which airlines are now saying is mask-optional. for weeks, ukrainian, u.s., nato officials have all warned the russians were preparing for a renewed military offensive in the east. now it seems the battle for the donbas region has begun. according to ukraine's top security official, a 300-mile-long front line, almost 500 kilometers, came under attack by russian forces monday, and for the most part, that defensive line held. the pentagon now believes 76 russian battalion tactical groups have been deployed in the south and the east. 11 added in the last few days alone. each btg consists of up to 800 troops. that means tens of thousands of russian soldiers. but ukraine's president says despite being outnumbered and outgunned, his country will not give up without a fight. >> translator: no matter how many russian servicemen they're bringing in, into that area, we will keep on fighting and defending, and we will be doing this daily. >> it's not just eastern ukraine being targeted. western ukraine here in lviv, which was a relative safe haven has now come under attack monday. ukrainian officials say at least four missiles hit this city, killing seven people, wounding 11 others. russia claims it destroyed a weapons depot near lviv but a local official says the missiles hit several warehouses that were not being used by the military, also destroyed an auto repair shop. this all comes just days after what appeared to be a huge blow to russia's military, the sinking of its flagship in the black sea. new images appearing on social media now appear to support ukraine's claim that the warship was hit by two anti-ship missiles. photos show large black holes on the port side of this guided cruiser just above the waterline. now in the coming hours, u.s. president joe biden is expected to hold a call with allies to discuss continued support for ukraine and efforts to hold russia accountable. this comes as the u.s. state department accuses russia of launching a campaign of terror. >> the fact is that russia, more than just launching an invasion, more than just launching a war, has launched, is undertaking a campaign of terror, a campaign of brutality, a campaign of despicable aggression against the people of ukraine. >> a small number of ukrainian fighters continue to hold out against the russian offensive for the key port city of mariupol. a u.s. defense official believes about a dozen russian groups are committed to this fight and are yet to take total control. ukrainian forces are holed up in a sprawling iron and steel factory. hundreds of civilians are believed to have take cover there as well. the site is now being targeted by heavy russian bombardment. >> translator: right now in mariupol at the azov steel factory, hundreds of civilians are sheltering. among them are children of all ages, women, the elderly, and the families of mariupol defenders. they are sheltering in the basements and bunkers from the russian world. >> cnn's matthew chance has more on what civilians are facing in mariupol. a warning, some of the images in his report are disturbing. >> reporter: these are the kids ukrainian officials say are at ground zero in the battle for mariupol. this video, posted on government social media, but which cnn can't verify, shows dozens of children said to have been sheltering for weeks in a basement in the city where ukrainian forces are holding out against russian attacks. kids distracting themselves from the battles above. "we play with these toys, build things, and imagine things," this little boy says. "do you want to get out of here?" they're asked. yes, yes, they all shout. but the adults here know that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. "i'm with my three children, and conditions are not the best here," this parent says. "there's no way to study, not much food, and my kids' teeth are starting to spoil," she says. but the alternative, surrender to russia, may be worse. above ground, mariupol has borne the brunt of russia's brutal invasion. the latest images show the extent of the devastation. one ukrainian commander has called this hell on earth. but troops defending the city concentrated at the vast azov steel works are refusing to surr surrender. ukrainian officials say they will fight until the end. >> the situation in mariupol is both dire militarily and heartbreaking. the city doesn't exist anymore. it seems from the way russian army behaves in mariupol, they decided to raze the city to the ground at any cost. >> reporter: but ukrainian forces in mariupol are making sure that erasure is painful. this video shows a counterattack against russian forces by the ukrainian azov battalion. with their soldiers throwing grenades at russian forces in the city. it is an act of resistance, but the outcome may be unchanged. already the human toll of this battle for mariupol has been appalling with thousands, including many civilians, killed. but ukrainian officials say another russian offensive is now under way, posing another deadly threat to those trapped inside. matthew chance, cnn, new york. >> i'm joined now from los angeles by a political science professor at ucla, author of "the return: russia's journey from gosrbachev to medvedev." a major objective for russia in the south is to establish this land bridge from the crimea region to the donbas. can they do that without totally clearing the mariupol area of the ukrainian fighters? are those last ukrainian soldiers and defenders holed up in the steel plant essentially determining the course of this war right now? >> well, they're holding up the russian advance. it's really almost the last spot that the russians have to take to establish this land bridge to crimea. so the heroic resistance of these fighters in mariupol has delayed the russian effort to take this strip of territory. it's been really six weeks that they've been struggling over what they initially thought would be a very limited, straightforward operation to take this town. and it's proved once again just how faulty the intelligence was on which the russian plans were based. >> we're also getting word from those ukrainian fighters there that there are women, children, the elderly, civilians also holed up in that steel factory and that the russians continue with the attacks there. that clearly is not a surprise, but the concern is this is one area where the russian-backed separatists in this region have raised the possibility of using chemical weapons to clear out that factory. is that likely? >> well, unfortunately as with many things that depend on putin's personal decision at this point, we just don't know. they've certainly hinted that that might be the next step. we just have to hope that that won't happen. it's heartbreaking to see the footage that you just showed of children sheltering in the basements there in the azovstal steel plant, unable to go out. the families are terrified that if they were to surrender, they might be deported like other ukrainian families have been deported to russia, where they're essentially untraceable. and i would point out that those families that we saw in the basement there were speaking russian. it's not a war to protect russian speakers. it's a war which has forced these russian speakers to shelter underground from the horrific bombardment. >> the u.s. is now saying that russia has about 76 combat units, these tactical groups in the east. there's 50,000, maybe 60,000 troops there now. the standard calculation, i guess, is three invaders for one defender. does that mean the russians are still short on the numbers they need? >> well, in terms of manpower, that's very possible. but they have massive amounts of arti artillery. they are very likely to bombard the whole area in the east of ukraine, the donbas. that's the usual way that russians fight this kind of war. so even though the troops may not be as many as they would like in order to move in, in force, they have plenty of artillery to pulverize the cities and the towns in that area. and what's really crucial now is that the ukrainians get the ammunition, the artillery, the drones to be able to fight against that really intense operation that's already begun. >> in the south, we know that the guided missile cruiser, the moskva is now sitting at the bottom of the black sea. with that out of commission, does that mean if there's some kind of amphibious landing, does that now mean that is off the table, that they now have to change tactics, that they have been weakened, if you like, or have their options reduced when it comes to the battle further south? >> yeah, it seems that it does. the destruction of the flagship of the black sea fleet is not just a symbolic failure on the russian side, but also it means that ships that try to make an amphibious landing around odesa as was planned are going to face the same kind of missiles, the neptune missiles that apparently destroyed the moskva. and the moskva was the ship which provided the air support, air cover for planned attacks. so, yes, amphibious landings are going to be much harder, and it's not clear that the russians will even continue to focus on odesa at this point. they may choose to change their -- to narrow their goals to just the land bridge to the east of crimea plus the donbas itself. >> daniel, thank you so much. we'll leave it there. daniel traceman there in los angeles. we appreciate your insights and your experience. thank you, sir. >> thank you. the u.s. mask mandate for public transportation is no longer in effect. a judge overturned the directive, saying the centers for disease control overstepped its authority in enacting it in the first place. the white house calls the ruling disappointing and says it's being reviewed. >> certainly no one here is trying to provoke uncertainty with passengers. we also think the mask mandate should be in place and that it's safer for individuals who are flying to continue to wear masks. so we would say to anyone sitting out there, we would recommend you wear masks on the airplane. and then as soon as we can provide an update from here, hopefully soon, we'll provide that to all of you. [ applause ] >> as you can see there, airline passengers celebrated the announcement on some flights. major carriers quickly made masks optional. pete muntean has our details. >> reporter: this was one of the last major mask mandates to remain in place, but federal transportation mask mandate was slated to end in two weeks on may 3rd. now by order of a u.s. district judge in florida, kathryn kimball mizelle, he says that goes beyond the cdc's authority, and now the white house has confirmed that the transportation mask mandate is no longer in effect pending a federal review. this was required on planes, trains, buses, boats, and in terminals starting in february 2021, not long after president joe biden took office. it was extended to march 18th, then april 18th, then an extension to may 3rd. now we know that this is going away, and we heard from airlines like alaska airlines, delta airlines, and united airlines that they will follow through with this order, essentially making it so that passengers and employees can wear masks only if they want to. we will see as this pans out if there is any pushback from the biden administration or any appeal. pete muntean, cnn, reagan national airport. meantime, in china, dozens of cities are under full or partial lockdown as authorities try to curb the spread of covid-19 under the country's strict zero-covid strategy. but an increasing shortage of food, medicine, and other critical supplies due to disrupted supply chains is fueling growing problems and public frustration. cnn's steven jiang is following this story from beijing. it doesn't matter how many times you've described it, steven. these are strict lockdowns. what's the latest now in terms of the government really sticking to its zero-covid policy? >> reporter: that's right, paula. the grim reality is millions of people across china, including the 25 million or so residents in shanghai, continue to be sealed in their homes. many of them facing a shortage of food and other daily supplies despite repeated government pledges to improve distribution channels. now, one of the latest controversies comes from the form of a video that seems to show workers dumping a large amount of perfectly looking vegetables that were intended to be sent to shanghai residents in desperate need of fresh groceries. local officials later insisted those vegetables had gone rotten inside and had to be disposed of. and another rather disturbing development in shanghai is authorities there have now tightened regulations in terms of sending all positive cases and their close contacts to dedicated government-run isolation wards with no more exceptions. so that has meant a growing number of senior citizens, some of them in their 90s, being forcibly taken from their homes and being taken to those facilities that are often in very crowded and primitive conditions. now, of course we've been talking about shanghai a lot because of its international recognition. but as you mentioned, lockdowns are affecting millions in other parts of the country as well. and in the past few weeks, we have seen sometimes cities lock down their entire jurisdictions for just one or several cases. and in at least one instance, an entire city in hubei province is being placed under lockdown without any cases because, according to officials, they were doing that in preparation for a citywide mass testing. now, all of this, of course, is almost reaching the level of absurdity according to many outside observers. but the reason is also clear. the beijing leadership has put their foot down, saying covid is here to stay, and it is, according to them, still the best way to protect people's health, to prevent the kind of deaths and destruction they say covid has caused in the west. and officials have also made clear that order comes from the very top, from president xi jinping himself. so for local officials around the country, the lesson they have drawn from shanghai is not how almost impossible it is to contain, let alone eliminate the highly contagious omicron variant with their current measures, but rather when it comes to lockdowns, you have to do it early, do it big, as if to show your political loyalty to the strongman leader. >> we will expect more frustrated residents in china as this continues. steven jiang, appreciate it. john vause will pick up live from ukraine after the break with this story you will not want to miss. cnn's phil black visited a town outside of kyiv where occupying russian forces left behind more than just a sprawling campsite. and later, longtime friend, now chief of staff to ukraine's president, a conversation with volodymyr zelenskyy's right-hand man. >> he is a leader, and he is the person who can coming to this politics career for one reason, to change our country. on ancestry i discovered more about my great-great-grandfather baptiste caretto. ancestry threads all of the little facts together into a narrative so you get to feel like you're walking the same path they did. 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"beware, mines." the forest serves as protection too, a natural screen concealing a vast secret. here among the trees, about an hour's drive north of kyiv, are the remains of a sprawling russian military camp. we're shown around by ukrainian special forces. this soldier says the positions were held by russian marines. we see a sprawling network of underground fighting positions, command posts, sleeping areas, and ammunition storage. while everywhere there is evidence of how the russians lived, and that evidence suggests their existence here was neither disciplined nor comfortable. it is so quiet here now. just some bird noise and a light breeze. but recently there were 6,000 russian soldiers bedded down through these woods in a camp that is so large, you can't see where it begins and where it ends. living here would have been hard. it was through the coldest of the winter days. four weeks stopped here, short of kyiv, after they failed to take the capital quickly. the silence is broken by efforts to deal with some unidentified ordnance. this camp is damning proof of russia's failures on this front. poor preparation, desperately wrong assumptions about the numbers and resources needed to conquer kyiv. what lessons do you take from all of this that will apply to the coming battle for donbas in the east? he says, we see the volume of forces that invaded this area, and we understand that will be two to three times greater in the donbas. this force wasn't confined to the forest. its commanding officers lived a little more comfortably in a nearby village. here civilians tell disturbingly familiar stories. vitali, a local mechanic, says he was detained and interrogated for almost 24 hours. he says he was beaten, blindfolded, tied up, and subjected to mock executions. he says he's never known fear like it and constantly thought those were his last moments on earth. a local priest describes dealing with the aftermath of even greater cruelty. he says he found five mentortured and killed in the garden, two more in the forest, and the russians brought him two dead women and told him to bury them. other russians in this area camped out in fields with their artillery pieces and stole what comforts they could -- a mattress, alcohol, the works of shakespeare. from these firing positions, ground rockets flew through the sky towards hostomel, which is a relatively short distance away. when they hit the earth, it was often civilians who felt their power. >> you can see the result. so many people. >> they were hiding in there? >> yes. >> reporter: in hoshostomel, a resident shows the aftermath of a rocket strike and where some of its victims were temporarily buried. >> i feel only hate. >> only hate? >> yes. we can't forgive it maybe for life. >> reporter: for now, the enemies in the forest, fields, and villages have left this part of ukraine. the fruits of their brief stay, the pain, trauma, and loathing, remain. phil black, cnn, hostomel, ukraine. when we come back, vladimir putin says those tough international economic sanctions that have been put in place over the invasion of ukraine, well, they're not hurting russia, he says. they're actually hurting the west. more on that when we come back. never be afraid of your strength, because your body is capable of amazing things. own your strengt and see how far it takes you. tonal. be your strongest. 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>> i can say first of all, i have my real profession is a lawyer. yes, of course, some period of time i'm in the parallel. i work like movie producers. but if we're talking about volodymyr zelenskyy, i can say first of all, it's a very simple understanding of him. i think just this very tragic situation and this terrible war in ukraine show for all the world that he's a real leader. he is a leader, and he is the person who is coming to this politics career for one reason -- to change our country. maybe two years ago, i said in some interview that i'm sure that our president will be the leader as minimum of our part of europe and maybe more. a lot of critics was here. ukrainians said, what is it? it's like a joke. but now it's all these people understand that it's true. >> reporter: russian forces have put zelenskyy's leadership to the test with near constant shelling, including in and around ukraine's capital, kyiv. when the invasion began and the united states offered president zelenskyy a way out of the country, he said, i don't need a ride. i needh ammunition. was there ever a moment where he thought of leaving just so save his own life or the life of his family? >> no. no. i didn't -- i came to the office on the morning of 24th. the president already was in his cabinet, and all these 50 days, he's in the office of the president. >> if he hadn't stayed, do you think this war would have gone differently? do you think maybe the ukrainian people found inspiration in fighting because he stayed too? >> absolutely. 100%. it was so important. we hear in the office of the president and other government bodies, we are working. it's our obligations. i think it's not heroic. it's real heroes, it's the people who are our soldiers, our army. >> reporter: the ukrainian army was never supposed to be in this position with russia. a new repeatedly violated agreement was meant to keep the two nations at peace, at least in theory. let's talk about the budapest memo memorandum. ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear weapons in a deal with the united states and russia, in which it was pledged that nobody would infringe on ukraine's territorial sovereignty. obviously russia has violated that. do you think the united states has also violated that by not doing more to stand up for the ukrainian sovereignty that the u.s. said it would stand up for? >> no. of course violation of not just started on the 24th of february of this year. it started from the annexation of crimea, and then the war in donbas. i think that it's happened because we was very young country. we was a very young independent country. we have not this experience. >> reporter: the experience but not the nato membership and not the protected airspace zelenskyy has asked for. while the international community has given massive financial backing to ukraine, including more than $14 billion from the u.s., yermak says ukraine needs a new system. >> all systems of the security not work, and i can say not exist. of course we do our best to talk with our partner, the united states, great britain, germany, and turkey, other countries, to create this new system. and of course after this war, after this heroic fighting of ukrainian nations, we have absolutely right not just to be a part of this new system, but be in the center and be one of the leaders of this new system of the security. >> reporter: as a film producer, one of andriy yermak's most famous movie was called "the fight rules: your spirit is your weapon," now waging a real-life fight, a real-life war. that title could not be more appropriate. jake tapper in ukraine. back to you. >> thank you, jake. coming up for us here on "cnn newsroom," in sweden, more arrests are expected after days of violent clashes over koran burnings. and a disaster in south africa. tens of thousands of people lost their homes in catastrophic floods. straight ahead, search and rescue operations are under way. . tater totting, cold or hotting. mealalin', feelin', pie-ing, trying. cololor your spread. upgrade yoyour bread. pair it. share i it. kraft singles. square it. ready to sle in just one step? 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-i'm in. ready to earn that “world's greatest dad” mug? -i'm in. care to play a bigger role in this community? -i'm in. enbrel helps relieve joint pain, helps stop permanent joint damage, and helps skin get clearer in psoriatic arthritis. with less pain, you're free to join in. enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace where fungal infections are common or if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. when opportunities come your way, be ready to say i'm in for what's next. ask your doctor about enbrel. police in sweden have arrest 26 people and more arrests are expected after a weekend of violent riots and protests. now, the clashes were sparked by quran burnings. cnn's nadia bashir reports. sunday, marked yet another day of unrest in sweden. reportedly, sparked pay planned rally by far right danish political group hard line, the leader of which set -- social media and calling on supporters to join him in burning more. the move sparked violent probates and riots. the video shashed on social media, rioters can be seen throwing becomes at members of the police, and car set alight. the leader of the far-right group has expressed both anti-imgrant and islamophobic views, but is said to have received permission to carry out a number of rallies across sweden over the easter weekend. now, it is important to know police are still investigating the main cause of these riots, and have said they believe some individuals links to criminal gangs may have taken advantage of the situation. according to a police statement, at least 26 people have been arrested so far, and more than a dozen members of the public were injured over the course of these riots. the swedish prime minister has condemned violence ask also confirmed members of sweden's police force were also injured over the course of the riots. now, the controversial incident has unfolded during the holy month of ramadan, and a number of muslim-majority countries including saudi arabia, uae, iraq, jordan, kuwait, and escript have condemned the burning of the quran by the far-right political group. jordans saying it could pose a threat to peaceful existence. n nadia bashir, london. >> now, to vatican city where the pope led an easter monday prayer vigil attended by thousands of italian teenagers. you see them in st. peters square. this is the first gathering since the start of the pandemic but francis said he was worriedability their future, and russia's war in ukraine, which he called cruel and senseless on easter sunday. meantime, cnn visited a ukrainian city directly in the line of fire, as cnn's clarissa ward reports, residents there spent orthodox palm sunday praying for peace but, of course, also bracing for violence. >> reporter: at the alexander cathedral, an art and prayer from worshippers under the shadow of russia's war. we ask for your mercy, lord. please, hear us. they have gathered here for orthodox palm sunday, carrying w willows instead of palms, per the orthodox tradition. it is supposed to be a celebration of jesus's return to jerusalem but there is little joy in this congregation. ukrainian officials say this city will be a decisive battleground in russia's imminent offensive in the donbas region. the streets are getting emptier as the fighting gets closer. those still here are being urged to leave. the air-raid siren is an unrelenting wail. you can't hear is because the sirens are so loud but we have heard a steady stream of booms coming from that way in the distance. but as you can see, people here are just used to it. the children continue to play. the adults try to stay strong. this group is awaitin an evacuation bus to the safety of the western ukraine. she tells us she is taking her grandchildren to lviv. their mother died three years ago. upt you hear what's happening here, she says. my husband is still at home. his health isn't good enough to make the journey. her granddaughter offers some support oh, grandma, she says, i love you. anna is full of anguish that the international community has failed to reign in putin. had they show the children killed, i can't. i cry, she says. why can't they stop this one idiot? if they will send me, i will shoot him. seven weeks into this ugly war, there is no end in sight. pavel is saying good-bye to his wife, olga. she doesn't want to let go of him. scenes of separation that have become all too familiar. everything will be okay, the organizer tells her. comforting words that mask a grim reality. >> so much misery without end semingly. i am paula newton. i will see you right back here tomorrow but stay with us. our breaking news continues with john vause live in ukraine and rosemary church will be here at cnn center. when it comes to tech, everyone wants the next best thing. now with xfi complete from xfinity, you can get updated wifi technology with the new tech upgrade program. plus, protection from cyber threats at home and now on the go. so staying up to date is easier than ever. you look great by the way. right? unbeatable internet. made to do anything so you can do anything. only xfinity will upgrade your tech after 3 years for a more reliable connection. get that and more with xfi complete. upgrade today. this is cnn breaking news. >> welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i i'm john vause in lviv, ukraine. the long-awaited russian military offensive in the eastern donbas region appears to

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