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Isa Soares Tonight

Trump Speaks to Zelenskyy One Day After A Phone Call With Putin; Trump To Sign Mega Bill Amid Pomp And Pageantry; Tributes Pour In For Portuguese Football Star Diogo JotaWakes, Tributes For Football Star Diogo Jota And His Brother; Jill Dougherty On "My Russia: What I Saw Inside The Kremlin"; Prada Facing Controversy Over Shoe Design. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired July 04, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, telephone diplomacy. Donald Trump speaks

to Ukraine's leader one day after his phone call with Vladimir Putin. Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office describes the conversation as important and

meaningful.

Then, the U.S. President prepares to sign his mega bill into law in a July 4th ceremony that's expected to include a flyover of B-2 bombers. Why

critics say there is nothing to celebrate. And then honoring their legacy. Prayers and tributes in England and Portugal for footballer Diogo Jota and

his brother, Andre Silva.

But first tonight, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his call with the U.S. President Donald Trump was very important and meaningful.

According to "Axios", President Trump told President Zelenskyy, he wants to help Ukraine with its air defense. And this call comes after one of its

worst nights for Kyiv in Russia's war against Ukraine.

A massive aerial assault hit multiple buildings, as you can see there, as well as residential areas. Ukraine says the strike also hit a power line to

a nuclear plant, causing blackouts. And this follows what Mr. Trump calls a disappointing call, his words with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putting it all into context for us is our Nick Paton Walsh with this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): Hear the buzz, and all you can do is wait.

(EXPLOSION)

WALSH: Kyiv has seen this almost every night for months. But there was something about Thursday night's ferocity that seemed new and unchecked,

even underground. No sleep is the norm, huddling in basements too if you're not so immune to the sirens, you turn over in bed when you hear them.

Hearing Russia broke another record of drones fired, has also happened a lot this past month. What was different was the possibility the capital's

air defenses behind interceptions like these might be in trouble. Gunners try to pick off drones, but the American supply of patriots that take down

Russian ballistic missiles is at best in doubt.

Leaving nights here longer and louder, and solace, something you find in the subway. A record assault that came moments after Presidents Trump and

Putin spoke. That too, did not go well.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don't think

he's there. I don't think he's there. And I'm very disappointed. Well, it's not -- I'm just saying, I don't think he's looking to stop. And that's too

bad.

WALSH: Among the smoldering remains of civilian worlds terrorized, Ukraine's Foreign Minister claimed fragments of a Goran to combat drone

were found, made in China. The growing global footprint of a war where Kyiv's daylight is dark and still by the smoke of the night before, and

whether damage done is measured in intimate, personal loss.

Hear what that feels like for those whose broken homes lie in pieces around them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WALSH: Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Let's get more on the diplomatic push. I want to take you to Washington, Kevin Liptak joins us now. So, talk us through then, here,

Kevin, what exactly the President saying came out of this call.

[14:05:00]

We heard from President Zelenskyy, it seems to be in fruitful discussion. What was the readout from President Trump's side?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, we've gotten virtually no readout from President Trump himself, although I heard from a White

House official that it was a good conversation. It lasted a little less than an hour. And I think Zelenskyy really went into this conversation

wanting to talk about the U.S. weapons.

The continued necessity of American defensive systems in order to intercept the kind of assault that we've seen overnight. This is the biggest assault

of missiles and drones since the war began. And I think if you're Zelenskyy, you want to use that as an example of why Trump's support is

necessary, and try and get a little bit of clarity on what exactly the status of these weapons are.

Because remember, just last week on the sidelines of the NATO Summit, Trump and Zelenskyy met, and the President came out and said yes, he would be

willing to send more Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine. The pendulum seemed to swing in the other direction this week when the administration

said that it was going to halt some of those weapons shipments over concerns that U.S. stockpiles were dwindling.

Then just last night, President Trump said, no, the weapons haven't been halted, and I still want to help Zelenskyy protect himself against these

Russian assaults. And so, Zelenskyy heading into this call, I think wanted to get some better understanding of where exactly the President stood. And

at least, according to his own readout, he did seem to have something of a productive conversation.

He said that President Trump was very well informed, those were his words, about what the situation was onto the ground there. And he said that Trump

had agreed that they would work together to strengthen protection of our skies. And so, the President, seeming to say that he's still willing to

help Ukraine try and maintain some of its defenses.

I think also, very interestingly, the President has been on the phone over the last 24 hours with the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the French

President, Emmanuel Macron, and there has been some discussion about Germany potentially buying some of these American Patriot Missile Systems,

and then transferring them to Ukraine.

And so, you can see how kind of the diplomatic gears are working to try and uphold Ukraine's defenses. But certainly, the President not very optimistic

about that conversation with Putin. He said it was disappointing. He said he virtually made zero progress with the Russian President about trying to

bring this conflict to a resolution.

Which I think just underscores, you know, for all of the successes that the President has had in the Middle East and Congress and the Supreme Court,

this issue of Ukraine remains a glaring example of an area the President really has made no progress on since taking office.

SOARES: Can I clarify, then, Kevin, because this back-and-forth on the weapons, you mentioned the decision by Pentagon that seems to have taken

really President Zelenskyy, Ukrainians by surprise, to pause some shipments of weapons. Is that then not happening now? Just to clarify that for us.

LIPTAK: It's hard to say. And you say it took Zelenskyy by surprise. It also took a lot of people in Washington inside the administration by

surprise, including inside the State Department, which would ordinarily have been consulted on this kind of decision. There is a lot of uncertainty

about how that pause came into place.

It was confirmed by the White House, but even President Trump yesterday seemed to deny that it was actually happening. So, I think as of today,

it's not precisely clear what is the status of those weapons. They were reportedly in Poland on their way to Ukraine when this pause was announced.

And so, I think based on President Trump's own comments, based on his conversation with Zelenskyy today, it does --

SOARES: Yes --

LIPTAK: Appear as if the administration is more open to keeping those weapons systems flowing. But obviously, President Trump has had his own

viewpoints about the war in Ukraine. And so, I think it will remain to be seen exactly how that is all resolved.

SOARES: Indeed, Kevin Liptak, good to see you. Happy 4th, thank you, Kevin.

LIPTAK: Thank you.

SOARES: The question now is whether the U.S. will go back to helping Ukraine, of course, after one of the worst attacks by Russia since the

invasion began, as Kevin Liptak was -- highlight in there. Earlier, I spoke about that with Heorhii Tykhyi; the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign

Ministry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEORHII TYKHYI, SPOKESPERSON, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: Right, we think it's very important that the two leaders had the call, that they had the

call today because there are two meanings to this date. First of all, this is America's Independence Day, and I congratulate all Americans, and the

President obviously congratulated President Trump on this day, but also Kyiv suffered a particularly terrible, dreadful night because Russia

attacked our capital with hundreds of drones, missiles.

We have not seen an attack like this in many months, actually, I struggle to remember a night that dreadful during all of the full scale aggression.

It was really very loud. Our air defense was busy working, shooting down all the ballistic cruise missiles, and unfortunately, we had a lot of fire

across the capital.

[14:10:00]

Casualties and residential buildings hit. So, it was a terrible night. This is why it's so important that the leaders spoke. President Zelenskyy

described the reality on the ground, the situation which is here across Ukraine, not only in the capital, the situation on the battlefield as you

saw President telling the public that President Trump was very well informed about the developments on the ground, about the Russian attacks.

We think from Russia's side, this attack which came right after President Putin and President Trump spoke, speaks for itself. It just shows how much

the -- how much the Russian regime disrespects the United States. You saw Minister Sybiha tweeting this morning that this is a sign of a complete

disregard for any U.S. efforts to establish peace when Putin orders such a horrible strike right after his --

SOARES: Yes --

TYKHYI: Call with President Trump. So, this --

SOARES: Well, let me get viewers --

TYKHYI: Was a -- next, yes --

SOARES: In reaction to what we heard from President Trump, following on from that conversation. President Trump clearly, Heorhii, sounding more and

more frustrated with President Putin. He said, I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, referring to yesterday,

because I don't think he's there, he said.

I don't think he's there, and I'm very disappointed. I'm just saying, I don't think he's looking to stop, and that's too bad. So, clearly, zero

progress on that front. So, given that, what would Ukraine like to see from the United States, Heorhii? Because there have been so many deadlines, so

many conversations, calls that have lasted two hours, but that hasn't really moved the needle at all.

TYKHYI: I think everyone who followed the developments, starting from President Trump's inauguration, actually, from his term, and all of his

efforts, his sincere efforts to establish peace. Everyone saw that Ukraine made many constructive steps. Ukraine agreed to a full, unconditional

ceasefire in March. Ukraine took a very constructive stance towards peace efforts and still takes.

Unfortunately, we see that Russia does not want to reciprocate, does not want to take a single constructive step. We only see Russia escalating

terror. So, for us, it's very natural to see that President Trump is getting frustrated with the lack of progress on the Russian side.

We have seen some very active efforts from President Trump, but also from the American diplomacy, from Secretary Rubio to convince the Russian side

to actually propose something doable, something that would, you know, like -- first of all, of course, the full ceasefire --

SOARES: Yes --

TYKHYI: Because ceasefire is the basic fundamental thing for a -- for a negotiation to take place. Diplomats need to have guns silent --

SOARES: Yes --

TYKHYI: To have to achieve results. Unfortunately, I was part of the meetings in Istanbul when Ukrainian and Russian delegations met both

meetings, and unfortunately, what we see from the Russian side is just the same old ultimatums, Maximalist demands, you know, pseudo historic rhetoric

--

SOARES: Yes --

TYKHYI: Lectures on history, and no constructive approach toward ending the war, ending the killing. Actually, to the contrary, because --

SOARES: Yes --

TYKHYI: You see Russian speakers saying that they do not want a ceasefire - -

SOARES: So --

TYKHYI: They want to proceed with the battlefield.

SOARES: So, let me reframe the question then. Given the frustration that has been so evident in the last few days from President Trump, any

suggestion from Ukraine's side following on from this conversation that President Trump is starting to change tact, and maybe changing tact when it

comes to President Putin and the fight that he's taken to Ukraine.

TYKHYI: Look, Isa, we understand clearly that President Trump realizes the power he has, the strength he has in his hands, and we saw this strength

being used in Iran-Israel case, and in India-Pakistan case, when these strengths actually led to a ceasefire and led to serious developments. We

understand that President Trump realizes that he has -- his strengths in his hands.

It's only a matter of his understanding what's the best timing to use it? In our view, it's the position of Ukraine, that it is time to already ramp

up pressure on Moscow, meaning, of course, increase sanctions pressure, depriving Russia of its oil revenues because it uses this oil to fund war

and fund war crimes that we see in Ukraine.

And of course, the strengthening of Ukraine, which can come in various forms. Of course, I'm talking about the defense cooperation, about some

American weapons that Ukraine is ready to buy. And Ukraine made some very serious proposals for the American side, on which, you know, elements and

which weapons he wants to buy.

[14:15:00]

Of course, we need those American air defense systems, Patriots, which are the best systems in the world, capable of shooting down the -- intercepting

the ballistic missiles that were coming into --

SOARES: Yes --

TYKHYI: This city, into Kyiv this night. Of course, we need more of them. We are ready to buy them. The proposals have been made and the talks, the

negotiations are ongoing on this matter, I cannot go deeper into that because it's quite a sensitive security matter. But the negotiations are

ongoing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: The spokesperson there for the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine. And later this hour, as President Trump, of course, continues to push Vladimir

Putin for that ceasefire, long-time Kremlin watcher Jill Dougherty gives her insight into Putin's thinking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: What misconceptions have we created around Putin?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, there are so many of them, and I would never want to jump into his head, truly, although I try.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: More from Jill's new memoir, "My Russia: What I saw Inside the Kremlin". You do not want to miss that discussion. Also, the United States

turns 249 years old today, but America's birthday isn't the only thing President Trump is celebrating. Bringing both those stories after this

short break. You are watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: And while America celebrates Independence Day, U.S. President Donald Trump is celebrating a huge political win, one that once again

illustrates his vise-like grip on the Republican Party. In just a few hours from now, Mr. Trump will sign a sweeping tax and spending cuts bill into

law after it cleared the U.S. House roughly this time yesterday. The President began his victory lap shortly thereafter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: There could be no better birthday present for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago, when Congress passed the one

Big Beautiful Bill to make America Great Again. With this bill, every major promise I made to the people of Iowa in 2024 became a promise kept.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: But while the U.S. President may be celebrating a win, critics say it's the American people who will lose. The controversial legislation has

received intense criticism for its historic cuts to healthcare, nutrition and clean energy programs. Let's turn to CNN's senior White House

correspondent Kristen Holmes.

[14:20:00]

And Kristen, we brought the breaking news to our viewers yesterday, it happened roughly at this time. We passed one of the only two defections.

Just talk us through now what we're likely to see. Clearly, a huge win for the President.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a huge win. And you know, you talk about those critics saying that the American people will

suffer. When I spoke to Republicans about that yesterday and today, they said that they are aware that they are losing the messaging war when it

comes to this bill.

That Democrats have really had a control over the narrative around this bill, and that Republicans haven't really pushed back because they've just

been trying to get it passed. You're going to see a big ramp-up in the next couple of weeks with them, Republicans in various districts as well as the

White House, trying to push out the positives of this bill which they say that they understand they have not really highlighted in any way.

So, we'll see kind of a change there in terms of at least trying to sell this bill, because that's really the next step for the congressman, for the

lawmakers who helped put this bill into effect. Now, what we're going to see tonight is President Trump was already scheduled to have what they were

calling a military picnic on the South Lawn of the White House.

He was going to have guests, the pilots who actually dropped the bombs on those nuclear facilities in Iran. He's also going to have a flyover of the

event that includes B-2 planes, which were the planes that, again, dropped those missiles onto the nuclear facilities. That is when he is going to

sign this bill. He's going to have congressmen, lawmakers around him.

Then he's going to watch the fireworks. They are clearly making a big spectacle out of all of this. They want it to be a big celebration as it is

part of President Trump's legacy here. I mean, one of the things we've talked about is the reason that the White House worked so hard to get this

passed, is because there is a belief inside of this administration that Trump's entire legacy is wrapped up in some of the things that were in this

bill.

No tax on tips, as well as the money that is going to go to ramp-up deportations, things that he promised during the campaign. So, again,

tonight, when you see President Trump, it's going to be a celebration. And then he and his wife, Melania Trump will stay and watch the fireworks in

D.C. afterwards.

SOARES: Kristen Holmes, appreciate it, thanks Kristen. Now in the news, we hear a ceasefire is near, on the ground, we see death and we hear

explosions. Those words from a father in Gaza. Some really sum up the stark reality for Palestinians as mediators work to secure a ceasefire as well as

hostage deal.

Israeli attacks have been relentless. Gaza's Health Ministry says 138 people were killed in the past 24 hours alone. Palestinians are still

risking their lives to seek food from a U.S.-Israeli-backed aid distribution program. The U.N. says at least 613 people have been killed

while approaching aid sites or aid convoys.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAVINA SHAMDASSANI, SPOKESPERSON, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE: It is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to

reach the distribution points. How many killings? Who is responsible for that? We need an investigation. We need access. We need an independent

inquiry and we need accountability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: World Health Organization doctor in Gaza says Nasser Hospital is treating so many patients wounded near aid sites that it's become a massive

trauma ward. He says many are boys and young men shot in the head, in the neck or in the chest. U.S. President Donald Trump is ramping up

expectations for a ceasefire.

He says he expects Hamas to respond to the latest proposal within hours. Israel has accepted the plan ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's

visit to the White House, which is expected on Monday. Let's get more from our Oren Liebermann, who joins us from Jerusalem. Oren, good to see you.

Just lay out for us, walk us through the ceasefire proposal and how different it actually is from the one that was put forward by Steve

Witkoff. I think it was back in May.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isa, it's not all that different, but some of the details are -- have been changed in critical ways. And that's

why it has been so difficult and so time-consuming to try to get this ceasefire proposal over the line. In terms of the big picture, it is still

a 60-day ceasefire. It's still ten living hostages and 18 deceased hostages that would come out in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

More aid would go in. One of the key differences is, how that is spread out. The -- we have learned, according to a source familiar with the

negotiations that eight living hostages would come out on the first day. In the previous proposal, the rest came out a week later. Now, they come out,

those last two come out on day 50, so it's spread out over a much longer period.

And the last deceased hostages come out actually on day 60. So, that's one of the key differences. The other fundamental difference here is that Hamas

has been looking for a guarantee that there will be a permanent end to the war. Now, according to that source who is familiar with the negotiations,

this document doesn't include that outright.

[14:25:00]

But what it does say much more clearly is that even if there isn't an agreement, a permanent agreement for a comprehensive end of the war by day

60, that there will still be negotiations continuing, and the President Donald Trump himself will effectively guarantee that Israel does not

restart the war. That was a key element that Hamas was looking for.

So, even if the sort of the broad brushstrokes have been the same as Steve Witkoff's proposal from several weeks ago, some of those key elements have

shifted and sort of met the demands that Hamas had put forward. Crucially, Hamas again was looking for guarantees of a permanent end to the war,

something Israel had refused to.

But now, following the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict, it seems Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is jetting to Washington in just a couple of days

here, is showing much more flexibility there as well, Isa.

SOARES: And while we see this diplomatic push, of course, ahead of that meeting with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, speak to the

realities on the ground there, Oren, because I don't know if you heard the quote from a father in Gaza that we mentioned. In the news, we hear a

ceasefire is near, on the ground we see death and we hear explosions. And many of these deaths as being reported, have been around aid deliveries.

LIEBERMANN: Look, Israel has intensified over the course of the last week, its bombing of Gaza. And we have seen multiple nights, including several of

the last few nights where we have seen scores of Palestinians killed, either in Israeli strikes or attempting to get aid. And that has been a

crucial problem now, effectively since we saw the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation up and running, as Palestinians try to get to these

sites often early in the morning or throughout the day in the hours before they open, they come under fire, according to hospital officials.

According to eyewitnesses we have spoken with, and that to this day remains a problem. That also leads back to part of the ceasefire that I'll point

out on day one of the ceasefire, aid goes in not only from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but also, according to the U.N. mechanism, that's

the mechanism that has worked for years as well as other organizations that can send aid in.

And the hope there, of course, is that, alleviates the problem of starving Palestinians trying to get to these aid sites, and many of them being

killed or wounded on the way.

SOARES: Oren Liebermann for us this evening in Jerusalem, thank you very much, Oren. And just days before Prime Minister Netanyahu goes to

Washington, as Oren was saying, there are key members of his government are calling for Israel to annex the West Bank before the end of the month.

The Likud Party ministers joined by Israel's speaker of the parliament, say U.S. President Donald Trump's backing of Israel provides a window of

opportunity, their words. Here's how the State Department responded to that news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAMMY BRUCE, SPOKESPERSON, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: That is specifically something that the White House would be able to answer for you. But I also

know that our position regarding Israel, the choices it makes, is that we stand with Israel and its decisions and how it views its own internal

security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Human Rights groups, meanwhile, have long accused Israel of pursuing de facto annexation in the West Bank by expanding settlements

considered illegal under international law. Israel has been accelerating this effort, approving the biggest settlement expansion in decades. Back in

May, I think it was about 22 settlements if I remember correctly.

It's also forced tens of thousands of Palestinians out of several refugee camps, displacing them as it bulldozes homes into rubble. Israel says it's

trying to wipe out a terrorist threat. Palestinians are also contending with a sharp rise in settler attacks. Just last week, settlers torched

homes and cars near Ramallah in what an Israeli opposition politician called a violent Jewish pogrom.

The U.N. says settlers or Israeli troops have killed at least 947 Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since October the 7th. And

that includes 200 children. And still to come tonight, footballer Diogo Jota is being remembered as tributes taking place right around the world.

We'll show you how fans in Liverpool and many in his hometown, in fact, are honoring his legacy. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:32:24]

SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. Star football player Diogo Jota is being remembered. Tributes are taking place around the world.

Prayers and messages there are being paid, as you can see, in Liverpool, England. Friends and fans laying flowers at Anfield Stadium in honor of

Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, who were killed in a car accident in Spain on Thursday morning.

In Jota's hometown of Gondomar in Portugal, a public wake is underway at a chapel. A private wake for the family was held earlier today. Their funeral

will happen on Saturday.

To see how things are going in Jota's hometown and his team's hometown, I want to bring in CNN's Nuno De Sousa Moreira from Gondomar and CNN's Matias

Grez who is in Liverpool.

Let me go to you first, Nuno. I can only imagine the sense of shock and grief and total disbelief from so many people. I know that that Diogo Jota

kept in touch with his roots, went back home very often. Speak to what you're hearing from the mourners there in Gondomar.

NUNO DE SOUSA MOREIRA, CNN PORTUGAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, of course. Hello, Isa! We are in Gondomar City Center in the north of Portugal right where

the brothers Diogo Jota and Andre Silva grew up. Two brothers were loved and cherished by this community because of their examples of simplicity and

determination.

It was with great shock that all the country but also this city near Porto received the tragic news of their passing. So, today, thousands of people

and city residents also, and even some Liverpool fans that were vacationing in Algarve in south of Portugal queued for long hours in spite of the

temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius. And this should carry on overnight.

The ceremonies are taking place in this church behind me. The doors open for general public almost four hours ago. And the queues wrapped around the

church. People of all ages and backgrounds have come here dressed with Diogo Jota's Liverpool jersey and scarves, white flowers, and messages to

Diogo and Andrea Silva's family. They come here in tears, in deep sour of course. It's difficult to deal with this tragic death of both soccer

players.

Michael Edwards, Liverpool owner, and Billy Hogan, the CEO, were here today such as many of Diogo and Andre's teammates. Bernardo Silva, for example,

Portuguese player from Manchester City and Portugal National Team were here as well. Marcelo de Sousa, the president of Portugal, and also the prime

minister, Luis Montenegro, pays their respects, such as Pedro Proenca, the Portuguese Federation of Soccer, and Andre Villas-Boas, the Futebol Clube

do Porto president, all gathered to say their final goodbyes to Diogo Jota and Andre Silva.

[14:35:23]

SOARES: Nuno, stay with us. Let me go to Matias for a sense really of how people are remembering him. You know, I spoke, Matias, to Abel Xavier, the

former Liverpool player, yesterday, the former Portuguese defender as well, and he was telling how deeply loved and respected he was in Liverpool. The

fact that he had even his own song, right, his own tune that they often sang. You know, he's a lad from Portugal, better than Figo, you know. Give

me a bit of that color, how people are remembering him.

MATIAS GREZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER: Well, I'm sure as you can imagine, the overwhelming emotion over the last 24 hours has been grief. And if I

just step to the side for a moment, you'll be able to see the hundreds and hundreds of tributes that have come in for Diogo Jota in the last 24 hours

here outside of Anfield. Shirts, scarves, flags, handwritten letters, and among those were a bouquet of flowers laid down by former Liverpool

captain, Jordan Henderson, who came to pay his respects early this afternoon.

And of course, we're not just seeing Liverpool fans and Liverpool shirts here. We've seen fans coming to pay their respects in Manchester United

shirts. And I'm sure you can see the blue of Everton shirts and scarves dotted throughout the sea of red here. Two teams typically bitter rivals on

the pitch with Liverpool, but I think you can see here from the tributes that there was a huge amount of respect for Diogo, not only in the city of

Liverpool, but in the wider football community.

And of course, speaking to fans earlier, their love for Diogo no doubt comes from the success he enjoyed on the pitch. He was here for five years,

scored 65 goals, and won four major trophies. But speaking to fans, it really sounds as though it was Diego -- Diogo Jota, the person, that really

resonated with the city here. A man -- a family man, a hardworking player from humble background.

And I think a lot of the fans here and a lot of the people in the city saw some of themselves in him. And when he died, he was at the peak of his

career professionally and personally. He just married his childhood sweetheart only 12 days ago, the mother of his three young children. And on

the pitch, he'd just won the Nations League with Portugal and won the Premier League with Liverpool, which of course makes the timing of his

death all the more tragic.

But speaking to fans and reading the tributes from fans and former managers and former teammates, there's one thing that stands out above everything

else, and that is Diogo Jota's smile. And I think that's how people here want him to be remembered. A player and a man with a broad grin, an

infectious personality, and a player that gave absolutely everything for the shirt and the city every time he stepped onto the pitch.

SOARES: He certainly had, didn't he, Matias? He certainly had that cheeky grin. And this is something that, you know, I've heard in the last 24 hours

or so. But I think this differentiation that you are hearing not just about the player who was just so talented but also the man, that speaks volumes

because he was very humble and so deeply loved. Speak to Diogo -- speak to Diogo Jota the man.

GREZ: Well, he -- we -- speaking to fans here, they mentioned his success on the pitch, but whenever there's an incident like this, it almost feels

like football takes a backseat in a way and football isn't important in moments like this.

You know, as football fans, we often stress about results and we get angry at managers and players when teams are underperforming. But when something

like this happens, it really puts that into perspective. Of course, football on days like today don't really matter. And obviously, the

thoughts of all the fans here were only thinking of the family of Diogo Jotar and Andre Silva who of course have lost two brothers in that family.

And going forward it will be of course a difficult loss for the club to get over. But fans here, they've come together after tragedy before in the

1980s. There was the Heysel and Hillsborough Stadium disaster. And only a few weeks ago when they were celebrating their most recent Premier League

title, the fans -- a van drove into the fans, injuring 79 of them.

But this is a club that isn't defined by tragedy. Instead, this club and the fan base is defined by their response to it, and they will come

together and move forward once again.

SOARES: Yes, as a motto, you will never walk alone. Matias, I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Our heart and prayers with Diogo Jota and

Andre -- and Andre's family. Thank you very much, Matias. I appreciate it.

And still to come tonight, CNN Contributor Jill Dougherty witnessed firsthand the rise of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Just ahead, my book

club talk with Jill about her new memoir, My Russia: What I Saw Inside the Kremlin.

[14:40:10]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Joining us on our book club this week is Jill Dougherty with this fantastic book, My Russia. Jill, welcome to our book club.

DOUGHERTY: What a treat to have you here. I often speak to you down the line on camera, but it's great to have -- to see you in person. This was --

four of our -- four of our team members including myself were reading this book. And we had a nice chinwag this morning about what each one of us took

away. And we all felt that, you know, it was incredibly personal. It was intimate. And what a journey you've taken us on, you know, as your -- as --

in your career, in your life, but also incredibly reflective, a story about love, a story about loss, and love really that you've had since a little

girl for Russia.

My first thought when I read this -- and I've known you, I've looked up to you for many, many years here at CNN, is why now? Why did you decide to

write this book now?

DOUGHERTY: Well, I thought I'd better get it done eventually. But truly, I just thought there was a moment that I had been thinking about it for a

long time. But I have to be honest, you know, that I was kind of scared by the process because I thought a book is very different from a one-and-a-

half-minute, as you know, script for TV or a live shot or something like that that.

It really that -- I tried to encompass, since it was about Russia, my entire -- you know -- when I began to fascinated with Russia up until

today. Because I was fascinated when I was actually a little kid, and then --

SOARES: We'll discuss that in a moment. Yes.

DOUGHERTY: And then, I -- for CNN, I was in Moscow during the full-scale invasion in 2022 of Ukraine. And so, that was kind of culmination of a lot

of my thinking. It just clarified my thinking about Russia and the region. So, those were the kind of the book ends. And then I had to figure out how

do you put that all together.

SOARES: And I'm glad you mentioned 2022 because that's where actually you start your book. And for viewers who may not know, Jill Dougherty was our

bureau chief in Russia in Moscow for many, many years. You know, we still see her very often on our -- on our air as a contributor. And you begin the

book with that invasion.

I wonder, Jill, whether you saw it coming, whether you believe that was coming, because part of your book, you talk about Putin's ambitions. Did

you see the writing on the wall before anyone else did?

[14:45:36]

DOUGHERTY: No. Well, I had been following the news. So, the United States government I think in a very interesting moment decided as you know to do

that pre-buttle as they call it, you know, instead of like rebuttal. The United States government said, we know Russia you are going to invade.

Here's the data, the intel, and they publicly made it available. And that was really I think a very important moment journalistically, intel-wise

etcetera.

So, CNN believed them, believed the U.S. government, and I believed CNN and the U.S. government. But the other side of my brain said, this is crazy.

This is insane. Why would you invade another country? This is not just little green men kind of a sneaky way they did it in Crimea in 2014. This

was full-scale invasion and it did seem crazy.

SOARES: How do you see this playing out then? Because I know very often -- and you and I have had this discussion before on our air, and I've seen

others ask you the same question because you are our expert really on Russia. You've lived there and known it for so many years -- is what is

Putin thinking. He's a bit of an enigma to so many, probably so to you too. I wonder whether we think -- you think we have the wrong idea about him.

What misconceptions have we created around Putin?

DOUGHERTY: You know, there are so many of them. And I would never want to jump into his head truly, although I try.

SOARES: Yes, I bet. But I think -- I think, you know, if you take an average person, they say -- what's Putin like? Many times they'll say, you

know, he's very strong, he's a leader, etc. I actually think that he is a relatively tentative person. He evaluates, tries to figure out what the

other person is doing, and then maybe does something and then watches a reaction. It's more that.

Now, that's why Ukraine felt like out of character, but actually I think in -- he had been building toward that for years.

SOARES: You write page 295. this is teaching -- it's called teaching while the tanks rolled -- of course, university professor as well. And you write,

"It was midnight in Moscow. Because of the eight-hour time difference with Washington, Natasha and Sophia, which are two of your interns at the -- at

the CNN Bureau, had stayed up very late, but no one seemed to mind. The conversation was so intense, so honest. Then it was over after I had

thanked them, said goodbye to my class, and shut down my laptop. I sat by myself in an office at the CNN Bureau and broke down in tears."

That moment of saying goodbye, of seeing a country that you have loved for so many years, that must be an incredibly difficult moment for you.

DOUGHERTY: It was very difficult. And you know, it was difficult too because what was happening at that moment, I was teaching on Zoom.

SOARES: Yes.

DOUGHERTY: And so, I had students, my students in Washington, D.C. talking live with young Russians their age whom we had found just friends -- of

kids who were -- of you know, Russian kids, and they were talking live as the invasion is taking place. And so, they were listening, and they just

had a conversation. You know, I said, guys, just talk.

So, they were listening to young Russians making decisions about their lives to flee their country, making decisions that the American young

people probably, I hope, will never have to make. So, it came full circle. I thought this is the age that I was when I started out physically in

Russia, going to Russia for the first time. And so, not being able to go back, I feel a gap in my understanding of the world.

So, I'm hoping -- I mean, I really -- I do end with hope that things will get better and that Russia can do it. You know, can do it in the sense of

have a good life for its people and not this militarized existence that they have right now.

[14:50:05]

SOARES: I think we're going to end on a hopeful note. Really real pleasure, Jill. Thank you very much for coming to our book club.

DOUGHERTY: Thank you.

SOARES: I want to give you a pen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Hoping ending there on a positive note with Jill Dougherty. And next time on the book club, my conversation with Kit de Waal on her latest

book, The Best of Everything. It is a heartwarming novel on the many different ways to be a mother. Inspired by Kit's own family and her

experience of motherhood. It is sublime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIT DE WAAL, AUTHOR, THE BEST OF EVERYTHING: I'm an adoptive mother. I don't know what it is to be a natural mother, but I cannot imagine loving

my children differently or more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: We'll have much more on our book club in the next episode, of course,e coming up next week. And still to come tonight, the sandals that

are at the heart of a scandal. We'll bring you the details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: There's a sandal scandal brewing in the world of fashion. Prada just introduced a new leather sandal at their show in Milan. However, it

looks shockingly familiar to a shoe that's been a staple in Indian culture for centuries. Our Saskya Vandoorne has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR FIELD PRODUCER (voice-over): Sales for a handcrafted leather sandal in India are surging after a similar design

revealed by Italian fashion mogul Prada failed to credit their inspiration. Prada showcase in Milan fashion week featured a leather open-toed sandal

that has sparked controversy among Indian shoe makers and locals for its resemblance to a traditional Indian slipper.

Kolhapuri sandals, named after a city in India's Maharashtra date back to the 12th century. They're typically made by local artisans and craftsmen

who value the sandals as a part of Indian heritage. Some shoemakers in the country were happy about the sandal receiving global attention but upset

they had not been credited.

PRASAD KURADE, SHOPKEEPER (through translator): The artisans here, artisans from Maharashtra and Kolhapur, for thousands of years they have worked on

this craft. So, they deserve the royalty.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): When photos from Prada's Milan show went viral, the Kolhapuri-like Prada sandals gained the attention of the world, including

Maharashtra city officials and locals. After the social media buzz and criticism rose, the luxury fashion house released a statement acknowledging

that the sandals were inspired by traditional Indian footwear and that they have "always celebrated craftsmanship, heritage and design traditions."

A Prada spokesperson also said their sandal is at an early stage of design and may not be commercialized, and that they are open to a dialogue for

meaningful exchange with local Indian artisans.

MEHA, SHOE SHOPPER (through translator): It is our product. If we are buying their products for thousands of dollars, then local craftsmanship

should grow too. Our artisans and products should be valued. It is their handmade hard work.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): Saskya Vandoorne, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:55:43]

SOARES: And finally, happy 4th of July to those watching in America. And today is also our birthday. It marks three years since we launched the

show. So, happy birthday to us.

From all of us, the team, myself, wherever you are, thank you for watching. Do stay right here. "WHAT WE KNOW" with Max Foster is up next. Have a

wonderful weekend. I shall see you on Monday.

END