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No Humanitarian Corridors Open in Ukraine Today; Russian Forces Firing on Mariupol Steel Plant; U.S. and Allies Weigh Further Measures to Punish Russia; At Least Six Dead after Explosions Target Kabul Schools; Mariupol Refugees Speak to CNN; Putting a Stamp on It. Aired 10-10:40a ET
Aired April 19, 2022 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the kids Ukrainian officials say are at ground zero in the battle for
Mariupol.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): With the Russian offensive underway, there is now no way out and little hope for a city that barely
stands.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We will have some difficulties along the way. But if you compare what we went through, everything will be
just fine. The future must be better.
ANDERSON (voice-over): We hear from two Mariupol residents who have made it out, traveling through Russia to get to safety.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): And one moment of defiance from Ukrainian soldiers, which went viral. Now thanks to the country's post service it will be seen
around the world.
I'm Becky Anderson in London where it is 3:00 pm Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD.
A critical phase of Russia's war in Ukraine has begun, nearly two months after Moscow launched its invasion. Ukraine has been bracing for a major
onslaught in the east since Russian troops failed to capture the capital earlier this month.
On Monday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a large-scale offensive in Donbas is underway.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russian forces have started the battle for Donbas, for which they've been preparing
for a long time. And a considerable amount of the Russian forces are concentrated and focused on that offensive.
No matter how many Russian servicemen they're bringing in into that area, we will keep on fighting and defending and we will be doing this daily.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Ukraine says Russian forces are now pushing for full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. This video shows a long column of military
vehicles, heading from Russia's border toward the city of Izyum, where Russian troops have been gathering.
Meanwhile, humanitarian corridors haven't been agreed on today, as intense shelling in the east continues. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are
still waiting to be evacuated, including in the city of Mariupol, a city that has been bruised and battered by relentless Russian attacks.
CNN is not there but you can see the devastation through this video; nearly everything in sight destroyed.
Also in that southern port city, Russian forces issued a second surrender deadline to Ukrainian troops defending the Azovstal steel plant. That
deadline passed hours ago.
The Ukrainian commander says Russian forces are, and I quote here, "willingly" bombing and shelling the factory, where hundreds of civilians
are sheltering inside.
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LT. COL. DENYS PROKOPENKO, COMMANDER, AZOV REGIMENT (through translator): Right now in Mariupol at the Azovstal steel factory, hundreds of civilians
are sheltering. Among them are children of all ages, women, the elderly, and the families of Mariupol defenders, they are sheltering in their
basements and bunkers from the Russian world.
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ANDERSON: A U.S. Defense official says Mariupol remains contested as Ukrainian forces hold out against about a dozen Russian tactical groups.
But how long their can defense stand and how much more misery the city's innocent civilians can bear remains to be seen. CNN's Matthew Chance
reports -- and a warning: some of the images you are about to see you may find disturbing.
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CHANCE (voice-over): These are the kids Ukrainian officials say are at ground zero in the battle for Mariupol.
This video posted on government social media but which CNN can't verify shows dozens of children said to have been sheltering for weeks in a
basement in the city, where Ukrainian forces are holding out against Russian attacks. Kids distracting themselves from the battles above.
"We play with these toys, build things and imagine things," this little boy says.
"Do you want to get out of here?" they're asked.
"Yes, yes," they all shout.
But the adults here know that's unlikely to happen anytime soon.
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CHANCE (voice-over): "I'm with my three children and conditions are not the best here," this parent says. "There's no way to study, not much food
and my kids' teeth are starting to spoil," she says.
But the alternative surrender to Russia may be worse.
Above ground, Mariupol has borne the brunt of Russia's brutal invasion. Latest images show the extent of the devastation. One Ukrainian commander
has called this hell on earth. But troops defending the city concentrated at the vast Azovstal steelworks are refusing to surrender. Ukrainian
officials say they will fight until the end.
DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The situation in Mariupol is most dire militarily and heartbreaking. The city doesn't exist anymore. It
seems, from the way Russian army behaved in Mariupol, they decided to raze the city to the ground at any cost.
CHANCE (voice-over): But Ukrainian forces in Mariupol are making sure that erasure is painful. This video shows a counterattack against Russian forces
by the Ukrainian Azov Battalion, with their soldiers throwing grenades at Russian forces in the city. It is an act of resistance but the outcome may
be unchanged.
Already, the human toll of this battle for Mariupol has been appalling, with thousands, including many civilians, killed. But Ukrainian officials
say another Russian offensive is now underway, posing another deadly threat to those trapped inside -- Matthew Chance, CNN, New York.
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ANDERSON: Let's get the very latest on Russia's offensive. CNN's Matt Rivers joining us from Lviv.
And from the sources that you have been speaking to, is it clear at this point what Russia's strategy is?
We know that they had promised a massive offensive on the east.
What more do we know at this point?
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that seems like exactly what we have been waiting for, for days, if not weeks now, Becky.
This seems to be just a unified launch of an offensive across multiple different cities in the east and in the Donbas region.
We're seeing heavy artillery. We have seen shelling for weeks now from Russian forces but what we're seeing now is the movement of ground troops
that we have been waiting for.
When we have been talking for weeks now about the buildup of these battalion tactical groups, BTGs, about 1,000 soldiers in each one, we know
that there are dozens of such groups in the east right now. You're talking about tens of thousands of Russian troops that have now been committed to
this offensive.
That is what we're hearing from regional military officials, we're hearing that from President Zelenskyy. There is no question now that this second
phase of the war has begun.
And what we will see in this second phase of the war could be the kind of - - for example, tank to tank battles we haven't seen since World War II in Europe. This will be a much different conflict than what we saw in the
beginning of the war, during Russia's failed attempt to try and take the capital of Kyiv.
That was a battle scene that featured much more skirmish-like battles, given the forests of Northern Ukraine, given the urban environments these
battles were being fought, versus what we're seeing in the east.
Much more wide open terrain, where you could see heavy artillery and tanks play a much larger role in this conflict. In terms of what we're hearing
from the initial phase of this new conflict, if Russian officials were hoping for some kind of universal breakout against Ukrainian front lines,
it does not appear that's what's happened so far.
Yes, Russian forces have managed to take certain towns like Kreminna (ph) but in other places like Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk (ph), that has not
yet happened. It does appear Ukrainian forces are holding steady.
And you heard that from President Zelenskyy, who said he does believe that Ukrainian forces are ready for this battle, even if they continue to call
for more weapons.
Before we go, I should really add what is going on in Mariupol, in the southern part of the country, where we continue to see that city under
siege, with the Ukrainian resistance pocket mainly centering on the Azovstal steel plant, as just we heard Matthew lay out there.
We should add that, you know, as Matthew said, we're not in Mariupol. It is impossible for us to get in there, so we can't independently identify the
video that we have seen from inside that steel plant.
But I think what we have learned over the past 24 to 36 hours in a much more substantive way is the amount (sic) of civilians that are inside that
steel plant, alongside these fighters. We always knew that there were Ukrainian resistance fighters that were willing to lay down their lives
here, that were risking their lives.
But the fact they're surrounded by women and children, if these videos are to be believed, is a stunning development, I think, and something that just
really puts into much more focus the fact that the Russian army -- the Russian military is shelling that steel plant right now.
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RIVERS: They know -- they know that there are civilians inside there and yet, as we have seen so many times over and over again, by the Russian
military, they simply do not care.
ANDERSON: Matt Rivers is in Lviv, Matt, thank you.
The U.S. President holding a video call with allies and partners this morning to discuss continued support for Ukraine.
The White House says Joe Biden will, quote, "rally the world to stand up to Russia."
A National Security Council official says that means calling for more weapons for Ukraine and looking for ways to heighten the impact of
sanctions on Russia. White House correspondent Arlette Saenz is joining us from Washington as well as our international diplomatic editor, Nic
Robertson, from Belgium.
I want to start with you, Arlette, before we get on to the world of sanctions, this need by the Ukrainians for heavy weaponry, high powered
weaponry, to defend themselves from what is now this very clear offensive that has started in the east.
Just how much leverage does Joe Biden have?
And how much support is he getting from his allies at this point?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House has repeatedly said that it is especially crucial that the Ukrainians continue to receive
more military equipment and weaponry, especially as this battle is shifting to the east.
The U.S. over the course of the last week had approved over $800 million of security assistance that was notable because it was more sophisticated and
more heavy duty than what the U.S. had previously been supplying.
U.S. officials had said that they're trying to respond to the contours of this new battlefield out in the eastern part of Ukraine, which has much
more different terrain. And there are Ukrainians saying that they need more and different types of weaponry.
And what President Biden is hoping to do is also encourage allies to step up their support in the types of military support that they are sending to
Ukraine.
Now just a little over 10 minutes ago, President Biden started that secure video call with allies and partners. It includes leaders of G7 countries
and the leaders of Romania and Poland, the E.U. and NATO.
And officials have said that the president will be talking about the ways that it can step up the support for Ukrainians as well as imposing those
costs on Russia.
Just over the course of the past four or five days, at least four shipments of this new military assistance have gone from the U.S. into the region. It
is expected that another flight was expected to land within the last 24 hours.
But it is clear the U.S. wants to ensure that the Ukrainians have what they need and is urging the allies to help with that route as well.
ANDERSON: Yes, the State Department looking at labeling Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. Let me bring in Nic Robertson at this point.
On a day when the IMF says that Russia's war in Ukraine will severely set back the global economy, Europeans still considering what more can be done
as far as pressure is concerned on Russia. And obviously energy is a major issue, Nic.
But we know that energy sanctions are contentious amongst European neighbors.
Given the sort of impact it will have, that being energy sanctions on consumers in Europe, what more is in that toolbox at this point?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Sanctions are slow to take effect. That is the considered opinion. And that has been part of the
opinion, let's see how well the five rounds of sanctions that have been put in place so far go. Let's plug the holes and gaps on that.
You have the French economy minister today again saying, let's sanction Russian oil, because oil is the biggest energy export from Russia to the
European Union. And that -- to put sanctions on that would be the most hard hitting tool available to European Union.
But as you say, there are differences. The downside is that impact to the economy in Europe, at the moment, governments are bearing that. We know
that the Danish government today has indicated they will increase their own output of gas to try to offset gas they might have otherwise -- or other
nations may have imported from Russia.
But you also have now the more immediate thing that the European Union nations can do and that is heavy weapons. We heard the German minister of
state for foreign affairs today.
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ROBERTSON: Saying that Germany would like to try to deliver on what Ukraine has asked for in terms of heavy weapons.
You have the Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte saying that the Netherlands will be sending more heavy weapons, including armored vehicles. Indeed, the
Dutch prime minister is on his way here to Gent in Belgium today to have a joint cabinet session with the Belgian government.
And the reason for that, again, is sanctions related. Third quarter of last year, the European Union's biggest maritime trading partner was Russia.
One-third of that maritime trade came through the Netherlands and Belgium, through ports like Rotterdam and Antwerp.
So these two governments, in their cabinets, are getting physically together -- this is a relatively rare occurrence -- to see what they can
do, join up their effort in strengthening the impact of the sanctions.
Both of these nations have thousands of cars, lots of containers under lock and key, that were due to go to Russia. So there is still things that can
be done. But all elusive, as you say, the big ticket energy items.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely.
To both of you, thank you very much indeed.
Just ahead, they were simply sending their children to school. Now some parents in a Kabul neighborhood are trying to find out if those kids are
still alive. The latest on today's deadly blasts in the Afghan capital.
And Boris Johnson under pressure, pressure of his own making, further fallout from what is known as the Partygate scandal for the British prime
minister. That is up next.
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ANDERSON: No one is claiming responsibility after deadly explosions targeted a high school and a learning center in Western Kabul. Police and
witnesses tell CNN at least six people have been killed.
The blasts erupted earlier today in a mostly shared Muslim area of Afghanistan's capital. Last year, a bombing in the same neighborhood killed
at least 85 people. CNN's Arwa Damon joining me now, reporting from Istanbul, in Turkey.
These were multiple explosions.
What do we know right now?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not a whole lot, Becky, only that the explosions were targeting, as you were mentioning
there, a high school and a learning center, basically a place where people that weren't necessarily -- that weren't necessarily enrolled in school
could go and take additional sorts of courses.
Of the dozens that have been injured, we do know that at least seven of them are children. Of the six killed, unclear how many were children, how
many were bystanders. But an absolutely horrific day for so many.
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DAMON: This morning, parents who sent their kids off to school, telling them they loved them, to have a nice day, only then to be confronted with
this. Here is how one eyewitness described the aftermath.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It was a bad situation. Smoke and dust were everywhere. It was a horrible suicide attack. When we came out
from there, we were too scared. It was a bad situation.
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DAMON: And other eyewitnesses were describing streets being covered with blood. We saw a few images that were quite gruesome: school books
splattered with blood.
Getting a lot of information and getting visuals of the aftermath of this scene and reporting from this scene was quite difficult for journalists on
the ground, as we were told from multiple sources that the Taliban was blocking access.
This neighborhood, Becky, is predominantly Shia and that also makes it predominantly Hazara and this is Afghanistan's minority that has sadly,
tragically, regularly been targeted.
ANDERSON: Arwa Damon reporting on the story from Istanbul in Turkey today. Thank you.
Let's get you up to speed on other stories on our radar right now.
Israel's military says one of its fighter jets struck a Hamas-run weapons manufacturing site in Gaza. The IDF says it was in response to a rocket
fired from Gaza into Israel hours before, which was intercepted. Palestinian news agency WAFA said no casualties were reported.
Passengers on American planes are no longer required to wear face masks after a judge struck down the Biden administration's COVID mask mandate on
Monday. The CDC still recommends that people keep wearing masks on public transportation as COVID continues to spread, of course.
The British prime minister Boris Johnson gearing up to address Parliament in the next hour. This is his first time back in the House of Commons since
being fined for breaking COVID lockdown rules. The fine makes Mr. Johnson the first sitting U.K. prime minister to be found guilty of breaking the
law.
On Thursday, U.K. lawmakers are set to vote on whether he should be investigated for allegedly misleading Parliament over what is known as
Partygate. CNN's Nada Bashir is with me here in London.
They are effectively set to decide whether the prime minister should be investigated for lying to Parliament.
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. That is the key significant factor. He is the first sitting prime minister to have that criminal
sanction against him.
Now in the last few moments, we're hearing from the Speaker of the House of Commons, that he has accepted that the Labour Party will table a motion for
debate on Thursday, into whether or not the prime minister should now be investigated for lying to MPs.
Now that is ministerial code, the knowingly misleading Parliament. But the prime minister has repeatedly said that he didn't know that he was in
breach of those COVID regulations. And that has been very difficult for many to believe.
We heard him on numerous occasions, saying that no parties have taken place, that no COVID regulations had been breached. And then, of course,
over the Christmas period being directly implicated there.
ANDERSON: Yes, this was in the depth of lockdown, we have to remember. This isn't recently.
This is in the depth of lockdown back in December of 2020, correct?
BASHIR: Yes, and the party itself taking place in June 2020, that one in question. But there are several parties being investigated.
ANDERSON: So what are the consequences for the prime minister?
BASHIR: Well, at this point we heard repeated calls for the prime minister to resign or to at least call a vote of no confidence. There are some
within his own party, calling for him to resign.
Others have expressed their loyalty to the prime minister. And then there is a larger group of conservative MPs, who are waiting to see how this will
impact the government and the party.
We do have local elections coming up in May, if the Conservative Party -- there may be greater calls for a vote of no confidence. But recent polling
has shown that 61 percent of British adults think the prime minister should resign. That is a significant number.
But it is slightly less than the 69 percent in polls in January, when the initial findings of the civil service report came out, showing serious
failings. So it does suggest that perhaps the prime minister has weathered the storm of the Partygate scandal. But we'll have to wait and see what the
parliamentarians will make of his apology coming up.
ANDERSON: You're right to point out there are local elections coming up. If the Conservative MPs get a whiff that, going forward, their jobs are at
stake, then, of course, things might change. Nada, thank you.
Ahead on the show, more on the plight of Ukraine's refugees. CNN speaks with two neighbors, who made it out of Mariupol and into Estonia.
[10:25:00]
ANDERSON: We'll hear why they tried to stay in their apartment building and why in the end they had no choice but to flee.
And a new Ukrainian postage stamp is a big hit with collectors. The moment of defiance that it depicts from early on in the war, that after this.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in London. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. It is just before half past 3:00 here in the U.K.
The Ukrainian deputy prime minister says there are no humanitarian corridors agreed with Russia for Tuesday for the evacuation of civilians.
That's a pretty grim announcement, isn't it, coming as Ukrainian officials warn that a major battle is now underway in Donbas.
Here you see smoke rising from a steel plant in Mariupol. CNN no longer there but the city council released this video. It is one of the city's
last bastions, still under Ukrainian control.
The Ukrainian military and local officials have said hundreds of civilians are sheltering inside, along with Ukrainian forces. A military commander
said that Russian forces are firing on the factory, quote, "willingly."
Meanwhile, the Russian president has awarded an honorary title to a brigade accused of committing war crimes in Bucha, where a mass grave was found
after their retreat. In a letter on Monday, he congratulated them for their, quote, "great heroism and courage."
While Putin rewards his troops for their actions near Kyiv, hundreds of kilometers away, an inconsolable mom, a mother, mourning the loss of her
15-year-old son. He was killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv.
As she cries over her child, before his body is taken away, she tells him he was all that she had to live for. This is a hard watch but we believe it
is important to see.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
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ANDERSON: Scott McLean is in the capital of Tallinn, in northern Estonia, along the Baltic Sea.
The nation has been welcoming hundreds of Ukrainian refugees every day, refugees who are escaping the sort of trauma we have just seen on our
screen.
Scott, you were in a border town with Russia. You spoke with some of those Ukrainians there.
What have they been telling you?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, they're telling me that a lot of them ended up in Russia, simply because they had no other choice.
These are people, who have been taking shelter in basements, huddling together, trying to stay warm, trying to stay fed and trying to stay alive.
There is no real good means of communications in the city of Mariupol right now. So even if these humanitarian corridors are arranged and made
official, chances are a lot of these people simply are not going to hear about them.
So when they do try to leave or they're forced to leave their homes, they're relying on rumors or relying on instincts to try to find the path
of least resistance. And often, Becky, that path leads to Russia.
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MCLEAN (voice-over): It's been two weeks since these suitcases were first packed. Two weeks since Evgeny and Ludmila escaped the hell of Mariupol to
Russia. And then finally to safety in Estonia.
LUDMILA, MARIUPOL REFUGEE (through translator): Before now it was just --
MCLEAN: Stress.
LUDMILA (through translator): Here we are able to really relax. I feel that we are safe here.
MCLEAN: They lived across the hall from each other in an apartment building on the northern edge of Mariupol.
EVGENY, MARIUPOL REFUGEE (through translator): For 14 days, from the beginning of the war, somehow all the shelling was all fly past us.
MCLEAN: But their luck would soon run out, in the relentless bombardment of the city, their building was eventually hit. The damage though was
limited enough for them to stay, even without power, water, heat or a cell signal.
LUDMILA (through translator): When you hear these explosions, you have an idea the direction they are coming from. And you know what you have to do,
lay on the ground, run or sit down. But silence is horrifying.
MCLEAN: On day 38, the building was hit again, it was time to leave.
EVGENY (through translator): It was impossible to go further into Ukraine. We lived in a different part of the city, there were two encirclements
surround us, as I understand. If we went in that direction, well, the only way to leave was through the Russian Federation.
And the only thing we were concerned with at that time was leaving this ring of fire. We didn't have a choice.
MCLEAN: They made it to a school in Mariupol where Russian-backed soldiers were evacuating people east to the village of Sartana. Then a week later,
so-called filtration in Bezimenne, where at a site like this one they were searched, fingerprinted and questioned by Russian soldiers before crossing
the border into Russia to the city of (Inaudible) Likely to the shelter shown here.
EVGENY (through translator): It was the first time we took a shower in roughly 50 days, right?
LUDMILA (through translator): Forty-one or 40.
MCLEAN: With the help of ordinary Russians, they made it to St. Petersburg, then on to Estonia. Their story is part of a larger trend, most
of the two, sometimes 300 Ukrainian refugees arriving in Estonia every day are entering the country through Russia.
MEELIS PILLE, NARVA BORDER GUARD (through translator): Most of them are coming from Mariupol after having passed the humanitarian corridor. But
there are also those who say they have been deported to Russia but have managed to come here and we accept them all.
MCLEAN: On this day, they're catching a train to the Estonian capital after staying at a hostel ran by volunteers.
SERGEY TSVETKOV, VOLUNTEER AIDE (through translator): Some were taken by Russians by force from Mariupol to Russia. And later they fled from camps
on the territory of Russia. But others go voluntarily.
MCLEAN: From Tallinn they are not sure where they go but they are optimistic.
LUDMILA (through translator): We will have some difficulties along the way but if you compare what we went through, everything will be just fine. The
future must be better, we don't have another option.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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MCLEAN: And, Becky, one of the most jarring things for these two is the kindness and the generosity that they experienced from good Samaritans that
they ran into Russia, people who helped feed them, clothe them, helped them get to where they needed to go.
Jarring, of course, because Russia is the same country responsible for bombing their homes and completely uprooting their lives.
ANDERSON: They must be wondering what is left of their neighbors, what is happening in their home city, that southern port city of Mariupol. CNN not
on the ground there, of course. But we see video, which is just absolutely horrific.
I just wonder, before you go, what do the people of Estonia think about those who are coming directly from Russia?
MCLEAN: So the media is not really emphasizing a whole lot about where they're coming from, specifically. It doesn't change the fact that, by and
large, Estonian people want to help Ukrainians, of course. This country does not share a border with Ukraine, so they have to come from somewhere.
The government tells me that, early on in the war, most people were coming by bus from Poland; lately that started to shift more toward the Russian
border. Many of those people, of course, are coming from Mariupol. And they're the most likely inevitably to stay in Estonia the longest.
Even if they wanted to go back, of course, the sheer level of destruction there means many of them won't be able to. The Estonian government would
very much like a lot of these people to stick around for a little while. And they're well equipped to host them.
They already have a large Russian speaking population here, which makes it easier for them to get around. The long-term challenge, though, here, is
going to be integrating these people into Estonian-speaking societies, something the government has been struggling to do, even with its existing
Russian speaking population since its independence, more than 30 years ago -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Scott McLean on the story for you.
A little earlier in the show, I showed you some video of a inconsolable mom, who lost her son, her 15-year-old son, after a shelling in Kharkiv.
Well, Russian forces are escalating attacks on Ukraine's second largest city of Kharkiv. Earlier on, the city's mayor answered Jim Sciutto's
questions about what his city is enduring now. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IGOR TEREKHOV, MAYOR OF KHARKIV (through translator): The Russian aggressor has never stopped trying to capture Kharkiv. It has tried since
the 24th of February, day and night since the start of the invasion. And they try every night. But the Ukrainian armed forces are repelling them.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The Russians, of course, have been accused of bombing residential areas, where
crowds of people were gathering, including hospitals.
How many civilians were wounded or killed in the city, in these new attacks?
And do you have any doubt that civilians are Russia's deliberate targets there?
TEREKHOV (through translator): Since the first days of the invasion, I have been saying that the enemy is carrying out genocide against the
Ukrainian people. And these horrific bombardments that we have seen against Kharkiv and other peaceful cities just shows that that's true.
Since Sunday, we have had nonstop bombardment of civilian districts. In the past, before the very recent time, we've had this shelling and bombardment
around the outskirts.
But recently in the last few days, this has been in the center. And it is targeting peaceful civilians. And the enemy is targeting civilians. Many
people are wounded and some unfortunately dead. In the past 1.5 days, we have had 15 people killed and more than 50 wounded.
SCIUTTO: Despite the recent bombardments Kharkiv had been facing, Ukrainian forces still have managed to push the Russians back east of the
city.
I wonder, how are they managing that?
TEREKHOV (through translator): Due the heroic action of the Ukrainian armed forces and thanks to their skill, they have managed to push the
aggressor in one direction. And that is very good because that's reduced attacks from land on the outskirts of the city. But as I said,
unfortunately, there are now attacks in the center.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The mayor of Kharkiv speaking to CNN earlier.
Ukraine's new wartime stamp is fast becoming a collector's item. The artwork shows a soldier on Snake Island raising the proverbial middle
finger for the now sunk Russian warship, the Moskva. You'll probably recall Ukrainian soldiers responded to the approaching ship with the words,
"Russian warship, go eff yourself."
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ANDERSON: Well, the stamp has proven to be a big hit, with people lining up for hours outside Kyiv's main post office to buy it. The winning sketch
was chosen from more than 500 entries. The artist fled Crimea after Russia invaded in 2014, settling in Lviv.
Taking a break at this point. Back after this.
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