Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Israeli Protesters Call for Support; Mediators Urge Israel and Hamas to Finalize Peace Deal; Zelenskyy Attends Asia-Pacific Defense Summit; Russian Barrage on Ukraine's Power Grid; U.S. Gives Ukraine Permission to Strike Russia with U.S.-Made Weapons; Voting Begins in Mexico; Chad Daybell Sentenced to Death; Germany Helping Ukrainian Military Amputees; Boeing's Starliner Launch Scrubbed; NASA Postpones Boeing Starliner Launch; Chinese Chang'e 6 Probe Successfully Landed on the Far Side of the Moon; Real Madrid Wins Champions League. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired June 02, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

Israelis desperate to bring the hostages home and frustrated by what they see is the government's lack of will call on Joe Biden for help.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes an unannounced stop at the Shangri-La security conference. We're live in Singapore with the message he brought ahead of a planned peace summit for his country.

And mission aborted. Boeing's Starliner launch is called off minutes before liftoff. China, meanwhile, is celebrating an out of this world accomplishment.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Protesters in Israel are reaching out directly to Joe Biden to break the deadlock over freeing hostages held in Gaza. Now, look, this was the scene from just one demonstration, a massive banner asking the U.S. president not only for help getting those captives out, but actually saving them from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Protesters also voiced anger at the government in this rally, demanding that Netanyahu resign and that elections be held. Now, all of this coming after Biden laid out what he calls a new Israeli ceasefire proposal. The U.N., the U.K., France, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are all expressing support for the plan with mediators in Qatar and Egypt calling on Israel and Hamas to finalize the deal.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, has agreed to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress after being invited by top congressional leaders. He calls it a privilege to represent Israel, adding that he's thrilled to present the truth about the war.

All right. We'll have more on how this is all playing out in Israel in a live report from Tel Aviv. But first, CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has details on the new proposal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Biden on Friday outlined the phases of a potential hostage deal and urged all the parties to reach an agreement to stop the war in Gaza. It was a notable moment and perhaps a pivotal one. It was the furthest that President Biden has gone in telling Israel that it has met the its stated goals and that the capabilities of Hamas have been degraded.

Now, the plan includes three different phases. Some of the details of which we have reported before, that includes the first phase, a six- week temporary ceasefire that would include the release of hostages of women, the elderly, and the wounded in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The second phase is the release of all hostages and opens up the possibility for the ceasefire to continue longer, as long as negotiations are ongoing. And the third is the major reconstruction of Gaza. Of course, the president noting in his address that it is a decisive moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: This is truly a decisive moment. Israel's made their proposal. Hamas needs to take the deal. I've urged the leadership in Israel to stand behind this deal. We can't lose this moment.

Indefinite war in pursuit of an unidentified notion of total victory, that will not bring hostages home. That will not bring an enduring defeat of Hamas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have released a statement after this address outlining these phases and said that the war will not end until Hamas is defeated.

Now, President Biden acknowledged that not all in the Israeli government would agree with this plan and also, short of his own credibility, noting that he has seen stood by Israel and has a longstanding relationship with the prime minister. But of course, there is a lot of work ahead and the president made very clear that this is not easy.

The hope, however, is that all parties can reach an agreement, work through the details so that there may be a ceasefire in Gaza.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And joining us now is journalist Elliott Gotkine live in Tel Aviv. So, Elliott, the reverberations from Biden's announcement of this peace proposal still reverberating strongly in Israel. What is the latest?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Kim, the latest is that as we just heard, President Biden put out the statement on Friday relating to Israel's proposal for a ceasefire deal. And we had something not out of the ordinary on Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu putting out a statement on the Jewish Sabbath, on the Saturday, I suppose some people are seeing it as contradicting what Biden was saying, but I think it's more to do with clarifying what he sees as being inside this ceasefire proposal.

[04:05:00]

Because Netanyahu, at the same time, reiterating that it will not agree to a full cessation of hostilities until its war objectives are met. Reiterated what those objectives, what those conditions for an end to the war are, namely destroying Hamas' military and governance capability, getting all of the 125 or so hostages, the living and the dead, back in Israel after they were abducted as part of Hamas' terrorist attacks of October the 7th, and ensuring that the Gaza Strip, that Gaza no longer becomes poses a threat to Israel.

Now, from Netanyahu's perspective, because let's not forget that he is part of the war cabinet that signed off on the ceasefire proposal, from his perspective, that ceasefire proposal does not preclude Israel from meeting its war objectives. And I think that he put this statement out so quickly on the Jewish Sabbath, which, as I say, is quite rare for him to do, in order to both get his narrative out, to clarify the situation from his perspective so that his base knows that he hasn't gone soft on Hamas.

And also, to preempt the inevitable blowback and pushback that he knew he was going to get in which he did get from the far-right ministers in his governing coalition, who after the Sabbath went out, put out statements saying that from their perspective, this deal amounted to a capitulation to Hamas, to defeat and that they wouldn't support it. They would withdraw their parties from the government, which could, Kim, cause the government to collapse.

BRUNHUBER: All right. In the meantime, Elliott, Netanyahu has accepted the joint meeting of Congress in Washington. Obviously, the reaction, particularly among Democrats, is mixed. What's Netanyahu's aim here?

GOTKINE: So, he said that he was thrilled to be invited and that he will go there to present the justness of Israel's cause, the justness of Israel's fight against terrorism and Hamas, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization.

I think it's also important to note the contrast between this invitation and 2015 when he kind of went over the head of President Barack Obama to speak directly to Congress to try to persuade U.S. lawmakers, to try to persuade the U.S. to not sign up to the Iran nuclear deal, something which ultimately proved unsuccessful, at least under the Obama administration. So, in this instance, he's been invited by all four main leaders of Congress, Democrat and Republican alike. I suppose he also wants to reassure lawmakers in the United States that Israel isn't misusing any of the weapons that the United States is providing. As we know some of those weapons -- shipments have been suspended.

And I think also for his domestic audience here in Israel, it's always helpful for him to be seen on the international global stage that he is still a global player and he is the only person, in his eyes, that can represent Israel's interest abroad and with its main ally the United States. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. I appreciate that. Elliott Gotkine in Tel Aviv, thanks so much.

With his country facing a major new Russian offensive, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is courting international support from new areas. Zelenskyy met a few hours ago with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Singapore. The two are attending the Shangri-La Dialogue, a meeting of defense ministers in Singapore.

Zelenskyy's decision to attend the conference came as a last-minute surprise. It's thought to be an effort to keep the world's attention on the war and Ukraine's need for outside help. CNN Senior International Correspondent Ivan Watson is live in Singapore.

Ivan, so take us through what Zelenskyy had to say and what he's hoping to get out of this.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he, as you mentioned, was a surprise guest at this annual security conference. He's clearly trying to attract more support across Asia for this war effort, now more than two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion into Ukraine. And also trying to convince governments to participate in what he describes as a peace summit to be held in Switzerland in a matter of weeks.

China has indicated it will not be participating in this, and Zelenskyy had some rather blunt words of criticism for Beijing, which he accused of prolonging the war with what he claimed was China's support for Ukraine's mortal enemy, Russia. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: With the support of China, China supporting Russia, war will be much longer, it's bad for the whole world. And for the policy of China, which says respects the main principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, I think it's not very good for them either.

[04:10:00]

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Now, Zelenskyy said that he had no direct face-to-face meeting with Chinese officials here in Singapore, and that's even though he spoke on a stage in the ballroom of this hotel just about three hours after China's minister of defense spoke on that same stage. In fact, he went further to say that Kyiv has been trying to reach out to Chinese officials at different levels over the course of the last year and has failed to get face-to-face meetings with the Chinese.

Meanwhile, China and its leader, Xi Jinping, celebrate Xi Jinping's close relationship, his friendship with his old friend Vladimir Putin, who was hosted I think less than a month ago in Beijing. So, there's clearly -- there is not a close friendship between Ukraine and China in this matter.

Meanwhile, the Chinese were at this forum earlier today, Kim, and the message they were trying to spread was that, A, they say that China is a force for stability around the world, but at the same time, they had some harsh words for the newly elected government in Taiwan, which they accused of being separatists and they had a warning that that government would be nailed to the pillar of shame of history if it refuses to peacefully reunify with Beijing.

The Chinese government considers Taiwan to be a province of China, even though the Communist Party of China has never ruled that island directly. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Appreciate that. Ivan Watson in Singapore. Thanks so much.

Well, Zelenskyy is in Singapore as Ukraine reels from the latest strikes on its power grid. Russia launched a massive wave of attacks Saturday morning, including this one that left at least 12 people injured in the Kharkiv region.

Now, most of the attacks went after energy infrastructure across Ukraine, causing critical damage to at least two power plants. At least four more people were wounded in the western part of the country. And officials said some restrictions on energy consumption will be imposed. Ukraine says this was the sixth wave of attacks on its energy system in a little over two months.

Now, those attacks came after Washington gave Ukraine the green light to conduct strikes inside Russia with U.S.-made weapons. The permission applies only to areas near Ukraine's Kharkiv region, but it marks a dramatic departure from previous U.S. policy.

We're joined now by military medic, Rebekah Maciorowski, who is speaking to us from Eastern Ukraine. So, first of all, thanks so much for being here with us. Start with the why. Why, you know, as an American, you decided to go to Ukraine?

REBEKAH MACIOROWSKI, COMBAT MEDIC: Hey, thanks so much. The why for me was seeing what was happening unfold in the country and not wanting to be a bystander. I wanted to make a difference and help because it was frankly unacceptable. And so, me traveling to Ukraine and working here with the military was just my personal way of stepping in and trying to assist. BRUNHUBER: Now, you've been helping to train them. You've also helped to directly treat soldiers as well. You've been doing this for around two years now, I understand. What changes have you seen on the front lines?

MACIOROWSKI: Frankly, things have gotten a lot more complicated in terms of advancements in the battlefield, particularly on the side of Russia. Whereas a simple wound before it could be 545 from an AK. Now, we're seeing increased use of FPV, dropped mines from drones, and increasing use of electronic warfare systems, which makes everything very complicated because now you have a piece of machinery that could be, you know, thousands upon thousands of dollars that could be easily destroyed by a $500 drone.

So, it's gotten complex. The injuries have gotten more complex. The situation has gotten more complex. And the -- frankly, the help has decreased.

BRUNHUBER: Now, this time last year, the picture for Ukraine seemed brighter, Russia's advance was held, Ukraine was talking about a counterattack. Now, the present day, Ukraine has lost territory, its second biggest city faces the prospect of Russian soldiers closing in. So, what's the morale like among the troops there these days?

MACIOROWSKI: Morale remains persistent. Ukrainians are determined to defend their homeland and their country regardless of whatever help might be given to them, but the need for help has substantially increased. And at the same time the actual giving of help has substantially decreased.

[04:15:00]

BRUNHUBER: So, are you not -- so, the U.S. has now agreed to send weapons again. Are you actually seeing any of that, you know, weapons and materiel there on the front lines?

MACIOROWSKI: In terms of my direction, I have yet to see the promised aid specifically given to our area of operation. There's a lot of promises made. There's a lot of talks of aid. But realistically, the timeline can be substantially longer than what you would -- you and I would think.

BRUNHUBER: One of the problems you face, you talk about, you know, needing more help. You face a lack of medical gear and that the supplies that you get sometimes are substandard or don't work. Is that still a problem?

MACIOROWSKI: That is still a problem. And the fact of the matter is that these NATO nations have excellent quality combat medical gear, and that's something I would like to see included in future aid packages.

There was allegedly some medical aid promised from another country, we have yet to see that if the American military or even another NATO country could send quality medical gear, such as a personal first aid kit or quality tourniquets, that would make immense amounts of difference.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I mean, tourniquets, just to give an example, I mean, what happens if you are using, you know, tourniquets that aren't manufactured properly?

MACIOROWSKI: Well, frankly, you can die and you will die if you have an arterial bleed. Let's say you put a tourniquet on that is not a quality tourniquet and that breaks, in three minutes, you can be dead. And I've seen this happen myself, unfortunately.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely tragic. You must have seen some horrific things there on the front lines. But also, I imagine inspiring things as well from the soldiers that you're working with. You know, talk to me about some of the stories that have affected you as you've been there working for the past couple of years.

MACIOROWSKI: I think the biggest thing that's affected me is the persistent motivation, resilience, and strength of the soldiers that I'm here with. They are absolutely unbeatable in terms of morale. And they go day after day with limited resources and limited prospects to continue and fight for their families, for their brothers, for their country. And that is what keeps me here after two years. Despite everything that's happening, they show up a day in and day out, continue to work. And if they can, so can I.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Finally, as an American, you must be keenly aware of the domestic politics that are playing into aid for Ukraine that you are saying is so desperately needed. I mean, we're in an election year. What do you think will happen to Ukraine if Donald Trump wins?

MACIOROWSKI: I frankly can't speak to what will happen. As I've seen in the past, there's an element of unpredictability with some of his policies, on some of his statements. So, I think it begs to be seen what will actually happen. My goal is, regardless of who wins the election or domestic intricacies of policy that the importance of aid to Ukraine is withheld and upheld.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll leave it there, but really appreciate your time. And of course, we hope that you stay safe out there. Rebekah Maciorowski, thank you so much for speaking with us.

MACIOROWSKI: Thank you so much.

BRUNHUBER: All right. After the break, voting begins in just hours as Mexico prepares for what's likely to be a historic election.

Plus, an 11th hour technical issue, scrubs a highly anticipated space test flight, and NASA has yet to schedule another launch date. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:00]

BRUNHUBER: In the coming hours, voting will begin in the largest elections in Mexico's history. More than 20,000 positions are on the ballot nationwide, while public safety is a top issue and history could be made, as Mexicans are likely to elect their first female president. CNN's Gustavo Valez is in Mexico City.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: About 100 million Mexicans will get a chance to select their next president on Sunday, and chances are it will be a woman, because the top two contenders are female. So, the voters are looking past gender and they're focusing on the issues. Public safety is their main concern and that's because more than 30 candidates were killed in this political cycle and two municipalities in Southern Mexico announced they're going to have to cancel elections altogether because of the fear of violence.

Claudia Sheinbaum who represents the party currently in power, Morena, has pledged to continue the policies of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who had a hands-off approach to fighting crime. He basically declined to send the army or the police to actively pursue the cartel, something critics say is a failed policy.

Xochitl Galvez, who represents a coalition of opposition parties, she wants to change the approach, even suggesting the creation of a binational police force with the United States to fight crime and money laundering. Also in play is the legacy of President Lopez Obrador, who himself has said this is a referendum on his policies.

The political party that he created, that he founded only 10 years ago, Morena, now controls most of the state government and has the largest number of members in Congress. So, voters Sunday will also decide the path Mexico will have in the next six years.

Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:25:00]

BRUNHUBER: Voting has ended in India's months-long general election. The last polling stations closed on Saturday in the final phase of the world's largest democratic exercise. The votes will be counted on Tuesday and results are expected the same day.

The National Democratic Alliance, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP, is expected to secure another five years in power. Nearly 1 billion people were eligible to vote in the seven-phase election, which began on April 19th.

In South Africa, the newly formed MK Party is threatening to challenge the results in court, claiming, without evidence, that the vote was rigged. Now, this as the party is surprisingly strong showing looks set to cost the ruling African National Congress its majority for the first time in 30 years.

The party of Nelson Mandela will be forced to form a coalition with parties like MK in order to stay in power. With counting nearly complete, support for the ANC is just over 40 percent. Clashes in Rome Saturday as demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags protested against Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the government's policies on the war in Gaza. Police blocked roads and fired tear gas to break up the crowds. The clashes took place as Italy's far-right prime minister held a campaign rally for her party ahead of next week's European Parliament elections.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Hungarians marched in support of their nationalist leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban will take over the European Union's rotating presidency in the second half of the year. But he faces challenges from several other E.U. members over his friendly stance on Russia and his refusal to send weapons to Ukraine. Hungarians gathered in Budapest accusing the E.U. of trying to pull the country into war with Moscow.

Well, it was a case that made headlines because of the couple's unusual religious beliefs. Ahead, families of the victims react as doomsday killer Chad Daybell is sentenced to death for the murders of his wife, two children, and his former wife.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00]

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

Nearly a year after his wife, Lori, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, Chad Daybell has been sentenced to death for murdering two of her children and his first wife, Tammy. Now, it was a case that made headlines because of Chad and Lori Daybell's unusual religious beliefs. Camila Bernal has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The jury in this case decided that Chad Daybell should spend the rest of his life on death row, and they found the aggravating factors in this case to be true, saying that the crimes he committed were atrocious and cruel, saying that he had done this for money, that he had utter disregard for human life, and that he would be a threat to society. This is the same jury that found him guilty of killing his first wife, Tammy, and killing the two children of his second wife, 16-year-old Tylee and 7-year-old J. J.

The prosecution in this case saying that this was a case fueled by sex, money, power, and apocalyptic religious beliefs, saying that these two, Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell essentially did anything they could to be together and said that anyone that got in the way of this, whether it was because they were the children or the wife, or if there was any financial gains to be made of this would be marked for death.

This was a man that the prosecution said would label people as dark or as zombies. And of course, this resulted in the bodies of these children being found in Chad Daybell's property, you know, highly burned. J. J. Found with his arms tied with duct tape and plastic bags covering him. This has been extremely emotional for the families of the children and the families of Tammy as well. A lot of them speaking out after this death sentence. Take a listen to what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLBY RYAN, LORI VALLOW DAYBELL'S SON: You never wish harm on anybody regardless of what they've done to you. But at the end of the day, it's good that he's -- he can't hurt anybody else.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got justice for our loved ones, and that was always what this was about, getting justice for them.

JASON GWILLIAM, TAMMY DAYBELL'S BROTHER-IN-LAW: We can all start to heal from this terrible loss we have suffered with Ms. Tammy every single day of our lives. But we do have some comfort knowing that we will see her again someday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And despite all the emotion from the family, Chad Daybell did not show any emotion while his verdict was read. He chose not to speak after his sentencing. His attorney did speak during the sentencing portion of the trial and essentially put the blame on Lori Vallow Daybell, who has also been found guilty of these crimes. She is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole. The death penalty was not on the table for her.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The mayor of Atlanta has declared a state of emergency after two major water main breaks left parts of the city without water. The breaks happened on Friday. City officials say one of the breaks has already been repaired but pressure needs to build before that system can be brought back online. Crews are still working to fix the other break and no timeline has been given for completion. Meanwhile, parts of Georgia's capital remain under a boil water advisory.

A grass fire that started in Northern California on Saturday has already burned more than 11,000 acres. The Coral fire is only 13 percent contained, according to California's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It's burning in San Joaquin County, south of Sacramento and east of San Francisco. Authorities have ordered residents in some areas to evacuate and warn that strong winds and extreme heat into next week will make conditions even more dangerous.

The official start of summer here in the northern hemisphere may still be weeks away, but the sweltering summer heat is already here in parts of the U.S. with high temperatures triggering excessive heat watches for nearly 8 million people across parts of the west and southern U.S. Our meteorologist Elisa Raffa breaks it down for us. ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Summer is already starting to sizzle early. We have excessive heat watches in place for parts of California, even getting into Nevada, including Las Vegas by Tuesday and Wednesday as we get into the work week, that's because temperatures are going to be much above average and hitting some dangerous levels, even for this early in June.

[04:35:00]

Phoenix, your average is time of year is 100. Looking at temperatures already getting to 105. As we get into the work week, Vegas, your average is 95 degrees for this time of year. But we're looking at temperatures getting 10 degrees above that by 105 by Tuesday and into Wednesday.

So, again, temperatures much above normal, even for these places that can typically get hot this time of year, 10 degrees above normal in Vegas, nearing 20 degrees above normal in Sacramento, hitting temperatures of 108 degrees by Wednesday, going 20 degrees above normal. Even Denver in the 90s by Wednesday, 15 degrees above average, keeping the heat sweltering through Thursday.

This will pose a risk for heat sickness. You could see the red there aligning some major impacts along California, even some extreme impacts in Southern Texas. All of this meaning that the heat can make you more vulnerable to heat sickness, especially this early in the season when we might not be acclimated to the heat yet. So, make sure you check on children, elderly, and pets as these temperatures really start to soar.

In Florida, May has already been sweltering. Florida just wrapped up their hottest May on record, beating the previous record that was set back in 2010. The average temperature for the month was a nearly 84 degrees. That's including the overnight temperatures.

Now, we know this is the trend. Since 1970, Miami gets 30 more spring days that are above average. March, April, May are just hotter than they used to be. That elongates the summer season. That extreme heat season is starting earlier as those warm days get even warmer.

This has also been triggering some pretty warm ocean temperatures already. Some of the shallow sea surface temperatures around South Florida already in the 90s. Now, it's not just around South Florida. We are looking at temperatures in the oceans above average by about three to five degrees above normal in the development area for hurricanes. These ocean temperatures are more typical for August. So, if we get any development, we could really fuel the development pretty quickly, especially as hurricane season also starts this weekend.

BRUNHUBER: Some Ukrainian soldiers have paid a horrific price for fighting the Russian invasion. Now, a group in Germany is helping Ukrainian military amputees have a normal life again. That story is coming up, please. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:40:00]

BRUNHUBER: Ukraine's president says China's friendship with Russia is potentially helping to prolong the war in his country. Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke in Singapore, where he addressed an annual Asia- Pacific security conference. Zelenskyy called China "an instrument in the hands of Putin." He also said no one will dictate terms for ending the war to Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Ukrainians are dying, that Russians are raping our people, our women. Stole tens of thousands of our children. Nobody has rights to tell us how to finish this war, how to end this war. It should end according to the law and justice. And this is compulsory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Zelenskyy is in Singapore a day after Russia unleashed its latest wave of missiles and drones at Ukraine's energy system. At least 12 people were injured in this strike on the Kharkiv region Saturday morning. Russia also hit energy facilities across Ukraine causing critical damage to least two power plants.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have lost limbs during the brutal fighting in their country, according to estimates. There are prosthetic technologies to help them live a better life, but there aren't enough trained technicians in Ukraine to use them. As Fred Pleitgen reports, an organization in Germany is trying to help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As the Russians unleash ever stronger firepower on Ukraine, the Ukrainian soldiers holding up Moscow's advances bear the brunt, and suffer most of the casualties. Many lucky to be alive, but losing limbs.

Vitaly Sayko-Kazakov's legs were blown off on the eastern front last summer.

The left leg was torn off at once, he says. On the battlefield, I saved myself thanks to the fact that we were constantly undergoing medical training. I immediately put a tourniquet on myself and remained conscious.

His right leg later also had to be amputated. The problem for Ukraine, scores of amputees but not enough technicians to make the prosthetics they need.

Now, a German project called Life Bridge Ukraine is bringing both Ukrainians who lost limbs and Ukrainian technicians in training to Berlin to help the wounded while giving the trainees valuable experience.

Volodymyr Khavrylov (ph) just constructed his first artificial leg, and he knows he'll remain busy.

Unfortunately, there will be even more guys with injuries, he says. We need good workshops to provide these guys with a good life. We need to bring them back into society. We must be aware of this, not forget, and most importantly, help each other.

Ukraine keeps the number of war related amputees secret, but estimates go into the tens of thousands. Life Bridge Ukraine aims to establish several prosthetics workshops and care centers inside Ukraine. A tall task, not just because so many Ukrainians need artificial limbs, but arms and legs blown off by explosions often leave the remaining stumps mutilated.

Making it hard to fit prosthetics, NGO head Janine von Wolfersdorff tells me.

JANINE VON WOLFERSDORFF, LIFE BRIDGE UKRAINE: We experience that the stumps from war zones are different than stumps we experienced in Germany. So, for the trainees to be trained on their patients, they will treat in Ukraine. We invited the patients that need to be treated.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Despite his severe injuries, Vitaly Sayko- Kazakov remains determined. Only a few days after first getting two artificial legs fitted he's already up and walking. But Vitaly says he wants more, to go back to Ukraine and fight the Russians again.

I won't be able to serve at the front. I'll assemble drones, but the work is not finished. The war is not over yet, he says. And then he adds, it's a long process, but no matter how long it takes, you have to come back. Who else but us? Nobody but us.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. Still ahead. Celebrations across Spain's capital as hometown heroes Real Madrid claim a record 15th European Cup. We'll bring you the details of the Champions League final after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:45:00]

BRUNHUBER: Space history was scrubbed on Saturday when the highly anticipated Launch of the Boeing Starliner's crew test flight was called off after an 11th hour technical issue. Our Kristen Fisher has the details

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: NASA, Boeing, and the United Launch Alliance, or ULA, are forgoing this next launch opportunity on Sunday because they simply say that they don't have enough time to troubleshoot the issue that caused Saturday's scrub. And the issue had nothing to do with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft that sits on top of ULA's Atlas V rocket, and the issue really had nothing to do with the rocket itself, either. So, the hardware was actually good on Saturday.

The problem was with ground computers that are located at the base of the launch pad. Three big computers that are all responsible for telling the rocket when it's time to launch and if it's go for launch in those final few minutes before liftoff. They require triple redundancy. All three computers have to be go for launch. Two were go for launch on Saturday, one was not, or maybe it was just too slow. We just don't know yet.

[04:50:00]

But because that one computer didn't give the green light at the exact precise time that was needed, that triggered a hold, which then led to a scrub. Because this rocket had to lift off at the exact precise moment if NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were We're going to sync up and rendezvous just perfectly with the International Space Station.

So, definitely a disappointment for NASA, Boeing, and ULA. But they're also quick to point out that these things happen. And scrubs do happen very frequently in spaceflight. It is a bit more frustrating, you might say, given the fact that it didn't have anything to do with the spacecraft or the rocket itself, that it had to do with a computer on the ground, but that is spaceflight.

And so, they're now going to try again next week, the next possible launch attempt that they're targeting June 5th, followed by June 6th.

Kristine Fisher at the Kennedy Space Center, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, China is making history after it's Chang'e 6 probe landed on the far side of the moon on Sunday. Have a look. Beijing released these images. It says, shows the moment the probe touched down.

Now, the craft will spend about two days collecting samples from the moon's dark side for the first time in history. That's according to China's National Space Administration.

Now, two methods will be used for sampling. A drill for collecting specimens from beneath the surface. And a robotic arm for grabbing samples from the soil. The landing site is at an impact crater known as the Apollo basin, which was chosen for its relatively flat terrain.

Sky gazers in the Southern Hemisphere are getting a glimpse of an unusual horned comet. Have a look here. This is known as the Devil Comet. The 12P/Pons-Brooks is making its approach to Earth right now. Now, this is the comet's last appearance for seven decades. Scientists aren't sure why it takes on this shape. Some compare it to the "Star Wars" Millennium Falcon. Astronomers hope to figure out why the comet has a longer than average rotation period and whether the jets of material releasing from it are speeding up or slowing it down.

The Florida Panthers are going to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second straight year. They defeated the New York Rangers 2-1 on Saturday to win the Eastern Conference Final. The Panthers got the scoring started early in game six in front of their home fans in Sunrise, Florida. They'll face the winner of the Western Conference Final between the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers. The first game of the Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for Saturday.

In tennis, it was a long day for Novak Djokovic at the French Open on Saturday. The world number one seed avoided an upset by outlasting Italian Lorenzo Musetti in a five-set thriller in the third round. He managed a stunning comeback in the epic match, which lasted four hours and 29 minutes. That's a record for the tournament. He'll now face Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo on Monday.

Well, it was pandemonium inside the Santiago Bernabeu, one of the Europe's most revered and feared soccer stadiums when tens of thousands of Real Madrid fans gathered at their home pitch to watch their beloved club defeat Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League final, and you see them there all celebrating in their traditional white.

Saturday's two-nil victory in London marked Los Blancos return as the kings of Europe and secure their record extending 15th European Cup. Amanda Davies and Darren Lewis are outside Wembley Stadium with all the details of this nail-biting match.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Another Champions League final, another chapter in Real Madrid's European history. What is it about them and this competition, they might've been the favorites heading into the game, but it was Borussia Dortmund who had the better of the chances for so long, only for the Spaniards to do what we have seen them do so often, take the victory, claim their sixth Champions League crown in 11 years, their record 15th overall.

CNN Senior Sport Analyst Darren Lewis was inside Wembley. watching with me. Go on, Darren, you've got the unenviable task of answering. What is it? How do they do it?

DARREN LEWIS, CNN SENIOR SPORT ANALYST: Well, they felt before even before tonight, that they are married to the Champions League trophy. They'd won it 14 times before this occasion and it's getting to the stage where they feel as though the Champions League final for them is date night, because so often they enjoyed themselves on the big occasion.

[04:55:00]

Their stocking trade is that they populate their team with some of the biggest stars in European football. And it was two of those players that really did come up -- I should actually say four because the assists were provided by the German superstar Toni Kroos and by the English superstar, a man we hope will be starring for them at Euro 2024, Jude Bellingham. A wonderful night for a very special club.

DAVIES: Yes, very fitting end for Toni Kroos in his Real Madrid career, a sick Champions League crown for him. Storylines, really, every which way you look at this, you mentioned Bellingham. And what a moment for Vinicius Junior as well to score what proved to be the winning goal after a season where he has dealt with so much off the pitch as well as on it.

LEWIS: Absolutely. Everybody remembers those scenes, those heartbreaking scenes of the Brazilian superstar crying at a press conference as he pleaded with the Spanish authorities to do something about the racism he had been enduring at clubs around the Spanish top division.

And when people suggested that it wasn't that bad, he produced on social media footage from each of those grounds where he had suffered those scenes in stark contrast to what we saw at the end of the game at Wembley where he dove into the crowd and the Spanish fans took him to their hearts and carried him on their shoulders, wonderful scenes at the end for a wonderful player.

DAVIES: Real Madrid have already cemented their place in history with this, a record 15th European crown. Jude Bellingham described it as the best night of his life, but you suspect there will be a whole lot more to come. This is a team that is on a roll. They are getting better and better. And yes, it's even before the arrival of Kylian Mbappe.

With Darren Lewis, this is Amanda Davies for CNN at Wembley Stadium in London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more "CNN Newsroom" in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:00:00]