Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered a blockade that has, quote, a slide that cant get through. The russians have made evacuations from the site too dangerous. Have a listen. Unfortunately right now there is no possibility to evacuate civilians from the star plan because we asked for a cease fire. We notified residents. The civilians are sheltering there now. They are constantly bombarded. Constantly bombarded. They have 85 tactical groups added over the past 24 hours. Ukraines president said its forces wont be deterred by the russian buildup. Translator they are a couple mu rlating forces. They are even trying start the socalled mobilization from the occupied regions of ukraine. None of these steps will help russia in the war against our state. Meanwhile, u. S. President joe biden says another shipment of u. S. Military hardware is heading to ukraine as quickly as possible. Mr. Biden says hell soon ask congress for more. In fact, House Speaker nancy pelosi also addressed while meeting with the ukrainian Prime Minister. Have a listen. We wont always be able to advertise everything that our partners are doing. Support ukraine. But to modernize Teddy Roosevelts famous advice, sometimes we will speak softly and carry a large javelin because were sending a lot of those in as well. In that same press conference they said u. S. Air space is closed to russian aircraft. Constant bombardment has been a way of life for many left in the battered cities. Russian and ukrainians are battling and many civilians are hiding in basements. They are finding shelter and little else. Reporter and it begins again. Hell rains down. A dozen people are hiding in the basement in a bombed out theater. Let it stop, oh, lord. Now theres incoming. A white flag hangs outside to no effect. The theater above has been bombed and bombed again and again. Yet they stay. Too poor, too old, too frightened to flee. Nina, 89 years old, has been here for five weeks. I want to go home, she says. Ive suffered too much. Ive seen the fire and the smoke. Ive seen it all. Im scared. Ninas plea simple. Help us. Help us. Her daughter struggles to comfort her. Were praying to god to stop it, she says. To hear us. Nina says, i have nowhere to go. I have no friends, no relatives. With the shelling intensifying, volunteers are finding it hard to deliver food. As russian and Ukrainian Forces fight for control, there are people down there praying as hell rains down. Ben wedeman, rhobizne, ukraine. Stop thinking about what her life has come to. This is allegedly caught on tape. Ukrainian military said it intercepted russian orders to kill Ukrainian Pows in the l luhansk area. What can i tell you, dammit. You keep the most senior among them and let the rest go. Let them go forever, dammit, so that no one will ever see them again, including relatives. Cnn cant verify the authenticity of the recording. They say previous intercepted recordings will level everything to the ground at a steel plant and civilians are hold up. Joining me now from lviv, the former press secretary for volodymyr zelenskyy. Let me start off by asking you about the discovery weve seen and the mass graphs in manhusck. What do you know . Thank you for having me. Ukrainian authorities were told about what we are going to reveal about whats going on in the country. In fact, we know the mass grave is of the length of 300 meters. This is a large grave. We dont know how many bodies are there. Some of the bodies are very difficult to identify. Many people tried to appeal to say they lost their relatives, their loved ones. Right now what ukrainian authorities want to show is the war crimes. This is not just about war crimes, this is about mass atrocities. This is about the genocide and we are very glad that many leaders of the world are going to see this, including joe biden, the president of the United States. This is a sign of russian hate trez on the ukrainian identity and people. We are talking about this and looking at the mass grave. Any idea of how many lives have been lost here . We know that we know that the u. N. Was revealing the number of about 3,000 deaths in ukraine, but we know that the u. N. Produces the number that is only identified person by person. We know it is not even close to true. This is about tens of thousands of lost lives already because the cities are being bombarded by russia. There are homes to hundreds of thousands. For instance, mariupol used to be home to 400,000 people. Right now we know our service men who are fighting there and the civilians are still there and ukrainian authorities were trying to find food and water. We know it was provided through helicopters. We still know they are on the verge of all capacities and they are left sheltering. We all pray and they will stay until the very end. I dont know if you heard that. A top adviser, top politician to the head of president ial office and the head of president ial sanction went to mariupol. They wanted to help people go out from mariupol. But on that point though, julia, we had confirmed that the two ukrainian officials were prepared to travel to negotiate. Did they ever travel . Did the russian side agree to meet with them . Any clarification on that . Well, thats exactly what i mentioned. These two people offered to go to mariupol. After that we see russia is not open to anyone and they declined any kind of further talks. What we have heard in the last hour or so is that there is no humanitarian corridor nor evacuation today. Thats just really heartbreaking news given how dire the situation is on the ground, the city on the brink. When i mean, what were you expecting Ukrainian Forces to be able to do . How long can they repel these Russian Forces here . Well, i dont know how much time the crew that is surrounded can survive there. Ukrainian authorities are doing everything they can to help them manage there as they already have all unbelievable and imaginary lines there. They will stand until the very end. There is another region under occupation and russian is trying to take over. There is a referendum. People are not going to go there. They have around 80, 90 of support which is just absolutely fake number. And russia justifies making some kind of a greater tori they call the peoples republic. People from kherson, there was a fourth shelling and to put the people between the Ukrainian Army and the russian army so the Ukrainian Army cannot shell because they are seeing ukrainian people, civilians in front of russian army. This is very scary and what russia is preparing for the next months for the beginning of the month. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us. Appreciate it. Early on thursday a convoy arrived in the city of zaporizhzhia carrying just 79 people from the city of mariupol and the surrounding towns that have been under russian control. They may look relieved to be out of the war zone, im sure they are, but anxious no doubt about what comes next. Translator ukrainian soldiers visited us. They began to calm us down. They were helping in different ways. They even went searching for my cat during the night when there was shelling. Theyve helped me a lot. I left the place with little of what i had. The u. N. Refugee agency says nearly 8 Million People are displaced within ukraine. Another 5 million have already left the country. And if you would like to safely and securely help people in ukraine who may be in need of shelter, food and water, please go to cnn. Com impact. Still to come right here on the show, candidates are about to hit the campaign trail for the final time ahead of sundays president ial runoff in france. Next we go live to paris before president macron and marin le pan make their final pitch to voters. You are watching cnn newsroom. Its a bit functional. But well gladly be functional. So you can b be free. Booking. Com bobooking. Yeah look, this isnt my first rodeo and let me tell you something, i wouldnt be here if i thought reverse mortgages took advantage of any american senior, or worse, that it was some way to take your home. Its just a loan designed for older homeowners, and, its helped over a million americans. A reverse Mortgage Loan isnt some kind of trick to take your home. Its a loan, like any other. Big difference is how you pay it back. Find out how reverse mortgages really work with aags free, noobligation reverse mortgage guide. Eliminate monthly mortgage payments, pay bills, medical costs, and more. Call now and get your free info kit. 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Retire better we are following a developing story out of the middle east for you. New clashes have broken out between Palestinian Police and israeli police. A tree on the compound caught fire giving off plumes of smoke, a site known as the temple mount has been a violent flashpoint over the last few weeks. Two candidates are about to begin their final sprint. President Emmanuel Macron and marin le pen will begin their final campaigning. Mr. Macron is leading le pen. This time around the polls are suggesting the race is closer. Jim bitterman is joining us. Macron did pretty well in that debate, didnt he . Reporter exactly right, max. I think after the debate viewers were polled and they were showed to be very much in favor of mr. Macron. Theyre believed to have more confidence in him after the poll taken after the debate. It still remains to be seen. The recent poll is one poll out this morning. It shows that the race has gotten closer. Both candidates are out there for the final day campaigning. Marin le pen is northeast of paris. Campaign workers have until tonight and after midnight theres a day of silence, a day of reflection. Candidates cant campaign anymore, cant update their websites. Everything remains as it is today until sunday when voters go to the polls. It looks like macron was ahead. The real question mark is what happens in terms of abstentions. One of the things the polls have agreed on is that the abstention rate is going to be quite high in this race, in the voting that takes place on sunday. As many as one in four french voters will stay home. It could have a direct bearing on who gets to become president of france. It could be that the people that are macron supporters, for example, are disillusioned with his performance in the last five years. It could be that the marin le pen supporters could be disappointed with the way its gone. People could be not happy with how its gone between the center candidate and the center right. Turnout will be a crucial element, isnt it . Well get a sense of that on sunday. Back with you, jim. Thanks for joining us live from paris. Be sure to join us sunday, 8 p. M. And 2 p. M. Eastern u. S. Special live coverage of the French Election right here on cnn. British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson will face his third investigation into the party gate scandal. Scandal concerns a party held on june of 2020 at the Prime Ministers residence when Public Health restrictions banned this. Numerous fines have been issued for a number of events that took place at downing street during national restrictions. Boris johnson and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi just wrapped up a meeting. It will seal twoway investment deals worth 2 million. There is a reference to the war on ukraine. What were doing is taking forward a bring the terrible indian roadmap. It was great to see you at the g7 but since then the threat of autocratic coercion have grown even further. For more on this im joined from new delhi. All eyes were on this, werent they . Sclis from europe. Narendra modi hasnt criticized them on the war. Boris johnson has. That was a difficult moment to sort of navigate during this press conference. Reporter absolutely, max. Both of them did talk about ukraine while Narendra Modi has talked about how india has said they need to cease the violence and get them to talk through diplomatic channels like you just spoke about. Boris johnson, u. K. s Prime Minister, talking about ukraine and the russian situation where he talked about russia as an autocratic state. There has been pressspressure. They need to take a stand on the conflict in ukraine. Yesterday they came forward and talked about how they understand indias situation. They have taken a stand on the violence that took place in ukraine. He has come out and said india has taken the strongest stand they can. Thats the strongest theyve said and condemning the violence in bucha. The biggest take away, however, between the two delegations. Prime minister in u. K. And them say we do see us tying up the fta, the Free Trade Agreement by the end of this year. Thats the biggest turn on. If by the end of the year we see this being tied up, there were talks on security, trade of course as well as ukraine. Why the cases have held back in the u. K. , there was a controversy in the Western State of bucha. Prime minister johnson says they could be seen jumping atop one of the excavators there which was also used recently in a dem he mow ligs drive. This was condemned from the u. K. Prime minister. There was no word on the controversy during either of the press statements. Max. Live in new delhi. Thank you. Now a suspect has been officially declared in the infamous case of a missing british toddler. The unnamed man was made a suspect by general authorities. Officials say the man has not been charged yet. Madeleine mccanns case sparked an international case. She was just 3 years old when she vanished from a Holiday Resort in portugal. They said they believe she is dead. Cnn shadows some ukrainians who are digging up dangerous mines and weapons left behind. Thats just ahead. Im Jonathan Lawson here to tell you about Life Insurance through the Colonial Penn program. If youre age 50 to 85, and looking to buy Life Insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. What are the three ps . The three ps of Life Insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. A price you can afford, a price that cant increase, and a price that fits your budget. Im 54, whats my price . You can get coverage for 9. 95 a month. Im 65 and take medications. Whats my price . Also 9. 95 a month. I just turned 80, whats my price . 9. 95 a month for you too. If youre age 50 to 85, call now about the 1 most popular whole Life Insurance plan available through the Colonial Penn program. It has an affordable rate starting at 9. 95 a month. No medical exam, no health questions. Your acceptance is guaranteed. And this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. So call now for free information and youll also get this free beneficiary planner. And its yours free just for calling. So call now for free information. If you are just joining us, let me bring you up to date of our breaking News Coverage out of ukraine. Cnn has just learned there will be no humanitarian corridors open on friday. That is according to Ukraines DeputyPrime Minister who blames danger along the routes. An evacuation cant come soon enough for those trapped in the steel factory in the battered city of mariupol. There was plenty of food and water but it wont last forever. Meanwhile, take a look at this. Satellite images show the cost of russias efforts to take over mariupol. The photos appear to show mass graves along a side road near there. Also just into cnn, heavy fighting in the donetsk as well as luhansk regions over the last 24 hours have resulted in russia taking over 42 more settlements. A president ial adviser made the remarks on thursday evening on television and she adds the military expects to get them back on friday. Meanwhile, President Biden announcing another 800 million in military aide will be heading to ukraine and those weapon shipments include howitzer cannons, 144,000 artillery rounds. An attack drone the pentagon tailored to ukraines needs. Nic robertson joins me with more. Nic, i wanted to focus on the comments from the czech foreign minister who is talking about the dire situation in mariupol has said that nato involvement in mariupol evacuations would be a game changer. How exactly would these evacuations take place and how would perhaps russia react here . Reporter yeah, its not clear that nato is going to get involved in these evacuations, perhaps not through a lack of desire but through lack of a clear way to do it and a lack of potential support from the russian side. President putin has doubled down on his position. Lets secure it so not even a gnat, not even a fly can get in. President putin is comfortable with the forces that are still trapped inside mariupol there. Theyre calling for International Help to try to get civilians out, to get them, the fighters, out of mariupol. So from president putins p propaganda, it looks like the Ukrainian Forces are begging for help. Theyre claiming mariupol as a success. That mitigates against everything mariupol is doing. If theyre declaring it a success there, then theres the ability to help civilians. Nato is not saying anything officially. Not saying anything behind closed doors. The last sort of Top International diplomat was evacuated from there. He talked about the terrible destruction, sort of a diplomatic interest in helping out. Theyre obviously directly on the black sea and has, you know, naval assets that could potentially go to help and go to the port of mariupol considering the harbor site is not too destroyed and give some release. Theres no doubt discussions are going on at nato to support the situation in eastern europe. You have the lithuanian president thanking germany for the support its giving. Germany leading a ba tallian of nato troops that have ramped up the numbers inside of lithuania as well as they have in the other baltic nations. What were hearing from the lithuanian president is we need to ramp this up. They need to go from ba tallian size to a brigade size. Three times the size. A brigade has much bigger clout, much bigger sort of resources, assets, ability to do things and presents a much bigger message to russia that nato is in sizeable presence on its border through the baltic states. At the moment, thats where a lot of the nato discussion is. But it does seem unlikely at this stage. Nic robertson live for us in brussels this hour. Thanks very much, nic. Appreciate it. As the Russian Military moves through ukraine, they are leaving more than just destruction and heart break as our phil black now reports. Reporter weaving through the trees, carrying a delicate cargo. Not the wounded but something with the potential to do worse. Theyre collecting active will have munitions. There are blackened trees pretty much everywhere. Ukrainians say rockets rain down on positions there. This is whats left of the battlefield. Reporter here lies a russian rocket. Those weapons are banned by more than 100 countries. This one standing proud shows why they must work quickly. When the soldiers last saw this damaged rocket, it was lying horizontally. Someone has lifted the warhead so it now points to the sky. The professionals carefully stretcher it away and add it to their growing collection. That was a single 500 pound bomb and thats how you make it save. They have two more to go. Theyre air delivered bombs recovered from a downed russian aircraft and theyre going to destroy both at the same time. The big ones are easy to find and you get the feeling fun to destroy. Most of them hunting down mines and abandoned order nates is careful work, scanning, prodding the earth with intense focus for 40urs are you doing this. Its helping people months after. This one ran over something injuring eight on board. There are plenty of legacies. Ukrainians are working to ensure this one doesnt endure. Phil black, cnn in ukraines kyiv region. I want to bring you an update about a town we told you about earlier this hour. Ben wedeman took us to a shelter in the town of rabitz where a dozen or so people have been hiding in the basement of a bombed out theater. A short time ago the head of the mill military, stopping a bus. They have seen russian offensives in Ukraines Donbas region. Still to come right here on the show, emotions are boiling high from shanghai. Well have a live report after the break. You are watching cnn newsroom. At xfinity, we live and work in the same neighborhood as you. Were always working to keep you connected to what you love. And now, were working to bring you the next generation of wifi. Its ultrafast. Faster than a gig. Supersonic wifi. Only from xfinity. It can power hundreds of devices with three times the bandwidth. So your growing wifi needs will be met. Supersonic wifi only from us. Xfinity. Now the u. S. Food Drug Administration is deciding whether to wait to approve pfizer and Moderna Vaccine at the same time. Theyre similar but not identical. Shanghai reported the total death toll to 36 total. Its taking a massive toll on residents and ex pats with no clear end on when the lockdown will be lifted. Lets bring in cnns beijing bureau chief, steven jiang. Theyre getting tighter in shanghai which clearly illustrates how determined the authorities are to stick to this policy. Reporter thats right, max. Despite official propaganda and the effective lockdown. Whats been happening is for days the authority has said the city is being categorized into three different zones. Residents from low risk areas technically are allowed to be moving about within their districts. For the most part, that has not happened at all because of the authorities continued worry about new infections if they are allowing people out of their apartment complexes. Instead theyre turning to their familiar playbook by testing and retesting that whole population, even with growing evidence that many of the newer infections have come from crowded testing sites. Something else theyve been doing. Now without exceptions. A growing number of senior citizens, some in their 90s and in wheelchairs are being forcibly removed and many of those are very crowded and very little food. Many residents are facing food shortages. Even those receiving government handouts and the food is going bad and all of the mismanagement and resulting chaos and misery has united millions of residents and expats. Many are asking how is it possible to go hungry or dying from the lack of food or medical c care. The answer is clear, because they are saying this is the wear to go. Steven jiang, live in beijing. Its extraordinary to see whats happening in shanghai. A surge in covid cases has forced the city of Rio De Janeiro to cancel the world famous carnival street parades. This is the second year rio has canceled the street party. Thousands of dancers continue to practice for the indoor celebration. It can go on with some Health Protocols in place. The stadium has a capacity of 80,000 people. Its unclear how many people will be allowed to attend though. Massive wildfire in the u. S. State of arizona is forcing the governor there to declare a state of emergency in the affected areas. The 8,000 hectare, 19,000 tunnel fire has caused people in flagstaff to be ordered to evacuate. And the high plains. Meteorologist Karen Mcginnis is at the World Weather center with more. So difficult to manage these situations, isnt it . It is extremely challenging. Were going to see in the next 24 to 48 hours just how fickle the weather in april can be. I want to point out the extreme fire danger we have and in colorado. Thats where the extreme fire risk is going to be located. We have very dry weather conditions, low relative humidity and the wind is going to be fierce. We could see the winds topping 70 miles an hour. 115, 100 kilometers per hour. This is where the warm sector of the storm is. This is where were looking at it. This is a big storm system. Places that well see very mild conditions will see blizzard conditions. Heres the state of new mexico. Heres texas. Watch what happens by about 3 00 in the afternoon local time. These winds are going to be howling all across new mexico, the panhandle of nebraska. Well see probably the greatest risk and the highest winds. Going in towards saturday you head towards rapid city. These are strong winds, too, but theyre going to be cold winds on the back side of na that sto system. It gives you an idea just how fickle this system is with blizzard conditions, heavy snowfall across the rocky mountains. In the Sierra Nevada in california they are looking at snowfall that could be measured in feet or something just under a meter. We have major fires. The fire to the north of flagstaff. Max, after you . Our thoughts went down. Thank you. The mass exodus of ukrainians into poland has slowed. Why a growing number of ukrainians are returning home despite the threat from russia. 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Do you think that the mass exodus is over . No, we cannot say that. Its hard to predict actually the direction of the crisis. Reporter in the first stop in poland, the mayor was once overwhelmed by the number of refugees showing up every day. Not anymore. It seems better. More organized. Ukraine looks better. Reporter inside the station theyre headed back to their hometown in southern ukraine 50 miles from the contested city of mykolaiv. Translator in our town we had about seven or eight People Killed at a military unit when it was bombed. My child was so scared. Reporter they fled to a small town in northern germany. The government put them up in a little hotel. They say they had little help beyond that. Translator we didnt know what to do. Nobody helped us to find jobs. We were told we needed to speak german. Reporter youre willing to take a small risk to get your life back . Translator yes, we want to go back. After all, home is home. Reporter down the hall natalia fled kyiv. While she stayed with friends in germany, her neighborhood withstood russian shelling. Now that the russian haves retreated, shes going back. Translator its a bit scary. I want to see my husband. I never thought this would last a long time. I dont want to start a new life in germany without my husband. Reporter at the border the lineup to get into ukraine stretches for five miles. At the polish side of the pedestrian crossing, there are more volunteers than refugees. Oksana is going back to see her parents in lviv. For easter. I want to see my parents. I miss them very, very much. Reporter scott mcclain, cnn, poland. That does it here on cnn newsroom. Thank you very much for your company. Im isa soares. Our coverage continues on early start with kirsten fischer. You are watching cnn. That moment you walk in the office and people are wearing the same gear, you feel a sense of connectedness and belonging right away. And our shirts from custom ink help bring us together. [narrator] custom ink has hundreds of products to help you feel connected. Upload your logo or start your design today at customink. Com there are lots of choices when it comes to your internet and technology needs. But when you choose comcast business internet, you choose the largest, fastest reliable network. You choose advanced security. And you choose Fiber Solutions with speeds up to 10 gigs available to more Small Businesses than any other provider. The choice is clear get unbeatable Business Solutions from the most innovative company. Get a great deal on this limited time price with internet and voice for just 49. 99 a month for 24 months with a 2year price guarantee. Call today. This is cnn breaking news. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Weve made it to friday, april 22nd. Im kristin fisher. We begin with evidence of mass graves outside the city of mariupol in southEastern Ukraine. These satellite images appear to corroborate the claims of ukrainian officials. The photos point to more than 1200 new graves 12 miles west of the besieged city. They add to mounting proof of russias war crimes against ukrainian civilians. Inside are hundreds of soldiers. Right now russia c