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Hundreds Reportedly Injured in Latest Mariupol Attack; Fighting Escalates Amid Russian Effort to Seize Donbas; China Defends its Zero COVID Strategy As "Magic Weapon"; Two British Aid Workers Feared Taken By Russian Forces; Ukrainian Girl Used In Russian Propaganda Now Free. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired April 29, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST: Hello everyone, I'm Christina Macfarlane. You are watching CNN Newsroom live from London. Tonight, Ukraine says Russia is blocking evacuations from the embattled steel plant in Mariupol, as hundreds of people are reportedly injured in the latest attack there. Then, fighting escalates in eastern Ukraine as Russia tries to dominate the Donbas region.

I will speak with an adviser to President Zelenskyy. And later, China doubles down on its zero COVID strategy. It's almost 180 million people across the country are in lockdown. But we begin with the fate of Ukrainian civilians trapped underground for weeks in a besieged steel plant in Mariupol just hours after Ukraine announced it would attempt an operation to get them out today.

It now says Russia is blocking an area near the plant, preventing the evacuations. Mariupol's mayor says more than 600 people were injured when Russia bombed a makeshift hospital inside the complex Wednesday night. The city's last remaining fighters are also holed up in the plant, and have refused Russian demands to surrender.

Russia now confirms it attacked Kyiv Wednesday while the U.N. Secretary General was visiting the capital. It says it struck military targets, but Ukraine says this apartment building was hit, killing a journalist who worked for "Radio Liberty". And in eastern Ukraine, Russia shelled a critical railway hub that serves as a supply line for Ukrainian forces.

Let's get an update now from Ukraine, and Scott McLean is in Lviv. Scott, the planned evacuation that was so badly needed in Mariupol today, sounding like it is failing again. What more do you know?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, if there is help on the way, it hasn't gotten there yet, at least, not that we heard or not that we can talk. So, we understand, Christina, that there has been heavy bombardment of the Azovstal steel plant for the last day or two at least. Some very heavy strikes being reported by some of the soldiers who remain underneath of that steel plant, taking shelter, trying to fight off the -- trying to make their last stand with the Russians. They are also under there, though with many civilians, they say,

hundreds, perhaps as young as four months old. The difference today is that I spoke with the deputy commander of the Azov Battalion, they are leading the fight from that plant. Who said that it's not just the bombs coming down from the sky. But now, the Russians are also storming, attempting to storm the factory from the ground as well. And we've seen some new videos showing Russians in the vicinity of that factory, in small arms combat with Ukrainian soldiers as well.

You mentioned as well the help that is on the way or at least the president of Ukraine is promising. While we asked that Azov deputy commander about that help, and he said that his understanding is that it's being organized from Zaporizhzhia. But he couldn't say where exactly the help was, what form it would take or how it would manage to get into this city which has been held by Russia for quite some time. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SVIATOSLAV PALAMAR, AZOV DEPUTY COMMANDER (through translator): As of today, we know that an evacuation convoy is heading here to Mariupol. It's on the way. And we're exactly there now, I cannot speak about it for safety reasons of the people in this transport. We hope that first of all, civilians will be evacuated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: Now, I also asked him if he's also hoping -- excuse me, I should say, for a deal they would allow not only civilians to be evacuated, but the soldiers to get evacuated as well. It may be a long shot, but he's hoping with international interventions, some kind of an agreement can be reached to allow soldiers to safely get out.

I asked him in the absence of an agreement, whether or not he would be willing to surrender himself to the Russians. And he said that, that is not even being considered at this point. Despite the fact that you have now, 500, 600-plus perhaps soldiers, they say, who are injured in that area. I asked him how long those soldiers might be able to last for? He wouldn't say other than they are trying their best to give them the medical attention that they need with whatever limited resources they have, Christina.

[14:05:00]

MACFARLANE: And Scott, we saw the strikes on Kyiv yesterday happening during the visit of the U.N. Secretary General. Moscow clearly sending a message. How much damage was caused by those strikes in the city?

MCLEAN: Yes, so in terms of civilian infrastructure, there was an apartment building that was hit. It looks like a few floors, at least, the bottom two, it got extensive damage, but there may be windows blown out further up as well. There was search and rescue underway to try to find the injured people. We know there were some.

There was also one person killed, a 54-year-old journalist. It took crews about an hour or so to put out the fire in that case. The timing here though, you mentioned is very interesting, obviously, off the back of that meeting with President Zelenskyy and the U.N. Secretary General in Kyiv.

And what makes it even more intriguing is the fact that, when the American delegation was here not long ago, the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, they had just gotten out of the country when Russia launched a strike on a series of strikes on railway infrastructure, aiming at junction points, choke points in the line, trying ostensibly to cut off transportation east west. Those strikes came mere hours after that American delegation had left, traveling by rail. Christina?

MACFARLANE: Yes, Scott, thanks very much for that update there from Lviv. Ukraine's military says Russia is also bombarding eastern regions with heavy shelling. They say Russia is trying to advance from the north through the Kharkiv region, to reach Donetsk. But Ukrainian forces are slowing their progress, saying they've just liberated the strategic town north of Kharkiv. Further south, the Kherson region, Ukrainian troops say they are holding their positions in one of the hottest spots of the conflict. Nick Paton Walsh shows us more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): If Moscow had any surprises left in this war, it is along here. The other side of the river has been Russia's for weeks, but here, the western side is caught in a fast-changing landscape of this week's push.

WALSH (on camera): That's the prize over there, the Dnipro River, up past, which on the left side bank here, the Russians are trying to push, wanting control of both sides of that vital part of Ukraine.

WALSH (voice-over): Here in Nova Veronscovka (ph), we are told there are a handful of Russian tanks just over a kilometer away on its outskirts, pushing, probing, but ultimately kept at bay by Ukrainian forces that still hold the town. Resilience here embodied in Ramilla(ph) under the threat of rocket fire, planting onions. "I'm here until victory", she said.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WALSH: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WALSH (on camera): Her children have gone, it's just her and her mother.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

OK, her 80-year-old mother and her are staying here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WALSH: Her mother says she is not going anywhere, and she is not going to leave her alone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) WALSH: All her windows are blown out, she says.

WALSH (voice-over): Ukrainian forces who don't want their positions filmed are dotted around the town. As to all the signs of innocent lives lost here. Rockets peeking out from under the water. And this boat in which 14 civilians try to flee Russian occupation on April the 7th, four of them died when Moscow's troops opened fire when it was 70 meters out. Yet still, the desperate keep fleeing. This morning, these women left behind their men to defend their homes near Nova Veronscovka(ph).

"We ran early in the morning", said Luda. "They didn't let us out. We're shields for them. They don't let us out, and by foot and by bicycle we go, in the fields we ran. Our soldiers were 2 kilometers away", Nadesh(ph) adds, "and we ran to them. Well, they need the Russians tanks", she said. "Take cars. They draw Z on everything. As their new unwanted guests demanded milk and food at gunpoint, they had a glimpse of their warped mindset.

They say they've come to liberate us", Luda(ph) says, "these aggressors, that's what they told us. They say America is fighting here, but using the hands of Ukrainians to do it. That's what they say." Another claim to be fueled by the violence of the long war with separatists in the east. In general, the Donetsk militant say, she said, you have been bombing us for eight years. Now we bomb you.

[14:10:00]

Across the field, loathing and artillery swallow whole once happy worlds.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: And Nick Paton Walsh joins me now. Nick, it is sad to see just how vulnerable these small villages are to Russian attacks. And there are indications that Russia are making incremental gains in the east and the south, where you are, perhaps learning from their mistakes in the north. What more can you tell us about their advance right now? What do we know?

WALSH: I will have to tell you, it's really hard to have a fully transparent picture of the changing lines here. But certainly, they are changing, and certainly, I think even Ukraine has admitted that there has been some Russian progress in the south of the country, essentially above the city of Kherson, which was one of the first that Russia occupied in the early days of the war.

There seems to have been some success pushing around the north of that. And we've seen ourselves how they do appear to be able to advance to some degree to the south of where I'm standing in the strategically important city of Kryvyi Rih, industrial, even, also, because it's the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine's forces though pushing back in some areas too, and you can see in the terrain there, how vast and defuse it all is.

Villages often 10 kilometers apart and small in themselves. So constant and fluid, but that is no comfort to the civilians who have to flee the sort of churn and violence, Christina.

MACFARLANE: Yes, absolutely, Nick Paton Walsh there, thank you so much. Well, my next guest says Russia has no place in the civilized world. Timofiy Mylovanov is the President of the Kyiv School of Economics, and an adviser to the Office of Ukraine's Presidency. Timofiy, thank you so much for joining us this evening.

I want to begin with the situation in Mariupol this week If we can because there was renewed hope from what we were hearing yesterday, of intense discussions that this evacuation corridor might be able to happen. But we were hearing from our reporter Scott McLean at the top of the show that, you know, there are now consistent attacks coming from Russian troops, not just in the air, but on the ground itself as well. What can you tell us of what the current situation is at the Azovstal Steel plant, is this going ahead?

TIMOFIY MYLOVANOV, PRESIDENT, KYIV SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: In my experience, negotiations are important, and occasionally, they work out with the Russian side. And this is over the history of their last eight years negotiating ceasefires and trying to hold on and you know, implement them. But more often than not, this is just a tactic to delay and regroup or achieve a strategical, tactical advantage. So I am very skeptical unfortunately.

I'm hoping it will work out. But I am very skeptical it will. And the facts on the ground, and what I hear and what I know is just at this point unfortunately, we do not have that yet.

MACFARLANE: And how concerned are you that if, you know, there are -- if this does advance, and that civilians and soldiers are able to emerge from underneath the plant, that Russia will actually move to capture or kill them. That they will in fact be more vulnerable, because as you say, you cannot trust Russia at this point.

MYLOVANOV: Russia is using the Azov plant as a facility in which it has kind of keeping them as a negotiating token. You know, this is the area in principle can simply secure and even provide food and water. And they are -- I think will be using it for future negotiations, at least, that's my feeling using this as a card in a larger game in the east that they're trying to achieve.

MACFARLANE: Yes, it's set to continue. We saw yesterday President Biden announced massive 33 billion package of aid to Ukraine. It's actually more than double the amount that Congress passed last month. Where will this aid go? And where is it most needed right now?

MYLOVANOV: Right now, it's needed the most in the east of Ukraine. And if we are talking about the military aid, the weapons. And it's very structural and very specific. The type of warfare in the east of Ukraine is now very different from what we have seen in the battle for Kyiv, or around Kyiv. People are asking for better artillery, longer range. And it's very technical, but you know, if you have slightly longer range than what Russians do, then you can keep them at bay.

Because they will not be able to get artillery close enough to the front lines so that they can attack the Ukrainian positions and keep themselves safe.

[14:15:00]

So it's a little bit of a race, who has better artillery, more precise and a longer range. And it's becoming a containment weapon. On top of that, drones and better intelligence, because what happens is -- and very mobile units. Because what happens, during the day, there is a lot of artillery attacks, and attempts to probe and move forward. But the gains are very limited and modest.

And then overnight, there are a lot of mobile units on both sides trying to figure out and attack -- you know, figure out the vulnerable spots and attack each other. So the warfare is different, and the high tech equipment, high tech weaponry, precision and longer range is needed in Ukraine now --

MACFARLANE: Yes --

MYLOVANOV: In the east of Ukraine.

MACFARLANE: And I believe that is part of what the U.S. are providing here, heavy weaponry and a lot of it. What are your expectations for how that could push back the Russian troops? How sufficient is that, and that amount for what you need right now?

MYLOVANOV: Well, you know, it's about 400, 500 kilometers of the total contact line frontline. So you really need a lot of this, but as you increase the range, you can have it further in the back and reaching more of this contact line because the geography is that it's a little bit rounded, you know, it's a kind of semi circle. So, you can position it in the middle, but it has to be far enough from the frontline so the Russians cannot reach it.

And I think it will be pretty effective, but you know, it's not just the artillery. You also need a lot of rounds. And a lot of the things are, you know, simply expandable very quickly. Things like drones, they are being shut down, you know, all the time. So, you need to replenish the rounds of artillery ammunition, you need to replenish that. And some of the artillery units, they come under attack, they also get destroyed. So it's ongoing, you know.

MACFARLANE: Yes, it is an ongoing effort. Just quickly to pivot, because we have been hearing reports of Russian forces robbing vast amounts of wheat in territory that they have occupied. Can you explain just how much exactly is being taken? What you are hearing?

MYLOVANOV: I have seen convoys, actually, I have seen videos of long convoys, 20, 30, 40 trucks -- live in Milatopa Abbey(ph) areas, I've seen videos of that type of -- I have seen documents, actually, and it's a bit ridiculous to see them, that they admit it. And I have a screenshot of that from the Russian websites where they vote local members of local parliament, of local government, vote to expropriate from Kherson, what they call excessive grain and excessive food supplies.

And this is very reminiscent for as Ukrainians of Holodomor, of what Russia was doing in 1930s in the last century where a lot of Ukrainians starved because they were expropriating the excessive supplies and sending it to Russia. But I think there is a bigger issue at play. Why is blockade of Odessa? Why is the harvest(ph) being -- even last harvest(ph) being, you know, stuck in Ukraine? And it was intended to ship to northern Africa, to the Middle East.

Russia is manufacturing an artificial food security issues or even crisis in the region, trying to destabilize or have at least leverage to destabilize politically other countries.

MACFARLANE: Yes, being used just as another tool, as you say. Timofiy Mylavonik(ph) -- I'll say your name properly, Mylovanov, thank you so much for joining us this evening. I know you've been on the move there in Ukraine tonight, so we wish you the very best, thank you so much.

MYLOVANOV: Thank you.

MACFARLANE: OK, a diplomatic showdown may be in the works for this year's G20 Summit. Vladimir Putin has just accepted an invitation to attend from the Indonesian president. The country is hosting the meeting of world leaders in Bali in November, and while, it also extended an invite to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, he has not yet accepted the offer. America's attendance is also in question, with the White House weighing up its options.

President Biden's spokesperson has made it very clear, saying this shouldn't be business as usual. All right, still to come tonight. Former Wimbledon Champion Boris Becker is now facing prison time for failing to report all of his assets after declaring bankruptcy. We'll explain the case and his sentence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:20:00]

MACFARLANE: Welcome back. We are bringing you some other stories from around the world now. A Taliban official says a mosque in Kabul was attacked on Friday. He says there was an explosion killing at least ten people. But witnesses say the death toll is probably much greater. So far, no one has claimed responsibility. There have been numerous attacks across Afghanistan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, even though the Taliban claimed they have secured the country.

And in Jerusalem, at least, 42 people were injured in a clash between Palestinians and Israeli police at a revered holy site. It happened at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound earlier today, the last Friday of Ramadan. Police say the violence started just after Muslim dawn prayers and involved hundreds of rioters, some throwing stones and fireworks.

Tension at the site have been heightened during the Muslim holy month with confrontations happening there every Friday. Now, former tennis world number one Boris Becker has got jailed time for finding -- or for failing to report hundreds of thousands of pounds of assets after his bankruptcy in 2017. In a London court, the former Wimbledon champion was sentenced to two and a half years after being found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act. Judge said Becker had shown no remorse or acceptance of guilt. It

comes after he had already been convicted for tax evasion in Germany in 2002. But for more on this, let's bring in our "WORLD SPORT's" Patrick Snell. And Patrick, I'm sure many will be shocked by the verdict today. But the reality is, this has been a long-running case centered around that bankruptcy in 2017. For viewers who haven't followed this all the way, just explain what he was found guilty of today?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, Christina, Becker, yes, you said it. Just a huge name from the world of tennis. A six-time Grand Slam champ, not just a three-time Wimbledon champion, six-time Grand Slam singles champ. One of the most famous and biggest names in the history of the sport, just a context for our viewers worldwide, will serve half his sentence in jail. The judge earlier today, Deborah Taylor earlier Friday, adding these words as well.

"While I accept your humiliation as part of the proceedings, there has been no humility." That really did resonate with me. Let's get to some video we just showed, let's play it again. The video of him arriving at court today, I find this really significant. Becker and his partner in attendance also as well. They assembled the media there. Becker was actually wearing a gray suit, white shirt and a striped tie, Christina, in the Wimbledon colors.

Those famed Wimbledon colors of green and purple there. Video of him, Boris Becker earlier on this Friday.

[14:25:00]

Just want to reset for our viewers because you mentioned the court case, Becker declared bankrupt in June of 2017. Now, that meant he was legally obliged to disclose all his assets. The assets he concealed included around $450,000, which was transferred to several third parties of property in Germany's homeland, and 75,000 in shares as well. This is according to the United Kingdom's Insolvency Service.

And when it suited him, Becker made full disclosure. When it didn't, he didn't. The words of one prosecutor earlier who urged the judge to pass a custodial sentence, that according to "Reuters", Becker also accused of concealing and transferring assets and depriving creditors of more than 2 million pounds, as around $2.5 million in assets.

Now, the 54-year-old's lawyer Jonathan Laidlaw according to the press association, telling the court, quote, "that the proceedings have destroyed his career entirely and ruined any further prospect of earning an income. His reputation is in tatters. He will not be able to find work, and will have to rely on the charity of others if he is to survive." The words there, Christina of Becker's lawyer earlier this day.

MACFARLANE: Yes, the words of his lawyer, Patrick, full disclosure here. I know Boris Becker very well. I've worked with him many times. You know, I know him to actually be a good man as few many in the tennis world. So the news of this today has not only come with some shock, but some sadness I'd say as well. Just because of who he is in the sports world. What -- everything that he has achieved. Would you say that's fairly accurate?

SNELL: There is no question. As I said it right off the top, a hugely massive personality in the world of tennis. There's no question about that, Christina. I recall him bursting on to the scene when he was just 17 years of age. A larger-than-life presence. Imagine winning Wimbledon as a teenager? Putting lemon Germany right on the map there. This was in 1985. What did he go and do? He went and won Wimbledon as well the next year as well.

In fact, he won Wimbledon, get this, three times out of four calendar years. Quite extraordinary. What does that trigger? When you win Wimbledon as you well know, Christina, it leads to a huge rise to overnight global stardom. The first unseeded male player to win the Wimbledon's singles title, he later rose to the number one rankings as well, massive interest in him ever since. His private life, those notorious British tabloids, the big boom-boom serve.

Fascination into his private life, he was set at home as well in the U.K., but he would go on as well to win a total of six Grand Slams as you mentioned over the 11-year period. It was a phenomenal streak. You know, he never won the French Open, but he did win two Australian Open titles as well. He won the U.S. Open in New York City. And he's remained active in the tennis world since retiring from the sport, as you alluded to.

His presence in the media. We both interviewed him over the years. He was also notably a coach of the very high profile player Novak Djokovic, and those media appearances, a commentator, a pundit as well, his presence has been larger than life. And it is indeed a story that we've been following very closely indeed, and we'll be continuing to do just that --

MACFARLANE: Yes --

SNELL: As we move forward, Christina.

MACFARLANE: His private life very much played out in the public eye, and even more so after today's verdict. Patrick Snell, thank you very much. All right, still to come tonight, amidst the shelling across eastern Ukraine, a few people are managing to evacuate, and now, fears grow about two aid workers who disappeared trying to help save some of them to leave. We'll speak to the nonprofits which was supporting them next.

And we'll have the story of a 12-year-old girl who was taken to Russian-occupied territory after her father was killed in Mariupol. A terrifying journey to freedom ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:00]

MACFARLANE: New fears now that two British aid workers have been kidnapped by Russian forces in Ukraine. That's according to U.K. nonprofit Presidium Network. And a Dominik Byrne says the two men were abducted as they were evacuating civilians. They lost contact with the organization on Monday as they were traveling south of Zaporizhzhia. Neither worked directly with Presidium, but had been offering them support and (INAUDIBLE) Dominik burn can join us now via Skype from Hertfordshire.

Dominik, I appreciate you joining us. I know this must be a difficult and distressing time for everyone who knows these aid workers, let alone their families. Can you begin by telling me, when was the last time you heard directly from your co workers?

DOMINIK BYRNE, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, PRESIDIUM NETWORK: So just to let you know, they didn't work directly for us. I was introduced to them two weeks ago, as they were being independent volunteers on the ground. And someone that I knew that knew them asked me to contact them to make sure they're okay.

So I last had contact with them just over a week ago where I gave them my emergency contact details to say if you want to come and register for the organization, please do. But we haven't heard anymore much since that conversation.

I then was contacted on Wednesday evening by a contact that knew them and basically saying that they have gone missing and they have a lot of data to verify what was going on and so we basically help with the investigations to find out if they've been captured or not.

MACFARLANE: And what did you find in those investigations, the circumstances under which they went missing?

BYRNE: So basically, what we know is that they tried to, or they crossed a Ukrainian checkpoint, south if Zaporizhzhia on Monday morning. They had regular contact with a gentleman in the U.K., who was kind of monitoring where they were. And I heard that he lost contact on Monday morning, and then the -- they were trying to help a lady south of Zaporizhzhia for an evacuation. We know that she had some very interesting messages from one of their phones in the afternoon. And then about three hours after their last message, what she states is Russian soldiers entering her house and interrogating her and her husband.

And my team and people that are linked to this have spoken to her and have kind of verified her story. And we now know she's in Poland and we're trying to get her in contact with the U.K. government to explain the story and to the help their investigations as well.

[14:35:02]

MACFARLANE: Yes. And we know you have been in touch with the U.K. government. Do you know what efforts are currently being made to try and recover where the aid workers -- they think the air workers are?

BYRNE: So what I know directly is that we've handed over all our evidence and our analysis of the investigation that we've done to the FCDO. We know that the FCDO in their home office have taken this seriously, and they've been in contact with both parents of the two individuals of (INAUDIBLE) and we do know that they keep saying that they're continuing their investigation, and we're -- anything we get new goes straight to them.

MACFARLANE: Given the work that they were undertaking, Dominik, there must have been a very real risk that this hostage situation could happen. How prepared were they for the possibility of kidnap?

BYRNE: To be honest, as individuals, I don't think they were prepared. I don't think they fully understood what they were trying to do. We have looked at the data from the lady and her family and where they were. And to be honest, my organization will have said no to such an evacuation. And we run evacuations pretty much on a daily basis and doing humanitarian aid in Ukraine. But we would have never crossed such a line, not because it only affects us and our risk and safety, but also in our teams, but also for the individuals that they're trying to evacuate if they get caught by Russians. They don't have much chance either because they're not trained to be in that situation, too.

So what we say as an organization, if you're trying to help, A, look at your own limits, but, B, really get connected to a proper charity, and NGO that can actually train you, and also just alert authorities that you're working in that region, too.

MACFARLANE: I mean, given what you've just said, have you ever had experience of this sort of situation before? I know you are the co- owner of a humanitarian charity. Is this the first time you've had to face this sort of situation?

BYRNE: Yes, it is. And us as individuals in our team and our network, we've never -- and we've had years of experience on the ground in different countries. And we've never experienced this directly to ourselves and to our organization, and to the organizations that we work with, on a partnership level, who are some are more experienced and bigger than us on the ground.

And basically, we have heard about this before. There were stories in Afghanistan last year, about individuals that were helping U.S.-U.K. people working by themselves helping that were captured at certain checkpoints in Afghanistan. So we do know what happens. But we know the risks and, us, as an organization, mitigate those risks as much as we can, as a team. So we've never had this happen to us.

MACFARLANE: I know that you have been working on the ground there in Ukraine to try and get people out, evacuate individuals on a case by case basis. We've been hearing so much of the failure of humanitarian corridors in Ukraine. How much success have you been having with your charity?

BYRNE: So we've had quite a bit of success. We've evacuated hundreds of disabled orphans and disabled adults. However, most of our evacuations have been just off the front line within the Ukraine territories, or where areas that are -- could be hit at any time. So we haven't been working, we don't work ourselves behind what we would call enemy lines behind the Russian lines because we don't feel that that's safe and right for everyone.

But what we do as an organization, we have been talking to authorities in Ukraine, in the wild as well, to make sure that the corridors are open, and are stood by legally, because that's the only way we can help people get out, is if we have a safety corridor for both our workers, but also for the people that we're evacuating. And for the people that are being left behind.

Because there was only a certain amount of people we're allowed to evacuate outside the country under Ukraine law and with the permissions that we have. So we know that, you know, gentlemen at certain ages are not allowed to leave the country. And we abide by all the Ukraine laws as well. And every time we do an evacuation, we do get local authority and Ukrainian government authority to actually do that.

MACFARLANE: Well, Dominik, I know that you are here to try and raise awareness for these two aid workers and we really do hope that they are safely recovered. Thank you very much for speaking to us this evening.

BYRNE: Thank you very much. Bye-bye.

MACFARLANE: Now a 12-year-old Ukrainian girl is finally free and back under the care of her family. She is from Mariupol, the southeastern city that has been relentlessly attacked by Moscow's forces. Her father was killed and she was injured. But then the Russians got her and a very different kind of ordeal began. CNN's Matt Rivers has her story.

[14:40:03]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For Kira Obedinsky, her new iPad is everything. She's 12 after all, but the shiny screen is also a welcome distraction from an ordeal no 12-year-old should ever have to endure.

Because just a few weeks ago, the young Ukrainian wasn't safe like she is now in Kyiv but in a hospital run by Russian backed separatists, forcibly separated from her family. When the Russians first invaded Mariupol, Kira's dad, Yevhen, was still alive. Her mom had died just after she was born. And when Russian bombs started to fall, they sheltered in a neighbor's basement, she recalls.

"But they hit the house where we were staying," she says. We were buried in the cellar than the rescuers took us out of the wreckage. "Her dad did not emerge," Kira told us. Now an orphan, she started to walk to try and find safety amidst chaos. And then another explosion from a mine. "My friend saw something on the ground," she says, "And she hit it accidentally with her boot. The military came after the explosions and took us to a hospital because we were bleeding."

But in some ways her journey was just beginning. In the chaos, she was picked up by soldiers she says spoke Russian and eventually brought to a Russian held area in Donetsk. "I was taken there at night," she says. They took shrapnel out of me out of my ear. I screamed and cried a lot. It was shortly after this happened that CNN first learned about and

reported Kira's story because Russia paraded it on state TV. State propagandists showed images of Kira in a Donetsk hospital and said she was being treated well. Convinced she was being mistreated, her family went public with her story. And it worked. A deal between Russia and Ukraine allowed her grandfather to travel to Russia and bring her back to Kyiv where she told us what Russian state TV did not.

"It's a bad hospital there. The food there is bad. The nurses scream at you. The bed is bent like this. There wasn't enough space for all of us inside." None of that came out on Russian state TV. Her injuries have largely healed now, though she'll stay in the hospital a little longer. It was there that someone gave her that iPad after a presidential visit came bearing gifts this week.

She didn't love all that attention though. So for now, she says she just wants to see her cat and spend time with her grandfather recovering from the horrors of war one game at a time. Matt Rivers CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.

MACFARLANE: We want to bring you an unusual moment at the Pentagon briefing a short time ago. The normally staid and steady Pentagon spokesperson, John Kirby, got emotional During a briefing with reporters. He was asked what he thought about Russian President Vladimir Putin's mental state. Here's how he responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON SPOKESPERSON: It's difficult to look at the -- sorry, it's difficult to look at some of the images and imagine that any well-thinking serious mature leader would do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Goodness me. John Kirby there. All right. Stay with us. We'll be right back after this short break.

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[14:46:1]

MACFARLANE: Right now, dozens of cities in China are under some form of COVID lockdown affecting around 180 million residents. It's been especially harsh for people in Shanghai which is one of the world's strictest lockdowns for weeks now. China is defending its zero COVID strategy as a "magic weapon." Even as skepticism mounts over just how sustainable and effective the approach is. Our Selina Wang shares her own experience navigating the country's strict COVID rules.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Traveling into China is like entering a fortress. The country has been virtually sealed off since the start of the pandemic, guarded by strict border controls and the world's harshest quarantine. My journey to get in started with three PCR tests in Tokyo. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANG: Seven days out from my flight, just got my first COVID test.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WANG: Back at home, I track my daily temperature and pack a suitcase full of snacks to prepare for 21 days in quarantine. Within 48 hours of boarding, China requires PCR tests at two different government approved clinics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANG: This is possibly the most paperwork I've ever needed to board an airplane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WANG: I say goodbye to Tokyo, my home for the past 1 1/2 years, checking in at the airport relatively smooth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANG: Still checking my documents. I finally have my boarding pass. I'm at the gate. I'm going to China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WANG: Most people on my flight are tiny citizens. Foreigners can only enter under very limited conditions. It's even harder for American journalists because of U.S.-China tensions. All the flight attendants in full protective gear that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANG: Getting ready for takeoff. There we go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WANG: Flights into China, especially Beijing, are extremely limited. Even though I'll be based in the capital, first, I'm flying to Yunnan Province. After landing, I get another COVID test. A bus eventually takes us to the quarantine location. No one can choose where they'll be locked in for the next 21 days. Hours later, we arrive. I count myself lucky. It's a hot spring resort converted into a quarantine site. It's my first time here, but I'll have to enjoy the view from the window. I can't step out onto the balcony or open my door except for health checkups and food pickup. Two temperature checks a day, regular COVID tests to see.

Across China, tens of millions are sealed inside their homes. Since mid December, Chinese average new daily case count has surged from double digits to more than 20,000. Any positive case and close contact has to go to government quarantine. Entire metropolises brought to a standstill. Most of Shanghai's 25 million residents have been locked in for weeks, many struggling to get enough food and medical care. In year three of the pandemic, most of the world is learning to live

with COVID, but in China, no case is tolerated no matter the emotional and economic cost. Selina Wang, CNN, Kunming, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Extraordinary. Well, in South Africa, they may be entering their fifth COVID-19 wave. The health minister says scientists expect to begin sometime between mid May and early June. But he says it's possible it has already started. South Africa has seen a steady rise in infections over the past 14 days.

A U.S. judge has sentenced a member of the ISIS terror cell known as The Beatles to life in prison. Alexanda Kotey pleaded guilty in September to involvement in a hostage scheme that led to the deaths of American, Japanese, and British citizens in Syria. He'll serve the first 15 years in the U.S. then be transferred to the U.K. for the rest of his life term. All right. Stay with us. We'll be back after this short break.

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[14:52:32]

MACFARLANE: On Mission: Ahead, we introduce you to innovators who are taking on big bold missions in science. Today, we're looking at robotics a field of technology that's advancing by the day, sometimes, in ways you might not expect. CNN's Rachel Crane discovers a new kind of robot unlike any you've seen before.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Building the next big thing in tech can take time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LI ZHANG, PROFESSOR AND MICROBIOLOGIST, CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: Sometimes, innovation should not be too fast.

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CRANE: In this case, it's moving at a snail's pace. Meet Li Zhang, engineer, professor, and now maker of sludge like goo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZHANG: It behaves sometimes like a liquid, sometimes like a solid.

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CRANE: Inspired by the cheap slime toy that children play with all over the world, Zhang's team first created the substance in 2021 by mixing a simple polymer with borax. The magic happened when they added magnetic Particles. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZHANG: Then basically you'll create this so-called the magnetic slime board.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CRANE: So when it comes close to a magnet, it can move, change shape, and grasp objects. Zhang is one of a growing number of scientists worldwide on a mission to better understand a relatively new field in tech, soft robotics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONOR WALSH, PROFESSOR OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCES, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Traditionally, when people think about robotics, they think about big robot arms in factories that are very strong, very fast, and very precise. In the field of soft robotics, we're thinking about how do you make robots that are more flexible, more adaptable?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CRANE: Sometimes, looking to nature helps like the agile but entirely boneless octopus. In 2016, Harvard unveiled this silicone proof of concept called the OctoBot. Hydrogen peroxide inside the robot is converted into a gas, which moves its arms. Others are working on soft robotics that mimic human limbs, or even augment them.

While Zhang is testing how his robot can work inside the human body, for instance, a patient who accidentally ingested a foreign object, Zhang's idea, rather than performing surgery, the doctor asks the patient to swallow the robot.

[14:55:01]

Directed by a magnet, the robot would locate the object such as a battery, nail, a coin like this one, cushioning sharp edges and stopping any harmful chemical leaks. Nature would eventually take its course for both. So far, the process is still hit and miss and it's years from approval according to Zhang.

Experts say that this kind of research may ultimately have a much wider influence in the world for robotics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CECILIA LASCHI, PROFESSOR, THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE: Completely soft robots don't make much sense. I think that now that we have learned that compliance is helpful, softness is helpful, we cannot build robots without any compliant part.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CRANE: But like any big mission to develop new technology, this one will take time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: The wonders of magnetic goo. What a good place to end tonight's show. Stay with us though. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is coming up next on CNN.