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Protestors Denounce Putin, Russian Election; Hostage & Ceasefire Talks Expected to Resume; Haitians Shelter in School to Flee Rising Gang Violence; Officials Say No Major Infrastructure Damage So Far. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired March 18, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.

[00:00:28]

Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, an election result that couldn't have been more predictable. Vladimir Putin will win another term as Russia's president by a margin that few take seriously people.

People in Gaza waiting, waiting, waiting for food, and safety as ceasefire talks are expected to resume in the coming hours. Israel's prime minister, though, says that Hamas demands are, in his words, outlandish.

And people in Haiti trying to escape rampant gang violence. We'll take you to a school transformed into a refugee camp.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.

HOLMES: Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling for national unity as the country wraps up a presidential election that is certain to deliver him a massive win and a fifth term.

With no credible challenge to his rule, or no credible challenge allowed, Putin is expected to further tighten his grip on power.

Preliminary results earlier showed him with a commanding lead of almost 90 percent. A win means that he will stay in office until at least 2030, continuing as Russia's longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

In a post-election appearance, Putin promised many tasks, as he put it, lay ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There are a lot of tasks ahead of us. But when we are consolidated, and I think it is now understood to everyone, no matter how hard anyone tries to frighten us, whoever tries to suppress us, our will, our consciousness, no one has ever managed to have done such a thing in history. And it won't happen now, and it won't happen in the future. Never.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Russian state media claiming a high voter turnout in parts of Ukraine annexed by Russia. But critics point out that the voting has been coercive, with poll workers escorted by armed men.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling the Russian elections a sham and slamming Putin for being, quote, "sick with power."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There's not a single bit of legitimacy in this simulation of an election, and there cannot be. This actor should be on trial in the Hague. That's what we have to ensure together, with everyone in the world that values life and decency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The widow of the Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was among thousands of people lining up to vote at the Russian embassy in Berlin on Sunday. Many were there to protest, as well, carrying anti-Putin signs and chanting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHANTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: There were shouts there of "Russia against Putin" and "no to war" from those in the crowd. Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's widow, stood in line for hours before she could cast her vote and was greeted with cheers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yulia! Yulia! Yulia!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yulia! Yulia! Yulia!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yulia! Yulia! Yulia!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: After voting, Navalnaya described Russia's president as a killer and a gangster. She had joined goals to deface or invalidate ballots, or to write in Navalny's name and told supporters she did just that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YULIA NAVALNAYA, WIDOW OF ALEXEI NAVALNY (through translator): You're probably wondering what I wrote on the ballot papers, who I voted for. Of course, I wrote Navalny's surname, because it just can't be so that a month before the election, and already during the presidential campaign, Putin's main opponent, already in prison, was murdered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Russian authorities say Navalny died last month after falling ill at a prison in the Arctic Circle. On Sunday, his grave in Moscow was covered by a mountain of flowers and bouquets left by supporters.

Navalny's widow urging Russians to turn out en masse, but residents of other countries did, as well, as groups around the world gathered on Sunday in protest of Russia's election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHANTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: This is from one of the many so-called Noon Against Putin events, this one in Paris. Grounds denouncing the Russian president and calling for other countries to not recognize the election results.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We are gathered here to say, loud and clear, that Putin is illegitimate.

[00:05:04]

OLGA PROKOPIEVA, PRESIDENT, RUSSIAN FREEDOM ASSOCIATION (through translator): I wanted to say that today is an important day, not because there was an electoral sham, but because many Russians, thousands of Russians took this opportunity to come and express themselves and oppose the regime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The scene was much the same in Latvia, where Russians queued to vote at the Russian embassy. Demonstrators held signs attacking Putin while others blamed Russia for the disappearance of children amid the war in Ukraine.

A common theme among the protests, including those near the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, was signs bearing the phrases, "freedom to Russia," "peace to Ukraine."

Russia's election coming a month after the death of Alexei Navalny, who Putin addressed by name in wide-ranging remarks after the vote ended on Sunday.

CNN's Matthew Chance has been following all of the developments from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a landslide victory for Vladimir Putin in this Russian presidential vote. So no surprises there.

But it was an extraordinary post-election address --

CHANCE (voice-over): -- in which Putin answered reporters' questions at his campaign headquarters.

He confirmed reports, for example, that he'd agreed to swap jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who he named for the first time, in the days before he died in an arctic penal colony last month --

CHANCE: -- which Putin dismissed as simply a sad event. Take a listen.

PUTIN (through translator): A few days before Mr. Navalny passed away, some colleagues told me that there is an idea to exchange Mr. Navalny for some people who are in prison in Western countries. Maybe you believe Me. Maybe you don't.

The person who spoke to me had not finished his sentence yet when I said I agree. But unfortunately, what happened happened. there was only one condition: for him not to come back. Let him sit there. Well, such things happen. There's nothing you can do about it. That's life.

CHANCE: Of course, Navalny supporters accuse Putin of killing the opposition leader as he ruthlessly silenced his critics of the Kremlin. And of course, Putin has denied any involvement.

The presidential election, though, has been slammed by critics also as being neither free nor fair. With high turnout, Putin received well over 80 percent of the vote, claiming a mandate to rule Russia for another six years.

And he lashed out at criticism by taking a swing at the U.S. political system, suggesting that court cases involving presumptive Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump were politically motivated.

PUTIN (through translator): Can it be considered democratic to use administrative resources to attack one of the candidates for president of the United States, including through the courts?

The use of administrative resources, the judicial system, this has become simply ridiculous and a disgrace in front of the whole world for the United States and for your so-called democratic system, in quotes.

I have every reason to believe that today, we not seeing any democracy, at least during the election processes in some Western countries, including the United States.

CHANCE: Well, a warning there from the Kremlin leader about democracy. But in the aftermath of elections, in which opposition candidates weren't even allowed to stand, critics say democracy in Russia has virtually disappeared.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: Joining me now from Amsterdam is Mikhail Fishman, an anchor on Russia's independent broadcaster TV Rain. He's also former editor in chief at "The Moscow Times" and for Russian Newsweek.

It's good to see you, sir.

The results were never in doubt, given what Putin does to his opponents, but there were protests throughout the voting process. What do you make of those shows of defiance in the face of the risks involved, particularly in Russia? Were they bigger than you expected?

MIKHAIL FISHMAN, ANCHOR, TV RAIN: They were certainly, yes. Thank you for having me. It was certainly bigger than anything we expected. And that -- and these protests across Russia and across the whole world actually made this sham election significant and meaningful.

And what we've seen in Russia yesterday on Sunday has been labeled as Noon Against Putin, a political action in which the opposition called the voters to show up at the polling stations at the particular time at noon on Sunday to make it -- in order to make it visible how many people actually disagree with Putin and his war and where he's taking Russia.

The idea of this protest is that is -- it is totally legal, and the government can nothing do about it, because there is no way to separate, so let's say the sheep from the goats, the bad voters and good voters.

[00:10:05]

And although the law enforcement intended to scare those who want to participate, released special statements that showing up at noon on Sunday could amount to extremism. It didn't happen, and many Russians overstepped their fears and gathered in queues across Russia yesterday at noon in order to show up their protests. That happened.

HOLMES: Putin, of course, has been in power, ready for a quarter of a century as president or prime minister. It's going to be more than 30 years by the end of this term. And then he has the option of another six years after that.

What has been and what do you think will be, over the next few years, the impact of this one-man rule?

FISHMAN: I think what we're going to see is not the impact of the one- man rule. We're seeing that for more than 20 years already, but we will see the impact of his -- of his more than 87 percent of the vote. That's a meaningful number. That's his biggest number yet. It's a figure that you can expect to see in dictatorships like Turkmenistan or Northern Korea, if North Korea would have an election. And it's an absolutely impossible number.

Just to give you an example, in Moscow alone, Putin got almost 89 percent of the vote, which is absolutely impossible. Moscow is the most liberal Russian city, where you can hardly find any sign of the war, because Muscovites oppose the war. And now 89 percent, this is simply impossible. That's a rigged election.

But in practice, it means that Putin receives confirmation of his agenda of his war and of his policy at home. He insists that overwhelming majority suppose -- supports so-called special military operation. And now with this figure, with more than 87 percent, it is officially confirmed.

And first and foremost, it means that -- escalating repressive crackdown on any dissent in Russia. That's what's going to happen next.

HOLMES: And I mean, it's ironic that Putin has been dismantling democracy in Russia and doing so in a very legalistic sense. In many ways, why hold the election at all? Does -- does the Russian public see what he's done in terms of abandoning democratic norms?

FISHMAN: Well, Putin needs this -- this election, because he just said after the election that the choice the Russian nation has made is meaningful, and he relies on this choice.

And he is serving. He serves the interests of the nation that has made this choice. And he needs this vote, because it proves that everything that he does is good and legitimate. He confirms to himself that he has been sent to rule -- to rule Russia by having -- by this vote and the nation so, let's say, swears allegiance to his rule.

And, well, of course, talking about Russian public, the Russian public has only a vague comprehension of what are democratic norms. Remember, it's been decades since Putin authoritarianism started in the year 2000.

And of course, Russian public only feels its helplessness in achieving whatever -- whatever they might desire, and they can only rely on the government in order to survive. That's how people -- Russian people live for many years already.

HOLMES: Yes.

FISHMAN: So it's not (ph) about remembering how -- how democracy works.

HOLMES: Yes. Yes. Very, very good point. Great context. Mikahil Fishman, we're out of time. Really appreciate you being there for us. Thank you.

FISHMAN: Thank you.

HOLMES: Still to come here on the program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he's approved plans for evacuating civilians in Rafah ahead of an offensive. He hasn't said exactly what they are. How the White House is reacting. That's coming up.

Also, CNN on the ground in Haiti as a growing humanitarian crisis grips the nation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [00:16:22]

HOLMES: The Israel Defense Forces say their troops are conducting what they describe as a precise operation in the area of the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

They say based on their intelligence, the hospital is being used, quote, "by senior Hamas terrorists to conduct and promote terrorist activity."

CNN cannot independently verify the IDFs claim, and we should point out independent journalists are still not allowed into Gaza by Israel.

The IDF has frequently targeted hospitals in Gaza, leading to widespread international condemnation.

Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel's planned military offensive in the Southern city of Rafah will take, in his words, "several weeks." The Israeli prime minister says he's approved an evacuation plan for Rafah, but the White House says it has yet to see a credible plan from the government on how it would protect the 1.4 million civilians who have taken refuge there in a place that population before this war was around 300,000.

Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official says their latest proposal is, quote, logical and could bring about a breakthrough. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling those plans outlandish.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Well, time will tell, but Hamas's outlandish demands -- and I'm not itemizing every one of them now -- makes that deal a lot more difficult. But I'm -- we're going to keep on trying, because we want those hostages back.

We understand also that the one thing that gets Hamas to give them is -- to give these hostages to us, is the continued military pressure that we're applying there.

So we're going to continue military pressure, and we're going to continue to try to get those hostages out. And we've succeeded already in bringing half of them out. I hope we continue along that same course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The latest round of hostage and ceasefire talks are expected to take place in Doha, in Qatar in the coming hours. CNN's Paula Hancocks is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has called the latest Hamas counter outlandish and unrealistic. He is, however, sending a delegation here to Doha to continue negotiations for a ceasefire. Now we know that the Mossad's director, David Barnea, will be here, we

believe, to have talks on Monday --

HANCOCKS (voice-over): -- according to a diplomat familiar with those talks with Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

Now, there were meetings on Sunday in Israel. There was a war cabinet meeting where they decided the parameters of how far that mediation could go and what could be agreed to.

We've heard from a Hamas senior leader, saying that they believed that the proposal they have come up with is logical and that the ball is now in Israel's court.

Now we know last Thursday, Hamas said that their proposal was they wanted between 700 and 1,000 Palestinian prisoners to be released in return for all female prisoners, including IDF soldiers, and also potentially, the elderly, the weak or the wounded hostages, assumed to be around 40, although there's no definitive figure on that at this point.

The sticking point comes after this phase one, when Hamas has proposed that Israel fully pull out of Gaza militarily. And also, there is a permanent ceasefire.

We have heard consistently from Israel that that is not what they want to do, that even if there is a temporary ceasefire, they are still determined to launch this offensive in Rafah, which we heard once again on Sunday from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that that offensive would take, in all, a matter of weeks back on Friday of last week.

[00:20:14]

He approved the military and the evacuation plan for some 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah in the South of Gaza, although there's no timeframe for when it will happen.

There is huge resistance to this plan, including from the main ally, the United States. The head of the --

HANCOCKS: -- World Health Organization saying they are gravely concerned that this offensive could go ahead.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Doha, Qatar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: The war in Gaza remained top of mind at the White House on Sunday, where U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the Irish prime minister for a St. Patrick's Day celebration. Both leaders, quote, "emphasized their shared view for a two-state solution, with Mr. Biden recognizing the urgent need for more aid into Gaza."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and I agree about the urgent need to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza and get the ceasefire deal. To get a ceasefire deal that sends our -- sends the hostages home and move toward a two-state solution, which is the only path, the only path for lasting peace and security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The Dominican Republic says it's evacuated 27 of its citizens from Haiti as the country grapples with a violent gang uprising. They were flown out on helicopters using an evacuation corridor set up by both nations.

Dominican officials say those citizens asked to be evacuated, because it's almost impossible to get in or out of Haiti in any other way right now.

Gangs are limiting access around the country, especially in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

CNN's David Culver is Haiti's capital, where people are camping out in a school, trying to escape that rampant violence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So this was a school here in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and every single classroom that we pass, like this one here, has now become a dorm room, essentially.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of people who have made this a recent campsite. And as you can see, a lot of them are following surrounded are curious what we're doing, because for them it's a distraction, really.

And you talk to a lot of these folks, and they've come here in the past couple of weeks because of the most recent surge in violence and games taking more and more territory here in the city.

But these folks have also been on the run from their own homes, for months, if not years.

She just got this small bag of rice, and she's going to cook it up for seven people. And a lot of them tell me they don't know where their next meal is going to be.

One little girl, eight years old, saying she goes to bed every single night hungry. And a lot of that is because, in the past two weeks, in particular, supply lines, especially for programs of international aid like the World Food Programme have been severed.

So while these organizations are trying desperately to get to them, it's not just about getting them into Port-au-Prince. It's been about giving them into communities like this.

The challenges, logistically, are immense. They're dealing with this at a level that they have not faced prior. I mean, it's unprecedented. And the pain, you can sense it in the kids' eyes and their parents who

feel helpless at this point. But for them, it's about pushing forward. I ask one woman how you get up every day and move ahead.

She said with the grace of God, then admitted in the same breath that sometimes they feel they'd be better off dead and living.

David Culver, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And now to a rare sight in Cuba: public protest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHANTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: You see there crowds of people gathering in Cuba's second largest city on Sunday, protesting power cuts and food shortages, with police and local officials trying to disperse the protesters.

Lately, Cubans have endured more electricity cuts and the scarcity of basic items more than usual about Cuban government officials are blaming it on U.S. sanctions.

Still to come on the program, protesters around the world making their voices heard against Vladimir Putin and the Russian election. And Alexei Navalny's widow with a message for the Russian president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:27:02]

HOLMES: And welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

We're still waiting for official results out of Russia. But of course, all the signs point to Vladimir Putin remaining president. Was it ever in doubt?

Putin held a news conference in Moscow on the final day of the vote, he discussed opposition leader Alexei Navalny breaking his longtime tradition of not saying the late dissident's name.

Mr. Putin also confirmed there were talks about a potential prisoner exchange that might have freed Navalny. But when asked about the exclusion of opposition voices, Mr. Putin was dismissive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN (through translator): Yes, they were saying if you don't want to vote, who wants to put your trust in some candidate that you pick. Or just not vote if you don't like anyone. That's one thing. But if you want to solve the people who came easily, we can consider

that necessary to vote. People fill their civil duty. And you don't give a damn about their positions? That's bad.

At least it's not democratic. What kind of democracy is that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: CNN was near Russian polling sites outside the country on Sunday, including one in Berlin, where Alexei Navalny's widow waited for hours to submit her ballot.

Now, Fred Pleitgen spoke with Russian voters, making their voices heard against Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yulia Navalnaya was certainly the most prominent of the opposition activists who came here to the Russian embassy in Berlin to vote in the Russian presidential election.

NAVALNAYA (through translator): You're probably wondering what I wrote on the ballot papers, who I voted for. Of course, I wrote Navalny's surname, because it just can't be so that a month before the election, and already during the presidential campaign, Putin's main opponent, already imprisoned, was murdered.

PLEITGEN: Of course, the Russian opposition had called on Russian voters both inside the country, inside Russia, and outside of the country, so ex-pats, to go to the embassies at 12 p.m. in their respective time zones and to vote in the Russian election for anybody but Vladimir Putin.

NAVALNAYA: There is -- there could be no ending negotiations and nothing with Mr. Putin, because he's a killer. He's a gangster. He's the person who brought my country to the war.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): At the same time, what you have here in Berlin is you also have a big demonstration that took place, also. And you had scenes here, where at times, there were anti-Putin protesters on the one side, screaming at some of the voters on the other side.

And there were thousands of people who lined up here --

PLEITGEN: -- at the embassy in Berlin. Some of them clearly pro-Putin, but also a lot of them clearly against Vladimir Putin, and some of them, even with gear in the colors of Ukraine.

Now, I was able to speak to opposition activist Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and here's what he had to say.

[00:30:08]

MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY, OPPOSITION ACTIVIST (through translator): We have the only opportunity to show, by going to polling stations at the same time as those who oppose Putin and those who oppose the war, that we are the majority.

And this is important inside Russia. It's important for those Russians who are inside other countries today. Because Putin's propaganda is trying to convince, including Western public opinion, that all Russians are in favor of war.

PLEITGEN: Just like here in Berlin, Russian ex-pats around the world voted in their respective embassies. And the scenes that we saw here in the German capital is that some people needed hours to actually be able to get into the actual polling station, because so many people were lining up.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Joining me now is Jill Dougherty, CNN's former Moscow bureau chief and now adjunct professor at Georgetown University, who is in Tbilisi, Georgia.

And Jill, look, zero surprise at the result of this election, of course.

What do you think could happen now in terms of how Putin rules in this next term? Could there be a shakeup at the Kremlin?

JILL DOUGHERTY, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Well, there could in the sense that at this point, legally, the government resigns. They all tendered their resignations. And then the president decides who continues on the ride with him.

So you know, you could have changes in the personnel around him.

I have to say that a lot of them already kind of do what he wants. The -- you know, the economy, relatively good shape. People like that. The prime minister, who's a technocrat.

But it would be interesting to see whether he brings more hard liners in, because I think that is a trajectory that he's on right now.

HOLMES: Right.

DOUGHERTY: He's going to take this vote as a mandate to just keep going and continue even more strongly with what he's been doing.

HOLMES: Yes, we were just reporting on the protest actions in Russia, throughout the vote. A big crowd at Alexei Navalny's grave, as well. Were those displays bigger than you expected? Have they made a point? Do they signal anything?

DOUGHERTY: I think they were bigger than I expected, really, because under the conditions in Russia, it would be very hard for people to show any type of opposition.

But what they did was, you know, technically legal. They showed up to vote. It's just that they showed up at the same time, kind of like a flash mob.

But, you know, it will have an effect, I think, on the psyche of Russians, maybe back in Russia. But it obviously didn't have any effect on the vote.

And Putin would just say, well, those people left, you know, the ones in Europe -- they left Russia anyway. They're just traitors. They have nothing to do with our country.

HOLMES: And we saw Alexei Navalny's widow, Yulia, voting in Berlin. There was support from the crowd there as we just saw. Can she emerge to effectively take the mantle of her husband, do you think? Can you see anyone else who can fill those shoes in a meaningful way?

DOUGHERTY: I think it's going to be difficult, because she's, you know, obviously very brave and strong, but Alexei Navalny was a unique person with an awful lot of charisma.

And she's a different type of person. She's been pretty much thrust into this position right now.

So the question is, you know, where does the opposition go? The other leaders, Vladimir Kara-Murza, for example, is imprisoned in Russia in very bad shape.

So it's not clear where the movement goes. I think the spirit continues, but there's nobody who kind of embodies that at this point.

HOLMES: Yes, well put.

Putin, he said that the war is, quote, "about life and death," and quoting again, "our fate" is the word that he used. How might that attitude play out over this next six-year term? It doesn't bode well for compromise, does it?

DOUGHERTY: No, not at all. In fact, I think Putin doubles down, does what he's doing. He already mentioned that he's going to carry out tasks in the context of the special military operation, which of course, is the war.

And I think domestically, he is going to continue to be even -- to use more repression.

I think the one danger for him that -- well, there are many dangers, in a way. But one, I think, is keeping that war spirit alive, because that's the key to what he's doing right now.

He's trying to meld the Russian people into one body and make them complicit in this war. He's saying, We are together. This is one big family, you know, fighting together. Can you keep that spirit up? It's exhausting.

[00:35:05]

And a lot of Russians, a lot of Russians are passive and very fearful about this war and where it's going. HOLMES: You and I have talked over the last couple of days about, you know, Putin has been in power for 25 years. Here's another six years. He can get another six years after that, because he changed the rules. But because he's appointed no successor, or anointed no successor, once he goes, as he will at some point, what -- what sort of struggle for power could follow his eventual exit?

DOUGHERTY: Well, there are a lot of people -- excuse me, thinking about that. Sorry. Right now.

And there are various scenarios. Some could be kind of mild, you know, transition. Same thing. Putinism continues even if Putin is not there.

But there are other scenarios that are darker, and they could be, you know, people who begin to really fight over who's going to rule Russia. It -- that is another challenge for Putin. Real danger that he hasn't made it clear who's going to be his successor. But if he does do that, then he becomes a lame duck.

So he has all the marbles right now. But whether he can really, you know, manage a transition, Russia hasn't had very many transitions in its post-Soviet life.

So this is -- this could be a real danger. But at this point, he's got another six years. And legally, he could run for another six years. So we could see, you know, Vladimir Putin at 83 years old, if he survives, still in power.

HOLMES: Heaven forbid, almost as old as an American president.

Jill, always fascinating to get your analysis. Good -- good to see you, my friend. Thanks. Jill Dougherty there.

DOUGHERTY: Thanks, Michael.

HOLMES: Still to come on the program, the latest on the volcano erupting in Iceland. Why some tourists say it was the experience of a lifetime.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Officials in Iceland say there has been no damage so far to critical infrastructure from the volcano eruption near Reykjavik. The meteorological office says that, while the eruption is not over, lava flow has slowed substantially.

Seismic activity also decreasing overnight. Airports on the island are operating normally. And for tourists there this weekend, they say it was an eye-opening experience.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice-over): A siren wails at the world-famous Blue Lagoon Spa in Iceland. The orange plume lighting up the night sky means it's time to evacuate again.

For some tourists, this is part of the excitement, one of the reasons they came to Iceland: to see its active volcanoes.

And there has been a lot of activity lately. This is the fourth time since December that a volcano has erupted in Southwest Iceland, less than an hour from the country's capital, Reykjavik.

[00:40:09]

The fissure is estimated to be roughly three kilometers long and flowing once again towards the town of Grindavik, where emergency teams are working to reinforce the town's defenses.

HALLDOR GEIRSSON, GEOPHYSICIST: And most of the flow is going East of the town towards the sea. So it -- it looks like the barriers are really doing the job they were designed for.

HOLMES (voice-over): Grindavik was first evacuated in November after a series of earthquakes split open roads in the town, heralding the reawakening of a volcanic system which had been dormant for nearly 800 years.

Then lava first burst through the surface in December, followed by a second eruption in January that destroyed several homes and buildings in the area.

A third eruption last month demolished a hot water pipeline and cut off heat to more than 20,000 people.

The last few residents of Grindavik, who had returned to their homes, have been evacuated again. And Icelandic authorities have declared a state of emergency for the area, calling this the most powerful eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula since 2021.

As in previous eruptions, the Blue Lagoon Spa once again closed its doors, interrupting the vacations of some tourists, some who may have gotten a little more of the Icelandic volcano experience than they imagined.

MELISSA EZAIR, TOURIST: I've never experienced anything like that before. I'll be honest, I wasn't scared or anything. I hope everybody got out OK.

But it really was an experience. And I'm like at the same time, wow, how could this happen?

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HOLMES: The U.S. National Park Service says the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., are in peak bloom right now. And even though it's extremely beautiful -- we'll show it to you -- It's also extremely early.

Peak bloom is when 70 percent of the cherry trees lining the National Mall and the tidal basin are open. That usually wouldn't happen for another two weeks.

But the U.S. capital just experienced one of its warmest winters on record. Temperatures rose to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, nearly 27 degrees Celsius by late January.

That's not meant to happen. Climate change and very warm weather made this peak bloom the second earliest in D.C. history.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on X, Threads and Instagram, @HolmesCNN. Stick around for WORLD SPORT. Then Rosemary Church, your other favorite Australian, picks up with more CNN NEWSROOM in about 15 minutes.

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