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Biden Meeting With Victims' Families After Attending Mass; U.S. Grieves With Uvalde After Harrowing Details Emerge; Zelenskyy Visit Troops On The Eastern Frontlines. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired May 29, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:01:10]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone, and thanks so much for joining me. I'm Jessica Dean, in for Fredricka Whitfield and I'm joined now by my colleague, Dana Bash, who is live in Uvalde, Texas this afternoon, President Biden there today to meet with the grieving community.

Dana, tell us what you're seeing there.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are here today, and he is playing a role that he has played so many times before, comforting families following an unspeakable tragedy. And right now the President and the First Lady are meeting with families at a community center here in Uvalde.

This morning, the Biden's visited a memorial site at Robb Elementary. That of course, is the site of the shootings on Tuesday, and then they attended a Catholic mass service where he was greeted by an archbishop here.

Those events taking on an even more solemn tone as questions continue to grow over apparent failures of law enforcement's response to Tuesday's mass shooting. The visit also comes less than two weeks after they both visited a site of a different kind of massacre, a racially motivated massacre that of course, was in Buffalo, New York. Ten people were killed there.

Arlette Saenz is here in Uvalde. She is at Robb Elementary. And Lucy Kafanov is here with me at the memorial.

Lucy, let me start with you because we are learning new information about the Justice Department and its intent to investigate.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We just learned that the Justice Department will be conducting a critical incident review of the law enforcement response to that shooting that unfolded on Tuesday at the Robb Elementary School, and this is a significant development because we know that 78 minutes according to the timeline is how long it took from the moment when the gunman reached that elementary school to when law enforcement officers were able to neutralize him, ending the incident.

I do want to read you a statement from the Justice Department. They say that: "The goal of this review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day and to identify lessons learned, best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events. The review will be conducted with the Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing, as was prior Justice Department after action reviews of mass shootings and other critical incidents. The assessment will be fair, transparent and independent."

"The Justice Department will publish a report with its findings at the conclusion of the review."

And as you've heard from the survivors, from the family members, from the community as a whole, so many questions about why it took so long to neutralize this threat. And almost this chilling tone even from that Justice Department press release, preparing for the next one. You know, it's something that we don't want to be prepared for, and yet, it keeps happening.

BASH: Preparing for the next one. And yet, you're going to have these parents who are already numb with grief, perhaps learning that their child didn't have to die, which is -- there are no words.

Thank you so much, Lucy for that report.

Arlette Saenz, I want to go to you. What was the President's message and what did he do while he was there where you are at Robb Elementary?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, President Biden here really came to Robb Elementary to take in this scene, to visit this memorial honoring the lives of those 21 people, 19 children and two teachers who were gunned down at their school -- elementary school on Tuesday.

The President and First Lady spent quite some time, about 20 minutes there, looking through each of the photos, the crosses, the names of each of those victims, really taking in this moment. As the President has said, he is here to try to offer some type of comfort, any type of comfort that he can to this grieving community.

But while he was on hand here at Robb elementary, there were dozens of onlookers who had gathered here and there was one man who started to shout as Texas Governor Greg Abbott approached the memorial, encouraging him to do more, saying that there needs to be change.

You could hear some booing from the crowd, as well as those pleas for the Governor to take action.

[15:05:21]

SAENZ: But then also, that same protester was also shouting at President Biden telling him to do more.

Now, here at the elementary school, the President simply just waved at the group, but did not come over. But as he was leaving church at Sacred Heart Catholic Church where he attended mass earlier, he did engage with some of the demonstrators who were on the scene.

Take a listen and a look at that video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(PROTESTERS chanting "Do something.")

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: And so you can see the President there mouthing the words, "We will." There are so many calls to action in the wake of this shooting here in Uvalde, Texas. Of course, the President himself has said that there's not much more he can do on executive action. When it comes to guns, the White House is insisting that it is Congress that needs to ask.

But right now, there are so many in this community across this country who are still seeking more answers about how to prevent a tragic tragedy like this. The President is facing those calls as he is here on the ground in Uvalde, Texas, trying to comfort this community as they are grieving from this gut-wrenching loss.

BASH: Arlette Saenz, thank you so much for that report.

And this morning, I spoke with Briana Ruiz and her son Daniel. They came here to visit the memorial and pay respects to his fallen friends and his cousin, nine-year-old Ellie Garcia. Daniel is only nine years old, and he climbed through a broken window to survive Tuesday's shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANA RUIZ, MOTHER ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I was by the funeral home, and I know the layout of his hallway. When they started pulling children out of the classes, I saw all the classes that rounded his area and my cousin's area as well.

Once I saw all those children coming out, and I saw that they weren't hit, it was a numbing feeling that I got, just because I can feel something was very off. And just knowing he was still in there, the shooter was still in there. It's -- it was terrifying.

I saw his friends running out and I still hadn't seen him. And then finally, towards the end when him and another friend came running out together, it gave me -- it gave me back like -- I like I couldn't catch my breath, you know. But I ran straight to him and I just held him and I remember somebody trying to get him out of my arms, but I just -- I kept holding him until I walked him myself to the funeral home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: This morning, I spoke with a psychologist, one who grew up here and had beautiful moving things to say about this community as they experience immense grief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA WETERGROVE-ROMIN, PSYCHOLOGIST: This is just such a tight knit community that everyone is taking care of each other, and so I just want to make sure to remind people to take care of themselves, too.

BASH: You're handing this out. What is it?

WETERGROVE-ROMIN: It's a grief journal. It gives prompts every day to allow people to kind of process what they're going through. And so I'm just handing it out to people who maybe feel like they're not ready to talk now, but can still kind of process their feelings through writing.

There's this collective grief that happens, you know, just to the whole community. We all knew someone that was impacted in some way in a town like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: You can really feel that collective grief as mourners are here, people coming to pay their respects with very heavy hearts. I want to bring in CNN's Nicole Chavez for more on this. She is a writer with CNN's Race and Equality Team.

Nicole, thank you so much for talking. Your piece on cnn.com was really moving talking about where we are right now, this memorial, and about the color maroon, how that has taken on a specific symbol talks about that.

NICOLE CHAVEZ, CNN RACE AND EQUALITY TEAM WRITER: Yes. You know in this town right when you get here like you feel the love. And you know before you know this tragedy, like people will wear maroon for you know sporting events to support their own children at, you know soccer, baseball t-ball.

BASH: The color of the school team.

[15:10:10]

CHAVEZ: Yes. The school team.

Now, earlier this week I talked to, you know, parents who they say like I don't know what to tell my fellow parents, my family, that something that went worse that I share with them, for them to face this.

And they -- what they took on was just to wear maroon, where there colors that for them for just unity, that show unity in this town. So now you when you walk around town, you see way, way, way too maroon t- shirts, and you know, the message has changed, you know, before it was to cheer for their own children. Now, it is to show unity. And you know, it's all the t-shirts are wildly strong.

BASH: Yes. No, that's very well said. Now, you are based in San Antonio and you've unfortunately had to cover mass shootings before. In 2019, the Walmart shooting. You were there for CNN, that was in El Paso that hit very close to home for you.

Ninety minutes away. That's how far we're talking with these mass shootings. What did you notice when you arrived here to report on what happened last Tuesday?

CHAVEZ: Right when I got here, you know, driving into Uvalde, the first thing or one of the first things I noticed was the children were at the center of here. You know, when you drive into town, you see the high school portraits right outside City Hall, like right now, like -- and today we're here at just across the street, you know, at a growing memorial for 21 victims, most of them children, and still like you see children everywhere.

People that come here like you know holding their children's hands, pushing strollers still, you know, torn between, you know, mourning for the lives that were lost, and still trying to keep going for those, you know, children are still with us.

BASH: It is amazing. This is the third day that I've been here and today is a weekend. So people are off work and there are a lot of people here, but it has been really packed with mourners, with people just to come and pay their respects and you can really feel it in the air -- the support. Obviously there's a huge tragedy, but the connectedness that people feel to one another.

CHAVEZ: Yes. When you talk to people in town about you know what happened, and the victim especially the children, all of them, just describe them as "our babies." Because there are so many connections, there is -- they can be -- people have gone to school for generations, they like -- they are classmates, grandparents, like they work together, like everybody knows each other in one way or another.

So for yes, for like the people here in town, they aren't just families, it is like everybody is family.

BASH: Nicole Chavez, thank you so much. I encourage everyone to look at your piece on cnn.com.

Thank you, and Jessica Dean, I'm going to toss it back to you in Washington.

DEAN: All right. Thanks to Dana and to Nicole. We appreciate it.

Coming up, we're going to have much more from Uvalde, but first, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visits troops in Eastern Ukraine while the country's military says it's begun a counteroffensive against Russian forces in the south.

We'll have the latest on Russia's brutal war on Ukraine, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:18:00]

DEAN: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visiting troops in the eastern part of the country. Today, he met with soldiers at the frontlines of the war during a trip to Kharkiv. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military has claimed advances in the southern Kherson region, saying they've started a counter offensive against Russian forces there.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is joining us live now from Dnipro. Nick, what can you tell us?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Certainly, this visit by President Zelenskyy to Kharkiv is an interesting choice of location that is a place I think that is a comparative success story for Ukraine over the past month, Ukrainian forces have managed to push Russian forces there, back away from the cities edge to prevent them from shelling the city center. It has been so heavily damaged by that over the past months, but it's a limited success because Russia has also pushed back. The dynamic there certainly fluid.

And President Zelenskyy in a visit that seemed to show him walking up and down a column of destroyed Russian armor, from the earliest days of the conflict, those vehicles now rusted and also visiting destroyed areas also had, it seems according to his speech deal with the issue of a local Internal Security Service head, who he indeed said was fired because he was reportedly more interested in his own interest than that of Ukraine.

But it comes on a day of mixed news. Certainly, we've just come back from Lisichansk, that's near the key city of Severodonetsk, where Russia is claiming significant advances in a bid to encircle an important town there in the Donbas. All part of Vladimir Putin completing the sort of goals he set himself in the second phase of what they call a special operation, this unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Severodonetsk increasingly in Russian control and neighboring Lisichansk under intense shelling as well. It is frankly bad news in the Donbas area with many forces there to us appearing nervous, relocating themselves, but as you mentioned, too, Jessica in the south of the country, there are many claims by Ukraine that has managed to push Russian forces back, minimal detail or evidence at this stage.

But President Zelenskyy's visit I think clearly a bid to show him on the front. We've heard very mixed messaging from Ukrainian officials sounding significantly more negative, frankly, than they have for weeks over the past week in terms of what is happening in the Donbas, but his bid there in Kharkiv he is personally in control, and also highlight, I think, an area where you can pretty much say Ukraine's had some success.

[15:20:29]

PATON WALSH: But as in everything here, as this begins to drag on as a war, we are slowly seeing Russia pushing back in areas where Ukraine has seen success and questions now as to the duration of this war and what both sides can bring to it if this goes on for over a year perhaps -- Jessica.

DEAN: Sure. All right, Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much for that reporting. We should do appreciate it.

So this afternoon, we asked parents and children to leave a voicemail about the conversations they're having following the Texas shooting.

You'll hear those heartbreaking messages after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:33]

DEAN: Right now, the President and the First Lady are in Uvalde, Texas meeting with families of the victims from the devastating shooting at Robb Elementary School. You're looking live there at the memorial that has grown outside the school and the President once again being asked to console absolutely grief-stricken American families.

Meanwhile, the investigation into how the gunman was able to enter that school is still underway. A school resource officer was the first to encounter him and there are growing calls for more armed guards at schools as a solution.

Tom Foreman looks at just how effective the presence of resource officers is in protecting our schools.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The nationwide push for armed guards in every school began with Columbine High in 1999. The murders at Sandy Hook Elementary, 13 years later reignited the cause.

WAYNE LAPIERRE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, NRA: The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

FOREMAN (voice over): Now, up to an estimated 20,000 armed school resource officers, SROs, are on duty paid for by close to $1 billion from state and local governments hoping to stop violent attacks, but the Justice Policy Institute's Marc Schindler says, there's a problem.

MARC SCHINDLER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JUSTICE POLICY INSTITUTE: Listen, I'm a parent of high school kids. If there was evidence to show that school police officers would make their schools safer, I would be all for it.

But at the end of the day, there is literally no evidence to show that police in schools make school safer.

CALLER: I think we've got shires fired. Possible shots fired.

FOREMAN (voice over): At Stoneman Douglas High in Florida, security cameras recorded and armed SRO standing outside the building where 17 people were shot and killed.

MARK EIGLARSH, ATTORNEY: My client is not pleading guilty because he did nothing wrong.

FOREMAN (voice over): Scot Peterson faces charges for his inaction, but says he just didn't know where the gunman was.

SCOT PETERSON, FORMER BROWARD COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTY: There is no way in hell that I would sit there and allow those kids to die with me being next to another building and sitting there. No way.

FOREMAN (voice over): At Santa Fe High in Texas, armed SROs traded shots with a gunman and helped force him to surrender, but 10 people were killed.

At Red Lake High in Minnesota, an unarmed guard confronted a shooter only to be shot and killed himself. Nine died there.

So in Texas, the Attorney General wants more than just officers.

KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL: We can potentially arm and prepare and train teachers and other administrators to respond quickly, because the reality is, we don't have the resources to have law enforcement at every school.

FOREMAN (voice over): But the National Association of SROs says what is needed is more mental health care for students, more realistic expectations about how their officers can and do reduce violence.

MO CANADAY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS: If you've got a person with a weapon bent on killing people, you're probably going to lose some people on the front end. I just hate to say that and our job becomes trying to contain that and stop further killing.

FOREMAN (on camera): Even some fervent defenders of armed officers in schools say they must be seen as part of a larger coordinated effort because one person with a gun has to be very good, very lucky, and often very brave to make a difference all on their own.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Tom, thank you.

Children and parents across the country are sharing their feelings after the 19 students and two teachers lost their lives when they were gunned down in an elementary school in Texas.

Here is what they told CNN in their heartbreaking voicemails.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for calling CNN.

JAMES, 8, TENNESSEE: All those kids who got killed and adults, they were all innocent. They did nothing bad. They did not deserve to die.

TEXT: CNN got permission from parents to hear children on how they're feeling after the Robb Elementary School shooting.

HEATHER, MOM: It's, it's -- it's unbelievable, isn't it?

JAMES: Yes, it is. I saw that picture of one of the teachers and she looks like an amazing teacher. And I would love if I had her.

HEAT HER: She was like a really nice person, didn't she?

JAMES: Mmhmm.

[15:30:09]

GABRIELLA, 9, NEBRASKA: So like, I kind of feel like mad, because people should have stricter guidelines. Every day, there's been more and more shootings I've been hearing about, and I don't like it.

And also, like, I want to know if there were any earlier signs before this happened. And if yes, why didn't people notice them?

RACHEL, MOM, CALIFORNIA: Erica, how are you feeling right now after hearing about another school shooting in the United States?

ERICA, 13: Honestly, right now, I'm just kind of feeling a bit vulnerable, and I feel like these shootings are just really reoccurring, and And I feel like I can't do anything about it.

MARY ELLE, FIFTH GRADER, NEW YORK: How come that 18-year-old man can walk in a gun store and buy a gun? So many innocent people are dying because of guns and gun violence? Now when I enter my school, I won't feel safe as I used to be, I'll always have to check who's around me. I hope everybody who listens to this feels the same as me.

JENNIFER, HER SON IS 8, CALIFORNIA: It was really hard to send him off to school today, because for the first time in his entire life, I had to lie to him and tell him that he was safe going to school, and that it wouldn't happen to him. And if anything bad happened, that his teacher would keep him safe. And I don't know, if that's true with all the shootings that have been happening in all the different areas.

RANDALL, GRANDPARENT, TENNESSEE: I'm calling as a grandparent. I'm a longtime firearm owner myself, but the time has come that we cannot let firearms go into the hands of those people who have not been vetted.

JEREMY, 13, WASHINGTON: My question is, "What are you guys going to do about the gun laws?" Because all you do, all America does is just repeat.

SHANNON, MOM, NEVADA: You has asked, "Why was he so angry?"

NOAH, 8: Yes, why was he so angry? That's probably the reason -- kids probably teased him a lot or --

If you'll be nice, if you'll be nice, he'll be nice back, you know.

SHANNON: We want to know, "When is kindness going to be a part of our curriculum in school?" NATALIA, HER SON IS IAN, 12, FLORIDA: My son's name is Ian and he is

12 years old. And the question he's asking is if there's a possibility that I can go ahead and purchase for him a bulletproof backpack, that if, since we're not really doing much about what's going on, at least there's a chance that he can protect himself and his brother.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:30]

DEAN: Parents right now are just facing a lot. More than two years into the pandemic, still children under five can't get a vaccine. There's the critical shortage of baby formula, sky high inflation and this ever present threat of mass shootings, especially in schools.

And I'd like to bring in Jenisa Thompson. She's President of Foster City, California Parents Club and a licensed marriage and family therapist. Jenisa, it's great to see you. Thanks for making time.

I just want to start with this kind of overwhelming time for parents. How do you recommend that they keep themselves grounded to support their kids and their families? I think a lot of parents put everybody, obviously, ahead of them and want to make sure their kids are okay. But that's really -- that can really burn a parent out, too.

JENISA THOMPSON, PRESIDENT, FOSTER CITY, CALIFORNIA PARENTS CLUB AND LICENSED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST: Yes, thank you so much for hosting me on this. It's such a critical topic. You know, I think being realistic with their expectations, and really knowing what their true values are and being authentic with themselves is pretty critical for this.

And just knowing that they're not alone, this is a universally challenging time for parents and there are places and people you can talk to, to get support and to feel less alone, and just to get through it.

DEAN: Yes, I mean, it really sounds like reaching out to whoever you're close to, other parents, siblings, you know, your own parents, whomever it is, having that support system in place seems to be really key instead of trying to hold it all by yourself.

THOMPSON: Absolutely. I mean, the biggest thing I've learned in parenting is how you cannot pour from an empty bucket. Right? You know, if you are struggling yourself, it's going to reflect everywhere, especially to your children.

DEAN: And so how should people kind of be thinking about this, when they're like, oh, God, I don't want to -- now I have to reach out to somebody and talk to somebody, but how important is it to connect with people over this?

THOMPSON: It's your lifeline. And, you know, I think seeking appropriate support is ridiculously helpful and that looks different for everybody. Right? That can be your family, that can be your mommy circle. I know some of my best friends have gotten me through some of the hardest times of parenthood.

And it can be peers. That's part of why we formed the Mothers Club, well it was the Mothers Club, it's now the Parents Club. You know, just to get that community peer support and really hold the space for parents to have difficult conversations when they need to happen.

[15:40:11]

DEAN: Right? It can be so, so important.

I'm curious as a parent yourself, and then in talking with the people you're interfacing with all the time, do you get the sense that young parents, especially or parents with young children especially feel somewhat overseen and overlooked, that they're bearing the brunt of a lot of these crises, right? Yet, we don't have a lot of lawmakers that are parents of young children, do they feel like they're being seen kind of by the society at large?

THOMPSON: Yes, and no. I think there's a valiant effort to really address the current needs, however, great they are. You know, and I think, you know, parenting has always been difficult. I'm not going to try and say that there wasn't difficulties throughout, but this is really unprecedented times, and there's a lot -- there's just a lot to face with and there is no textbook on how to be a parent during a pandemic, or how to be a parent, you know, during a time of mass violence.

And so it's just a new thing, and, you know, I'm hoping that some of these big feelings that parents are currently going through, you know, the anger, the sadness, the hopelessness, can lead to encouraging them to make those changes and have the conversations with whoever they need to, lawmakers, peers, or their neighbor, whoever, and really help those voices get heard.

DEAN: And when you really start to go through it, I mean, I kind of listed them at the beginning of our segment here, but you're talking about two years in COVID, where a lot of parents have struggled with childcare and schools, schools daycare -- they are in, they're out there. You know, COVID exposed, they have to be home and trying to work while doing that.

You have the baby formula shortage where parents are having a really hard time finding formula to feed their children, and then you layer into that, you know, again, a mass shooting at an elementary school. That's just a lot of anxiety out there and a lot of worry, a lot of concern.

THOMPSON: Absolutely, and remembering like when these big feelings happen, that is your body telling you something is not okay. And these big feelings are happening daily. It takes a lot for parents to face parenthood right now, knowing that there's so many challenges, and if there's a great thing, that we're not alone.

You know, there are people in places that can help support us and hear our thoughts and your voices and hopefully hear our concerns and really be moved to do something with that.

DEAN: Yes, Jenisa Thompson, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

THOMPSON: Thank you so much for having me.

DEAN: Well, just another example of just how many Americans are on edge right now. Chaos erupted at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York last night after people heard what sounded like gunshots, sending them panicking and running following a boxing match.

Police report there were no shots fired. They said it was a loud noise that people mistook for fire and thankfully, no one was seriously injured.

But it just shows you how scared a lot of people are. That disturbance coming of course just days after the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas.

And as part of Memorial Day weekend, the annual rolling to remember demonstration in Washington, D.C. which raises awareness about prisoners of war and those missing in action is happening.

Earlier today, motorcyclists took laps around the National Mall as part of the four-day event. Advocates representing a variety of veterans organizations gave remarks including comedian, Jon Stewart seen here who rallied Saturday for senators to pass bipartisan legislation addressing toxic exposure to burn pits while serving in the military. They're hoping to vote on that when they come back from recess the week of June 6.

In a new episode of "Nomad" with Carlton McCoy, Carlton explores our neighbor to the north, Toronto with such a diverse immigrant influence, eating out in Toronto is like dining around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're in my town.

CARLTON MCCOY, CNN HOST, "NOMAD": And finally, a hidden gem for an unlikely dinner. The Spot, a proving ground for Toronto's best pool sharks.

MARCO LU, OWNER, THE SPOT: The Spot.

MCCOY: It's owned by Marco Lu, and is famous locally for its amazing fried rice and crispy wings with Guyanese hot sauce.

LU: You want hot sauce? How many hot sauce do you want? Hold on one second.

Hey, guys.

MCCOY: Hey.

How good of a pool player do you need to be to own a pool hall? LU: It depends. You want to see the $5.00 game or at a $20.00 game?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: You can catch an all-new episode of "Nomad" tonight at 9:00 PM only here on CNN.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:49:28]

DEAN: Tonight CNN takes an intimate look at the war in Ukraine through the eyes of a mother who is caught inside a Kyiv basement with her family as the war rages around her.

Tonight on "AC360" with Anderson Cooper -- Anderson.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Thanks, Jessica. You know, we've all seen a lot of images of the war in Ukraine, but this is something you really haven't seen. It is the war through the eyes of one mother as she shelters in a basement with her three children in Kyiv.

Her name is Olena Gness and before Russia invaded, she was a tour guide and posted a lot of videos about her family, and about life in Ukraine on YouTube.

[15:50:06]

COOPER: But when the bombs started falling and Russia invaded, she decided to keep a video diary of what she and her husband and kids were experiencing as they moved into this basement shelter, really never knowing if they would survive through the night.

I talked to her on "360" since the early days of the war and was able to finally meet her just a few weeks ago in Kyiv, but when I realized how much video she'd shot, and I started to watch it, I realized what an extraordinary thing this was.

It's a view of war that we've rarely seen before. It's very intimate and poignant. It's very personal, and she's just lovely and a thoughtful, caring person.

This is the war diary of Olena Gness. Here's a brief clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER (voice over): In the morning against all odds, Kyiv is still in Ukrainian control.

OLENA GNESS, KYIV RESIDENT: So the latest update is that we are alive. I am alive. This is Darena (ph). She is sleeping on the floor. There are some other people in the shelter. Woke up. It's already morning. It's like more than seven o'clock in the morning.

Katya and Taras (ph) are sleeping on a small sofa here.

It's very important that we survive this night. Now, the day has come. You know at night, everything looks much more scary for people.

So as you can see, even many people left the bomb shelter right now because it's more than seven o'clock in the morning.

COOPER (voice over): Many in Kyiv are leaving, long lines of cars clog the roads heading west. Train stations around the country filled with families trying to get out.

Olena decides she and the kids will stay.

GNESS: I feel safe here. The chances for us to die here in Kyiv are equal to the chances for us to die on the road somewhere. And another thing, I want my children to be alive of course, but both physically and spiritually. I want them to be strong. I want them to be free.

COOPER (voice over): Olena's husband, Sergey (ph) bring supplies for his family. He has volunteered to fight despite having no military training.

(SERGEY AND CHILDREN speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION (KATYA): Daddy, what were you doing today?

SERGEY: I can't tell you, Katya. Bye.

COOPER: He leaves quickly to rejoin his unit.

(CHILDREN speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION (DARAS): Mom, I want to go to Daddy.

GNESS: Me, too.

KATYA: Where did Daddy go?

GNESS: He went to defend us.

KATYA: To war?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Her family like so many others have been through so much and has given them a lot of strength to know the world is watching what happens in Ukraine. So I really hope you can watch this tonight.

You'll come away, really kind of understanding the war in a whole different way -- Jessica.

DEAN: Sure looks like it. Anderson, thank you. "A Mother's Diary of War" airs tonight at 8:00 PM. Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Jessica Dean in for Fredricka

Whitfield and CNN NEWSROOM will continue after the break.

But first a quick programming note, tomorrow at 8:00 PM Eastern, you can catch right here on CNN our new film "Julia," about the story of the legendary and beloved culinary icon, Julia Child. Here's a preview

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIA CHILD, BELOVED CULINARY ICON: Hello, I'm Julia Child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Julia was more than a cook. She was a cultural force.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Julia with a pop icon.

CHILD: Julia Child presents the chicken sisters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, you have rock star chefs, Julia is the first.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I love you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She absolutely expanded the possibilities of what women could do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Julia really paved the way for this incredible moment of food and pop culture making this very domestic profession something extremely popular.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were right for a change, there I was.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whether you cooked or didn't cook, people just watched her for fun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were mesmerized, spellbound by what she was saying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She just seemed so unpretentious that you thought, if she could it, you could do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The delicious life of America's first celebrity chef.

CHILD: Bon appetite.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Julia," a CNN film. Premieres tomorrow at 8:00 on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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