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Joe Biden Visits Northern Ireland To Mark 25 Years Of Peace; U.S. Defense Secretary Vows To Find Source Of Leaks; Israel Bans Non- Muslims From Volatile Holy Site; Military Attack On Myanmar's Village Kills Around 100; Rare Look at Inside Moscow's Lefortovo Prison; Police Release Body Cam Video of Response to Bank Attack. Aired 12- 12:45a ET

Aired April 12, 2023 - 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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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm John Vause.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Joe Biden in Belfast for the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday peace agreement. A historic deal which may pave the way to political dysfunction now gripping Northern Ireland.

All together now, it's just disinformation. U.S. allies fall in line over classified documents leak from the Pentagon.

And inside the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. How this place sacred to both Muslims and Jews can also be at the heart of conflict across the region.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Joe Biden has now arrived in Northern Ireland for a four-day visit, which coincides with the 25th anniversary of the U.S. brokered Good Friday peace agreement. Air Force One touchdown in a country which has not had a functioning elected government for more than a year. Public services have been slashed amid a sea of red ink, and the terrorism threat level has recently been raised to severe.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak greeted the U.S. president on the tarmac. Both leaders will be meeting again for talks in the coming hours.

President Biden will also meet with the leaders of all five political parties, which make up Northern Ireland's power sharing agreement, a legacy of the Good Friday peace deal, but one which many believe has led to the current political dysfunction gripping the country.

The Northern Ireland Assembly has been shut down for more than a year, with one of the main parties appropriated Democrat Unionists refusing to enter a power sharing arrangement as mandated by the Good Friday deal.

At issue is a post-Brexit trade deal, which the DUP says isolate Northern Ireland from the U.K.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your top priority on this trip, sir?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Make sure the Irish accords and the Windsor agreements stay in place to keep the peace and that's the main thing. It looks like we're going to keep our fingers crossed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Kevin Liptak is in Belfast, Northern Island. He joins us now with more on President Biden's trip.

And Kevin, it seems that President Biden will not spend a lot of time in Northern Ireland. The main focus of the next couple of days will be heading back to his ancestral past in the Republic of Ireland.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, that's right. He's only really spending less than 24 hours here in Northern Ireland. And I think that was something of a disappointment to some of the leaders here who would have hoped that he would spend more time discussing the Good Friday Agreement, the American involvement in that 1998 peace accord.

But of course, as you mentioned, when he walked out of the White House yesterday and was heading out here, he said his goal was to keep the peace in Northern Ireland. I think that tells you that it is kind of an uneasy peace that you're seeing here 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement was signed, there is a flare ups in political violence. And we saw that just Monday with some Republican dissidents in Derry throwing petrol bombs at police, the terror threat level in Northern Ireland has been increased during the president's visit. The security in Belfast on the ground here is quite intense, quite tight.

And so, it just sort of tell you that the ambitions of the Good Friday Agreement even though it did end, the major sectarian violence of the -- of the troubles, it's an uneasy peace.

And the political solution is uneasy as well. As you mentioned, the power sharing government in Stormont is suspended essentially, they're over this dispute over the Brexit trade rules. And I think certainly President Biden and the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would have hoped that that would have been resolved ahead of his visit.

And for that reason, he won't be speaking to lawmakers later today. Instead, he'll be speaking at Ulster University and I think that's a symbolic choice. The president really trying to underscore to young people here and not necessarily about this region's bloody past, but about its future.

You know, a lot of university students won't have any direct memory of the troubles. The Good Friday Agreement was signed before they were even born.

And so, when he speaks today, he'll really talk about the future and the economic potential of this region, really trying to underscore what's available to people here in this new era of peace.

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VAUSE: Let's see, a Good Friday Agreement wasn't that long ago. Kevin, thank you. Kevin Liptak there on the line from Belfast.

The director of the CIA, the U.S. Defense Secretary and Secretary of State have all spoken publicly for the first time Tuesday on the leak of classified documents from the Pentagon, all seem to be on the same page. The breach is extremely serious and investigation is ongoing and they don't seem to know much more beyond that.

More details now from CNN's Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Tonight, top U.S. officials trying to get ahead of the damage caused by a leak of highly sensitive documents.

LLOYD AUSTIN, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I will tell you that we take this very seriously and we will continue to investigate and turn over every rock until we find the source of this and the extent of it.

LIEBERMANN: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin promising results from an investigation just getting underway. While Secretary of State Anthony Blinken worked to reassure foreign nations.

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have engaged with allies and partners at high levels over the past days, including to reassure them about our own commitment to safeguarding intelligence and of course, our commitment to our security partnerships.

LIEBERMANN: The Department of Justice is handling the criminal investigation of the leaks while DOD is part of a broader look into how the leaks have impacted national security. The leaks have reached across the globe revealing U.S. spying on adversaries including Russia and China but also on U.S. allies and partners among them Israel, South Korea and many more.

Some of the documents reviewed by CNN offers sensitive details and Ukraine's military capabilities or lack thereof, including critical shortages of air defenses and overall casualty assessments after more than a year of war. Ukrainian officials downplayed the significance of the leaks saying some of the information wasn't secret at all.

But a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the military has already changed some of its plans because of the leaks. In a new set of leaked documents obtained by the Washington Post, the U.S. learned Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was considering providing 40,000 rockets to Russia for its war in Ukraine, but to do so quietly to avoid problems with the West since Egypt is one of the largest recipients of U.S. military aid.

CNN has not seen the documents and cannot confirm their authenticity. Egyptian state media called the report an informational absurdity while the Kremlin called it another hoax. And the U.S. says they've seen no signs of Egypt providing lethal aid to Russia, but it underscores the far reaching consequences of the leaks.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I want a briefing on the logistics right on how this information got out there. But we also need to get briefings on the substance.

LIEBERMANN: The leaked documents appear to be part of a daily intelligence briefing prepared for the Pentagon senior leaders, official said. The documents can be accessed by hundreds if not thousands of people across the government with the proper security clearance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIEBERMANN (on camera): It's not just a question of the number of people who had access to information like this, but how it's disseminated either through tablets rigged to have top secret information on them also printed out as we've seen through the documents, and simply forwarded via e-mails either in whole or in excerpts depending on the classification level. Some of that creates an electronic track that can be looked after and investigated, but not all of it. And that adds to the complications in investigating something like this and trying to figure out the motive behind it.

Oren Liebermann, CNN at the Pentagon.

VAUSE: Joining us this hour is CNN National Security Analyst and former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper.

Mr. Clapper, thank you for being with us.

JAMES CLAPPER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST (on camera): Well, thanks for having me.

VAUSE: Pleasure.

Now, at a news conference, the Secretary of Defense he was asked how this information, this classified information could be available on the web, available to anyone who could find it out for months up until he was officially briefed just last week. Here's his response. Listen to this.

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AUSTIN: There were somewhere in the web and in where exactly and who had access at that point, we don't know. We simply don't know at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, he really didn't answer the question. So, let me put it to you. How concerned are you that this information could have been freely available to anyone on the internet for months, essentially, without U.S. intelligence officials doing anything about it? CLAPPER: Well, John, your question is, reinforces why I'm glad I'm not the -- in the government anymore. It's a tough question. This is very unusual.

I mean, we have a long -- unfortunately, a long history of intelligence breaches, but never one in this manner. You know, using the internet, and it is strange that these catches of intelligence information went unnoticed and apparently obscure platforms on social media.

So, that's a question that needs to be answered. And hopefully, we'll learn what happened here and the future can preclude it.

[00:10:03]

But I think Secretary Austin just being honest, this is -- this is a new twist. And we're going to have to sort it out,

VAUSE: Just in the bigger picture here, how much of this problem can be traced back to this ongoing problem of essential over classification of information?

CLAPPER: Well, you know, I really don't think that's the issue, over classification or procedural problems. The issue is, with someone's personal integrity and personal trust, and that continues to be the weak, weak link in this whole system and classification is a -- over classification perhaps is a -- is a problem. But I don't think it is really the central issue here.

VAUSE: OK, I want to listen to the CIA director, who was speaking on Tuesday night about the urgency of dealing with this leak, here he is.

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WILLIAM BURNS, CIA DIRECTOR: The deeply unfortunate leak of classified documents is certainly as intense as anything and that now part of the inbox as well. And, you know, it's something that the U.S. government takes extremely seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And these documents appear to be part of daily intelligence briefing and briefing deck. And here's CNN reporting on that and who has access to that.

On any given day, the slides in that deck can be properly accessed by hundreds, if not thousands of people across the government, officials told CNN.

It seems the Department of Justice will need to cast a pretty wide net to find whoever did this given the number of potential suspects. You know, it could be numbering in the thousands. So, does that mean the leaker may never be caught?

CLAPPER: Well, I don't know. This is going to require some unprecedented forensic analysis. And I think it would start rather than casting a wide net, it probably is the approach would be more precise to the extent that there's any evidence, any signature, any footprint that remains out there or there was observed and tried to backtrack that.

I think, you know, casting the big net from -- and you're right, among the hundreds or maybe thousands of people that might have access to this is probably not going to be very productive.

VAUSE: Well, the U.K. Defense Ministry tweeted about the leak on Tuesday, the widely reported leak of alleged classified U.S. information has demonstrated a serious level of inaccuracy, readers should be cautious about taking at face value allegations that have the potential to spread disinformation.

At the same time, the South Koreans seem to be taking a similar line to that now, walking back what they said on Monday, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM TAE-HYO, SOUTH KOREAN PRINCIPAL DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER (through translator): The two countries have the same view that a great deal of disclosed information was fabricated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The Egyptians are saying a similar thing about the deals supplied missiles to Russia. They say it's disinformation. The UAE says the same thing about reports of a deal that it was working with Russia against U.S. interests. They say that's disinformation.

Is it a coincidence that it seems that everyone is now on the same page? Even countries like South Korea that weren't on the same page just today? They've all come together.

CLAPPER: I wondered about that, John, the -- I think the possibility, if not the actuality that some of this data may have been tinkered with, or altered after it was posted may provide a graceful way for allies who are implicated in this intelligence information to avoid direct and pointed criticism of the United States and the leaks. So, in one sense, maybe there's, you know, a graceful way to avoid that.

For me, it's a contrast with 10 years ago with the revelations as Edward Snowden did in June of 2010. And there are a lot of revelations about the U.S. spying on friends there as well. And a lot of them reacted with pointed indignation. But after they did that, we just got on with business and I suspect that's what's going to happen here.

VAUSE: Thank you very much James Clapper, we appreciate your time, Sir, thank you.

CLAPPER: Thanks.

VAUSE: A 10-day ban is now in place preventing non-Muslims from a sacred site in Jerusalem's old city, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Al Haram Ash Sharif. The decision by Israel's government to only allow Muslims into the site comes after an escalation in violence after Israeli police raided the Al-Aqsa mosque twice.

The ban will be lifted by the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which has coincided this year with a Jewish holiday of Passover, making for a volatile situation.

In June of 1967, Israel was attacked by a coalition of Arab states, many Israelis headed to their bomb shelters expecting an end to the State of Israel.

[00:15:04]

Instead, they emerged six days later victorious controlling land from part of Egypt to the West Bank, and that included the old city in East Jerusalem.

Shortly after that, they signed the status quo agreement allowing only Muslims to pray at Al Haram Ash Sharif.

But with Israel's new right-wing government, many Muslims fear now that agreement is in danger.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz was given special permission to report from Al Haram Ash Sharif.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER (voice over): A delicate balance that governs in binds this holy site is under strain.

My producer and I both Muslim born were granted access to film at the Al-Aqsa compound by the custodians of the site. Only Muslims are allowed to pray here, under a long running but unwritten status quo agreement that worshipers tell us is slowly being eroded. Non-Muslims can visit the complex only during certain hours.

I feel pain true pain inside, this woman tells me. This is a place of worship, not a place for occupation or for provocation, this is what she means.

While we speak, a group of largely Jewish visitors passes by the mosque under police escort. The women demonstrate by reciting the Quran louder and louder.

This mountain top is revered by Jews too, they call it Temple Mount. A growing movement of Jewish extremist is demanding to perform prayers here that could upend the status quo. We witnessed at least two men praying as police standby.

We've seen several small groups like this of non-Muslim worshippers passing through the complex as Muslims continue to pray inside the mosque. This is where the friction is. This is where the controversy lies.

Jordan is the custodian of the grounds but that role is becoming increasingly symbolic, experts say, because it is Israel that controls the security checks at entry points and therefore access. The director general of Al-Aqsa sees the increasing visits of Jewish

extremists under police escort as a provocation.

I see these visits as an attack on our holy site, he tells me and I warn the government of Israel to stay away from Al-Aqsa mosque because any violation here drags down the entire region.

And there are tons at the gates, small groups of Jewish radicals saying the temple will be built, a reference to a far right fringe call to build a Third Temple on the sacred grounds.

Prime Minister Netanyahu insists he is committed to keeping the status quo. But under his government, the most far right in Israel's history, extremist voices are growing louder and stronger.

All this makes an already extremely contentious place ever more of a tinderbox. One event here can and has sparked deadly cycles of violence across the region.

Al-Aqsa is seen as a political symbol as well as a religious one by the Arab world. The complex lies in the heart of East Jerusalem, which most of the international community considers to be under Israeli occupation, but which Israel sees as part of its united capital.

Al Aqsa is our life. It is the breath we breathe, he says, it is an ideology that we carry in our minds.

We enter the Dome of the Rock, an area designated for women to witness the afternoon prayer. Some go to great lengths to get here, passing multiple checkpoints, but they tell us they find some peace when they arrive.

Of course, I don't feel safe, she tells me and everything can change in an instant. So, I'm always scared. But I'm here because I have faith in God.

This prayer passed peacefully, as most do. But here even quiet worship is not a guarantee.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still ahead on CNN, the military dictators in Myanmar upping their attacks on civilians.

And the latest alleged war crime, a village first bombed and then straight by helicopter gunship, murderer dozens.

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VAUSE: Italy has declared a state of emergency to try and deal with a surge of migrants making a dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea. So far this year, more than 31,000 migrants have arrived. Many have

not made it though, with some rescues happening right now.

On Tuesday, Italy's coast guard was escorting two boats into port, with around 1,200 people on board. One boat of migrants had been stranded after running out of fuel.

The government says the emergency declaration will help free up resources and funds to process arrivals as well as asylum requests.

Two years after Myanmar's military seized power, new allegations revealed the junta's continuing brutality. Local media published images of the aftermath of an alleged military attack on a village killing around 100 people.

And a warning, the images you're about to see are graphic. The photos show bodies of victims, as well as destroyed buildings, vehicles and other debris.

The ousted civilian administration says children and pregnant women are among the dead and wounded. The national unity government call it a heinous act that constitutes a crime of war.

Local media report, Myanmar's military dropped two bombs and then fired on the northern villages as many were gathering for the opening of a new town office on Tuesday.

Reuters is reporting the junta says it carried out an attack targeting rebels and that a civilian casualties occurred it was because they were forced to help "terrorists".

Tom Andrews is the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Myanmar. He is with us this hour from Washington. Tom, thank you for taking time to speak with us.

TOM ANDREWS, U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON MYANMAR (on camera): Thank you, John.

VAUSE: So here's a tweet with a question for the U.N. for the leader of the National Shadow government in Myanmar. Heartbroken by the latest aerial massacre in Sagaing. The Myanmar junta continues to commit brutal atrocities, killing at least 50 including children.

I implore the U.N., how many more massacres must occur before you take action? How much longer will our people suffer under this?

So, how many more massacres, Tom, 10, 100, 200? How many more dead children before anyone notices before anyone cares?

ANDREWS: John that's a very, very good question. I'm asked that a lot by people in Myanmar, they feel that the world has not only ignored them, but forsaken them. And they wonder why is it that the world can respond so forcefully to situations like the invasion of Ukraine, but has failed to take the requisite action to help a very desperate country that is under assault by this -- by this military? I think it's a fair question. And I think that world leaders have to

ask themselves this very question starting with those who are supplying the junta with the weapons that they are using to kill innocent people, commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is just absolutely outrageous.

But then also those who condemned these killings who say that they support the people of Myanmar, the fact is that the response by the international community has been destroyed (PH), it's been -- has not been organized, it's not been strategic.

And unlike the coordinated approach that we've seen with respect to the crisis in Ukraine, the international response in Myanmar has been anything but focused and strategic.

That is exactly the kind of response that the people of Myanmar are looking for, but yet -- have yet to be seen by the -- by the international community.

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VAUSE: And that question should really be addressed to member states because unless the member states act, the U.N. can't do a whole lot.

Now, at the time of the coup two years ago, military dictator said they would hold on to power for two years, emergency measures they said to restore common security, not that it needed restoring, but that's what they said. They were hoping to be holding sham elections by now. But the security situation has only gotten worse.

So, is that why there has been this increase in the use of airpower, warplanes, helicopter gunships targeting civilians, and does that mean these atrocities are likely to continue and occur more often?

ANDREWS: They are likely to continue, John. We've seen a significant uptick in the use of air helicopter, gunships and these jets, fighter jets that are dropping bombs on villages, IDP centers and other civilian targets in Myanmar.

The problem for the junta is that they expect -- fully expected that they'd have complete control of the country by now and that they could run these sham elections.

Well, they're losing control of the country, they're losing ground. Things are much more unstable on the ground than they've -- than they've ever been and they continue to become more and more unstable.

So, their soldiers who they have put on the ground are finding themselves to be subject to attacks, to ordnance of various kinds, guerrilla attacks by people in these areas and villages that are very strongly opposed to the military junta.

So, as a result of that, they're using air power more and more and of course, as they do so, more and more civilians are being killed because that ordinance being dropped from the -- from the air does not distinguish between its targets. And so, men, women, children, even young children, including what we

saw today in the Sagaing region, have perished under these -- under these bombs and these aerial gunships.

VAUSE: Yes, Amnesty International have a very practical solution, which might at the least slow these attacks, here's a quote, the relentless air attacks across Myanmar highlight the urgent need to suspend the import of aviation fuel. Amnesty reiterates its call on all states and businesses to stop shipments that may end up in the hands of the Myanmar Air Force.

You know, an embargo (INAUDIBLE) would seem to be the absolute minimum that governments worldwide could do. This is low hanging fruit.

ANDREWS: Well, John, listen, whatever we can do to ground n those aircraft, that's going to save lives. And if they can't fuel up, they're not going to get into the air.

Now, of course, there's all kinds of ways that the junta will find to get around these embargoes. But anything we can do to make it more difficult, more expensive for them to put these gunships in the air to kill people to get their hands on weapons, to get their hands on a technology that's being used as weapons, materials that are being used to produce weapons.

Anything that the world can do to stop these materials, getting into the hands of the junta, that can save lives. And I think we should be listening to all of those who have any and every suggestion and not just condemn with words these atrocities but actually do something about it.

VAUSE: Yes, there comes a point where words are just cheap, actions really matter. And that it's -- that's the time right now. So, thank you, sir. Thanks for being with us.

ANDREWS: My pleasure, John, thanks for having me.

VAUSE: United Nations employees based in Afghanistan had been told not to go to their workplace until further notice, because of a new edict from the Taliban which bans women from working for the organization.

This instruction also applies to male U.N. employees, after Afghan men working for the U.N. in Kabul stayed home last week in solidarity with their female colleagues.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does Taliban giving you any guarantee of their safety of the staff even if they stay at home?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I mean, there's no -- there's no guarantee of their safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The U.N. says the ban on female employees of the Taliban's latest effort to keep women and girls from participating in most areas of public and daily life.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights calls the move utterly despicable.

Just ahead, a rare glimpse inside Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison, where inmates live in isolation and silence, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[00:31:53]

The health of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny appears to be getting worse. In a Twitter post Tuesday, his spokesperson said Navalny has had severe stomach issues and has lost 8 kilograms over the past two weeks.

According to that tweet, Navalny is not receiving any treatment inside the prison.

Navalny was poisoned with the internationally-banned nerve agent Novichok back in August of 2020.

His spokesperson now says, "We do not rule out that all this time in prison, he could have been poisoned with something to make his health deteriorate slowly but steadily."

U.S. President Joe Biden has spoken with the parents of Evan Gershkovich, the "Wall Street Journal" reporter arrested in Russia last month on espionage charges.

The president spoke with the family by phone Tuesday en route to Northern Ireland.

The White House says it's committed to getting Gershkovich released, as well as Paul Whelan, another American who's been held in Russia for years.

The family of Gershkovich issued a statement, which reads, "We are encouraged that the State Department has officially designated Evan as wrongfully detained. We appreciate President Biden's call to us today, assuring us that the U.S. government is doing everything in its power to bring him home as quickly as possible."

The Moscow prison where Gershkovich is being held has a frightening history and reputation, going back to the Soviet days of the KGB. It's been described as a fortress, where prisoners are alone and isolated in utter silence.

Here's CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It looms, under tight security. Near the center of Moscow, the walls of notorious Lefortovo imprison some of Russia's worst prisoners and the Kremlin's bitterest critics.

And now U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich, too, locked away here last month on charges of espionage he denies. U.S. diplomats tell CNN they've still had no access to him whatsoever.

We met one of the few people who has, the head of Russia's prison observation committee agreed to speak to CNN, even though the Gershkovich case has been designated secret by the Russian state.

There are strict limits, though, to what he can tell us.

ALEXEY MELNIKOV, PUBLIC MONITORING COMMISSION (through translator): He was cheerful enough. I can't say that there was any physical or psychological pressure applied to him. We made sure to ask him that, and he confirmed that there wasn't any.

Then we talked about the conditions of his detention, his day-to-day life, on whether or not he is in need of medical attention, but we have not uncovered any problems.

CHANCE (voice-over): In fact, Even Gershkovich appeared calm, he told me, unlike many who find themselves trapped, cut off from the outside world, behind Lefortovo's walls.

MELNIKOV (through translator): In the case of Gershkovich, I would probably say he was not shocked. You couldn't say that he was happy or that he envisaged this development. He simply took it calmly. That's all.

CHANCE (voice-over): But even a glimpse inside Lefortovo can be unnerving. This was rare access, granted to Russian state television more than a decade ago.

[00:35:02]

Even Russians are fascinated with a prison, infamous for holding dissidents and where the old KGB executed countless Soviet citizens.

Officials tell us these facilities have now been renovated, but the lay-out, designed to limit contact between detainees, remains unchanged, as does the same old prison regime.

MELNIKOV (voice-over): Wake-up call is at 6 a.m., lights out at 10. Breakfast, lunch and dinner; morning, day, evening. There's an inspection every morning. They'll ask if there are any problems. They deliver mail, parcels, deliveries from a shop.

This routine will include trips to court, if there are any, and meetings with lawyers and investigators, et cetera.

And a walk. The authorities have to let prisoners walk for an hour every day. PAUL WHELAN, HELD BY RUSSIA: I want to tell the world that I'm a -- a victim of political kidnap and ransom.

CHANCE (voice-over): U.S. citizens have passed through Lefortovo before, including former Marine Paul Whelan, who was held there before being convicted of spying in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in a penal colony.

Another U.S. Marine veteran, Trevor Reed, released in this prisoner swap last year, described Lefortovo as the most sinister of the six Russian jails where he was held.

"I don't even know if I yelled out," he told "The Wall Street Journal." "The other prisoners could have heard me."

And it is that sense of being unheard, of isolation behind these walls, that Evan Gershkovich may now be feeling, too. Even if outside, there's a growing clamor to set him free.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Ahead here on CNN, police in Louisville, Kentucky, release body cam video of their response to the deadly bank shooting. Just ahead, new details emerging from the dramatic footage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Authorities are warning Tropical Cyclone Ilsa is rapidly intensifying and heading towards Western Australia. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center says it now has wind gusts of 185 kilometers per hour, just shy of Category 2 hurricane.

It's expected to continue to strengthen before making landfall Thursday night or early Friday morning. Could be the strongest storm to hit the region since 2009.

As you can see, heading for Broome there, which is an areas mostly isolated on the West coast.

Louisville, Kentucky, Police Department has released dramatic body cam video of their quick response to a deadly mass shooting at a bank. It shows the tense moments between officers and the gunman, just moments before he's killed.

CNN's Omar Jimenez takes us through the footage. And a warning: what you're about to see is disturbing for some viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop. Stop right there.

(GUNFIRE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back up, back up, back up.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The video starts as officers pull up to the scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop right there. Stop. Open the trunk.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Body camera video from Officer Nicholas Wilt shows him approach the bank with a pistol. His partner and training officer, veteran Cory Galloway (ph), is wearing a camera, too.

He grabs his long gun from the trunk. And moments later, engages the shooter.

His partner, Officer Wilt, is shot and down in front of the bank. Galloway tells arriving officers to look for a better angle.

CORY GALLOWAY (PH), LOUISVILLE POLICE: The shooter has an angle on that officer. We need to get out there. I don't know where he's at. The glass is blocking him.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): And then --

(GUNSHOTS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I got him down. I think he's down!

Suspect down! Get the officer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey! Hey, you. He's inside there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What? I know. He's down. Get the officer.

JIMENEZ: All of it played out just behind me here. The windows shattered on that video are now boarded up as the community here tries to heal. A vigil is planned for Wednesday to give some of that community that opportunity to find a way forward.

Police leadership said they're proud of how the officers responded, but also that "the most heroic things we do are shrouded in people's tragedies." And based on what we've seen, this is no exception.

Omar Jimenez, CNN, Louisville, Kentucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. Please stay with us. After a short break, WORLD SPORT is up next. See you in about 18 minutes.

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[00:45:23]

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