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Secretary Of State Blinken And Defense Secretary Austin Expected To Visit Kyiv Sunday; D.C Police Says, Suspect In Sniper- Style Shooting Is Dead; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) Testifies About Jan. 6 Attack; Meadows Was Warned Of Violence Before The Riot; SpaceX Passenger Each Paid A Reported $55 Million To Make Trip. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired April 23, 2022 - 19:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: I am Pamela Brown in Washington. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Saturday.

It is 2:00 A.M. in Kyiv, and much of Ukraine is under curfew right now out of fear that Russia will exploit the sacred Easter holiday for ramped-up attacks. Earlier today, the Ukrainian president announced an imminent visit from top-U.S. officials. He says, just hours from now, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are due to arrive in Kyiv. The White House and State Department, so far, staying quiet on those comments.

Meantime, in Kherson, lower left on your screen, we are going to show you Ukrainian officials claiming a major blow to Russian leadership. They say a strike on a Russian command post has killed at least two more Russian generals.

And then, there is this, new satellite images appear to show a second mass grave site near Mariupol. CNN cannot verify this.

Let's begin this hour in Ukraine's capital city, that's where we find CNN's Matt Rivers. He is in Kyiv. So, matt, Zelenskyy said it would be no surprise to learn top-U.S. officials would soon be visiting but, in fact, it was a surprise to many of us. And the White House is staying mum on that. What more do we know at this hour?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. There is no question this was a surprise to all the reporters in that room, Pamela. And part of the reason it was a surprise is because, generally speaking, visits like this are not announced in advance for security reasons. I mean, we have seen other leaders come here to Kyiv and, generally, those visits are talked about only after those leaders have actually left Kyiv, when video is shared and news is shared with reporters.

So, this was definitely a surprise, perhaps not what the State Department, what the Defense Department, what the White House wanted to hear, and yet, president Zelenskyy, nonetheless, publicizing that information tonight. So, we are going to be waiting to see what happens later in the day today Sunday here in Ukraine to see what that vicinity will look like between secretary of state, secretary of defense, and President Zelenskyy.

When asked why is important for world leaders to come here to Kyiv, this is what President Zelenskyy had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Why is it importantly for leaders to come to us? I will give you a pragmatic answer because they should not come here with empty hands now. We're waiting not for just presents or cakes. We are expecting specific things and specific weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: And he, specifically, said that he will bring those specific requests that he has for heavy weapons and the like directly to those top-U.S. officials. Although, he did acknowledge that the United States has ramped up delivery of those heavy weapons, in recent weeks. Something, he is very appreciative of and happy of, because, clearly, he is going to take this opportunity to press these two men in person, so that continues, Pamela.

BROWN: Yes, right, two $800 million military aid packages just in a week, the U.S. is sending over.

So, once again, Matt, we are seeing these disturbing reports coming out of the southern port city of Mariupol. What is the latest that you are learning?

RIVERS: Well, we have been watching this extremely closely, Pamela. It is one of the worst stories, frankly, in a slew of terrible stories coming out of Ukraine, where we know that evacuations have basically stalled. There are tens of thousands of civilians in Mariupol who have not opinion able to leave, come to other parts of Ukraine where they can be safe.

[19:05:02]

We know that there is constant shelling and bombardment of the remaining pocket of Ukrainian resistance, which centers on a steel complex called the Azovstal complex.

And we continue to hear calls from Ukrainian officials for Russia to respect ceasefires to allow evacuees to leave. And what he heard from Ukrainian officials today is that, one way, Russians are letting Ukrainians leave Mariupol from is through forced deportation with Ukrainian government officials saying that more than 300 residents of Mariupol were forcibly deported to a city in Eastern Russia, some 8,000 kilometers away from the city of Mariupol.

A video on Russian-state T.V. also appeared to show these hundreds of Mariupol residents being deported to Russia. So, when people are getting out of Mariupol, sometimes we believe what the Ukrainian officials are saying here, are being sent, you know, thousands of miles away from their homes, just a horrific situation.

BROWN: Yes. And there are these reports that Ukrainian civilians may be forced to join the fight for Russia. What do you know about that?

RIVERS: Yes. This is something that we've heard now, for a while, with, you know -- again, we can't independently confirm these reports, but, basically, what we have heard across multiple Ukrainian cities is that Russian forces are going through what they like to call a filtration process, where they basically take all fighting-age men, ages 18 through 60, and there are reports from the Ukrainian government that they are conscripting these men to fight in the Russian' army. So, just add that to the list of the horrific atrocities, the human rights violations, the ceasefire violations that we have documented time and again by the Russian military here in Ukraine.

And this, Pamela, don't forget as we should mention to our viewers, that there was a missile strike in the southern city of Odessa earlier today. At least eight people died. We know one of them, according to the Ukrainian government is a three-year-old baby. And that is note -- noticeable -- notable, rather, because what we have heard from Russian generals over the past couple -- past couple days is that part of their military goal here in Ukraine -- and they said this publicly for the first time -- will be to take Southern Ukraine, which puts a city like Odessa that has largely been spared some of this fighting directly in the crosshairs of the Russian military.

BROWN: All right. Matt Rivers thank you so much for that.

Let's continue this conversation. Cedric Leighton is a CNN Military Analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel. Thank you so much for joining us, Colonel.

So, we know Russia has captured small towns in Eastern Ukraine but British officials are saying -- and this is interesting -- they say Russia has not made any major gains in the last 24 hours. How important is battlefield momentum at this point?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Pamela, it is usually important. Battlefield momentum is, in essence, the lifeblood of an army, especially if it is on maneuvers and if it's doing these things. So, what the British are talking about here, you can see some little pockets right in this area, where the Russians have made a few, little gains, right around the town of Izyum. But they have not really moved forward.

We would expect by this point in time that the Russians would be on a line somewhere like this if they are coming from the northeast or you would expect some movement this way out of the Donbas region. We are seeing nothing like that. We are just seeing them in this area, a little bit around Izyum and around a few of the other little towns there, but there is nothing to indicate that there is a major movement afoot to bring them afford in a way that would indicate a massive offensive like they are telling us they are undergoing right now.

BROWN: So, right now, Ukraine is accusing Russia of moving citizens that want to evacuate and go to Western Ukraine into Russian-held territories. Why would Russia do that?

LEIGHTON: Well, there are a lot of reasons for it. So, they were doing this out of Mariupol, and this -- this is Mariupol, right here, where that Azov steel plant that Matt just talked about is, and instead of move be them westward like this, into aw ion Ukrainian territory, which is right here, they are moving them this way, into Russia itself, in some cases. You know, they are also moving them into Russian separatist-controlled areas.

So, why would they do this? They want to control the people. They want to give them an idea that what they are doing is they are no longer doing anything of their own free will. They are now completely dependent on the Russians for all their livelihood, for all their food, for all their medical care, for everything like that.

So, is this a real problem. This plays with the people's psychology on an individual level. And it is reminiscent of what was done in the past during the Soviet period, where they took people into gulags. This is supposedly not quite as bad but, psychologically, it is as damaging as it was back in those days.

BROWN: And just think of what they have already been through, and then be taken against their will into Russian territories. It is just awful.

So, as we focus more on the south and east where Russia is focused, how does all of this change the battle plan, because, as you know, from the beginning of this war to now, it looks very different?

[19:10:02]

LEIGHTON: It really does. For example, you look at the area around Kyiv right here. This is now all Ukrainian-controlled territory. That used to be Russian-controlled territory after the first-few days of the invasion. All of this was in red to indicate Russian control. That is no longer the case.

Now, when you move down into this area, right here, what we expected was to see the Russians move in here and potentially take even more of the Donbas region, which is all of this right here. They have this part. They don't have this part yet and they are working on that.

Now, where the Russians did have some success, Pamela, was right in this area, in the south. All of this area is Russian-controlled and they came up from Crimea to do this, which is annexed by Russia as well.

So, what the Russians are talking about is moving from here, toward the west, to capture Odessa, which is the third-largest city, as well as the major port. And that, if they capture this, that would be a real problem because what that does is that makes Ukraine a landlocked country and it takes away its economic lifeline. Ukraine exports a lot of its agricultural produce through here. They are the fifth largest producer of wheat in the world, among many other things.

And this port is of critical importance to both countries. If the Russians take Odessa, it means they have, in essence, sealed Ukraine's fate. It's kind of an anaconda-like constrictor-type movement. If the Ukrainians can keep Odessa, that means they have a chance of not only keeping this area of the southwestern part but basically taking back a large portion right in here.

So, that is very important for them. It also means, like you talked about earlier, with the momentum of the battlefield, if the Ukrainians can keep the momentum going, they will have a chance to do some really major, major things here and be able to preserve the integrity of their country, which is really what this is about.

BROWN: And how might this strategy Russia's focused on now, impact what the U.S. -- the kind of weapons that the U.S. would send over?

LEIGHTON: So, that is a great question. So, let's take a look at the aid the United States is providing with the latest aid package here. So, we have 72 155 millimeter howitzers and this number of rounds right there. This is a significant number. This keeps them going for at least three weeks, the tactical vehicles to tow the howitzers.

Then you have something known as the Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial System. This is very similar to the Switchblade system, at least that's what they're telling us. It's something we don't have any pictures of right now. But what it does do is it is supposed to be a kamikaze-like drone, which means that it can attack an object, a target of any type, and it's destroyed at that point but it also destroys the target. And then, of course, the all-important spare parts and field equipment. All of that becomes part of an integral piece that they are dealing with here.

And just to illustrate real quickly, this is what howitzers look like. And these weapons can be used to great effect against tanks, against anything that is really out there on the battlefield. And in the eastern part of the country, that is going to be really important.

The Switchblade drone, which is similar to the Phoenix Ghost, this is what it can do. It can hit anti-armor targets, anti-personnel effects on those targets. It cruises at about 70 miles hour, has a pretty long endurance for a tactical UAV. So, this is also critically important. And/or, by the way, it can go up to 20 miles away from its launch point. So, that is also very significant.

BROWN: A lot of information there. Colonel, thank you, as always, for helping us better understand the state of play right now in Ukraine.

Still ahead this hour, court confrontation, Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene grilled over social-media posts advocating violence against Democrats. Will all this sink her re-election bid? Our legal wiz, Elie Honig, breaks down the case.

Also ahead, COVID confusion is wearing a mask on a plane, train, or bus worth it even if you are the only one? We are going to look at the science.

Plus, space tourism and hollow doctors? I have got sci-fi stuff to discuss with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, coming up. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll b be right back.

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[19:15:00]

BROWN: Washington, D.C. police say the man suspected of opening fire on a city street, wounding four people, is dead. It is believed he took his own life, as police breached the apartment where he was found.

CNN's Polo Sandoval has more.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, surely, there's a sense of normalcy that's been restored in this northwest Washington, D.C. community. That being said though, there are many members of this community that are still trying to come to terms and understand exactly what happened Friday. Imagine that a gunman several stories up basically opens fire up on the sidewalk below, taking aim at people randomly.

Well, that's exactly how investigators described what took place here on Friday. The police chief saying that, as investigators were closing in on who they believe to be the suspect, that individual took his own life. Inside that apartment, though, investigators saying that they located a sniper-type setup with a tripod, six firearms, including several rifles and at least pistol, and also a large quantity of ammunition.

Investigators believe that the intent of this individual was to kill members of the community. Unfortunately, there were just three who were people shot, all three of them, though, are said to be doing okay and expected to recover. A fourth individual was grazed by a bullet. So, that's certainly good news to report here.

But, look, in terms of what people experienced here Friday afternoon, I want you to hear from an 8th grader at a nearby school that describes what it was like one moment, preparing for an exam, and then having to to seek shelter the next minute.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY CALFUS, STUDENT: Hearing the shots for the first time and not knowing what to make of it, seeing students screaming, yelling, and maybe they're overreacting, there are just chairs that fell over, and then being like, wow, like this is the real thing. And, most importantly, just cowering in the bathroom, just praying, literally just thinking about my life, and just thinking about, like, I don't know, like, how stupid it all is. I was worried about a math test five minutes earlier that I had just taken.

[19:20:03]

Honestly, that's really what I thought about when I was in there, is like how insignificant all this is compared to that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And, again, as police try to piece together a motive here, we did hear from the police chief late last night who said that, based on a preliminary review of the records, they did not see any contact with the suspect in the past.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, Washington.

BROWN: As the Justice Department moves to try and reinstate the nationwide mask mandate for travelers, many airlines and transportation services are making face coverings optional. And this raises the question. If everyone around you has their face exposed, will a mask still protect you from COVID-19?

CNN Health Reporter Jacqueline Howard has the answer.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: The short answer here is, yes, wearing a mask can still give you some protection, even if you are the only one masked but how much protection depends onto mask type. And one study released by the CDC earlier this year, wearing a cloth mask was associated with a 56 percent lower odds of testing positive for COVID-19. Wearing a surgical mask was associated with a 66 percent lower odds. But for the most protection, wearing N95 or KN95 was associated with 83 percent lower odds. And that is compared with wearing no mask.

Now, I spoke with an expert on aerosol particles about this, Chris Kappa, and he tells me that if everyone else is unmasked, those percentages could go down. That's because more particles from the unmasked people could release into the air. But the bottom line, if your mask is on, that mask can still filter particles, offering some protection. Back to you.

BROWN: All right. Thanks so much, Jacqueline. And with Americans sharply divide over mask mandates, we are going to talk to two doctors who see this issue very differently. You don't want to miss our mask mandate debate coming up in our next hour.

Meantime, just ahead, the January 6th insurrection is apparently a leading cause of memory loss for House Republicans, from Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): I don't remember. I do not remember. Sorry, I don't remember.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: To Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I'm not sure what call you are talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Up next, Elie Honig talks about the legal significance of this week's January 6th revelations.

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[19:25:00]

BROWN: Congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Greene confronted by her own words about the January 6th insurrection. The Georgia Republican took the stand for a hearing that could end up disqualifying her from running again. In a three-hour testimony under oath, Greene faced questions about her rhetoric and actions before the attack on the Capitol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In fact, you think that Speaker Pelosi is a traitor to the country, right?

GREENE: Uh, you're -- I'm not answering that question. It's speculation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You -- you -- you've said that, haven't you, Ms. Greene, that this is she is a traitor to the country?

GREENE: No, I haven't said that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, put up exhibit five, please.

GREENE: Oh, no, wait. Hold on. I believe by not upholding the -- the securing the border, that that violates her oath of office.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fair enough. I'm not interested in her oath of office. I am not interested that you said that she is a traitor to our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Here to break down this case is CNN Legal Analyst Elie Honig. Great to see you, Elie.

So, how do you think she did on the stand? Is there really a chance she will be disqualified?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Pam, her testimony was a disaster. At times, it was preposterous and I think, generally, it was not at all credible. She tried to distance herself from things she had done and said in her own words on the record. She claimed not to remember things that any normal person of sound mind obviously would remember.

That said, an awful lot still has to happen before she is actually disqualified. The judge who heard the case on Friday first has to find that she engaged in insurrection or rebellion. That is a very high bar. If he makes that finding, it goes over to the Georgia secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger. We'll see whether he agrees. If he agrees, then Representative Greene gets to appeal it to the Georgia state court, the trial court, the appeals court, the Georgia Supreme Court. And at the same time, Marjorie Taylor Greene can appeal in the federal appellate courts and argue that the states don't have the right to disqualify her from running for federal office.

So, as bad as her testimony was, there still are many, many things that have to go against her to actually see her disqualified.

BROWN: And just to be with clear, the burden is on the challengers, right, showing the direct link. And they did not provide evidence of a direct tie between, you know, her and the insurrection other than just what she has said publicly, right? I just want to be clear on this.

HONIG: That's exactly right. The challengers have to prove that she engaged in or gave comfort to insurrection and rebellion. And just saying outrageous things, saying inflammatory things, that may not well be enough to constitute insurrection or rebellion. That is the question that is going to be before the various judges that I just laid out.

BROWN: All right. I want to ask you about something else that is coming out, this reporting that says a former White House official close to Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, told the January 6th committee that Meadows was warned of violence before the riot started.

[19:30:07]

How significant is this for the Committee's investigation?

HONIG: Well, Pam, what is so interesting about this piece of testimony to me is the defense that we've heard from Donald Trump and the people around him, generally has been, we wanted to fight this election in the courts. We wanted to fight this election in Congress.

We wanted to encourage political protests, peaceful protests. The violence, we had no idea, we didn't expect it. We weren't in favor of it.

Well, this testimony really puts the lie to that because this testimony establishes that the Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was specifically warned there could be violence and that paints all of Donald Trump and the people around him actions and inactions on January 6, in a very different and I think more damning light.

So look for the January 6 Committee to really dig in on this and see how much evidence they can come up with that Donald Trump and Mark Meadows and the people around them were warned in advance of the threat of violence.

BROWN: All right. I've got to ask you about these newly released tapes before we let you go, Elie. These tapes revealing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy telling Republican lawmakers in a private call that then President Donald Trump admitted, quote, "Some responsibility for the attacks," even telling Trump he should resign. Take a listen here for yourself. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened, and he needs to acknowledge that.

The only discussion I would have with him is, I think this will pass and it would be my recommendation that he should resign.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BROWN: I mean, he said, I think this will pass talking about impeachment. Now, the January 6 Committee has been reluctant to subpoena Members of Congress to testify, as you know, but with this audio, would they even need McCarthy's testimony? Does this raise the stakes to ask him to come testify? What do you think?

HONIG: Well, it's such a crucial piece of testimony, first of all, because we know that Kevin McCarthy and other Republican leaders in the days after January 6, even they said at the time, Donald Trump bears some responsibility. This is the first real evidence we have that Donald Trump himself accepted some level of responsibility.

Now, when it comes to the January 6 Committee themselves, yes, they should subpoena Kevin McCarthy. They've made clear they're not going to be subpoenaing other Members of Congress, but they can just play the tape.

But Pam, you're a law student now, and so you know, that in civil or criminal courts, they cannot just play that tape, you would have to actually get testimony from Kevin McCarthy. Otherwise, it's hearsay to just play the tape in a court.

So if there's ever a criminal case, if there's ever civil prosecution or civil claim, then they're going to have to subpoena Kevin McCarthy and get him to take the stand and testify to that.

BROWN: What else -- what other developments do you expect to see in the January 6 Committee? I mean, so much has happened. So much testimony is coming out. We've heard that Jamie Raskin, Congressman Raskin, who is on the Committee says that during the hearing, they are going to be providing evidence, damning evidence. What do you expect?

HONIG: Well, they have a real challenge ahead of them on the January 6 Committee. They have to capture the American public's attention, and they have to remind us of what happened and they have to find human beings who will testify, right?

Most of the people who know the most about this were Trump's inner circle. They are going to fight like mad not to testify. So the challenge for the Committee is going to be to weave together all the evidence, damning recordings like we just heard from Kevin McCarthy.

If you have witnesses, perhaps some of the people around Mike Pence who witnessed some of the most damning conduct, and they're going to have to put this together really the way that a trial lawyer or a prosecutor will put this together to move the American public. BROWN: All right, Elie, thank you.

By the way, you mentioned Law School, my exams are coming up so I may be at knocking on your door for some else -- some prep help. Thank so much, Elie.

HONIG: You're going to ace them, Pam. You're going to ace it.

BROWN: I hope so. I don't know, I am pretty nervous. Thank you.

All right, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Still ahead on this Saturday, already in Ukraine, it is month three of Russia's invasion. Up next, we'll look back at how the conflict began and where it could be headed now.

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[19:38:30]

BROWN: Bad weather on Earth is delaying the departure of the world's first all-private crew from the International Space Station, undocking has been pushed back 24 hours because of high winds in possible splashdown sites.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson joins me to recap this mission and what it means for space tourism. Welcome, and thank you so much for being here. So I'm curious, when SpaceX first proposed this all-private crew to visit the ISS, what did you think?

BILL NELSON, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: Well, initially, I was skeptical, but the greater good is that we are commercializing space. We are bringing industry off of the face of the Earth up into space, and in order to do that, we want them to get ready to build a space station that is a commercial station.

So after eight more years that we can deorbit the aging International Space Station and NASA can concentrate on further out in the heavens.

BROWN: So why were you skeptical at first?

NELSON: Well, I was skeptical to begin with because, you know NASA has done everything so well. But what we're realizing is, and I had a hand in it as Senator passing the bill a dozen years ago, sending us off not only on the government course but also on a commercial course, and so we have a public private-partnership.

[19:40:08]

NELSON: So SpaceX is a private company. We contract with them to deliver our astronauts to the International Space Station, even when we land on the moon, and we're going to go to the moon for the first time in a half a century, by the way, this year. When we land on the moon in 2025, we're going to rendezvous in lunar orbit with a lander made by SpaceX, and it will take the first woman and the next man down to the surface of the moon. BROWN: Wow. So much going on there. And you know, I mean, it is remarkable when you think that now you have four private citizens who are on the International Space Station with seven astronauts, the ISS, and I'm curious, obviously, as -- because this is so new, new issues pop up, right? I mean, in this case, their landing had to be delayed.

So what happens to space tourism fees, for example, when extra days have to be added to the mission? I mean, we're told these four Axiom-1 travelers paid I think about $55 million for this trip, do you know if they get billed extra?

NELSON: Well, to be determined. You know, NASA does make the impossible possible, but the one thing that we can't control is the weather. And so it is the weather that is delaying their return to Earth. And, therefore, the launch of the next crew, which is going to come about 48 hours after the landing of this one, all of that up in the air until we know what the weather does.

BROWN: I've got to ask you about what's going on up there. And on the ground here, you know, you have cosmonauts from Russia, astronauts from the United States sharing the ISS. You have said in the past that you do not think that relations or the mission will be impacted by the war in Ukraine. Has that view changed for you though, as we enter the third month of this war and tensions continue to rise and just continue on in general?

NELSON: My opinion has not changed. The professional relationship with cosmonauts and astronauts is as steady and as professional as you go, and this has really been an anomaly in our international relations with Russia ever since 1975 in the Soviet Union, when in the midst of the Cold War, that we had an American crew rendezvous and dock in Apollo Soyuz, with a Soviet crew, and we have been cooperating in civil space ever since.

And to this day, we have Russian cosmonauts, American astronauts, there's also an Italian astronaut that is getting ready to fly up later this week, and they all are consummate professionals.

BROWN: All right, this is so interesting to me. We learned this week that NASA "sent" in quotations, a whole team of doctors to the International Space Station last October using hologram technology. We're looking right here at a photo of a virtual house call made by NASA flight Surgeon General, Dr. Josef Schmid, and others, very sci-fi here.

So how does this improve communication for the astronauts to have this kind of contact?

NELSON: It's like "Beam me up to the space station."

BROWN: Exactly.

NELSON: We make sure that our astronauts have all the advice that they need and whether or not it's through a hologram, we are constantly talking to them every day. They have the use of internet, they can talk to their families from the ISS. We're going to use every kind of technology to make sure that we have every bit of communication that we need with our crew up in space.

BROWN: All right, I've got to ask you this question, because it's been on my mind since you were on the show last. When I had you on last June, you told our viewers that after reading the classified version of the U.S. Intelligence report on this series of UFO sightings by Navy pilots and others, you feel we may not be alone in this galaxy.

Given those remarks, have you seen any more evidence that we may not be alone in this galaxy?

NELSON: No, I haven't. But I know that this universe is so big. We've just put up a telescope that is going to capture this summer light that has been traveling at the speed of light for 12 and a half billion years.

[19:45:10]

NELSON: That's how big the universe is. We're capturing light from the very first formation of the first galaxy. And of course, in our galaxy, there's billions of stars, suns, and there then are billions of galaxies with billions of stars.

And a universe that big, is there the possibility that another habitat such as Earth has been created? I'm certainly not going to limit that possibility. And you know, with this telescope, the James Webb telescope that's a million miles out from Earth, we're going to be able on some of those planets that we've already seen, we're going to be able to determine if they have a habitable atmosphere.

So it's one further step of us unlocking the secrets of the universe.

BROWN: Very exciting. And I hope that when you get the results that you're going to come back on the show and share them with us first, right here.

All right, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, thank you so much for taking some time out of your Saturday for us.

NELSON: Thanks, Pamela.

BROWN: Well, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Still ahead, we are entering the third month of Russia's war on Ukraine. Up next, we're going to look at how the conflict has played out so far. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:50:56]

BROWN: The war on Ukraine is now entering its third month. There is no sign that it's going to end anytime soon. So we wanted to take a step back and take a look at how we got here. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th. Troops crossed the border from multiple locations. Explosions were reported in several cities, including the capital of Kyiv.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's been an air siren just suddenly, oh, here it is. That's an air raid -- an air raid siren. Several of them going off here in the center of the Ukrainian capital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So ominous, right, can you imagine just being there in the capitol at that time, waiting for Russian troops to descend? And at that time Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of bloodshed if Ukrainian forces didn't lay down their weapons.

Not long after, Russian forces took over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, taking staff there hostage according to Ukrainian officials, and Ukraine's government would later say a lab near the plant used to monitor radioactive waste was destroyed. Those Russian troops would abandon the Chernobyl site about a month later.

And at the start of March, Russia assembled a 40-mile long military convoy, remember this, full of armored vehicles, tanks, artillery and other equipment lining the road leading to Kyiv. But that convoy stalled making little progress for days.

And then on March 16th, three hundred people were killed when Russia bombed Mariupol's drama theater. Outside the building in letters big enough to see from the sky was the Russian word for "children."

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the theater was bombed, my sister was standing with the window and the window was like blow up, and she has fallen down, and my mom was in another part of the theater and the wall fall into to her.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Your sister? Is she doing all right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

WATSON: Really?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's like (inaudible).

WATSON: She's got a concussion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes.

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BROWN: Days later, Russian attacks escalated when it started using hypersonic missiles like what you see right here on the screen, and these missiles traveled five times the speed of sound, making them hard to detect and harder to stop.

And then at the start of April, a reported Ukrainian strike on the fuel depot on Russian soil. That Ukrainian Defense Ministry would neither confirm nor deny that attack.

Simultaneously Russian forces started pulling out of areas near Kyiv like the airport 18 miles from the city. That airfield was one of the first places Russian forces claimed at the start of the war. So that was notable and apparently, a turning point in the battle plan for the Russians.

And then later on April 2nd, the disturbing images of bodies in the streets, and a mass grave in Bucha coming right after Ukrainian forces liberated the town.

As a result, Ukraine and much of the Western world accused Russia of war crimes.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Yes, I want all the leaders of the Russian Federation to see how their orders are being fulfilled. Such orders, such a fulfillment and joint responsibility for these murders, for these torches, for these arms torn off by explosions that lie on the streets, for shots in the back of the head of tied people. This is how the Russian State will now be perceived.

This is your image.

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BROWN: And as the war dragged on, Russia was forced to shake up its military leadership. Two weeks ago, Putin put a new General in charge of the Ukraine campaign, the general who once led Russia's fight in Syria.

Then a week ago, Ukraine claimed a major victory when its missile sank that Russian-guided missile cruiser, Moskva. It is the biggest wartime loss of a ship in 40 years. Russia denies Ukraine was behind the sinking, but U.S. official support Ukraine's account.

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BROWN: The fighting has intensified in Mariupol over the past few days, Russian forces have surrounded the steel plant there, and Ukrainian officials say they have identified mass graves outside the city.

And that all brings us to where we are now. The acting Commander of Russia's Central Military District says its goal is to take full control of Donbas and Southern Ukraine grading a land corridor to Crimea, the port area Russia took over in 2014.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM, and still ahead on this Saturday night, our first look inside a steel plant bunker in Mariupol, Ukraine.

Civilians including many women and children hiding from Russian bombs, many inside for more than a month.

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