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At This Hour
Defense SECY: "Highly Likely" Russian Tanks Could Take Kyiv; Canada Freezes Financial Assets Of Key Figures In Protests; Michigan Coach Punches Wisconsin Coach After Losing Game. Aired 11:30a-12p ET
Aired February 21, 2022 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:00]
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KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE & DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Developing at this hour, Top U.S. officials are warning that Russia could invade Ukraine in just hours. The streets of Ukraine's capital are quiet right now but Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says that could drastically change if Russia attacks, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTHA RADDATZ, CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT, ABC NEWS: Would we see tanks rolling into Kyiv?
LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, you could see that. I mean, that's highly likely you could see that. You could see a significant amount of combat power move very quickly now to take Kyiv.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: CNN's Matthew Chance is live in Kyiv with more. Matthew?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kristin. Hi. Well, that's absolutely right. I mean, if there is an invasion. You could well see tanks rolling down the streets here in Kyiv behind me. I'm just a short distance from the Ukrainian foreign ministry as well, which is obviously prominent to the government office in the -- in the area.
But you have to say it's a big if at this stage. Yes, we know that there are 10s of thousands of Russian forces that have gathered near the borders of Ukraine and yes, we're told by President Biden that there has been a decision made by Vladimir Putin to invade.
The latest over the weekend is that there's been intelligence intercepted, apparently by the United States saying that the order to invade has also been given but, you know, it is still at this point, just an option for Vladimir Putin.
And there are other options, as well, including the option of recognizing some of the rebel republics that exist in the east of the country. It may well be that the buildup of Russian forces that we're seeing inside Russia, on the borders of Ukraine is an attempt to just generate options. And actually what will happen is instead something a bit more, you know, kind of slightly less than a full invasion of Ukraine could take place.
And so we're looking very carefully at the situation. There are very lot of tensions are happening at the moment. Allegations and counter- allegations of artillery exchanges, and, you know ceasefire violations across the line of control between government forces and rebel forces, and so we are waiting as is Kyiv very nervously right now about what the next step will be, Kristin.
FISHER: Matthew, thank you. Joining me now is retired Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt. General, thank you for being with us and you know I'd like to start by that -- by talking about that statement from the Defense Secretary. I mean, quite a statement, do you think that we will actually see Russian tanks rolling through the streets of Kyiv?
MARK KIMMITT (RET.) U.S. ARMY: Well, listen, I think we got to take a step back and quit focusing on the means, the tools that President Putin will use to achieve his ends. And remember that his ends had nothing to do with tanks in Kyiv.
And if he can accomplish his ends of disrupting NATO, pushing NATO off the borders, he doesn't have to invade Ukraine. He's already effectively invaded Belarus and is now on NATO borders. So I just can't see this focus on the military hardware as consequential to what Putin is trying to achieve here.
FISHER: And so what do you think Putin's endgame is here? What is it that he is ultimately trying to achieve?
KIMMITT: Well, he's been very clear on that, whether we like it or not, he has said Ukraine will not join NATO, the United States and its NATO allies need to push back from the borders of the Soviet Union. And he wants to get those missiles well back into NATO territory because of their proximity to Moscow. And whether he achieves that through, say, attacking Ukraine, or assassinating President Zelensky you've got to continue to focus that on his end is how he achieve somewhat inconsequential.
[11:35:00]
FISHER: Russia has been downplaying its buildup for weeks. They now have nearly 200,000 forces near the Ukrainian border. But I want to play something else that Secretary Austin said last week.
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AUSTIN: We see some of those troops inch closer to that border. We see them fly in more combat and support aircraft. We see them sharpen their readiness in the Black Sea. We even see them stocking up their blood supplies. And I know firsthand that you don't do these sorts of things for no reason. And you certainly don't do them if you're getting ready to pack up and go home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: You don't do these things if you are getting ready to pack up and go home. Do you agree with that assessment, General?
KIMMITT: Well, I agree you do those things if you embrace the long- held Russian practice of maskirovka, of deception. Again, he may be trying to intimidate the West into backing off, he may be using this, in fact, to prepare for an invasion but he may be doing it as much to try to create fear within Ukraine so they may withdraw their request to join NATO.
So I think it's certainly the case that this would be done if they were going to invade but it also could be done because they are trying to create a deception campaign to achieve those ends we talked about earlier.
FISHER: David Sanger has a new piece in The New York Times on the different ways that Russia could attack Ukraine. Sanger writes that an invasion could take many forms, one, enormous nationwide attack, a series of bytes that dismantled the country piece by piece, or a python-like squeeze. Mr. Putin might be betting that he can shatter Ukraine's economy and oust its government without having to immediately roll in the tanks. Which scenario do you think is more likely?
KIMMITT: Well, let's be clear. The Russian people are not for an invasion. They don't want to see body bags coming through the streets of Moscow. So if we take your belief that there will be an invasion, it could very well be a small invasion of the breakaway republics. Nobody can claim land in there the way that he did with Crimea. That would certainly intimidate the Ukrainian government to the point where they may renounce any desire to join NATO.
I don't think it needs a blitzkrieg, a full occupation. They've had that experience in Afghanistan and they saw what an insurgency can do to their military. I really don't think he wants to do a full-scale invasion because like the dog that caught the bus, what's he going to do with that after he has taken it?
FISHER: Like the dog that caught the bus. I like that. And I -- and I hope you're right, General. Thank you so much for all of your expertise.
Well, coming up, the parents of Daunte Wright, expressing their anguish and disgust after a judge gives their son's killer a two-year sentence. Why they're calling it a spit in their face? Next.
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[11:40:00] FISHER: New this morning, the family of Daunte Wright is blasting the judge who sentenced their son's killer. Former Minnesota Police Officer Kim Potter was given just two years in prison after she says she mistakenly drew her gun instead of her Taser, shooting and killing Daunte Wright during a traffic stop last year. Prosecutors had asked for a seven-year sentence. Wright's parents spoke to CNN earlier this morning.
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KATE WRIGHT, DAUNTE WRIGHT'S MOTHER: She needs to be high -- she needs to be held to higher accountability. She was a person that was supposed to protect our son, protect the community so she should be held to a higher standard. Who she was prior to shooting my son that day? That doesn't matter.
ARBUEY WRIGHT, DAUNTE WRIGHT'S FATHER: I feel like they were more concerned about her well-being in jail than my son who was killed so I feel like it was a slap to our face, a spit in our face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: Potter will be required to serve two-thirds of her sentence in prison, that's about 16 months. She's eligible for supervised release for the time remaining months if she shows good behavior.
And we also have some new developments in protests that have gripped Canada for weeks now, the government, freezing the financial assets of some protesters. It comes as police arrest nearly 200 people in Ottawa. CNN's Paula Newton is there. And Paula, freezing financial assets I mean, what kinds of effects of those measures had on these protests?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, for the protesters themselves that has kind of stopped them in their tracks. Now, Kristin, this is all made possible because in an Emergency's Act that isn't in effect right now but still has to be voted on in Parliament.
And just to give you a sense, we heard during a bail hearing that one of the protest organizers said point blank I can't provide bail because my accounts are frozen. I want you to have a look at the effects of these new financial measures though, 206 personal and business accounts frozen so far, Police say, 253 Bitcoin addresses shared.
[11:45:00]
NEWTON: And this is important because a lot of the protest organizers said that they did have people donating their crypto wallets, their digital wallets to this protest movement. $3 million U.S. in frozen payment processing accounts, what does that mean?
That means if you use your Visa card, your credit card, your debit card to donate to this movement online that that payment process was frozen so that means organizers couldn't get their hands on your money plus, over 70 vehicles towed. And when I say vehicles towed it also means pulling licenses, pulling commercial licenses, and also insurance.
At issue now though is where this goes next. The streets, Kristin in Ottawa are quiet for the first time in more than three weeks. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, just saying moments ago, Kristin that the situation remains fragile, and that protesters shouldn't be able to take borders or cities hostage that if they want to disagree, they have to do so peacefully. He is arguing that some of these extraordinary measures should remain in place for at least a few more days, Kristin.
FISHER: Paula, those numbers are just incredible. More than 200 accounts were frozen, 70 vehicles towed, just wild. Paula, thank you.
Coming up, a college basketball game ends in a fight after a coach takes a swing at another coach. Will they be punished for this role? We'll discuss it next.
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FISHER: Trending this morning, a bench-clearing brawl at a college basketball game started by the losing team's coach.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're not happy about that timeout. You -- and Juwan Howard just threw a right hand. And now we got a scrum. We have a scrum in Madison.
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FISHER: You can see Michigan head coach Juwan Howard taking a swing at a member of the Wisconsin coaching staff. Howard said he was upset about Wisconsin taking a late-game timeout. The Big Ten conference is now investigating the incident. Joining me now, CNN Contributor Patrick McEnroe. He's also an ESPN commentator. Patrick, wow, what did you think when you saw this fight? I mean, how do you think these coaches will and should be disciplined?
PATRICK MCENROE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Kristin, first of all, it was very scary to see those punches being thrown. One, it was a punch, maybe a slap by the head coach at the University of Michigan Juwan Howard, who was upset at the opposing coach Greg Gard of Wisconsin for calling a timeout. Now, the Wisconsin coach was upset that's the -- by the fact that Michigan was pressing. Now the game was at a hand. The game was over.
But again, Kristin, especially in college sports, we look to the coaches to set the example. I mean, the Pros are one thing but College is a whole different scenario. You've got all these kids representing big-time universities not getting paid and for the most part, these coaches are making big-time salaries to do their job and to set an example. Both coaches were big-time making mistakes in this one.
The Wisconsin coach should have let Juwan Howard walk by, they call it a blow-by when they were doing the handshakes, and Juwan Howard as to head coach of Michigan, clearly, and I mean clearly should not have taken a swipe at an assistant coach on the opposing team. There should be disciplinary measures coming from both universities or from the Big Ten conference.
And Kristin, I think that the Michigan coach Juwan Howard should be suspended for the rest of the season. And I think the Wisconsin coach also takes some blame and should take some accountability and be suspended for a few games as well.
FISHER: Wow. I want to turn to the Olympics because as you know, the Beijing Winter Games ended last night and you've been very vocal in your criticism of China. Do you think that their atrocious human rights record received enough scrutiny as they played host to these Winter Olympics?
MCENROE: Well, Kristin, it's interesting because when you listen to a lot of global rights activists, they say, you know, they were counting on the athletes to speak out. One of them did, a gentleman by the name of Gus Kenworthy, a skier from Great Britain, who is a very outspoken advocate for gay rights as well.
And he spoke out while he was still in China, which many of the athletes were afraid to do because China's set out a warning that you're not allowed to say anything negative about what's going on with their human rights issues and so on. But he did speak out, and he was able to leave the country. Now, he calls himself loud and obnoxious. That's his words, not mine. I say no, you're loud, and you're spot on.
But you know what, Kristin, at least we heard from Thomas Bach, the head of the IOC, when that whole debacle happened with the figure skating Kamila Valieva, coming in fourth place, and just melting down after her performance, at least we heard a little bit of sympathy and a little bit of awareness that this was a lot of levels, a real debacle.
But you know what, it's not up to the athletes themselves, to 2800 athletes that played that participate in the Olympic game, it's up to the IOC and it's up to the big corporate sponsors that are -- that are contributing to the IOC and to the Olympic Games, to speak up even more. Don't put it just on the athletes. It's not their responsibility entirely. So I think China, for the most part, Kristin, got off pretty easily during these Olympic Games.
FISHER: Yes, that's a great point that it's not all up to the athletes. It's also up to the journalists. I mean, the Olympics really gave journalists an opportunity to press for answers on the whereabouts of that tennis star, Peng Shuai. Why are we any closer to knowing if she's OK?
MCENROE: We are further away, Kristin from knowing. We know that she's there. Christine Brennan, who did an amazing job for us here at CNN and for USA Today, bringing this topic up repeatedly, we're going to keep having to bring up the topic of Peng Shuai because clearly she's being controlled by the Chinese government, she's already said she retiring from tennis. [11:55:00]
MCENROE: Guess what that means? That means that she's not leaving the country. So that's not a good sign. I'm hoping the Women's Tennis Association, which has been one of the only parties, whether it's a sports party, whether it's a corporate entity that has said, this is enough, enough is enough. Let's hope they hold their ground.
FISHER: Let's hope so. Patrick, thank you so much. And thank you all for watching. I'm Kristin Fisher. Kate will be back tomorrow. INSIDE POLITICS with Abby Phillip starts after this quick break.
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