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Virginia Mass Shooting Killed 10 People; Police Investigates an All-Too Familiar Incident; Two Separate Bombings Shook Jerusalem; Mass Shooting Angered More People; U.S.'s Lax Rules Causes People to Die; Virginia Shooter Killed Himself; Idaho Police Makes a Snail's Pace Progress; Russia Targets Innocent People; Russian Soldiers Whine Their Situation; Shock and Surprises Seen in Qatar World Cup. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 23, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

We are following breaking news this hour, another mass shooting here in the United States just days before Thanksgiving. Police say multiple people have been killed and wounded at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia.

We don't have confirmation on the number of fatalities, but a police spokesperson says it's believed to be less than 10. The gunman is also dead. Officers responded to the scene just after 10 p.m. local time. We don't know what the gunman's motive might have been, but a source tells CNN, he is thought to be an employee or former employee who walked into a break room and open fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEO KOSINSKI, SPOKESPERSON, CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA POLICE: Several other officers, many other officers also responded. Parts of our members of our fire department responded, and we did a, basically like a tactical entrance and movement in the building. We located multiple fatalities and multiple injured persons. A little while later, through the course of providing treatment, we were able to establish that we believe it's only a -- we believe it's a single. And that single shooter is deceased at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Walmart has released a statement saying, we are shocked at this tragic event at our Chesapeake, Virginia store. We are praying for those impacted the community and our associates. We're working closely with law enforcement and we are focused on supporting our associates.

And I spoke last hour with CNN's Brian Todd, who is on his way to the scene there in Chesapeake. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we are told, and this is from our colleague John Miller from a law enforcement source is that the shooter is believed to be an employee or a former employee who walked into a break room where other employees were and opened fire.

That is according to a law enforcement source, and that is from our colleague John Miller in New York. It is believed according to that source, that if the shooter at some point turned the gun on himself, and as you heard police say he is deceased, Rosemary.

But again, the details are so few and far between at this moment. The shoot -- the shooting happened a little less than four hours ago at 10.12 p.m. local time in Chesapeake. And of course, you know, Walmarts are open, many of them are open 24/7 here in the United States, and they are very busy places around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So, you know, a key thing is going to be, would be a key piece of information to learn is not only, you know, how many casualties there are dead and wounded, but to how many people were in the store. What witnesses were saying?

A lot of this is going to be pieced together, you know, later this morning, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. It is a horrifying situation for people to try to digest. And Brian, as you point out, police they don't expect to be able to provide an exact number of Walmart shooting victims until -- till Wednesday, perhaps later Wednesday.

Do we know why they're delaying that announcement? Is there any understanding of what's happening with that?

TODD: Well, the police spokesman, Leo Kosinski did say that, this is a big store, that there are a lot of places to hide and that they have to very meticulously go through the building to see if anyone has been hiding. And see maybe if anyone who is hiding, if there is anyone hiding, might be wounded.

So they are, you know, everybody who's been to a Walmart in the United States knows that they are very, very big places and there's a lot of places to hide and a lot of, just a lot of rows and rows and rows of merchandise and you have to go through each one to see if people are hiding underneath something or something like that.

So, you can imagine that's a very meticulous process for the police, even if they believe that the danger has passed, at least at the moment.

CHURCH: So, Brian, do we know how long it could take them to go through this Walmart facility to check for casualties or survivors, perhaps still hiding.

TODD: Well, you know, when you -- when you hear the police spokesman say that it could be a few hours at least until they can even give us some information on the dead and wounded, you can get a pretty good picture that this is going to take maybe a few hours.

I mean, it is overnight. And they've got, of course, as many resources as they can. Police units and many of them responding to the scene, tactical units and others. So, they're, you know, very well versed and going through scenes like. Chesapeake and the Tidewater area of Virginia is not a small area.

[03:05:04]

There's, you know, between towns like Chesapeake, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, they're all fairly close together. It's a very heavily populated general area. Chesapeake itself, not all that big, but it's part of a fairly large, what you could call maybe a metropolitan area in that Tidewater area, Virginia with several midsize cities very close together.

So, you know, the police units in these cities are not, you know, they have a lot of resources, but they've -- but they've got to comb through a very large building. Potentially a lot of people still in it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: CNN's Brian Todd talking to me last hour. And joining us now on the line is CNN security correspondent Josh Campbell.

Good to have you with us again, Josh.

So, another mass shooting in America this time at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia. Police have confirmed the shooter is deceased, but can't confirm the number of fatalities or injuries, but we are learning from a law enforcement source that this shooter was a former or perhaps current employee who entered the break room and opened fire.

So, what does this indicate to you, given your background as a former law enforcement investigator?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, two things I'm looking at are the location of the shooting. The shooting. We're told this took place inside a break room inside the store, and for anyone watching and listening right now, you know, Walmart, this is a mega store.

They have some 10,000 stores around the world in some 24 countries. Again, a large facility. They sell groceries, they sell general merchandise. But there's the customer area, which most of us are used to being in. You go, you buy your items, you check out and you leave. But there's a separate segregated area for employees. The break room where they have their downtime.

We're told from a law enforcement source that this shooting took place primarily inside that area. And so that's key for investigators because that tells you that the person appears to have at least some access or familiarity to that particular area. And secondly, looking at the timing of the shooting, we're told that

this took place just around the 10 p.m. local hour. This store itself closed just an hour later. And so, you know, Rosemary, you and I have covered so many of these shootings and you know, this is a, not to get too morbid, but obviously if you were a shooter whose intent on causing widespread carnage, that would not be the time of day that you would try to shoot as a store is getting ready to close.

And so, that tells me as a former investigator, this appears to be very personal. The person perhaps is one of these so-called injustice collectors that we've talked about, you know, so often in these shootings, someone who had some kind of personal grievance. Of course, that will all come to light as investigators continue to conduct their investigation, but obviously no less sad and heartbreaking for the family members of these victims.

Law enforcement tells us that there are multiple fatalities, there are multiple victims involved as they continue to process this scene. One key question will be, were there warning signs in advance? This, you know, as we've seen in so many of these shootings, there were red flags that someone inside a shooter's orbit had perceived. Whether this was someone who was predisposed to violence, who talked about perhaps causing harm to individuals.

That will all be something that we will have to wait and see from investigators as we continue to learn. But obviously, a very sad situation in the U.S. state of Virginia, yet another mass shooting in the United States.

CHURCH: Yes, and that is horrifying in itself as we were speaking. We spoke last hour about the fact that this comes just a few days after the Colorado Springs shooting. And then of course, it's just, it came a couple of days before Thanksgiving. We know that we've been covering school shootings and so many other shootings.

It is a horrifying situation for those of us living in the United States because nothing appears to be done. We talked about the paralysis that we see in Congress. No effort made, and yet, so many Americans want to see some meaningful gun controls put in place. Why are we not seeing that?

CAMPBELL: You know, it becomes so political. We often hear after, you know, these shootings, particularly Republicans saying, well, let's not politicize the gun aspect. But that is the common denominator in so many of these shootings, access to firearms inside the United States. There are more guns in the United States than there are people.

And of course, you know, gun rights advocates will say, well, this has enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. There is a specific amendment that allows gun owners to have the right to keep and bear arms.

But of course, that runs, you know, head on into polling that we see in the U.S., particularly by the Gallup Association, which actually determined that some, nearly 90 percent of Americans agree with some type of background check before someone is allowed to access a weapon. [03:09:56]

You know, we've covered gun rights and gun violence around the world, obviously in the United States, we are the particular outlier when it comes to access to weapons and gun violence. But, yet, that is something that we continue to see time and time again despite this widespread, at least acceptance that we should look into the background of a particular shooter before they were actually able to access a weapon.

We don't see meaningful legislation actually moving forward on that front. You know, I've covered, you know, by comparison, looking at the laws in the nation of Canada, our neighbors to the north, north here in the United States, they obviously have robust background checks. They have a robust process to look into the background of people. They actually interview family members and loved ones before someone is able to gain access to a weapon.

And they're looking for those red flags that we've seen in so many of these shootings, whether it was just days ago in the US state of Colorado, this shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub where it appears based on CNN reporting that this is someone who predisposed of violence, who had con -- had contact with law enforcement previously.

You go back to July 4th on Independence Day there was a mass shooting in the U.S. state of Chicago that left scores of people dead. Many, many injured. That shooter had previous contact with law enforcement. The shooter's family had called police saying that this is someone who was threatening violence against himself, he's threatening to kill members of his family, yet he was able to access that weapon.

And so, that is the common through line that we continue to see in so many of these shootings. Of course, it's still too soon in this Virginia shooting that we're reporting on tonight in the state of Virginia at this Walmart. We don't know much about the shooter. The background we're told that this was either a current or former employee, but that, you know, passes prologue, that will be something that we will be keying in on.

Were there warning signs? How did this person get a weapon? And was there someone in the shooter's orbit who knew something but did not call police to say that, hey, we have a problem here. And of course, tonight, we're reporting on people who are dead just day, you know, a couple days before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Obviously, a tragedy here in the United States, one that we've seen many, many times play out over and over again.

CHURCH: Josh, politicians and American citizens who oppose having any gun controls in place. Many of them say this is more about mental illness than the ownership of guns, but in this country, nothing has been done about mental illness either. So, the problem is these are two problems this country is dealing with. So, what will it do, what does it need to do to put some sort of end to this gun violence that revisits this country over and over again? CAMPBELL: Yes, that is the key point. You know, even people who say, you know, I talk to lawful gun owners all the time covering the CNN gun beat who say that, you know, it's one thing to have lawful ownership of a gun. It's quite another to have someone who may have some kind of mental illness that may preclude them or should preclude them from having access to a weapon.

But we don't see that groundswell, or at least some, you know, type of gathering of people across the political aisle whether it's Democrats or Republicans saying that, yes, we have a second amendment that allows people to have access to weapons, but perhaps there would -- there should be some kind of check.

You know, much like you wouldn't have someone who's declared mentally ill that would be able to drive a vehicle or that would be able to gain access to other types of weaponry, yet it always comes back to the guns that we see time and time again, that people who may have mental health challenges are able to gain access to these weapons.

And it's important to point out that, you know, in the -- in the United States, there are what are called red flag laws in certain states. And what that allows is either a police officer or a family member of someone who may be experiencing some type of mental health challenge, they can go to a court, to an independent judge and petition that judge to prevent someone from having access to a firearm.

But we often see there's a stigma there where people say, well, I don't want to take that step because I don't want to either offend my loved one. Or maybe that's too cumbersome of a process. But that is the process. That's what it requires in order to try to prevent someone who may have mental health challenges.

You mentioned from actually getting access to a weapon, but we don't often see that follow through. And then the final point is that, you know, it's important to point out here in the U.S. you know, public opinion polling shows widespread support for universal background checks for looking into someone's past.

And this isn't to say that someone who might have mental health challenges, you know, is a bad person. But should that person have access to a gun, that's a whole different question. We don't see, you know, unification around that key question to try to legislate that, to say that, yes, if there are people out there who may have issues that may require treatment, maybe they shouldn't have access to a gun that can cause widespread carnage in a short period of time.

And of course, in so many of these mass shootings that -- that's exactly what we see. Someone who had these red flags that weren't followed up on, that gained access to a weapon and ended up causing massive loss of life, massive carnage, massive injuries.

[03:15:01]

And that appears, at least here in the state of Virginia what we're dealing with tonight. We don't know the background of this particular shooter, but obviously, to someone who is intent on causing this kind of widespread harm, current clearly has issues. The question will be, were the people in the shooter's past who should have said something, who should have called police, where that's all part of the ongoing investigation.

CHURCH: Yes, as you say, we don't know yet, but what we do know is that the combination of easy access to guns and mental illness can be a very dangerous combination.

CNN's Josh Campbell, thank you so much. I appreciate you bringing us up to date on this situation.

And we are also following breaking news out of Jerusalem. Israeli police say two explosions that hit different parts of the city today are suspected of being a combined terror attack. At least one person is dead and several others injured. Authorities say they are looking for suspects.

For more, we want to go to CNN's Hadas Gold, who is live near the scene of one of the blasts in Jerusalem.

So Hadas, what are you able to share with us?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary. We're at the scene of that first bomb attack. This is actually one of the main entrances into the city of Jerusalem. You can see behind me this bus stop and I'll have my cameramen zoom in.

You can see police are still gathering up pieces of evidence, and you can actually see what appears to maybe have been the blast site where that fence and the rocks along the wall have been, broken through. Police do believe that a bag or package of some kind was placed here at the bus stop, around 7 a.m. and it was, detonated likely remotely.

And then just 30 minutes later, another attack took place, actually just down the hill from here. Another, another, some sort of package that police also believed was detonated remotely. Police are calling this a coordinated terror attack, the likes of which Jerusalem and Israel have not seen in years.

Explosions like these, these were common in the first and second intifada, but Israel and Jerusalem have not seen these sort of package bombs be in place in several years. This has -- this is a deadly escalation, Rosemary, to it's already been a very deadly year.

It's been the deadliest year for both Israelis and Palestinians since 2015. Israelis have seen an increase in the number of attacks targeting Israelis in the West Bank and Israel stabbing attacks ramming shootings and a high number of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank. Many of them, they say by Israeli forces.

But this, this right here, this is what a lot of people were fearing would be the escalation. Because so far it felt as though there was a lot of dry kindling on the ground, just waiting for some sort of major event, major explosion that could potentially lead to a third intifada. That was the big fear. And this sort of explosion, the types of which

we have not seen since years passed since the second intifada, there is a major fear that this is just the start of something greater, of another wave of violence that could plunge this region back into the chaos and the deaths of just years ago, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Hadas Gold joining us there from the scene of one of those blasts in Jerusalem. Many thanks for bringing us up to date.

And coming up next, we will have the latest on our breaking news, the mass shooting at a Walmart store in Virginia. Do stay with us.

[03:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: The latest now on the mass shooting in Chesapeake, Virginia. A law enforcement source tells CNN the gunman is believed to be a Walmart employee or former employee who walked into a break room and open fire. The source says it's believed the shooter at some point turned the gun on himself and is dead.

Police say they don't expect to release the exact number of victims until later today, but earlier, they said the number of fatalities is less than 10. Authorities are still working to make sure the sprawling building is safe and secure.

One customer who was in Walmart during the shooting texted her daughter and her daughter shared a screenshot of the text exchange with her mother on Facebook where she tells her mother to hide. Her mother said she saw a victim on the floor. I'm crying, I'm shaking, the daughter told CNN. I had just talked to her about buying turkeys for Thanksgiving then this text came in. The mother is still in shock but has been reunited thankfully with her daughter.

And we are getting reaction and updates to the shooting from lawmakers and federal agencies. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives dispatched agents from their Washington field division to help assist police in the investigation.

Virginia Senator and former state governor Mark Warner tweeted he is, quote, "sickened by reports of yet mass shooting." And Virginia State Senator L. Louise Lucas vowed she will not rest until a solution is found to end the gun violence epidemic in the United States. And earlier she spoke with CNN saying the issue has gotten out of control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LILLIE LOUISE LUCAS (D), VIRGINIA STATE SENATOR: It's just absolutely horrible and the thing that makes this so sad is that, this gun control, this gun violence is out of control. And unfortunately, we have the power to do something about it. Just it's not the will on part of many of our legislative members to do it.

The -- all I can say to you is that if this is a sad night for us here in Virginia, it's a sad night in Chesapeake and it's going to be a really, really sad time tomorrow morning when people wake up and hear this sad.

But we can do something about gun control. There's too much easy access to firearms, and we have got to do something to bring it under control. Many of us have been fighting in the legislature for decades to try to get gun control measures, pass.

[03:25:04]

But unfortunately, there's always pushback, pushback, pushback. But we've got to bring it under control. How many people will have to die before legislatures, not only in Virginia, but all across this nation come to the reality that just too much access to farms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And we'll be back with more news on the mass shooting at a Walmart in Virginia after a short break. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Let's bring you up to speed now on our breaking news this hour.

[03:30:00]

Police say multiple people have been shot and killed at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, and the gunman is dead. We are expecting another briefing once investigators have been able to go through that store.

A source tells CNN the shooter is believed to be an employee or former employee who walked into a break room and opened fire. Walmart has released a statement saying it's shocked at the tragic events and praying for those impacted.

And police provided an update on the situation just a short time ago. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEO KOSINSKI, SPOKESPERSON, CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA POLICE: As far as the investigation, I mean, there's -- it's basically it's an all-hands on deck type situation at this point. You know, we have many of our investigators here and we just, you know, piece by piece. You know, we're just take a little bit of time, you know, we have -- we have plenty of time right now, you know, we're the store is closed, so we're just -- we're going to, you know, investigate until we get everything complete.

UNKNOWN: Do you know how long --

(CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: Outside agencies (Inaudible)?

KOSINSKI: There are outside agencies, but they're assisting with traffic. The Union State Police is here, and I think I saw Virginia Beach police car helping with just traffic, traffic control.

UNKNOWN: Do you know roughly when, how long it was between when the first officer arrived on the scene and when the attacker entrance was made?

KOSINSKI: I do not know that. Well, the -- when the first officer arrived, they went in immediately, but I don't know when they started. I don't.

UNKNOWN: Last time we talked, you said, they were methodically cleared in the store department by department. They were still looking for possible fatalities and other victims as well. Tell us an update on that.

KOSINSKI: I believe that's still going on right now. You know, as big a store as this is, you know, there could be a lot of hiding places and if somebody was in there, they heard something got scared, run and hide -- and hid, you know, we're still kind of in the searching aspect of going through the store just to locate other potential victims or, you know, just people in hiding.

UNKNOWN: Did it seem like the shooter was shooting randomly targeted?

KOSINSKI: I do not know.

UNKNOWN: OK.

KOSINSKI: I can't, I can't say.

UNKNOWN: Do you know whether or not the shooting was appeared to be contained to one part of the store at this point?

KOSINSKI: I do not know.

UNKNOWN: When can we expect to (Inaudible) they don't have any fatalities.

KOSINSKI: I don't know. I'm hoping sometime tomorrow looking into that. It's still, like I said, you know, we're just a couple hours past the initial incident, so every -- it's very, very fluid, very new right now.

UNKNOWN: Right now, the steps, next steps for your officers are what it was before.

KOSINSKI: Correct. We're still, yes.

UNKNOWN: Still clearing before --

KOSINSKI: Still clearing until we're confident the entire building is clear and safe and secure. And then the criminal investigation sec part starts and that could take, that could take days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Chesapeake's police public information officer talking there late last night.

We're turning now to Colorado where the suspect in the mass shooting at the LGBTQ nightclub is now out of the hospital and in jail. Anderson Lee Aldrich is due for an initial court appearance in the coming hours and will face multiple murder charges. The district attorney says hate crime charges are also being considered.

We've also learned from new court filings that Aldrich identifies as non-binary and uses they, them pronouns.

Well, police in the U.S. state of Idaho say they are making progress in the case of four college students who were killed earlier this month, but they still don't know who the killer is or how many people they're looking for.

CNN's Natasha Chen spoke with a representative about what police know so far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I asked the police spokesman here whether they're any closer to finding a suspect, and what I was told is they're definitely making progress. What that means is they've interviewed more than 90 people, they've chased more than 700 leads, and they've set up a portal online for people in the community who might have relevant surveillance footage to be able to upload those videos to police.

And they say they've actually received quite a number of submissions, and so right now their investigators are combing through those very large video files to see what may be relevant to handover to the detectives on this case.

Now, I did ask about the general threat level to the community. After all, a suspect has not been caught, and so this spokesperson tells me that people do need to be vigilant. Here's what he said.

AARON SNELL, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, IDAHO STATE POLICE: Anytime that there's a person's crime of this magnitude of murder, you know, assaults, those types of things, there's always a threat to the community when those suspect or suspects are out in the community.

So yes, there are threats. We recognize that it's always wise for people to lock their doors, walk in pairs, be alert of what they're doing. You know, there is somebody or some people out there somewhere that, that are murderers and we want to find them and bring them to justice.

CHEN: Is there more than one suspect potentially?

SNELL: So, potentially.

CHEN: So, he's not ruling out the possibility that there may be more than one person responsible for these killings. Meanwhile, the University of Idaho sent a message to students on Tuesday night saying that for the remainder of the semester, both in person and remote learning options will be available.

[03:34:56]

That's after many students gave their input about how they would like to see the university proceed for the remaining two weeks of the school year after the Thanksgiving holiday break. The university president said that faculty will be prepared with remote options, and while remote learning is not preferred, that will be available to students.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we'll be back with more news on the mass shooting at a Walmart in Virginia after a short break. You're watching CNN.

[03:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Let's get you updated on our breaking news now. A law enforcement source tells CNN the man who opened fire at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, was an employee or former employee. The source says he walked into a break room and started shooting, killing several people.

Police say they think there are fewer than 10 fatalities, not confirming that. The gunman is dead, and our source says it's believed he took his own life. Now this all happened shortly after 10 p.m. local time, just two days before Thanksgiving.

Turning now to Ukraine where an official in the Zaporizhzhia regions says Russian rockets struck a maternity ward overnight. Authorities say the two-story building was destroyed. A woman who was giving birth at the time and a doctor were rescued from the rubble. The woman's newborn baby was killed.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack saying Russia continues to fight against civilians and civilian targets.

Meantime, the head of the country's power grid says a major Russian attack last week caused colossal damage at power stations across the country. He says more than 100 missiles were used in the assault on energy facilities, but now the grid is stabilized as scheduled blackouts continue, but the destruction is widespread.

Well, the Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet this week with the mothers of reserve soldiers called to fight in Ukraine. And this comes as complaints have been flooding in from Russian soldiers on the front lines.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Stark images from what many believe to be the second strongest military in the world. This video posted on social media purports to show new Russian recruits camped out in the snow and cold with little more than tarps for shelter. Some trying to warm up by fires.

CNN cannot independently verify its authenticity, but those posting it say the soldiers even had to buy their own food to survive. Problems during training. Problems on the battlefield. These recruits vent their anger at the Russian military.

UNKNOWN (through translator): We were abandoned without equipment, without everything. Where are the tanks? Where are the armored personnel carriers? Come on, bring it or I'll come for you.

PLEITGEN: Dilapidated barracks, horrendous sanitary conditions, poor food. The list of complaints often documented in social media posts like this runs long since Russia says it has mobilized more than 300,000 men for the war in Ukraine since September with more than 50,000 allegedly already on the battlefield the Kremlin says.

Some relatives, especially mothers complaining about the treatment of their loved ones. This group in southwestern Russia saying their husbands and sons had been sent to the front line without adequate training or gear.

UNKNOWN (through translator): The commander who gave the order that our men should hold the defense ignored the decree of the supreme commander in chief that the newly mobilized should not be sent to the first line of contact.

PLEITGEN: Even in the areas of Ukraine that Russia has annexed, mothers are taking a stand. Return students to their studies, this sign in Donetsk says.

UNKNOWN (through translator): Vladimir, Vladimir, please return our children. There are many dead, many captured. The rest of the children are physically and morally decimated.

PLEITGEN: Soldier's mothers traditionally carry a lot of sway in Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin seems eager to show he's not tone deaf to their plight. Recently visiting what the military says were new recruits, even firing a sniper rifle him. Trying to convey he cares about the new recruits.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): About our country, you know, of course we have costs, most notably regarding losses in the special military operations. I think about it all the time.

PLEITGEN: But many mobilized Russians and their relatives seem to feel left out in the cold after their country called them up to serve in a war that was never supposed to last this long.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is following developments for us from London. She joins us now. Salma, Russian forces cause colossal damage to Ukraine's power generating -- generating facilities, that is according to the head of the country's power grid. What more are you learning about this?

[03:44:55]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, sure, Rosemary. So Ukrainian officials accusing Russia of failing on the battlefield, as you saw in that package from Fred Pleitgen there, our colleague, the absolute difficulties that their soldiers are facing on the front lines.

And in the absence of a victory on that battlefield, Ukrainian officials accusing Russia of intentionally targeting its civilian infrastructure, of inflicting more and more humanitarian suffering even far, far from the battlefield.

In fact, the World Health Organization's Europe regional director was in Kyiv earlier this week to assess the damage, particularly on the power grid. You mentioned there, the Ukrainian officials saying that a colossal attack last week, hundreds, over a hundred rocket, rather, over a hundred rockets fired have left most of the countries hydroelectric and thermal plants completely destroyed. Half of the Ukrainian power grid is either damaged or destroyed in these sustained attacks.

And again, going back to that World Health Organization visit, they say 10 million people, that's a quarter of the country's population is without power. They also have documented over 700 attacks on healthcare facilities.

So, hospitals and clinics since the beginning of the attack. And these are absolutely life-threatening conditions, of course, Rosemary. Temperatures are predicted to drop to negative four Fahrenheit. That's negative 20 degrees Celsius this winter at a time when people can't heat their homes, can't eat, even get a cup of warm tea.

And then taking you further to the east, right up to where those front lines as are as well, Rosemary. There are Ukrainian officials saying more civilians suffering, more shelling on neighborhoods. In Kharkiv this morning at a healthcare clinic and a school were attacked, two people killed and then to the south that absolutely devastating, horrifying story of the maternity ward you mentioned, that was attack a newborn baby killed in that attack, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So heartbreaking. Salma Abdelaziz bringing us the very latest there from London. Many thanks.

And we'll be back with more news on the mass shooting at a Walmart in Virginia after a short break. You're watching CNN.

[03:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Another four World Cup matches kickoff today. Former

champions, Germany and Spain will make their group E debuts. Germany taking on Japan and Spain going up against Costa Rica. In Group F, Morocco will challenge 2018 runner up Croatia. And Canada will face a formidable opponent, world number two Belgium during their first World Cup appearance since 1986.

Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, a public holiday is underway to celebrate the Saudi's astonishing World Cup win over perennial powerhouse Argentina. Frenzied fans in Qatar lost their minds over the two-one upset, which some considered the biggest in tournament history. At the final whistle, both sides fell to their knees from disbelief and exhaustion.

The last three teams to beat Argentina at a World Cup either went on to win the competition or reach the final.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Amazing, amazing, unbelievable, unbelievable. You know, I was telling my friends that I wish Argentina will win three-one, two- zero, but it's two-one for Saudi Arabia. Go, Saudi Arabia. Go, Saudi Arabia.

UNKNOWN: I'm really excited. I'm so happy, it wasn't expected, but I'm really happy to be here today and supporting the Saudi team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: After the match, Argentina captain Lionel Messi, one of the all-time greats, said his team has no excuses for their startling defeat. And he described the group's morale as, quote, "dead."

CNN's Don Riddell picks up the story.

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: It has been an extraordinary day here in Qatar and the game I witnessed at the Lusail Stadium earlier on produced arguably the greatest ever upset in the history of the World Cup.

Argentina versus Saudi Arabia in group C, a match that was supposed to mark the start of Leonel Messi's campaign to finally win the only major trophy that's alluded him. And an early penalty from the iconic number 10 set him on his way.

Argentina then had three goals disallowed for offside, and in the second half the Saudi's equalized with the well taken goal from Saleh Al-Shehri. Four minutes later, the green Falcons took the lead with a brilliant strike from Salem Al-Dawsari and the stadium just erupted.

The Saudis hung on to record an epic two-one win against one of the tournament favorites. In the first ever Middle Eastern World Cup it was a triumph that reverberated around the region and the world. And Wednesday was declared a public holiday in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis now have a two-point leading group C because Mexico and Poland then played to a goalies draw. It was an emotional day for Mexico's Alexis Vega who was in tears during the national anthem, and it was a memorable day for their experienced goalie Guillermo Ochoa, who saved a penalty from Robert Lewandowski, who still hasn't scored a World Cup goal.

Tuesday's Group D game between Denmark and Tunisia was also a goalies draw, but there was much more excitement in the late game where the defending champions, France fell behind to a goal from Australia's Craig Goodwin.

The last four world champions from Europe have all been knocked out of the group stage while trying to defend their titles. France hoping that wouldn't be them. Olivier Giroud sort of that scoring the go- ahead goal in the 32nd minute. That was his 50th international goal. And the flood gates were now open.

[03:54:59]

Twenty-three-year-old Kylian Mbappe scoring his fifth World Cup goal before Giroud tied the great Thierry Henry's international record as Les Bleus completed a four-one route.

It really was an extraordinary day of football action and news. Manchester United have announced that their legend, the unsettled Cristiano Ronaldo, will be leaving the club with immediate effect.

The news coming just days after he gave that incendiary interview about the Red Devils. The news comes just two days before Portugal played their opening World Cup match against Ghana, and they must hope that this does not prove to be too much of a distraction.

Back to you.

CHURCH: Thanks for that. And thank you for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Our breaking news coverage on the Walmart shooting continues on CNN Newsroom with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo in London.

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