the paper does, however, come in handy. >> ben wedeman joins us from kharkiv.struggled leaving gave a sense of how many might stay there despite the conditions? >> it depends. we've heard president zelenskyy say they're gonna do as much as possible to restore basic services. but if that takes time, certainly, many people say that they want to leave. in fact, this is an area that's entries restricted except for journalists. so, many of them have relatives who are ready to drive in and take them away. because living in a town like that, without any basic services, let alone a functioning economy, not many people are gonna want to stay, anderson. >> are there concerns of russian missiles there? >> in fact, the evening before we went to izium, it was hit by missiles. it's very much within the range of russian artillery, and missiles. in fact, while we were there you can hear in the distance, fairly constant fire. and the areas, ukraine off course within two weeks captured a huge amount of territory. but nobody is living under the illusion that the russians perhaps

the power does, however, come in handy. >> and ben wedeman joins us now from kharkiv. come residents spoke about leaving. do you have a sense of how many might stay there just by the conditions? >> reporter: well, it depends. we've heard president zelenskyy say that they're going to do as much as possible to restore basic services. but if that takes time, certainly many people say they want to leave. in fact, this is an area that entry is restricted except for, for instance, journalists. so, many of them have relatives who are ready to drive in and take them away because living in a town like that without any basic services, let alone a functioning economy, not many people are going want to to stay. anderson? >> and are there still concerns about russian missiles there? >> well, in fact, the evening before we went to izium, it was hit by missiles. and it's very much within the range of russian artillery and missiles. in fact, while we were there, you could hear in the distance fairly constant fire. and the worry is that ukraine, of course, within two weeks captured a hu

cnn's kiley at wood and ben wedeman, the secretary-general saying bluntly our world is in trouble. this week. >> reporter: yeah, he was very clear and very stark in his warnings saying the world is in peril and paralyzed, ana. he said there was a need to address a number of issues, climate change, gender inequality, poverty. but, of course, central to this world leaders' meeting is the ongoing war in ukraine. as we watch what we'll be watching for is if all of these european nations that have stood on the side of ukraine continue to do so over the course of the next week and how we see that continued support really come alive. i've talked to diplomats here at the united nations. they do expect that there will be that unity, that defense of ukraine continue this week. one of the reasons they think that is because of the gains ukraine has had in recent weeks. they say now is not a time when the world is going to step away from ukraine. >> president biden arrives ahead of this big speech, kylie. do we know about the focus of his speech? >> reporter: jake sullivan said biden is going t

. >> ben wedeman joins us live from the ukrainian capitol of kyiv. good to see you, ben.'s president sent a defiant message to russia. the war is not over yet. what is the latest from the front lines? >> reporter: well, we understand perhaps the ukrainians are done with this offensive in the kharkiv region. they've taken 6,000 square kilometers according to ukrainian officials in the last two weeks. that's an awful lot of territory that really needs to be secured in the event of perhaps a russian counter offensive which at the moment doesn't seem very likely given the disarray of russian forces, particularly in that area. they've lost hundreds of millions of dollars in military equi equipment. many of their soldiers have been captured by the ukrainians. by all accounts their morale was bad, poorly supplied, clearly poorly led as well. now attention is beginning to focus on the kherson region in the southern part of the country which ukrainians have been talking about launching an offensive for quite some time in that area but what we are seeing is the russians are continu

there is a little generator power. >> reporter: ben wedeman in ukraine. thank you. >>> it is the house race that could theoretically determine which party ends up controlling the democrats taking a big gamble from ultra maga candidate at the gop primary. will it pay off for them or maga? stay with us with angi, you can connect with and see ratings and reviews. and when you book and pay throug you're covered by our happiness check out angi.com today. angi... and done. every moment in life is a bet. like betting on taking a hitch hiker tailgating. but life doesn't offer you up to $1000 back in free bets if you don't win. so bet on america's #1 sportsbook, fanduel, and make every moment more. oh, that i can't believe i scored this price feeling! wayfair always delivers small prices for big dreams. ♪ wayfair you've got just what i need ♪ >>> in our politics lead, all eyes are on michigan where a heated congressional race between republican john gibbs and democrat hilary, gibbs' extreme views are raising eyebrows and why democrats could be responsible. >> how

as ben wedeman reports, they're finding out there's not much left. >> reporter: anatoli is trying to make his demolished house a home again one nail at a time, but without a roof, plastic sheeting on the windows won't make much of a difference. this is all they can salvage. anatoli is overwhelmed by what he and his wife found when they returned to their village. what can i say, he asks? you can see for yourself. svetlana was born in this house 53 years ago. her reaction -- pain, she says. shock. pain, terrible pain, bitterness. the fruits of a life's labor withered on the vine. this is what happened to many of the towns and villages caught on the front lines of this war. they were totally destroyed. up the road residents unload relief supplies trucked in to the town. mayor is back in his office after months away. he says these arm bands were handed out to the workers of the local russian installed administration. food provided to collaborators and newspapers. about 100 people were collaborators, he tells me, and the russians left they left with him. olexander from the mayor's office

victor, alison. >> really interesting developments, ben wedeman. thank you. >>> jill dougherty was cnn's moscow bureau chief and now adjunct professor at georgetown units. cedric leighton is a retired military analyst. i want your reaction to what we just reported, that russian forces have been cleared from a town north of kherson, the first city occupied by the russians. also the military advise tore president zelenskyy said they're fighting and trying to open up their way into the luhansk region. if they can make some advances in those two areas, what that means for the ukrainians. >> it's a big deal for the ukrainians, victor. i think the key thing here is to look at this whole operation in the northeast, in luhansk, the donbas and in the south as being a really coordinated effort on the part of the ukrainians. some of us thought that perhaps the southern operation because there was so much publicity around the operation around kherson, that that might have been a faint instead of the actual operation. now it looks as if it's not just a faint, i

ben wedeman, cnn, eastern ukraine. adadjust adadjust s for you. newsroom. i'm john vause., we'll be back with a lot more news after very short break. you're watching cnn? he citi cust card.h℠ i love it... [voice vibrating] we're carvana the company who invented car vending machines and buying a car 100 percent online now we've created a brand new way for you to sell your car whether it's a year old, or a few years old we want to buy your car so go to carvana enter your license plate answer a few questions and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds when you're ready we'll come to you pay you on the spot and pick up your car that's it so ditch the old way of selling your car and say hello to the new way at carvana

ben wedeman, thank you so much.se that noise we're hearing is the rainfall that's happening in the middle of that live shot. >>> all right. russia's recent battlefield losses in ukraine have enraged some of putin's own citizens, including pro-war activists. cnn's matthew chance has more on the growing tide of criticism and how it may impact putin and the war. >> reporter: ukraine's game set to music is increasingly putin's loss. russia staring broad public criticism at home, hard liners voicing anger. and dozens of elected local politicians too, signing an official petition, offered by this chancellor demanding president putin be impeached. he has been told he will be hidden if they try to put him in jail. >> the russian army is being destroyed right now. we will lose people. we'll lose weapons. and we'll lose our ability to defend. >> reporter: and that fact that the russian army is suffering these setbacks, that is fueling anger, isn't it? not just amongst liberal aspects but also amongst hard liners as well. they

ben wedeman is in kharkiv, ukraine. are you hearing from people there about what president putin has announced? >> reporter: well, i think the ukrainians don't have a very high opinion of the russian military. they have experienced it firsthand and you oftentimes hear people say that the russians simply aren't very well prepared for this war of the and what they say is that if you look at what's going on in russia, this seems like a real rush job, this call-up of 300,000 reservists. we're seeing reports, for instance, that in some parts of russia, that people are being rousted from their beds, put in cars and driven straight to the enlistment offices and put on buses. there's going to be a lot of perhaps unwilling and unhappy recruits being sent to the front here of here. and what we have seen in this area, in the kharkiv region, where the russians really just ran away in terror as the ukrainians were moving forward is that these 300,000 reservists, who are going to be deployed in ukraine, are probably going to go throug

for more ben wedeman joins us from kharkiv, ukraine. n, another message from zelenskyy aimed for russian audience, this time to its soldiers. how is it likely to be received? >> reporter: well, that's part to say, kim, but certainly the message is interesting, he's telling the soldiers to either desert and surrender to the ukrainians in which case the ukrainian authorities will not only not divulge the circumstances of their surrender, but if they are -- in the event of a prisoner exchange if those russian prisoners do not want to be returned to russia, ukraine will accommodate. he called on those serving in the ranks to sabotage or interfere or pass information to the ukrainians. and, you know, there is this sort of psychological warfare has been going on for a while. in fact, i received the other day a message on my ukrainian phone saying soldier in the russian federation, you are fulfilling a criminal order. you will die. surrender to captivity. so there is a pretty constant drum beat by the ukrainians trying to undermine the morale o

and ben wedeman is in kharkiv. n, let's start with you and if there's been any response from ukraine to what we heard from president biden and what we've heard from president putin. >> reporter: well, before i get to that, victor, let me tell you within the last half hour we have seen several missiles fly over here, kharkiv. here's some of the video. according to local authorities, one of them landed on a non-residential building. there's no word of any casualties or there don't appear to be any casualties. last night at 2:00 a.m. local time, similarly, missile strikes nearby. the fear is that after president putin made this announcement it's going to take months for those 300,000 reservists to be brought to the front line. the fear is that perhaps tonight or in the coming days they may use their fire power just to remind ukraine of the kind of weaponry they have. regarding reactions to president putin's speech, we've heard president zelenskyy said that it wasn't a surprise that they're going to carry out this parti

>> ben wedeman in ukraine, thank you so much. please stay safe. this hour i sit down for an exclusive live interview with the president of france, emmanuel macron fresh off his meeting with president biden. that's ahead. >>> is this going to be the case that sticks? donald trump and his three older children being sued by the new york attorney general and wanted to repeal the 19th amendment that gave women the right to vote. stick around. at bath fitter, every quality bath starts with quality people. our consultants help you choose from hundreds of bath options so we fit your style. our installers complete your work in as little as a day so we fit your schedule. our manufacturing team custom crafts your bath so we fit your standards, and it's guaranteed for life. when you can trust the people who create your new bath, it just fits. bath fitter. visit bathfitter.com to book your free consultation. moderate to severe eczema still disrupts my skin. despite treatment it disrupts my skin with itch. it disrupts my skin with rash. but now, i can disrupt e

>> ben wedeman reporting for us. ben, thank you very, very much. let's get some more on all of these dramatic developments. joining us right now, cnn's chief international anchor christiane amanpour. christiane, thanks for joining us. this russian mobilization, as you well know, may be a desperate move by putin, but is it a sign he's digging in on this war? >> this is what the europeans and americans and basically western alliance people are telling me here at the u.n. i spoke to the european commission president, ursula von der leyen. she believes, and so do others i've spoken to, that what's happening now shows a measure of desperation. and what you've just heard from ben and from matthew regarding what's going on on the ground is testament to that, that putin if he really is calling up generals on the front and directing, you know, from the kremlin bunker this is not how modern war is waged. in addition, any mobilization is being protested right now but would take time to actually stand up including training and getting them ready to actually go

. >> cnn's ben wedeman live from kharkiv, ukraine. ben, i can see the temple around you.ou're in a town that was just liberated from the russians less than 48 hours ago. what are you seeing? >> reporter: yeah, precisely. it was saturday evening local time. what we're seeing these are two two t 80 tanks from a tank division normally based in moscow. this, in fact, in one of the tanks is the mangled body of a russian commander. and what we have seen as we have driven into this town is a lot of completely destroyed russian armor. we saw one dead russian soldier by the side of the road. we understand even though the ukrainians were able to take control of this town just less than 48 hours ago, the russians are as many as 15 kilometers, that's about 10 miles away from here. and most of the fire outgoing from the russian positions is really just to cover their retreat. now, we're in the -- we're actually not far from the russian border here because this is the far end of the kharkiv region, what you just heard that was outgoing, not incoming. but what we're seeing is that even

ben wedeman is in kyiv. ben, what more are you learning?rter: what we know so far is this -- for instance we got a statement from the governor of the kharkiv region where izium is located. this gravesite is in a forest. and he says they have found 450 bodies. he said that of those that have been exhumed so far, and of course they have only dug up a fraction of them, 99% show the signs of violent death, that is the term he uses. he says some of the bodies have been found with their hands tied behind their backs. one of the bodies had a rope around its neck. he said among the dead are children. in fact we understand that an entire family was buried together. the father born in 1988, the mother 1991, their daughter in 2016. now, there are more than 200 law enforcement and forensic experts on the scene trying to do as much as they can to get the bodies out. it will take time to identify them. some of the graves marked by very crude plywood crosses do have names on them, but many do not. and of course this is an area that has recently been liber

. >> for more cnn's ben wedeman joins us from kharkiv. from zelenskyy aimed at a russian audience, this time to its soldiers. how is that likely to be received, do you think? >> reporter: well, we already know, kim, that the morale among russian soldiers, many of them in ukraine, isn't very good. they've poorly supplied, poorly led, they have bad logistics. so he's sort of focusing in on a fairly weak point of the russian forces. now, in his address last night he said that if russian soldiers surrender, he said they will be treated in a civilized manner. the circumstances of their surrender will be kept secret because, of course, russia has passed a law whereby if a soldier voluntarily surrenders he could later face up to 15 years in prison. and he said that in the event of a prisoner exchange, if a russian prisoner does not want to return to russia, ukraine will facilitate that. now, for those serving he called upon them to sabotage russian operations, interfere with those operations and possibly pass information about russian operations

i'm ben wedeman, cnn, reporting from kharkiv. >>> ukraine's recent military successes are posing a newenge for russia's state media, how to spin a clear defeat as anything but and how to convince russians things are going according to plan if this is the reality on the ground. so to talk about that we're journaled by a russian journalist who is speaking to us from the latvian capital. thank you for joining us here. let's talk about the russian reverses on the battle fiend and how they're being discussed. is it being discussed? do average russians know about the successful ukrainian counteroffensive, russian troops crumbling, abandoning equipment and so on. >> they do in fact. good morning and thank you for having me. they do, in fact, but in a very specific way. so because this defeat and this very -- this retreat from the kharkiv region was too big to hide, yes, they are indeed discussing it on state television, but so as to kind of sweeten the pill the pundits on state television saying that russia is losing not to yukrain not to nato. they're saying it's the nato forces who routed r

ben wedeman joins us. us what putin is saying and how he's conveying the message. >> reporter: he said this in his nightly address. he called upon russian soldiers to versurrender or die. he said if they surrender, they will be treated civilized and their surrender will remain secret. that's part, because the russian parliament passed a law which says if a soldier surrenders voluntarily, he could face up to ten years in prison. and president zelenskyy also said that in the event of a prisoner exchange between russia and ukraine, and there are russian prisoners of war who do not want to return home, ukraine will respect that desire. now, he also called upon russian soldiers in ukraine to sabotage and interfere with russian military operations. and also to pass on critical intelligence to the ukrainian side. now, this sort of psychological warfare, the ukrainians have gotten pretty good at. in fact, i was near the russian frontlines the other day with my ukrainian phone. clearly, it pinged with ukrainian int

ben wedeman is joining us live from kharkiv. these votes could happen within days.t happens is that it is expected that they will vote in all four of these areas in favor of joining russia. and russian officials have already said that they will look favorably upon their excession to russia. and therefore what is important to point out is these areas where the war has been raging most fiercely will become technically as far as russia is concerned russia telephone. and the citizens within them, according to the russians, will be russian citizens. so it will no longer be a war within ukraine, it will be a war between russia and ukraine, which could possibly mean that the rules of engagement for russia will completely change. it perhaps will no longer be a so-called special military operation, but, rather, a war which would give the government a broader power for a mobilization, for the war effort. we've seen obviously in recent weeks the russians haven't been faring very well on the battlefield. this would allow them to bring in more manpower, perhaps weapons we haven'

cnn's senior international correspondent ben wedeman is on the ground in kharkiv.rainian officials afraid could come next? >> reporter: well, tomorrow is the last day voting, alex, in these sham referenda in the four regions partially occupied by the russians, and the result is a foregone conclusion that, of course, the results, take that as you will, will be in favor of an annexation by russia and the russians will probably make a rapid decision on that. now, the ukrainians' more immediate concern, of course, is the partial mobilization, which in theory could bring as many as 300,000 russian troops to the front lines here in ukraine. but today i was speaking to an experienced commander who has dealt a lot with russian prisoners, and he says what he's seen is the ones already on the ground are demoralized, poorly equipped, poorly supported, poorly led. they're really just concerned about the sheer number of troops that could show up on the front lines. now, another concern at the moment, of course, are the thinly veiled threats of the use of nuclear weapons by pres

cnn's ben wedeman joins us from kharkiv.ell us how are now reacting to this war. >> reporter: well, clearly this reaction probably took the kremlin by surprise. a russian newspaper initially published in moscow but since the war has moved to latvia, they are reporting that more than 250,000 russian men have left the country since vladimir putin announced this partial mobilization. now maxar technologies has put on the pictures from between the border of russia and georgia. it shows that there's a line of cars ten miles long, people waiting to get out. as you mentioned, finland is recording record numbers of russians crossing over the border. essentially any country into which russians can go without visas they are going. and in huge numbers. and those who aren't going, many of them are protesting in the semiautonomous republic of dagestan in russia, days of protest there. you've had scuffles with police. people who do not want to be part of this so-called partial mobilization. and as a result of this anger on the streets in

jim and poppy. >> ben wedeman live in kyiv.>>> a woman in san francisco is suing police after she said dna from her rape kit years ago was used to arrest her in another case. she's suing on civil rights grounds. we'll talk about it next. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (coughing) hi, susan. honey? yeah. i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad. try this robitussin honey. naturally sourced honey you love, plus the effecve cough relief you need. robituss. the only brand with real hoy and elderberry. becoming a morning person starts the night before with new neuriva relax and sleep. it has l-theanine to help me relax from daily stress. plus, shoden ashwagandha for quality sleep. so i can wake up refreshed. neuriva think bigger. businesses have to find new ways to compete in order to thrive in an ever-changing market. the right relationship with a bank who understands your industry, as well as the local markets where you do business, can help lay a solid foundation for the future. pnc provides the resources of one of the nation's largest ba

the battle rages on. >> our thanks to ben wedeman for that report. >>> democrats are warnming to te idea of a second biden term, but aren't sure he will run. we have new cnn reporting ahead. >>> plus revelations in maggie ha haberman's book who says making secret rich friends made the presidency worth it. >>> a train hit s a police car with a woman handcuffed inside. the frightening collision all caught on tape. liberty mutual.to thanr they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. contestants s ready? go! only pay for what you need. jingle: liberty. liberty. liberty. libererty. >> tech: at safelite, we take care of f vehicles with the latest technology. we can replace your windshield ...and recalibrate your safety system. >> cusmer: and they recycled my old glass. >> tech: don't wait. hedule today. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite rlace. ♪ the first time you made a sale online was also the first time you heard of a town named... dinosaur? we just got an order from a dinosaur, colorado. start an easy to build, powerful website for free with a partner that al

our senior international correspondent ben wedeman is on the ground for us. ben, is this so-called voting essentially happening at gunpoint? >> reporter: basically it is, wolf. we're seeing video and hearing reports of election workers going house to house, door to door, with ballot boxes, accompanied by armed men, in some cases armed men wearing balance cla vas. we're wear the election workers are going door to door. people are locking their doors and simply not answering to avoid voting. in fact, the ukrainian authorities have urged residents of the occupied territories not to answer the door in case strangers show up. now, at the polling stations themselves, apparently there aren't any voting booths. basically you vote in the open. ukrainian officials say anywhere between in some areas 50% to 75% of the population of these areas occupied by the russians, the populations have left. they've gone because of the war, because of the occupation, and so to make up for the lack of numbers, according to ukrainian intelligence, which has intercepted documents, it ind

we care more about actions rather than words. >> ben wedeman, kaitlin collins, thank you both for yourrting. let's continue this conversation. joining us is robin wright, a distinguished fellow at the u.s. institute for peace and colonel cedric leighton, former member of joint staff of the pentagon. robin, putin calling up 300,000 reservists. what does that tell you? >> well, it reflects the disa ray as ben pointed out. this is an army that has suffered serious losses both in manpower and territory. this is a turning point for putin, for his country, for his military initiative and i think for his political future. this is a dangerous moment in this war, particularly because he is now more than once talked about invoking all the weapons in his arsenal, which include nuclear weapons. that would change the face of the war, it would change the nature of it. it's already in practice kind of a mini world war. but this would then pose a threat to nato allies in ways that we haven't seen in over 70 years. so this was a real moment. he clearly was trying to steal the bluster of an american pre

cnn's ben wedeman traveled to izium. >> reporter: help arrives in izium. bags of barley meal.ff the tribulations of late. she's seen worse. "we survived world war ii" when i was little," she tells me. a surgeon hands out medicine. sedatives are in high demand. >> half of a year, six months, without any help. you can understand what do they -- just imagine what do they feel? >> reporter: liberation from russian isn't the end of izium's troubles. much of the city was severely bombarded before falling to russia in spring. there's no running water, no electricity, no heat. crowds gather to charge cell phones off an army generator and make calls. ten minutes per person. using internet provided by a satellite connection. lubov and her daughter angel la are calling relatives. they want to leave. winter is coming. "people will freeze," angela warns. "older people won't survive." they also fear the russians could return. nearby, the signs of their hasty retreat. helmets strewn outside a house russian soldiers commandeered. bread crumbs still on the table. insects make a meal of fruit h

our senior international correspondent ben wedeman is in ukraine for us. f, about 146 bodies had been dug up from that mass burial site. among those bodies, two children. now, what we're hearing from officials is many of these bodies are showing signs of a violent death, of torture, stabbing, shrapnel wounds. some do have their hands tied behind their backs as well. now, officials say it's going to take about another two weeks to dig up all of the bodies. and of course each body will have to be forensically examined to determine the cause of death, and then their dna analyzed for positive identification. wolf? >> i know, ben, you were just in izyum. what did you see there? how were the people there coping? >> they're having a hard time, wolf. there's no water, no electricity, no communications, no internet. there's a shortage of food. when we were there, volunteers were handing out food, there was another truck handing out medicine. but these are people who basically who have been on their own now for almost five months. and they were living this odd existe

i'm ben wedeman, cnn, reporting from kharkiv. >>> as ben mentioned ukraine has reported a second horrificlowing the rout of russian troops. showing what they described as torture rooms in the kharkiv region. ukraine say they discovered more than ten of those rooms after the retreat aid long with alleged torture devices. ukraine says russia has committed more than 34,000 war crimes and crimes of aggression since the war began. president zelenskyy says ukraine will go after the perpetrators. here he is. >> translator: torture was a widespread practice in the occupied territory. that's what the nazis did. they will answer in the same way, both on the battlefield and in courtrooms. we will identified all those who tor tortured, who humiliated horks brought this atrocity from russia here to our ukrainian land. >> the announcement of torture rooms following the discovery of a mass burial site in izium. on saturday local residents went there to find the graves of their relatives believed to be buried there. ukraine says at least had 40 unmarked graves were found at the site after the recent retr

. >> our correspondent ben wedeman joins us live from kyiv. es, to think about what jim just described. what is the latest that you're learning about the mass graves found in izyum? >> reporter: well just seconds ago we received a entertainment from the kharkiv governor who said that they're currently 200 law enforcement officers an experts on the scene there at the moment. that they found around 450 b bodies and 99 percent of the bodies show signs of a violent death, some of them have their hands tied, the bodies have their hands tied behind there backs and one of the bodies has a rope around its neck. now we understand that the u.n. is sending a investigation team from its human rights monitoring organization to go to the scene. but certainly this is beginning to look very reminiscent of what was witnessed in bucha, that suburb of kyiv where almost 450 bodies were dug up after the russians were driven out. many of them showing signs of torture, beating, and some were execution. what we heard from president zelenskyy last night and he said in

cnn's senior international correspondent ben wedeman is standing by for us. ongoing? >> reporter: well, this counteroffensive is really dramatic. at this point, we heard president zelenskyy say today when he was in the city of izyum that ukraine has liberated as many as 6,000 kilometers. that's 3,750 square kilometers. now, the ukrainians, it's believed, are perhaps going to pause this offensive. they've taken this territory in just a matter of two weeks. the russian forces in that area are clearly in disarray. the ukrainians have managed to capture quite a lot of prisoners. a huge amount of russian equipment it's estimated by some is worth $700 million. now, when the president was in izyum today, he said that he hopes that the ukraineen flag will fly over all ukrainian cities and towns, indicating that the idea of some sort of territorial compromise with the russians is simply off the table. now, the expectation is perhaps now the ukrainian armed forces will be focusing on the south in the kherson area. that is an area where there was much talk of an offensi

ben wedeman joins us live from kyiv. ing this area of the countries that it's been taken back, remarkably, from the russians? >> as you said, anderson, it was a solemn ceremony when he was there to raise the ukrainian flag over izium. but he expressed shock. shock at what he saw. some ukrainian officials are saying that as many as a thousand people were killed in that city during the russian occupation. now, at this point, ukrainians say they have retaken about 6000 square kilometers. that's 2300 square miles from the russians just in the last two weeks. his presence there was pretty impressive. he was only about nine miles from what is still a very active russian front. and certainly, for many people here, they contrasted his appearance, embracing the soldiers, the civilians in that city, compared to the images we've seen of president vladimir putin of russia, who rarely goes out, and when he does meet with people, it's usually at the end of a very long table. so this certainly shows that the ukrainians are starting to f

cnn senior international correspondent ben wedeman joins us live from kyiv. why is zelenskyy's request so critical in this moment, do you think? >> reporter: well this is a critical moment because the russians have suffered such a massive defeat in kharkiv losing 8,000 square kilometers that their only means of retaliation at the moment is to indiscriminately it seems hit civilian infrastructure. we've siege it on a water reservoir, they caused some flooding causing the residents to have to flee to dry, higher ground. we've seen it in kharkiv a few days ago where the russians struck the power system in that city, the second largest in ukraine was without power for quite some time. and so this is why we heard this urgent appeal from the ukrainian president today during a press conference and what he made the point that he has not received any sort of positive response from any of the countries so far for this urgent request. jake. >> what are you learning about what the russians left behind when they fled recently in that area that the ukrainians liberated in

i'm ben wedeman, cnn, reporting from kharkiv. >>> and joining me now is ukrainian army sergeant who just kharkiv counteroffensive. thank you so much for being with us. >> it is an honor to be here. >> and ukraine has been making a lot of progress in taking on the russians, especially in recent weeks. it has been really impressive to everybody around the world. what can you tell us about the situation on the ground, does it feel like you are making a lot of progress? >> yes, we have progress with kharkiv counteroffensive, but it cost a lot of losses and limitations. so during liberating our lands, we saw mass grave of people, we saw tortured people and the picture is not so positive. that is why our delegation is here to ask and to say thanks to express our gratitude to the united nations for suchlts ukr support of ukraine. >> and while back here in washington, it is easy for us to say things are going so well for ukraines because of the way you are handling the russians right now, but at the same time as you were just saying your forces are on the ground and you are finding evidence of a

ben wedeman is live in kyiv with more on this. what is the latest from you?rkiv area seems to have perhaps taken a pause within the last two weeks, the ukrainians have manage to regain 8,000 square kilometers of territory. and in the process really humiliating russian forces with this rapid advance. but we're seeing that the russians perhaps taking advantage of their -- their superiority in terms of long range missiles are striking civilian infrastructure. you'll recall a few days ago, the electrical system was knocked out by the russians in the city of kharkiv. that is ukraine's second largest city. and yesterday the russians struck with cruise missiles, a water pumping station on a major dam to the south of here causing flooding and civilians to flee their homes for dry ground and today there was another missile strike in an industrial estate. so is it does appear that they are making up for this defeat in the kharkiv area with these missile strike. and today we attended a press conference of president zelenskyy who said his government is in touch with fran

ben wedeman, thanks so much. appreciate it. >>> ukraine was top of mind for vladimir putin as he met with his chinese counterpart in uzbekistan. the russian president thanked xi jinping for balanced position on the matter, but he didn't seem to get the response he was looking for. the chinese leader on his first foreign trip in two years didn't even mention ukraine. instead he thanked russia for respecting its one china policy and emphasized economic ties and trade. >>> in just a couple of hours now brittain's new king charles iii and his wife, the queen consort, will return to wales for the first time since he became sovereign. the king's relationship with that country goes back more than half a century when he took the title prince of wales. well, the long awaited details of queen elizabeth's funeral have now been made public, and it promises to be one of the most elaborate events ever held in british history. this evening king charles will return from wales and will be joined by his younger sister and two brot

ben wedeman is there with more. hi there, ben. of reaction to this latest massive mobilization by putin? >> what we heard from president zelenskyy here in his nightly address was he was calling on those russian soldiers who end up on the front lines in ukraine to either surrender and if they surrender, they'll be treated in a civilized manner and the circumstances of their surrender will be kept secret. the russians said anyone who surrenders voluntarily could face up to 10 to 15 years in prison. he said in the event of a prisoner exchange, if any of the russian prisoners does not have to go back to russia, ukraine will facilitate that desire. he also called on russian soldiers in ukraine to sabotage russian operations. this is part of ongoing psychological war by the ukrainians against russians. the other day i was near the russian front lines, i have a ukrainian phone and i received on it a text from the ukrainian authorities saying soldier of the russian federation, you are fulfilling a criminal order, you will die. surrender t

cnn's ben wedeman is live in kharkiv. t else are you seeing in these areas, the areas liberated from russians? what are you hearing from people about what life was like with the russians there? >> reporter: christine, we were in the up to of izium itself where that mass burial site is located and what we saw was people slowly trying to get accustomed to life doesn't approach normal, but a different sort of life. keep in mind that for months their town was a front line town. there's a river that runs through it and that was the front line between russia and ukrainian forces. there's massive destruction there. during the russian occupation basically they were on their own. most people just stayed inside or in the basements to try to avoid any contact with the russians. we did speak to one elderly woman who had a stroke during the russian occupation but was unable to get any medical a assistance. they're trying to get the basics of life. help arrives in izium. bags of barley meal. tins of food. waiting her turn, inessa shrugs

i'm ben wedeman, cnn, from kharkiv. >>> stunning video as an earthquake topples a building in taiwan.pay you on the spopot then pick up your car that's it at carvana flu shots at cvs are pretty...flex. schedule one for you... ...or the whole crew. plus, they're free. really? healthier is getting a flshot on your schedule. cv healthier happens together. have you seen my new phone yet? it like, folds in half. i would never switch to samsung, i love my phone. what??? ♪ (...it folds in half.) you see i love my phone. i would never switch to samsuuu... (gasping) ♪ ever wonder what everyone's doing on their phones? they're investing with merrill. think miss allen is texting for backup? no she's totally in charge. of her portfolio and daniel g. she's building a greener future and he's... running a pretend restaurant. and phil? phil has questions, but none of them are about his portfolio. digital tools so impressive, your money never stops working for you with merrill, a bank of america company. heyyy! (steins breaking) your cousin. ♪ from boston. ♪ it means, “ok-to-beer-fest”. another sam oc

ben wedeman is in kharkiv region. >> reporter: russian forces are trying to dig new defensive lines inontrol. the governor of the kharkiv region says his priority at the moment is to restore basic services, electricity, water and heating in the newly liberated areas. while efforts continue to exhume who are body at the and if ukrainian officials are showing journalists what they say were russian prisons complete with torture room, this area continues to come under bombardment from russian forces. early saturday morning, russian missiles slammed into an industrial site here in the city of kharkiv and in a nearby town a russian barrage killed an 11-year-old girl. >> thanks for that report. let's dig deeper with political analyst josh rogan. good morning. always good to see you bright and early on a weekend. i want to talk to you about russia's allies. recently there have been in some cracks m what and xiin chp. but he said now is not the time for war and waush should be on a path to peace. how big of a deal is that in. >> reporter: clearly there's trouble in paradise amongst of bloc of d

let's start with cnn international correspondent ben wedeman in kharkiv. you had the opportunity to speak with residents of izium who had suffered months of russian occupation. what all did they tell you about that and then life after liberation? >> reporter: rosemary, life under russian occupation, they tell us, was difficult but bizarre. most of the people stayed off the streets as much as possible. normal life in that town simply came to an end. people huddled in their basements. there wasn't much food available. a lot of people got by on the fruit and vegetables they grew in their gardens. some people told us they were collecting rainwater because there were no basic services, no running water, for instance. but now that the russians are gone, it's still a struggle to get the basics. help arrives in izium. bags of barley meal, tins of food. waiting her turn, she shrugs off the tribulations of late. she has seen worse. we survived world war ii when i was little. and medicine is handed out. sedatives are in high demand. >> half a year, six months, withou

ben wedeman is tracking the latest annexation live. how is all of this expected to play out, ben? >> reporter: well, i mean, it's a good question, christine, whether to call it a vote. this is going on from today until the 27th of september. the last day will be in person voting. before that people were getting -- many people in these regions will be getting a knock on the door and be presented with a ballot box. in some regions the ballot is only in russian. in other areas, in kherson region, 50% of the population has fled because of the war. so it's very dubious about how credible the outcomes will be. you called it a sham. most people are calling it a sham outside those russian occupied parts of ukraine. in fact, ukrainian officials are calling on people to boycott these referenda. the results will be announced several days after the closing of ballot boxes, if we can even call them that, and the outcome is really not in doubt. back in 2014 after russia took over the crimea, they also had a similar referendum and the result, not surprisingly, was 97% in favor of joining russia.

. >> i'm ben wedeman. voting, if you can call it that in ukraine, has begun in four occupied regions of ukraine. the vote, backed by mass could you, is over whether these reej. the ballot will only be in the russian language because the state language is russian. >>> i'm scott mclean in london. a long-sr offing official died in an accident on wednesday. according to a statement from the institute. that same at the same time ad a commission is being formed. >> this is the latest in a string of miss toorious deaths. a prominent businessman was found dead and recall why are this month an oil and gas executive died after apparently falling out of the window on the sixth floor of a moscow hospital. >>> the florida official leading governor ron desantis' immigration response has been linked to the company getting paid for relocating and, steve, tell us what you've lettered. >> we and i can't be official's name is -- she was named governor desantis now keith also bfs that is the destined florida-based company tha

cnn's ben wedeman joins us from ukraine. ben, what more are you learning also about ukraine's efforts to retake territory? >> reporter: fredricka, we understand that the ukrainians continue to gain more ground in those last areas under the control of russian forces. but perhaps at a slower rate than they were over the last two weeks. russian forces apparently are trying to dig in and take defensive positions after their old defensive lines simply fell to pieces. now, this city, kharkiv, continues to come under bombardment. this morning there was a russian missile strike that hit an industrial area. it appears the russians are using s-300 surface-to-air missiles normally used to take down aircraft or incoming missiles. but analysts believe the use of these missiles suggest that perhaps the russians are running out of precision munitions. there was also another artillery strike in a town not far from here that left an 11-year-old girl dead. fredricka? >> terrible. >> thank you so much. colonel laton is a retired u.s. air force

ben wedeman reports from kharkiv.t ukraine doesn't plan on stopping its offensive. >> reporter: ukranian forces continue to gain more ground in the kharkiv region, although at a slower pace than over the last two weeks. while russian forces are trying to dig new defensive lines in the areas they still control. the governor of the kharkiv region says that his priority at the moment is to restore basic services -- electricity, water, heating -- in the newly liberated areas. while efforts continue to exhume more bodies at the mass burial site outside izyium. showing what they say are russian prisons complete with torture rooms. this area continues to come under bombardment from russian forces. early saturday morning, russian missiles slammed into an industrial site here in the city of kharkiv. in a nearby town, a russian barrage, according to ukrainian officials, killed an 11-year-old girl. >>> for the first time, sweden and finland have attended an annual conference of nato's defense chiefs. both countries were invited

cnn's ben wedeman is live in ukraine with more. ben, what more are you learning here? governor of the kharkiv region who said that around 450 bodies, it is believed, are in this grave site. among those that have been exhumed so far. and of course not -- only a part of them have been exhumed. 99% of those bodies show signs of a violent death in his words. he said that several of the bodies were found with their hands tied behind their backs, one of the bodies had a rope around its neck and he also said that among the dead there are children. there are about 200 law enforcement officers as well as experts on the scene at the moment. cnn has learned that the u.n. human rights monitoring organization is sending a team to the izyum area and perhaps later on will send a war crimes investigation team. now the task of those teams and those on the ground at the moment has made it difficult by the fact that there are mines in the area. this area of about 8,000 square kilometers, liberated by the ukrainians continues to come on russian artillery fire as well. but as we heard from

ben wedeman is live in kyiv for us this hour. >> reporter: ukrainian officials have been somewhat dismissive of this announcement, but we heard from president zelenskyy, who said it was no surprise given the high level of desertions in the russian ranks. we heard the foreign minister say that this is a good time to redouble western aid to ukraine certainly this has been a consistent theme for quite some time, that in order to counter the russian invasion, it needs more weapons and more sophisticated weapons. president zelenskyy in particular in recent weeks has been stressing the need for air defense systems, given that the russians seem to be targeting civilian infrastructure. in fact, here in kharkiv t. there was a russian missile strike seems to be targeting the railroad system. finally we heard from the mayor of kyiv, who said reacting to president putin's speech, that putin has launched the process that will bury him. kate? >> ben, thank you so much for being there. >>> kaitlan collins is back with us. also chief national security correspondent and anchor jim ch scuitto and retired gene

cnn's ben wedeman has the details. >> reporter: pam, ukrainian forces continue to gain more ground inkharkiv region, although it must be said at a slower pace than in the last two weeks. now, russian forces are trying to dig new defensive lines in the areas they still control. the governor of the kharkiv region says his priority at the moment is to reestablish basic services, things like water, electricity and heating in the newly liberated zones. efforts continue to exhume more bodies in the mass burial site. ukrainian officials are slowing journalists what they say were russian prisons, complete with torture rooms. this area continues to come under russian bombardments. early saturday morning here in the city of kharkiv, russian missiles slammed into an industrial site outside the city and in a nearby town a russian artillery barrage, according to ukrainian officials, killed an 11-year-old girl. >> we were just telling you about the torture going on in ukraine. as russia's war on ukraine approaches the seventh month there's growing concern about what president putin is capable of in

cnn's ben wedeman is live in kyiv, ukraine. what is this all about?ncement by the counsel in the four regions that are controlled or partially controlled by the russians. essentially between the 23rd and the 27th of september they will vote a vote whereby people will vote on whether to join russia. for these parts of ukraine to actually become part of the russian federation. one of the leaders of those breakaway republics said that they were looking forward to joining the motherland. this seems to be a tactic to change the landscape of this conflict after the dramatic offensive in the kharkiv region by ukraine forces. essentially this has been until now for russia at least, they call it a special military operation. but if these regions become technically as far as russia is concerned part of russia, it could change it from a so-called special military operation to a war. because there is a war ongoing between ukraine and russia on those very territories. so we're expecting to hear a speech, a nationwide speech by president vladimir putin from moscow

cnn senior international correspo correspondent ben wedeman is north of the regions in kharkiv. this is straight out of the russian playbook. they've done it before. they don't even hold free elections in their country. see how. >> the vote got off this morning. 50% of the population has fled. there are two armed men going door to door to collect votes. they called upon the residents of occupied territories. they say if strangers show up at your door, don't open them. we understand the polling is partially online, partially this door by door and partially in person at the voting stations. at the voting stations what we've seen is there are no voting booths. you vote on a table. you write your vote on a table. the expectation is this is nothing that would proximate a proper election or referendum or anything along those lines. turnout isn't expected to be high but the russians have invested a lot of time and effort to try to create at least the facade that these are legitimate elections. now, for instance, in some of the occupied areas, they put up big billboards saying russia is