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 l

cnn's steven jiang is following this from beijing. steven, the lockdown clearly conditions with conditions. clearly working as we've seen. what more can you tell us? >> well, isa, this seems to be a never ending nightmare for shanghai's 25 million residents, most of whom are still being sealed in their homes and lacking access to food and medical care. this latest warning from the vice this coverage. a growing number of senior citizens are being forcefully removed from their homes and being sent to the government quarantine facilities. many facilities are in very crowded and primitive conditions with little medical care being provided on site. so a lot of people are asking why are they treating this most vulnerable segment of the population this way even though the whole zero covid policy is aimed at protecting this group. it's showing workers dump ing vegetables being dumped. it showed they are being dumped because they've gone bad. these are snapshots from the growing chaos and misery in shanghai's lockdown. lockdowns are happening a

rosemary. >> steven jiang, joining us from beijing. many thanks. >>> we will head back to ukraine after a short break, where russian troops are moving in as the battle for the eastern-donbas region grows more intense by the day. >>> and phil black visited a town outside of kyiv where occupying-russian forces left behind more than just a spalling campsite. he'll explain. or hotting. mealin', feelin', pie-ing, tryining. color your spread. upgrade your bread. pair it. share it. kraft singles. square it. discover a simple way to use colors in managing diabetes! inspired by nature, onetouch verio reflect® meter shows instantly if you're below, within or above your range. it cheers you on and provides guidance. connected to your health and your phone. visit onetouch.com today. >> tech: need to get your windshield fixed? safelite makes it easy. >> tech vo: you can schedule in just a few clicks. and we'll come to you with a replacement you can trust. >> man: looks great. >> tech: that's service on your time. schedule now. >> singers: ♪ safelit

cnn's steven jiang is following this story from beijing. it doesn't matter how many times you've described it, steven. these are strict lockdowns. what's the latest now in terms of the government really sticking to its zero-covid policy? >> reporter: that's right, paula. the grim reality is millions of people across china, including the 25 million or so residents in shanghai, continue to be sealed in their homes. many of them facing a shortage of food and other daily supplies despite repeated government pledges to improve distribution channels. now, one of the latest controversies comes from the form of a video that seems to show workers dumping a large amount of perfectly looking vegetables that were intended to be sent to shanghai residents in desperate need of fresh groceries. local officials later insisted those vegetables had gone rotten inside and had to be disposed of. and another rather disturbing development in shanghai is authorities there have now tightened regulations in terms of sending all positive cases and their close contact

cnn's steven jiang is following the numbers in beijing. >> when you look at official chinese figures and numbers, you really have to take them with a grain of salt, especially during difficult or sensitive time. we are of course now in the middle of the most challenging and precarious time, both economically, but also politically since the covid pandemic began two years ago. so that's why even though the official or state media takeaway or headline from the announcements earlier is that the 4.8% gdp growth for the first quarter, you really have to dive a bit deeper. first of all, their gdp growth target for the entire year is 5.5, around 5.5%. so this figure is shy of that. and then of course the growth target for the year was set before the current wave of covid infections and lockdown in shanghai. so the direct impact of those increasingly draconian lockdown measures in china's biggest city and its financial and business hub is really not going to be reflected until later this year. and already we are seeing, as you mentioned, some downward trend is starting in march, especially in

let's bring in cnn's beijing bureau chief steven jiang.t is not a big death toll. yet the impacts of this policy enormous. >> that's right, michael. as you mentioned nightmare in shanghai seems to be never ending despite propaganda's portrayal of an orderly and effective lockdown. for day, government officials have said they're dividing shanghai into three different categories, people in high or medium risk areas where they have positive cases or close contacts in their communities will have to remain sealed in their homes. but people in low risk areas are technically able to move about in their districts. but for the most part, that really has not happened because of the authorities' worry of continued emergence of new infections if they're letting people out of their apartment complexes. and at the same time, of course, we are seeing them continue to ramp up their roundup effort of all positive cases and close contacts, now of course with that no exception allowed rule, they're rounding up more and more senior citizen, some in their 90s.

cnn's steven jiang is following this story from beijing, and steven, you guys have been bringing us thisr day, with residents looking for lee relief, being incredibly frustrated. what is the latest from there now? >>. >> paula, the grim reality is millions of people across china, including the 25 million or so residents in hshanghai continue to be sealed in their homes, many facing shortages of food and supplies, despite repeated government pledges to increase the distribution channel. the form of video showing workers dumping a large amount of perfectly-looking vegetables that were intended to be sent to shanghai residents in great need of groceries. local officials, later, insisted those vegetables had rotten inside and had to be disposed of and another rather disturbing development in shanghai is authorities there are now further tightening the reg regulations in terms of sending all positive cases and their close contacts into government-run isolation wards with no more exception. so that has meant a growing number of senior citizens, some of them in their 90s, being forcibly taken o

for more on all of this, let's discuss it with cnn's steven jiang, who is live for us in beijing.d news for some in shanghai. >> reporter: that's right, michael. but, you know, 15,000 cases in a country that still insists on sticking to this zero-covid policy means 180 million people -- that's cnn's latest calculation -- have been living under some forms of lockdown across china, not just in beijing in shanghai, involving more than two dozen cities. that's the scale of lockdown in this country we're talking about. that's half of the entire u.s. population. many of the people in smaller cities really have been living like this for months with very little outside attention and no end in sight. but here in beijing, you know, many parents like myself on thursday received that much dreaded note about school closure in many of the cities. but today on friday, they actually have closed all schools although the authorities not billing this as a citywide school closure. instead they say they're giving everyone an extra day off ahead of the may day holiday. they're still not ruling out open

cnn's steven jiang is live in beijing.mplish it? but >> we'll, kristen, few people actually believe in any lockdown targets for. easing giving the huge credibility deficit of the shanghai authorities right now. remember, they have repeatedly denied the city back in late march and then they did exactly that. many of the cities 25 million residents ill prepared to deal with this increasingly draconian lockdown. that's also why we are seeing right now what they are focusing is. of course, dealing with the potential pitfalls of this lockdown. and one thing for sure, as what we've seen the government in beijing doing it, is doubling down on zero covid policy. saying they're not gonna change. this saying this has come from the very top. president xi's doing ping himself. very little we will room for shanghai authorities to change this approach right. now it's difficult to imagine them achieving zero covid by the end of this week, given they have been reporting 20,000 new cases on a daily basis for a while. the only way they can

. >> steven jiang.hank you so much. >>> heartbreaking barely begins to describe how mariupol residents feel about what's happening in their city. next, we talk to people who watched russian forces lay waste to their hometown but could do nothing to stop it. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brarain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think biggeger. why burn a candle when you can switch to air wick essential mist? it's the modern way to transform fragrance infused with natural essential oils into a mist. air wick essential mist. connect to nature. hi. i'm wolfgang puck when i started my online store wolfgang puck home i knew there would be a lot of orders to fill and i wanted them to ship out fast that's why i chose shipstation shipstation helps manage orders reduce shipping costs and print out shipping labels it's my secret ingredient shipstation the number 1 choice of online sellers and wolfgang puck go to shipstation.com/tv and get 2 m

>> steven jiang, live in beijing for us steven thank. you and thanks all of you for getting up early and joining us on early start. i'm kristen fisher. new date starts right now. >>> good morning to viewers in the u.s. and around the world. it is monday, april 18th. i'm brianna keilar. john avlon is with us. >> good morning. >>> russian forces sparing no city. as attacks rock the entire country overnight. in lviv, five missile strikes were carried out. one hit a tire repair facility. 40 cars were destroyed. air raid sirens were heard wailing across the city and the region. this blast shattered windows at a hotel housing evacuees. six people were killed and 11 injured, including one child. this is significant, right. just last week the curfews or were relaxed in that area. the governor of luhansk says there are no safe places anywhere in ukraine. >>> ukrainian officials say street fighting is under way right now. russians entered the town with a huge amount of equipment, as some residents tried to escape in their vehicles, russians opened

>> all right, steven jiang joining us live from beijing, thanks. south korea lift most of its covid-19 restrictions starting today. curfews for businesses, caps on private gatherings and rallies, and restrictions on religious activities have ended after more than two years. indoor and outdoor mask wearing will remain mandatory, but officials say other restrictions will be lifted if cases continue to decrease and medical system capabilities remain stable. here in the united states, a group of business owners and residents are suing the city of philadelphia to overturn its renewed indoor mask mandate which takes effect today. the city is bringing back the requirement due to a rise in covid cases. the white house covid response coordinator says he supports local officials making mask mandate decisions based on the data they have. doctor ashish jars also says an up taken cases across the u.s. is being driven primarily by the ba.2, the highly contagious sub variant of omicron. but he says hospitalizations remain low and covid vaccines are helping to kee

and i'm joined by steven jiang who is in beijing for us now. >> reporter: and as you can see, i'm surroundedy plain clothes agents here at this testing site. just to show you the political sensitivity of this issue. you know, we talked about how the chinese authorities have been doubling down on their zero covid policy. this is really a test of their political loyalty because this policy and its strict enforcement come from the very top, xi jinping has put hit personal stamp of approval on this policy. for many officials not only they cannot change or tweak it, they have to really reinforce it because this is about their political future. they are fearful of political consequences which is also why you see all these agents are just surrounding me. they were trying to stop us from going live here even though we are perfectly fine in public and not interfering with the testing site. this is one of the many testing sites in the city because the authorities here have ordered most of the capital cities 20 plus million people to go through three rounds of mandatory tests this week. and you can see

. >> reporter: i'm steven jiang in beijing. outside of one of the city's main children's hospitals. are lucky because this one is still open despite the closure of several major hospitals across the city with little advanced notice. also closed many schools in the city's most populous districts, all of that of course a very ominous sign that the worst is yet to come even though the capital city officially has recorded fewer than 200 cases in this latest outbreak out of its 20 plus million residents most of whom have gone through two rounds of mandatory covid tests this week. >>> i'm paula hancocks in seoul. president biden been here may 20th he will meet with the incoming south korean president who would have only been in the job ten days. north korea likely to dominate discussions there given the increase in missile launches. next the u.s. president will be heading to japan meeting the leaders of japan, australia and india. russia's invasion of ukraine likely to dominate those discussions. >> translator: i'm scott mclean in lviv. a russian military strike on the hospital in the eas