Anderson Cooper 360

The head of Ukraine’s railways says Russian forces struck five railway stations in central and western Ukraine as heavy fighting continues in the east. While shadowing paramedics in Kharkiv, CNN Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward and her team were forced to run for safety after getting caught in the crossfire of Russian shelling. She tells Anderson Cooper about how important the first responders are to the locals who are still constantly getting bombarded by Russian forces. Plus, exclusive new reporting on thousands of text messages sent and received by Mark Meadows that reveal details about former President Trump’s inner circle communications before and after January 6. CNN Special Correspondent Jamie Gangel joins AC360 to explain how Trump’s close associates, supporters and Republican lawmakers worked behind the scenes to try and overturn the election results. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CNN's Ed Lavandera tells the story of one village where Ukrainians were held hostage by Russian troops for 3 weeks. Also, according to the U.N. more than five million people have fled Ukraine since Russian began their invasion with more than seven million internally displaced in the country.  And since the start of the war, Poland has seen the largest amount of refugees pour over the borders with the latest U.N. data showing nearly three million Ukrainians have escaped to Poland.  Anderson spoke with actor, director, screenwriter and producer Liev Schreiber who co-founded Blue Check Ukraine to help vet and support Ukrainian aid groups on the ground. He also recently returned from Poland and Ukraine where he was aiding humanitarian efforts. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russia's Vladimir Putin claimed Mariupol is a "success" and is saying that the Russians are "liberating" the besieged port city. He also said that if the remaining defenders were to lay down their arms, Russia "guarantees their lives and decent treatment in accordance with the relevant international legal acts." To date, Ukrainian officials estimate that Russian attacks have cost up to 20,000 lives in Mariupol. President Zelensky said today that Russia is not engaged in war in Mariupol so much as a “terrorist operation.” David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, who has spent much of his career covering Russia and authored the Pulitzer Prize winning "Lenin's Tomb" talks with Anderson. Clarissa Ward joins Anderson to talk about the grim situation many around one frontline city in Ukraine are facing. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Samantha Power is the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. In her previous work as ambassador to the United Nations and member of the National Security Council, she's rallied the U.S. and other nations to focus more on human rights, refugees and atrocities across the globe. She talks with Anderson about the violence in Ukraine.  Nadya Tolokonnikova, a founding member of the activist and punk rock group Pussy Riot, which has been publicly protesting Putin for about a decade also talks with Anderson.   To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Zelensky calls Russians “the source of evil” for their attacks on Ukrainian civilians. The Russian Foreign Minister says of the war, “another stage of this operation is beginning”. The federal court ruling overturning the public transport mask mandate causes confusion across the country. The DOJ says it will appeal the ruling if the CDC says the mandate is still necessary. Patrick Lyoya was killed during an encounter with an officer following a traffic stop in Michigan. His family’s lawyers say the independent autopsy they commissioned shows he was shot in the back of his head. Air Date: 04/19/2022To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Several U.S. airlines announce masks are optional after court ruling. Delta Air Lines says it is making masks optional, and warned travelers they "may experience inconsistent enforcement during the next 24 hours as this news is more broadly communicated."  Dr. Leana Wen talks about what this means. Also, a restaurant partnered with celebrity chef and global humanitarian José Andrés organization, World Central Kitchen, was hit by a missile strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, leaving four staffers wounded, WCK CEO Nate Mook said Saturday, describing the scene as “horrific brutality.” Chef José Andrés talks about what is going on in Ukraine.Guests: José Andrés & Dr. Leana Wen.Airdate: April 18, 2022 To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Given Bucha, and Borodianka, the leveling of Mariupol, attacks on hospitals, and use of anti-personnel weapons on civilians, it is not hard to make a case that Russian tactics in Ukraine amount to war crimes on a scale not seen in Europe since the atrocities in the former Yugoslavia. But is how realistic is it to expect to hold Vladimir Putin directly accountable? Perspective from Sir Geoffrey Nice, who led the prosecution of Slobodan Milosevic, at The Hague. Also, Clarissa Ward brings us an update to a story of an 86 year-old woman who was stuck in Ukraine.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan visited the Ukrainian towns of Bucha and Borodyanka this week, where mass graves and murdered civilians were discovered in early April following the Russian withdrawal from northern Ukraine. “Ukraine is a crime scene. We’re here because we have reasonable grounds to believe that crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC are being committed. We have to pierce the fog of war to get to the truth,” Khan said after visiting Bucha. Also, the Russian warship Moskva has sunk, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense. There have been conflicting accounts emerging about an incident involving the warship in the Black Sea on Wednesday. Retired Brigadier General Peter Zwack, a former U.S. defense attaché to Russia and retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling talk about what this means for Russia.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The man suspected of shooting 10 people on a Brooklyn subway train called in a tip to Crime Stoppers Wednesday afternoon essentially telling police he saw his face on the news and knew he was wanted, two law enforcement sources tell CNN. In the call, the suspect said he was in a McDonald’s on the Lower East Side, the sources said. Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe talks about why the suspect may have made the call. Also, President Biden took new action today to bolster Ukraine's defenses against the next phase of Russia's invasion. Retired Major General Dana Pittard talks about this new $800 million security assistance package and what it could mean for Ukraine.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NYPD has identified Frank R. James as a “person of interest” in the investigation of the Brooklyn subway shooting. They believe he rented a U-Haul van whose keys were found at the scene. Police are investigating whether he has any connection to the shooting and have not named him as a suspect. Ten people were shot Tuesday morning and at least 13 others injured when a suspect opened smoke grenades on a train and fired a gun 33 times. Hourari Benkada says he was sitting next to the shooter and was shot in the back of his knee. He joins AC360 from his hospital bed and describes the terrifying moment he realized he was hit by a bullet. Plus, President Biden says it’s “become clearer” that Russian President Vladimir Putin is committing “genocide” in Ukraine. CNN Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward is in Dnipro, Ukraine and tells AC360 what she saw when she left Kyiv earlier in the day.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices