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Russia Accuses U.S. and Ukraine in Kremlin Drone Strike; Ukraine Repels Attacks on Kyiv but Suffers Casualties in Kherson; Motive Sought in Serbia School Shooting; Israel Kills Palestinians Who Murdered British Israeli Settlers; The Coronation of King Charles III. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired May 04, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): I'm Becky Anderson live from Abu Dhabi. The time is 6:00 in the evening. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.

Coming up this, hour the U.S. denies involvement in the Kremlin drone incident, calling it a ludicrous claim. At the ICC, Ukraine's president,

calls for Vladimir Putin to be tried for war crimes.

Belgrade still reeling from the school shooting that left nine dead.

And as Syrian president Assad is set to be back in the Arab fold, I will speak exclusively to Jordan's foreign minister, who is leading that effort.

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ANDERSON: We begin with the startling, baseless accusation out of Moscow, that the U.S. was involved in the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin.

The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said, and I quote, "We are well aware that decisions on such actions and such terrorist attacks are not

made in Kyiv but in Washington. Such attempts to disown this both in Kyiv and in Washington are absolutely ridiculous," he says.

Peskov did not offer any evidence to back up those accusations. CNN analysis and videos showing the incident supports Russia's claim that two

drones flew above the Kremlin earlier Wednesday but did not show evidence of Ukrainian involvement.

Both Ukraine and the United States are strongly denying any involvement. A spokesperson for the White House refuted Peskov's claims on CNN a little

earlier today. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET.), COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: I will just tell, you Mr. Peskov is.

Lying obviously it's a ludicrous claim. The United States have nothing to do with this.

We don't even know exactly what happened here. But I can assure you, the United States had no role in it whatsoever. And again, just to be, clear

and I think you covered this at the beginning, we neither encouraged nor did we enable Ukraine to strike outside Ukraine's borders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, we've got Natasha Bertrand connecting us. From the Pentagon this. Our and Matthew Chance is in London.

And let me start with, you Matthew, because those accusations are coming from Peskov today from the Kremlin, what else did he say?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he doubled down on this idea that this double drone strike was the work of Ukrainian

agents. And he said that -- the gist of his tirade this morning was that he was saying that it's the United States that are deciding the targeting.

It's the United States that are orchestrating these kinds of attacks and these kinds of drone strikes that took place on the Kremlin.

And basically, playing into the narrative that we've heard from the Kremlin for quite some time, really since the beginning of the conflict, which is

it's not really Ukraine that is, fighting this war against. Russia but it is really Russia fighting against a broad Western alliance led by the

United States that is bent on the destruction of Russia.

And so they like to characterize the United States as the puppet masters and Ukraine as the puppet.

But of course, that has been denied by the Ukrainians and by the United States. As well but nevertheless, you know, it will strike a chord. I

expect, with some in Russia and with countries around the world as well, already quite sympathetic, some of them, in the global, south for instance,

that are sympathetic to the Russian cause.

ANDERSON: The Kremlin adding that Moscow, and I quote, "reserves the right to take retaliatory measures," where and when it sees fit. That certainly

is the response to the alleged attack.

Is it clear what was meant by that?

CHANCE: No, but of course, the suggestion is that this could be used as political cover to step up in some, way military operations in Ukraine.

Although, it's not clear to me that a political cover would be necessary for the Russians to increase their actions inside Russia.

But perhaps it comes back to this idea that their real audience is -- are countries who have given diplomatic, support who are sympathetic to the

Russian cause.

[10:05:00]

CHANCE: Like countries in sub-Saharan Africa and to keep their support on side if there's going to be any kind of upsurging military action by the

Russians inside Ukraine.

ANDERSON: Matthew, I know you spoke to a Russian lawmaker yesterday about the attack. Let's have a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ILYA PONOMAREV, FORMER RUSSIAN LAWMAKER: Some of them are focused on (INAUDIBLE) sabotage. Some of them are doing arson of military equipment

(ph). Of course, some of them are doing attacks on pro war activists. Some of them are doing faking (ph) attacks.

CHANCE: Are any of these partisans supported by the Ukrainian special services, for instance?

Because Ukraine says it got has nothing to do with this attack.

Do you believe that claim?

PONOMAREV: Look, Ukraine indeed has nothing to do with this because it is all organized by Russians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Matthew, go on.

CHANCE: So that Ilya Ponomarev. He's a former Russian. MP he was the only MP in the Russian duma, the parliament there, to vote against the

annexation of Crimea back in 2014.

And he has since left the, country as an exile, he's been branded a terrorist. By the Russian state because he's in close contact with the

various partisan groups that he says are operating inside Russia.

Russian citizens, that are doing things like striking military recruitment centers, derailing trains, blowing up oil facilities, things like. That

basically small actions to target the Russian state out of their opposition to the war in Ukraine.

And he told me yesterday that he has direct information that it's one of those partisan groups that took this action and sent these drones to hit

the Kremlin as a symbolic act. And so that's what his position is.

ANDERSON: Fascinating.

So Natasha, let's bring you in. John Kirby, very clear with his position. With regards to the U.S. and their perspective on this. He said, Dmitry

Peskov who is the Kremlin spokesperson, is lying.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, and that's been the position across the U.S. government in response to these

accusations.

Look, it's not the first time that U.S. officials have heard the Russians accuse the U.S. of being kind of the puppet master behind Kyiv's behavior

and the things that the military there are doing, especially when it comes to cross border attacks and strikes inside Russia.

But the bottom line here is that the U.S. still doesn't actually know what happened. According to our sources here, the U.S. intel community is poring

over intelligence, including intercepting communications, satellite imagery, to try to figure out whether there were any signs that this was

going to happen or any indications that they perhaps missed the night before.

These drones hit the Kremlin but so far there is nothing. The U.S. officials have told us but they did not see any evidence that there was an

attack being planned by either Russian or Ukrainian government officials.

And yesterday, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee came out after being briefed by the CIA director and said that while there is still

a lot to be learned about this incident, there is currently no evidence at all linking Ukraine to this alleged attack.

And so right now, U.S. officials are really operating in the dark. They are trying to figure what happened. They have spoken. We are told to their

Ukrainian counterparts. Ukraine is denying privately, as well to the White House, that they were behind this.

But ultimately, this is a playbook that U.S. officials have seen many times before. It is something that John Kirby emphasized this morning, saying

that this is a lie and that it is likely a pretext for the Kremlin to try to convey to the world that the U.S. is actually in a proxy war with Russia

itself and that Ukraine is kind of a puppet in all of. This

Of course, the U.S. has emphasized that they have told Ukraine many times not to conduct these kinds of cross border attacks inside Russia, not to

strike inside Russian territory.

And that's exactly why the U.S. has refused to give Ukraine these very long range missiles, because they say they don't want to encourage or facilitate

Ukrainians attacking targets inside Russia.

So all of this combined is really just creating this -- what the Kremlin likes to, do which is confusion, muddy the waters. U.S. officials say

they're still trying to figure out what happened here. But they categorically denied that they're behind any of this.

ANDERSON: Natasha, thank you.

Thank you to both of you.

Matthew, of course, is in London today.

Ukraine's president insists his country does not target Russia or its president and only defends its own territory.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at the International Criminal Court of The Hague earlier, saying Russian president, Vladimir Putin, deserves to be sentenced

there for war crimes and will be when Ukraine wins. The war. He says he spoke after another night of intense Russian attacks.

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ANDERSON: Ukraine's air defenses repelled the largest airstrikes of the year on Kyiv with no damage or injuries reported.

But shelling in Kherson has killed at least 2 dozen people. Nick Paton Walsh is in Zaporizhzhya in southeastern Ukraine.

And we had already seen a ratcheting up of airstrikes. As a prelude, as it were, to the expected Ukrainian assault.

What is happening on the ground?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the airstrikes in the missiles and the bombardment, we have seen, has been

spread over the past four days. And that's what the Kyiv officials were referring. To those few days mark the worst in terms of intensity and

frequency since the beginning of the year.

Last night, though, significant numbers, nearly all, frankly, as far as we, know were repelled leaving the capital mostly untouched. Odessa, the large

city in the south, that also was attacked. But only three of about 18 drones fired there managed to eventually get through.

So increasing success from air defense systems when it comes to these Shahed suicide drone, attacks which have been frequent over the past three

or four days.

Is that related to Russian anticipation that the counteroffensive may get underway or may indeed be underway?

It's possible; there've been some public statements Russian officials or Russian occupation officials have made, suggesting that early May is where

it's all about to begin.

But Kherson an utterly awful moment of indiscriminate barbarity yesterday, before even any statements had been made by the Kremlin about their alleged

drone attack on the Kremlin itself.

A market, a railway station, hit with repeated shelling; 24 dead. This is an area only recently liberated from Russian occupation. And it fits into a

pattern that we've been seeing across the country over the last week or so.

Russia, at this stage, possibly able to be accurate in some rare instances. We don't always know from Ukraine what military targets have been hit but

for the most part it seems lashing out, hitting civilian targets somewhat indiscriminately.

We went to one family's home, where the first missile landed in their front yard and it enabled them to get the kids into shelter. And in one, house

jump into the bath and in the second one, it left an enormous crater in their back garden.

No military target anywhere near there at all. A 7- and 9-year old child in the crosshairs. So startling how random the violence inflicted by Russia

is. It leads you in discussing the broad question of what Russia might do in terms of retaliation to wonder what indeed they have left in their

conventional arsenal -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Nick, thank you.

Serbia is united in grief. The shocked country's president making that declaration after Wednesday's horrific school shooting killed nine, eight

of them children. Officials said a teenage boy opened fire on his classmates at a Belgrade elementary school.

The motive for the attack is under investigation. Fred Pleitgen takes us through the tragic events as they unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Horror inside a school classroom, a scene all too familiar in the U.S. But

this is Serbia's capital, Belgrade. This is the deadliest mass shooting in the country in over a decade.

Moments after arriving at the prestigious Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School, a 13-year-old student took out his father's gun and shot the

security guard before turning it on pupils according to officials.

VESELIN MILIC, BELGRADE POLICE CHIEF (through translator): There was one girl at her desk, another at the piano. He took their lives, then he went

out into the corridor to the history classroom. He went into the classroom and immediately shot the teacher and the students there from the door.

PLEITGEN: According to eyewitnesses, the boy shot the female history teacher as terrified students hid under their desks. She was rushed to

hospital along with six injured children according to CNN affiliate N1.

The hospital's director detailed severe brain injuries and gunshot wounds to the legs. The perpetrator was arrested in the schoolyard and let out in

handcuffs after he called the police himself and told them what he did.

I asked where is my kid, says one girl's father, describing the moment he realized she was in the history class. She escaped but when he found her,

she was in shock, he says.

The crime had been planned for over a month. The teen had drawn a sketch of the attack that looked like something from a video game or a horror movie

according to Belgrade's police chief.

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PLEITGEN (voice-over): Locals told CNN the incident came out of nowhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This never happened in Serbia before, we only heard about this in news from the United States.

PLEITGEN: Outside the school, these parents are the lucky ones. Their children made it out alive. But a nation is now in mourning and questions

are asked over how this could have happened -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Belgrade.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Right now, I want to bring in Scott McLean. He is live for you from the Serbian capital of Belgrade.

We just listened to that report. That gives us a sense of how the day yesterday unfolded.

What are you being told today by authorities?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Becky. First I should mention that it has been an emotional day here in Belgrade. There have been droves of

young people and students, who have come to pay their respects, light candles, lay flowers outside the school, which is just down the street from

where we are.

They did it in virtual silence. And some of the people that we met today seemed at a loss for words when asked about this tragedy. Other people just

wanted to do something.

We went to a blood donor clinic, where they are seeing twice the number of people as usual, donating blood, considering there are at least two people

still fighting for their life right now in a hospital.

We interviewed the chief of police for Belgrade today, who gave us new information on the shooter. He said there is no indication he was on drugs

or alcohol of any kind. He also said he hadn't been bullied, though he did say he had recently fallen out with his friends and changed classrooms.

He also shed some light on what he had been watching the night before the shooting. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF VESELIN MILIC, BELGRADE POLICE (through translator): The statement of the boy who did this monstrous deed are very strange. The boy said that

the night before the massacre he watched some strange American movies about a school shooting and that, in that movie, that boy who committed similar

murders didn't feel any empathy or remorse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: The shooter also knew how to use a gun quite proficiently as well. Police said he had gone with his father to a gun range here in Belgrade.

It's illegal, though, in this country for children to handle guns. Prosecutors have told us that they are looking into it. The range has so

far not commented.

We have also learned from the police chief, from the police that there actually was a school police officer on the site of the school at the time

but she was doing a patrol of the perimeter when those shots were fired.

As we know, Becky, in the United States, the protocol dictates that police should run toward the sound of the fire. In this case, that officer linked

up with backup before being one of the first officers inside to actually make the arrest.

There have been calls from some students for the education minister to resign over this. He has offered his resignation.

But we spoke to his deputy today, who said, look, this could have happened anywhere. All of the security measures were in place inside of that school.

The government also has proposed a raft of new measures.

Chief among them, a moratorium on a new gun licenses in this country for the next two years, so they can sort out their gun laws and strengthen

them. They have also proposed banning cell phones, full stop, inside of school classrooms and also tightening regulations for young people on

social media -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Thank you, Scott.

Scott McLean is on the ground for you in Belgrade.

Israeli forces have conducted an operation in the occupied West Bank. They killed a Palestinian militant, who killed a British Israeli settler, Lucy

Dee, and her daughters. The Palestinian militant group Hamas said the gunman who was shot and killed -- who shot and killed the women were among

the dead in Nablus on Thursday.

The British Israeli settlers were gunned down while on a family outing in April. Their deaths sparked outrage in Israel and thousands of people

attended their funeral. CNN's Jerusalem correspondent Hadas Gold following the story for us.

HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, we learned about this. It happened during the daytime hours. This raids are rather unusual

to happen in morning time.

But it happened in the Old City. Israeli forces saying more than 200 of their forces took part in this raid. They say that when they surrounded the

apartment building where they believe the suspects were hiding, there was an exchange of fire.

That is when three Palestinian men were killed. All three have been claimed as operatives by the militant group Hamas. Two of them, both Israeli

authorities and Hamas say, were involved in that shooting attack which killed the three women.

That attack happened last month in early April. The mother and her two daughters, who were 16 and 20 --

[10:20:00]

GOLD: -- were driving in a village in the West Bank when they were shot at by a passing car. The two daughters died on site. Lucy, the mother, died a

couple of days later. It essentially was a month long manhunt for the suspects.

That is when today we heard about this massive raid, getting these two suspects and a third operative, who the Israeli authorities say was helping

to hide the two suspects. Hamas, the militant organization, issued a statement praising the three who were killed, calling them heroes of the

operation in the Jordan Valley.

The husband and father said that he and his surviving children are delighted to hear that the terrorists were eliminated today. He said, most

of all, in a way that it apparently did not endanger the lives of Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu also issued a statement, saying in part that his message to those who harm us and want to harm us is

that whether it takes a day, a week or a month, you can be certain we will settle accounts with you.

It is rather notable to see an operation like this claimed by Hamas and claimed by members, who were operatives, who somehow were not claimed by

Hamas in the last minute. It's already been a very deadly few months here for both Israelis and Palestinians across the occupied West Bank and in

Israel.

We are already on pace this year to outpace last year's record number of deaths for both Israelis and Palestinians and last year was a record year,

some of the highest numbers we have seen since the end of the Second Intifada -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes, very sad. Thank you.

Back into the fold after a decade of civil war, Syria might be close to ending its pariah status in the Arab League. Jordan's foreign minister will

join us live to discuss that. First up, the coronation of King Charles is two days away.

We will see how race, religion and class have changed since his mother's enthronement, questioning the relevance of the monarchy today.

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ANDERSON: In the seven decades since England's last coronation, our attitudes toward the monarchy have dramatically changed. Bianca Nobilo

reports.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And happy indeed are the revelers who welcome Britain's coronation here in Piccadilly.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The longest interlude between two coronations in British history, decades of

demographic, religious and societal change raise questions about the relevance of the monarchy today.

1953 was full of postwar joie de vivre and excitement about a new young queen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They come to seek work in Britain.

[10:25:00]

NOBILO (voice-over): Despite waves of historic migration, Britain in the 1950s was overwhelmingly White and Christian and divided along class lines

in society and the halls of power.

Today three of the four great offices of state, including the Prime Minister, are from minority backgrounds. 20 percent of the population today

are from ethnic minority backgrounds too and rising. Many from countries subject to exploitation in the former British empire.

BIDISHA MAMATA, COLUMNIST: The monarchy itself has to find a respectful and humble place for itself without pretending that it doesn't have all of

its privilege, all of its history and all of its baggage.

NOBILO (voice-over): But crumbling slowly after the second world war, Britain was still stratified along class lines in the 1950s.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Duchess for example wears four rows.

NOBILO: Modern Britain is in many ways allergic to the idea of inherited privilege. Society at least strives to be egalitarian. But a recent poll

commissioned by the BBC -- Britain's national broadcaster -- suggests that King Charles might have a problem appealing to young people. 38 percent of

whom said that they would support an elected head of state. And indifference might be a problem too. 78 percent said that they weren't

interested in the royal family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's definitely time to rethink and I know a lot of people who loved Queen Elizabeth and I don't think that that same

fondness is there for King Charles.

NOBILO: The monarch since the 16th century is also head of the Church of England. In 1953 the majority of the country was Christian.

NOBILO (voice-over): Today it is half that with a number of nonreligious and non-Christian faiths rising each year, with multifaith leaders playing

a role in the coronation for the first time.

NOBILO: King Charles who has declared himself to be defender of all faiths was honored here at Britain's largest mosque ahead of the coronation. So

could this be an opportunity for all the communities in Britain to come together?

SABAH, AHMEDI, IMAN: With Islam, we're taught a part of your faith is lauded to a nation and we know coronation is a part history of this nation.

And our citizens will respect that history.

NOBILO (voice-over): The coronation is a litmus test to how King Charles will be received by 2023 Britain and whether enthusiasm, apathy or

opposition to the monarchy will shape his reign -- Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Final preparations now underway for what is the crowning of King Charles III. Many are asking questions about what this moment and this man

mean in a modern world.

This week on "THE WHOLE STORY," CNN's Erica Hill asks some of those questions to some of Britain's leading scholars and journalists. Be sure to

tune into "The Reign Begins: Charles and Camilla."

That is midnight here in Abu Dhabi. Be sure to watch CNN's special live coverage of the coronation on Saturday, May 6th. It all starts at 10 am in

London, 1 pm in the UAE. That is on CNN.

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ANDERSON (voice-over): Let's get you up to speed on some other stories on our radar right now here on CNN.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent is launching an emergency appeal for Sudan. The humanitarian group says the situation there is

deteriorating. It is calling for more than $30 million to provide aid for up to 200,000 people.

The European Central Bank is raising interest rates by 25 basis points. The decision comes one day after the U.S. Federal Reserve also increased rates

by a quarter of a percentage point. The ECB has now hiked borrowing costs at seven consecutive meetings since July as it tries to get inflation in

the zone under control.

Female wrestlers in India are demanding the head of the sports governing body resign or be removed amid accusations of sexual harassment. After

months of investigations going nowhere, the women are now camping out and protesting in the streets with growing support from the public. CNN's

Vedika Sud has the story.

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VEDIKA SUD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're up just after dawn, emerging from tents on a dusty roadside in the heart of New

Delhi.

Quickly, their makeshift home becomes a training ground. These women are celebrated athletes. They've held this protest vigil day and night for over

a week. Their fight could bring a reckoning for Indian sport.

"We're Olympians, gold medalists and world champions," wrestler Vinesh Phogat tells us. "There's been a grave injustice. We've dedicated our lives

to our country," she says.

Protest leaders Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik are accusing the most powerful man in their sport of sexually harassing female players.

Brij Bhushan Singh, president of the Wrestling Federation of India, strongly denies the allegations. He was asked to step aside earlier this

year while the complaint went to a government oversight committee. And while the committee now runs the day-to-day affairs of the federation,

Singh officially remains chief.

Malik and Phogat are among those who have been demanding a thorough and impartial investigation.

"Seven women athletes have filed police complaints. I believe there are more victims," says Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik.

Singh isn't only involved in sport. He's also a member of federal Parliament and an influential voice within India's ruling Bharatiya Janata

Party.

The police registered two cases against him only after the Supreme Court intervened. India's top court is now observing the police investigation.

SUD: You'd expect professional wrestlers to be training inside an academy. But these women have little choice but to train on the road here at the

protest site.

SUD (voice-over): Support has come from across the country. Each day, hundreds come to demand action.

"We realize we just have one avenue left: to appeal to the public," says Phogat. "If we get public support, then at least we know the country stands

with us."

Supporters say these wrestlers could become a symbol of change in a nation so often shocked by sexual misconduct.

RAHUL MEHRA, SPORTS LAWYER AND ACTIVIST: Surely it is that #MeToo moment. And surely, you know, women athletes have really mustered the courage to

come out. This is, at least, in my living memory, I have not come across this kind of a protest ever. So -- so this is unique. This has its own

power.

SUD (voice-over): India's sports minister has promised an impartial probe. But without any firm deadline.

These wrestlers, who have put their careers on the line, are prepared for a long wait. They say they are ready to camp it out, on mattresses, under

mosquito nets for as many nights as it takes to get justice -- Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Up next on CONNECT THE WORLD, it may be the greatest season in Premier League history. The latest stunning feat by Erling Haaland is after

this.

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ANDERSON: A former Russian lawmaker, who now lives in exile, tells CNN he thinks Russian partisans trying to discredit Vladimir Putin are to blame

for the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin yesterday.

Others suggested might be a Russian false flag operation to justify more brutal attacks on Ukraine. Chief international security correspondent Nick

Paton Walsh reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice-over): It's on the edges of imagination but the Kremlin insists it's real. An apparent drone flies into the Kremlin and detonates

right on its dome, captured on many cameras, a truly seismic allegation.

Russia saying Ukraine sent two drones to kill President Vladimir Putin but he wasn't home.

As the smoke rose, these videos played out globally, unverified and the only slim evidence of the Kremlin's claim. It is a moment that carries

great risk for the Kremlin ahead of an annual victory day parade there just next week. It's embarrassing. They have claimed such a breach of security

happened. And there will be calls for their battered military to find a way to escalate, now they have.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on a visit to Finland today issued a flat denial.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We don't attack Putin or Moscow. We fight on our territory. We are defending our villages and citizens. We

don't have enough weapons for these.

WALSH: The U.S. also not convinced.

BLINKEN: I would take anything coming out of the Kremlin with a very large shaker of salt.

WALSH: But fear of Russian reprisals rising again in Ukraine where bombings already definitely do happen every day and night.

Over a dozen dead this day in a recently liberated Kherson, a railway station shelled in a supermarket mid-morning.

Tension mounting here ahead of an expected Ukrainian counter- offensive. So from Friday, there's a 58-hour curfew, nobody coming out of their homes.

In Zaporizhzhya, our night was shaken by sirens and blasts. Here is where they hit, homes. The first missile landing outside and leaving enough time

for families to jump into the bath or shelter their children before the second left this hole.

How did you survive?

You know we were in such stress, Lyudmila (ph) says, but it was only when people asked us if we were OK that we realized we were alive.

Like in the Kremlin, nobody killed or injured here either but lives destroyed and no doubt who was behind it.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[10:40:00]

ANDERSON: Police officers are trained to help people in need, aren't they?

But when a frantic driver approached a Florida sheriff's deputy in a panic, it was not your average day on the job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How far along are you pregnant?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is forward, she is ready to go.

She is ready to go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's coming!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's coming. She's coming.

(INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There we go, I got a baby.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't pull, don't pull. I got her. I got --OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go, mama. I told you I just wanted to deliver a baby. I got the baby. Oh, pretty little girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, that's a beautiful sound. That's a beautiful sound, mama. That's a beautiful sound. I'm fixing to (INAUDIBLE) look at

your baby, look at your pretty little girl.

ANDERSON (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) Deputy Daniel Jones helped the man's wife deliver her baby in the front seat of the car on the side of the

highway. And it turns out both mom and officer are kind of old hat at this. This was her sixth baby and the third time Deputy Jones helped welcome a

new life into the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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END