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Quest Means Business

Israel Military Says It Is Leaving Jenin; Macron: Peak Of Violence Has Passed; Meta To Launch Twitter Rival "Threads"; Five Ukrainian Drones Shot Down Near Moscow. Aired 3-3:45p ET

Aired July 04, 2023 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:28]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And good evening. I'm Paula Newton coming to you from New York.

Tonight, we start with breaking news. Israeli troops say they are now leaving the Jenin refugee camp, and that's after a major, major incursion

into the West Bank city that lasted nearly 48 hours now.

It is just after 10:00 PM there as you see, live pictures. We are looking at Jenin refugee camp right now.

A few hours ago, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation was, in his words, not a one-off. We are still seeking

clarification as to what he means by that.

Meantime, a reminder that at least 10 people have been killed. More than a hundred others now injured, and thousands have fled the Jenin refugee camp

over the last few days.

Mr. Netanyahu was speaking at a border checkpoint near Jenin. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): At this moment, we are completing the mission, and I can say that our extensive

activity in Jenin is not a one-time operation.

We will continue to uproot terrorism, we will not allow again in to a return to be a safe haven for terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: So the prime minister there also commented on the attack in Tel Aviv in which people were rammed by a car and stabbed. What he is referring

to is the fact that he won't be deterred and that his forces continue to fight terrorism.

Now, the militant group, Hamas has claimed responsibility for that attack that in fact wounded eight people. Now, the IDF spokesperson, Daniel Hagari

joins me now.

Daniel, can you hear me?

DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERSON: Yes, I can hear you.

NEWTON: Thank you, sir.

Please bring us right up-to-date, are your forces at this hour moving out of Jenin?

HAGARI: Thank you for having me on CNN, Paula.

We are now in the end of achieving our goals inside Jenin, fighting the terror and dismantling the terror in Jenin camp. This terror have made in

the last year more than 25 Israelis that are killed from the West Bank, the terror from the West Bank and those roads are leading to Jenin camp is a

hub of terror.

And with this dismantling, in the last two days, the hub of terror in Jenin, this hub in the camp was containing industrial laboratories of

explosive and a safe haven for the gunmen all over the West Bank. The gunmen, they concur that the terrorists that were doing terror were running

and flooding into Jenin camp, and we were dismantling in those last two days, we are achieving our goals and when we achieve our goals, the forces

will get out from the camp.

NEWTON: Mr. Hagari, in terms of the timeline, why did it even take the two days? You went in with significant force. We're talking armored bulldozers,

you were striking from the air in a very crowded urban area.

Why do you think it's taking this long for you to accomplish and what did you accomplish in the end?

HAGARI: We were working very safely and accurately and those safety and accuracy rules, it takes time. In this operation, 11 terrorist have died so

far, and no non-combatants has died. No non-combatants have died in this operation.

NEWTON: I'm going to stop you there because we do --

HAGARI: We do this kind --

NEWTON: Now, I want to stop you there. So we do understand that in fact, that no non-combatants have died, but certainly some have been injured and

a significant number. In fact, thousands have had to leave their homes, their homes likely destroyed. They've been huddling in mosques. They've

been huddling in a hospital.

At times, Palestinian authorities tell us that medical personnel has not been able to reach them. So in terms of non-combatants, I know what you're

saying. But do you deny that there has been significant damage done to the civilian population there in Jenin?

HAGARI: I want us to make sure that some of the facts that you're giving are incorrect. I just came out of the camp. I was there for a couple of

hours myself, and what I saw, ambulance driving freely in the camp and we are assisting those ambulance to evacuate the wounded.

At the same time, the population were not ordered, whether -- they were not order to stay or to get out. They were doing it freely of their own free

will and I can understand them because it's not safe.

[15:05:01]

This camp had become a terrorist safe haven and they don't feel safe in this area while we are fighting terror and the terrorists have embedded in

the camp. They put explosive under the roads, in the road that we knew by intelligence that there are explosives, weren't only the areas that were

booby trapped before.

In their camp, there are more than 13 kilometers of roads, we have ruined only two kilometers, only the ones that we had intelligence that were ready

against us in freedom of action, but also even innocent civilians could have been driving those roads.

NEWTON: You understand as well as I do that, actually two kilometers in a densely populated area like Jenin is actually a vast area. And I do

understand what you're saying that at times, ambulances were able to get through, but we just heard from Medecins Sans Frontieres working in a

hospital in Jenin, they were very graphic about describing the fact that it was hit with teargas, that they had to evacuate at times, that they had to

abandon operations.

The UN is adding to a chorus of voices saying that they are alarmed by the IDF operation in Jenin in densely populated civilian area.

Why was this -- was this kind of force necessary given everything that we've just heard from the civilian population there?

HAGARI: I think in the measure of the force, it's very, very accurate and minimized. The hospitals that you're talking to are, two hospitals, they

are next to the camp and I have to let you know, but by intelligence, we know that some of the gunmen in the beginning fled with ambulances to the

hospitals.

And in the last couple of hours, we've been fired from one of the hospitals on our forces. I have seen a movie of firing gun on hospital, we're

checking it out. But we are not entering into hospitals. We did not fire -- severe fire on hospitals. It's not in the rules. We did not do that.

And there are riots in front of the hospitals and some of the riots because it's next to our forces, we used teargas on the riot next to the hospitals.

NEWTON: And you know, as well as I do, having experienced teargas before that that's as good as hitting right into the hospital, especially in those

crowded spaces.

Mr. Hagari, what you're trying to insinuate is that you've used restraint. I think, most people would doubt that it's contradictory. You're saying you

needed overwhelming force in order to clear out a hornet's nest of terror, and yet quite clearly, you could not and you would not use restraint in a

civilian population.

HAGARI: I think the numbers talk by themselves, only 11 combatants, the one that we know and even the Palestinian Authority knows that they were

handling with targets of terror were killed, and none non-combatants were killed, because we're flying UAVs looking for gunmen.

We are using special forces from special units, if it knows the rules of engagement, and unfortunately, there are wounded people because we are

embedded with the terrorists. But we will try to minimize the collateral damage. We will try to minimize the hurt of civilians and I believe that in

the next couple of hours, when we will finish the goals, we will get out of the camp.

But then we will come back to the camp only when we have intelligence. But now we have freedom of action. There are no explosive under the roads. The

terrorists don't feel it's a safe haven and the terror will slow down.

It's our duty as the IDF to fight against terror. There are terror acts in Israel almost every day, including today.

NEWTON: Mr. Hagari, I see that you know the IDF reserves the right to go back in again with overwhelming force. What did your prime minister mean

when he says that Jenin is not a one-off?

HAGARI: Jenin, again, sorry.

NEWTON: That your prime minister said that Jenin --

HAGARI: You can repeat the question.

NEWTON: Yes, your prime minister said that Jenin is not a one-off. It is not a one-time thing. What did he mean by that?

HAGARI: I think he meant, well, I didn't hear him, but I can tell you, we will act when we have intelligence prior to terror acts or after a terror

act, we will chase the one that did the terror act. This is our rule.

We do not need to do large operation like this. The camp required it because it became a safe haven, because of the explosives, because of the

laboratories that were already industrial. We didn't have any other alternative but to act that way we acted.

In other places, we have intelligence, we come with small forces only for a couple of hours. We take the terrorists out of the village or the city and

we don't control the city like we did with the camp and we are trying to minimize the time that we're staying there.

[15:10:10]

The time that it took, it is in order to be precise and minimize the casualties of the non-combatants. This is why it took two days and I

believe that in a couple of hours from now, we'll take out our forces and we will come back there only when we have intelligence.

But those terrorists that fled the camp and are not fighting against soldiers, they choose not to fight against our forces, they hide or ran out

with ambulances. Those terrorists, if they come back to the camp, if they will plant terror against Israel, we will come and arrest them or fight

them in the camp.

NEWTON: Mr. Hagari, I will say that the IDF is capable of surgical strikes. This was not a surgical strike. This was overwhelming force as was

described by the IDF forces.

We're going to leave it there though for now, Mr. Hagari?

HAGARI: Why do you say it is overwhelming strike? We have been doing pinpoint --

NEWTON: Armored bulldozers, strikes from the air in a densely populated area with dozens of women, children and families injured, and thousands of

others seeking shelter wherever they could in hospitals and mosques that were then subsequently attacked.

HAGARI: In terms of war, in terms of not hurting non-combatants, what we did here was very precise, very minimized. In the end of the day, the

numbers talk.

We were trying to minimize it, it became a huge safe haven, a huge place of explosive. A country cannot stand aside when terror acts are concurring

inside Israel.

NEWTON: Understood, Mr. Hagari, we will leave it there for now and we really do appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

HAGARI: Thank you very much, Paula.

NEWTON: Hadas Gold is now on the scene for us. And Hadas, are you there?

Yes. You're in Jerusalem, I believe.

Hadas, you just listened to what I heard there from the IDF. Clearly, they say that this operation will end in the next couple of hours. I'm

interested to hear from you on what, you know, we believe they accomplished or what they believe they accomplished at this point, with this -- you

know, will be nearly 48 hours once they actually pull out completely.

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this was a major operation that the IDF had been planning for some time. This wasn't something that they just

decided to launch kind of at the last minute, they had actually told us that this had been in the works for several weeks, and that they had timed

this also specifically to happen after the recent Muslim holiday.

So they waited for that holiday to finish, and then they launched it overnight using these drone strikes. But this is the largest Israeli

military strike, military operation in the occupied West Bank since 2002, since the days of the Second Intifada, when we literally saw tanks rolling

down the streets of some of these cities in the West Bank.

And we almost saw, you know very similar images to that with those bulldozers going down the streets. Now, Israeli military saying those

things like the bulldozers that are tearing up the streets are because IEDs are beneath the asphalt and we have seen several IEDs going off, targeting

Israeli military vehicles. We've seen IEDs targeting Israeli military vehicles in previous weeks and injuring Israeli soldiers.

But of course, when you bulldoze a street like that, then it causes a lot of damage to the civilian population's infrastructure. Roads are not

passable. We also know that the electricity and water was severely damaged in the refugee camp.

We heard from the Israeli -- from the IDF chief spokesperson that they believe that the 11, I do believe actually the death toll may now be up to

12, just in the last few minutes, but they believe that those 11 that they that that are dead, none of them were non-combatants.

But of course there are civilians that get injured in this crossfire. You know, I was actually in Jenin just on Sunday, the day before, just hours

before this operation started talking to residents. They are talking to civilians there. They have become, you know, sadly sort of used to these

sorts of military operations, these clashes between militants and the Israeli military.

And they say, you know, even if they are hiding in their houses, they're not going out in the streets, they are not trying to get involved, you

know, inevitably there is crossfire, and they are -- there are bullets to their homes and we have spoken to people who were injured while they're

sitting in their home.

So obviously, there is of course, a risk to the civilian population there. And yes, we are now seeing what seems to be the closing hours of this

operation, but I've been being warned by other IDF officials that it's not over until it's over. Things are still happening.

We're still seeing Israeli military vehicles within Jenin itself. They do say that this is winding down, but then of course the question is, okay,

they say that they dismantled many weapons manufacturing sites. They say that they detained dozens of suspects. They say that they confiscated

plenty of weapons.

But what will that accomplish for them then in the future? It might just slow down the militant activity out of Jenin. You know, we did see an

attack just this afternoon in Tel Aviv, a ramming attack claimed by Hamas, will that's stop those sorts of attacks?

And of course now, there's a lot of anger in Jenin. There's a lot of anger in Jenin. There's a lot of anger across the occupied West Bank. How will

that translate potentially into further violence in the next weeks and months ahead.

[15:15:11]

NEWTON: Absolutely, sadly, so many of us have been witness to this kind of cycle of violence for decades now. Hadas Gold for us, really appreciate

your input. Thanks so much.

And we will be right back with more news in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: So the peak of the violence in France has passed, so says President Emmanuel Macron after a week of rioting triggered by a deadly police

shooting. Now, the cleanup is underway.

The French Business Association, MEDEF says protesters looted 200 stores and destroyed hundreds of bank branches and small shops. Now MEDEF is

putting the bill for that damage at more than $1.1 billion, and it comes just weeks after a wave of hugely disruptive strikes and marches in protest

of pension reforms there in France.

Now CNN's Issa Soares spoke to Bruno Le Maire earlier. The French Finance minister says the protests will not hamper the country's economy. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNO LE MAIRE, FRENCH FINANCE MINISTER: This has no impact on the life of the 65 million French citizens, and this will not have a deep impact on the

French growth and the French economy.

Of course, this will have an impact on the 1,000 shops that have been robbed, and we are of course supporting those shops and supporting the

entrepreneurs, which has been stolen during the riots. But nevertheless, I want to be very direct, the French economy is solid. Growth is solid, and

the daily life of all French citizen is not threatened by what happened.

And we are coming back to a more quiet situation after four or five days of the riots in some parts of the country.

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and having said that, what we have seen or we heard from the French business federation, who has told

CNN that the rioting will cost France more than $1 billion in damages. And then of course, you also have the cancellations from tourism.

And I'm intrigued who's going to foot the bill at a time of course, when France is facing one of the largest deficits in the world, sir.

LE MAIRE: I cannot confirm the figure of 1 billion euro, and once again, we should take the measure of what really happened.

[15:20:08]

A young boy of 17 years has been killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: French Finance minister there.

Now, the riots have brought of course that issue of inequality in France right back to the fore.

Benjamin Haddad is spokesperson for President Macron's party, Renaissance, and a member of Parliament and he joins me now from Paris.

Really good to get your input here. You know, I was really struck by the fact that the average age of those arrested over the past week in the

violence was 17. That's according to your Interior minister. And yet you sort of seem to suggest that the shooting of that 17-year-old child -- he

was a child -- during a routine traffic stop was not racist. You don't feel that it points to something larger, some other problem with the French

society?

BENJAMIN HADDAD, SPOKESPERSON, RENAISSANCE: No, look, I mean, our justice system in reacting to the killing of the 17-year-old was swift and was

tough. The police officer who killed Nahel, the 17-year-old was arrested, been charged with murder, has been prosecuted and President Macron is very

clear that there is no explanation for this.

But we also need to be very frank, nothing can justify or excuse the violence that we've seen in some of the streets of our country and the

victim here -- the victims here --

NEWTON: And I understand -- and I understand, sir. And the government ministers, you included, have been very clear about denouncing what

happened to that young boy in that car. At the same time, though, I'm going to go right back to your words. You wrote in late 2020 that discrimination

in the job and housing markets, as well as hate speech against Muslims, is a serious problem that French society must address -- your words. That was

three years ago, and yet we are a generation on with this problem.

What is the solution? What is the solution being put on the table?

HADDAD: Well, first, France is not a racist country and our police is facing very stressful and dangerous situations every day, and making a

blanket statement on either them or the country is not helpful.

And we've reinvested massively in these neighborhoods in terms of jobs, where youth unemployment is the lowest in decades, in terms of education

and housing. And of course, we could do better. And of course, we could reinvest.

But let's also have no taboo about some of the responsibilities here. And I think President Macron was right to also raise the responsibility of

parents, to also raise the responsibly of some social media in encouraging some of the violence that we've seen.

Once again, you know, our societies have challenges. I've lived for a long time in the United States. I am a friend of America. But when I look at

discrimination, police violence, upward mobility and opportunities in both our countries, I don't think we have lessons to receive from, you know,

some commentary I've seen in the United States.

I think we should all, you know, tend to our own gardens and in try to get better.

NEWTON: The problem here, Mr. Haddad is not American commentary or otherwise, it is problems with the French themselves saying that there is a

problem. I am old enough to have read and seen the problems in France for myself for decades now.

There is the issue of inequality, something I think, you know, about much better than I do. So I ask you again, going forward, I'm sure you do not

want to see the divisiveness in French society that we have seen over the last few months and years. What is on the table? What can be done?

Because that is a huge issue of inequality that you're having 15-year-olds, now arrested for whatever reason, but it is still their future, their

France.

HADDAD: They are not being arrested for whatever reasons, they're being arrested because they've been targeting local officials, because they've

been burning schools, small businesses, because they've been destroying public transportation.

You know, once again, I refuse to reduce the situation of either France or these specific neighborhoods that we're talking about to these young

rioters. There's hundreds of thousands of people who are making a living, who want to live a peaceful life, and who are the first victims of what

we've seen, the violence that we've seen in the streets of Paris, and elsewhere in the last few days, and they're the ones that we need to

protect.

NEWTON: So no solutions on the table from you?

HADDAD: But once again, as I said, you know, if you look at what we've been doing in last few years, we've invested -- I'm sure we have challenges in

terms of housing, in terms of education, in terms of reinvesting also security in these neighborhoods, but you know, our country is also

changing.

You know, My father immigrated from Tunisia. He went to free public school, he was given opportunities and he was grateful for what this country has

done for him. A lot of us have been welcome, have made a living.

I agree that the US, France, and all the big democracies that have gone through events like these -- Germany, Belgium with the UK or Canada in

recent weeks and months can do better and need to address this, but I don't want to reduce the situation of the country, to the violence that we've

seen.

[15:25:09]

I think we can all do better, but let's protect the people who have been targeting, who have been the victims of this violence.

And once again, I want to address something else. The justice system was swift in responding that any kind of police violence is unacceptable. The

president has made it very clear, the Interior minister, and this is why the police officer was very swiftly arrested and being prosecuted.

NEWTON: Understood. Mr. Haddad, we appreciate your candor. We really do. Thanks for being with us. Thanks so much.

HADDAD: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now, switching gears here, Mark Zuckerberg is coming for Twitter's share of the social media market. His company, Meta is launching an app to

compete with it. It's called Threads, if you haven't heard yet.

The launch comes amid yet more controversial changes at Twitter. Elon Musk is limiting the amount of tweets users can see in one day. The amount

varies. I am not exactly sure why depending on whether you've paid to be verified.

Musk also says that people won't be able to see any tweets unless you log on.

CNN's Anna Stewart, I can assure you has been following all of this, and is going to explain it to me now because I want to know Anna, you know, will

this new Meta version of Twitter -- do you think Zuckerberg has got a chance here of getting into this market?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, there are two huge benefits here and let us not forget that there are so many rivals to Twitter. We've had Truth

Social, there's Bluesky -- there were a few out there.

But the benefit for Instagram launching this new app, Threads, is that it already has a huge user base, over two billion monthly active users on

Instagram, so it can tap into that.

Plus, it's not great timing for Twitter, is it? So that also plays into Meta's favor here. Really, this transformation that is ongoing under Elon

Musk, some would say isn't going that well. Not all users are happy having their blue checks removed.

You mentioned some of the issues over how many tweets you can see. There were outages over the weekend. There was the reinstatement of people that

were banned from the platform for hate speech and misinformation.

So both in terms of the timing and the fact that this is a social media giant that has a huge user base, it is looking pretty good for Meta right

now.

NEWTON: So I'm going to leave it there for now. We are going to reconvene though,. We're going to get your -- this is going to roll on. It's going to

be the story of the week.

STEWART: I will catch you on Threads on Thursday -- Paula.

NEWTON: There you go. You and I will rendezvous out there.

Anna Stewart, thanks for teeing that up for us.

Now, a reminder, Threads is expected to hit app stores, Thursday, as we were just talking about with Anna. Other challengers like Mastodon tried

and failed to unseat Twitter. But turmoil under Elon Musk may have, as Anna was saying, created a perfect opening for Meta to step in.

Bluesky and other competitors has experienced record high traffic, in its words, after Twitter capped the number of posts users can read per day.

Now, Meta's Threads can be synced to Instagram. That's going to be another big issue here, giving it access to, get this more than a billion active

users.

Vivian Schiller is the former Global chair of News at Twitter and no better person to speak to. Please game this out for us, because, you know, what

I'm wondering is if you think that the key to this becoming viable as an alternative to Twitter is its most popular users, right?

Do you have Kim Kardashian move to Threads? Do you have Barack Obama? Rockstars? World leaders? Is that the beginning of the end for Twitter?

VIVIAN SCHILLER, FORMER GLOBAL CHAIR OF NEWS AT TWITTER: Well, you can be sure the executives at Meta are working all their celebrity contacts,

particularly those that use Instagram very heavily, which, as you mentioned, is a very, very popular app.

Look, you know, Twitter really captured lightning in a bottle over the last 10 years or more. That is until Elon Musk took over and really destroyed a

lot of what people loved about Twitter and continues to, to this day, as you talked -- as your reporter talked about this past weekend, limiting how

many tweets people can see, which is a very peculiar tactic for sort of like would be saying, you know, CNN saying we're going to limit how many

shows you can watch. It doesn't really make sense according to the business model.

That said, Meta probably has a greater chance than any of the contenders, including, as you mentioned, Bluesky, Mastodon. There's a couple of others,

like Post.News. None of them have really been able to grab the mantle, but it's possible this could work. We'll see.

NEWTON: We will definitely see and it is intriguing, you know, The Verge reported that, you know, executives at Meta were being told, you know that

they themselves were hearing from creators, public figures that they were interested in having a platform that was "sanely run."

[15:30:00]

I mean, this went back and forth on Twitter with Elon Musk and Meta. But Meta, Facebook, it's been epic. It's well chronicled how damaging their

legacies have been for social media.

Could Meta win over new users by promising and actually delivering on moderation, on better standards?

SCHILLER: Yes I mean, it's kind of hard to root for either of them, to be honest. But I think Meta stands a chance. First of all, it is -- Meta has

plenty of problems; that's a conversation for another day.

But it is sanely run and very effective. And the user base of Instagram is tremendous. And given how volatile Twitter is right now, it wouldn't be

that hard. It wouldn't take much to be a great improvement, to provide that kind of experience.

That said, Instagram is an incredibly different vibe than Twitter. Instagram is a place where we post pictures of our kids and our vacations

and the latest meals that we've cooked, which is different. It is sort of - - kind of a cozy place, where people share maybe overly idealized images.

Twitter is a place where people talk about tough issues. Heads of state use Twitter to make announcements, business titans, people argue about stuff.

It was sort of one of the great joys of Twitter pre Musk. And certainly, there were plenty of problems.

But it's just a very different experience than Instagram. So I'm not quite sure how it will translate.

NEWTON: Vivian, I've only got about 30 seconds left.

But is it potentially this could be the end of Twitter?

I mean it wasn't making a ton of money anyway or any money.

Could this really be the death knell for it?

SCHILLER: Well, we'll see. I mean if they reverse, it's not dead yet, despite all of the missteps. So if they reverse the rate limiting, then it

could live to see another. Day

NEWTON: Yes, this is really going to be intriguing as we continue to march. No better person to speak to about it than you, Vivian, thanks so much, we

really appreciate you weighing in as we continue to watch on the sidelines or maybe not. Maybe we will all download that app on Thursday. I appreciate

it.

Just ahead for, us Russia carries out more strikes in Ukraine as it claims to fend off an attempted Ukrainian drone attack near Moscow.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:35:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

NEWTON: And a reminder here of the breaking news we are following this hour. The Israeli military says it has begun pulling out of the Jenin

refugee camp.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON (voice-over): These are live pictures right now from Jenin where is just after 10:30 in the evening. Now moments, ago a spokesperson for the

Israeli Defense Forces, the IDF, told me the operation may continue for a few more hours yet.

About 1,000 Israeli troops went in very early Monday morning for what they called counterterrorism activities. The operation has been the largest. We

have to note in more than two decades. And now, Palestinian officials say at least 12 people have been killed, more than 100 others injured. And

thousands have fled the Jenin refugee camp.

Now in the meantime, Russia is accusing Ukraine of launching a terrorist attack near Moscow, saying Kyiv targeted civilian infrastructure with five

drones earlier Tuesday. The government says all of them were either destroyed or neutralized and there were no casualties.

This, as dozens of people, including children, were injured in an attack in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. Kyiv says high-rise buildings there were damaged

when Russia fired a high explosive projectile. Ben Wedeman has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A tiny plume of smoke, rises above Moscow, as blood seeps into Ukrainian soil near an

apartment block.

Two people were killed by Russian shelling in the southern city of Kherson Tuesday. Dozens of civilians also injured in an attack in the Kharkiv

region, with medics wrapping bandages around the heads of those wounded.

"I was lying on the sofa," says this woman. "There was an explosion, the balcony was blown off, everything was blown apart."

The relentless targeting of Ukrainian civilian structures by Russia comes as the Kremlin says it intercepted five drones near civilian buildings in

Moscow.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DMITRY PESKOV, PUTIN SPOKESPERSON (through translator): All these drones were either destroyed or neutralized using the appropriate systems.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): The defense ministry says there were no casualties or damage but the foreign ministry spokeswoman called the attack an act of

international terrorism.

An adviser to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, quick to point out the irony, writing, "A terrorist attack is when you have been deliberately firing

cruise and ballistic missiles at residential areas and crowded pizzerias for 16 months. Terrorism is the main attribute of Russia today."

President Putin, attempting to project a different image, one of strength and stability, while addressing his allies for the first time since facing

an armed insurrection by the Wagner Group.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): The Russian people are consolidated as never before. I would like to thank my

colleagues from the SCO countries, who expressed their support for the actions of the Russian leadership, to protect the constitutional order, the

life and security of Russian citizens. We highly appreciate it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Putin's gratitude, a sign of his questionable grip on power. His fate being tested, as Ukraine makes slow progress on the front

lines.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, acknowledging difficulties on the battlefield but claiming his military is retaking territory, championing the fight ahead by

drawing inspiration from Ukraine's strongest backer, the United States, on their Independence Day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Only the brave gain independence and only the best of the brave are able to pass the freedom from generation

to generation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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NEWTON: And Ben Wedeman joins me now live from Eastern Ukraine.

And Ben, given what you just outlined there in that package and the fact that this conflict is reaching ever so slowly back into Russia's doorstep,

what do you expect the response to be in the coming days and weeks?

WEDEMAN: To this drone attack, it's hard to say. And first of, all the Ukrainians say they have not claimed responsibility for it. But I think,

more than anything, it has an impact on perhaps Vladimir Putin's sense of security, sense of safety.

Keep in mind, on the 24th of June, that was when Yevgeny Prigozhin led his Wagner mercenaries in a mutiny. And now, we have these drones flying over

Moscow, once more, showing that the Russian air defenses --

[15:40:00]

WEDEMAN: -- they may have brought them down but how did they get there in the first place?

And also, keep in mind that last May, there was a similar incident, where a drone had allegedly blew up over -- not a very large drone -- blew up over

the Kremlin. The Russians claimed it was an assassination attempt on Vladimir Putin.

So all of this taken together certainly will increase his sense that perhaps the walls are closing in. And as far as Russian response to this,

what we've been seeing on the regular basis, as we saw, today, as we saw the day before, every day, the Russians are targeting civilian residences

and other infrastructure.

So that seems to be -- that will probably go on. Perhaps there will be one instance larger than the others. But it's a pattern that carries on day

after day, Paula.

NEWTON: Yes, and then we'll have an interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyy tomorrow. And in that, he says explicitly, his worst fear is the fact that

this becomes a frozen conflict. Ben Wedeman for us in Eastern Ukraine, appreciate it.

Now day two of Wimbledon, unfortunately was a wet affair. Fair rain delayed most matches today and destructed Monday's matches as well. Roger Federer

still took though the Centre Court. And he took it by storm, despite retiring last September.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion received a long standing ovation (INAUDIBLE) ahead of today's play of the key matches that actually played

under a roof. (INAUDIBLE) was among those applauding him. You can see there.

Now it's Roger Federer's second year of missing Wimbledon. He won his first ever Grand Slam there 20 years ago. And he met with our Christina

Macfarlane to reflect on life outside of the court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER FEDERER, 20-TIME TENNIS GRAND SLAM CHAMPION: Last year was hard, because I was still trying to play but struggling with money so bad. And

last year was the (INAUDIBLE) anniversary of Centre Court and I came back and I got an incredible ovation.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Did you know at that point that that was probably going to be the moment?

(CROSSTALK)

FEDERER: I mean, I knew it could be because of the issues I was facing with the knee. But I remember saying on court, that I hope to see you next year

and I truly meant that. And I didn't talk to anybody about it really, until eventually I decided where am I going to retire, how, how painful is it

going to be or how much of a celebration will it be?

And it ended up being everything and more for me. I thought it was beautiful and being surrounded by Rafa and Novak, Murray, Borg, McEnroe,

Laver -- you name it -- Edberg. They were all they, my team, my family. So it was a very, very nice ending, because I was really truly dreading that

moment on how to go out of the game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Gosh, we miss him on the courts don't we. All right, that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Paula Newton in New York. Up next, "CONNECTING AFRICA."

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("CONNECTING AFRICA")

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