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CNN International: U.S. General: Ukraine May Lose Without Continued U.S. Support; IDF Strike Kills Three Sons of Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh; U.N. Spokesperson: Israelis Restricting Aid Convoys; Storms Batter Southern U.S., Tornadoes Hit Louisiana; Biden Hosts Japanese Prime Minister. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired April 11, 2024 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[04:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zelenskyy says Ukraine will lose the war if Republicans don't approve U.S. military aid fast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you ever be willing to give up Ukrainian territory for peace?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To our alliance, to our friendship, in the words of those young students in Japan, to the same future we share. Cheers.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): The motion to vacate is real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is incredibly reckless. This is nothing more than just, look at me, no one else is paying attention, so here's my motion to vacate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Lord Jesus himself could not manage this conference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Max Foster. It is Thursday, April the 11th, 9 a.m. here in London.

More than 200,000 people are without power right now after a new barrage of Russian strikes on energy infrastructure in northeastern Ukraine.

Officials say the Kharkiv region took the brunt of the attacks this morning, with 10 Russian missiles hitting the regional capital alone. But Russia also went after energy facilities across the country, including in Kyiv, as well as southern and western Ukraine. So far, no reports of deaths or injuries. Meanwhile, the top U.S. commander in Europe says Ukraine could lose the war against Russia without continued U.S. support. General Chris Cavoli spoke as $60 billion in U.S. aid for Ukraine is being held up by congressional Republicans. He said Ukraine can still turn things around because Russia is struggling to launch any large, combined operations. But at this point, the general says Ukraine is simply outgunned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. CHRIS CAVOLI, COMMANDER, U.S. EUROPEAN COMMAND: The severity of this moment cannot be overstated. If we do not continue to support Ukraine, Ukraine could lose.

They are now being outshot by the Russian side five to one. So Russians fire five times as many artillery shells at the Ukrainians than the Ukrainians are able to fire back. That will immediately go to ten to one in a matter of weeks.

We're not talking about months. We're not typing -- talking hypothetically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is responding to reports about a land for peace deal allegedly floated by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

"The Washington Post" reported that Trump privately said if he's reelected, he may press Ukraine to cede territory to Moscow in exchange for peace. The Trump campaign told the paper the story is based on uninformed sources. And CNN's Fred Pleitgen pressed Mr. Zelenskyy for his take on the report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As Russia unleashes barrages of powerful missiles on Ukraine's cities, killing and wounding dozens in the past days, and Kyiv, both outmanned and outgunned, suffers setbacks on the battlefield, I asked Ukraine's president about Donald Trump's reported plan, if he's elected, to end the fighting by forcing Ukraine to give up territory and hand it to Vladimir Putin.

PLEITGEN: Would you ever be willing to give up Ukrainian territory for peace?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I did not hear it directly from Trump, his ideas in detail. I did not have the opportunity to talk to him about this topic and his idea of how to end the war. If there is such an opportunity, I would be happy to hear, and I will listen, and we will talk about this topic.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Trump campaign today also denied the former president has agreed to visit Ukraine. After reports surfaced, he was planning a visit. Zelenskyy says Ukraine will lose the war if Republicans don't approve U.S. military aid fast. Kyiv's army running short on everything from artillery ammo to air defense missiles.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): I understand that it is not easy, and everyone thinks about themselves. Our partners are helping. I am grateful to them. They help as much as they can, but as much as they can is not enough if we really want to defeat Putin if no one wants Putin to drag the world into World War III.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Speaking to me, Volodymyr Zelensky urged the U.S. and its allies not to be intimidated by Putin. If Ukraine gets the weapons and ammo, he says, Kyiv will win.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): It is a war, and we have a serious enemy against us. But let's be realistic, not pessimistic. Let's be realistic. Today, the situation is stabilized. If there are concrete weapons, concrete political steps from our partners, we will break Putin's backbone.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Delphi, Greece.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:05:00]

FOSTER: Well, Clare Sebastian has been monitoring developments in Ukraine, particularly overnight. Very targeted strikes and widespread.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is another major overnight assault, really targeting Ukraine's critical infrastructure, energy infrastructure. We've seen this ramp up in recent weeks. There was one on March 22nd, which was seen as unprecedented, really, the biggest attack in over a year.

And so this is clearly now a trend, a strategy by Russia, this ongoing attempt to sort of attrit Ukraine, to exhaust the population, to cripple the economy. And, of course, it is another reason for President Zelenskyy to come out and say, look, we really need more military aid, not just for the front lines, but these air defense interceptors.

Now, Russia, of course, knows this. They know what their head of U.S.- European command said on Wednesday, that Ukraine will run out in short order if they aren't provided with more. And this is why we see President Zelenskyy saying, look, we need air defense support, and not a blind eye and long discussions in his statement this morning.

But look, there's a measure of where we are. We look at what the Air Force statement that came out. They said there were 82 aerial targets. That includes drones and all different kinds of missiles. Fifty-seven were destroyed, but that's less than half the missiles.

So we're awaiting more information about what kind of damage exactly has been caused. No reports of casualties as of yet, but Ukraine is struggling with the scale and intensity of these aerial attacks as Russia evolves the types and sophistication of weapons it's using.

FOSTER: We're hearing from a U.S. commander as well about the prospects for Ukraine losing the war. What do you make of that? Is it just being matter of fact, or does that play into the debate in Washington?

SEBASTIAN: I mean, I think it's a fact. I think there's two ways that they've approached this, right, those who are lobbying for more aid for Congress to pass this supplemental.

In Washington, one is to say, look, it pays dividends. Ukraine is able to do what it needs to do with the weapons we provide. And the other is this more alarmist approach of saying Ukraine could lose.

Now, this is not news in Ukraine. Ukrainians have been saying this to me for months now, that they are on the brink. It is also not news what he said that Russia is outfiring Ukraine 5 to 1, and that could reach 10 to 1. That has been the case for a long, long time.

But I think it's interesting that he is now vocalizing this, really trying to raise the alarm in Washington, because we are in an urgent situation, not only, as you see, on the front lines, but in terms of these attacks on Ukraine's biggest cities and this effort to sort of exhaust the population.

FOSTER: OK, Clare, thank you.

To the war in Gaza. On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters about his recent very pointed phone call with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have been very blunt and straightforward with the Prime Minister. Bibi and I had a long discussion. He agreed to do several things that related to, number one, getting more aid, both food and medicine, into Gaza and reducing significantly the attempts, the civilian casualties in any action taken in the region. So we'll see what he does in terms of meeting the commitments he made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike has killed three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Israel says they belonged to the armed wing of Hamas and carried out terrorist activities. CNN can't confirm that. Hamas says four of Haniyeh's grandchildren were also killed when their vehicle was struck in a northern Gaza refugee camp. We're told that they were all returning from social visits, marking the Eid, the end of Ramadan. Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, released a statement saying, such killings will only make Hamas more steadfast in its principles, adding that Hamas will not surrender, will not compromise, no matter how great the sacrifice.

CNN's Scott McLean joins me. What's been the reaction then from Hamas, more generally, on these strikes? SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Max, yes, you know, what's

interesting to see is that Israel has very quickly tried to separate this strike from the ongoing negotiations to try to get their hostages back, but it is difficult to see how this does not have an impact.

You mentioned there Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader, insisting that this will only embolden them, this will only strengthen their resolve. And, you know, there's a video that Hamas released of Haniyeh himself reacting to the news that his sons and grandchildren had been killed, and frankly, it seems quite cold.

He's told the news, he just says, may God bless their souls, and then he walks out of the room telling the people that he's with that they should continue on with their work.

And he told Al Jazeera this, quote: Whoever thinks that by targeting my kids during the negotiation talks and before a deal is agreed upon, that it will force Hamas to back down on its demands, is delusional.

[04:10:00]

And just quickly, Max, those demands are that there's a permanent ceasefire, that there's a full withdrawal of IDF troops, and that there is free movement for displaced people to the south to return back to the north, and there is no indication that the Israelis are going to agree to any of this at this stage.

FOSTER: People concerned about this idea that America potentially go to war with Iran. Can you just explain what has happened there and whether or not that's a realistic prospect?

MCLEAN: Sure. So this all stems from the strike against an Iranian diplomatic outpost in Damascus a little more than a week ago where you had Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders who were killed. This was widely condemned by countries that are not exactly beacons of human rights or international law or justice.

Countries like Russia, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, the list goes on. But this was not condemned with the same strength by the Americans. Israel has been accused of this.

They haven't directly taken responsibility for it, but they have defended it. And the Americans have in some ways repeated their assertion or at least cast doubt on whether this building was in fact a diplomatic outpost.

What's striking especially is the difference in the American reaction to this compared to their reaction to the Ecuador's raid on the Mexican embassy there, saying that was clearly out of bounds in terms of international law.

Now, Joe Biden, yesterday the president said that his commitment to Israel's security is ironclad. This despite the fact that you have the U.S. since the outset of this war, Max, saying that their goal is to turn down the temperature on all of this and prevent the war in Gaza from spreading throughout the region. But that is exactly what the Americans are now preparing for, it seems, with officials believing that an attack on either Israel or American assets in the region is at some point inevitable.

FOSTER: OK. Scott in Istanbul. Thank you.

Now, after months of life-threatening shortages, Israel's defense minister says there are no plans to, quote, flood Gaza. There are plans, rather, to, quote, flood Gaza with aid. He made it clear the decision to ramp up humanitarian assistance was due to pressure from Washington.

Meanwhile, the Israeli agency that handles the inspection and delivery of that aid has again blamed the U.N. for failing to distribute it, saying hundreds of trucks are waiting to be picked up by U.N. agencies. The Post goes on to say: U.N., do your job, focus on distribution, and stop blaming Israel for your colossal failures.

The U.N. Humanitarian Affairs Office has accused Israeli authorities of restricting access to many parts of the Palestinian territory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS LAERKE, SPOKESPERSON, U.N. OFFICE FOR COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: And when you put up statistics with numbers of trucks going in, saying, look at all these hundreds of trucks going in, and you put it against, look how few trucks have actually moved around with distribution. Well, it's kind of an own goal, isn't it? Because half of the convoys that we were trying to send to the north with food were denied by the very same Israeli authority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: British Foreign Secretary David Cameron says he agrees with U.S. President Joe Biden about the urgent need for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza. Cameron is in the U.S. for diplomatic talks. Here's what he told CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: He is quite rightly pressing Netanyahu, as I've done many times, let's have a pause, you know, I suggest it for Ramadan, but let's have a pause so we can get the aid in and get the hostages out. And I think that's absolutely crucial.

That's long been Britain's position. Let's have a pause and then use that to try and build momentum for a genuine sustainable ceasefire where we get Hamas leaders out of Gaza, we dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, and we don't go back to fighting. We want to see an end to this bloodshed, but we do have to support Israel's right to self-defense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, David Cameron is also urging more support for Ukraine, saying the goal is to give them weapons and to get them on a winning trajectory. Ireland's new prime minister, Simon Harris, made his position on Gaza

clear in his first speech as Taoiseach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON HARRIS, IRISH PRIME MINISTER: In Gaza, we are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe and we are seeing innocent children, women and men being starved and slaughtered.

We have not been silent on the unforgivable terrorist actions of Hamas on October the 7th, nor can we be silent on the disproportionate reaction of the Israeli government. And as a country, we will play our part in helping bring about ceasefire and a lasting peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Many people pointed to the fact that Northern Ireland is, of course, offering a hopeful example that peace is possible. 26 years ago this week, the Good Friday Agreement brought an end to decades of conflict. It required communities to make extraordinary sacrifices for the sake of peace. The agreement also established a new government with power equally shared between pro-Britain Unionists and Irish Nationalists.

[04:15:00]

More than 65 million people in the eastern U.S. are under severe storm threats today but thankfully conditions aren't as bad right now as they were at least on Wednesday. In Slidell, Louisiana, a twister injured at least 10 people, according to police. The storm knocked down trees and damaged homes. More details on the extent of the damage will be released on Thursday as surveys continue.

Tornado watches across the south have now expired but heavy rain and flash flooding, like what you see here in Alabama, do remain a threat. Right now, a flash flood emergency is in effect for the area around Tallahassee, Florida. The National Weather Service calls the situation extremely dangerous and life-threatening.

CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in Louisiana with more on the destruction there.

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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Here in Slidell, Louisiana, it only took a matter of seconds for lives to be completely transformed and turned upside down as a powerful tornado tore a path of destruction across this small community. Look at how these trees have been toppled over like twigs, taking down power lines with them.

But certainly the most destruction from this community has fallen on this apartment complex. This is the Courtney Heights apartment complex. Look at how the facade, the brick wall, has been completely peeled off the front end of this building. And then let's take you to the sky to show you what happened on the roof. It almost appears as if the top of a tin can was peeled back by a can opener, revealing the families inside and leaving them susceptible to the wind, the rain, and the howling noises that were brought by this EF1 tornado. The National Weather Service had a crew on the ground confirming that this was an EF1 with minimum winds of 86 mph up to 110 mph. That is hurricane force.

Just incredible to see what happened. We talked to another married couple about a block behind this apartment complex. They've been here since 1992, endured Hurricane Katrina. Find out their remarkable moments and what they experienced with this tornado.

RENEE BENNETT, SLIDELL, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: I see him coming in, so I thought I would unlock it for him. So I'm trying to open it, and it wouldn't open, and I didn't know he was closed.

JIMMY BENNETT, SLIDELL, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: The wind's pulling me back, sucking me back, you know. And all of a sudden I hear a noise, and that's when the tree fell on my truck that I just got out of.

VAN DAM: This twister brought the destruction you see behind me, but it was part of a larger storm system that swept across the Deep South leaving hundreds of miles of wind damage and other twisters as well.

It was a very difficult Wednesday morning that will take days, if not weeks, to clean up.

Derek Van Dam, CNN, Slidell, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: We could get an update any time now from Augusta, Georgia, on weather conditions for the start of the Masters Tournament, which is today. Rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast for this morning. They should clear, though, by midday. But there's also a high wind advisory in effect, at least until sundown, which could make conditions even tougher.

Organizers have delayed the gate openings for fans this morning, and all free parking will be closed during the delay.

It's strike three for Donald Trump as the former U.S. president and his legal team lost a third petition to delay his criminal hush money trial set to begin on Monday. It took an associate justice just minutes to reject their latest motion on Wednesday.

Trump's team wanted to appeal a lower court's ruling on presidential immunity and have the judge recused from the case. The criminal trial regards payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged one-night stand with Trump nearly two decades ago. Trump can still appeal the denied motions in New York's highest court, but it doesn't have to accept the appeal.

CNN senior legal analyst Eli Honig says the pace at which the motions are being denied is astounding. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: The pace and the nature of these filings, it's outrageous. And look, I have defended and will defend Donald Trump's right, any defendant's right, to aggressively defend himself.

But these motions he's bringing, first of all, are completely out of time. He's already brought most of them. They've already been rejected. Now he's just trying again, and there's just nothing to them.

And it's interesting, almost borderline comedic, to see how quickly they're being rejected. We're seeing courts of appeals reject these cases in 20 minutes, 45 minutes.

So they're trying to give him his say, but there's no appetite here in the judiciary to move this trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Glitz and glamour at the White House as President Joe Biden hosts Japan's prime minister at a state dinner. More on that and what's next for Fumio Kishida on his trip to Washington.

Plus, protests in Argentina's capital met with water cannon as the president's economic reforms send prices sky high.

And later, from the U.S. to China, Russia, North Korea, and back. CNN rides along for one of the longest U.S. military missions in the world in an exclusive report.

[04:20:00]

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FOSTER: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to address the U.S. Congress and meet with Vice President Kamala Harris in the coming hours. That was all part of his official visit to Washington. Then on Wednesday, the Biden administration held a state dinner to honor the key American ally, with U.S. President Joe Biden stressing the importance of the U.S. relationship with Japan, saying it was, quote, stronger than it has ever been.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Biden held an Oval Office meeting with Japan's prime minister as the two leaders worked to bolster cooperation across a wide range of sectors and later went before reporters to discuss some of their progress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I'm also pleased to announce that for the first time, Japan and the United States and Australia will create a network system of air, missile, and defense architecture. We're also looking forward to standing up a trilateral military exercise with Japan and the United Kingdom. And our AUKUS defense partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom is exploring how Japan can join our work in the second pillar, which focuses on advanced capabilities, including AI, autonomous systems. All told, that represents a new benchmark for our military cooperation across a range of capabilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, CNN's Kristie Lou Stout is following developments from Hong Kong, joins us now with more. What was a highlight for you, at least so far, Kristie?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was a very historic event. The U.S. and Japan are ushering in this very significant upgrade in the alliance. It sends a clear message to Beijing.

The U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the Japanese prime minister for a state visit, rolling up the red carpet to show just how important Japan is to the United States. And they announced a number of moves to enhance the alliance through military, economic, and high-tech cooperation. This was the fifth official state visit of the Biden White House.

This was the fourth dedicated to an ally in the Indo-Pacific region. And Japan is at the center of all this. It's at the center of Biden's alliance-building in the Indo-Pacific.

Now, on Wednesday, the two leaders, they shared a toast, and they announced concrete steps to further deepen the relationship. And they include moves to do the following, with plans to -- let's bring up the graphic for you.

To upgrade trade and economic ties, diplomacy, as well as more student exchanges and person-to-person exchanges, efforts to fight climate change, space exploration.

We learned that a Japanese astronaut will be the first non-American to travel with NASA to the moon in an upcoming lunar mission, critical technologies like AI, and, of course, defense and security.

And that is the key takeaway here, because 70 agreements on defense and security were made, including moves to upgrade their military command structures.

[04:25:00]

Now, there have been recent maritime moves in the South China Sea, in the East China Sea, provocative moves by China. So the U.S. and its allies, including Japan, see China as a growing threat in the region.

I want you to listen to what the Japanese prime minister said about the Indo-Pacific environment on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FUMIO KISHIDA, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We reaffirmed the importance of realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific, based on the rules of law, and concurred to maintain close collaboration through various opportunities, including the Japan-U.S.- Philippines summit, which is planned for Thursday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now in a few hours from now, on Thursday, U.S. time, Biden will host the first-ever leaders' summit between the U.S., Japan, and the Philippines, and also on Thursday, we will hear from Prime Minister Kishida.

He will address a joint meeting of Congress, becoming only the second Japanese prime minister to do so -- Max.

FOSTER: The U.S.-Japan alliance deepening, of course, Japan engaging in a bit of cherry blossom diplomacy, I gather, as well.

LU STOUT: Yes, that's right. Cherry blossom diplomacy also happening here with Japan gifting 250 cherry trees to the United States to mark the 250th birthday of the United States, which is happening in about two years from now.

Japan first gave cherry trees to the U.S. as a diplomatic gift over 100 years ago, at the beginning of the 20th century. Unfortunately, some cherry trees had to be chopped down in order to make way for higher sea walls, but the new gift will be able to replace them.

And U.S. officials, including a senior Biden administration official, said that that original gift was one of the most important diplomatic gifts in U.S. history, Max, second only to the gift from France, the Statue of Liberty. Back to you.

FOSTER: OK, Kristie, thank you for joining us from Hong Kong.

Still ahead, the latest data shows the fight against inflation in the U.S. may have stalled. What this means for President Joe Biden as he seeks a reelection.

Plus, thousands forced to flee floodwaters in Kazakhstan in Russia. Details on what caused that deadly flooding after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Just into CNN, we are getting word from UNICEF that one of its vehicles was hit with gunfire as it was waiting to enter northern Gaza, the agency says ...

[04:30:00]