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COY WIRE: What's up, sunshine.
Welcome back, hope you had a wonderful weekend.
I'm Coy Wire, here with you so we can fuel our minds,
dominate this week, and have a little bit of fun
while doing it.
Our lead story on "CNN 10" today-- the ongoing invasion
of Ukraine.
Friday marked one year since Russian President
Vladimir Putin launched a large scale
attack of neighboring Ukraine.
It's been a full year of destruction and loss of life.
It's been a time where Ukraine has fought back
and its allies have come forward to penalize Russia
with sanctions on their economy while sending
millions of in aid to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
has received international praise
for his wartime leadership, but he has also been criticized.
For one, he didn't warn Ukrainian citizens
of the impending invasion ahead of time.
Why?
He says the decision prevented financial panic
and that it better preserved Ukraine's
economy in order to fund the fight against Russia.
So when might this war end?
At a ceremony on Friday, which remembered
a somber anniversary of events that
are changing lives forever.
Zelenskyy vowed to push for a Ukrainian victory in 2023.
The day was full of commemorations,
reflections, and tears.
But Zelenskyy's tone remains strong
and he spoke of the country's resilience
during Europe's largest and deadliest
war since World War II.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SOLDIERS: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
BRIAN TODD: His exchanges with Ukrainian soldiers on Friday
were vintage Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy told his army they would
be the ones to decide whether Ukraine will
exist in the future or not.
But one year after Russia's invasion,
few doubt that Ukraine's fate hinges
in no small part on the man who's emerged
as an effective wartime leader.
JOHN HERBST: The man has a spine.
And, obviously, when you are truly David fighting Goliath--
if you don't have a spine, you lose.
BILL TAYLOR: 12 months later, he is the hard-bitten leader.
I mean, he has been through a year of trial
like no other leader.
BRIAN TODD: And from the first moments of the war,
it seemed like Zelenskyy was up to the challenge,
like when he posted a video message on Facebook
from the streets of Kyiv with his cabinet on the second night
of the invasion.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
INTERPRETER: The president is here, we are all here.
Our military is here.
BRIAN TODD: Volodymyr Zelenskyy has since
dominated the narrative from a stirring appearance
before a joint session of the US Congress--
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: Ukraine is alive and kicking.
BRIAN TODD: --to what he said to the British House of Commons.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
INTERPRETER: We will not give up and we will not lose.
We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores,
on the streets.
BRIAN TODD: Compare that to what Winston
Churchill said after the evacuation of Dunkirk.
WINSTON CHURCHILL: We shall fight in the fields
and in the streets.
We shall fight in the hills.
We shall never surrender.
BORIS JOHNSON: He has successfully mimicked
Winston Churchill himself.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has mobilized
the United States of America.
BRIAN TODD: Former US Ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor
remembers Zelenskyy in the early months
of his presidency as a good-natured, somewhat
naive politician.
How has the war changed Zelenskyy?
BILL TAYLOR: He's less jovial.
He's less-- he's more focused.
He's more determined.
He's more somber.
I mean, this is a hard time to go through.
And he's had it all on his shoulders.
BRIAN TODD: Still, no one's been able to keep Volodymyr
Zelenskyy from the front lines in places
like Kherson and [INAUDIBLE].
Compare that to Vladimir Putin's isolation in the Kremlin.
KEITH DARDEN: He appears fearful.
You just get the sense of a man alone,
whereas Zelensky is among his people, among his team,
and in the fight.
BRIAN TODD: The analysts we spoke
to say that unless Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes some colossal
and unforeseen mistakes, his legacy
will likely be very impressive.
If Ukraine wins the war, he'll go down as one of the greatest
leaders of the century.
If Ukraine loses, he's remembered as a tragic hero.
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COY WIRE: 10-second trivia.
Which of these nations is the most populated nation
on the African continent?
Ethiopia, Nigeria, Egypt, or South Africa?
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Nigeria, with around 220 million people,
is the most populated country in Africa.
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And up next we're headed to Nigeria.
The country is Africa's largest democracy
and its people are voting to elect their next president
and vice president.
The election comes at a time when 2/3 of the population
are living in poverty and almost half of the young people
are unemployed.
The value of the currency there is
low, while inflation is high.
And violence and terrorism have reshaped everyday life
across the nation.
We'll hear now from CNN International correspondent
Larry Madowo as Nigerians are making their voices heard
in one of the country's most competitive and unpredictable
elections in quite some time.
LARRY MADOWO: Polls are now closed nationwide in Nigeria's
tightest election ever.
What happens now is the slow, painstaking process
of counting the vote.
What do you have back there is they
hold up a ballot one by one.
Everybody watching has to agree that that's the person
that they voted for and so that will take a while, which
is why we can't predict exactly when the result will be known.
The independent National Electoral Commission
says they will do it speedily.
It might be a couple of days until we know.
There were a few reported instances of violence in parts
of Lagos and other parts of the country,
but these are isolated.
It's not a pattern that we can see at least apparently.
There were also at least 200 polling stations where voting
didn't take place because of insecurity,
and security has been a major issue
for voters in this election.
But the election is taking part in the backdrop of a major fuel
and cash shortage.
It's led to some chaotic scenes at gas stations and at banks.
And now whoever becomes the next president of Nigeria
has to deal with an economy on the verge of crumbling.
There are 18 people running, but only three men
have a realistic chance of becoming
the next president of Africa's most populous nation.
Nigerian election is a massive logistical nightmare.
93 million registered voters is more than the next 14
West African nations combined, so it's, sort of,
like organizing an election for an entire subcontinent
in just one day.
And that's why at this location, for instance,
and two of the polling stations there were no votes happening.
And they don't understand why, but people
we spoke to told us they will wait for as long
as it takes because they want to make
a statement in this election.
COY WIRE: All right, sports fans,
take me out to the ball game.
Just don't make me stay all day.
New rules in Major League Baseball
aimed at speeding up the game are taking
spring training by storm.
MLB is implementing a pitch clock, sort of like a shot
clock in basketball.
Pitchers and batters, they can't take their good old time
anymore-- just 15 seconds between pitches
with empty bases, 20 seconds when there are runners on base.
If pitchers don't get the pitch off in time,
it counts as a ball for the batter.
But the rule also states that if the batter
isn't ready by 8 seconds left--
well, like the Padres Manny Machado found out--
they're going to get a strike called against him.
Well, with this new rule, we're seeing spring training games
finishing around 25 to 30 minutes
faster than last year's average of three
hours and three minutes.
We've seen some games that finished an hour faster.
Now, some other big rule changes this season.
Pitchers can only attempt to pickoff throws per at-bat.
The size of the bases is increasing
from 15 square inches to 18.
And defenses can no longer shift their infielders.
Players have about a month to retrain
their brains before the season.
Opening day is March 30.
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For today's story getting a 10 out of 10,
a two-month-old baby that already weighs 50 pounds.
Meet Petunia, a two-month-old baby
hippopotamus at the Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia--
and not just any hippo, Petunia and her mama,
Iris, are pygmy hippos.
And there are fewer than 2,500 mature pygmy
hippos remaining in the world.
So with each step and with each splash in the pool,
Petunia is keeping hope for these hippos alive.
All right, time's almost up for today.
But for all my go-getters out there, one more thing--
remember, complacency is the constant enemy, so outwork
everyone every single day.
Shout-out to West Lauderdale High School
in Collinsville, Mississippi.
Go Knights.
We hope you and everyone watching around the world
have a wonderful one.
I'm Coy Wire and we are "CNN 10."
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