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CNN TONIGHT: Zelenskyy: Situation In Borodianka Much "Worse" Than Bucha; Top U.S. General Warns Ukraine War Will Be "Long Slog"; U.N. Suspends Russia From Human Rights Council. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired April 07, 2022 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: The news continues. Want to hand things, over to Jake Tapper, who is in Lviv, Ukraine, tonight.
Jake?
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Anderson, thank you so much.
I'm Jake Tapper. And this is CNN TONIGHT, live from Lviv, in Western Ukraine, with breaking developments, this evening.
On the shifting battlefield, in the east of this country, the fight, for Donbas, is well underway. This is a region that has been partly occupied, by Russians, for years. That's very much at the heart of the justification, for this Putin invasion.
Fighting, we are told, is intensifying, in the southeast territory, as many civilians struggle to escape.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister is predicting that the scale, the scale, of this face-off in Donbas will look like World War II, warning that the heaviest battles, are yet to come, pleading with NATO, to send more weapons, ASAP.
And we are learning, for the very first time, from a top U.S. official that America is actively providing Intelligence, to Ukraine's military, for operations, against Russians, in Donbas. More to come, on that major acknowledgement.
The world is also taking further action, to isolate Russia. The U.N. General Assembly, voting today, to suspend Putin's regime, from the Human Rights Council.
As President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, points out, tonight, Russia has clearly been violating the rights of humans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): After Bucha, this is already obvious. And the work on dismantling the debris, in Borodianka, began. It's much worse there. (END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: 26 bodies were found, under the rubble, of two houses, in the Kyiv suburb, of Borodianka, today, after Russian airstrikes. Again, those are only two houses, according to Ukraine's Prosecutor General. Imagine how many more!
More proof of the inhumanity, all hospitals, in the Donbas territory, of Luhansk, have now been destroyed, according to one regional leader. Hospitals, destroyed, all of them. Russians keep targeting them, in the east, forcing many injured civilians, to go west, for care.
I met with some of the wounded, today, wounded civilians, when I toured a medical facility, in the western part of Ukraine. I hope you'll stay with us to hear their emotional stories.
And that's just a fraction, of what's happening tonight, all across the country. Nima Elbagir, is with me here, in Lviv, with more, on the actions, of the United Nations, today.
But let's start with Matthew Chance, who is live, in London, with news of German intercepts, of communications, of Russian soldiers, ones that could bolster evidence, of possible war crimes.
Matt?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. These are potentially very significant, because it's something that's been picked up, by German Intelligence. They've been briefing a parliamentary committee, inside Germany, about what exactly they've picked up.
But what it seems to be, from reports, and from the sources that we've spoken to, about the content, of the intercepts, is that they are radio communications, linking Russian forces, with specific killings that took place, in Bucha, over the past (ph) that place north of Kyiv, of course, where there's been so many atrocities, taking place, that took place, at the hands of Russian forces.
Now, there's no end of evidence, of course, video evidence, of the atrocities that took place there, the mass graves. The video, we've all seen, of the twisted corpses that have been filmed, by soldiers, and by passersby, and by people, in that community.
But video of bodies, and pictures of bodies, does not equate to evidence of war crimes. And that's why potentially, these German intercepts so important, because that linkage, between Russian forces, and actual killings, of people, who can be identified, appears to have been, from the reports we're seeing, have been made.
And that may be important, in the future, when it comes to any possible prosecutions, for war crimes that may or may not that - well that may take place. So, the question of whether it will take place, and whether Russia would comply with anything like that, is another discussion, altogether. But yes, potentially significant evidence, for any future war crimes prosecutions. TAPPER: Matthew, in spite of the evidence, Putin's spokesman today, continued to claim, in an interview, with Sky News that the images in Bucha, ones that our journalists saw, with their own eyes, were fakes.
He also made another notable remark. Let me play that.
[21:05:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK AUSTIN, SKY NEWS HOST: Let's go through it. You've lost thousands of troops.
DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESPERSON: Yes. We have--
AUSTIN: How many troops have you lost?
PESKOV: --we have - we have significant losses of troops. And it's a huge tragedy for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: I have to say, I was surprised, to hear him acknowledge, the huge loss, of Russian troops. What do you think is behind that?
CHANCE: Yes. I mean, look, he did then appear to acknowledge there have been thousands of troop losses, which is a significant departure, from the last official figure that we had.
I think, it was on March 25, the Russian Defense Ministry said there were 1,351 Russian soldiers that had been lost, which is in itself, a significant number, of course.
And there wasn't any sort of new figure, given there, by Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin's spokesperson. But clearly, the groundwork is being laid, and acknowledgement is being made that there are more losses, than they've previously stated.
Just to give you an indication, about how many more, there could be? Today, there were new figures, released, by the Ukrainian side. Now, of course, the Ukrainians, have an interest, in beefing up those numbers, perhaps.
But what the Ukrainians are saying, is that they've counted 18,900 Russian troops that have been killed, since this conflict began, on February, the 24th. 698 tanks, they say, have been destroyed, and 150 aircraft. So, that gives you an indication.
We've seen these horrific images of tank columns that have been destroyed, in various locations, in the country, and of aircraft being shot down, repeatedly, with the Stinger missiles that have been supplied, to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, by the United States, and others.
And so, it does show you that whatever the Kremlin admit to, the losses do seem to be very, very significant, indeed. We'll see, if there are 18,900 dead, how many have been injured? How many have been captured? Talking about potentially tens of thousands here. So, no wonder the Russians are struggling, to sort of fill their ranks, with fresh troops, to pursue, and to push forward, this offensive, Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Matthew Chance, thank you so much. Really, really appreciate your insights, this evening.
I want to bring in a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, right now, Andrii Osadchuk.
Andrii, thank you so much, for joining us, again, this evening. We appreciate it.
What's your take on what we just heard, from Matthew Chance's source, saying that Russian troops, discussed killing Ukrainian civilians, in communications that the Germans intercepted?
ANDRII OSADCHUK, UKRAINIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: Good evening, everyone.
So, first of all, I want everyone to understand one simple thing. Before the invasion started, we said, to the world, we said, to our partners, we said, to the United States, in particular, that Russians will come to kill.
We knew that, because we had very long experience, in dealing with them. So, it's not the first, not the second, attempt, of Russian Federation, Russian empire, to wipe off Ukrainians, and even the name, of Ukraine, from the map. So, it's very all the paranoid ideas of Kremlin leaders, to destroy Ukraine. So, that's why it was very, very expected.
Take into account the - all information which we already had, for us, it was very important that German Intelligence received this same data, which Ukrainian Intelligence had, for the last couple of weeks, meaning that German state confirmed that killing of civilians, was absolutely intended, coordinated, and planned.
I will tell you, when more (ph), two days ago, I've got the confirmation, from Ukrainian Intelligence that Russians, they had a list of people. And they were searching specific people, in Bucha, to kill them. So, meaning that it was all very well-organized process, of killing civilians, in Bucha.
TAPPER: Yes.
OSADCHUK: And taking into consideration all these facts, we're again, focused, not only just to finish this war, but to bring into responsibility, of everyone responsible, for war crimes, in Ukraine. So, we will not rest, until the justice is done.
TAPPER: We learned, today, from Ukraine's Prosecutor General that 26 bodies were found, under the rubble, of just two houses, just two, 26 bodies, two houses, in Borodianka.
Can you tell us any more, about what's happening on the ground? [21:10:00]
OSADCHUK: All world knows the name of the small city, Bucha, which was the center of this massacre. But Borodianka, destroyed even more, it is almost fully destroyed. And every day, every hour, our law enforcement agencies, they discover more and more evidences of war crime.
We really had a big problem, with proper recording, of all this massive amounts of killings of civilians. For the moment, based on the reports, from General Prosecutor, we collected more than 400 bodies, in these two cities. And we try to make proper recording, on every case, because we want each case, to be brought to the International Criminal Court.
TAPPER: I want to talk to you, about a video that's spreading, on social media. It's too graphic, for us, to show. So, I'll describe it.
It shows a group of soldiers, who have Ukrainian patches, on their uniforms, surrounding four bodies, wearing what looked like Russian troop uniforms. The men, on the ground, in the Russian uniforms, are bloody, appearing to have had head wounds.
One of the men says, in Russian, quote, "He's still alive." And then one of the man, in the Ukrainian uniform, shoots at the body, three times, the body stops moving, the camera then turns to what appears to be a Russian tank.
This, we can show. It's on the screen now.
(VIDEO - GRAPHIC IS SHOWN OF A RUSSIAN TANK)
TAPPER: You hear someone say, in Ukrainian, "A little trophy." And then you hear someone else say, "Glory to Ukraine!"
Now, CNN has geolocated this video, and it does match, a location, published, on Twitter, by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense.
Have you seen this video? What do you know about it?
OSADCHUK: I have not seen this video. But I have very simple answer, on this question.
Take into account all nightmare, which we see, in Ukraine, with mass killing of civilians, with mass rapes, and killing of kids and babies, we prefer not to change the focus, of global attention, to the war crimes.
From another hand, Ukraine was always investigating, any misconduct, if ever happened, on our territory.
But today, we see that Russians are using, all possible measures, to switch the focus of attention, to create different legends, to create different lies, as they usually do.
And again, they force us, me, and you, and anybody else, to speak about other things, but not about the fact, of killing Ukrainian kids, babies, women, and men, on the ground. So, that's why, I would prefer to be extremely focused, and to punish the evil, which is happening now, in Ukraine, first.
TAPPER: Andrii Osadchuk, thank you so much, for your time. Really appreciate it, this evening.
Coming up, how the U.S. is helping Ukraine, prepare, for operations, in the Donbas region. Could that fight resemble World War II, as Ukraine predicts? Insight from a former U.S. Commander, who helped run the war in Afghanistan. That's next.
[21:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: We're back live, from Lviv.
Our Ed Lavandera, is live, for us, now, from the key southern port city of Odessa.
Ed, I understand you, and your crew, had to take cover, from incoming fire, earlier today. Tell us what happened.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jake.
Well, a couple hours ago, we heard two loud explosions. And then, shortly after, a barrage of air defense system, what we believe, to be air defense system, firing into the sky.
And those - the explosions sounded rather close. So, as we have done, in those moments, we've kind of seek shelter, in the ground level, in a protected area, to kind of wait these situations out. Air-raid sirens were going off as well.
There hasn't been a whole lot of information released, about the details, of this latest round of explosions, and attack, here, in the Odessa region. Only one brief statement, from military officials, in this region, saying that it was an infrastructure facility that was hit. But really, much beyond that, we have not received yet.
TAPPER: As the fighting heads east, what are the people still living in the Donbas region being told to do?
LAVANDERA: Many people are being urged that if they want to get out, this is the time to do it. In recent days, the fighting has started to escalate. There has been - have been attacks, on the very systems, used by civilians, to be able to escape the region.
In fact, we understand that a rail line was attacked, today, and that some 500 evacuees, are trapped, in a railway station. We've heard - understand that that has been happening, multiple times, in Eastern Ukraine.
And, of course, this is the lifeline. To be able to escape, from these regions, is getting on a train, because driving on the roads, has become incredibly dangerous. So, they're being urged that if they want to get out, this is the time to do it. The days and weeks ahead could be very long, for the residents, of Eastern Ukraine.
TAPPER: So many of the towns that the Russians have taken, have been just leveled, just destroyed. But there are some cities in the south that have been able to turn the Kremlin forces back. Tell us about the spirits of the Ukrainian people, in the towns that have been able to fight back.
[21:20:00]
LAVANDERA: Yes. So, there's an interesting town that we'd been wanting to reach. It is in a few hours north of where we are, in Odessa. This is in South Central Ukraine. And in the early weeks of the war, the Russian forces made a very quick push, into this country.
But we found this little town, Voznesensk. It's very difficult name to pronounce. I apologize for butchering that a little bit. But this is a city of about 30,000 people.
It kind of sits at a crossroads, Jake, on this river. And there's a bridge in town. And if the Russian forces had crossed that bridge, it would have been very easy, for them, to move into other parts, of Southern Ukraine, into other parts of Ukraine as well.
And we went there, to kind of talk to this, the folks, in this town. They hit - a two-day battle, they pushed back the Russian forces, inflicted serious casualties, on them. The Russians ended up retreating from there.
And in a little village, outside of the town, we found a group of grandmothers, sitting on a bench, and they recounted what it was like, as Russian soldiers, took over their street, and their neighborhood.
And one of the ladies had some choice words, she told us, when Russian forces, pulled into her front yard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIRA, UKRAINIAN RESIDENT (through translator): I come out from the kitchen and I said to him, sorry for the language, "F**k your mother. Has your Putin gone made, firing at kids?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: So, that's 88-year-old Vira. She and her friends laughed, as they told us that story, and how they insulted the Russian soldiers, there, in their front yard.
But many people, Jake, in that city, are bracing, for what's coming next. They expect to have to fight that battle, all over again.
TAPPER: Yes. Ed Lavandera, in Odessa, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Please stay safe.
The U.S. Defense Secretary, stating publicly, for the first time that the United States is providing Ukrainians, with Intelligence, critical to the next phase, of this invasion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LLOYD AUSTIN, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We are providing them Intelligence to conduct operations in the Donbas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: When you hear, from the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, in addition, it's clear that the picture, painted by that Intelligence, is anything but comforting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINE FOREIGN MINISTER: The battle for Donbas will remind you, Second World War, with large operations, maneuvers, involvement of thousands of tanks, armored vehicles, planes, artillery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: I'm joined, tonight, by the former Commander, for U.S. and NATO Forces, in Afghanistan, retired General John Allen.
General Allen, good to see you again. How much of an impact, could the U.S. Intelligence, have, for Ukrainians, in the east, as they begin this fierce fight?
GEN. JOHN ALLEN (RET.), FORMER COMMANDER, U.S. & INTERNATIONAL FORCES IN AFGHANISTAN, FORMER COMMANDER, NATO INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE FORCE, PRESIDENT, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Jake, thanks for being forward, and reporting, from Lviv and, on the ground. That's really important observations that you're making.
It's very important, this Intelligence. I don't know what it is. I have no access to the Intelligence itself.
But the capacity, for the United States, with the most sophisticated Intelligence-gathering capabilities, on the planet, to provide strategic Intelligence, to the Ukrainians, on major Russian troop movements, and concentration, operational Intelligence, to help the Ukrainians plan, specific lines of operations, in a counteroffensive, and then tactical Intelligence, to support those tactical Ukrainian units, in contact with the Russians, to apply firepower, and maneuver, to good effect, would be extremely important, to Ukrainians, as a troop multiplayer.
And, of course, I'm sure, the United States can provide very precise target Intelligence, as well, for the detection and elimination of key targets. So, this is an extremely important American contribution, to the Ukrainian capacity, to wage a counteroffensive, to take back Ukraine, from the Russian invaders.
TAPPER: You heard the Ukrainian Foreign Minister say, earlier today, speaking to a NATO audience that he expects the battle in the east, in the Donbas region, between the Ukrainian military, and the Russian military, just to be of such a wide scale, when it comes to armored vehicles, and tanks, and planes, and thousands of troops that it will be like nothing we have seen, since World War II.
How do you assess that prediction?
ALLEN: I think that's probably accurate. We'll see a battle unfold that will be characterized by maneuver and firepower.
And, as the Foreign Minister said, as many people are predicting, we'll see this operations, and battles, unfold, the way our armored - protected armored maneuver, and high levels of firepower will make the difference.
And we'll see it both applied by the Ukrainians, hopefully.
[21:25:00]
And we'll also see the Russians attempt, once again, to create combined arms operations, where they failed miserably, in the vicinity of Kyiv, and where they have been marginally effective, in other parts of Ukraine.
Now, we'll see the Ukrainians, moving from the strategic defense, to the strategic offense, as they seek to move to the east, and expel the Russians, out of the Donbas area.
TAPPER: Take a listen, General Allen, to General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This is what he said winning looks like.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. MARK MILLEY, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: I would say that, you know, "What does winning look like?" I think winning is, Ukraine remains a free and independent nation that's been since 1991, with their territorial integrity intact. That's going to be very difficult. That's going to be a long slog.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: How long a slog, do you think, this will be? Will the 60,000 anti-tank and 25,000 anti-aircraft weapons that the U.S. and NATO countries have provided the Ukrainians, will that be enough? Is there a lot more going on that we probably don't know about, in terms of military assistance, being provided, by other countries?
ALLEN: It's got to take a long time, Jake. If the Russians are smart, they'd be digging in, right now, on the ground that they have taken.
And, I think, it's important, when you look at the maps that show large swaths of Ukraine, colored in red, supposedly occupied, by Russian forces that that doesn't mean that all that ground is covered by Russian forces.
There are concentrations of Russian forces. But large swaths of that ground, under the red, still are in the hands of Ukrainians, who are fighting boldly, in an insurgency, against those Russian forces, as well.
What General Milley is saying is, in fact, correct. We would want to see that the definition of winning is the expelling of Russian forces, from Ukraine. That's going to take a while.
The Russians do have a lot of firepower capabilities. They do have some capacity for maneuver. Where we have seen them fail, of course, is in their leadership, in their capacity, in close to fight with the Ukrainians, to be effective.
Even when they have defaulted to their reflex, which is to apply massive firepower, against civilian populations, and municipalities, even that has not broken the Ukrainian spirit, of the people, nor has it broken the Ukrainian military.
But it's going to take a long time, I think. I'm very careful about ever predicting the end of some kind of a conflict, or a phase of a conflict. It's going to take a long time, though, because the Ukrainians have got to root them out, from the positions that they have occupied. And that's going to be a hard slog.
TAPPER: Retired Marine General John Allen, thank you so much, for your time, and your insights, this evening. We really appreciate it.
As we noted earlier, the Russians are targeting hospitals, in Eastern Ukraine, forcing many patients, to flee their regions, and travel, to safer parts of Ukraine, for basic treatment.
I visited some of these civilians, who made the harrowing journey, to a medical facility, in Western Ukraine. We're going to bring you their emotional stories, next.
[21:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: We continue now live, from Lviv.
The head of the Luhansk state administration, said today that Russian forces have destroyed, all of the hospitals, and other medical institutions, in that part of Eastern Ukraine. All of them. That is the reality in many parts of this country. No hospital seems safe, from attacks, by Russian soldiers, or Russian missiles.
My team, and I, visited a hospital, in Western Ukraine, to speak with the civilian victims, of this war, who have been brought, to this part of the country, from all over Ukraine, their journeys, to come here. Just to try to survive, in some cases, took days.
Here are some of their stories.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER (voice-over): Just as Putin's forces did, in Syria, so too, are they targeting hospitals, and medical centers, here, in Ukraine. 279 hospitals have been damaged, since the war started, according to the Ukrainian Health Minister, with 19 of them, completely decimated, forcing thousands of innocent Ukrainian civilians, wounded, in Russian attacks, in the east and south, to be shuttled, hundreds of miles, to hospitals, in Western Ukraine, to fight, to stay alive, such as Olga Zhuchenko.
TAPPER (on camera): Do you ever think you'll be able to go back to your normal life?
OLGA ZHUCHENKO, SURVIVED SEVEN BOMBS DROPPING ON NEIGHBORHOOD: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
TAPPER (voice-over): She ran a grocery store, in the Luhansk region, with her husband Maxim Alexandrov (ph). When seven bombs hit their neighborhood, shrapnel pummeling her apartment balcony.
ZHUCHENKO (through translator): I have lost everything. I have lost my flat, my property, my health.
We didn't expect to see it. We always have counted Russians, as brotherly people. We never hoped, they will exterminate us, like that.
TAPPER (voice-over): Olga has been here, in this hospital, in this bed, for one month. She may never walk, again.
Their elderly neighbor was killed in the same attack. They tell me, she had been so scared. She stayed with them, for a few days, before her life was so brutally and unfairly snuffed out, by Putin's bombs.
By now, it is clear these attacks on civilian apartment buildings, are no accident. Entire civilian city blocks, in Irpin and Mariupol, residential apartment buildings, have been obliterated. The facts lead to only one conclusion. The Russians are purposely slaughtering Ukrainians, moms and dads, children, grandparents.
The Russian government, of course, denies targeting civilians.
A group of American doctors, with expertise, in war injuries, because of unfortunate American experiences, in Afghanistan and Iraq, were visiting the hospital, when we were there, meeting with the Mayor of Lviv, sharing what they knew, about war wounds.
DR. JOHN HOLCOMB, PROFESSOR OF SURGERY, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM: We wanted to share information, from our experiences, in the war, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the civilian--
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Civilian.
HOLCOMB: --hospitals in the U.S.
[21:35:00]
MAYOR ANDRIY IVANOVYCH SADOVYI, LVIV, UKRAINE: Thank you for visit. Thank you for support. And thank you for cooperation.
HOLCOMB: Of course.
IVANOVYCH SADOVYI: It is very important, for Ukraine, and for the United States, and for future.
TAPPER (voice-over): These are brutal injuries that are unfamiliar, to young surgeons, in Western Ukraine.
Dr. Hnat Herych, chief surgeon, has seen an influx, of thousands of these patients.
DR. HNAT HERYCH, CHIEF OF SURGERY AT A UKRAINIAN HOSPITAL: The injury that we have now is unbelievable.
TAPPER (on camera): What do you want the world to know about what you're seeing here?
HERYCH: I want the world know that - they need to know that the Russian forces, they don't fight, with the Ukrainian army. They fight with the Ukrainian people. They killing civilians. They killing children. They destroying our country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Shrapnel. Shrapnel, now in my back, in my feet, everywhere.
TAPPER (voice-over): Before he was a patient, whose body is now riddled with shrapnel, when his home was hit, Yurikanon (ph), from the Luhansk region, was an anesthesiologist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The flat where we lived in is destroyed. My parents' flat is destroyed. My wife's flat is destroyed. We lost everything.
TAPPER (voice-over): He has a number, an Army medic wrote, on his arm, so they could keep track of patients, needing help, in the chaos of the war.
TAPPER (on camera): Causing war, creating war, is not just directly inflicting pain, with bullets and bombs, on a people. It's also creating conditions, of desperation, which poses a whole other set of problems, whether disease, or starvation, or panic.
TAPPER (voice-over): And these secondary effects, from the chaos of Putin's war, can also be fatal.
OLHA AKYNSHYN, UKRAINIAN PATIENT, LEFT NEARLY BLIND AFTER FLEEING WAR VIOLENCE (through translator): We had a happy life. Everything was perfect. And then, everything changed very abruptly.
TAPPER (voice-over): We met Olha Akynshyn, on her 45th birthday. She and her husband, Alex (ph), and 10-year-old son, had been hiding, in their basement, in the Kharkiv region, for a month. The shelling, they say, was relentless.
AKYNSHYN (through translator): We were so afraid. Especially, our kid was so afraid that we couldn't stay anymore. TAPPER (voice-over): When the building next door was flattened, she was so scared, for her son's life, they got in their car, and fled. She had not slept for two days. She was in a horrific car accident.
AKYNSHYN (through translator): When I got in my first hospital, in Klimovsky (ph), they couldn't help and operate severe broken skull and bones.
TAPPER (on camera): So, you can't see right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
AKYNSHYN (through translator): Only silhouettes, like very far away.
TAPPER (on camera): Do you think you'll ever go back to the life you had?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
AKYNSHYN (through translator): I hope it will. The school, where my child learned, has been destroyed. But I hope if our house stayed safe that we will return, rebuild. Our neighbor will rebuild our village, our town. I love my Ukraine so much. I would only want to live, here, in Ukraine.
TAPPER (voice-over): Putin fashions himself an alpha male, a tough guy.
One has to wonder, why Putin thinks, slaughtering civilians, seniors, women and children, mutilating women, such as Olga and Olha, are those the actions of a strong powerful man? Or are they the actions of someone else? Someone, weaker and pathetic?
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: Coming up, new CNN reporting, Ukrainians describe being forced, into so-called filtration camps. They say they were given two choices, go to Russia, or die. That's next.
[21:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: We continue now live, from Lviv.
The United States - I'm sorry. The United Nations General Assembly suspended Russia, today, from the Human Rights Council. It's a moment so rare, you see the delegates, recording the vote tally, on their cell phones.
The Russian delegate, of course, then proceeded to claim that Russia was actually quitting the Council, which as the Ukrainian Ambassador pointed out, is like trying to say, "You can't fire me. I quit." For context, the only other country, suspended by the United Nations Human Rights Council, was Libya, in 2011, after Muammar Gaddafi launched that brutal crackdown, on his own people.
Let's bring in CNN Chief International Investigative Correspondent, Nima Elbagir.
Nima, what is the impact, of today's vote, if any?
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it will bring some relief, I think, from the White House's perspective. Because, it robs Russia of an incredibly powerful bully pulpit.
And we already, we're starting to see that, with the threats that Russia was making. "If you don't vote in the way, in fact, if you even abstain, let alone vote against us, there will be consequences." I think the language - we know the language they used was, "We will perceive this as an unfriendly gesture."
The worry though, for a lot of those countries that did end up upstanding, like Egypt, is that they need Russia. Egypt is dependent on something like, 80 percent of its wheat, comes from Ukraine and Russia.
There are real consequences. And much of the international community is going to be looking to the U.S., to try and perhaps buffer, some of the consequences, of taking this kind of a strong stand.
TAPPER: Yes. Meanwhile, Russia's so offended by this action, this diplomatic action, there are reports of Russians, taking survivors, of places that they are assaulting, like Mariupol, to so-called filtration centers.
What is the significance of that? Explain what that is.
ELBAGIR: Well, we keep hearing Putin is a student of history.
And this is very much meant to evoke some of the most haunting moments, in the history, of both this country, and the region at large. This calls back to Stalin's deportation programs, of the Crimean Tatars. This calls back to what happened in Chechnya that was so well-documented.
[21:45:00]
And when you start listening to some of the testimony that CNN was able to gather, it is incredibly chilling, the documentation, the detail, the photographing, of these people, from so many different angles, the concerns that they have that they will forever be haunted, and chased down, by the Russian state's apparatus of oppression.
But again, it also, it tells the world that Putin is willing to use, whether its imagery, from the Holocaust, or imagery, from the pogroms, he is willing to manipulate, so much of what is most painful, to not just this region, but the world at large. TAPPER: Yes. We want to share an update, given tonight, by a badly- injured fellow journalist, Benjamin Hall, of Fox News. As you may recall, two of his Fox colleagues, were killed, last month, when their vehicle came under fire, outside Kyiv.
Benjamin Hall just tweeted out, this photograph, of himself, and these words on his account.
Quote, "To sum it up, I've lost half a leg on one side and a foot on the other. One hand is being put together, one eye is no longer working, and my hearing is pretty blown. But all in all I feel pretty damn lucky to be here - and it is the people who got me here who are amazing!"
We just want to note that announcement, from Benjamin Hall, and send him our best wishes, for his continued recovery. In such a horrible, horrible incident, with him, and his Fox colleagues, obviously, the photojournalist was killed, and the other producer was killed, as well.
ELBAGIR: Well, it speaks to the consequences of bearing witness, and especially, I think, the message that Russia wants to send, about the consequences of bearing witness.
And there was a recent Amnesty International report. And one of the things that really struck me, about the reporting, on the detail, of a lot of the atrocities, is it doesn't seem to be about public consumption. And we see this with the targeting of journalists. It is about sending a message of the consequences, to the people, here, on the ground.
So, when you see all of that, we're not seeing trophy videos. We're not seeing a lot of what we've seen, in other conflicts, like Syria, or Ethiopia. What we're seeing is a message of terror that's intended to subjugate the civilian population. This isn't about what the world gets to see.
So, it's wonderful to hear that Benjamin is still with us. And that you are here, and others are here, to allow so much of this, to filter out to the world, because this is - this is really not what Russia wants to be happening.
TAPPER: That's why there's almost no essential independent press, in Russia left. They don't want anything other than Putin's version of everything.
ELBAGIR: And the consequences, for our own colleagues, who are based in the Moscow Bureau.
TAPPER: Yes.
ELBAGIR: We have so many wonderful colleagues, who are now estranged, from their families, unable to go back. It is incredible work--
TAPPER: Yes.
ELBAGIR: --that's being done.
TAPPER: Nima Elbagir, so good to see you, as always.
Coming up, a Ukrainian mother, trying to make it home, on her bicycle, only to find a Russian military convoy. One unforgettable image emerged, after the Russians killed her, in cold blood. It's something, the world needs to see.
And we will share the story, of this woman, with you. That's next.
[21:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: And we're back live, in Ukraine. There have been already, just in the 43 days, of this war, so many haunting images, especially out of Bucha. But I cannot get this one out of my mind, this lifeless hand, of a woman, gunned down, by a Russian tank, we have found out.
CNN's Phil Black, shares her story.
A warning, what you're going to see next, is, at times, rather graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iryna Filkina, in a happier time, before the Russians came.
(VIDEO - IRYNA FILKINA, UKRAINIAN MOTHER, PLAYS WITH DOG)
BLACK (voice-over): It's likely this video, shows Iryna, after the invasion, in early March, just moments before her death.
She's seen cycling, through Bucha, heading towards a large number of Russian vehicles.
As she approaches a corner, she dismounts.
One of the vehicles fires.
She moves around the corner out of sight, and it fires again and again, at least five more times.
Then, a large muzzle flash, from a second concealed vehicle. Moments later, smoke rises, from near that corner.
A different video, geolocated by CNN, to the same corner, shows a dead woman, on the ground, next to a bike.
Other images of that body clearly show her hand, and her distinctive nails. The woman, who only recently taught Iryna, how to apply makeup, recognized them instantly.
ANASTASIA SUBACHEVA, MAKEUP ARTIST: Drove a heart, on her finger, because she started to love herself. This woman was incredible. Olga Shchyruk didn't need to see the nails, to know that was her mother's body.
OLGA SHCHYRUK, IRYNA FILKINA DAUGHTER: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
BLACK (voice-over): She tells me, she doesn't know what she feels now. "It's such a void," she says. "When I saw, it was my mother, the war faded away. The war ended with her. And I lost the war."
Olga says her mother called her, while she was cycling, that day, not long before she was killed. She had been sheltering, at her workplace, and decided to go home, because she thought it would be safer.
BLACK (on camera): Tell us about your mother. How would you like the world, to know her?
SHCHYRUK: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
BLACK (voice-over): She says Iryna had a hard life, overcoming obstacles, only really starting to live, in the last two years. But she could do the impossible, and inspired others to believe, they could too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
BLACK (voice-over): Elsewhere, in Bucha, someone recorded the moment, three men were found, all face-down, in a yard, all shot, in the head.
This video is how Olga Gavriluk, found out her son, Roman (ph), and son-in-law, Sergey (ph), had been killed.
OLGA GAVRILUK, BUCHA VICTIM RELATIVE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
[21:55:00]
BLACK (voice-over): She says, "I don't want to live anymore. The grief. I cry day and night. I don't know how to live."
Images from Bucha, have taught the world, undeniable truths, about the brutality of Russia's invasion. For some, that knowledge is deeply personal, and impossibly painful.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACK: These are just two families, directly impacted, by the atrocities committed, in Bucha. And they want the world to know, and understand, what happened there. But they also want those, they've lost, to be remembered, for who they were. Not just as victims, or brutalized bodies, left behind, in Russia's retreat.
Jake?
TAPPER: Phil Black, thank you so much, really appreciate it.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: Thanks for watching.
I will be back, tomorrow night, at 9 P.M. Eastern, for another edition of CNN TONIGHT, live, from Lviv.
And I will see you, tomorrow afternoon, on "THE LEAD," which begins, at 4 P.M. Eastern.
"DON LEMON TONIGHT" starts right now.
Hey, Don?
DON LEMON, CNN HOST, DON LEMON TONIGHT: Hey, Jake? I want to talk to you about some of your reporting, again.
