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Swedish & Finnish Leaders Announce Intent to Join NATO; Large Convoy of Mariupol Evacuees Arrives in Zaporizhzhia; Russian Forces Ramping Up Attacks on Severodonetsk; Russians Suffer 'Significant Losses' in East; U.S. Rocked by Deadly Weekend Shootings; North Korea Mobilizes Army to Fight Surging 'Fever' Cases; Taiwan Learns from China's Lockdown Chaos in Shanghai; Castle in Ireland Hosts Ukrainian Refugees. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired May 16, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Paula Newton.

[00:00:43]

Ahead right here on CNN newsroom, Finland moves one step closer to joining NATO, spurred on by Russia's war in Ukraine, with Sweden not far behind.

Plus, what police are learning from a manifesto allegedly posted online by the gunman in Saturday's racially-motivated shooting in the U.S.

And what lessons Taiwan is taking from China's chaos-filled COVID lockdown in Shanghai.

We begin with Russia's war on Ukraine and the impact it's having on NATO.

Hours after Finland formally announced it wants to join the alliance, Sweden's ruling party followed suit, saying it, too, backs NATO membership.

Meantime, Russian forces are pouring into Ukraine's Luhansk region after facing counterattacks around Kharkiv. They're focusing artillery and troops in the area in and around the Severodonetsk.

And again, the Russians are accused of firing on civilian targets. A Ukrainian official said Sunday the Russians shot at a hospital. Add to that, houses, a chemical plant, and a school in recent weeks.

This amid reports Ukrainian forces have pulled back from nearby Rubizhne (ph). A bridge linking the city with Severodonetsk has been destroyed, in a sign Ukrainians may be taking up new defensive lines.

This video from Dnipro area shows Ukrainian tanks and vehicles moving in to reinforce that Eastern front.

First up for us, CNN's Nic Robertson, in Helsinki with the latest on NATO's Nordic expansion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the president and prime minister both saying very clearly that Finland should join NATO. That's their recommendation.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): They called it an historic move. They said that it was because of Russia, but their move is not aimed at Russia. This is purely about Finland's defense.

The next move is for the Parliament here in Finland on Monday, possibly into Tuesday, to discuss and then vote on this proposition by the government. One fly in the ointment at NATO at the moment, President Erdogan of Turkey has indicated he is not happy with Finland and Sweden moving towards NATO membership.

ROBERTSON: I asked Finland's president what he thought about President Erdogan's new position.

Mister President, President Erdogan has indicated that he's not looking positively about the possibility of Finland joining NATO. Does that give you concern?

SAULI NIINISTO, FINNISH PRESIDENT: To be frank, I'm a bit confused, because I had a telephone discussion with the president Erdogan that was approximately a month ago. And, actually, he took up himself before I had the possibility to do that, that you are applying for NATO membership, and we will assess it favorably. I thanked him, and he was very pleased in receiving my thanks. So, you can understand that I'm a bit confused.

What we heard two days ago was different than yesterday. We, again, heard that Turkey is open to our membership. But it turned back to no. Or let's say, negative side.

ROBERTSON: And he said he will talk with President Erdogan at any time President Erdogan wants to discuss these issues. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the United States gives its full support for Finland and Sweden to join NATO.

And the NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, also said that he believed that the issues with Turkey could be resolved.

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Turkey has been really clear that their intention is not to block membership. And therefore, I'm confident that we will be able to address the concerns that Turkey has expressed in a way that doesn't delay the -- the membership or accession process.

[00:05:08]

ROBERTSON: And on Sunday, Sweden making it very clear that they also, like Finland, are going to apply for NATO membership. The ruling Social Democrat Party, the SDP, said that's their government's recommendation. They're recommending that to Parliament.

There seems no doubt at this time that the parliaments of both Finland and Sweden will push through their request for NATO membership. Both nations appearing to go through this process almost in complete lockstep.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Helsinki, Finland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: So the potential expansion of NATO comes as Russian troops are facing setbacks on the battlefield.

On Sunday, NATO's secretary general -- you just heard him there -- he said again this conflict is not going the way Moscow planned, adding Ukraine can win this war.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has a look at where things stand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It almost looks like fireworks, but these explosions aren't for show. They are incendiary munitions. It's yet another day of crushing Russian firepower, aimed at the besieged city of Mariupol.

Over the weekend, a large convoy of cars and vans carrying fleeing residents managed to leave the city. An aide to Mariupol's mayor says up to 1,000 vehicles arrived in Zaporizhzhia, which would be the largest single evacuation from Mariupol since the fighting began.

One man says it was a harrowing journey.

NIKOLAY PAVLOV, MARIUPOL EVACUEE (through translator): We barely made it. There were lots of elderly people among us. It was tough. People went through hard things before. They were nervous. The trip was devastating, but it was worth it.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Meanwhile, further East, Russian troops are zeroing in on the town of Severodonetsk, where 15,000 people still live.

But the Ukrainian military says Russian forces have suffered significant losses as they try to push through the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

Areas of the North, near the city of Kharkiv, are back under Ukrainian control after Russian soldiers retreated from there. NATO's secretary general says these are major setbacks for the Russians.

STOLTENBERG: They failed to take Kyiv. They're pulling back from around Kharkiv. Their major offensive in Donbas has stalled. Russia is not achieving its strategic objectives.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): But some Russian forces are getting additional help. About 600 Chechen fighters and others described as volunteers are on their way to the war zone. Chechen units have played a prominent role since the invasion began.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Lviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Joining me now from Washington D.C., CNN military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

And thanks for weighing in here as we begin another week, unfortunately, of war.

I want to talk first, though, about what's gone down in terms of the security architecture in Europe. NATO membership, right? Sweden, Finland, it is not an over statement to say that neutrality really was a hallmark of foreign policy for both of those countries.

No longer. That's all changed in a matter of weeks, especially when you think about a country like Finland. Do you think they can expect retaliation in the short term from Russia, regarding this move towards NATO?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I do, Paula, and you know, it's -- the reason I think that is that retaliation can take many different forms. It doesn't have to be a kinetic military operation, where a bunch of tanks are rolling down, you know, the next border crossing.

But what I do think will happen is that -- and it could be something asymmetric, something like a cyberattack against Finnish websites, or the Finnish I.T. infrastructure. Those are the kinds of things that I'd be looking for, for the Russians to do, because I think that's kind of part and parcel of their motive operandi. They do things.

They did that with Ukraine. They've done it with Georgia back in 2008. And they've done in several times in other locations.

So this would be something that the Fins should be prepared for. It's something that can be survived, but it also is something that is very much a part of the Russian playbook.

NEWTON: Yes. It's interesting. It got my attention when Germany made the point, that look, until they're official members of NATO, Sweden and Finland, we do really need to think about their security in the interim.

I want to talk a little bit about those Russian losses that we've been seeing in the last few days. They have been devastating. Just this week, right, losing nearly an entire battalion in an attempt to cross that river in Eastern Ukraine.

[00:10:04]

I mean, the U.K. intelligence on this has been categorical, saying Russia may have lost as much of a third of its fighting force that it took into this conflict already. But given that, does it make Russia and its actions even more

unpredictable now? And does it mean that civilians will again be more and more in the crosshairs in the days and weeks to come?

LEIGHTON: Yes, I think so, Paula. I think that, you know, the Russian losses around the Donetsk River and around the town of Bilohorivka, they specifically are really astounding.

You know, a lot of us are looking at this as military incompetence, but it's also, I think, very much symptomatic of the way in which the Russians are running their military.

Their leadership structure is lacking. They have things at the -- you know, the very top. They have sort of the people that are responsible directly to Putin. But then, once you get below that, you have the very tough time assigning responsibility and, frankly, giving the initiative to people at the lower levels.

And that failure to provide that command guidance to the lowest level, and for that lowest level to execute the kinds of things that they would need to execute in a normal military operation, at least normal from the Western standpoint, that really points to a lack of focus on the part of the Russians.

And it hinders their ability to conduct modern war operations. And that becomes, I think, something that is really detrimental to their progress.

And it also means that the Ukrainians have a better time of picking them off, frankly, and -- and inflicting large losses on the Russian military element.

NEWTON: But do you think, again, it will make things more difficult in the short term, especially for Ukrainian civilians? And let's talk about Odessa, right? Firmly in focus now, a port city, which seems to be taking some incoming fire from the Russians.

LEIGHTON: Yes, I think Odessa is a very unique situation, because it's really in the crosshairs, has been in the crosshairs of the Russians for some time now, really since the beginning of the invasion.

So the Russian civilian population, and the Ukrainian civilian population is going to have a -- I think a lot of difficulty in the next few weeks and months, because the Russians are going to lash out with them, whether it's in the Northeast, the, East, or around Odessa.

And I think that Odessa has its own strategic value that becomes very important, but as a result of that strategic importance, the key thing that the Russians are focusing on is that civilian targets. So, buildings, installations that help the society at large are all going to be targets of the Russian attacks, whether they come from missiles, or from aircraft. It's going to be, I think, a very tough time for them in the next few weeks.

NEWTON: Yes, and you certainly see a lot of people in those cities now throughout Ukraine having to adhere again to those curfews and being back down in the bunkers.

Colonel Leighton, thank you very much for weighing in on this.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Paula. Absolutely.

NEWTON: Still to come for us, a community in mourning. Buffalo, New York, reeling from a racist shooting at a supermarket over the weekend. The latest on that investigation when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:17:29=8]

NEWTON: Deadly shootings in the U.S. over the weekend have rocked communities and devastated families from New York to California.

The latest shooting happened just a matter of hours ago at a church in Laguna Woods, California. The sheriff's department there says at least one person is dead and four others critically injured.

The suspect is in custody, but police do not yet have a motive.

In Buffalo, New York, meantime, authorities believe the suspect in a mass shooting on Saturday was motivated by hate. An official says the 18-year-old suspect -- the 18-year-old suspected of opening fire at a supermarket told authorities he was targeting the black community.

Now, investigators are reviewing a 180-page manifesto posted online and attributed to the suspected shooter, which is said to lay out the planning for his attack. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN FLYNN, ERIE COUNTY, NEW YORK, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: All the evidence that we ascertain from that manifesto, from wherever that manifesto leads us; other pieces of evidence that we already had, we can then use that and develop more charges, potentially, that we can add on in a grand jury. Specifically, we're looking at domestic terrorism charges and hate crime charges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: And we'll note here that U.S. President Joe Biden and the first lady are set to travel to Buffalo on Tuesday to visit the families of the victims. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz has more now on the investigation from Buffalo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Police revealing new information on Sunday, saying that the alleged shooter received a mental health evaluation last year after an unspecified threat at a school, at his school where he lives.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): They say that the state police brought him to the hospital, and he received this evaluation. We don't have any other information.

They say that, up until this point, he's not been on anyone's radar.

They also say that the weapons that were used in this case, the two that they found and then the one that was used in the shooting, were all purchased legally.

They're investigating his social media and his Internet access, indicating that he was researching this location. They also say that he was here on Friday, out here looking around, indicating that perhaps that he was planning this for some time.

Also, investigators say that his parents, his parents have been cooperating. But he also, according to sources, has been making statements to investigators that they have described to me as being disturbing. And talked about the motivation, saying that it is very clear, investigators say, that he came here to target this community, specifically, to target the black community. And that his targets were black people inside of the Tops supermarket.

[00:20:13]

PROKUPECZ: Shimon Prokupecz, Buffalo, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Joining me now is Randall Blazak. He's the chairman of the Oregon Coalition against Hate Crimes. Also a professor at the University of Oregon.

And we're glad to have you here, especially as you have been dealing and trying to study -- study what leads to these kinds of incidents.

Your work makes clear that these kinds of massacres should not be viewed in isolation, right? That this is part of online extremist, radicalized people who are in these communities. They're fueled by hate.

What insight do you have on how specifically these videogame platforms are now being leveraged to spread hate and racist ideology?

RANDALL BLAZAK, CHAIRMAN, OREGON COALITION AGAINST HATE CRIMES: Yes. You know, I hate to say this is a textbook case, but it kind of follows a lot of the markers of some of the mass shootings that we've seen that have been racially motivated in the past, including in El Paso, Texas; in Christchurch, New Zealand.

And there is an increasing utilization, not just of social media and the deep web and the dark web and all the -- kind of the dark corners of the Internet, where we would find white supremacy. But gaming platforms. Because gaming platforms are where young males occupy space. It's where -- it's able to reach them and to kind of pull them into that world and whether they're able to communicate and then push out their -- their own activity.

And so we've really seen these gaming platforms become sort of the main currency among the younger elements of the extreme right-wing movement.

NEWTON: This is incredibly disturbing. And when you see these young men, mostly white, aspiring to be these mass shooters. Literally, they aspire to this. You also say that they are practicing this gamification, as you call it. What does that entail? I mean, you gave us a little bit of insight there, but what is going on online?

BLAZAK: There is this -- this larger rhetoric that there is a coming apocalypse, or a coming race war, coming civil war. And building up to that, there is an effort to sort of raise the stakes.

We saw this in 2011, with the shooting and the bombing in Oslo, Norway, that killed 77 people. Christchurch, El Paso. They keep trying to kind of outdo each other's body counts as a way of almost playing a video game in the real world. Except the victims are people of color and people who are seen to be the enemies of the white race.

And to them they are just these scores. These body counts are just sort of scores to compete with each other. But the reality, of course, is the incredible amount of trauma that goes out to communities who have to deal with this yet again, where these young men feel like this violence is going to some and goal. Some race war that they think is going to save them.

But in reality, there are just incredible amounts of people who have been harmed by this thinking.

NEWTON: What's intriguing here is that you are working with the U.S. government, right, to try and do something about this. Describe your project to us and how you're trying to engage these men, these young men online, so that, as you described it, you really take them off the edge of the cliff and pull them back into reality.

BLAZAK: Yes, yes, we're working under a federally-funded grant here in Portland that looks at ways of interrupting and de-escalating the violence.

And we know the solution isn't going to come from the government, isn't going to come from law professors or professors like me. It comes from within communities, from within the communities where these people are at risk of committing violence live, and make plans, and post online.

We know that 80 percent of the violent terrorist attacks that have been broken up within the United States have been done because people close to the people who were planning the attacks interjected themselves, interjected themselves with the people who were escalating towards violence, talked to authorities and really sort of prevented those things from happening.

So we're really looking at taking what we call credible messengers. People that are believable to the people who are -- who are escalating towards violence. To kind of talk them back off that ledge.

To say hey, there's another way. You've got this grievance. You've got this, you know, thing you're angry about. Let's find a nonviolent way for you to articulate that that doesn't end up with, you know, people bleeding in a grocery store and you spending the rest of your life in prison.

NEWTON: And I guess it is important, obviously, to figure out what is amplifying, as well, those positions of hate that they tend to get more and more enamored by as these online platforms.

Randall Blazak, really some really good insight there to help us understand this. Appreciate it.

BLAZAK: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now Taiwan is emerging from the COVID pandemic and returning to a more normal everyday life after learning what not to do from China's harsh zero-COVID policies. That story and more when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:28:29]

NEWTON: North Korea is now ramping up efforts to fight hundreds of thousands of what it calls "fever cases" after reporting its first outbreak of COVID-19.

Kim Jong-un has ordered the military to help stabilize the country's medicine supply. State media says he strongly criticized the cabinet and public health sector for its handling of the crisis.

During an emergency meeting Sunday, North Korea reported nearly 700,000 new "fever cases," as they're described and 23 deaths over the weekend.

Shanghai is planning to get back to normal life, finally, starting next month. Local officials declared the city's COVID outbreak under control a short time ago.

Shanghai's 25 million residents have grown frustrated by more than six weeks in lockdown and uncertainty about when it will end.

Starting Monday, supermarkets, pharmacies, and other businesses will begin to reopen gradually.

Meantime, China's strict zero-COVID efforts are proving to be a stark contrast with Taiwan's pandemic policies. For more on that now, CNN's Will Ripley joins me from Taipei.

Will, good to see you on this.

You know, I have been reading that Taiwan is dealing with a wave of infections, but what's so different about the way they're handling this?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, until recently, Paula, Taiwan was one of the world's last remaining zero- COVID holdouts. But recently, despite surging case numbers, the government has switched its mindset to living with the virus, essentially, facing reality. That even the world's toughest lockdowns and contact tracing and quarantine measures are no match for the Omicron variant. And they are certainly watching what's happening across the Taiwan Strait.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[00:30:09]

RIPLEY (voice-over): Zero-COVID chaos captured on Chinese social media. Shanghai factory workers in a frenzy, friction likely fueled by long weeks of lockdowns.

Panic and fear, on a day Shanghai reported less than 300 new cases. On the same day in Taiwan, more than 36,000 new cases, 140 times more than Shanghai, which has a bigger population.

Here in Taiwan, the mood is calm, not chaotic. The island gradually reopening, emerging from almost two years of pandemic seclusion.

Taiwan's former vice president, a leading epidemiologist, says the goal is no longer zero infections but effectively controlling the virus.

CHEN CHIEN-JEN, FORMER TAIWANESE VICE PRESIDENT: The zero-COVID policy is very difficult. And it's a mission impossible.

RIPLEY (voice-over): What is possible, he says, maximize hospital capacity. Boost vaccination rates. Most adults in Taiwan have at least two doses, even the high-risk elderly population.

Only about half of China's elderly are protected against COVID-19, a symptom of the mainland's sporadic vaccination campaign and reliance on homegrown vaccines, often less effective.

In Taiwan, Omicron symptoms, usually mild. Hospitalizations and deaths, relatively low. Businesses bouncing back.

C. CHEN: People have to live normally, go to school normally, and work normally when we are ready to live with the virus.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Even as Taiwan's cases hit record highs, no mainland-style lockdowns, no violent clashes, no food shortages. Diners fill the tables at this Taipei restaurant.

OSCAR CHEN, OWNER, LANG XI HAO RESTAURANT (through translator): I think we need to overcome our fear a And tread carefully step-by-step.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Not everyone is ready to relax the rules, especially parents of young children, still not eligible for vaccination in Taiwan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I feel like the government has not considered children in their move towards living with the virus. RIPLEY (voice-over): Any plan that allows kids to play is better than

brutal lockdowns in China, says this dad.

JEFF HUANG, PARENT OF 5-YEAR-OLD (through translator): If we still get harsh restrictions like the mainland after vaccination, it will be very painful, and there will be no point in getting the vaccines.

O. CHEN: My brother is now in Shanghai, and it is really tough for him. He has been under quarantine for 45 days without being able to leave his home.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Tough times in China described as cruel by Taiwan's premier.

The island's leaders say life will go on, even if it means learning to live with the virus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (on camera): Taiwan's reopening further isolates China as perhaps the last major economy in the world to cling to this zero- COVID policy that most experts say is simply unrealistic.

Taiwan, they say the best approach is to our mothers, other East Asian economies, such as Singapore, which have successfully managed to reopen and live with the virus. And as a result, their economies are growing, as opposed to the Chinese economy, Paula, which actually has been chugging as a result of this.

But you heard President Xi Jinping, who basically is the one in charge, calling the shots and insisting that in China, the lockdowns, the brutality will continue.

NEWTON: Yes, and it's clear, Will, from the report that you just gave us that it's vaccination that is going to make the difference. And I think many global experts --

RIPLEY Absolutely.

NEWTON: -- have wondered when China can finally try and step up its vaccination efforts.

Will, fascinating look at that. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Now, South Asian countries are finding ways to beat a brutal heat wave. One town in northwest India is deploying tanker trucks on the streets to try and bring down the heat.

Passersby, even people on scooters, are getting a welcome sprinkling of water as temperatures soar above 40 degrees Celsius.

Pakistan is also struggling in the oppressive heat. Zoo workers in Lahore are spraying the animals with water and putting up shades to protect them from the searing sun.

On Friday, one city in Pakistan recorded a temperature of nearly 50 degrees Celsius, making it one of the hottest days in the world this year.

Some Ukrainians are getting the royal treatment in Ireland, given shelter in a castle. There are fears the refugee response isn't sustainable. We'll hear from the Irish minister. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:37:54]

NEWTON: Ireland has become a safe haven for tens of thousands of people fleeing war in Ukraine. And it's become a point of pride for many Irish.

There are growing concerns that it's just not sustainable, and not every group seeking shelter is being treated like the Ukrainians.

CNN's Donie O'Sullivan has more now for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This 15th Century castle on Ireland's West coast is about as far from Ukraine as you can get in Europe. But for a group of Ukrainian families fleeing the war, it's now home.

MARIA NAZARCHUK, FLED UKRAINE: I've never dreamed about I can live in a castle in the future. But no, I live with my two boys, with my family.

O'SULLIVAN: The great hall.

BARRY HAUGHIAN, CASTLE OWNER: The great hall. This is where we have celebrations and big dinners.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): The owner, Barry Haughian, didn't have to think long about traveling to Poland to offer up his castle to refugees.

HAUGHIAN: We decided that we had to do something. And we had no real play. And we were very nervous thinking, OK, how do we do this? And it's pretty simple, you get your credit card out, and you book a flight, and you fly it home.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Per capita, the country of five million people has taken in more Ukrainian refugees than many of its neighbors in Western Europe. The government says more than 29,000 have arrived so far.

Meanwhile, Ireland's closest neighbor, the United Kingdom, has had over 46,000 refugees arrive, despite having a population more than 13 times the size.

But not all refugees in Ireland have received the royal treatment. The government has warned that resources are stretched.

RODERIC O'GORMAN, IRISH MINISTER FOR CHILDREN, EQUALITY, DISABILITY, IMMIGRATION AND YOUTH: Look, it's not all ideal. It's not all the kind of gold standard accommodation that we'd like. But you know, this is a crisis situation.

Most people are in hotels. Some people are in more basic accommodation. And yes, it is getting more difficult, particularly as it's clear now that this war isn't going to end anytime soon.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Authorities have set up emergency camp beds in an area in Cork. They also plan to repurpose student halls, holiday homes, and former convents.

Campaigners have praised Ireland's initial response but say the government needs better long-term plans in place.

NICK HENDERSON, CEO, IRISH REFUGEE COUNCIL: That we've been able to accommodate people with such short notice is, if you'd ask me that before the war, I would have said it was impossible.

[00:40:05]

Now, we need to be thinking of what our long-term plan is for this. There's also this concern that, well, why aren't we able to do all the things that we've done for Ukrainian refugees and apply that to all people seeking asylum in Ireland?

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Former asylum seeker Lucky Khambule, originally from South Africa, shared a room in a government-run facility for years, living in limbo until his papers were processed. He now campaigns for better conditions for all asylum seekers.

LUCKY KHAMBULE, COFOUNDER, MOVEMENT OF ASYLUM SEEKERS IN IRELAND: It showed that all along, we were right to say that the government is capable of treating us better.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Unlike other asylum seekers, Ukrainian refugees were immediately granted the right to work and receive welfare payments in Ireland. A lack of red tape also enabled thousands of Ukrainian children to be enrolled quickly in Irish schools.

HAUGHIAN: They had everything sorted, and for these guys inside two hours. It was really -- the way I describe, can't fault it. It was quite incredible. It makes you really proud to be Irish.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, Galway, Ireland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: And thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton. WORLD SPORT is up next.

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[00:45:18]

(WORLD SPORT)