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CNN International: Ukraine: Russian Strikes in Mykolaiv Targeted Civilians; Humanitarian Situation Worsens as Food & Water Run Out; South Korean President to Address U.S. Congress in a Few Hours; What's Happening between Disney and DeSantis; Chinese Media: Panda "Ya-Ya" Arrives in Shanghai from U.S. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired April 27, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

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MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to CNN "Newsroom", I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead, Russia strikes the Ukrainian City Mykolaiv less than 24 hours after a phone call between Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and China's leader Xi Jinping.

Then clashes continue to rock Sudan despite the latest ceasefire where thousands of people are trying to escape the violence and a new point of contention in the political tension between the U.S. and China. But this time, it's about the giant panda.

A speculation mounts about the timing of anticipated Ukrainian counter offensive. Russia continues to pound targets in Southern Ukraine. In Mykolaiv, the Ukrainian Military says Russian missiles hit a residential building and houses killing one person and injuring 23 others.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called it another crime against humanity. Further East in Zaporizhzhia the regional military says Russia pounded targets with more than 80 attacks. Two people were killed there. Nic Robertson has the details from Northern Ukraine. What can you tell us, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, what we know about the strikes in Zaporizhzhia 83 strikes overnight or over the past 24 hours. Some of them were air strikes, there were 5 UAV some multi rocket launcher systems use, as well as multiple artillery rounds fired more than 69 artillery rounds fired there.

The strike that you were talking about in Mykolaiv that was involved for S 300 surface to air missiles that hit an apartment building about 1 am in the night, very heavy damage to the buildings one person killed, as you said 23 people injured including one child.

But perhaps interestingly, it's the satellite imagery from the north of Crimea that gives an indication of what the Russian forces are perceiving Ukraine's next move might be a Russian Military base in the north of Crimea that satellite imaging had showed earlier this year to have heavy armored equipment and it tanks, artillery pieces and recent satellite imagery has shown that actually, that site is now empty.

It's not clear where the Russians have moved that heavy military hardware. But it does seem to indicate that perhaps they are concerned that it could be caught up targeted, and what is expected to be, they expect to be an offensive launched by Ukraine. Why North Crimea, they'd be moving their equipment from that base there?

Perhaps they think that the Ukrainians are going to attack and advance along the coast from Kherson that area into close to North Crimea. But again, this is indicative that Russia thinks this but we don't know for sure. And certainly Ukrainian Officials are not saying where this offensive is going to be these airstrikes.

So continuing in that region and showing that Russia is still absolutely on the offensive there despite whatever it anticipates about the possible offensive.

FOSTER: OK, Nic in Chernihiv region. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. Now tens of thousands of civilians making a run for their lives millions more trapped in their homes and an already dire humanitarian crisis deteriorating even further. That is the situation in Sudan and its getting worse by the hour.

Hospitals are overwhelmed. Food, water and fuel are in short supply and fighting between rival military factions continues despite yet another ceasefire. Many refugees trying to escape the violence of pouring into neighboring Chad is how one woman describes the terrifying scene that she left behind.

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DESKI ABDOULAYE BEDIM, SUDANESE REFUGEE: Armed men came to our compound and asked us to leave before we became collateral victims. Under threat we left in a hurry on a donkey to come here. I got separated from my seven children and I can't find them. We have seen parents massacred by Arab militias while they have done nothing. We are victims of gratuitous barbarism that we do not understand.

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FOSTER: As the brutal conflict nears the two-week mark there doesn't appear to be any end in sight. CNN's David McKenzie joins me now live in Johannesburg.

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I mean, it is a state of chaos, isn't it? The ceasefire which was brokered doesn't seem to be holding at the moment.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, it certainly doesn't seem to be holding as one doctor said to us that the generals in her mind are lying that there is no ceasefire. There have been some pockets of calm in the capital Khartoum, but overnight, very heavy fighting and into the morning, and now at this hour, it seems like continued clashes in different parts of the quad widespread Capital. So no, the ceasefires are not holding there have been very high level and desperate attempts from the diplomatic world to try and force these two sides to talk. At this stage, it seems like General al- Burhan of the Sudanese Armed Forces, the de facto ruler of the country is at least publicly being more open to having some kind of talks there's from the East African Community.

An aim to get talks going in neighboring South Sudan, the U.S. Secretary General, sorry, the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the African Union Head had been also trying to apply pressure. But the reality on the ground is, as you say, Max, the fighting continues.

And the humanitarian situation is extremely dire in the country in various parts of the country. Within the capital itself, the majority of hospitals are closed. We've been speaking to doctors over the last few days; they're running out of supplies. It's very difficult for people to get to the hospitals to get treated for gunshot wounds and other wounds.

And there is General Mayhem, looting is widespread, according to several eyewitnesses. And at that one hospital where we talk to a doctor, they said they have to have use from the neighborhood protecting the hospital from being rigid itself. The rapid support force, the paramilitary group has not spoken publicly about this plan to extend this so called ceasefire shaky as it is by the armed forces.

So it's unclear whether there's any actual maneuver to get to some kind of protracted stalemate, or I should say, a protracted ceasefire. One thing to note that experts have been speaking too is these two forces are very different. One is the large, well equipped military of Sudan.

The other, in a way was the paramilitary group that did the dirty work of Former Leader Omar Al Bashir. These are very different tactical forces. And while you have these airstrikes going on, throughout the days by the Air Force of the military and pounding these positions, this paramilitary group is very adept at this kind of guerrilla warfare that they grew out of from the atrocities that they allegedly committed in Darfur.

So it doesn't mean that because the Armed Forces is the main military force in Sudan that they could just walk over this other force. And that's why people are worried that this could drag on without any clear winner as it were, for many, many months.

And you've already seen a scenario in the west of the country where other armed groups may be taking advantage of this chaos. And that fragile piece that was in that part of the country seems to be breaking down as you saw from that a refugee who had fled to the border of Chad, Max.

FOSTER: OK, David in Johannesburg. Thanks for that report. In India, 11 people were killed in a Maoist militants attack in Central India. 10 policemen and a civilian were amongst the victims. The States Chief Minister says the policeman and a driver were killed in a blast when they returned from an operation against the militants. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack. In about three hours, South Korea's President will deliver a speech to the U.S. Congress to mark the 70-year history of the alliance between the two nations. It's all part of President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to Washington.

On Wednesday, he and President Biden announced the key security agreement to deter North Korean aggression. That includes plans to deploy a U.S. nuclear armed submarine to South Korea. CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us live from Seoul, South Korea. It also gives the South Koreans more say in how those weapons might potentially be used if there's an inflation of tension with the North.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Max, this was what President Yoon was really hoping for going over to Washington that he would have more reassurances, a more visible deterrent from Washington. He was and has been for months now calling for a strengthening of the extended deterrence.

And so what this agreement does, as far as we can tell is it will give South Korea a seat at the table when there are consultations as to how these weapons might be deployed in the future.

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We do also know that there was a very visible deterrent given from President Biden in this nuclear submarine which will be deployed to South Korea. Now we heard from a South Korean Presidential Office Official that it could be within weeks. Now, we haven't heard anything from North Korea at this point.

Interestingly, we have heard something from China. We heard from the U.S. side that they had warned Beijing ahead of time that this was going to be announced. But this nuclear submarine would just be a preventative measure against North Korea's missile threats, and they shouldn't be concerned about it.

But that's not the way that Beijing saw it. They strongly oppose this deployment saying, "the actions of the U.S. reeks of cold war mentality". Now, President Yoon will be speaking as you say, in just three hours to Congress, he is likely to touch on some of these points, but also really hammer home the importance as he sees it of the 70-year alliance.

Now we'll see how Congress responds to his speech, the first from a South Korean President in 10 years. But last night on Wednesday evening in the White House, he actually had a standing ovation for something very different, not political at all. He did sing to the U.S. President Joe Biden singing the Don McLean classic American Pie before the U.S. President gave him a signed guitar from the artist.

And it was certainly something that was noted by those around it got a very enthusiastic response. We'll see what the response from Congress's, Max.

FOSTER: OK, it was a great piece of singing as well, a great rendition. Thank you so much, Paula to the Vatican now and a landmark new ruling for women in the Catholic Church. For the first time Pope Francis will allow women to vote at an influential meeting of bishops in October.

The Gathering is known as a Synod. The changes now allow for the participation of 70 non Bishop Members. Half of those the Vatican says should be women. Our Vatican Correspondent Delia Gallagher is in Rome. I guess its progress, but it's not exactly a revolution just yet.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Max. In fact, that's basically what the cardinal in charge of the Senate Cardinal Hollerich from Luxembourg said; he said it's an important change but not a revolution. So these Synods, Max, are called by the Pope every so often to discuss a particular topic.

This Senate is going to be discussing Synodality which is essentially how lay people involved in the church are. What is their mission? How are they being heard? So rightly, Pope Francis has made this change to include lay people not being priests, of course, or nuns.

At the table normally, bishops are the only ones who are allowed to vote on the proposals that they then make to the Pope. Now, Pope Francis is saying he wants 70 non-Bishop members and half of those should be women. He also wants young people included.

So this is a way certainly for Pope Francis to show that he is reaching out not only to women, but to lay people in the church. It has been something that many have been calling for some time, due to a number of issues in the Catholic Church; we saw it also on the sex abuse front that lay people wanted more participation, having a voice at the table having even decision making capabilities within the Catholic Church.

So certainly an important step forward for Pope Francis's agenda the thing is, Max, we don't yet know what they will be voting on. We don't have the agenda for this meeting, the Senate started back in 2021 with listening sessions in local churches all around the world. This is an international event it is a massive thing.

So it has been going on already for two years. And it will continue now at the Vatican in October, when the bishops meet, when the lay people meet all together. They tried to collate all of the responses from the different countries into specific proposals for the Pope.

So that he's kind of in touch with what average Catholics around the world want. So that's where the voting comes in and that's why it's important because the actual proposals that will then go to the Pope. Remember, it's only consultative, they don't make any actual decisions, but they decide on what proposals to send to the Pope to kind of give him his ear to the ground on what people are thinking.

So it's an important meeting, Max, and certainly an important step that women now will not only have their voices heard, at least at this meeting, but that they will also be allowed to vote on what those proposals are that go to Pope Francis, Max. FOSTER: OK, Delia, thank you very much indeed for your insight on that. Now still to come the Governor from the U.S. state of Florida trying to burnish his global credentials whilst embroiled in a controversial fight at home why one of his state's biggest employers is taking him to court.

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FOSTER: What's happening between Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis? Walt Disney Parks and Resorts have filed a lawsuit against Ron DeSantis and his handpicked oversight board. It claims they are carrying out a "targeted campaign of government retaliation and violating Disney's constitutional right to free speech".

Disney and DeSantis have battled publicly for months ever since DeSantis signed controversial legislation restricting classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity. Meanwhile, DeSantis is in Jerusalem, where he's expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Here's what he said about the lawsuit.

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GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): They had no accountability, no transparency, none of that. And that arrangement was not good for the state of Florida. We did not think that should continue. So we now have brought accountability every other Floridian has to have this type of oversight all Florida businesses.

So it's a little bit much to be complaining about that. I don't think the suit has merit, I think it's political. People of Florida they understood that this was an issue. Do you want one company to have their own fiefdom? Or do you want everyone to live under the same laws?

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FOSTER: Jerusalem is the third leg of DeSantis worldwide tour after stops in Japan and South Korea. The tour will end with a visit to the U.K. CNN Senior Legal Analyst; Elie Honig joins me now from New York. Thanks so much for joining us. We'll talk about the tour in just a moment.

But on Disney, how engaged to the public on this because it's got very complex hasn't it? Ultimately got Disney and one of the most famous cherished companies in America against this candidate? How do you think is playing out?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Max, it's a fascinating story. I think it's really captured quite a bit of attention here in the United States. Disney has for the past 55 years, been operating under what we call a special improvement district in Florida. Meaning essentially, Disney has been given the power to govern its own land the way a municipality would. When Disney spoke out against that legislation that you mentioned, it kicked off this battle with Ron DeSantis, Disney criticized the legislation. And then DeSantis essentially said I'm going to try to revoke your special powers now, which led to this lawsuit. And so it's a fascinating legal issue because it has to do with land rights and property rights and contract rights.

It pits two very big players, one of our largest and most well-known corporations in Disney against one of our best known and emerging politicians and Ron DeSantis and the stakes are really enormous.

FOSTER: How do you think it's going to play out? I mean, is it playing as expected it to play out?

HONIG: I think politically for Ron DeSantis, No, it's not at all it seems to be backfiring on him. In fact, several leading Republicans have criticized Ron DeSantis for essentially taking an anti-Business big government position. If you look at the legal merits of the case I think Disney has quite a strong case.

We've only seen the complaint, but they're arguing first of all, this special improvement district is a result of a contract. We entered into a contract lawfully with the state of Florida and second of all, I think Disney has quite a strong First Amendment case. They're saying we're being singled out only because we criticize this law.

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And Ron DeSantis himself has said as much he has said called them woke Disney and he basically said I'm going after Disney because they spoke out against me and this law.

FOSTER: Will be interesting to see how that does play out. Meanwhile, he's on this global tour. I call them a candidate earlier. We're all assuming he's a candidate. It's not actually officially come out as a candidate for the presidential election, though, hasn't he? Why hasn't he come out and what's he hoping to achieve from a world tour?

HONIG: Well, clearly the reason he's doing this world tour is to try to burnish his credentials as an international player. He's been the Chief Executive but only of the State of Florida and this is quite a common thing for people who are looking to make the jump from the Governor's office into the Presidential race to do to be seen in foreign countries and hobnobbing with Foreign Heads of State.

Why hasn't he declared yet? That's actually a really good question. Donald Trump has declared three or four other Republican candidates have declared dissent. This was three or four months ago, sort of the darling of the right and he was seen as the next great hope of the Republican Party and the most likely person to meaningfully challenge Donald Trump.

But Donald Trump's been beating him up pretty badly for the last month or two. And frankly, this fight that Ron DeSantis has picked with Disney is not helping him politically either. So we'll see if he comes back and makes his declaration but this lawsuit is going to be hovering over his entire candidacy if he does declare.

FOSTER: OK, Elie Honig in New York. Thank you so much as ever.

HONIG: Thanks, Max, all right.

FOSTER: China's panda diplomacy being put to the test, a U.S. zoo returning one of the animals but its companion died early this year making relations between the two nations even more tense.

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FOSTER: Chinese media report that Ya-Ya, the giant panda has arrived in Shanghai there was no mention of the animal's condition. The Memphis Zoo in the U.S. returned Ya-Ya as a 20-year-old loan came to an end and another panda in his care had been due to return as well, but died in February.

CNN's Selina Wang explains how the tension between the U.S. and China is putting panda diplomacy to the test.

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SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Once the symbol of Beijing's goodwill now the center of angry debate in China. This panda in Memphis, Tennessee has become the latest victim in worsening U.S.- China tensions. Ya-Ya arrived in America with her playmate Le-Le two decades ago as an emblem of growing bilateral friendship.

But recent videos showing the ones fluffy panda now looking skinny with scraggly fur has sparked outrage in China many Chinese people in some animal advocates accusing the zoo of mistreatment. Videos on Chinese social media claiming the pandas are being abused quickly went viral against the backdrop of growing anti-American sentiment.

The rumors often fanned by state propaganda. And meanwhile, Chinese social media users are praising these viral videos of this panda in Russia Ru Yi playing videos of the active and playful panda through Russia is taking excellent care of the Chinese bear. State TV saying the pandas are helping the Russia-China relationship.

Chinese and American scientists launched a joint investigation concluding that Ya-Ya have a genetic fur and skin condition that does not impact her quality of life and has received excellent care, but that message is not getting through.

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Outside the panda exhibit at the Beijing zoo I asked people if they've heard of Ya-Ya, the panda. This man says yes she's abused in America. An 11-year-old boy tells me I heard the U.S. is treating the panda poorly. This man says, isn't Russia taking good care of pandas. Pandas are happy over there, not like in the U.S.

And this man with his granddaughter tells me, pandas and Russia are very happy why Russians and Chinese are friends. At least Russia is not sanctioning China. WANG (on camera): Ya-Ya will soon settle in this Beijing Zoo. Now China has long used as pandas as a diplomatic tool. Currently, it's pandas on loan to about 20 countries that the United States has not received one since Ya-Ya and Le-Le 20 years ago. Now these pandas are normally loaned on these 10 year leases, and they cost a million dollars annually.

WANG (voice over): The Memphis zoo had already planned to send Ya-Ya and Le-Le back to Beijing this spring because their lease is expiring, but Le-Le died of heart disease two months ago, at the age of 24. The average lifespan for pandas is usually under 30 years.

Yet that didn't stop rampant speculation and led to an explosion of accusations about Ya-Ya's treatment too. Accelerating cost to bring Ya-Ya back to China. The Message even featured on billboards from New York City to major cities across China. In 1972, during U.S. President Richard Nixon's historic trip to China, his wife visited pandas in Beijing.

PAT NIXON, WIFE OF FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON : On behalf of the people of the United States. I am pleased to be here and accept the precious gift.

WANG (voice over): Months later, China sent a pair of pandas to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. Now, decades later, this panda is returned from the U.S. to China symbolic not of growing friendship, but growing animosity between two global superpowers. Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.

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FOSTER: Well, thank you for joining us here on "CNN Newsroom". I'm Max Foster in London. "World Sport" with Amanda Davis is up next.

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