russian president vladimir putin has ordered a blockade that has, quote, a slide that can't get through. the russians have made evacuations from the site too dangerous. have a listen. >> unfortunately right now there is no possibility to evacuate civilians from the star plan because we asked for a cease fire.

we notified residents. the civilians are sheltering there now. they are constantly bombarded. >> constantly bombarded. they have 85 tactical groups added over the past 24 hours. ukraine's president said its forces won't be deterred by the russian buildup. >> translator: they are a couple mu rlating forces. they are even trying start the so-called mobilization from the occupied regions of ukraine. none of these steps will help russia in the war against our state. >> meanwhile, u.s. president joe biden says another shipment of u.s. military hardware is heading to ukraine as quickly as possible. mr. biden says he'll soon ask congress for more. in fact, house speaker nancy pelosi also addressed while

meeting with the ukrainian prime minister. have a listen. >> we won't always be able to advertise everything that our partners are doing. support ukraine. but to modernize teddy roosevelt's famous advice, sometimes we will speak softly and carry a large javelin because we're sending a lot of those in as well. >> in that same press conference they said u.s. air space is closed to russian aircraft. constant bombardment has been a way of life for many left in the battered cities. russian and ukrainians are battling and many civilians are hiding in basements. they are finding shelter and little else. >> reporter: and it begins

again. hell rains down. a dozen people are hiding in the basement in a bombed out theater. let it stop, oh, lord. now there's incoming. a white flag hangs outside to no effect. the theater above has been bombed and bombed again and again. yet they stay. too poor, too old, too frightened to flee. nina, 89 years old, has been here for five weeks. i want to go home, she says. i've suffered too much. i've seen the fire and the smoke. i've seen it all. i'm scared. nina's plea simple. help us.

help us. her daughter struggles to comfort her. we're praying to god to stop it, she says. to hear us. nina says, i have nowhere to go. i have no friends, no relatives. with the shelling intensifying, volunteers are finding it hard to deliver food. as russian and ukrainian forces fight for control, there are people down there praying as hell rains down. ben wedeman, rhobizne, ukraine. >> stop thinking about what her life has come to. this is allegedly caught on tape. ukrainian military said it

intercepted russian orders to kill ukrainian pows in the l luhansk area. >> what can i tell you, dammit. you keep the most senior among them and let the rest go. let them go forever, dammit, so that no one will ever see them again, including relatives. >> cnn can't verify the authenticity of the recording. they say previous intercepted recordings will level everything to the ground at a steel plant and civilians are hold up. joining me now from lviv, the former press secretary for volodymyr zelenskyy. let me start off by asking you about the discovery we've seen and the mass graphs in manhusck.

what do you know? >> thank you for having me. ukrainian authorities were told about what we are going to reveal about what's going on in the country. in fact, we know the mass grave is of the length of 300 meters. this is a large grave. we don't know how many bodies are there. some of the bodies are very difficult to identify. many people tried to appeal to say they lost their relatives, their loved ones. right now what ukrainian authorities want to show is the

war crimes. this is not just about war crimes, this is about mass atrocities. this is about the genocide and we are very glad that many leaders of the world are going to see this, including joe biden, the president of the united states. this is a sign of russian hate trez on the ukrainian identity and people. >> we are talking about this and looking at the mass grave. any idea of how many lives have been lost here? >> we know that -- we know that the u.n. was revealing the number of about 3,000 deaths in ukraine, but we know that the u.n. produces the number that is only identified person by person. we know it is not even close to

true. this is about tens of thousands of lost lives already because the cities are being bombarded by russia. there are homes to hundreds of thousands. for instance, mariupol used to be home to 400,000 people. right now we know our service men who are fighting there and the civilians are still there and ukrainian authorities were trying to find food and water. we know it was provided through helicopters. we still know they are on the verge of all capacities and they are left sheltering. we all pray and they will stay until the very end. i don't know if you heard that. a top adviser, top politician to the head of presidential office and the head of presidential

sanction went to mariupol. they wanted to help people go out from mariupol. >> but on that point though, julia, we had confirmed that the two ukrainian officials were prepared to travel to negotiate. did they ever travel? did the russian side agree to meet with them? any clarification on that? >> well, that's exactly what i mentioned. these two people offered to go to mariupol. after that we see russia is not open to anyone and they declined any kind of further talks. >> what we have heard in the last hour or so is that there is no humanitarian corridor nor evacuation today. that's just really heartbreaking

news given how dire the situation is on the ground, the city on the brink. when -- i mean, what were you expecting ukrainian forces to be able to do? how long can they repel these russian forces here? >> well, i don't know how much time the crew that is surrounded can survive there. ukrainian authorities are doing everything they can to help them manage there as they already have all unbelievable and imaginary lines there. they will stand until the very end. there is another region under occupation and russian is trying to take over. there is a referendum. people are not going to go there.

they have around 80, 90% of support which is just absolutely fake number. and russia justifies making some kind of a greater tori they call the people's republic. people from kherson, there was a fourth shelling and to put the people between the ukrainian army and the russian army so the ukrainian army cannot shell because they are seeing ukrainian people, civilians in front of russian army. this is very scary and what russia is preparing for the next months for the beginning of the month. >> thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us. appreciate it. early on thursday a convoy arrived in the city of zaporizhzhia carrying just 79

people from the city of mariupol and the surrounding towns that have been under russian control. they may look relieved to be out of the war zone, i'm sure they are, but anxious no doubt about what comes next. >> translator: ukrainian soldiers visited us. they began to calm us down. they were helping in different ways. they even went searching for my cat during the night when there was shelling. they've helped me a lot. i left the place with little of what i had. >> the u.n. refugee agency says nearly 8 million people are displaced within ukraine. another 5 million have already left the country. and if you would like to safely and securely help people in ukraine who may be in need of shelter, food and water, please go to cnn.com/impact. still to come right here on the show, candidates are about to hit the campaign trail for the final time ahead of sunday's

presidential runoff in france. next we go live to paris before president macron and marin le pan make their final pitch to voters. you are watching "cnn newsroom." it''s a bit functional. but we''ll gladly be functional. so you can b be free. booking.com bobooking.yeah

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we are following a developing story out of the middle east for you. new clashes have broken out between palestinian police and israeli police. a tree on the compound caught fire giving off plumes of smoke, a site known as the temple mount has been a violent flashpoint over the last few weeks. two candidates are about to begin their final sprint. president emmanuel macron and

marin le pen will begin their final campaigning. mr. macron is leading le pen. this time around the polls are suggesting the race is closer. jim bitterman is joining us. macron did pretty well in that debate, didn't he? >> reporter: exactly right, max. i think after the debate viewers were polled and they were showed to be very much in favor of mr. macron. they're believed to have more confidence in him after the poll taken after the debate. it still remains to be seen. the recent poll is one poll out this morning. it shows that the race has gotten closer. both candidates are out there

for the final day campaigning. marin le pen is northeast of paris. campaign workers have until tonight and after midnight there's a day of silence, a day of reflection. candidates can't campaign anymore, can't update their websites. everything remains as it is today until sunday when voters go to the polls. it looks like macron was ahead. the real question mark is what happens in terms of abstentions. one of the things the polls have agreed on is that the abstention rate is going to be quite high in this race, in the voting that takes place on sunday. as many as one in four french voters will stay home.

it could have a direct bearing on who gets to become president of france. it could be that the people that are macron supporters, for example, are disillusioned with his performance in the last five years. it could be that the marin le pen supporters could be disappointed with the way it's gone. people could be not happy with how it's gone between the center candidate and the center right. >> turnout will be a crucial element, isn't it? we'll get a sense of that on sunday. back with you, jim. thanks for joining us live from paris. be sure to join us sunday, 8 p.m. and 2 p.m. eastern u.s. special live coverage of the french election right here on cnn. british prime minister boris johnson will face his third investigation into the party gate scandal. scandal concerns a party held on june of 2020 at the prime

minister's residence when public health restrictions banned this. numerous fines have been issued for a number of events that took place at downing street during national restrictions. boris johnson and prime minister narendra modi just wrapped up a meeting. it will seal two-way investment deals worth $2 million. there is a reference to the war on ukraine. what we're doing is taking forward a bring the terrible/indian roadmap. it was great to see you at the g7 but since then the threat of autocratic coercion have grown

even further. >> for more on this i'm joined from new delhi. all eyes were on this, weren't they? sclis from europe. narendra modi hasn't criticized them on the war. boris johnson has. that was a difficult moment to sort of navigate during this press conference. >> reporter: absolutely, max. both of them did talk about ukraine while narendra modi has talked about how india has said they need to cease the violence and get them to talk through diplomatic channels like you just spoke about. boris johnson, u.k.'s prime minister, talking about ukraine and the russian situation where he talked about russia as an autocratic state. there has been pressspressure.

they need to take a stand on the conflict in ukraine. yesterday they came forward and talked about how they understand india's situation. they have taken a stand on the violence that took place in ukraine. he has come out and said india has taken the strongest stand they can. that's the strongest they've said and condemning the violence in bucha. the biggest take away, however, between the two delegations. prime minister in u.k. and them say we do see us tying up the fta, the free trade agreement by the end of this year.

that's the biggest turn on. if by the end of the year we see this being tied up, there were talks on security, trade of course as well as ukraine. why the cases have held back in the u.k., there was a controversy in the western state of bucha. prime minister johnson says they could be seen jumping atop one of the excavators there which was also used recently in a dem he mow ligs drive. this was condemned from the u.k. prime minister. there was no word on the controversy during either of the

press statements. max. >> live in new delhi. thank you. now a suspect has been officially declared in the infamous case of a missing british toddler. the unnamed man was made a suspect by general authorities. officials say the man has not been charged yet. madeleine mccann's case sparked an international case. she was just 3 years old when she vanished from a holiday resort in portugal. they said they believe she is dead. cnn shadows some ukrainians who are digging up dangerous mines and weapons left behind. that's just ahead.

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if you are just joining us, let me bring you up to date of our breaking news coverage out of ukraine. cnn has just learned there will be no humanitarian corridors open on friday. that is according to ukraine's deputy prime minister who blames danger along the routes. an evacuation can't come soon enough for those trapped in the steel factory in the battered city of mariupol. there was plenty of food and water but it won't last forever. meanwhile, take a look at this. satellite images show the cost of russia's efforts to take over mariupol. the photos appear to show mass graves along a side road near

there. also just into cnn, heavy fighting in the donetsk as well as luhansk regions over the last 24 hours have resulted in russia taking over 42 more settlements. a presidential adviser made the remarks on thursday evening on television and she adds the military expects to get them back on friday. meanwhile, president biden announcing another $800 million in military aide will be heading to ukraine and those weapon shipments include howitzer cannons, 144,000 artillery rounds. an attack drone the pentagon tailored to ukraine's needs. nic robertson joins me with more. nic, i wanted to focus on the comments from the czech foreign minister who is talking about the dire situation in mariupol has said that nato involvement in mariupol evacuations would be

a game changer. how exactly would these evacuations take place and how would perhaps russia react here? >> reporter: yeah, it's not clear that nato is going to get involved in these evacuations, perhaps not through a lack of desire but through lack of a clear way to do it and a lack of potential support from the russian side. president putin has doubled down on his position. let's secure it so not even a gnat, not even a fly can get in. president putin is comfortable with the forces that are still trapped inside mariupol there. they're calling for international help to try to get civilians out, to get them, the fighters, out of mariupol.

so from president putin's p propaganda, it looks like the ukrainian forces are begging for help. they're claiming mariupol as a success. that mitigates against everything mariupol is doing. if they're declaring it a success there, then there's the ability to help civilians. nato is not saying anything officially. not saying anything behind closed doors. the last sort of top international diplomat was evacuated from there. he talked about the terrible destruction, sort of a diplomatic interest in helping out. they're obviously directly on the black sea and has, you know, naval assets that could

potentially go to help and go to the port of mariupol considering the harbor site is not too destroyed and give some release. there's no doubt discussions are going on at nato to support the situation in eastern europe. you have the lithuanian president thanking germany for the support it's giving. germany leading a ba tallian of nato troops that have ramped up the numbers inside of lithuania as well as they have in the other baltic nations. what we're hearing from the lithuanian president is we need to ramp this up. they need to go from ba tallian size to a brigade size. three times the size. a brigade has much bigger clout, much bigger sort of resources, assets, ability to do things and

presents a much bigger message to russia that nato is in sizeable presence on its border through the baltic states. at the moment, that's where a lot of the nato discussion is. but it does seem unlikely at this stage. >> nic robertson live for us in brussels this hour. thanks very much, nic. appreciate it. as the russian military moves through ukraine, they are leaving more than just destruction and heart break as our phil black now reports. >> reporter: weaving through the trees, carrying a delicate cargo. not the wounded but something with the potential to do worse. they're collecting active will

have munitions. there are blackened trees pretty much everywhere. ukrainians say rockets rain down on positions there. this is what's left of the battlefield. >> reporter: here lies a russian rocket. those weapons are banned by more than 100 countries. this one standing proud shows why they must work quickly. when the soldiers last saw this damaged rocket, it was lying horizontally. someone has lifted the warhead so it now points to the sky. the professionals carefully stretcher it away and add it to their growing collection.

that was a single 500 pound bomb and that's how you make it save. they have two more to go. they're air delivered bombs recovered from a downed russian aircraft and they're going to destroy both at the same time. the big ones are easy to find and you get the feeling fun to destroy. most of them hunting down mines and abandoned order nates is careful work, scanning, prodding the earth with intense focus for 40urs are you doing this. it's helping people months after.

this one ran over something injuring eight on board. there are plenty of legacies. ukrainians are working to ensure this one doesn't endure. phil black, cnn in ukraine's kyiv region. i want to bring you an update about a town we told you about earlier this hour. ben wedeman took us to a shelter in the town of rabitz where a dozen or so people have been hiding in the basement of a bombed out theater. a short time ago the head of the mill military, stopping a bus. they have seen russian offensives in ukraine's donbas

region. still to come right here on the show, emotions are boiling high from shanghai. we'll have a live report after the break. you are watching "cnn newsroom."

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now the u.s. food & drug administration is deciding whether to wait to approve pfizer and moderna vaccine at the same time. they're similar but not identical. shanghai reported the total death toll to 36 total. it's taking a massive toll on residents and ex pats with no clear end on when the lockdown will be lifted.

let's bring in cnn's beijing bureau chief, steven jiang. they're getting tighter in shanghai which clearly illustrates how determined the authorities are to stick to this policy. >> reporter: that's right, max. despite official propaganda and the effective lockdown. what's been happening is for days the authority has said the city is being categorized into three different zones. residents from low risk areas technically are allowed to be moving about within their districts. for the most part, that has not happened at all because of the authorities continued worry about new infections if they are allowing people out of their apartment complexes. instead they're turning to their familiar playbook by testing and retesting that whole population, even with growing evidence that many of the newer infections have come from crowded testing sites.

something else they've been doing. now without exceptions. a growing number of senior citizens, some in their 90s and in wheelchairs are being forcibly removed and many of those are very crowded and very little food. many residents are facing food shortages. even those receiving government handouts and the food is going bad and all of the mismanagement and resulting chaos and misery has united millions of residents and expats. many are asking how is it possible to go hungry or dying from the lack of food or medical

c care. the answer is clear, because they are saying this is the wear to go. >> steven jiang, live in beijing. it's extraordinary to see what's happening in shanghai. a surge in covid cases has forced the city of rio de janeiro to cancel the world famous carnival street parades. this is the second year rio has canceled the street party. thousands of dancers continue to practice for the indoor celebration. it can go on with some health protocols in place. the stadium has a capacity of 80,000 people. it's unclear how many people will be allowed to attend though. massive wildfire in the u.s.

state of arizona is forcing the governor there to declare a state of emergency in the affected areas. the 8,000 hectare, 19,000 tunnel fire has caused people in flagstaff to be ordered to evacuate. and the high plains. meteorologist karen mcginnis is at the world weather center with more. so difficult to manage these situations, isn't it? >> it is extremely challenging. we're going to see in the next 24 to 48 hours just how fickle the weather in april can be. i want to point out the extreme fire danger we have and in colorado. that's where the extreme fire risk is going to be located. we have very dry weather conditions, low relative humidity and the wind is going to be fierce. we could see the winds topping 70 miles an hour.

115, 100 kilometers per hour. this is where the warm sector of the storm is. this is where we're looking at it. this is a big storm system. places that we'll see very mild conditions will see blizzard conditions. here's the state of new mexico. here's texas. watch what happens by about 3:00 in the afternoon local time. these winds are going to be howling all across new mexico, the panhandle of nebraska. we'll see probably the greatest risk and the highest winds. going in towards saturday you head towards rapid city. these are strong winds, too, but they're going to be cold winds on the back side of na that sto system. it gives you an idea just how fickle this system is with blizzard conditions, heavy

snowfall across the rocky mountains. in the sierra nevada in california they are looking at snowfall that could be measured in feet or something just under a meter. we have major fires. the fire to the north of flagstaff. max, after you? >> our thoughts went down. thank you. the mass exodus of ukrainians into poland has slowed. why a growing number of ukrainians are returning home despite the threat from russia.. d planned carefully for our d retirement. but we quickly realized we neededed a way to supplemement our income. if yu have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance.

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welcome back, everyone. a growing number of refugees in eastern ukraine are returning to ukraine despite the threat posed by russia. more than 5 million people have fled ukraine since russia's full-fledged invasion began two months ago. the mass exodus of ukrainians into poland has slowed. scott mcclain explains. >> reporter: in the early days of war, trains were packed

withstanding room only. as the bombs fell and the tanks rolled, millions desperately tried to get out. most to poland. almost two months later there are now days when more people go back into ukraine from poland than come out. do you think that the mass exodus is over? >> no, we cannot say that. it's hard to predict actually the direction of the crisis. >> reporter: in the first stop in poland, the mayor was once overwhelmed by the number of refugees showing up every day. not anymore. >> it seems better. more organized. ukraine looks better. >> reporter: inside the station they're headed back to their hometown in southern ukraine 50 miles from the contested city of

mykolaiv. >> translator: in our town we had about seven or eight people killed at a military unit when it was bombed. my child was so scared. >> reporter: they fled to a small town in northern germany. the government put them up in a little hotel. they say they had little help beyond that. >> translator: we didn't know what to do. nobody helped us to find jobs. we were told we needed to speak german. >> reporter: you're willing to take a small risk to get your life back? >> translator: yes, we want to go back. after all, home is home. >> reporter: down the hall natalia fled kyiv. while she stayed with friends in germany, her neighborhood withstood russian shelling. now that the russian haves retreated, she's going back. >> translator: it's a bit scary. i want to see my husband. i never thought this would last

a long time. i don't want to start a new life in germany without my husband. >> reporter: at the border the lineup to get into ukraine stretches for five miles. at the polish side of the pedestrian crossing, there are more volunteers than refugees. oksana is going back to see her parents in lviv. >> for easter. i want to see my parents. i miss them very, very much. >> reporter: scott mcclain, cnn, poland. that does it here on "cnn newsroom." thank you very much for your company. i'm isa soares. our coverage continues on early start with kirsten fischer. you are watching cnn.

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this is cnn breaking news. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. we've made it to friday, april 22nd. i'm kristin fisher. we begin with evidence of mass graves outside the city of mariupol in southeastern ukraine. these satellite images appear to corroborate the claims of ukrainian officials. the photos point to more than 1200 new graves 12 miles west of the besieged city. they add to mounting proof of russia's war crimes against ukrainian civilians. inside are hundreds of soldiers. right now russia c