities, and of course, we all pray and we believe that they will stand to the very end. We all pray that they will stay alive.
I don't know if you've heard that, but it was a very important step from Ukraine. Two advisors, two politicians, top advisers to the head of presidential office and the head of presidential faction all pledged to go to Mariupol, to negotiate with Russia, the opportunity for the people there, that was like huge start, because they wanted to put the eyes to help people go out from Mariupol.
SOARES: But on that point, though, Julia, I had -- we had confirmed that two Ukrainian officials were prepared to travel, to negotiate. Did they ever travel? Did the Russian side agree to meet with them? Any clarification on that?
MENDEL: Well, that's exactly what I mentioned, that these two people offered Russians negotiate in Mariupol. But up to now, we see that Russia is not open to any kind of negotiations and they declined any kind of further talks.
SOARES: And what we have heard, as well, Julia, in the last hour or so, is that there's no humanitarian corridor, no evacuation today, and that's just really heartbreaking news, given how dire the situation is on the ground. It's a city on the brink. When -- I mean, what were you expecting Ukrainian forces to be able to do? How long can they repel these Russian forces here?
MENDEL: Well, I definitely do not know how much time that is surrounded can survive there. But Ukrainian authorities are doing everything to help them manage there. Definitely, they already crossed all believable and unbelievable, imagery, and un-imagery headlines of standing there. They said that they will stand to the very end.
There is another region that needs evacuation heavily, and it's the Kherson region. It's under occupation, and Russians are trying to make another pseudo-referendum. This is a fake referendum. People are not going to go there. It doesn't matter how many people come usually the Russians have around 80 to 90 percent of support, which is just absolutely a fake number. And Russia just defies, providing making some kind of a great territory they call People's Republic.
So, right now we know that people from Kherson are allowed to leave. There is, of course, shelling. -- and to mobilize our people there and to put them actually between Ukrainian army and Russian army, so that Ukrainian army cannot shell, just because they are seeing Ukrainian people, civilians, moving in front of Russian army. This is very scary and this is what Russia is preparing for the next month, for the beginning of the month.
SOARES: Julia Mendel, thank you very much for taking your time to speak to us. Julia, appreciate it.
Well, early on Thursday, a convoy of vehicles arrived in the city of Zaporizhzhia, carrying just 79 people from the battered city of what we were just discussing of Julia or Mariupol and the surrounding towns that have been under Russian control. And they may look relieved to be out of that war zone, and I'm sure they are, but ages no doubt, about what comes next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLENA ZAMYSLOVA, EVACUEE FROM MARIUPOL (through translator): Ukrainian soldiers visited us. They began to calm us down. And they were helping in different ways. They even went searching for my cat during the night when there was shelling. They helped me a lot. I've left the place with little of what I had.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, the U.N. refugee agency says that nearly 8 million people are displaced within Ukraine. Another 5 million have already left the country.
And if you would like to safely and securely help people in Ukraine who may be in need of shelter as well as food and water, please go to CNN.com/impact. There you will find several ways that you can help.
Still to come right here on the show, candidates are about to hit the campaign trail for the final time ahead of Sunday's presidential runoff in France.
[04:15:00]
Next, we go live to Paris before President Macron and Marine Le Pen make their final pitches to voters. That is next. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
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FOSTER: We are following a developing story out of the Middle East for you. New clashes have broken out between Israeli police and Palestinians at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem. Palestinian medics report 27 people have been wounded, 11 taken to hospital. A tree on the compound caught fire, giving off plumes of smoke. The site known to Jews as the Temple Mount has been a violent flash point over the past few weeks.
The two candidates are about to begin their final sprint in a rematch of the French presidential runoff from five years ago. President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen will hold their final campaign rallies in the coming hours.
[04:20:00]
After that, the campaigning will end, before the voters head to the polls on Sunday. Mr. Macron easily beat Le Pen in 2017, but this time around, polls are suggesting the race is closer. For more we go to Jim Bittermann joining us from Paris. The race is suddenly closer according to the polls, but Macron is still ahead, and did pretty well in that debate, didn't he?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly right, Max. And I think that after the debate, I think viewers were polled and they were -- they were shown to be very much in favor of Mr. Macron. They believed they had more confidence in him, according to the polls that were taken right away after the debate.
But it still remains to be seen. And the recent poll is one poll out this morning, not particularly a poll that we have a great deal of faith in, but it does show that the race has gotten a lot closer in the last 24 hours. Of course, the only poll that really counts is the one that's coming on Sunday night.
And as you mentioned, both candidates are out there for their final day of campaigning. Macron was down in the southwest part of France and Marine Le Pen is northwest of Paris. The two of them have until midnight tonight to campaign and their campaign workers have until that time to work and keep things going. And then after midnight, there comes the day of silence, as it's called, or the day of reflection. Basically, the candidates cannot campaign anymore and they can't even update their websites. Everything remains as it is at the end of the day today, until Sunday when the voters go to the polls. So, as it looks right now, it does look like Macron is ahead. The real
question mark is what happens in terms of abstentions. And one of the things the polls have agreed on is that the abstention rate is going to be quite high in this race, in this voting that take place on Sunday, perhaps as high as one out of every four French voters would stay at home. That would be the highest ever in terms of a French presidential contest.
And it could have a direct bearing on who gets to become president of France. It could be that the, you know, people that are Macron supporters, for example, are disillusioned with his performance the last five years. It could be that the Marine Le Pen supporters are disappointed at the way that the campaign has gone. Or it could just be people that are not happy with the idea that they have basically a choice between a center candidate and a center-right candidate -- Max.
FOSTER: Yes, a turnout is going to be a crucial element, isn't it? We'll get a sense of that on Sunday. So, we'll get back with you then, Jim. Thanks for joining us live from Paris.
Be sure to join us on Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Paris time, that's 2:00 p.m. Eastern in the U.S., for special live coverage of the French election right here on CNN.
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 on June of 2020 at the Prime Minister's residence, when public health restrictions prohibited most gatherings. Mr. Johnson was fine 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.
Boris Johnson and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have just wrapped up their meeting and have a new defense agreement to show for their efforts, as well. The British Prime Minister is on a two-day trip to India. That, Downing Street says will seal two-way investment deals worth more than a billion U.S. dollars. Mr. Johnson commented on the closeness of the two countries with a reference to the war on Ukraine.
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BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: What we're doing is taking forward an ambitious, ten-year road map for British/Indian relations that we agreed last year. It was great to see you at the G-7, but since then, the threats of autocratic coercion have grown even further.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: For more on this, I'm joined by CNN's Vedika Sud in New Delhi. Obviously, all eyes were on this actually, weren't they? Because there's been criticism from Europe that Narendra Modi hasn't criticized Russia over the war in Ukraine publicly. Boris Johnson obviously has very publicly, and that was a difficult moment to sort of navigate during this press conference.
VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, Max. But both of them did talk about Ukraine, while Narendra Modi spoke about how India has emphasized in the past and is still emphasizing of the need to cease the violence in Ukraine and get the two countries to talk through diplomatic channels. Like you just spoke about, Boris Johnson, Ukraine's Prime Minister talking about Ukraine and the Russian situation where he even referred to Russia as an autocratic state and went on to talked about how there is a need for countries to come together at this point.
There has been pressure for over the last few weeks for India to take a stand, other than a neutral stand on the conflict in Ukraine.
[04:25:00]
But yesterday, the Prime Minister of U.K. even came forward during a press interaction and spoke about how he understands India's situation and how India in the recent past has taken a strong stand on the Bucha violence that took place in Ukraine. So, he has come out and also acknowledged that India has taken the strongest stand, perhaps, possible, in the coming weeks. We don't see India really coming out with a stronger statement than they have. That's been the strongest they've said and condemning the violence in Bucha.
But the biggest takeaway, rather, from this entire talk between the two delegations headed by the Prime Ministers of U.K. and India would be the free trade agreement. Now, both leaders during the press interaction today or rather, the press statements have come forward and said, we do see us tying up the FTA, the Free Trade Agreement, by the end of this year, which would be a boost to their ties. So, that's the biggest takeaway.
Negotiations have been on since the beginning of this year and Johnson has come forward to say, by the end of this year, we do us tying this up. Along with that there were talks on diplomacy. There were talks on security. There were talks on trade, of course, as well as Ukraine.
But while he faces a scandal back in the U.K., there was a controversy here, as well, in India, in the western state of Gujarat, which is Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. Where Prime Minister Johnson on Thursday could be seen jumping a top one of the escalators there, which also was used recently in a demolition drive in Delhi against the whole Muslim community, which has become one of the top headlines in India. This was condemned by Amnesty International, which called the U.K. Prime Minister ignorant and asked him to talk about the human rights violations in India, with the Prime Minister, but there was no word on that controversy from either of the leaders today during the press statements -- Max.
FOSTER: Vedika Sud live in New Delhi, thank you.
Now, a suspect has been officially declared in the infamous case of the missing British toddler -- of a missing British toddler. The unnamed man was made a suspect by German authorities at the request of Portuguese authorities, but officials say the man has not been charged yet. Madeleine McCann's case sparked an international hunt when she disappeared in 2007. And she was just 3 years old when she vanished from a holiday resort in Portugal and has never been found. In 2020, officials told CNN they believe that McCann is dead.
The threat of war lingers in Ukraine, even when the Russian military leaves. CNN shadows some Ukrainians who are digging up dangerous mines and weapons left behind. That's just ahead.
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