Russia's war in Ukraine

CNN spoke with Maria Pevchikh, the head of the investigative department for Alexey Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation. She's also an executive producer of CNN's film "Navalny."

Here’s what she said: 

Q: What can Navalny's story tell us about Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime, as we watch this war that they started?

A: It's a pretty good prequel. It explains a lot, actually. This film gives a lot of context and it explains how we ended up at this point in time and where Putin is invading countries and killing people, and kind of gets away with it.

Q: You've been keeping the Anti-Corruption Foundation running since Navalny was arrested. Why is it important to keep this work going?

A: It's not only me. There are dozens of other people who work with us. 

It's a matter of principle for us just continue our work despite the fact that Alexey is in prison. This is exactly what Putin wanted to happen. Putin wanted to imprison Navalny and destroy his work – stop our investigations, stop our political work, stop everything. For us, it is a matter of principle to show Vladimir Putin and whoever is responsible for this that this is not going to work. That we're going to continue our work and we're going to work harder and more than we did before. And we intend to keep going as long as it takes. 

Q: As the head of investigations at this foundation, what have you uncovered recently? 

A: This month, we’ve done two. There was an investigation that we did about the yacht Scheherazade. It is parked somewhere in Italy, and it has no owner. I think it is the 11th or 12th most expensive yacht in the world. No one knows to whom it belongs to. In our investigation, we proved that it belongs to Vladimir Putin. 

And last week, we published an investigation about Valery Gergiev, a Russian conductor and classical musician, who is very famous and a frequent guest at places like the Metropolitan Opera and Grand Opera. He is not only a very famous musician, but a prominent supporter of Putin and Putin's war. So, we did a big investigation into how Valery Gergiev gets paid for publicly whitewashing Putin abroad. 

Q: Navalny was recently sentenced to more time in prison. What do you think the future holds for him? Will he be able to get out of this prison?

A: I think that those numbers mean nothing. He can be sentenced to nine years to 99 years to 900 years. It is virtually meaningless.

Navalny’s case is purely political. Vladimir Putin decided to throw him into jail indefinitely. So as many people say, Navalny's sentence is essentially a life sentence. The question is whose life it will be? I'm pretty sure that Navalny is going to stay in prison probably until Putin leaves the office, until Putin is removed from power. Our mission is to make sure that this day comes as quickly as possible and Alexey is out of prison as soon as possible. 

Q: We learn in this documentary what Navalny's vision is for Russia, what he imagined the future will be. Do you expect that Russia will ever come to fruition? 

A: Absolutely. That's the plan. That's what we are working on for many years. It would be strange if we did something for a decade that we didn't believe in and we didn't believe that it was possible. 

I am convinced that the so-called “beautiful Russia of the future” – this is how Alexey refers to it – it is indeed possible. It is achievable and attainable, and yes, it will take a lot of effort and a lot of work to make sure that it materializes but there are so many people, so many Russians who are willing to do this work, who are willing to risk their life, their careers, their everything, just to make sure that Russia one day becomes a free and democratic country. 

Tune in tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET to watch the CNN Film “Navalny” on CNN. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that if Ukrainians in the besieged city of Mariupol are killed by Russian forces, and if Russia organizes "pseudo" referendums in occupied territories, Ukraine will stop negotiations with the Russian side. 

Zelensky also reiterated his willingness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying "I don't have a right to be afraid" as the Ukrainian people have shown they are not afraid of the Russian military. 

While Zelensky said he's "not afraid" to meet with Putin, it's difficult to trust what Russia says.

"There is no trust to Russia. Those are not synonyms, those are antonyms: Russia and trust. Because they're just saying something, and their words do not coincide with actions," he said.

Zelensky said possible future negotiations in Turkey depend on Putin, and the Ukranian president reiterated his willingness to participate in talks. 

Zelensky also said Kyiv is "in permanent contact" with Ukrainians in Mariupol but couldn't share details about the messaging. "These are our people and our town," he said. 

Zelensky said eight people, including a baby, were killed in missile strikes in the southern port city of Odesa on Saturday.

The Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine issued a statement Saturday claiming that a strike on a Russian command post in the southern Kherson region killed two Russia generals.

"On April 22, 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck a devastating blow at a forward command post of the 49th Combined Arms Army of Russian occupation troops located a short distance from the battle line in the Kherson region," the statement said. "The result: The Field Control Point of the 49th Combined Arms Army was destroyed. Two occupier generals were eliminated, and one was seriously wounded and evacuated in critical condition."

CNN could not immediately verify that claim or that casualties may have been inflicted on that unit. Several Russian generals have been killed in Ukraine, with military observers and analysts saying that communication issues and a top-down command style have forced Russia's top officers to move forward to resolve tactical issues.

The Russian defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for​ comment. 

For women and children stuck in the bunker of the Azovstal steelworks, daylight is a rarity.

"I want to get out of here and see the sun. We’ve been here for two months now and I want to see the sun," said one boy.

As the barrage of Mariupol continues, the plant is among the last significant holdouts of Ukrainian forces in the city and is sheltering hundreds of soldiers and civilians.

"Because they switch the lights on and off here. When they rebuild our houses we can live in peace. Let Ukraine win this war because Ukraine is our dear home," he added.

Some background: Ukrainian officials have said more than 100,000 people still remain in Mariupol. The Russian government claims to control the strategic port, but Ukrainian fighters remain holding out in the city's massive Azovstal steelworks.

On Friday, Russian troops also continued to launch air strikes on Mariupol and ​restrict Ukrainian units in the area of the Azovstal plant.

The situation at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol is “close to a catastrophe," Yuriy Ryzhenkov, the CEO of the company that owns the plant, told CNN on Thursday.

Ryzhenkov said originally there had been enough supplies for two to three weeks but they were almost eight weeks into the blockade. He added that those still there “were not giving up.” 

Evacuation corridor "thwarted": The evacuation of civilians from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol has been "thwarted" by the Russian military, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol said on his official Telegram account Saturday. 

At 11 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) Saturday, at least 200 residents had gathered near a shopping center in Mariupol, waiting to be evacuated to Zaporizhzhia. But "instead of the buses promised by the Russian side, the Russian military approached the Mariupol residents and ordered them to leave because 'there will be shelling now,'" Petro Andriushchenko said. 

Russian opposition leader. Anti-corruption campaigner. Assassination attempt survivor. Prisoner.

Alexey Navalny's crusade against the Kremlin has brought him many labels.

And with the eyes of the world now on Russian President Vladimir Putin amid his brutal invasion of Ukraine, Navalny's message of resistance is finding new weight inside and outside of Russia, even as he remains behind bars.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing," he says, reprising the famous quote of unknown origin, in the new CNN film "Navalny," which premieres this Sunday, April 24, at 9 p.m. ET on CNN. "So don't be inactive."

Here's what you need to know about Navalny's political rise, attempted assassination and future in Russia:

Rise to prominence Navalny first gained visibility in 2008, when he started blogging about alleged corruption within Russian state-run companies. By 2011, he had emerged as one of the leaders of the massive protests that had broken out after allegations of fraud in parliamentary elections.

"Those who have gathered here can kick these thieved ass***** out of the Kremlin tomorrow," Navalny said at one 2011 protest.

He posted his first YouTube video, a step-by-step instruction guide showing how to build an "agitation cube," a boxlike tent structure with his image emblazoned on the side, in July 2013. The clip marked the start of the Russian dissident's campaign to be elected Moscow mayor, and the humble beginning of his YouTube revolution.

But his movement was blunted when he was convicted on embezzlement charges, just as he was preparing to run for mayor. Navalny has denied the charges and called them politically motivated. A retrial in 2017 barred him from running for public office — this time for president against Putin.

While Navalny is most well known as an activist, it's his investigations that have been the biggest thorn in the side of some of Russia's powerful people. His videos about the apparent unexplained wealth of top government officials have particularly raised the ire of the Kremlin.

One video about former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev drew more than 35 million views on YouTube.

But with increased results came increased risks. In March 2017, that video lit a spark under the biggest anti-government protests Russia had seen in years. Thousands joined rallies in almost 100 cities across Russia. Navalny himself was arrested and jailed for 15 days.

The following month, he was splashed with an antiseptic green dye, damaging his vision in one eye.

"Listen, I've got something very obvious to tell you. You're not allowed to give up. If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong," Navalny said to his supporters in the CNN film.

Poisoning and recovery By 2020, there were signs that the ground was shifting beneath Navalny's opposition movement.

The Kremlin had taken on a more publicly confrontational posture toward its chief critic, culminating in accusations of a poisoning attempt in August of that year.

Navalny had started feeling unwell on a return flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk. Loud groaning can be heard in video footage apparently recorded on the flight he took. More video apparently recorded through the airplane window showed an immobile man being taken by wheeled stretcher to a waiting ambulance.

Navalny was treated at a Berlin hospital, and the German government later concluded he had been poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group.

A joint investigation by CNN and the group Bellingcat implicated the Russian Security Service (FSB) in Navalny's poisoning, piecing together how an elite unit at the agency had followed Navalny's team throughout a trip to Siberia, when Navalny fell ill from exposure to Novichok.

The investigation also found that this unit, which included chemical weapons experts, had followed Navalny on more than 30 trips to and from Moscow since 2017. Russia denies involvement in Navalny's poisoning. Putin himself said in December that if Russian security services had wanted to kill Navalny, they "would have finished" the job.

Nevertheless, several Western officials and Navalny himself have openly blamed the Kremlin.

"It's impossible to believe it. It's kind of stupid that the whole idea of poisoning with a chemical weapon, what the f**k?" Navalny says in the new CNN film. "This is why this is so smart, because even reasonable people they refuse to believe like, what? Come on ... poisoned? Seriously?"

News that Navalny had fallen gravely ill sent a fresh shock wave through Russian society, raising worrying parallels with some of the more brazen political killings in Russia's recent past.

Western governments, independent researchers and Russia watchers have noted a consistent pattern of Russian state involvement in assassinations both inside Russia and abroad.

Click here to read the full story.

Tune in tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET to watch the CNN Film “Navalny” on CNN.

The evacuation of civilians from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol has been "thwarted" by the Russian military, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol said on his official Telegram account Saturday. 

At 11 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) Saturday, at least 200 residents had gathered near a shopping center in Mariupol, waiting to be evacuated to Zaporizhzhia. But "instead of the buses promised by the Russian side, the Russian military approached the Mariupol residents and ordered them to leave because 'there will be shelling now,'" Petro Andriushchenko said. 

The Russian military brought buses to another location about 200 meters away from the agreed evacuation point, and when residents had already been loaded on the buses, they were told they'll be evacuated to the city of Dokuchaevsk, "i.e. in the occupied territories," Andriushchenko said. 

"Yes, once again, the Russians disrupted the evacuation. Brazenly using the efforts of Mariupol residents to return home and the honesty of the Ukrainian army in a ceasefire to organize their own plans," he added. 

The Ukrainian parliament also tweeted that the evacuation was "disrupted."

"About 200 Mariupol residents were going to leave, but when they arrived at the assembly point, the [Russian] military told them to disperse because 'there will be shelling now'," according to the parliament's official account. 

Five civilians died and 18 were wounded in Russian missile strikes on the southern port city of Odesa, according to a senior Ukrainian official, as another official denounced them as "Easter gifts from Putin."


"Five Ukrainian citizens were killed and 18 wounded," Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said in a statement. "These are only those who were found. And most likely, there will be more."

Yermak said one of the dead was a 3-month-old baby, adding: "A child who had to celebrate his first Easter with his parents. Nothing is sacred. Absolutely. Evil will be punished."

Many Ukrainians celebrate Easter according to the Julian calendar, with Easter Sunday falling this year on April 24.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine, said Russian forces launched at least six cruise missiles at Odesa.

"City residents heard the blasts in different districts of the city. These were the rockets strikes as well as the work of our air-defense system," he said.

Gerashchenko added that at least one missile had landed and exploded, residential buildings were hit and one person was burned inside their car in the yard of one of the buildings.

​Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned the strikes, saying, "The only aim of Russian missile strikes on Odesa is terror. Russia must be designated a state sponsor of terrorism and treated accordingly. No business, no contacts, no cultural projects. We need a wall between civilization and barbarians striking peaceful cities with missiles."

Ukrainian officials have warned of potential Russian attacks during Easter holiday observances in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently claimed Russian forces have "liberated" the Azov Sea port of Mariupol, although Ukrainian defenders are holding out in a massive steel works in the city. 

Ukraine's Air Command South said in a separate statement that missiles also struck a military facility and were launched by Russian bombers:

While in prison, Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny used social media to denounce the Russian invasion of Ukraine, advocating for anti-war protests across the country as "the backbone of the movement against war and death," according to Reuters.

In a tweet, Navalny said: "I am very grateful to everyone for their support. And, guys, I want to say: the best support for me and other political prisoners is not sympathy and kind words, but actions. Any activity against the deceitful and thievish Putin's regime. Any opposition to these war criminals."

Thousands in Russia have been detained for anti-war demonstrations in the weeks since, including in Moscow and St. Petersburg. 

One young woman CNN met on the margins of the first night of protest last month was near tears explaining that she loves Russia but not her leader, and so has concluded she must leave the country.

There is real frustration in that generation, but they are a minority — less than 10% of the nation.

​Indeed, the latest polling by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), a state-owned but nevertheless internationally respected organization, found that 68% of people say they support the decision to carry out the "special military operation," which Putin had announced alongside false accusations of Nazism and genocide in Ukraine; 22% oppose it and 10% had difficulty answering.

It is a sobering assessment that when Putin puts his finger in the wind of public opinion, he can be reasonably sure it is blowing in the direction he instructed his state organs to set it.

"We need to utilize this power, to not give up, to remember we are a huge power that is being oppressed by these bad dudes. We don't realize how strong we actually are," he said.

Click here to read the full story.

Tune in tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET to watch the CNN Film “Navalny” on CNN.

Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said Saturday that a Russian strike hit a gas pipe on the outskirts of a village in the region.

"We have an 'arrival' in the Dnieper district," Reznichenko said on Telegram. "The rocket landed on the outskirts of a village and left a huge funnel more than 4 meters deep in the ground. A low-pressure gas pipe was damaged. Specialists are at work on the scene."

Rezhnichenko said there were no casualties.

"The occupiers continue to target 'strategic' targets," he said. "'Demilitarize' our fields and gardens."