llll theararnes rmrm now the best result possible. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ this is cnn breaking news. >> hello and a warm welcome to viewers joining us in the united states and right around the world. i'm isa soares coming to you live from lviv in ukraine. coming up this hour there are high expectationed on this easter in ukraine with the arrival of a pair of top u.s. officials in the capital all while ukrainian defenders fight russia's plan to take the south of the country. i'm kim brunhuber live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta. french voters cast ballots in a

presidential election set against the backdrop of that war. live in paris with the latest. welcome to the show. it is 10:00 a.m. here in ukraine. orthodox christians across this country are celebrating easter sunday, or at least trying to amid the ongoing russian shelling. in the past hour we have received the latest intelligence assessment of the war from the british defense ministry. they say that numerous russian assaults in the donbas have been repelled this week. the intelligence update shows some russian gains. but at, quote, significant cost. because of course, strong ukrainian resistance. it really underscores an anticipated visit to kyiv today by u.s. secretary of state antony blinken and defense secretary lloyd austin. that was announced earlier by the ukrainian president. would be the first high-level american delegation to kyiv

since the war began, though no confirmation has been provided by the u.s. side so far. russia's no holds barred assault is now entering a third month. on saturday, a russian missile slammed into a residential building in the southern port city of odesa. the mayor says eight people were killed, including an infant, a baby girl. president zelenskyy is vowing to punish the russians for all they have done. >> translator: it is only a matter of time before all the russian murderers feel what the response to their crimes are. it is only a matter of time before we can all bring all the deported ukrainians home. it is only a matter of time before all of our people all over ukraine feel what a strong peace is. >> ukrainians continue to fight back. the defense ministry reporting

taking out three russian aircraft, five cruise missiles, and nine tactical drones just on saturday. it also claims two russian generals were recently killed in the kherson region, cnn unable to verify those claims. cnn's matt rivers has more on the top u.s. officials visiting kyiv and what ukraine's leader hopes to get out of it. >> reporter: high-profile visitors for the orthodox easter holiday in ukraine. saturday ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy told reporters he would meet with top u.s. officials in kyiv on sunday. >> translator: i don't think this is a big secret. the people from the u.s. are coming to us tomorrow. i shall be meeting with the state secretary, mr. blinken, and the defense secretary. and we will be waiting for the time when the security situation allows for the president to come and talk to us. >> reporter: the u.s. state department and white house declined to comment on the matter, but zelenskyy said talks alone won't help ukraine. >> translator: why is it

important for leaders to come to us? i will give you a pragmatic answer because they should not come here with empty hands now. we are waiting not just for presents or cakes, we are expecting specific things and specific weapons. >> reporter: friday, a russian general made clear one of moscow's goals in ukraine by saying russia intends to seize southern parts of the country to create a land corridor between the eastern donbas region and crimea. on saturday, for the first time in weeks, russia launched major strikes on the southern port city of odesa which ukrainian officials say hit a residential building, killing at least eight, including an infant. the russian defense ministry said it was targeting a terminal which housed weapons supplied by the united states and european nations. there was also no letup in the bombardment of the eastern

regions of the country. kharkiv once again came under fire after russian shells fell on the city. the governor of luhansk region urged civilians to leave if they could, describing the situation there as around the clock bombing. new curfews across the country since there could be an increase in russian attacks over the weekend. fierce battles for territory that zelenskyy will no doubt press his potential vip visitors sunday for more help in trying to win. when those high-profile visitors arrive in kyiv, they won't be empty-handed. the latest round of military aid from the u.s. is valued around $800 million and the package includes heavy weapons like howitzers, thousands of artillery rounds, tactical drones modified for use in ukraine, we've been told. u.s. president biden said he'll ask congress for more funds for ukraine later this week. perspective on all of this, we're joined by the president of

the kyiv school economics and advisor to president zelenskyy. thank you for taking time to speak to us, timothy. i know it's an important holiday in this country. let me start off by asking you what we can expect from this meeting. we heard president zelenskyy announcing yesterday in this two-hour press conference that secretary of state and secretary of defense of the u.s. side were coming here. can you confirm whether that's still happening? >> i can not confirm or deny, as they say. but if this happens, at least three things are very important. one is, of course, the diplomacy of this, that the world stands with ukraine and the leader of the world, the united states, of the democratic world. >> we have seen a lot of european leaders coming to kyiv. >> this is important. >> how important is the optics here? >> the optics in ukraine is important because at times, you know -- it goes in waves up and down. there are hours almost every day

where we feel abandoned. and we feel sometimes that we need more support, more hope. visits like that daily, weekly, continuing visits, show us that there is a -- we're part of the civilized world of democracy and we stand together. even though we are hoping for more support, but it is extremely important for morale. >> is president zelenskyy, ukraine still hoping president biden will make it here at some point? >> yes, we do, and it's a really strong point. but the optics are reimportant for russia because it demoralizes the troops. not everyone has access to the information, but it shows russia versus ukraine, very clear contrast. the way ukraine is with the world and russia is isolated. >> let me ask you something president zelenskyy said yesterday, that when the u.s. visitors arrive, they shouldn't come empty-handed. what is he asking for here? >> the other two points at least. one is military assistance. we need heavy weapons. in donbas you see how the

theater is developing. it's a very different situation from the north of kyiv, from the battle of kyiv. the terrain is different. the tactics of the russian force is different. they have -- and we do have -- been there for a while. so there are contact lines fortified. so it's a very different scenario. so we need different types of weapons. the second one is financial assistance for the economy and the recovery. everyone is talking about recovery will have to happen after the war. it's happening now in kyiv, we need that support now. >> 7 million people displaced within the country. >> exactly. >> on the weapons front, we saw from the united states this toward kind of aid packages announced in a period of two weeks. $8 million was the last one. so what more are you wanting? i know you mentioned some of the weapons. what else? >> okay, so training. >> okay. >> there's this narrative

around, that we can't supply modern weapons because they require training. the war is not stopping tomorrow, so start training yesterday. get people trained. a lot of us have been in the military. a lot of them have worked with nato, have been to iraq, have been to other theaters. people have been trained, people are western educated. and specifics of the weapons. because details matter. it has to be not necessarily always something which was there, something in storage, you know. it's better to have something which we can put to the theater tomorrow. >> we've seen the success of having those weapons. we saw in the last -- just on saturday, ukrainians fighting back. i think we had the defense ministry saying they've taken now 17 russian air assets, three russian aircraft, five cruise missiles, nine tactical drones. it professionals the point you're making. >> we also see that russia, the russian troops have thrown not

everything, but almost everything they've had in the east of ukraine. they pulled the troops from the north of ukraine, brought it to the east. they have been really pushing. but their advance is very, very small in terms of actual territory. that shows also that these weapons and ukrainian morale and training and perseverance together do the job of resisting. we need to get the ukrainian military kind of technically on top of russia. not being -- fighting with them or struggling. it would be better -- >> more on the offensive rather than defensive? >> right. the way, they bring artillery now. so we need long-range -- longer range. >> longer, okay. >> otherwise you pay in lives. shorter range or you don't have enough of longer range artillery or assets, anti-aircraft and so on, you pay in lives. they can reach you, then bombard the units, then try to take the territory, which will be difficult. the tradeoff is simple.

either longer range or killer remote -- not only artillery but the entire range of heavy weapons. >> and training. >> and training. >> critical. let's talk about the situation in mariupol that's been really truly devastating. we've seen the images. holed up in the steel plant. one guest told me in the last two hours or so, from his contacts, from some of the soldiers, ukrainian soldiers still inside, that they were being resupplied. is that possible? has that happened? >> i will say, we can't confirm or deny. i get emotional when you talk about mariupol. >> sorry. >> but it's true. it's true that we are -- feel are holding out. if you put two and two together, they've been there for, you know, close to 60 days in mariupol alone. and no supplies last that long. so they have been -- there have

been ways to resupply. >> so there have been resupplies? >> i cannot say whether they have been resupplied in the last two, three days. >> when was the last time you believe they were resupplied? >> i can only speak for what we do. we supply, as the kyiv school of economics, i'm not talking in an official capacity, i can only speak for what we do. we have been able to supply medical equipment, protective equipment, as recently as maybe ten days, 12 days ago. we've been shipping it to those areas. how they get it inside, how much of it gets inside, whether it's on the outskirts or not, i don't know. but we have been getting orders, continuous orders. small batches, not large. but there are probably ways to get through, at least as of a week ago or ten days ago. i don't know the situation yesterday or today. >> in the meantime, russians are tricking ukrainians into getting into buses, thinking they were going to safety, instead, they're going to russian-held

territory? >> yes. they have been doing it. it's the soviet union technique. what they are doing, i'm sorry i'm going to say it, you know. they're kind of trying to do -- to depopulate the east of ukraine. i think the message they are sending is very clear. if you surrender, like crimea in 2014, nothing is going to happen to you. if you resist, like donbas, you'll be destroyed. doesn't matter if you're civilians or military. there are no military strategic objectives in mariupol. they keep killing people. or odesa for that matter. >> that we just saw, air strikes. >> this is a very clear message. this message makes sense in the longer game in the sense that russia is sending a message not only to us, but also to other countries around russia, to the rest of the world. surrender, or be erased. >> timothy, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> wishing you all the best. thank you very much indeed. evacuations from ukraine's

war-torn areas are becoming increasingly difficult. while some were able to evacuate from the port city of mic ka lave on saturday, authorities had hoped to get civilians out of mariupol in a column. city officials say that effort was thwarted by the russian military. the head of one women's shelter in mariupol had to relocate the shelter after it became too dangerous to remain in the city. >> translator: shells constantly flew in the place where we collected water. we understood that on a certain day, there may not be water and food. we knew we needed to leave. we saw people were leaving and we started to go. we put 12 people in a passenger car. they were children and women. we just started driving out of there. >> so far, more than 5 million people have fled the fighting in ukraine to other countries. you can see there on your map. u.n. says more than 7.7 million are internally displaced within

the country. ukrainian officials say russia rejected a holiday cease-fire for easter, despite the dangers and being separated by the fighting, many of the faithful are coming home to spend the holiday with the family. >> reporter: as fighting rages on in the east of ukraine, in lviv, a city that has mostly been spared by russia's wrath, parishioners gather for protection and reflection. a somber affair for many this year. "it's less festive this year," this mother of three says, "but we want to keep our traditions and we want our kids to understand that god is with us. he helps us. we will win, and in this big day, the victory will be ours." despite calls to stay home,

young and old line up with their food baskets for a blessing. around the corner, kindness shared with strangers. an opportunity, too, for many ukrainians to support the troops on the front line with food donations and prayers. "we are both sad and joyful on this day because we believe in our soldiers," this parishioner tells me. "we are worried for them, we are praying for them, we are asking god to help all of us." others are too scared to venture to church this easter. we meet the fortune family who are feeling thankful. "i think i've never been this happy in my life."

anna maria left ukraine for poland when the war started. alone, nine months pregnant, carrying a world of worry on her shoulders. "when we were separated from each other, it put a huge burden psychologically on us. we were constantly reading the news," she says, "and the situation in ukraine in general, we were very worried." without husband or family by her side, while her own country was being ripped apart by suffering, the 25-year-old in her own agony gave birth to a little miracle. baby margarita. this gushing father couldn't be happier to have his girls by his side. "i have realized that my wife is not just a woman, she is a hero," he says, "and that if i was in her shoes, i wouldn't be able to, i would have broken

down." a family finally reunited and counting their blessings this easter. in the long and dark shadow of war. >> a proud grandmother there. if you'd like to safely and securely help people in ukraine who may be in need of shelter, food, water, go to cnn.com/impact. you'll find several ways that you can help. >> touching story, issa, thanks so much. voting is under way in an election that could shape france for many years to come. next live to france as emmanuel macron and marine le pen go head to head in a presidential runoff.

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♪ polls have been open for more than an hour now in the high stakes presidential runoff in france. the contest is a showdown between incumbent emmanuel macron and the far-light challenger marine le pen. whatever the outcome, the election is expected to have a profound effect in france and abroad. jim bittermann is outside a polling station in paris where

voting is going on. i can see as we speak, jim, going into this, considering that voter april pathy was a big concern and turnout for the first round was fairly low, you've been talking to some of the voters there. what sense are you getting? what are they telling you? >> well, the fact is we're seeing no evidence of apathy here. quite a few people have come this morning. you can see there's now a waiting line out here outside the polling place, which goes all the way inside where they will actually cast their ballots. from this perspective, it's a very small perspective, there's not too much absenteeism in this polling place. we'll know more nationwide around noon when we get the first figures on absenteeism across the country. one of the very first people in line, in fact, the very first person in line this morning, was a lithuanian refee ju rea 70-year-old daughter of a lithuanian mother who was also

voting, both have french nationality. they came to france in the '90s, took refuge here. i asked them with what was going on in the ukraine, the world situation right now, why it was important for them to come out ask vote. >> translator: france welcomed us. france gave us everything. it's so lucky to have such a president in this period. someone on that level who made such sacrifices. he carried everything on his shoulders. >> reporter: that was the kind of attitude she expressed because she said they had lived under russia's -- the russian thumb, the thumb of moscow, under both stalin and putin. as a consequence, they were quite wary of what's going on in the ukraine. however, that does not mean she voted for mr. macron, who basically she praised, because she also said that marine le pen had motherly qualities she liked. so she left it kind of ambiguous for us.

>> interesting perspective, jim. let's look ahead beyond this presidential election to the legislative elections coming up in june for the national assembly. what do you expect and how do you think that will play into and affect the agenda of whoever wins this presidential campaign? >> reporter: that's going to be a much different election, kim. in fact, in that election, there's going to be an election of all the members of parliament and those members from a lot of different parties, 12 different parties, as many as 12, could be presenting themselves, presenting candidates in the parliament. and so voters will have a lot of choice, a lot more choice than they're getting this time around and will have an effect and direct impact on what the next president, whether or not the next president succeeds in their mission. because it could be a parliament that's dead set against the kind of program that the president

would have. >> fascinating contrast. we'll be watching throughout the day. jim bittermann, thank you so much. of course, be sure to join us today, 8:00 p.m. paris time, 2:00 p.m. eastern in the u.s., special live coverage of the french election right here on cnn. a boat carrying approximately 60 people sank off the coast of lebanon on saturday. at least one person has died, a child. more than 40 people have been rescued, a government official tells reuters. it happened near the city of tripoli in the northern part of the country. according to the state news agency, the quote was sailing "illegally" toward europe and cyprus. the army, red cross, and other agencies are searching for those not yet accounted for. ukraine is expecting some high-profile guests. we'll look at why the announcement of visiting u.s. officials took some by surprise. that plus the latest on the war in ukraine after the break.

welcome back to all of you watching here in the u.s., canada, and all around the world. in any other year, ukrainians would be celebrating orthodox easter sunday. this year, celebrations are being marred by russia's war. more than 5 million people have fled to other countries and more than 7 million are displaced within ukraine. many won't have a home to return to. meanwhile, the carnage continues. officials say russian missile strikes in odesa killed eight people. the city's mayor says an infant was among the dead in the residential building. ukraine's defense ministry says it had some success saturday, killing two russian generals in a strike in the kherson region.

the ministry adds, it hit 17 targets, including russian aircraft. no comment yet on the kremlin, and we haven't verified those claims. we're also awaiting word that u.s. secretary of state antony blinken and defense secretary lloyd austin have arrived in kyiv. in a rare move, president zelenskyy announced their visit saturday. those kinds of visits usually aren't announced ahead of time. the patriarch of the russian orthodox church has expressed his full support of vladimir putin's war against ukraine. fredericka whitfield spoke to russian expert tom nichols and asked why the russian president thought he was doing god's will. >> putin surrounded for years now by nationalistic right-wing figures and clerics and priests in the russian orthodox church, including the patriarch who has a long history of being, to put it gently, very comfortable with the security services and with state power.

and was this the putin of 20 years ago? hard to say. i think he misses the soviet union. but that nostalgia for the soviet period has translated into this notion, goaded on by the people around him, that he can restore something even bigger than the soviet union, he can put the russian world back together under the aegis of orthodox christianity. i think he genuinely believes it now. >> if putin is able to use religion as an aspect in starting the war, might that also be the gateway of potentially ending it? >> one would hope. but i think it actually makes it more difficult to end it without some sense of a victory. if you begin a war believing that you are actually doing something that has existential importance -- i mean, it would

almost be easier to end this war if putin were just making a land grab or trying to control gas or oil or coal. you can negotiate with someone like that. i think it's going to make it more difficult for him to climb down after all of this soaring rhetoric about the slavic world that our brothers and sisters, liberating them from nazis. it's clearly happening. the russians have been toning down the rhetoric even while amping up the violence. but i think part of the reason world leaders have found him difficult to talk to about this, and several have -- the austrian chancellor, the french president, they've all come away saying this guy, you just can't talk to this guy. i think that's part of the reason, this kind of existential belief in his mission, partly what's making this war so difficult to negotiate russia's way out of. imf says the war in ukraine is contributing to higher prices and supply chain issues around

the world. looking at inflation's impact in several countries in latin america, some with presidential elections in the near future. >> reporter: in a slum in the outskirts of lima, elaina rodriguez shopping for her lunch service. rodriguez works as a cook in a soup kitchen. preparing meals for some of the most vulnerable residents of the slum. lately, even soup has become too pricey. >> translator: before things were accessible, everything -- vegetables, potatoes -- all of that is very expensive. prices have gone up, i don't know what to do anymore. >> reporter: rodriguez said she started cutting down on meat to keep cocking at an affordable price. her situation is far from alone. in the brazilian city of rio de janeiro, her colleague, antonio silma, has a similar recipe. >> translator: poor people can only eat fish, sausages, chicken.

they can forget about meat. >> reporter: inflation triggered by the russian invasion of ukraine, by rising oil prices around the world, is hitting hard in latin america where millions are exposed to rising food prices with no safety net to fall back on. peru's inflation in march reached the highest level in 26 years. brazil had last seen these levels of inflation when it created a new currency to escape an inflationary wave in the 1990s. in argentina, along with a textbook case of hyperinflation, the president launched a new offensive against an old foe. >> translator: friday we start a new war against inflation. >> reporter: prices are spiking just as economies were beginning to recover from the impact of the covid-19 lockdowns. according to the united nations, an additional 14 million latin americans have gone hungry since 2019. thousands have taken to the

streets. in brazil where inflation will play a key role in the presidential elections later this year. in peru, where at least six people died during this general strike against rising fuel prices. in pamplona alta, rodriguez has managed to fill her pots and lunch will be served, for now. outside her kitchen, the pots are empty, filled only with cries of anger. hunger awaits us. cnn, bogota. ♪ ♪ musicians, floats, colorful dancers parade in rio de janeiro loudly celebrating the return of the carnival. some of brazil's top samba schools performed in a contest friday. the parade competition is one of the top attractions of the carnival. celebrations have been on hold for the last two years due

to covid-19. this year's carnival was postponed from its traditional date in february. hong kong will allow nonresidents to enter the city starting may 1st, ending a two-year ban. visitors will need to be fully vaccinated and provide a negative test before enter tearing quarantine for at least seven days. flights will be suspended if three or more passengers test positive or have insufficient health records. in shanghai, officials announced 39 new deaths sunday, a record high since city officials first reported fatalities on monday in the city's ongoing outbreak. the government says it's racing to contain the outbreak as the city endures a weeks-long lockdown. try to imagine being locked in an iranian prison for almost five years. that happened to anushay ashuri.

>> you don't need to be physically tortured to go through hell. psychological torture is more effective than physical to tort. >> hear what he told becky anderson about how he was treated by his captors and he and his family endured this trying experience.

anushay ashuri traveled to iran to visit his mother but the family trip turned into a nightmare as he found himself arrested and sent to an infamous prison nearly five years. he was released by iranian authorities last month. he spoke to becky anderson about his harrowing ordeal. >> this is the yard. and we have two trees here. that is before i had made that shelter for myself. >> reporter: anushay ashuri

showed me the yard inside tehran's notorious prison, where he worked hard to create a semblance of normality. >> i used to sit here, even during winter, and when it was even snowing. >> it's been just over a month since anushay was released from prison, along with the british iranian aid worker azarley radcliffe. at his home in south london, he's far from the iranian prison where he spent nearly five years. >> i discovered the skeletons -- >> how does it feel? >> fantastic. unbelievable. still, i am adjusting to my new environment. i'll wake up sometimes, and i fear that it may still be a dream. >> it still doesn't feel quite real sometimes. because, you know, it was so unexpected. we didn't have any time to prepare mentally for his return. >> you left here to go and see

your mom back in 2017. take me back. >> she was living on her own. she needed my help. and as i was walking down the street, because my mom lives on the top of a hill north of tehran, four men jumped out of a car in front of me. they ask, are you mr. ashoori? i said, yes. the others told me to sit in the middle the back seat. we suddenly took off. >> the charge was? >> spying for israel. >> reporter: it was the beginning of what would be a horrifying ordeal for anoosheh and his family. >> to describe it as a nightmare is understatement. every second of the day i'd be asking, what's happening to him now? is he alive? is he being tortured? is he being interrogated?

>> i was threatened my wife and kids would be harmed. i said, if i don't exist any longer, they will be out of harm's way. i did make a few attempts. you don't need to be physically tortured to go through hell. in fact, psychological torture is more effective than physical torture. >> reporter: as he languished in prison, the uk foreign office advised the family to stay quiet. that diplomacy would be their best chance at freeing him. >> i knew that wasn't going to be productive. so when we did make that decision, when we were free to really campaign, i was very, very happy. and that's -- almost in a way thera therapeutic, because you can channel everything that you're feeling into campaigning. i should have started immediately after he was taken. i honestly urge all families to do the same. because it's very easy to be

forgotten. >> thursdays and fridays, it was closed. so we had to do something -- >> reporter: he moved out of the interrogation center and could meet fellow detainees in what they called the university, forming poetry societies and creating art. >> this is just fantastic. how did doing this help you? >> you forgot that you were in prison. because you were so engrossed in doing these things. so to finish a day takes centuries, but then there it passed quickly. >> reporter: it took years for the family to realize his ordeal was linked to a decades-old debt that the uk owed iran worth more than $500 million. what did the foreign office tell you about that debt when you first asked them? do you remember the day that you raised it with them? >> yes. the foreign office, up until i would say perhaps last year,

even maybe later, denied that there was any link between the two cases. between the debts and the cases of my husband. >> reporter: once the uk paid the debt, both prisoners were released and on a government plane back home. in a statement after their release, the uk foreign secretary, liz truss, said in parallel, we have also settled the ims debt as we said we would. iran's foreign minister acknowledged the debt had been paid but denied there was any link to the prisoner release. >> when we arrived in britain and i saw sherry, he saw his daughter. she burst into tears. i'm trying to stop my tears now. and she hugged her daughter.

i just forgot about her. it was something. and this should happen to all the other people who are there. they should get back to their families. people should not be traded for money. >> are you angry? >> i'm enormously angry. i'm much angrier than he is, i think. i think he's come to terms with it much better than i have. i am annoyed that we've lost this huge chunk of our lives for nothing. yeah, i am angry. hugely. >> boris johnson has said he'd like to meet you. is that something that you are prepared to do at this point? >> this is a complete job. if they are back, then i may consider it. but until then, with two people,

you cannot actually call yourself a winner. you have paid 400 million pounds for two people? what about the rest? >> reporter: the fate of these prisoners remains uncertain as a geopolitical game between iran and the west continues. but for now, one family is trying to move on with normal life. becky anderson, cnn, london. >> iran has previously defended its judicial process in the case and insists it respects the human rights of prisoners. condolences are pouring in over the passing of former u.s. senator orrin hatch. he was the longest-serving senator in utah history. the republican left the senate in 2019 after serving 40 years on capitol hill. the chairman of the hatch foundation called him a man of wisdom, kindness, character, compassion. current senate minority leader mitch mcconnell placed hatch for playing a key role in what he called major legislative

accomplishments. orrin hatch was 88 years old. strong triple threat storm moving through parts of the u.s. today. we'll go to the cnn weather center for the latest details ahead. fills your space with fraragrance that's always fresh, never overpowering. air wick. connect to naturure.

the first all-private crew on board the international space station will spend at least one extra day in space. bad weather on earth is delaying their return. undocking pushed back 24 hours because of high wind at possible splash-down sites. as of now the crew is set to undock from the iss sunday night u.s. time. it's thought crew members spent around $55 million each for the 10-day trip. shifting winds could help with several strong fires burning across the southwest. the fires have burned thousands of acres in arizona, colorado, and especially in new mexico. dozens of homes have been destroyed and evacuation orders have been issued for several communities. joining me now is cnn meteorologist derek van dam. you've been following those fires, what more can you tell us? >> it's part of the triple threat ongoing across the u.s. today from wildfires to a full-on blizzard to the chance

of tornados, severe weather thrown in the mix. this is a large storm system moving across the area, a collision of air masses. it is spring in the central u.s. and that is when we start to see cold air from the north interact with warm air from the south and voila. here's our storm system. large low pressure system located across the northern plains. but on the tail end of this where the cold and the warm air are mixing, this is where we're getting severe weather right over the southern portions of oklahoma, south of oklahoma city. some large supercell thunderstorms moving through that area with a severe thunderstorm watch through this morning. here's our threats of severe weather today from the storm prediction center. greatest risk across the great lakes region. detroit, chicago, keep an eye to the sky. southwestern and central portions of texas, large hail, damaging winds. can't recall out a tornado. we've highlighted that with our future radar as well. the full-on blizzard taking place, i-90 near the border of montana and south dakota closed on saturday.

here it is. in fact, that's montana, i should say wyoming, to south dakota. i-90 outside of rapid city where the strongest winds and the most snow is falling, reducing visibilities, creating concerns on the highway. talking about the third part of our triple threat, the wildfires new mexico to arizona. this is under the backdrop of our ongoing drought. but i want to take you to the wildfire that's just outside of flagstaff. you've got to see this. this is what wildfire crews are having to deal with at the moment with the tunnel fire. 21,000 acres have been burned with only 3% containment since this wildfire started a few days ago. the winds starting to shift. they're coming from the north-northeasterly direction. that means firefighters can preposition themselves ahead of the wind and a shift, that should help them fight the fire today. not only that, winds are starting to relax. hopefully we'll get in a little bit better conditions coming up.

a couple of florida neighborhoods got visits from two massive alligators and they were caught on video. this one strolled along a venice street last weekend. officials estimate this alligator was at least 3 meters long, roughly 10 feet. this giant reptile stopped traffic in venice a couple of days later. florida wildlife officials say one possible reason for these alligators being out and about, mating season begins soon. i'm kim brunhuber. i'll be back with more "cnn newsroom" and the latest developments from ukraine in just a moment.

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. welcome to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada and all around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. ahead on "cnn newsroom" -- >> we want our kids to understand that god is with us. he helps us. we will win. and in this big day, the victory will be ours. >> as ukrainians wake up every day to heavy shelling, their faith is still a place of refuge. what this easter sunday is like in a country fighting back against russia's invasion. plus we'll discuss