this is don lemon tonight, live in weestern ukraine, in th city of lviv. i have new video to show you, but it is graphic. it's from bucha, bodies lining the street. and president zelenskyy refusing

to say if his forces carried out a strike in russia. and a sugar panic inside russia. consumers scrambling for basic household essentials. john boss joins me live in lviv. we're getting disturbing new videos from bucha. what is going on? >> bucha is 20 miles northwest of kyiv. the russians took control of the town, about 37,000 people, until thursday. and as you mentioned, the images are graphic, bodies left lying in the streets. we don't know if they're soldiers or civilians.

many of the russian soldiers were going from house to house, taking people's clothes and shoes, changing in to their clothes on the streets. and reports of shootings and killings. and civilians were being shot at when they went to get water. this is according to human rights watch. and they mined bridges as well as other civilian infrastructure. targeting civilian infrastructure is a war crime, as a reminder. >> president zelenskyy speaking out for the first time. what are we learning? >> he was asked specifically if he ordered that strike on russian territory, and this was his answer. this is what he said. >> translator: i do not discuss any of my orders as commander in chief. the leader of this state, you need to understand, that on that

territory, that you mentioned, you have to know, today they were placing shooting systems and firing those missiles themselves. >> so this is being consistent from ukrainian officials, neither confirming nor denying that ukraine was responsible for that attack. that says a lot. and he talked about how missile systems were being placed around that fuel depot, that would make it a legitimate military target. >> and now, at chernobyl, ukrainian officials warning that russian soldiers may have been exposed to a high level of radiation? >> yes, some of the russian soldiers, they may have been digging trenches in the red forest, on the perimeter around the nuclear power plant.

one of the highest radioactive contaminated areas in the region. also, we're hearing from the state owned company which is responsible for chernobyl, they believe the russian soldiers were driving heavily armored vehicles that kicked up a lot of dust and radioactive particles as well. if there's a high level of exposure to radioactivity, it affects the organs, bone marrow and it could be fatal. the chief of the ieae is heading to chernobyl to find out what happens. >> john, thank you. everyone keeps wondering what is going on, i think i have the flu or a cold. but i'll be fine, thank you, i appreciate it. i want to turn now to more

on the attack on the fuel depot in russia. >> reporter: this social media video seeming to show two attack helicopters penetrating russian territory and firing at an oil depot, setting it ablaze. the russian military publicly acknowledging the incident. on april 1st at around 5:00 a.m. moscow time, two ukrainian helicopters entered the airspace of the russian federation, the spokesman says, and launched an at attack. as a result, individual tanks were damaged and caught fire. video shows the facility engulfed in massive flames, the firefighters struggling to put out the flames.

it's a highly militarized city just outside of ukraine. the russians also have a massive military support facility in this area. the ukrainians so far have not acknowledged that they've hit the depot. >> i can neither confirm nor reject the claim that ukraine was involved in this. simply because i do not possess all the military information. >> reporter: the strike comes as russian forces have been suffering setbacks in their invasion of ukraine. withdrawing some forces from around kyiv after failing to storm the city. the russians now saying they want to focus their offensive on the east of the country, including kharkiv, with a

reported uptick in shelling in recent days. all this, as talks to try to end the fighting continue. but now, vladimir putin has been briefed on the depot attack, and it could have a negative effect on the talks. the strike on the oil facility will probably do little to hold up russia's invasion of ukraine. but if the ukrainians are behind it, it would show they're not afraid to strike back on the country that is attacking them. >> thank you very much. i want to turn to retired air force colonel cedric leighton. >> the tanks will be t-72 tanks,

very familiar to the ukrainians and the russians. it's basically the russian war horse when it comes to tanks and that kind of armor. the ukrainians would be using these tanks in a very flat area right here. what they can do with them is use them to go after russian forces that would be going into the donbas. the russians have telegraphed that they're going to into into this eastern region which they've occupied part of. the tanks can be used to counter russian tanks, and also go in and dislodge the russians from these areas. that's potentially a bit of a game changer for ukraine. >> colonel, i've been wanting to talk to you about this air strike on a fuel depot in russia. explain why this is such a high

value target. >> sure, don, absolutely. this is a really important place because as we saw in the report that fred had, it's right up here, kharkiv is here. so this is an area where the russians have been working quite a bit, ever since the start of this invasion, they've been going through this area. this is their fuel depot. this is what they need in order to replenish all their troops. these are the ones that get their fuel in part from the facility that the ukrainians hit, or may have hit, during this. when we look at the strike right here, you can see, there's a helicopter coming in, one rocket goes into the fuel storage area right there. and then there's another -- there it is. and there, a couple of strikes right there from a second helicopter. what this means, don, they had

precise intelligence on this target. whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing. it was critically important for their effort in terms of tactical success. it meant a lot, not only for the ukrainians, but it also showed the weakness of the russian air defense system, if in fact it came from the ukrainians. >> new satellite images show russian forces have disappeared from an airport just 18 miles from kyiv. how big of a deal is that? could it help get more supplies into ukraine? >> potentially it could. it depends on how good the runways, in what kind of a condition the runways have been left. this is a really interesting image. it was taken on march 21st. this is our before image. if you look closely, you can see that trucks and artillery pieces are in place behind some of these berms right here.

that the russians have built. they did this throughout the entire structure. here's a tank inside one of these areas. they did this throughout the airport. and let's look at it afterwards. right here, you can see that all of the berms that we highlighted before are now empty. not a single russian artillery piece, tank, or not even a truck. so this means this is open, may have to be repaired and fixed, but this is open for the ukrainians to use, as long as it's not being targeted by russian artillery or aircraft. >> very interesting, colonel. the pentagon the u.s. is sending $300 million more in aid. what does this mean for ukraine? >> this is potentially something that may not necessarily be a

game-changer, but it can help get to a game-changer. this is a video of the switchblade, you see u.s. soldiers using it. a very light, portable drone. it can target things directly. it's called a suicide drone, it can go right in and basically destroy any target, then destroys itself. and as you see, it's very easy to launch and can be used in so many different ways throughout the entire theater. it can be highly effective, it's a force multiplier for the ukrainian forces. >> i learn so much with you, col colonel. can we see that drone once more? >> of course. absolutely. here it goes, i'll step back here. it's powered like this, just launches like this. wings deploy, as you can see. then it goes right along the surface of the earth. then it comes in, this way, you

can see the way it looks from a head-on view. then look at it go after this target. just basically destroys it like that. it becomes a really important tactical weapon that can be employed in any way that the ground forces want to employ it. highly effective, very, very useful. >> and then it destroys itself, so you get no information off of it. thank you, colonel. they call it the sugar panic. russians lining up to buy sugar off the back of a truck. that's what sanctions look to do. but will they stop putin's war? it's lalawn season. and i need a lawn. quick. the fast way to bring it up to speed. is scotts turf builder rapid grass. rapigrass is a revolutionary mix of seed and fertilizer that will change the way u grow grass.

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new video showing the atrocity of putin's war. it's difficult to watch. this is from bucha, outside of kyiv. this shows the cost of intense fighting. unclear whether the bodies are civilians or military. i want to bring in p.j. crowley, i appreciate you joining us. man, oh, man, this video from bucha is chilling. the horror in the cities and towns across ukraine becomes more apparent every single day. the question is, how is it going to end? will anybody be held accountable for this? >> don, that's a very -- that is a long term question. and obviously, accountability is

dictated through the u.n. system. and russia has a veto. so, you know, could they throw some mid-level people at an accountability panel down the road? perhaps. will it get all the way to vladimir putin? at this point, i would doubt it. >> you say putin started this war, and he'll choose when to end it. so what needs to happen to get him to the negotiating table? what needs to happen to get him to the table? >> well, at this point, my assessment would be that while he's had a bad month, at a tactical level, this has been a disaster for the russian military, his strategic options are still very much in play. he started the invasion a month ago with the intention of eliminating the zelenskyy

government. that may or may not happen. now, he's turned to a plan b, trying to destroy as much of ukraine as he can. the portions of ukraine that it's doubtful he can control. and he may be consolidating forces in the areas he expects to control. usually, at the end of the day, the conditions on the battlefield will dictate what options are available once we enter negotiations. >> how long do you think it could take to reach a cease-fire? is there an offanswer, really, that question? >> on the one hand, when there is a cease-fire, sooner or later, russia will still be holding ukrainian territory. and the unfortunate aspect, while ukraine possesses the ability to resist, i don't think they possess the ability to expel russia from ukrainian territory. that will be leverage that putin

has. i agree with fareed zakaria in the last hour that putin is not in any hurry. which means, while there is an increasing cost in terms of sanctions in his country, he's not yet feeling pressure to compromise, based on what he's still trying to do. >> so let's talk about that. there's this video of russians fighting over sugar, showing the impact of the sanctions. russia's economy is tanking, inflation is crippling. but will that change anything in putin's calculus? >> sanctions are an imperfect tool. they can impose costs. they're good at punishing someone, they're not necessarily as good as changing behavior. think about it. the most sanctioned country in the world, probably north korea. it still possesses its nuclear

weapons. second place, iran, it's closer to nuclear weapons than ever before. and putin thinks he's found a way to make his economy as sanction-proof as possible, probably with the help of china. sanctions will probably be a long term proposition. >> i want to get your take on this air strike on the fuel depot in russia. whether russia orchestrated it as a false flag, or ukraine attacked it, do you think it will lead to an escalation? >> in a sense, we're already experiencing an escalation. could he use it for propaganda purposes to help him with his own public opinion? undoubtedly. >> of course. >> russia has been attacked, and i would expect the russian people to respond to that.

but we're already seeing escalation in terms of moving from convoys heading to major cities, to more indiscriminate use of air power, artillery. if he has to at some point reach a cease-fire, he's going to try to take out as many ukrainian cities as he can, with the intention, if he can't destroy the zelenskyy government, he's going to try to cripple it. >> speaking of zelenskyy, this was on fox tonight. watch. >> do you know how many assassination attempts you've survived? >> translator: i don't know. but there have been some. there are things which are difficult for me to count. my intelligence tells me there have been attempts. and there were other details, but, listen, i'm alive.

i'm not wounded. i'm intact. it's hard for me to talk about this. so many people have died in our country. >> in your previous answers, you said putin wants to cripple zelenskyy's government. but how much does putin want to get rid of zelenskyy? >> that's what putin fears most, an independent, charismatic, democratic leader, occupying what he thinks is already russian territory. at the end of the day, this is about putin's hold on power, and what he perceives as a threat to him personally. and so, you know, the contrast between zelenskyy and putin is very dramatic. that's what vladimir putin fears above everything else. >> p.j., i appreciate you joining us.

>> always a pleasure, don. thousands of people escaping from mariupol tonight. cnn was there as they arrived in a much safer city. you're going to want to see this. that's next.

tonight, officials in the heavily bombarded city of mariupol say 100,000 people are still trapped there.

and russian forces are blocking aid supplies from getting into the city. but in a major development today, a convoy of buses arrived safely in the ukrainian held city of zaporizhzhia. >> reporter: there's a deadly war under way, and serious national security threats. there was an effort to welcome the evacuees, and give them temporary shelter. little kids here, who have witnessed a modern day siege, and perhaps the destruction of their homes and explosions in just a terrible environment.

now, the international community, the red cross, is trying to reach the city of mariupol and failed. there are still believed to be 100,000 or more citizens, civilians, still trapped there in the combat zone. as well as a force of ukrainian troops that are holding out against a vastly larger number of russian military forces that have encircled the city and besieged it for weeks now. while this is a glimmer of hope, after many failed attempts to evacuate civilians, there's still a lot of work to be done to protect the people still trapped in the combat zone. >> ivan, thank you so much for that. i want to turn to john berman, he's here. we've been on very different

schedules in ukraine. i want to have a conversation about our experiences. i've been watching your reporting, we're not on the air at the same time. but we've been talking about the resilience of the people here. one of your reports, i found it extremely fascinating. when you talked to the fighter pilots. talk to me about that. >> this was really interesting to me. juice and moonfish were their call names. they didn't want to give their real names, and they were wearing their helmets while they were speaking to me. i wanted to speak to these people who were miraculously defending the ukrainian skies. they said their own skill, and defense from the ground, has kept them in the fight. they said, we've been in this war for eight years. the ukrainians, the new phase

started six weeks ago. but they felt like they were at war with russia the whole time. >> started in 2014. then you did this interview with this teenager, this kid. were you in the back of an ambulance? >> we were at a children's hospital, and he's 15 years old. which is how old my twin boys are. >> oh, boy. >> i was sitting there with him the whole time, thinking what a different world it is for a 15-year-old boy now in ukraine than it is for our children, the people we love back home, when their country has been invaded. they've been terrorized. i think we have a clip of this. he was blown up by a land mine. his legs injured, his collarbone injured. and he watched his mother die right next to him. let's look at that. >> translator: i started crawling away from the road.

then i felt pain in my left clavicle. >> i have broken. i feel blood in my left ear. then i hear shooting. not from weapons, rockets, or something, and i climbed the stairs and hide here. i am screaming one time, two minutes, or three. it was very cold. i haven't -- i'm just in socks. >> you can't walk. >> can't walk. and some people in the village hears the explosion. and the people take us to his

house. >> translator: he wrapped us in blankets. >> and your mother during this? >> translator: she died at that location. and she was still alive when we caught fire, and she just burned. >> then he broke down. it was interesting, because he's just like every other teenager. didn't he say his mom used to get on him and his dad about keeping the place clean. >> his father is with him. he told me he wants to go back and rebuild that city. >> yeah. also, there's -- i want to play this. this is from when i spoke to the mayor. because the -- there were people who said to me, they've never hated anyone before.

but now they hate the russians. their contempt for the russians is just unbelievable. well, not unbelievable. rightful contempt for what russia is tdoing to them. watch this. >> what do you think of the russians and putin? >> translator: biden was asked about putin, and called him a bucher. i agree with him. >> translator: putin doesn't understand what he's doing. he's just a tool in the hands of the devil. >> every day, russian aggression killed children, women, old people. it is nazi. today, hitler equal putin. putin equal hitler. >> i was at a christian relief shelter two days ago, talking to

people who are playing constantly. religion is what they do. i was asking, can you forgive putin and the russians? they said, it's hard. >> it's hard. >> it's hard. >> and the first part of the interview with the mayor, the family, one of the guys was a pastor. he said, i don't want the ukrainian people to become cruel. even despite what the russians are doing to us. i don't want us to become cruel towards russians. it was a pretty big thing for him to say. >> it takes a lot of strength. it's not easy. >> and we've been on similar paths, even at different times. i covered the arts here, i covered them, they took the statues and artifacts out of the museums, scrambled to get them to safety. and you were covering the art as well. >> if you walk around the city, there's just these piosters

everywhere and the anti-war art struck me. we spoke to a graphic artist producing these anti-war posters. he said, this is my way to fight. >> okay. apparently we don't have that, john. >> roughly -- >> that's what he said. >> -- this is our way to fight. and sometimes art can do what people speaking can't, which is get you emotional. >> the most dramatic moment. as the air raid siren goes off. >> this might be the all clear. we had an air raid siren a few hours ago, hopefully this is the all clear. >> one of the most dramatic moments was one the fuel depot was hit. you were on the air, i scrambled to get there. i believe we have some video of that, it happened just a few days ago. there may have been a false sense of security here, we're so

far west, so close to the border of poland, that we thought it could not happen. but this shows putin's reach. >> yeah. he can hit anywhere he wants in this country with one type of weapon or another. he can't hit lviv with artillery, with the dumb weapons that will just flatten a place. but he has the precision weapons to hit a fuel depot. >> what stood out to you most since you've been here? >> the resilience of the people, and the conviction that they're going to win. utter conviction that they're going to win. >> i'd have to say, a very similar thing. and also, we have to be careful about this not happening in the u.s. because there are people in russia who are not speaking to their friends and family here because russia is believing propaganda. they live in two different realities. we saw that play out so much over the past five or six years in america. it was a lesson to me about

being informed, and getting the right information to people. >> there's only one country that invaded another country. one invader, one invaded, in this case. period. full stop. >> thank you. good spending time together. we'll be right back. was kind. maybe even lifesaving. ♪do you know what the future holds?♪ [♪]

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large out-of-state corporations have set their sights on california. they've written a ballot proposal to allow online sports betting. they tell us it will fund programs for the homeless, but read the fine print. 90% of the profits go to out-of-state corporations, leaving almost nothing for the homeless. no real jobs are created here.

but the promise between our state and our sovereign tribes would be broken forever. these out-of-state corporations don't care about california. but we do. stand with us. will smith announcing that

he will resign from the academy of motion pictures, arts, and sciences, after he slapped chris rock on stage during the oscars show on sunday night. the academy saying they accept his resignation, and will continue with their disciplinary proceedings against him. joining me now, chloe milas. the pressure is mounting on will smith now that he's resigned. what is he saying tonight? >> reporter: hey, don. great to see you. will smith released this incredibly length in statement. i'm going to read a small portion of that. he says the lists of those i've hurt is long, including chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home. i betrayed the trust of the academy, deprived other winners

of the opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated. i'm heartbroken. yeah. this has overshadowed the entire academy awards, with the first deaf best actor, the first queer woman of color to win best supporting actress, not to mention questlove and his award after the slap. but we still haven't heard much from chris rock, just a little bit at his show. but we're waiting for him to say more. >> yeah. i'm going to talk to you about chris rock in a moment. but let's get back to will. but he had just won, by the way, the whole idea about chris rock not wanting him to be arrested is not new. the night of the academy awards, people were talking about that

on social media. people who were there from hollywood. saying he was going to be arrested. and chris rock said, no. that part is not new. i found it interesting that it just came out, i think, today. but he won for best actor for "king richard." this is so outside of anything will smith has ever done. it goes against his whole, what, the way he's conducted himself. his whole image. how will this impact his career, do you think? >> reporter: well, that's the million dollar question, don. first of all, the fact that he's resigned before he could be expelled is interesting to note. this means he can no longer vote as an academy member. there's 9,000-plus academy members. that means he won't be part of award seasons in the future, in terms of voting and deciding perhaps who gets nominated.

but could he still be nominated? he does have a movie in the works called "emancipation" that will be released later this year. >> it's supposed to be, his performance is supposed to be better than in "king richard." but go on. >> reporter: from what i'm hearing, will could technically still, even though he's resigned, be nominated. so he could be nominated. but here's where it gets interesting. on april 18th, the academy will reveal the repercussions, the consequences. i heard from a source where will had a zoom meeting where he apologized. but he's banned, potentially, from ever attending the oscars again. if he gets nominated, he wouldn't be able to go.

but that's just theorizing here. >> chloe, sorry, we ran out of time. it's my fault, i said too much. but chris rock, someone said "f" will smith, but he said, i'm not going to go there. he's the adult in the room, he's been very introspective, and he's handle himself very well. we hope chris is okay. thank you, chloe. i appreciate it. we'll be right back.

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