missile attack on the crimean bridge? yeah, good morning, laila. we understand this may have been three missiles in total. that s according to the pro-russian head of crimea, who talked about modified air defense missiles, s-200, being used. the russian ministry of defense talks about two separate attempts to hit the bridge a couple of hours apart on saturday afternoon. but of course they say they thwarted there s attempts and there s no damage. i think, look, the russian foreign ministry in condemning the attack said that the bridge was a piece of purely civilian critical infrastructure. that i think does not bear out in reality. that we know that this is really the only physical link between russia and occupied crimea, that it s a critical part of the war effort. but it s also a critical part of russia s sort of messaging, propaganda, strategy, being that only physical link symbolizes to the russian people, legitimizes that annexation the best part of a decade ago. it legitimizes t
and we have known through u.s. and other intelligence that russia has had a pipeline through iran for those shahed attack drones. but obviously it would be cheaper and quicker to do it domestically. that is significant. it speaks to an ongoing strategy of aerial attacks. russia clearly aware ukraine has gaps in its air defenses and is keen to exploit pem. and if you re building factories that is not something you want to reverse quickly. that shows russia is likely in it for the long haul, willing to invest in this. while we know, for example, that the russian budget at the end of last year looked at a small increase in military spending this year and then coming down over the next two years after that, this adds to a body of evidence that that perhaps now is not the case. laila? clare sebastian reporting in london. thank you so much. still ahead, protests in the capital of niger as other nations try to exert influence on the african continent. we ll have a report. ell in love with
becoming clearer by the day. the deadliest wildfire in more than a century and the death toll is expected to rise even further as crews cannot a grim search for victims. and former u.s. president donald trump could be facing a fourth indictment in the week ahead over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results here in georgia. plus the matilda s waltz into the women s world cup semifinals after toppling france in a nail-biting penalty shootout. announcer: live from cnn center, this is cnn newsroom. with laila harrak. the governor of hawaii, what his state is going through is heartbreaking. and days after wildfires decimated parts of maui the death toll is still rising. authorities have now confirmed 89 deaths, making the fires the deadliest in the united states in more than a century.
for russia, this is symbolic. putin has driven across it. for ukraine it s a symbol of that ongoing occupation and russia s ability to keep that war going. this is what we re seeing from both sides. russia wants to claim it s civilian infrastructure. ukraine is sending out a message it s a clear target. laila? they have made gains on the ground in the counteroffensive? reporter: yes. ukraine is pushing very hard along two axes trying to get to crimea. russia may be defending, trying to hold off ukraine except in the far northern line in kharkiv
the death toll for the wildfires numbers rising as we witness the scope of the disaster. we ll look at the island s needs with a member from the red cross. plus donald trump making an appearance at the iowa state fair but all eyes are on georgia as a district attorney there prepares her case for the grand jury. and months after suffering cardiac arrest in the middle of an nfl game, damar hamlin is back in action. cnn sports coy wire joins me live on his incredible road to recovery. announcer: live from cnn center, this is cnn newsroom with laila harrak. we ll begin in hawaii where days after wildfires decimated par parts of maui the death toll is rising.