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World Leaders In Davos Get Tough On Putin As Russia Ransacks The Bread Basket Of The World; Two Hundred Bodies Found In The Rubble Of A High-Rise Building In Mariupol; Biden Concludes First Presidential Trip To Asia; Biden: "Strategic Ambiguity" Toward Taiwan Hasn't Changed; Russians Stealing Ukrainian Grain; Boris Johnson Drinking At Party During Lockdown. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired May 24, 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]

LYNDA KINKADE, HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello everyone, I'm Lynda Kinkade, you're watching CNN Newsroom live from Atlanta. Tonight, world leaders in Davos get tough on Putin as Russia ransacks the bread basket of the world. We'll have the latest on the global food crisis. And more death and destruction uncovered in Mariupol.

Ukraine says 200 bodies have been found amid the rubble of a high rise building. Also ahead, Biden concludes his first presidential trip to Asia. Has he reignited tensions between Beijing and Taiwan? We'll live to Tokyo.

Well, there is no shortage of challenges facing leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Its concerns that increasing food insecurity and the energy crisis are driving inflation and threatening to plunge the world into recession. But there's one key factor that can axe them all, the war in Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is warning that Russia's invasion, quote, "puts a whole global order in question."

NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg says sanctions against Russia are working, and the world should reconsider its business dealings with authoritarian regimes. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, SECRETARY-GENERAL, NATO: These massive sanctions remind us of one of the important lessons from this conflict. That we should not trade long-term security needs for short-term economic interests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is in Geneva for us and joins us live. Good to have you with us, Nic. So the NATO chief not only called on business leaders at the World Economic Forum to put values over profit. But he also spoke about what he called Putin's big strategic mistake. He said calling the invasion of Ukraine a game-changer of European security and for international order, and he is confident that NATO will expand.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: He is. And after all, that is his job to sort of shepherd all the 30 current NATO members to common positions. He's got a lot of experience doing it. And remember, he was going to retire this year, and because of the war in Ukraine, he was asked to extend. Most countries sit around the table -- most leaders sit around the table, the big NATO leaders meetings recognize Stoltenberg has a very difficult and tough position.

And that's what he was saying today. He said look, when it comes to the possible expansion, expected expansion with Finland and Sweden, who have requested to join NATO, he thinks that this will happen, he knows that Turkey objects -- Turkey has objected on a -- for a number of reasons. One, Turkey believes that both those countries harbor Kurdish separatist leaders and they want to see Finland and Sweden have a tougher line.

There and also, Turkey is angered by some of the arms controls that have been placed or arm-sales controls have been placed on Turkey by those -- by those nations as a repercussion of some decisions Turkey has taken. But yet, Jens Stoltenberg thinks that, that can all be worked out. He -- I think his message today though, to the business leaders was a very strong one. The idea that, you know, freedom shouldn't be sacrificed for free trade.

Freedom more important than free trade. And that's what he's saying that the current crisis in Ukraine has shown. But his view that NATO will expand is one that is commonly felt among most NATO member nations. And he does think that he can overcome President Erdogan's objections.

KINKADE: Yes, he certainly did have some strong lines today as you mentioned. And Nic, I want to ask you about further backlash over this invasion in Ukraine, because a top Russian U.N. diplomat has resigned over what he's calling the aggressive war. That he says not only hurts Ukrainians, but also Russians. And I understand you spoke to him briefly. What did he say?

ROBERTSON: Yes, and we talked about what he said publicly, and he really feels that it was important to say it. That it's a -- these are significant things to say and that they should be heard. The Russian population, he says, is being hurt by this aggressive war because he says that they don't have the opportunity for freedom and prosperity in the future.

[14:05:00]

That's something in essence that President Putin is denying for them. And the other leaders he said who are willing to sacrifice many Russian lives just as long as they can stay in power. That they'll live in, you know, in sumptuous gaudy palaces. They'll use really expensive yachts that are perhaps as profitly good and as expensive as the Russian Navy. So these are very caustic criticisms he's landed on President Putin, and they will resonate with many Russians who understand this about Putin. Even if they're patriotic to the cause of Russia at the moment. So he

feels that it was worth making the statement and putting his own safety and security to a degree on the line. And it's not something that he regrets. This is -- this is -- was a considered decision. He's also very critical about Sergey Lavrov; the Russian foreign minister as well, which I think will also likely resonate with other Russian diplomats because this is what's been widely seen within an international diplomatic circle.

That Lavrov is not their sort of involved negotiator diplomat that he once was for Russia according to Boris Bondarev, Lavrov is now is into warmongering and hatred and not diplomacy.

KINKADE: Yes, some really strong lines there as well. We will see what else he says, and if any others follows suit. Nic Robertson for us in Geneva, thanks so much. Well, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol says the Ukrainian city has turned into a continuous cemetery. He says 200 bodies have been discovered in the ruins of a high-rise building there. Mariupol is now under full Russian control after the last Ukrainian troops at the besieged steel plant surrendered.

Ukraine wants to get them back in a prisoner of war swap, but a separatist leader says tribunals are being prepared instead. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is ready for a prisoner exchange, quote, "even tomorrow". He also says Ukraine has fulfilled tens of thousands of body bags with the corpses of Russian soldiers left behind.

I want to bring in Melissa Bell who joins us live in Kyiv with more on all of that. I'm going to say I want to ask you about the prisoner swap in just a moment. But first to Mariupol, 200 bodies found in the rubble of a building. What more can you tell us?

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is information as you said that we're getting from an adviser to the city's mayor who has fled to the other side of the border. So he is no longer inside that now fully Russian-controlled city. But what he is telling us he has gathered from his contacts within the city, he is an adviser to the mayor, he says that what's been happening in the morgues of the city is that the process of counting the many dead from remember what was a several-week siege and ultimate razing of part of the city is a very grim picture indeed.

What those officials at morgues are telling him, he says, is that the process has been slowed down because relatives coming to claim the bodies of their loved ones or identify them are being made to speak to camera, to give a video statement to say that their loved ones were killed by Ukrainian rather than Russian fire. That is why he says it's been so slow to get an accurate picture of how many civilians may have died during the three months of this latest phase of the war of Russia, since Russia invaded Ukraine on the 24th of February.

Now, we have no way of confirming that figure of those 200 people who have been found in the basement, nor have we, Lynda, anyway of confirming his estimate for the time being that there are at least, he says 20,000 civilians who have been killed over the course of those three months, because we cannot get journalists inside.

In fact, it is the free press entirely, not simply western journalists who are having trouble giving an accurate picture of what's happening because we've been trying to speak to journalists in cities like Kherson which has suffered similar fates as well as Mariupol, and they're simply too scared to be identified.

And that gives you an idea of what's happening tonight in those Russian-controlled areas. We can provide a very accurate picture of what's happening in those cities that are now back in Ukrainian hands, and I'm thinking here of cities like Chernihiv and Kharkiv. Also cities with scenes of seizures and shelling. And the targeting of civilian populations were even there, the number of civilian dead have not been fully counted.

But we're beginning to get a more accurate picture of just how devastating the toll has been for civilians. What we're talking about here is, one of those cities that was targeted early on, that was devastated early on, and from which we're beginning to get an extremely grim picture of what's happened inside. Lynda.

[14:10:00]

KINKADE: Yes, grim indeed. And just quickly, Melissa, in terms of any sort of prisoner swap, obviously, the Ukrainian president wants it, and wants it happened soon. Any indication Russia will agree?

BELL: Look, this came I believe from those signals, it started to emerge from the Kremlin yesterday, that it was willing to consider the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow, that it was willing to consider a prisoner swap. Zelenskyy, remember, speaking from Davos in the context of some 2,500 Ukrainian prisoners of war, those men and women who were evacuated from Avostal(ph) -- Azovstal, those defenders of Mariupol, the last of them evacuated on Friday night, those more than 2,500 Ukrainian fighters now in Russian hands and being kept as prisoners of war.

Even in that context, Zelenskyy striking a very defiant tone tonight. Saying short, let us look at a prison of war exchange, we are more than happy to hand over those Russian prisoners of war we have, those of course, Lynda, who are not the subject of war crimes investigations or indeed sentences that have already been handed down as in the case of this soldier that was tried this week. But he says let us not cede any ground to Russia. Let us not give an inch.

We must not allow Moscow to be bargaining with us, and I think the reason for that defiant tone is precisely because of what we're beginning to hear from Mariupol tonight, Lynda.

KINKADE: Yes, all right, Melissa Bell for us in Kyiv. Thanks very much. Well, volunteers from around the world have come to Ukraine to help fight against Russia. Some serving in Ukraine's International Legion have years of combat experience including former U.S. and British special forces. CNN's Sam Kiley has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): How

did you know where to go?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We didn't. We just knew the enemy was this way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just -- after these backyards and clear through here.

KILEY (voice-over): It's not as straightforward as it sounds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not crossing the street --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's going to go to that building.

KILEY: Veterans of years of counterinsurgency warfare, this small team of American and British fighters is under Ukrainian command. And they now look at war down the other end of the barrel. And have asked us to conceal their identities for their own security. This is a war that has a moral clarity for these volunteers in Ukraine's International Legion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, people keep saying, oh, you're doing it for democracy. It's really not. You know, it really comes down to good versus evil. I never figured out why they were killing women and children. And it wasn't by accident, it was murder. I mean, we found many people just at the end of the street that were bound together and shot, thrown on the side of the road.

KILEY: Many in Kevin's team, ex special forces operators have had millions spent on their training in the West. In countries that won't send troops to war with Russia. Among the first into Irpin, they took over this house behind enemy lines. He says the team killed dozens of Russians in the park below. He says that the fighting and the shelling and the Russian killing of civilians was relentless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two pro Russians in here.

KILEY: As Kevin's team advanced, he says they got trapped in this health spa for several days. It was steadily torn apart by Russian artillery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the house of hell. This was four really miserable days of really little sleep, really heavy artillery, really heavy infantry presence from the Russians.

KILEY: Kevin's small team is funded largely by donations to the Ukrainian Legion. It operates mostly behind Russian lines. And they were stunned at first at being on the receiving end of airstrikes and heavy artillery. But they're applying the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan to Russia, and believe that they're having an effect on the enemy. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's definitely a psychological aspect to it.

We do know that the Russians were talking about -- hey, they're up, like we can't figure out where they're at. We don't know what's happening. We were being artillery'd so heavy that we put this chair here so we could jump out this window if we had to in a hurry.

KILEY: Deeper into the spa, he comes across evidence that Russia plays dirty, even in local defeat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So a lot of the Russians came back through some of these places and re-mined them or put booby traps, and you can see this cable goes back into the ground where it's been intentionally buried and then it's tied out here.

KILEY: So far, this group has not lost a soldier.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely a nightmare.

KILEY: But that time may come. It's a risk he says he's prepared to take, because for the West's former warriors in the war on terror, Ukraine has given them something back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One way or the other, they've either been lost or they've lost everything. So, this is giving them another chance, and then they come back here, and it's like they've put their life back together.

KILEY: Sam Kiley, CNN, Irpin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, still to come tonight, a CNN investigation has turned up disturbing new evidence about the shooting death of "Al Jazeera" journalist Shereen Abu Aqleh. We'll take you live to Jerusalem.

[14:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back. They were shooting directly at journalists. These are the words of one eyewitness to the shooting of veteran "Al Jazeera" journalist Shereen Abu Aqleh in Jenin Camp in the West Bank. Nearly two weeks on, CNN has found new evidence, video evidence and eyewitnesses which suggests that the Israeli defense force carried out a targeted attack. CNN's Katie Polglase reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (voice-over): A moment of casual chatter. Then the shots start. This is the last moment we see Shereen Abu Aqleh walking with colleagues, seemingly at ease. Seconds later, she's lying motionless on the ground.

SHATHA HANAYSHA, EYEWITNESS TO SHOOTING OF SHEREEN ABU AQLEH: I just watched her and there is no up and down. She don't -- she didn't flee. And this is -- makes me crazy. Why she didn't flee? And the shooting I'm still hearing.

POLGLASE: Shatha Hanaysha has become a key eyewitness to the May 11th shooting of Abu Aqleh. She and eight others present told CNN, it was the Israel defense forces that shot her, and that they thought it was deliberate.

HANAYSHA: But I think they want to kill us. This is -- this is why they shoot. I don't have another reason why they shoot, and they know that we are journalists.

POLGLASE (on camera): It fell targeted.

HANAYSHA: Yes, because all the time when I try to touch her body, that they're shooting on me or around me --

POLGLASE (voice-over): The gunfire you hear at the beginning of this clip is key. Eyewitness testimony and audio analysis show these are the shots that killed Abu Aqleh.

(GUNFIRE)

There is a crack, and then a pop. The time between these two sounds reveals how far away the gunmen are. This indicates a distance of between 177 and 197 meters. According to forensic audio analyst Rob Maher(ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The tree next to where Abu Aqleh was shot is also a crucial piece of evidence. This is her colleague Mujahid Saidi(ph), another eyewitness retracing her steps days later.

[14:20:00]

The bullet holes in the tree now identified with tape. Military analyst Chris Cobb-Smith told CNN that the nature of the strike marks prove this wasn't a random shot. She was targeted. He said there was no chance that random-firing would result in the three or four shots hitting in such a tight group from a distance of 200 meters.

Based on this analysis, we looked for potential perpetrators in the surrounding area. Less than three minutes before Abu Aqleh's shot, this Israeli military truck is visible within 200 meters down the same road. The number one can be seen on the side. The truck can be seen from this angle too, in these videos uploaded to Telegram, this time with armed soldiers visible. Multiple eyewitnesses said a sniper fired at them from a window in an IDF truck.

The IDF's own body cam footage shared of the operation that morning shows the same military vehicles lined up on a street facing down towards Abu Aqleh. CNN geo-located these videos to this location, matching the distance estimated in Maher's(ph) audio analysis. This is also corroborated by the IDF's interim report. The IDF insists they do not deliberately target non-combatants and have said Abu Aqleh could have been killed by gunfire from Palestinian militants. POLGLASE (on camera): The Israeli government has said that there were

also Palestinian gunmen in that area. And that --

HANAYSHA: No --

POLGLASE: It could have been either -- you were there, what did you see?

HANAYSHA: I absolutely don't agree that there is any Palestinian guy with his gun. And as a journalist and as a human, I will not make myself and endanger a situation.

POLGLASE (voice-over): This video appears to back Hanaysha's version. The nearest location where CNN has found armed people present according to verified video evidence uploaded the morning of May 11th is here. The other side of the IDF forces. Therefore, without a clear line of fire to Abu Aqleh and beyond the 200-meter reach of the gunfire. In fact, the video of Abu Aqleh's last moments also shows the street has no ongoing clashes or crossfire.

It leaves the IDF vehicles as the closest and most likely source of the gunfire. And while there is yet to be an official determination on who killed Abu Aqleh, these testimonies and videos are compelling evidence that the Israeli government must answer to. Katie Polglase, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, CNN put the findings of this investigation to the Israeli military who stated via e-mail that they are conducting an investigation into the killing of Abu Aqleh, adding that assertions regarding the source of fire that killed Miss Abu Aqleh must be carefully made and backed by hard evidence.

Well, I want to take you to Jerusalem for more on this. That's where we find our journalist Atika Shubert standing by for us. That was a very brief response. Atika, what more can we expect in terms of reaction and where is the Israeli investigation now?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli military continues its internal investigation. There is no criminal investigation for now. But once the findings of the internal investigation are handed in, then it will be up to Israel's military attorney general to decide whether a criminal investigation should be carried out. What we know from the internal investigation so far, some interim findings were put out recently.

And we do know that the Israeli military has taken the weapons of the soldiers that were there on the scene, and have isolated one weapon in particular that may have been fired during that event. Now, the question is, can we -- can there be a way to show that this is the weapon that fired the shot that killed Shereen Abu Aqleh. In order to do that, investigators would need to match the gun to the bullet to either confirm or disprove.

And up until this point, the Palestinian authority is the one that has that bullet. Their forensics team has the bullet. And they say, they will not share that bullet or the evidence they've collected so far with the Israeli military investigation. The reason for that, the Palestinian authority says, is that, they do not trust the Israeli military to conduct a thorough investigation on its own soldiers.

Now, the Palestinian authority is also conducting its own investigation and has said that it would be happy to work with an independent investigation. So far, however, we haven't had any details about the bullets or any of the other evidence that was collected at the scene. So, you know, really, the bottom line here is that in order to get a concrete answer, investigators would need to match the bullet to the weapon that fired that bullet.

And so far, each side has a crucial piece of evidence, but they don't want to share the evidence they have. And that makes finding a definitive answer extremely difficult, Lynda.

[14:25:00]

KINKADE: Yes, exactly. We will stay on this story. Our Atika Shubert for us in Jerusalem, thanks very much. U.S. President Joe Biden is on his way back to Washington after wrapping up his four-day trip to Asia. While in Tokyo, Mr. Biden used Russia's invasion of Ukraine to send a message to Beijing. During a high-level summit, the U.S. President said America would defend Taiwan militarily if China launched an attack.

The White House later walked back that comment. And just hours ago, Mr. Biden seemed to downplay his own comments by saying the U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity towards Taiwan has not changed. CNN's Will Ripley is standing by for us in Tokyo. And Will, the U.S. has seemingly gone around in circles on this after Joe Biden said the U.S. would use force to defend Taiwan against an attack.

Given that gaffe, if you can call it that, internationally, how is this trip being viewed? Is it considered a success?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is certainly a little confusing -- chief of the United States say at least three times including -- the U.S. would come to Taiwan's defense militarily, only quickly dial it back, say the one China policy of the United States -- and then, of course, President Biden today walking back -- insisting that what he said -- actually didn't --

KINKADE: We are having some difficulty with that connection to Will Ripley. We will try and come back to that story. Well, as U.S. President Biden returns to the United States, we will be watching closely as five states hold their primary elections. And it could be a chance for Republican voters to break with former President Donald Trump or show that they're sticking with him.

And CNN will have a special coverage of these elections starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time tonight. That's midnight in London. Well, still to come tonight, the U.S., Europe and others all say that Russia is stealing grain from Ukraine and threatening to cause a global food crisis. We'll look at what the satellite pictures show. Plus, we'll check in on the Depp-Heard trial that Hollywood has Hollywood transfixed. Could Johnny Depp be called to take the stand again? We'll have that story in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

KINKADE: U.S. President Joe Biden is on his way back to Washington after wrapping up his four-day trip to Asia. Moments ago we were trying to connect with our Will Ripley in Tokyo for more on this. We have got that connection back.

Will, good to see you again. As you were saying, the U.S. seemingly going around in circles after the U.S. president said he would militarily defend Taiwan if China attacked; later walking that back, even though he said a comment like that to that extent at least three times.

How is this trip being viewed internationally?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think the messaging from the White House about as clear as our live signal was a moment ago. People don't know what's happening. Biden said something very strongly and then it was dialed back.

What sort of message does this send to the region?

It sends a message of strategic not ambiguity but confusion, frankly, at a time the former Japanese prime minister called for the United States to be more clear about what it will do in the event that Taiwan were to come under attack from China, which has claimed that self governing democracy as its own territory for more than 70 years.

Beijing has never actually controlled that island. It's coming at a time that you had a very important meeting here in Tokyo, with the United States and Australia, India, Japan. These four regional powers, talking about both economic power and also military power. In a show of, frankly, intimidation, according to the Japanese government, the Chinese and Russians flew warplanes right near the island of Japan at the very moment that the Quad meeting was happening.

The Japanese prime minister indicating that that is a sign that the security situation in this part of the world is perhaps the most tense it has been in many years, at a time that confusion, frankly, can be dangerous, analysts warn. Confusion over what would happen if Beijing was to try to decide to make a move on this island they have long coveted but never controlled.

That is why you have a growing voice in the region calling on the U.S. to be more clear, to perhaps take a stand and go on the record and say what it would do in the event that China were to take Taiwan.

We thought we were getting that from Joe Biden in Tokyo yesterday, only to have him walking back his own comments today. So the confusion continues but the live shot also continued so you could hear everything I said.

KINKADE: Confusion on U.S. policy. But at least you are crystal clear, Will Ripley, in Tokyo. Thanks very much.

European leaders say Russia's weaponizing food supplies, just like it's weaponizing energy. Speaking at the World Economic Forum, European Commission president Ursula van der Leyen says Moscow's blockades in Ukraine are keeping 20 million tons of wheat from reaching global food stores.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VAN DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: In Russian occupied Ukraine, the Kremlin's army is confiscating grain stocks and machinery. For some, this brought back memories from a dark past, the times of the Soviet crop seizures and the devastating famine of the 1930s.

Today, Russia's artillery is bombarding grain warehouses in Ukraine deliberately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: We are getting a fuller picture of what Russia is doing with the food supply in Ukraine, thanks to satellite images. Alex Marquardt is following the story and joins us now.

Good to see you, Alex. So certainly, Russia is being accused of weaponizing food supplies. You've had a look at some of the satellite images, which provide evidence of what is happening.

What did you find?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The new satellite images that we obtained from Maxar Technology shows a ramping up of these Russian efforts. We know from sources, speaking to CNN, that Russia has been stealing grain and trucking it south into Crimea.

We have tracked at least one ship before this that made its way out into the Mediterranean, from the Black Sea, trying to drop off its grain but getting turned away from Egypt and Lebanon, before ending up in Syria.

Now with this satellite imagery, we see this tactic by Russia growing, with at least two more ships that appear to have been loaded up with grain and set sail out into the Black Sea and into the Mediterranean Sea.

[14:35:00]

MARQUARDT: As I mentioned, we got these images from Maxar Technologies. They also gave us an exclusive tour of their satellite production facility, showing us some of their work that has been absolutely critical to understanding this conflict. Maxar and other companies are offering CNN and activist groups and

governments some of the most harrowing, most dramatic and really some of the most tragic images we have seen of Russia's war in Ukraine. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT (voice-over): These new satellite images show what appear to be the ramping up of theft by Russia of Ukrainian grain being poured into the open hold of a Russian ship.

This was in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on May 19th. Then, two days later, a second ship docks and it too is filled. Now both Russian ships are sailing away.

This weekend, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of fueling a food crisis and of gradually stealing Ukraine's food supplies and trying to sell them.

An earlier image from Maxar Technologies shows one of those same Russian ships in a port of their close ally, Syria. The Ukrainian grain waiting to be unloaded onto trucks. These extraordinary revealing images are so close and so clear they look like they could be taken by drone or helicopter.

STEPHEN WOOD, SENIOR DIRECTOR, MAXAR NEWS BUREAU: You can actually see the grain pouring into the open hole of the ship.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Stephen Wood and his team at Maxar spotted the ships in this much wider image of Crimea.

WOOD: This is 400 miles up in space. To be able to see that kind of level of detail, the ships, the cab of the truck, pretty phenomenal stuff.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Maxar and other commercial satellite companies have played a critical role in what we know about Russia's war in Ukraine with satellite imagery that is unprecedented, both in quality and how it's being used.

WOOD: Before, this was only available in the halls of the CIA or the U.S. government or friendly foreign governments. To now we're showing it on CNN.

MARQUARDT: We're keeping a very close eye on that column of Russian vehicles, that convoy we've been talking about for several days.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): They alerted the world to the famous 40-mile- long Russian convoy outside Kyiv, the rows of hundreds of mass graves near Mariupol, potential war crimes in Bucha and the aftermath of the Russian bombing of the Mariupol theater.

DANIEL JABLONSKY, CEO MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES: The satellite is in the final stages of getting ready to be shipped very soon.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): We were given a rare tour of Maxar satellite factory in Palo Alto, California by CEO Dan Jablonsky. Joint projects with NASA and others, construction under way on six new Maxar satellites which will allow them to scan a single spot on Earth 15 times a day.

For decades, Maxar has provided all kinds of images to both private clients and to the U.S. government, their biggest customer.

MARQUARDT: How much does the U.S. government tell you where to look?

JABLONSKY: They tell us where to point the satellites and take the imagery and then that's what we feed into them as a service, the same way we would do for Google maps, for example.

MARQUARDT: Will the intelligence community, for example, say we know that there is a war crime that has been committed. There are all these mass graves, for example. Train your satellites there and then push out those images to the press?

JABLONSKY: They actually -- they might ask us to make those collections but they don't -- they do not influence or ask us to necessarily put out what we're putting out to the public.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Maxar is now giving imagery to the Ukrainian government, part of the U.S. aid for Ukraine. In a fight, the U.S. and others now say that has resulted in Russian war crimes.

MARQUARDT: To what extent are your images going to be critical in these war crimes investigations?

WOOD: For example, the bodies that were found on the street in Bucha. We had imagery correlating at that exact same time where these bodies were, down to the place, the time and the moment. It's having that kind of fidelity of data that we now have that makes that possible. And I also only think it will play an important part.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT: Lynda, each one of those cargo ships, those Russian cargo ships we showed you there in those images, they have a capacity of some 30,000 metric tons. Russia does deny they are stealing that grain.

But as well as stealing it, we do believe that they are also targeting it and blocking it from getting out of the country. That's according to sources now secretary of state, Tony Blinken, says some 22 million tons of grain are being prevented from leaving Ukraine.

Of course, that is devastating for that country, for their economy but also for the world, which is so dependent on Ukrainian agriculture. Lynda.

KINKADE: Fascinating report. Alex Marquardt, thanks to you and your team. Much appreciated.

There is yet more evidence of Boris Johnson's involvement in the parties at 10 Downing Street, which may have violated COVID lockdown rules. ITV news has obtained photographs that it says show the prime minister drinking and giving a toast at an event in November 2020.

That's when the British government was urging everyone in England not to engage in any kind of social contact.

[14:40:00]

KINKADE: Downing Street is not commented on the new photographs.

Amber Heard's lawyers have rested their case in the Hollywood superstar trial that pits her against her ex husband, Johnny Depp. His attorneys are calling their final rebuttal witnesses. They started with the Warner Brothers executive, who said Amber Heard almost lost her role in "Aquaman 2" because of concerns about her chemistry with her costar, Jason Momoa.

Not because of Depp, all people close to him who had bad mouthed her. Our Jean Casarez is following the trial and joins us now live.

Good to have you with us, Jean. Amber Heard's case has rested. At the very last minute they decided not to call Johnny Depp to the witness stand. Explain why.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know. We just know they had floated it out there. It was believed they were going to call him. They didn't.

Attorneys can change their lineups very quickly, depending upon what's has come out in court. They can decide not to do it. Now in the rebuttal case of Johnny Depp, they have a lot of witnesses that they are putting on the stand, a lot today, as you just summarized.

But I think one of the witnesses that we believe is going to take the stand is, believe it or not, Kate Moss. This is someone that Johnny Depp dated years ago. It all comes about, she was not supposed to take the stand. The judge had said no, prohibited.

But you can open the door in the trial. If you say something on the stand that opens the door, that changes everything. I want you to listen to Amber Heard. This is at the staircase, where Amber Heard says that Johnny Depp hit her. And her sister said I saw him hit her with a closed fist.

Well, this is why she says she actually also hit Johnny Depp that day. Listen closely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You thought he was going to throw your sister down the stairs, like he had thrown Kate Moss down the stairs, right?

AMBER HEARD, ACTRESS: He swung at Whitney. And I heard a rumor, a vague rumor about that. And so that's what I thought of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: All right, so there it is. She had already said that he didn't want her to throw her sister down the stairs, like he did to Kate Moss. And then she is replying to that. So that opened the door. Kate Moss to testify, we believe, about whether Johnny Depp actually threw her down the stairs.

Remember, this is all a test on credibility, the credibility of Amber Heard.

Is she telling the truth as she testified?

KINKADE: Fascinating. We will be, no doubt, following that closely tomorrow, as will you, when we -- the former supermodel takes the stand. Jean Casarez, thanks for joining us. We

CASAREZ: Thank you so. Much

KINKADE: Thanks for watching tonight. I'm Lynda Kinkade, "LIVING GOLF" is up next.