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Missiles Struck Kyiv; Ukrainian Town Braces for Russian Offensive; Energy Needs Versus Sanctions; Amazon Stock Plunges After Bleak Forecast. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired April 29, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER (voice-over): This is "CNN Breaking News."

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Isa Soares live in Ukraine. Russia attacks the Ukrainian capital. The timing likely aimed to send a clear message.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Michael Holmes at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. I will have our other top stories, including Amazon stock plunging after reporting a nearly $4 billion loss.

SOARES: Welcome to the show, everyone. It is 9:00 here in Lviv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian strikes on Kyiv that happened while the U.N. secretary general was in the capital must be met with a strong response.

Ukraine's Emergency Service says one missile hit an apartment building, setting it on fire. Authorities say 10 people were injured.

Mr. Zelenskyy says that attack took place right after he finished meeting with the U.N. chief, who wasn't harmed. While standing alongside the Ukrainian president, Guterres pledged to do all he can to achieve peace. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: This war must end, and peace must be established in line with the charter of the United Nations and international law. Many leaders have made many good efforts to stop the fighting, but these efforts, so far, have not succeeded. And I'm here to say to you, Mr. President and to the people of Ukraine, we will not give up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Meantime, the U.S. says Russia isn't making much headway in its renewed offensive in the east, with a senior U.S. defense official calling Moscow's progress slow as well as an evening. This, of course, as President Zelenskyy says 10 Russian servicemen have now been identified as suspects in crimes committed in Bucha. That is the Kyiv suburbs where scores of civilians, remember, were found dead after Russian forces pulled out. Mr. Zelenskyy is vowing to hold those responsible accountable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): We know all the details about them and their actions, and we will find everyone just as we will find all the other Russian thugs who killed and tortured Ukrainians, who tormented our people, who destroyed houses and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: I want to take you now to a town in Southern Ukraine that is bracing for a Russian assault. Its residents say Russian tanks are positioned just a kilometer away from their homes. They have been testing Ukrainian defenders who still control the town. Nick Paton Walsh was there for you.

(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 the fast-changing landscape of this week's push.

(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 the vital part of Ukraine.

(Voice-over): Here in Novovorontsovka, 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 under the threat of rocket fire, planting onions.

(On camera): I'm here until victory, she said. Children have gone. It's just her and her mother. Her 80-year-old mother and her are staying here. Her mother says she's not going anywhere and she's not going to leave her alone. All her windows are blown out, she says.

(Voice-over): Ukrainian forces who don't want their positions filmed are dotted around the town, as too are the signs of innocent lives lost here. Rock peeking out from under the water. This boat in which 14 civilians tried 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 Novovorontsovka.

We ran, ran early in the morning, said Luda. They didn't let us out.

[02:05:00]

PATON WALSH (voice-over): We're shields for them. They didn't let us out. By foot and by bicycle, we go. In the fields, we ran.

Our soldiers were two kilometers away, Nadezha adds, and we ran to them. The Russian tanks, she said, take cars. They draw ads (ph) 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 said, 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 claimed to be fueled by the violence of the long war, the separatists in the east. In general, the Donetsk militants say, she said, you have been bombing us for eight years, now we bomb you. Across the fields, loading and artillery swallow whole once-happy worlds.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Novovorontsovka, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging a solution to what he calls a crisis within a crisis in Ukraine. On Thursday, he called for opening of humanitarian corridors to get civilians out, of course, of the Azovstal steel plant in the besieged city of Mariupol.

Guterres spoke in Kyiv two days after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. According to Guterres, Mr. Putin agreed in principle to allow civilians to evacuate. U.N. chief says they face a life-or-death situation inside the besieged plant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUTERRES: Mariupol is a crisis within a crisis. Thousands of civilians need lifesaving assistance. Many are elderly, in need of medical care or have limited mobility. They need an escape route out of the apocalypse.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Ukraine is ready to have immediate negotiations on the evacuation of people from Azovstal, as well as to ensure the implementation of any agreement reached. We hope there will be a humanely attitude towards those people on the part of Russia. We believe part of the mission of the U.N. secretary general would be effective, and we are ready to support this in whatever matter is possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, regardless of how the situation in Mariupol plays out, Ukraine is already creating really the fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II.

The U.N. says more than 5.3 million Ukrainians have fled the country since the invasion began, and that includes almost three million who went to Poland alone. On top of that, as you can see there on your screen, more than seven million, 7.7 million are internally displaced in Ukraine.

For more now on all of this, I'm joined now by a familiar face on the show. Toby Fricker is the chief of communications for UNICEF. Toby, thank you very much for joining us here.

Last time you and I spoke, I think you were in Zaporizhzhia, right? You were talking -- you and I were talking about the need for evacuations and for humanitarian corridors. We saw the U.N. chief, Antonio Guterres, here just yesterday, and we were expecting some sort of deliverables on that. Are you disappointed that that hasn't come yet?

TOBY FRICKER, SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: We all hope that there are going to be some deliverables. We hope that children, women, civilians can get out of Mariupol. We know that the situation is horrific. We are very hopeful that that will still happen. Secretary General and others have been discussing with all sides.

We believe that a corridor can still be achieved and we can get people out safely because it is urgent. Children are going through horrific time in Mariupol. But also, in other areas --

SOARES: Yeah.

FRICKER: -- across where there is heavy fighting.

SOARES: And we did hear from the secretary general when he was in Moscow, where he told us that Putin agreed in principle to allow the U.N., to allow the Red Cross to create these evacuation corridors. I mean, we have been here before, Toby, and Putin has broken those promises.

FRICKER: I mean, everyone from the U.N. is doing what we can to achieve, to get into areas of heavy fighting, to provide both humanitarian supplies, lifesaving supplies, to reach children, to reach women in those areas. But also, the safe passage out.

I mean, I've met children in Zaporizhzhia and other areas who have spoken about being underground for days and weeks, and now over two months. That's terrific for anyone, particularly for children.

SOARES: Talk to us about that, the needs that you and your team -- what you've been seeing on the ground.

FRICKER: Yeah, the needs are massive for children. Any child who is exposed to conflict, their needs are huge, particularly if you are sheltering underground, trying to stay safe. You have mothers, you have women who are trying to protect their children.

SOARES: Yeah.

FRICKER: Doing anything they can to shield their children. And at the same time, going through such stress themselves, and that is incredibly difficult.

[02:10:00]

FRICKER: And then you have children who are leaving their homes. You know, just leaving your home behind is in itself a traumatic experience, being forced to flee to uncertain places.

SOARES: And also, not just every day needs, but also the psychological concerns that you might be seeing right around Ukraine.

FRICKER: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the longer the war goes on, the more traumatic it is for children.

SOARES: Yeah.

FRICKER: They are exposed to more violence, they are displaced, and they are trying to then recover in areas they don't know. That is why it is important that we can provide some support. That can be emotional support. Even just some normality, meaning some areas to play --

SOARES: Yeah.

FRICKER: Some trusted adults to be with them, and getting that psychological support to children as quickly as we possibly can.

SOARES: And we've been talking and we showed in that map there -- I'm not sure if my producer can bring it up. We showed in that map the number of people who have left, the refugees.

But there is also another element of this. If this drags on, as the NATO chief has said in the last few hours, if this drags on, the seven -- we also have to think about the 7.7 million displaced. Talk to us about the challenges of those that stay within the country and the need for those inside the country.

FRICKER: The needs for children, for women inside Ukraine are massive because you have a whole movement of people west primarily --

SOARES: Yeah.

FRICKER: -- where it is relatively safer, and that creates a strain itself on the medical facilities in cities where that have almost doubled in some cases in size.

So, it is about providing supplies, extra sort of buffer of supplies that we can. It is about providing informal educations, support in shelters, for example. So, I've been to shelters in Dnipro where you have -- it's 300 people. And we can provide little games in there. You can get teachers and volunteers to go and support children who are going through some stress in those places.

SOARES: We have heard from our teams on the ground that some of the people, especially coming into -- civilians coming into Zaporizhzhia, I've been hearing of stories of civilians forcibly being taken to Russian-controlled territory. Is this something that you've been hearing about as well?

FRICKER: Those reports are obviously horrific. Anyone should be able to move where they want to go.

SOARES: Yeah.

FRICKER: That's critically important. Children and women should go where they feel safest. That's really key, that they have that, obviously that choice to get out. That is why the humanitarian corridor is so important.

SOARES: Yeah.

FRICKER: Because it provides that safety, that guaranteed safe passage. And what we've seen is in areas where people have clustered together in civilian cars. You see sometimes they have come under attack and children have been injured. I've seen children in intensive care in Zaporizhzhia who were injured when they tried to get out but they couldn't safely. That's why a humanitarian corridor is so important.

SOARES: Toby, I appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. I'm hoping to see you soon. Best of luck. Thank you very much.

Now, the U.S. president says the war has entered a critical window, those were his words, making military aid to Ukraine all, of course, the more essential. And he has now proposed what is by far the largest funding package yet.

Joe Biden is asking the American Congress to approve an additional $33 billion to help Ukraine. Most of that for military -- you can see there --- for military and security systems. The remaining billions will be spent on economic and humanitarian aid. President Biden is calling on Congress to approve the bill as quickly as possible. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The cost of this fight is not cheap, but caving to aggression is going to be more costly if we allow it to happen. We either back the Ukrainian people as they defend their country or we stand by as the Russians continue their atrocities and aggression in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: He also outlined a plan to put further pressure on Russian oligarchs by sending profits from their seized assets straight to Ukraine.

My colleague, Michael Holmes, will be back with more news after a short break, including a look at two key European nations working to get the natural gas they need without violating, of course, international sanction. We will have that.

And Amazon may have revolutionized the home delivery game, but it seems it missed delivering the profits. Details of the tech giant's abysmal earnings after this short break. You are watching CNN.

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[02:15:00]

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HOLMES: Germany's vice chancellor says his nation must think outside the box when it comes to ending dependence on Russian energy, and embrace ideas that were previously seen as -- quote -- "unrealistic."

Now, his comments come after Russia cut natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria over their refusal to pay in rubles. Two major European companies said on Thursday that they are working on a way to make the rubble payments without running afoul of sanctions.

Germany's Uniper and Australia's OMV confirmed they are in talks to find a sanction-compliant solution. Hungary says it will use Moscow's payment scheme.

All right, let's check in on the global markets now. The Shanghai Composite up over 2%. Green arrows all around in Asia. The Nikkei up one and three quarter. The Seoul Kospi up nearly 1%. The Australia S&P ASX up over 1%.

Now, free market investors are reacting to earnings reports from tech giants Apple and Amazon. That is affecting the tech heavy NASDAQ, as you can see there, down nearly half a percentage point. S&P pretty much flattened. The DOW Futures slightly up. Slightly.

A rough quarter for Amazon. That's prying on minds there in the Wall Street. The first time in years, actually, the tech giant reporting a quarterly loss, and it's a big one. The company reporting a nearly $4 billion-loss in the first three months of the year.

Analysts actually expected the $4 billion profit. Amazon blaming a loss in its investment in lithium, an electric automaker, in addition to the pandemic and the Ukraine war.

[02:19:56]

HOLMES: Now, the report came after the closing bell which caused Amazon stop to plummet in after-hours trading, down more than 9%.

Rana Foroohar is a CNN global economic analyst and columnist and associate editor for "The Financial Times." It is good to see you. We've seen the markets' reaction in -- after the bell trading with Amazon. What do we like to see when -- likely to see when the markets open? Just how big of a deal is this?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST, COLUMNIST AND ASSOCIATE EDITOR FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES: Well, it is a big deal. I mean, you know, you think about Amazon as being one of the richest, certainly one of the strongest companies in America, and this is coming off the back of some wobbles that we've already seen with other earnings reports, other tech companies, in particular. So, you know, it's going to have an impact.

I would not be surprised if this led the market lower for some time and it's a correction that frankly a lot of us have been expecting. You know, you've seen the war interrupting all kinds of things, supply chains, creating inflation that has a knock-on effect for companies that makes prices higher, consumers start to feel that.

Anecdotally, I'm hearing and seeing a lot of people saying, anything that is not necessary, I'm not going to spend money on right now --

HOLMES: Right.

FOROOHAR: -- especially on purchases. You know, Netflix streaming, you're seeing those numbers go down. Electronic gadgets, vacations. So, I think you're starting to see a trend here where consumers are worried. They feel the tremors around the world and they're concerned.

HOLMES: I guess it's a combination of things, isn't they? You've got those economic worries, inflation, and so on. But also, Amazon have benefited greatly from the pandemic shutdown as people, you know, they jumped into online buying, not much else to do.

FOROOHAR: Yeah.

HOLMES: So, what then would be the outlook for Amazon in the post- pandemic environment, especially with those, you know, inflation worries, fears of even a recession?

FOROOHAR: I think, in some ways, Amazon is a kind of a very big canary in the coal mine of the global economy. If this company is starting to feel the bite from the war and from inflation and from other troubles, there are some investments that were, you know, perhaps didn't pan out, but if they're starting to feel the pain, then you can bet that other companies will, too.

In the very beginning, a lot of the big tech firms did well because, as you mentioned, everyone went online. You know, the online economy boomed. The big got bigger.

But nobody is immune from a cut in consumer spending, from a supply chain fiasco, and certainly from rising inflation. This is going to bite and we are feeling it. I think that this could be the beginning of some real jitters in the market for the next -- the rest of the year.

HOLMES: Well, that was -- that was my next question. Can you see a correction coming across the whole market?

FOROOHAR: I could. I definitely could. In fact, it's something I've been expecting for some time. You can look back in history and you can draw some parallels with the 70s, even with the 30s, when you saw very similar -- interestingly, very similar geopolitical issues.

A lot of strife, a pandemic leading into a recession, a lot of monetary stimuluses that then prop markets up, you've got rising wages but then you had World War II coming and you saw market crash.

So, you know, we are in the middle of some of these similar dynamics. As I wrote in my past Monday column for "The Financial Times," you know, we could be seeing that kind of a correction at some point.

One question I have is, is that going to derail the U.S. consumer? The U.S. consumer has still in the midst of pandemic, in the midst of war,

will play this role as the buyer of last resort. We are starting to see that change a little bit. Are we going to now see that consumer really pull back and say, no, I want to keep more cash on hand? I'm going to really save and savings rate go up in the U.S.? That will be a big shift.

HOLMES: Yeah. And when it comes to Amazon, specifically, I mean, a loss of $3.8 billion. Compared to the same period last year, it made $8.1 billion. The projections were a profit of $4 billion, I think. How could projections to Wall Street have been so wrong? What happens to make it so wrong?

FOROOHAR: Well, you know, there's just a lot in play right now. I've been doing this for 30 years. I can't remember a period when the amount that could change at any given moment in the economy was as much as it is now. It is just incredibly volatile. And, you know, even a company like this is feeling it. Consumer sentiment can turn on a dime. The war is changing in real time. China is still locked down yet again --

HOLMES: Yeah.

FOROOHAR: -- because of the pandemic. So, there is just a lot of flux right now. I think it's really difficult for anyone to predict really on a week-by-week basis what's going to happen.

[02:25:00]

HOLMES: Yeah. Yeah. Always terrific analysis. Great to see you. Rana Foroohar, thank you.

FOROOHAR: Thank you so much.

HOLMES: More to come here on CNN, including the story of a 12-year- old Ukrainian girl held for weeks by Russian forces. How she was freed and what she says about her experience when we come back.

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[02:30:00] ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Isa Soares coming to you live from Lviv, Ukraine. And this just coming into CNN, we are getting word that another fuel depot is on fire in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine. Now, this time it's in the Donetsk region. The head of the separatist administration said the fire was caused by Ukrainian shelling. And this has happened recently at several other Russian- controlled fuel depots. We'll stay on top of that breaking news story and bring it, of course, to you as soon as we have more information.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials are condemning a barrage of Russian strikes on the Capitol. Ukraine's president says five missiles struck in Kyiv, while UN Secretary-General -- Secretary-General was visiting and that this was a Russian attempt to humiliate the United Nations and everything it represents. At least several people in were inside an apartment building hit by one of those strikes were wounded. While in Ukraine, the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, also visited Bucha, where Russian forces are accused of carrying out war crimes against civilians. Ukrainian authorities say 10 Russian servicemen have now been identified as suspects in the atrocities.

And in Washington, the U.S. President has urged Congress to quickly approve an additional $33 billion in aid for Ukraine. That is the largest funding package yet. The bulk of that will go towards military assistance. Joe Biden also spoke out against the latest nuclear rhetoric by Russia. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No one should be making final comments about the use of nuclear weapons or the possibility to use that. It's irresponsible.

SOARES: Now, millions of Ukrainians have been displaced since the war started but one of them has been reunited with family in Cuba. 12- year-old girl taken into Russian occupied territory after bombs killed her father in Mariupol. CNN's Matt Rivers has a harrowing story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): 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 and 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.

KIRA OBEDINSKY, 12-YEAR-OLD TAKEN FROM MARIUPOL: Speaking a foreign language.

RIVERS: But they hit the house where we were staying. She says. We were buried in the cellar. Then 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 the chaos, and then, another explosion from a mine.

OBEDINSKY: Speaking a foreign language.

RIVERS: My friends saw something on the ground, she says, and she hid 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 was eventually brought to a Russian-held area in Donetsk.

OBEDINSKY: Speaking a foreign language.

RIVERS: 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.

OBEDINSKY: Speaking a foreign language.

RIVERS: State propagandist 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 with Russian state TV did not.

OBEDINSKY: Speaking a foreign language.

RIVERS: 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:35:00]

SOARES: She just wants to be a 12-year-old girl like any other girl, wonderful piece there from Matt Rivers. Well, officials in Ukraine say 45 Ukrainians have been freed in the latest prisoner exchange with Russia, more than two dozen service members and a dozen civilians. It's not known how many Russian prisoners were freed as Russia has yet to confirm the swap.

American, Trevor Reed, is back in the U.S. after being released by Russia in a prisoner swap. He arrived at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas earlier on Thursday mornings, you can see there, almost three years after being detained in Moscow. Reed's parents say he will be taken to a military hospital for monitoring. His mother tweeted it has been a day of joy for his family. She also called for the release of the other Americans detained still, of course, in Russia.

And I'll be back at the top of the hour. But just ahead, we'll have the very latest on China's COVID surge, a live report for you from Beijing. That is next. You were watching CNN.

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[02:40:00]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, perhaps some light at the end of the tunnel for many in Shanghai hard hit by COVID. According to City Health Officials, more than 12 billion people in Shanghai live in low- risk areas and can now leave their homes. That's millions more than just nine days ago.

And what you hear there is the banging of pots in Shanghai as people protest from their balconies over the insufficient and inequitable distribution of daily supplies and the month-long lockdown. Officials say almost all of the more than 15,000 new cases across China were reported in Shanghai. For more on that, I'm joined by CNN's Steven Jiang who is live in Beijing for us.

You know, it is remarkable and we've talked about this many times. Given you know Shanghai and Beijing's enormous populations, it takes only one or two or three cases and there's lockdowns.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, Michael. You know, it's not just in Beijing and Shanghai, when we look at this on a nationwide scale by CNN's own calculation, at least 180 million people in this country are now living under some form of lockdown and many people in smarter cities have been living like this for months with very little outside attention and no end in sight.

Now, you mentioned Shanghai. Finally, some residents are able to leave their houses for the first time in weeks. And I have been talking to some residents there. And this time, you know, it seems to be happening for real because authorities have made similar promises before but only to reverse their decision at a very last minute. But now finally, I've seen people you know, went out of their compounds to -- for a jog or going to the convenience store around the corner to get some ice cream for their kids. You know, just such simple things that people use to take for granted had become such luxury.

But here in Beijing, things seem to be taking a turn for the worst. All schools are closed today along with a growing number of major hospitals. So these are really rather ominous signs despite officially, they have only recorded some 200 confirmed cases in this latest outbreak out of the city's 20 plus million residents, and most of -- most of us have already gone through three rounds of mandatory COVID tests this week. As you may be able to see behind me some people are lining up to get their third test this week at this testing location.

But already, we noticed streets are less congested even during rush hours. And one reason for that could be many commuters who live outside of Beijing's jurisdictions are actually being locked out. And then of course, for the most part inside the city, we are still able to move about except for many people living in so-called-high risk areas, that's where you have confirmed cases, authorities have been a sealing them off in their homes and they're also expanding such areas.

As of now, shops are still open and supplies including food and grocery seem to be plentiful both online and in-store. But people have been stocking up because as many of them have been constantly reminded by their friends and family in Shanghai, things could change at any moment in officials' promises and reassurances really don't mean much anymore -- don't mean much anymore after that fiasco in Shanghai, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, indeed. Not surprisingly. Steven, thank you. Steven Jiang there for us. Now, since the beginning of the pandemic, China has had strict COVID regulations as we've just been discussing. CNN's Selina Wang now shows us just how difficult it is to travel to and within the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): 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 in the world's harshest quarantine. My journey to get in started with three PCR tests in Tokyo. Seven days out from my flight just got my first COVID test. 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. This is possibly the most paperwork I've ever needed to board an airplane. I say goodbye to Tokyo, my home, for the past one and a half years, checking in at the airport, relatively smooth. Still, she's checking my documents. I finally have my boarding pass. I'm at the gate. I'm going to check.

Most people on my flight or Chinese 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 are in full protective gear. Getting ready for takeoff, there we go. Flights into China, especially Beijing are extremely limited.

[02:45:00]

WANG: Even though I'll be based in the capital first I'm flying to Yunnan Province. After landing, I got another COVID test. A bus eventually takes us to the quarantine location. No one can choose where there'll be locked in for the next 21 days. Hours later, we arrived. 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 sometimes even twice a day. Food delivery isn't allowed but breakfast, lunch, and dinner are part of the quarantine fees. These restrictions are all part of China's zero-COVID policy.

Across China, tens of millions are sealed inside their homes. Since mid-December, China's average new daily case count has surged from double digits to more than 20,000. Any positive case and close contact have to go to a government quarantine. The entire metropolis is 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. Selena Wang, CNN. Kunming, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Moderna is seeking an Emergency Use Authorization from U.S. drug regulators. Now, this would be for its COVID vaccine for young kids. Moderna's data shows its vaccines have 51 percent effective at preventing symptoms in children ages six months to under a year, and 37 percent effective in ages two through five. Earlier, CNN spoke to Moderna's chief medical officer about the clinical trials.

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DR. PAUL BURTON, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, MODERNA: These are exciting results, I think, and an important day for us. When we looked at these children and we had 7000 of them in this study, first of all, we looked at safety, you know, as a dad, as a physician, that's obviously what we always want to look at first, particularly in this you know, very young group.

The safety was very reassuring exactly what we've seen in older kids and other populations. Some injection site, pain a little bit of fever, but no excess risk of high fever, so that was very reassuring. When we look at antibody levels, we wanted to see levels that were similar to what we found in young adults, so as 18 to 24. And it's -- that's exactly what we found. So overall, I think this is a very reassuring result and good news.

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HOLMES: Dr. Anthony Fauci says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to consider granting Emergency Use Authorization vaccines for young children for both Moderna and Pfizer, at the same time. Well, a blow to the tobacco industry that health officials say could save thousands of lives in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed a new rule to ban menthol from cigarettes and flavored cigars in the U.S. Studies show people who smoke menthol cigarettes have a harder time quitting compared to dropping regular cigarettes. Tobacco companies have aggressively marketed mental products to young people.

The weather, contributing to a critical fire danger in parts of the U.S. We'll go to the CNN weather center for the latest when we come back.

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HOLMES: More than 5 million people are under red flag warnings in the southwestern United States. Stronger winds, lower humidity, and dry terrain could lead to new or existing fires to spread uncontrollably this weekend. Officials say more than a million acres have been scorched in the region since January. CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins me now to tell us more about all of this. Hey, Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Michael, you just said it over a million acres have burned so far year to date. That's incredible. So let's try and put this into perspective because on an average season, up to this particular date, April 29, we've only experienced over 630,000 acres of charred landscape and we've already eclipsed that with over a million being burned. This is just one of the several large active wildfires. This is coming out of the U.S. state of Nebraska. We have eight separate states with 14 active large wildfires, so that really puts it into perspective as well. So much of it is focused on the Great Basin or the Four Corners region.

Here's Arizona and New Mexico. Let's just give you two examples of the ongoing fires here. We've been monitoring these for the past week or so and I've seen some improvement in terms of containment for the tunnel of fire, that's good. Calf Canyon, just outside of Santa Fe, that fire's at 33 percent contained. But you can also notice the number of acreages that have been burned.

Of course, it is so concerning with our fire weather concerns for the day today. Extreme fire weather conditions exist across Southeast Colorado into portions of New Mexico as well as Nebraska that's why the National Weather Service has hoisted our red flag warnings for so many millions of Americans. And there is the increase in our wildfire threat today as the winds pick up and we continue with the extremely dry conditions across the Plains and the Great Basin, Michael, a very active day ahead.

HOLMES: Yes, indeed. Thanks for the update, Derek. Good to see you, my friend. Derek Van Dam there. And some incredible pictures from the U.S. space agency of wreckage found on Mars and no, it's not from an alien spaceship but NASA's Mars helicopter ingenuity did locate and photograph the parachute that helped its rover perseverance land on the red planet as well as the shell that protected rover's landing capsule.

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HOLMES: In all, the chopper snapped 10 aerial photographs on its 26th flight last week. Of course, landing a rover on Mars is no small feat. It survived extreme gravitational forces and high temperatures as it screamed into the Martian atmosphere at 20,000 kilometers an hour before its safe landing 14 months ago. Yes, and is still taking photographs. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes live from Ukraine. After a break, I'll see you tomorrow.

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