our fred pleitgen joins us from a look inside the drone war.ngs have changed for ukrainians with this now constant threat of drone strikes? >> reporter: it certainly changed a great deal, and for a lot of people it's really unnerving, especially in the capital kyiv. there's a lot of nights where people here simply don't get any sleep because they live in fear the entire time. the way these drone attacks work is this swarm of drones coming toward the ukrainian capital. you hear the engines hovering above you and you hear the ukrainians trying to take them down. but of course what's happening now is the ukrainians are fighting back. they've launched their own massive drone program which they can project power and reach not only into russian-held territory but into russian territory as well. here's what we're learning. >> can this fly into russia? >> yeah. >> reporter: this company makes combat drones for ukrainian frontline troops, and they allowed us to film test flights at a secret location. he says, reaching moscow is not a problem. >> 700 kil

fred pleitgen is in ukraine, joins us next.ur instinct is to help. ♪ then clearly you care. ♪ you have what it takes to be a care professional. home instead. apply now and begin your career in caring. how can you sleep on such a firm setting? gab, mine is almost the same as yours. almost... just another word for not as good as mine. save 50% on the sleep number limited edition smart bed. plus, free home delivery when you add an adjustable base. only at sleep number. i had no idea how much i wamy case was worth. c call the barnes firm to find out what your case could be worth. we will help get you the best result possible. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ >>> ukrainian air defense says they were able to destroy dozens of russian missiles and drones that took part in an early morning attack. authorities say two ukrainianss, including an 11-year-old child, were injured by falling debris. also today more attacks inside russia according to officials there. they say ukrainian shelling in belgorod killed two people. earlier t

our fred pleitgen is there. >>> and a spoiler alert, the white house trying to squash a possible bid by the group no labels. how much could a third-party candidate hurt biden? let's go "outfront." >>> good evening, i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, team trump bracing for the former president to be indicted, again, this time in georgia. sources close to the former president tell cnn they believe the former president will be indicted there for trying to overturn the 2020 election in georgia. it's a new development, it comes as the attorney general merrick garland is breaking his silence speaking for the first time after the historic indictment of former president trump in miami. garland wasted no time to defend the special counsel jack smith who, of course, has been at the center of trump's withering attacks. >> mr. smith is a veteran career prosecutor. he has assembled a group of experienced and talented prosecutors and agents who share his commitment to integrity and the rule of law. >> garland's comments come less than 24 hours, of course, after trump had a fundraiser just hours

f fred pleitgen, cnn. >>> joining me now is a former military intelligence officer.nter offenses and ukrainians testing the forces. is it possible that it's not the counteroffensive, that ukraine is testing what the russian pushback will be? >> vick torque good morning. this is the counter offensive. it's what you would expect at this stage. i might say near where that report was, they've made quite significant progress in pushing out into russian defenses. you've got a number of actxes north and west of it. this is what ukrainians have been talking about, this is planning, this is it. they said a few weeks ago, don't look out for one massive offensive. look for a number of blows. it's going to take a long time. it will take months, but we will succeed in the end. >> we saw also in fred's story the western donated resources, the vehicles there that had been destroyed. what's your assessment of the early days of the counteroffensive, or should we even look at it this way? if it's something that's going to be as you describe it, can we look at it by looking at the loss

fred pleitgen reports from one town fighting is hard to ignore there. >> reporter: aid deliveries inrous places in ukraine. the buffett foundation, the frontline town where the russians say ukraine's military is trying to punch through their defenses. constant art tul ri and morter barrages driving residents underground. we have to go to the basement because there's been an increase in shelling. you can certainly hear it and feel it as well. >> rein the basement shelter, a boxes are dlifred to elderly residents, many traumatized, but resilient. it's very dangerous here, but i got used to, this 72-year-old tell mess. i can already distinguish rockets. i asked a 71-year-old if she thinks the counteroffensive can succeed. yes, i know about the counteroffensive. we will be closer to victory. ours will push them back until they drive them out until there's a the complete victory for ukraine. but for now, the going appears to be tough while kyiv hasn't acknowledged operations here, u.s. officials tell cnn the ukrainian military is facing stiff resistance. this russian video purporting to s

fred pleitgen, kyiv. >>> after weeks of uncertainty and with only days to spare, the u.s. president will soon sign a vital piece of legislation to keep the federal government from running out of money. that story just ahead. >>> plus the u.s. defense secretary criticizes china at a security summit. we'll tell you how the chinese military is responding. >>> welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm paula newton. the u.s. debt limit crisis is over, for now. and perhaps no one is more relieved than president biden. in his words, crisis averted. the stakes were enormous, yet the threat of failure hung over the country for weeks as the white house and republican leaders seemed locked in a stalemate. the hard work finally paid off late thursday when the senate voted to suspend the debt ceiling and avoid catastrophic default. the end of the debt ceiling crisis helped christian triger one of wall street's biggest ratllies so far this year. the dow closed up more than 700 points on friday, its best day since january. the nasdaq and s&p post

cnn's fred pleitgen rode a with a rescue crew today.er: raging flood waters with whole up tos submerged. this drone video shows a family trapped in a russian controlled village, pleading for help. but all the small drone can do is drop a bottle of water. we went on a rescue mission in kherson, where the water levels are still rising. so these guys tell us they've been at work here since last night. they said the work during the night was difficult and they're really tired. of course, they have to keep going. they found this house abandoned but rescued three kittens. he tells me the volunteers face russian shelling on nearly every sortie. of course, it's dangerous, he says, especially today. it's very loud. russia and ukraine continue to blame each other for the destruction of the dam and the electric power plant. the ukrainians say on their side alone, hundreds of thousands are without normal access to water, and nearly 2,000 homes are under water. while the rescue efforts are happened by the artillery and mortar barrages. [ explosion ]

fred pleitgen, thank you very much. john? >> sara, let me give you the sense of the area that fred is talking about, because the reports of the attacks that the ukrainians are talking about is the southern region here from donesk here, and the ukrainians are saying they are trying to push through from the sea of azov, and russia has occupied this area here for quite a long time, and over a year, and the goal for the russians here is the sea here, and with us is the retired military general mark hertling, and there is also some video published over the last several hours, and what are you seeing here, and how is this aligning with the idea of a ukrainian counter offensive? >> well, both fred and you have said the right word, john, and it is momentum. generating momentum. what we are seeing in the early stages is the early move, and we can't get too excited about them just yet. it is a big chess match, and there are some moves in some areas, and some moves in others, and it is all to throw the enemy off, but what we have been s

and frederik pleitgen is live in kyiv for us. what do we know about the latest drone attacks, how do they fit into the bigger pinkts cture of conflict? >> reporter: there was a lot of drones that the russians launched tonight about ukrainian officials are saying that those drones that are made in iran, ukrainian say they are launched in waves at the city, and they say that there were waves of these drone attacks and they managed to get to the region around the capital and possibly into the area of the capital as well. the ukrainians are saying that in total they detected 35 of these drones and they managed to take down 32 of those drones. so that is one of the things that goes to show the efficiency of the air defenses that the ukrainians have built up. those kind of drones that the russians are launching, they are cheap and they launch a lot of them, so ukrainians try to take them down in a way that is as cost effective as possible. they shoot rifles at them rather than waste a missile. and so once again the capital attacked. th

fred pleitgen, cnn, ukraine. >>> the u.s. as sent fighter jets to the middle east to push back. fighter pilots are increasingly conducting unsafe maneuvers in the region including a russian attempt to dogfight planes. they say it runs the risk of escalation or miscalculation. >>> u.s. military set to open a formal investigation into a deadly drone strike in syria after reports it killed civilian and not its intended target. the launch of the more formal inquiry is the clearest sign that the central command may have botched the drone strike. there is growing relief inside the pentagon that the man was a former with no signs of terrorism. he was a 56-year-old out grazing his sheep when he was killed. >>> and the top dip low matt is heading to beijing for a long delayed trip to smooth over rocky relations.low matt is heading to beijing for a long delayed trip to smooth over rocky relations. and kristie lu stout is live this hour in hong kong with details. such a sensitive trip. how will they play it? >> reporter: yeah, and expectations are low for a breakthrough, but wednesday the

and fred pleitgen, stay safe, and thank you.w, trapped in the apartment collapse for hours, and the rescuers were forced to amputate her leg to rescue her, and now she is speaking to cnn exclusively. ♪ tourists tourists that turn into scientists. tourists photographing thousas of miles of remote coral reefs. that can be analyz by ai in real time. ♪ so researchers can identify which areaare at risk. and help life underwater flourish. ♪ money stresses me out. so, i got this experian app, and now, i'm checking my fico® score. i got a new credit card, and i'm even finding ways to save. finally getting smart about money feels really good. see all you can do with the free experian app. download it now. one prilosec otc each morning blocks heartburn all day and all night. prilosec otc reduces excess acid for 24 hours, blocking heartburn before it starts. one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, my skin was no longer mine. my active psoriatic arthritis joint symptoms held me back. don't let sym

cnn's fred pleitgen has our report. >> reporter: there is still a lot unclear about what's going to be in store in the future for the wagner private military company. one of the things we've heard from the kremlin is they say that the fighters for wagner, buzz of their military achievements on the battlefield will be able to apply to join the russian military. that's something that's been in the cards for a while there was a decree by the russian defense minister where he said all of the private military companies needed to have contracts with the russian army if they wanted to operate in the future. now yevgeny prigozhin or the wagner private company always said they were not going to do that. and that was also one of the things that escalated the feud between prigozhin and the russian military leadership. but all this is about a lot more than that. the private military company wagner is one thing. but yevgeny prigozhin owns a lot more than that. he has media holdings, like for instance the internet research agency which meddled heavily in the 2016 election. prigozhin was indicted for

cnn's fred pleitgen is joining us live from ukraine right now.r: well, it's absolutely devastating. you're totally right, wolf, the authorities are telling us that the water is continuing to rise, probably is going to continue to do so for about another day or so, and then might start to recede. but they say that that process in itself is probably going to take at least five days. and of course after that the damage is already very much done. the entire ecosystem there, they say, is in extreme trouble and will be for probably decades to come. at the same time, what you also have on the ground is obviously that war situation that is still unfolding. what we did today is we went on a patrol in the places that were flooded with rescuers who were trying to get both people and animals out of that flooded zone. they say, on the one hand, it's difficult enough for them to deal with the water and its currents, and they are under almost constant shelling as well. at the same time, pretty strong words coming from volodymyr zelenskyy. he accuses the russian

. >> fred pleitgen is near the front lines in ukraine. is the fighting in that area? >> reporter: it's extremely intense. i think one of the things that we can certainly see and get from what the ukrainians are saying is their offensive operations seem to be gaining steam. they since said they won a couple of orovi other villages n that region. this comes after the ukrainian offensive actions seem to have gotten off to a rocky start. the russians hosted a couple of videos apparently showing some destroyed western armored vehicle, including bradley infantry fighting vehicles that the russians said they shot down as they were trying to advance towards russian positions. it seems as though the ukrainians gaining that little bit more of momentum. big question on the ground is is this the large counteroffensive? we just heard from the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelenskyy saying the counteroffenses had begun. today there was a video of himself sitting in his chair saying nothing for several seconds and then that video saying plans love sile

fred pleitgen, cnn, kherson, ukraine. >> cnn's clare sebastian is following all the developments for us and joins us now live from london. a lot of questions here, clare. as ukraine obviously continues to cope with what is a catastrophe, really. this is a major piece of infrastructure. what if any evidence are you seeing about what could have caused this? >> yeah, a huge piece of infrastructure, paula. potentially a single point of failure for water supplies to that part of the region, including crimea, the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, agriculture, not to mention the fact that it generated electricity before this. but what we know so far, neither side has presented concrete evidence for the claim that the other was responsible. ukraine was pretty specific from the start. the hydroelectric power operator in the country saying it was an explosion in the engine room from the inside, which is something that given russian occupied the hydroelectric power plant, only they would have had access to. the russian side less specific. lots of claims that ukraine did this to distract from th

fred pleitgen is live from kyiv.e the fight to russian territory if it is ukraine being coy about claiming responsibility for some of these attacks, we're seeing more of it. what's the latest? >> reporter: yeah, we are seeing more of it and it seems to be in a sustained way. that is something that, you know, people say is absolutely significant down there in that region. it's been going on in the regional. there is one sort of little epicenter a small town between ukraine and russia. this morning we are getting reports from there that there have been shelling, cross bored shelling from the ukraine side to the russian side. it's a large area in the bell go rad regional. several people were killed in that showing. a lot of people have been evacuated as well. a very difficult situation down there for the russians and the russians also having a lot of problems coming to terms with that. there is a lot of military bases in the city and surrounding areas, so that's significant that the russians can't seem to stop the shell

fred pleitgen, cnn, berlin. >> professor matthew schmidt teaches national security at the university now from connecticut. it's good to see you. >> good to see you, john. >> prigozhin military fighters c -- >> clearly prigozhin lost his nerve. he was, as you noted earlier, roughly two hours' drive within the outskirts of moscow where they were starting to prepare defensive positions. this rebellion didn't appear to be generating the kind of support that he had hoped it would. >> so in other words, if you're going to take vienna, take vienna. is that how you see it? is that the most likely explanation here, cold feet? >> i used to work for the general at fort leavenworth, and i respect him absolutely, but he may not be right. he could be right, but there are other explanations as to why prigozhin may have stopped. we don't exactly know what happened in this deal. we don't know when the phone calls were made. they may have made the phone call, and that's why he stopped. i just think it's really early to draw conclusions on this yet, and i would be wary of anyone who couches this as tho

cnn's fred pleitgen is live in kyiv. what's the latest? >> reporter: hi, paula.of days is a lot of attacks on the ukrainian capital by russian missiles and drones. the ukrainian air defenses seem to be getting better and better. the last attack, the ukrainians managed to shoot down all missiles and drones fired toward kyiv. at the same time, the ukrainian drone program is also picking up. it's one of the big success stories for the ukrainians. they believe it's the big eq equeq equalizer that can help them put pressure on the russians. that's something we are seeing now on russian territory as well. it seems that the ukrainians are now able to fly there. we get a firsthand look at ukraine's very large and secretive drone program. here's what we learned. >> can this fly into russia? >> yes. >> reporter: this company makes combat drones for ukrainian front-line troops. they allowed us to film test flights at a secret location. he says reaching moscow is not a problem. >> 700 kilometers with warhead of 28 kilograms. >> that could fly almost all the way to moscow? >>

fred pleitgen is in kyiv. fred, are there reports of damage caused by the drone attacks? >> reporter: hi there, victor. we haven't received much in the way of reports of damage from these attacks. one of the things you mentioned is extremely important where the ukrainians say they detected 35 of these drones coming in waves and if the vicinity of the ukrainian capital but the ukrainians were able to shoot down 32 of those. it's unclear where the other three might have landed and the damage they caused. we haven't heard anything in the way of loss of life in the ukrainian capital. certainly one of the things that does point to is the efficiency of the ukrainian air defenses which is something we've been seeing here as we've been on the ground in the ukrainian capital. we have an air raid alarm every night and often during the day. it is these shahed drones with ballistic missiles in connection with cruise missiles to try to penetrate the air defenses. as we can see the air defenses seem to be working very well. nevertheless the ukrainians are saying the drones do remain a

cnn's fred pleitgen reports. >> reporter: a 3-d printed stabilizer fin, some plumbing tubing, lots oflue, and the bomb is ready. then its night vision goggles on, lights off, and full speed ahead to the front line. >>> we're with an elite drone unit of ukraine's security service, is sbu and the patrol police, looking to take out a key russian anti-tank position with a prescision strike. we found this target only recently, a team leader says. it was discovered literally only today and today it will be destroyed. we're going to the drone launch site right now. it's extremely dangerous and we have to watch out that the russians don't see us. speed and precision are essential. the drone on steroids able to carry a massive payload up to 45 pounds. in this case, a mortar shell the ukrainians say they got from retreating russian forces elsewhere and are now using to hit putin's army. >> bomb is ready. and we're ready to go. >> okay. >> is it time? >> yeah. >> ready steady. >> reporter: it's big, it's loud, and it's heading straight to the russian position. we need to hide. out here, the hunt

saying they made significant gains over the past couple days in the bakhmut area, also. >> fred pleitgen our world lead today, the u.s. state department confirming yet another american citizen has been detained by the russian government. images of the arrest of rock band manager travis leake showed up in russian media late last week. u.s. embassy officials were at a court hearing saturday when leake was arrested on drug charges which he denied. he appeared on anthony bourdain's "parts unknown" in 2017. >>> donald trump is now at his doral resort with just hours before his arraignment on federal criminal charges. this as we've learned about growing security concerns outside the courthouse. stay with us. . cuz... cuz you paid too much for those glasses. next time, go to america's best where two pairs and a free, quality eye exam start at just $79.95.. book an exam today at americasbest.com. ♪ so, i got this app from experian. it's got everything i need to help my finances. got my fico® score, raised it instantly, i even found new ways to save. all right here. free. and fast. see all you ca

the height of his power, but it appears as though he's gone one step too far, anderson. >> fred pleitgenrnalist mikhail swreeger, the author of war and punishment, putin, zuplen skae, and the path of russia's invasion of ukraine. also in january he wrote an interesting piece in "the new york times" suggesting a power struggle between prigozhin and putin was bound to happen. you wrote prigozhin, quote, may be putin's greatest threat to power. he certainly has been over the last 24 hours. why did vladimir putin allow this guy all these months to spot off, attack his generals and the execution of the war? was it because his troops were so important to the war effort? or did vladimir putin like that he was going after his generals and having some chaos around him? >> hello, anderson. thank you for having me. yes, actually putin was really very concern because he didn't want the army to become very popular. and he didn't really want anyone to challenge him for power but has never thought that yevgeny prigozhin could be the person to be really dangerous. putin loves rat races. he loves giving

i want to go to frederik pleitgen, tell us whether this counter offensive may have begun. >> we certainlyin the early stages of the counter offensive, brianna. a senior adviser to the ukrainian presidency said to me a couple of days ago, when you see certain skirm inches and the advances by the ukrainian armed forces that are happening by ukrainian for instance on russian arms depots in occupied areas, all of that most likely is going to be a pre-cusrsor to the large-scale offensive. the ukrainians have come out and said they are not going to make an official statement when that starts and they put out a video this weekend calling on people to not talk about the offensive and the message they have with that, plans love silence. they certainly are saying that they're not going to announce that. nevertheless, there are telling signs on the battlefield and what they saw were the russians were saying that the ukrainians had launched a large-scale attack. the russians thwarted that attack. however, what we're hearing from a russian installed official in the area is that ukrainians came back to

let's go to seen your correspondent fred pleitgen. talk about this. prigozhin rose as a close ally for putin for many, many year. he was once a wealthy oligarch and effective leader of a private military group and now he's challenging putin's grip on power p. >> yeah, the leader of a whole empire if you will, am rachl it really is a rise that's also unprecedented inside russia, but certainly one that also speaks to how vladimir putin controls the country. we have to keep in mind yevgeny prigozhin is still known to many people as being putin's caterer or putin's chef because he ran a catering service that apparently catered to vladimir putin as well and then became close aerd closer to the russian president and started building this big empire which began propaganda indianapolis substitutions and meddled in the 20167 u.s. election. yevgeny prigozhin was one of those sanctioned by the u.s. for meddling in the 2016 election. but he then built that empire, including wag anywhere private military company. he's the head of it. it's one of those things where

as cnn's fred pleitgen reports there's a period of uncertainty. >> it's uncertain what is in future forny. one of the things we've heard from the military, they say the fighters for wagner because of military achievements on battlefield will be able to apply to join the russian military. that's something that's been in the cards for a while. there was a decree by the russian defense minister a couple weeks ago where he said all of the private military companies needed to have contracts with the russian army if they wanted to operate in the future. the yevgeny prigozhin wagner military company said they were not going to do that. and that was, of course, as one of the things that escalated the feud between prigozhin and the russian military leadership. all of this is about a lot more than that. the private military company is one thing. but yevgeny prigozhin owns a lot more than that. he has media holdings, like for instance, the research agency which meddled heavily in the u.s. election. prigozhin was indicted before that. what happens to his media empire. of course, all of his dealings

fred pleitgen is with ukrainian troops on the southern front lines, taking cover as russian jets dropg into russian troops holed up in southern ukraine. this video shows what was the russians' final stand here, the brigade said, but vladimir putin's army continues to put up stiff resistance, a drone pilot tells me. they are good grunts, he says. sometimes it is very difficult to knock them out of those positions. but the ukrainians have been making significant gains here, after launching large scale offensive operations across southern ukraine. heavy combat now nearly constant. this is the area of ukraine where the heaviest fighting is currently taking place. you can see what it has done to a lot of the buildings in the cities and villages around this area. and that fighting is set to get even worse. we're with the 68th brigade, the soldiers confident and grateful for u.s. supplied vehicles, saying it is not only the firepower, but also the protection that matters. a lot of times it saved my life, he says, it saved our lives every day from shrapnel, shelling and bullets. but some vehi

cnn's fred pleitgen is joining us from berlin now.st of all, tell us more about yevgeny prigozhin and his long relationship with putin. >> reporter: you're absolutely right, it is a very long relationship and one that was very important obviously for yevgeny prigozhin because it helped him rise thanks to vladimir putin but also important for vladimir putin, as well. prigozhin for a very long time was an important asset for vladimir putin from a very -- not humble, but very small beginnings selling sausages and hot dogs in st. petersburg to then becoming a real force on battlefields around the world like, for instance, libya and syria. here's what we know about yevgeny prigozhin. he's long been a well-known mercenary leader around the world. now yevgeny prigozhin is a wanted man in russia, as well. he's oftenomers -- his often merciless group of fighters is pitted against the russian military leadership, and thepittsburpitt prigozhin is public enemy number one. vladimir putin calling for the group to lay down arms. >> translator: all t

cnn's fred pleitgen joins us from zaporizhzhia.e made today. >> reporter: you're absolutely right. did it at the st. petersburg economic forum. important event for vladimir putin. sentiment the same. gives a speech and afterwards sort of a panel fireside sort of event. where a lot of those really strong comments are usually made by vladimir putin. no exception this year as well where he made comments about potentially being able to destroy large parts of kyiv, but also nuclear saber rattling as well saying some tactical nuclear weapons russians will going to give to belarus to store there and some have already arrived. the russian president saying also if russia's existence were under threat, russia could use nuclear weapons but saying at this point in time not the case and claimed the current counteroffensive of the ukrainians is faltering. he said ukraine's lost a lot of armor and not achieved strategic objectives. we're on the ground speaking to ukrainian forces who say they've made headway and acknowledged some losses and also

fred pleitgen, cnn, in southeastern ukraine. >> fred, thank you. >>> secretary of state antony blinken is on the way to china in an effort to re-set relations with the country following the spy balloon incident earlier this year. what does success look like for blinken? we'll discuss. >> and the plan who killed 11 worshippers in the pittsburgh synagogue shooting was found guilty on all 63 charges friday. the reaction from the community and what is next this this case. they got world class bakers to develop their tastiest bread yet. this truly makes the subway series s a dream team. you know about that chuck. yeahah, i was the bread of that team too. try the susubway series menu. their tastiest refresh yet. your wyndham is waiting. ♪ when bucket lists need checking... points need redeeming... work tri need crushing... or anniversaries need... celebrating? no matter who you are, where you're going, or why. with 24 trusted brands by wyndham to choose from... your wyndham is waiting. get the lowest price at wyndhamhotels.com moderate-to-severe eczema. it doesn't care if it's girl's night..

cnn's fred pleitgen joins us live from kyiv. allies taking the fight to russian territory. we're seeing more of that. what's the latest. >> reporter: you're absolutely right, victor. and it was quite interesting. an adviser to the ukrainian presidency said on friday that the gates of war had opened for russian citizens. obviously meaning that the fight was now on russian territory. but you are absolutely right. the ukrainians remain quite coy about their actual involvement in all of this. on the face of it, they say that it's anti-putin russian fighter who is normally fight on the side of ukraine here in ukraine. however, when they conduct actions inside russia, they do that independently. the ukrainians say. now, these groups themselves have also said that they are behind. some of these cross-border attacks and some of these cross-border shellings that have been taking place. and those have been pretty significant. one of the things you're pointing out, several regions in that belgorod region of western russia, it's a pretty bi

fred pleitgen, cnn, ukraine. >>> nato is about to launch the largest air force drill in its 74-year historyting monday about 10,000 service members from 25 nations will take part in the german-led air defender exercises, using more than 200 military planes, they will train how to quickly deploy allied troops from germany in the event of an attack. officials say the 11-day drills are meant to deter threats to europe's security and showcase the air power of the alliance. all right, let's go to rome now, where pope francis is continuing to recover after undergoing abdominal surgery earlier this week. a vatican spokesperson said on friday the pope gathered in prayer and devoted himself to work. cnn's barbie nado is in rome. what's the latest on the pope's recovery? >> reporter: his spokesperson said this morning he had another tranquil night. that's really good news, this is an 86-year-old man who underwent his second surgery in the last two years, and the second hospitalization this year, he was in this hospital behind me in march for an infectious bronchitis. and now he's had this surgery. of

let's go to fred pleitgen who joins us this morning.ood out to you from what we just heard from putin? >> reporter: it's remarkable that vladimir putin went out and gave that speech in the first place. i think one of the things we can discern from that he is sort of trying to calm down the situation. show he is still in charge of things. interesting about that speech, there was no criticism or critique to the reaction from the security forces when that wagner convoy was rolling towards moscow. of course, yesterday, poppy, we heard from yevgeniy prigozhin himself. we haven't seen him, but we heard from him, justifying himself and saying if he wanted to, he could have rolled all the way to moscow. he said that people who were there on the side of the roads were cheering the wagner mercenaries on. he said they were able to block air bases and military bases along the way. now, here is vladimir putin coming out and praising the russian security forces. i think that's one of the things that he's trying to show that he's in charge, that he's

fred pleitgen, cnn, ukraine. >>> onto rome now where pope francis is expected to remain in the hospitals he recovers from surgery. doctors say the 86-year-old is following a careful recovery program after he had an operation on his abdomen. >> reporter: pope francis's doctor is very, very pleased with his progress, telling reporters here that the holy father is doing better than they had expected. he's moving along at just the rate they were hoping for. unlike in 2021, when he was in this hospital for his first surgery, he will not be delivering his sunday words. that's doctors' orders. >> we asked him to not celebrate in the public tomorrow. >> but he will privately in his own hospital room say the prayer at 12:00. so anyone who wants to join him in prayer is welcome to. >> reporter: as his doctors said, the pope did not protest this. he knows he needs to rest. he knows he needs to work on getting stronger and healthier so that he can go back to work as usual. >>> coming up, the governor of california pushing for a new amendment to the u.s. constitution to address gun violence. i'll di

cnn's senior international correspondent fred pleitgen is joining us right now.ve us a better sense of who this prigozhin really is. >> reporter: certainly, wolf, he is one of the most powerful figures in russia. and obviously, grasping forbe even more right now, but certainly didn't start out that way. wes in jail for several years, in the 1980s in the soviet union and then started out selling hot dogs, in the saint petersburg area, and then became known as putin's chef, and that's where his career really took a meet rick rise, and now he is obviously someone who is not only defying putin but also challenging the ministry of defense. here is what he know about yevgeny prigozhin. he's long been a well-known mercenary leader around the world. now, yevgeny prigozhin is a wanted man in russia as well. he's often, his often merciless group of fighters is pitted against the russian military leadership and prigozhin is suddenly moscow's public enemy number one. vladimir putin calling for prigozhin's group to lay down their arms. >> translator: all those who deliberatel

i want to go to our senior international correspondent fred pleitgen in berlin.ith prigozhin headed to belarus, what happens to the mercenary force that he actually built, fred? >> yeah, i think that's completely unclear at this point in time. one of the things that the russian leadership in the form of dmitry peskov said yesterday is because of the achievements on the battlefield by the wagner group and one of the things that we saw yesterday on the ground in that town in rostov south of russia the wagner fighters on the ground there were respected not just by russian soldiers that they were around in that main headquarters but the people on the street there. so clearly there is a good deal of respect for the toughness of these wagner fighters and some of the achievements from the russian point of view that they had on the battlefield. so the russians are saying that these people can now apply to join the russian military. it's one of the things that has been the plan for a couple of weeks by the russian military leadership, by sergei shoigu who seidule private

fred pleitgen is in dooekyiv win update. how is vladamir putin responding to all this?ears to be increasingly concerned about all this. one of the things we have seen over the past year is that the russians have felt pretty invincible on their home territory. well, today, vladamir putin striking a decidedly different note. let's listen in. >> translator: today, we will also address these issues in relation to assuring russia's security. in this case, domestic political security ---ing the efforts of our foes to destabilize the situation inside russia. we must do everything we can to prevent this from happening no matter the cost. >> reporter: he's talking about the situation in russia, possibly being destabilize. that's something we haven't heard to that extent before. one to have things the ukrainians were saying is they believe the russians have positioned special forces in that region to come to terms with that situation. but it is a vast and large region that's being hit in that cross border shelling. two people have been killed. but we have also seen drone attacks

>> fred pleitgen, reporting for us from berlin, thanks very much.ing all of this unfold. and joining us cnn military analyst, retired brigadier general mark kimmet. how is this going to play out on the battlefield in ukraine? you've been studying this. >> yes, i think jim sciutto has it exactly right when he talked about criticality of the rostov-on-don military headquarters. that's the organization responsible for the entire ukraine front. the russians fight in a very centralized manner, and candidly, a defensive operation takes the most centralization of all. right now, there's probably a lot of question about what's going on inside those headquarters, who they can trust, who they can't, who they can rely on, and candidly, i think that this is the opportunity the ukrainians have been looking for, to conduct a counter-offensive, and they ought to take advantage of the situation now. >> let's see if they do. as you know, russia has warned western countries to not try to use all of this, what's unfolding right now, inside russia, to their advantage.

>> all right, cnn's fred pleitgen in zaporizhzhia for us. thanks so much.court today that side with plaque voters in alabama. gro potting mix. that's it. miracle-gro. all you need to know to grow. (vo) if you've had thyroid eye disease for years and your enflamed eyes are so watery, they need windshield wipers, it's not too te for another treatment option. to learn more visit treatted.com. tha's treatt-e-d.com. the subway series is taking your favorite to the next level! like the #20. the elite chicken and bacon ranch. built with rotisserie-style chicken and double cheese. i love what i'm seeing here. that's some well-coached chicken. you done, peyton? the subway series just keeps gettin' better. the first time you connected your godaddy website and your store was also the first time you realized... well, we can do anything. cheesecake cookies? the chookie! manage all your sales from one place with a partner that always puts you first. (we did it) start today at godaddy.com my most important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose neuriva plus. unlike some othe

and frederik pleitgen reports, it's as ukrainian forces are making gains on the battlefield. >> reporterian controlled territory here in ukraine. flooding inyundating both shore of the dnipro river. local authorities are using boats and heavy trucks to get as many people out of the zone as they can. 65-year-old nadia was stranded in her home with her cat sonia for hours, fearing for her life. now i'm not scared she says, but there it was scary. why i ask? because of the water. the water came and you don't know from where it comes and where it will go. the authorities here say they've evacuated hundreds of people throughout the day, at times under russian fire the head of kherson's military administration tells me. we have the water he says, mines, mines are floating to here and this district is constantly being shelled. two policemen were injured while evacuating people. kyiv blames moscow for allegedly blowing up the dam and an angry ukrainian president saying the russians are trying to derail ukraine's current battlefield gains. it was mined by the russian occupiers he said and they bl

fred pleitgen is live in southern ukraine. fred, what are you seeing on the ground?here, erica. the battles here are extremely tough in southeastern ukraine and southern ukraine. the russians have dug in. they are trying to advance but the defenses are really strong. what the ukrainians say they have and believe one of their main advantages is elite drones that hit high value russian positions to try to take those out and help the ukrainians advance. we were able to go along on a mission of one of these crews and here is what we witnessed. a 3d printed stabilizer, plumbing tubing, lots of glue and the bomb is ready. then it's night vision goggles on, lights off, and full speed ahead to the front line. we're with an elite drone unit of ukraine's security service, the sbu and the patrol police, looking to take out a key russian anti-tank position with a precision strike. we found this target only recently, a team leader says. it was discovered literally today, and today it will be destroyed. >> we're going to the drone launch site. it's extremely dangerous and we have

fred pleitgen is in ukraine tonight. >> reporter: raging flood water with whole towns submerged.drone video purports to show a family trapped, pleading for help. all the small drone can do is drop a bottle of water. we went on a rescue mission in kherson, where the water levels are still rising. so, these guys tell us that they've been at work here since last night. they said the work during the night was extremely difficult and that they're really tired but of course they have to keep going. they found this house abandoned but rescued three kittens. roman tells me the volunteers face russian shelling on nearly every -- of course, it's extremely dangerous, he says, especially today, it's very loud. russia and ukraine continue to blame each other for the destruction of the nova kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power plant. the ukrainians say on their side alone, hundreds of thousands are without normal access to water, and nearly 2,000 homes are under water. while the rescue efforts are hampered by the constant artillery and mortar barrages. look, we're working despite the possibili

frederik pleitgen, thank you so much.re at home, there is breaking news, we just received video from the town and perry turn texas, north east of amarillo, really not far from the oklahoma border. it is tornado country and a tornado did this. look at that. this obviously devastating. responders from across the area and now heading to the scene. there was no word yet of injuries or fatalities. cnn's chad myers moderated all of this from the weather center. chad, what's the latest from there? >> it's a volatile night we, had a tornado on the ground likely an ohio. we had damage in michigan, in the area we are talking about where that tornado was on the ground, was texas. yes, perryton, texas, and this tornado did a lot of damage to any fragile structures. a lot of mobile homes. a lot of aluminum framed houses and things like that. this is the video that we are seeing. this is the stovepipe tornado that was caught on camera a couple of storm chasers out there, very brave, stop their cars, helped people right away, they saw h

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cnn's fred pleitgen part of that team, back now safely and joins us from zaporizhzhia.it's great to see you. well, why don't you tell us what you saw. >> reporter: hi there, john. well, it certainly is fierce fighting that's happening out there on the front lines, we were in the southeastern part of the very front line here in the southern ukraine and that's also the place, john, where the ukrainians have made the most head way over the past couple days, they have managed to take back from the russians a couple villages in that area and are pushing south trying to breach those very strong russian stwens defenses in those places. they say they have the manpower and gear to do that and say they are moving forward and are able to make some advances but the going there is extremely tough. the russians are firing back with what can really only be described as a wall of artillery fire. when we were on the ground there we heard artillery fire pretty much the entire time. the russians trying to hold the ukrainians up that way. the other thing that the russians are using is also

fred pleitgen in berlin. thank you. joining us cnn military analyst retired lieutenant-general mark hertling. a former commander of the u.s. army in europe and the seventh army. general, thank you for joining us. you say putin and prigozhin have come out weaker after the events of the past 24 to 48 hours. so what does that mean right now based on your assessment for russia? >> a couple of things, wolf. first of all, they are certainly both very much weaker. secondly, you had this large force of prigozhin's wagner group about, estimates between 25 and 40,000 soldiers are now either out of the fight or pushed aside or waiting for another operation. and that is a huge chunk. that's probably 10 to 15% of the total number of military that russia has facing ukraine. this all comes at a time when we can talk personalities and how dysfunctional dysfunctional hierarchy is in in moscow. it's also difficult for rest of the russian military. they are preparing defensive positions. there are other soldiers, not the ones in the wagne

we want to go to our senior international correspondent fred pleitgen.>> a very important man, or has been at least, for vladimir putin, and certainly someone who has risen, among the ranks, thanks to vladimir putin, who has been given a lot of power by vladimir putin, but who has also done for vladimir putin along the way. and one of the things we have to mention, wolf, that prigozhin came from humble beginnings. in jail for a considerable amount of time in the '80s and started in the '90s selling hot dogs at a hot dog stand and became known as putin's chef, putin's caterer, seen giving food to vladimir putin at various events and managed to build an empire largely thanks to vladimir putin on top of that and that's of course when he got involved in things like the internet research agency with some of the propaganda work that he was doing, the u.s. saying he played a big part meddling in the 2016 election and sanctioned and indicted for that as well. and then you have the wagner private military company, which is one of the things that he also took on t

i'm joined by two correspondents in the region sam kiley in kharkiv northeast and fred pleitgen is nearbiggest town downstream. what's the scene there? >> hi there, that town is quickly also getting flooded as well. we were going around the area earlier today. right now there is a curfew. that's why we've had to go into this area. however, there's two things that stood out to us and i think you alluded to them a little bit. the area flooded is gigantic and second of all that area pretty much all of it is the front line. that is the dnipro river which right now is getting a lot wider and just in the short time that we were on the ground there, we saw the water rise extremely quickly and there were some people we were speaking to who said in the morning there was nothing. completely dry. after the dam burst the water rose so quickly that many people did not manage to get out of their houses and then were essentially stranded there. the other thing people need to keep in mind is this is one of the most active war zones in all of ukraine. and so what we're seeing a lot of here, this night a

fred pleitgen, thank you very much. stay safe in zaporizhzhia where you are.s begin in the trial of the gunman behind the worst anti-semitic attack in modern u.s. history. we'll have details from inside the courtroom as both sides made their final pitch to the jury. hey david. connecect with an advisor to create your personalized d plan. let's find the right investments for your goaoals okay, great. j.p. morgan wealth managememen. (♪) this electric feels different... because it's powered by the most potent urce of energy there is ...ou. this is the lexus variety of electrification ... inspired by, created for and powered by you. ♪ what's the next chapter? that's the real question. with fidelity income planning, a dedicated advisor can help you grow and protect your wealth, even when you're not working. they'll look at your full financial picture and help you create a flexible strategy designed to balance growth potential and guaranteed income. so you can stop worrying about the future and enjoy the life you've created. that's the planning effect. from fidelity

>> all right fred pleitgen, thank you for the very latest there. let's go now to matthew chance, he is in moscow. more on vladimir putin's base speech today. matthew, what else did putin say? >> well, this was a speech, remember breonna, that was meant to be an economic forum. and so he made some remarks about the russian economy, and how well he said it was doing, despite the western sanctions against. it but he also spent a lot of time talking about the conflict in ukraine as well. basically repeating his claim that ukraine stood no chance of success in its ongoing counteroffensive. he spoke about the losses that ukraine had suffered at the hands of russian forces saying that russia had destroyed 187 ukrainian tanks in the course of the past ten days, which of course seems an extraordinarily high number. hundreds more armored vehicles of all descriptions he said had also been taken out. soon the country will be only using western military equipment, and you can't fight long -- you can't fight long like that, putin said. he also referred, vladimir