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Ukraine Withdraws From Key Eastern City Of Lysychansk; Experts Estimate Ukraine Recovery Costs Could Reach $1 Trillion Plus; At Least Three Killed In Mass Shooting At Danish Shopping Mall; Police Release Body Cam Footage In Fatal Shooting Of Black Man Who Led Officers On High-Speed Chase; U.S. Urged Palestinians For Weeks To Turn Over Fatal Bullet That Killed Shireen Abu Akleh; Hong Kong Lawmakers Near Xi Jinping During Visit Tests Positive; Heavy Rains Bring Life- Threatening Emergency To Sydney; Civilian Volunteers Help Supply Ukrainian Troops. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired July 04, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

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[00:00:34]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes, appreciate your company.

Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM. Hours before the Ukraine recovery conference begins in Switzerland, a major setback on the battlefield as Ukrainian troops are forced to pull out of the key city in the east.

A terrifying scene at a mall in Denmark, a gunman opens fire, killing three and sending shoppers running for the exits.

And thousands told to evacuate in Sydney, Australia as heavy rains caused flash flooding in parts of the city. Emergency crews calling the situation life threatening.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.

HOLMES: And we begin in Ukraine where officials are already turning an eye towards rebuilding even as their troops suffer a major setback on the battlefield.

In the hours ahead, Ukrainian officials will arrive in Switzerland for talks about how to rebuild the country once the fighting ends.

We've also learned that the U.K. plans to unveil a major aid package during the conference. It includes more than $1.5 billion in loans and other funding. Ukraine has estimated it will cost at least $600 billion to rebuild after the war. Others put the potential bill much higher than that.

This is all coming as Ukraine suffers a critical loss in the east. On Sunday, Ukraine's military said it was forced to withdraw from the city of Lysychansk, a key target in Russia's push to control the Donbas.

The loss likely means Russian forces now effectively control the entire Luhansk region and can shift their focus to advancing in neighboring Donetsk.

And already, the cities there are under increased attack in Slavyansk. Ukrainian officials say at least six were killed, 15 wounded amid some of the heaviest selling in recent days.

In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia has built up massive firepower in the Donbas. Still he vowed Ukraine's military will retake the territory they've lost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Ukraine does not give anything up. And when someone over there in Moscow report something about the Luhansk region, let them remember their reports and promises before February 24th. In the first days of this invasion in the spring and now, let them really evaluate what they got over this time, and how much they paid for it.

Because their current reports will turn into dust as the previous ones. We are gradually moving forward in the Kharkiv region, in the Kherson region and at sea Zmiinyi is a good example of this. There will be a day when we will say the same about Donbas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: CNN's Scott McLean has a closer look now at why Ukrainian troops decided to withdraw from Lysychansk and what they need to continue fighting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The Russians now say that they are fully in control of the Luhansk region. They say that they have managed to capture the last major city in the region Lysychansk.

Beyond that, there are only a few minor settlements to the west and then the administrative border or boundary which they say that they've reached, but they're not stopping there. There have been reports of heavy shelling in the city of Slovyansk to the West in the Donetsk region and missile strikes in Kramatorsk nearby as well.

The Ukrainians have conceded that their troops have in fact been pulled back, they said that they could have kept fighting but in order to preserve the lives of their soldiers and preserve their manpower on the front line, they made the decision to withdraw.

They say that they were simply outgunned and they were outmanned, saying steel will and patriotism are not enough for success, material and technical resources are needed.

Now, the Ukrainians of course, since the outset of the war, and even before had been calling for more heavy weapons to be sent from their western partners. And while plenty have already been sent in, plenty more have been pledged.

The Ukrainian say that they're not reaching the frontlines quickly enough. The Russians also say that very early this morning, there were a series of missile strikes inside of Russian territory in residential areas that they are blaming on the Ukrainian saying that they are deliberately targeting civilian areas and that there are no military targets in that particular area. They say that series of missiles were shot down by air defense systems and then the remnants landed in this residential area.

[00:05:22]

MCLEAN: Now, there have been plenty of explosions reported across the Belgorod region of Russia and other parts of the country in recent months, but the Ukrainians have never officially taken responsibility for them, nor are they doing that today.

An advisor to the president did not directly claim any kind of responsibility. But he did say evil has consequences. And you always have to pay the bills.

Scott McLean, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, as I mentioned earlier, in the hours ahead, talks will get underway in Switzerland about how to rebuild Ukraine after the devastation of this war.

But even once the fighting does stop, Ukraine will face an uphill battle towards recovery. Officials estimate reconstruction will cost hundreds of billions of dollars, could even run into the trillions.

In his nightly address on Saturday, Ukraine's president called it: "The largest economic project of our time", one that will require colossal investment.

Joining me now from Washington is Brian Cavanaugh. He's the senior vice president for American Global Strategies. Thanks for making the time, Brian.

So, just how monumental of a task will rebuilding be? I mean, it must be hard to know where to begin once it's even possible to begin.

BRIAN CAVANAUGH, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, AMERICAN GLOBAL STRATEGIES: Well, thank you so much for having me this morning, Michael. And I would certainly agree with you. This is a monumental task. I think it's going to be the greatest recovery effort of our generation. Not since World War II have we seen something on this magnitude. The scope and scale of devastation in Ukraine is truly in a modern sense, unlike anything we've dealt with before.

HOLMES: How difficult is it to contemplate reconstruction when, you know, more of the country is being destroyed every day? Or is that precisely the time to be doing it? Planning ahead. CAVANAUGH: Well, see, I think this presents a great opportunity. If taking the opportunity to plan right now, while the conflict is ongoing, it's going to enable you to have the most efficient recovery and rebuild possible.

I think, when you look at it in terms of what could be happening right now, there could be agreement from an international community on the framework of what is it we are going to do, what's the boundaries, the left and right guidelines of how we're going to approach this recovery in Ukraine.

Ukraine can take the opportunity to figure out how they want to set up the governance mechanisms to oversee and ensure the investment of what's going to be billions of dollars is spent to make sure that Ukraine has a strong and prosperous future, while not falling victim to its past with corruption and some of the other things (INAUDIBLE) track record with.

HOLMES: Yes. And how much does Ukraine's eventual European Union membership play into the overall reconstruction strategy in terms of the European economy and what Ukraine can offer the union in areas like agriculture and renewables and technology sectors and all of that? Does that play into the consideration of the plan?

CAVANAUGH: Absolutely, I think what you have here, Ukraine represents tremendous agricultural investment. It's the breadbasket of Europe. It's sitting on some of the largest deposits of rare earth minerals in the entire continent.

And then, coupled that with its budding tech sector, I think what you have here is a real opportunity for the E.U. to assess what Ukraine brings to the table, while simultaneously Ukraine can improve on its track record and prove that it's built some of the mechanisms necessary for good governance, avoiding the corruption and kind of keeping the oligarchs in check, something that they struggled with during the Revolution of Dignity in 2014.

HOLMES: Yes, and you mentioned World War II, in a historical sense, something the devastation and destruction done to Ukraine is reminiscent of post-World War II Europe.

And I guess it's worth remembering that it wasn't until three years after the end of the war that the U.S. established what became known as the Marshall Plan for rebuilding.

Would Ukraine plan need to be speedier in terms of preparation and implementation?

CAVANAUGH: Well, I think this is an opportunity to look back and take lessons of best practices and apply them in a real time context. When you look back at World War II, it wasn't until there is -- they're on the brink of starvation in the post conflict era before the Marshall Plan really solidified and gained support.

I think, in fact, Secretary Marshall was giving a speech at a university and that's what kind of garnered the traction, 2-1/2 years into recovery.

If you're looking at this from a sense of -- we live in a world where every day you wait, put something off exponentially, the challenges grow for you.

[00:10:06]

CAVANAUGH: I think you look at it in terms of like what is -- what do they need to do to get Ukraine back quickly. Some of these things can be planned for today, you're talking about and unexploded ordnance removal, and you're talking about reestablishing some supply chains, critical transportation infrastructure and putting them on a -- really taking them from a post-World War II Soviet era system and spring boarding them into a modern global economy in terms of the infrastructure, in terms of how they set up the threat of that society.

HOLMES: Yes, using it as an opportunity in many ways. There's something like I think $350 billion in frozen reserves from Russia central bank, more than 30 billion in assets seized from Russian oligarchs. Will or should those funds be used to help pay part of the bill and it's going to be a big bill?

CAVANAUGH: Yes, I think in some estimates, you've seen anywhere from $250 billion to a trillion as projected estimates here.

And I think, not exploring the frozen assets in the seize assets of Russia and the Russian Central Bank is a complete mess. I don't think any country is well postured in the current economic challenges to bolster this recovery and rebuild on their own.

I think some countries are better suited with their laws to take advantage of some of the frozen assets. While some countries like the United States might need to go to Congress and revisit legislation in order to take advantage of some of the funds that they frozen from the Russian Central Bank.

I certainly think that it's something that calls for further exploration and would help reduce the risk investment for a lot of the international community as they approach this tremendous effort.

HOLMES: Yes, a fascinating analysis. Brian Cavanaugh, really appreciate it. Thanks so much.

CAVANAUGH: Thank you, Michael. I hope you guys have a great day.

HOLMES: Now, the suspect accused of a mass shooting at a mall in Copenhagen, Denmark will face questioning from a judge on Monday.

Police say at least three people were killed including a man in his 40s and two younger people as well. Several others injured including three in critical condition.

CNN's Nada Bashir is in London with more details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, the investigation is still very much ongoing and we are still learning more information about this incident hour by hour.

At this stage, police have confirmed that one individual has been arrested, a 22-year-old Danish man was identified and police have said there was no indication that other shooters were involved, but they haven't been able to formally rule out the possibility of further suspects just yet.

But of course, they have confirmed that tragic news that there are several fatalities reported, and at least three people have been hospitalized so far, but police have yet to provide any further details on their current condition.

That said, the hospital where these three individuals were taken has said that extra staff were called in to deal with the emergency situation.

The incident of course took place during a busy Sunday afternoon at Copenhagen's Field's mall, a popular shopping center in the city and an area that is very close to one of the city's largest concert venues where pop star Harry Styles had been due to perform.

For now, police said they are maintaining a heavy presence at the scene as their investigation continues.

But the key question remains what was the motive behind this incident? That is still unclear, although police officials have said that they cannot rule out the possibility that this may have been terror related.

However, I have to stress that the motive is still very much unclear. And the investigation remains ongoing.

Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The city of Akron, Ohio is on edge after police released a disturbing body cam video showing the fatal police shooting of a 25- year-old unarmed black man. Akron's police chief says Jayland Walker suffered at least 60 gunshot wounds citing a medical examiner's report.

Now, the release of this information coming nearly a week after officers tried to stop Walker for an alleged traffic violation. Police say he led them on a car chase. They also claimed he fired a shot at them. Here is some of the body cam footage released by Akron police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 21 shots fired that vehicle just had a shot come out of its door.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Police say Walker eventually abandoned his car and a foot pursuit took place. Now, during this trace, officers believed that Walker was reaching towards his waist and moving into a firing position. He did not however have a weapon.

We do want to warn you, this next piece of video we're going to show you is very disturbing. It is from the night of the shooting.

[00:15:42]

HOLMES: That sound at the end of that video there, that cacophony were shots being fired, dozens of them, some estimates up to 90 shots.

Officers later did discover that Walker had left his gun in the car. He was unarmed when he was shot. Here's the Akron police chief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF STEPHEN MYLETT, AKRON POLICE DEPARTMENT: What was going to be a routine traffic stop, which would probably result either in a warning or a citation being issued turned into a pursuit.

As Mr. Walker turned on to the entrance ramp to route eight, and the shot is fired. That changes the nature of the contact.

40 seconds after the initiation of the traffic stop, a half a mile from the location of the traffic stop, you hear the gunshot and then everything else that I've just discovered.

And again, that changes the whole nature of the traffic stop. It went from being a routine traffic stop to now a public safety issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Right now, eight officers are on paid administrative leave. The Akron police union believes the officers involved in the shooting were justified in their actions and they say that each officer is "cooperating fully with the independent investigation".

Meanwhile, an attorney for Walker's family says Jayland had never broken the law during his life, no crimes of any kind. The family wants more answers from the police. They also want the public to give peace, give dignity and give justice a chance for Jayland.

Now, while we wait for more information surrounding the shooting, law enforcement expert Cheryl Dorsey is among those raising concerns about Akron's handling of the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED LAPD SERGEANT: Well, certainly the number in totality seems extreme, 60 shots, but we know that there were several officers who were pursuing Mr. Walker on foot. The question that begs to be asked and answered is how many rounds did each individual officer fire? And so, they're going to have to speak to that. They're going to have to articulate what was the perception of threat and why was it necessary to fire however many rounds each officer fired. And so, while we heard the police chief say that this could have potentially been a routine traffic stop, you understand, an armed suspect wearing a ski mask is far from routine for officers who are conducting a traffic stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: CNN will continue to follow this story and bring you any updates as they become available.

The U.S. is now directly involved with the investigation into the death of Palestinian American journalists Shireen Abu Akleh. The Al Jazeera reporter was covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank in May when she was killed by gunfire.

The U.S. government had been urging the Palestinians for weeks to turn over the bullet that killed her.

CNN's Hadas Gold with the latest from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Nearly two months after Al Jazeera Shireen Abu Akleh was killed, we may be getting closer to an answer as to who fired the fatal shot.

Over the weekend, the Palestinian Authority handed the bullet that killed Abu Akleh over to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Although the Palestinian Authority attorney general said they had been given many guarantees by the Americans that the bullet would not be given to the Israelis, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said they were going to work with the Americans to conduct a forensic investigation.

The Palestinian Authority has denied requests to hold a joint investigation with the Israelis saying they can't trust the Israelis.

The IDF said the bullet is in the hands of a senior American general who will be present throughout the entire duration of the investigation.

The IDF spokesperson said that the results should be released soon. And that if the investigation showed that an Israeli soldier killed Abu Akleh, they will "take responsibility and will be apologetic".

Spokespeople for the Palestinian Authority did not respond to requests for comments about the IDF involvement in the bullets examination.

Several investigations by news organizations including CNN, as well as by the United Nations Human Rights Office, have found that it is most likely that Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli fire and not by gunfire from Palestinian militants as then Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett initially suggested. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has thus far declined to comment.

Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:20:18]

HOLMES: Medics in Sudan say last week's deadly anti coup protests resulted in the most injuries since the military seized power last October.

The Sudanese Doctors Committee reports at least nine people killed, nearly 630 were injured during Thursday's demonstrations. They took place in a number of cities including the capital Khartoum. The committee says dozens of the injuries were caused by live bullets, tear gas, some protesters were hit by vehicles belonging to military forces.

Pro-democracy groups say they will continue to organize protests against the military take over.

A quick break here on the program. When we come back, a Hong Kong lawmaker test positive for COVID-19 after attending a photo op with Xi Jinping. How the case broke through the Chinese president strict precautions and protocol. We'll discuss when we come back.

Also, we'll bring you the latest on that ship which sank in the South China Sea on Saturday as the search resumes for survival.

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HOLMES: A Hong Kong lawmaker photographed near the Chinese President Xi Jinping has tested positive for COVID-19.

President Xi visited the city last week during the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China. It was his first trip outside the mainland since the start of the pandemic.

He joined lawmakers for photographs commemorating the event as you can see there. The person who tested positive says his test was negative on Thursday when those photographs were taken.

CNN's Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley joins me now from Taipei with more. And Will, just sort of fill us in. how much risk was the president at?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, they were only standing together presumably for a period of minutes at most, but this lawmaker from Hong Kong, Steve Ho Chun-Yin was just one row behind President Xi, who by the way, was making his first trip outside of mainland China in more than two years to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong handover from British rule to Beijing rule.

And President Xi, as we heard, you know, proclaimed his rule over the Chinese territory, and you know, intimated that life is going to change there. But the close loop that surrounds President Xi is supposed to be

hermetically sealed. You had hundreds of people, you know, preparing for weeks to get this right in Hong Kong. You're talking about daily COVID testing, a private car from home to work, and no other travel permitted. Daily testing. A quarantine hotel for everybody who's going to be near the president the night before meeting him.

[00:25:03]

RIPLEY: And yet, even with all of that, the virus still got in and it got close to President Xi, which really underscores Michael, the reality that scientists around the world have pretty much agree on that with Omicron and high vaccination rates, it's just not sustainable to have a zero COVID policy.

But because President Xi is so vehemently and stringently attached to this. Even, you know, personally giving orders himself, it seems as if China with its 1-1/2 billion people is going to continue the lockdowns, the mandatory testing, and the real restrictions and hardships on people's daily lives just to get that pretty much unattainable number of zero COVID in the country at 1-1/2 billion people.

HOLMES: Yes, exactly. And to that point, there have been some new clusters, right? And even talk of some restrictions coming back.

RIPLEY: Yes, so this is affecting several cities in eastern China. That they started tightening up their COVID-19 rules on Sunday.

So, you have a county with less than 300 mostly asymptomatic cases. But yet, still, the whole county now has gone into lockdown.

You have a city with just 42 cases, mostly asymptomatic. And you have public venues like shops and supermarkets that are located underground closed, you have dining services and restaurants suspended and the government advising people to work from home for 42, mostly asymptomatic cases.

Across the entire mainland, Michael, fewer than 500 cases reported, you know, just today, mostly asymptomatic. And yet, these restrictions continue to be in place where people have to wait an hours long lines to get tested every couple of days. And if they don't have that green Q.R. code, they're not even allowed to do things like go to the hospital to get their parents medication, which was a situation that created a viral video where a woman can find police in the border city of Dandong.

And so, Michael zero COVID in China continues to be a real struggle for the people who are actually having to live it and even President Xi's hermetically sealed closed loop was breached.

HOLMES: It does make you wonder how long the policy can continue. Good to see you, Will, appreciate that. Will Ripley there in Taipei.

Massive flooding in parts of New South Wales, Australia why residents are being urged to evacuate and what we can expect in the coming days. We'll have that when we come back.

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[00:29:56]

HOLMES: At least one person has died and thousands are being urged to evacuate in Sydney, Australia, after torrential rain and damaging winds led to flash flooding in some areas on Sunday, and it looks like more bad weather is on the way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voiceover): A life-threatening emergency that's our one official in New South Wales describes the rising floodwaters in parts of Australia's biggest city.

STEPH COOKE, MINISTER, NEW SOUTH WALES EMERGENCY SERVICES: We are now facing dangers on multiple fronts, flash flooding, riverine flooding, and coastal erosion.

HOLMES (voiceover): Thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate parts of Sydney where heavy rain is already hitting with more expected to come in the next few days. Authorities say the situation is rapidly evolving and urged people to stay off the roads. The State Emergency Service says it has responded to more than 3,000 emergency requests already. And dozens of rescue squads have been dispatched.

CARLENE YORK, COMMISSIONER, NEW SOUTH WALES EMERGENCY SERVICES: The level of the dams, there's no room for the water to remain in the dams, they are starting to spill. The rivers are flowing very fast and very dangerous.

HOLMES (voiceover): New South Wales gearing up for the deteriorating conditions, the state asking the federal government to send helicopters and troops to help with rescue efforts and sandbagging. Weather experts warn landslides could happen. The landscape already vulnerable because of previous floods in the region. In some areas, emergency crews, even fairing livestock to drier grounds. The bigger animals like these ponies, an additional challenge for rescue workers.

CHRIS NELSON, DEPUTY UNIT COMMANDER, CANTERBURY SEES: It feels really good to be able to achieve a rescue and bring everyone back to land safely.

HOLMES (voiceover): With some parts of Sydney experiencing downpours of more than 200 millimeters, with some places up to 350 millimeters, missions like this for animals and humans alike, could become more critical in the hours ahead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (on camera): All right, let's bring in meteorologist Derek Van Dam for more on all of this. Yeah, I was talking to my sister earlier who's in Sydney, and she said everybody's very nervous about this.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: As they should be. And you know, this is completely taking their livelihoods and flipping it upside down for so many residents of Sydney, especially into the southwestern suburbs. Get this, this is the fourth flooding event in less than 18 months for some of those communities. So, you can imagine what this is doing for people. And authorities here are concerned. I mean, you heard it just a moment ago in that package, they're concerned about people driving over flooded roadways that they don't know the depth of the floodwaters. And you can imagine just how deceiving this particular roadway would be. How deep is that? Is that one meter deep? Is it a half meter deep? Is it four meters deep? You never know, you take a chance, when you approach a flooded roadway like that.

So, what is happening? This is the water vapor imagery across New South Wales and Queensland, Eastern Australia. Look at that spin in the upper levels of the atmosphere, that is a cut off low, meaning that it's literally cut off from the movement of the atmosphere, there's nothing to push it along. And it doesn't help that the ocean water temperatures right along the coastline of New South Wales, running about two to two to three degrees Celsius above average. So, that is adding fuel to this cut off low, allowing for that moisture bump and producing significant rainfall totals. In fact, the Bureau of Meteorology from Australia, putting out this map, seven-day rainfall totals, exceeding 400 millimeters, just to the southwest of Sydney. That is impressive. We're talking about three to six times the monthly average for many of these locations.

Let's give you a few examples. Look at Darkes Forests, 402 millimeters, just in the past two days, that's 48-hour rainfall total. That is impressive rain. That is a lot of rain in a short period of time. And the radar is still extremely active from Sydney to Wollongong. Even further south, this is cut off low just kind of meanders. The problem going forward here is yet another cut off low will form by the second half of this week and continue to push in moisture from the ocean, that warm ocean water and allow for additional rainfall. So, how much rain is to come? This is on top of what's already taken place. So, you have to put this into context. Let's zoom into the Greater Sydney area. And you can see from Newcastle to Wollongong and Sydney, the potential exists for another 150 to 250 millimeters on top of what has already fallen within the next three days. So, the problems here could get worse before they get better. Michael?

HOLMES: Yeah, soaked ground and more rain, not a good combination. Derek, good to see you, Mike. Thanks for that.

(CROSSTALK)

VAN DAM: (INAUDIBLE) Derek Van Dam.

HOLMES: Well, a search and rescue operation resumed on Sunday for more than two dozen crew members after their ship broke in half and sank in the South China Sea on Saturday. CNN's Selena Wang with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Rough seas engulfed a sinking ship, a lifeline is dropped from the sky, and a lucky crew member is hoisted to safety. He and two of his crew mates now being treated in a hospital in Hong Kong. The rescue is just in time, as the ship below, an engineering vessel, slips into the choppy sea about 300 kilometers off the coast of Hong Kong.

[0:35:07]

Many of the crew of 30 are still missing, and rescuers fear they may have been swept away after the ship is split in two. Caught in the powerful winds and waves of Tropical Storm Chaba. Search operations resumed Sunday looking for survivors. That storm now battering parts of mainland China after making landfall in the Province of Guangdong later Saturday. Its fury on land, just as formidable. A tornado associated with its outer bands, spun through one city, ripping off roofs and uprooting trees, as seen in this footage from Chinese state media. In China's Hainan province, some residents were evacuated from their homes after heavy rains caused knee-deep floods in some areas. Forecasters say the storm is expected to weaken as it moves inland. Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: At least six people are dead following an avalanche of ice in northeastern Italy according to CNN affiliate Sky TG24. The avalanche occurred on the Marmolada Glacier, the highest mountain in the Italian Dolomites. Alpine Rescue Services say a large section of the glacier broke away and came crashing down on a path to the summit. The area is experiencing record heat for this time of year. At least eight other hikers have been injured and a dozen more reported missing. Rescue efforts continuing.

And officials in Egypt are investigating the deaths of two women following shark attacks. Both were said to be swimming in the Red Sea when the attacks took place in separate incidents. The second woman reported to be a Romanian tourist. Onlookers watching in horror as an Austrian woman was attacked on Friday. She died after losing an arm and a leg. Shark attacks have been rare in Egypt's Red Sea in recent years.

Still to come here on the program, we meet a Ukrainian civil volunteer who not only looks after and delivers supplies to soldiers, who also takes care of dogs left behind in warzone. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Ukrainian troops fighting on the front lines know there's always someone who's got their back with groups of civilian volunteers helping deliver crucial supplies. And along the way, they also give a helping hand to some of man's best friends. Ben Wedeman with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Yulia and her friends are loading up their armored van, food, medicine, water for frontline villages. That and protective gear for the troops. Before the war, Yulia was a model and worked in local government, now he's a volunteer. "I didn't consider leaving as an option," she says. "Of course, I'm staying in my country to help as much as possible."

[0:40:10]

During a drive back from the front in May, Yulia was badly injured when her truck crashed under shelling. She spent two restless months in hospital. "They were holding me in hospital, and I told them I have work to do," she recalls. "I was coordinating deliveries on the phone. I had no right to sit on my hands." For a stop on this day, a military position by the road. All of this has been donated by people in Ukraine. Here, the troops offer a quick appraisal of world leaders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boris Johnson.

WEDEMAN: Boris Johnson.

WEDEMAN: What about Biden?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With Joe Biden, yes, yes.

YULIA CHIRKOVA, VOLUNTEER, SAVE LIFE: Joe Biden?

WEDEMAN (voiceover): The next stop, a village perilously close to the fighting.

(on camera) They have to hand out the aid as quickly as possible because they don't want people to get together because we're just a few kilometers from Russian lines.

(voiceover) Spirits here still buoyant. "I stayed because of the animals," Natasha tells me, "I'm responsible for all the abandoned animals on this street. More than 50 cats and around 20 dogs." At our final stop, they drop off more supplies for the soldiers and feed stray dogs. They'd plan to evacuate a family fleeing from behind Russian lines, but they didn't show up. The soldiers here say, overnight, there was heavy shelling, Russian drones often on the prowl overhead. "My mind tells me I shouldn't be afraid," says Yulia. "But we can't leave them behind."

Then, is a dog and two litters of puppies born in the trenches. One of the mother dogs was killed by Russian artillery. The little ones, orphans. Once loaded, we're off to the City of Zaporizhzhia. We're out of the danger zone.

(on camera) Once we get to the city, they'll take the mother who's been injured in a blast to a vet. They found homes for some of these puppies, but not all. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Southern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And finally this hour, a rather eerie auction for some gothic goods. An antique, get this, vampire slaying kit has sold in the U.K. for almost $16,000. So much actually, it's more than six times the asking price. You think it goes for more than that. The 19th century box has everything you need to ward off vampires, crucifixes, holy water, wooden stake, and more. The auction house says the kit once belonged to Lord William Haley, a British aristocrat, with a place in the House of Lords. There was actually a bidding war for the box with offers coming in from around the world. That's a bargain.

Thanks for watching. I appreciate you spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes.

Do stick around. "WORLDSPORT" coming up next. I'll see in about 15 minutes.

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