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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Biden Announces "Significant" Economic Sanctions Against Russia; Russia Launches Large-Scale Military Invasion Of Ukraine. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired February 24, 2022 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:01]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Yeah, solidarity we're seeing around the world.

Of course, we'll continue our breaking news coverage of the Ukrainian -- what we're seeing in Ukraine, Russia attacking that country.

THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: And welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We begin with breaking news coverage of the unprovoked and violent Russian invasion of and assault on Ukraine. President Biden this afternoon announcing what he called a significant series of new economic sanctions and other measures designed to punish Russia, including against five additional Russian financial institutions, two others were targeted earlier this week. Biden saying, quote, every asset they have in America will be frozen.

The president also imposing new sanctions on oligarchs close to pint and also restricting technology exports from the U.S. to Russia that Russia uses for its military. Biden added that sanctioning Putin himself remains on the table, though he did not answer as to why he is not sanctioning Putin now. As President Biden was laying out that U.S. response, CNN's teams in the northeastern city reported hearing a loud series of booms.

Explosions have been reported in at least 15 cities across Ukraine since war began overnight, all over the country not just confined to the southeastern Donbas region where Russian-backed separatists have been waging war against the Ukrainian government for eight years. It must be said, the world appears to have little appetite for taking any serious military measures to stop the Russian invasion beyond sending weapons to the Ukrainians themselves.

President Biden confirming in his afternoon remarks U.S. forces are not and will not be engaged in a conflict with Russia on the ground in Ukraine. The question then becomes, of course, whether and for how long this conflict will be confined to Ukraine.

We're covering this story as only CNN can with our teams are journalists spread across Ukraine and Russia.

We're going to start with CNN's Jim Sciutto who's in Lviv, Ukraine, in the western part of the country and this brutal new reality for the millions of innocent people of that country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Ukrainian airports under bombardment. Air raid sirens across the country. Explosions in the capital of Kyiv.

These are scenes of what many thought could never happen, an unprovoked Russian invasion into Ukraine on a massive scale. The biggest war in Europe since World War II.

Russian forces began hitting targets in Ukraine overnight. Senior U.S. defense official said Russia launched more than 100 missiles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced what he called a special military operation. He refused to call it a war.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNTIED STATES: Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will bear the consequences.

SCIUTTO: Today, President Biden implemented a massive wave of sanctions in response to the invasion.

BIDEN: This is going to impose severe costs on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time. We have purposefully designed these sanctions to maximize a long-term impact on Russia.

SCIUTTO: He made it clear that U.S. troops would not be sent to fight in Ukraine, but the pentagon announced that some 7,000 U.S. troops that had been placed on standby would be sent to Europe to bolster the responsive NATO force.

BIDEN: I've spoken with General Milley about preparations for additional moves should they become necessary to protect our NATO allies.

SCIUTTO: Ukrainian forces are fighting back. They say they shot down at least two Russian helicopters and five other aircraft. A senior U.S. official familiar with the latest intelligence assessments tells me there is fairly good resistance by the Ukrainians, particularly around the city of Kharkiv, however, it's the U.S. view that Russia has established air superiority over Ukraine. Its intent: to control at least the eastern two-thirds of the country.

Russian troops allowed a CNN team to film them on the ground. These forces less than 20 miles from the capital Kyiv. And tonight, the Russian military has taken control of Chernobyl, the site of the infamous 1986 nuclear disaster.

The people of Ukraine are watching the chaos unfold, stunned and frightened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't want to be a part of Russia or any other country. I can't believe it's happening really.

SCIUTTO: Some Ukrainian citizens attempted to flee with a possible refugee crisis developing. Others taking shelter underground for protection. But they tried to keep their spirits up in the face of a Russian onslaught.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We try to be brave because we have children and we don't want to show them that we are scared.

[16:05:08]

SCIUTTO: As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urges calm and shows strength --

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): What we hear today are not just rocket explosions, battles and aviation uproar, this is the sound of the new iron curtain lowering and separating Russia from the civilized world.

SCIUTTO: The horrors of Putin's war are becoming apparent. In multiple cities, civilians were killed as Russian forces shelled residential areas and beyond.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (on camera): The area around Lviv was the area of rocket attacks and tonight, Jake, the reason it's a bit dark where we are, we're under light restrictions here. That a matter of safety to make buildings on the ground frankly harder targets for Russian airplanes, Russian missiles, Russian artillery.

Just in the last few moments we learned that the number of missiles that Russia has fired at Ukraine in the last 24 hours is now 160, up from 100 as we reported earlier.

Tonight, the U.S. intelligence assessments expect another phase of aerial bombardment followed by more ground movements in daylight tomorrow. And I'll tell you, Jake, it's clear skies tonight, that's good. It's not good if you're on the ground and potentially in the crosshairs of those attacks. It's going to be another tough night.

TAPPER: Jim, stay with us.

Hundreds of terrified Ukrainians are taking shelter and attempting to sleep deep underground in the subway system of the city of Kharkiv, which is roughly 20 miles from the Russian border.

CNN's Clarissa Ward is there and spoke to some of these evacuees who say they do not know when or if they'll be able to go home again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kharkiv residents scrambled to find shelter as Russia's brutal assault unfolds. Deep underground, scenes reminiscent of the Second World War, the shock just sinking in, that what was unimaginable is now reality, as 36-year-old Darya tells us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You wake up and you find out that the world is no longer the safe place you imagined. We are an independent country, Ukraine, and we are not the same as Russia and we don't want to be a part of Russia or any other country. I cannot believe it's happening really.

WARD: Yesterday, this was just an ordinary metro station full of people going to and from work. Today it has become a de facto bomb shelter, and there are just hundreds and hundreds of people who have descended on this place, fearful for their lives and uncertain of what the future will bring.

And the thing you hear over and over again from people is where can we go? Where is it safe now to go in Ukraine? And I want to be clear about something. This is not a front-line city in Ukraine's eight-year war with Russia. This is a thriving metropolis of 1.4 million people who have never experienced anything like this in their entire lives. Now they are being forced to literally camp out with their families, their pets, their loved ones. They grabbed whatever they could from their homes and they brought it here. They don't know what's next for them. They don't know what the new Ukraine will look like and what place they will have in it.

Many we approach are too overcome to speak.

I'm asking if they're afraid. They're very nervous.

Look at the situation around you, this woman says.

I'm so sorry. It's a terrible, terrible situation.

There's no doubt here about who is responsible for this conflict. But few can understand why.

So it's interesting, I just asked them what do they think of President Putin, do they think he's crazy? They said he's not crazy, he's sick. He's sick. We just want to live peacefully.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just hope that some people in Russia stand against Putin and the war.

WARD: A simple plea for mercy that has so far fallen on deaf ears.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: If Jim Sciutto is still with us in Lviv, we're also joined right now by CNN's Alex Marquardt who's in a key port city in Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, as well as Kaitlin Collins at the White House.

Clarissa, you heard these booms behind you as Biden was speaking earlier today. What's happening right now?

WARD: We heard those booms. We have heard more since. Actually while you were just playing our piece on air, we heard another series of explosions coming from that direction some ways in the distance.

But we are hearing now from the Kharkiv civil military administration. They had a series of announcements and some guidelines for people. They're appealing for volunteers for drivers. They have said that that's not for military drivers, but they need drivers to help make sure that supplies are still able to get around and that services are still functioning.

They say that there's been a gas supply interruption due to damage on a pipeline somewhere in the area. They also said that 400 people came out today, Jake. I thought this was so interesting, 400 people came out to donate blood. They're trying to build up a large stock of blood here in the city.

They said there was a long line of people waiting to do their part and contribute in some small way because the reality is and anticipation and expectation is that this city could tonight even possibly be completely encircled by the Russian military. We simply don't know what the plan is, whether they will lay siege to the city, whether they will attack the city, whether they will pass it by and move further south.

But in this period of profound unknowing and uncertainty, people are continuing to stay at home, to take shelter. The scene behind me was bright and lit up last night. There was some cars around even though it was late.

Tonight, it is pitch black and it is awfully quiet, Jake.

TAPPER: Alex Marquardt, you've also been hearing artillery in the distance and Mariupol where you are, is of particular concern because when Putin says he's launching an operation in the entire Donbas region, that includes Mariupol which is in Donetsk.

Let me actually go to Jim Sciutto right now.

Jim Sciutto, President Biden was asked why NATO is not moving to cut Russia off from SWIFT, that's the high security network that connects thousands of financial institutions around the world. Here's what President Biden had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The sanctions that we have proposed on all of their banks are of equal consequence, maybe more consequence than SWIFT, number one. Number two, it is always an option, but right now that's not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: But, Jim, Ukrainian President Zelensky and the Foreign Minister Kuleba, they're pleading with the European countries to kick Russia off SWIFT.

SCIUTTO: Well, this is a continuation of a dynamic we've seen for some number of weeks regarding Ukraine, where you have unity among NATO and European allies, condemning Russia, opposing its invasion and imposing some penalties but disunity on the extent, for instance, as well to military assistance to Ukraine.

You had some NATO allies willing to send lethal assistance, particularly the forward-facing countries in the east, as well as the U.S. and the U.K. You had others who did not want to send lethal assistance, same on sanctions. You have some willing to go for the jugular, like SWIFT and others, Italy among them. Germany and Hungary, worried about the economic cost to their own economies.

Now, over time, some countries have let up on resistance to steps that they had before, Germany being one on Nord Stream 2. They opposed suspending that but then came around once it became clear what Russia's intentions are. The unity may come at a later date. But today, the president didn't have it.

TAPPER: Let me bring back Alex Marquardt.

Your image, your camera was frozen there for a second. You're in Mariupol. When Putin says he's launching an operation in the Donbas region, that's where you are.

What is it like there? Is there a sense of panic in Mariupol, the second biggest city in the Donetsk region?

ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right, Jake. So, President Biden recognized the independence of those two breakaway republics, as they call themselves, but also land around them, provinces around them, which as you say that is where we are. We are seeing Russian troops push into those areas. The leaders of those areas calling on the Kremlin to help them, the Kremlin saying they're sending in peacekeepers.

So the question is now when do those Russian troops cross over into what is for now Ukrainian-held territory. At the same time, Jake, President Zelensky saying some of the toughest fighting that Ukrainian forces are facing is around Crimea, which is just southwest of here. He says those Russian forces want to push up this way. So this city very much caught between those two fronts.

So the reality here is setting in, Jake.

[16:15:01]

We spent all day walking around town. You could hear those booms in the distance that Clarissa was just referencing, sporadic artillery fire that sounded like it was coming from the eastern front. We saw long lines at ATMs, long lines at gas stations. We saw people streaming out of the city.

And, Jake, tonight, I spoke with a Ukrainian orthodox priest who we've gotten to know. He said that this is now all-out war. He said that, you know, we are acquainted with the fighting. We expect this fighting to be much worse because of the weapons involved. He said he's ready to leave, Jake, and he said we need a miracle. TAPPER: Kaitlin Collins at the White House, the sanctions today

include oligarchs close to Putin, about ten individuals total from Russia. But not Putin himself.

You've been asking President Biden about this for a while. Why won't they sanction the man responsible for this war?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT; He didn't tell us why today, we asked. This is something that President Biden himself has affirmed is on the list of considerations. He said today it is still something that remains on the table but didn't explain why they didn't feel the need to take that step today following this full-scale attack that you've seen Russia conduct overnight, the attack that U.S. officials had been warning about.

Some people have called to go after Putin, saying it would be one of the most aggressive forms of sanctions. You see President Biden going after these Russian oligarchs and Russian elites. What his argument is today, if they get to enjoy in the wealth by being in Putin's inner circle, then they should have to suffer when he takes steps like this one.

Oftentimes you've heard Russia experts saying Putin doesn't hold all of his wealth, he places it with some of those people in his inner circle which is why you see some of those names on that sanctions list today. Of course, this is a list that also goes after the first and second largest financial institutions in Russia, it goes after some debt and equity restrictions, technology exports they're hoping can stunt Russia's military growth as well by blocking them from getting access to lasers, sensors, semiconductor chips. Those are the kind of steps that they're taking here.

But, Jake, I think one of the most telling parts of President Biden's press conference today was when he talked about how these sanctions he hopes will have a long-term impact but he noted that they will take time to actually go into effect to weaken the Kremlin. He doesn't believe ultimately the sanctions can stop Putin from doing what he wants to do.

You've heard officials talk about how in those speeches that Putin has been giving lately, including the one that aired at 6:00 a.m. this morning, 6:00 a.m. Russia time right before these attacks happened, talking about how he views this through such an emotional lens and historical lens.

I think one of the most chilling parts of President Biden's press conference is where he was saying Putin does not just have his sights set on Ukraine. He wants to restore the soviet empire. He wants to go further than this. That's why it raises questions of how are they going to stop him from doing that and deter him from doing that. For now they say they are trying to punish him with the sanctions they imposed today.

TAPPER: All right. Thanks to one and all of you. Appreciate it.

But we're tracking our breaking news, CNN reporters hearing low-flying jets and what sound like air strikes in the distance in southern Ukraine. We're going to go live there next.

Plus, CNN is also there as Russian rockets fly overhead into Ukraine. Our reporter is live just over the Russia border.

Plus, where might Vladimir Putin strike next? We're going to talk to the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:22:36]

TAPPER: We're back.

And we have breaking news. Moments ago CNN teams on the ground heard low-flying jets and heard what seemed to be airstrikes. This took place near the Ukrainian port city of Kherson.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is there.

And, Nick, tell us more about what you just saw and heard.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yeah, in the last hour, Jake, we've had three or four times low-flying jets coming down over this important city. Essentially, it's the route up from the long Russian-occupied peninsula of Crimea. We've seen since this morning's invasion began those armored columns moving north. They moved north through here very fast actually.

There's an ambulance just rushing in the dark around behind me here. Those air strikes seemed to drop -- those aircraft seemed to drop bombs. We heard some thuds in the distance after they have flown low over this town which is trying to enforce a blackout. It's sort of startling to go around a town looking for the hostels that we understand have taken in injured and they have closed their outer doors so they can't be spotted from above. Quite a chilling scene here.

As we came into the town it seemed that the Russian forces that were initially south of the Dnieper River that this town sits on were fighting hard for a key bridge across it, but they had in fact crossed over north to the side where we're standing here. There were clashes certainly on this side here and the suggestion is they were for a period on the outskirts of this town.

Quite what their next moves are for Kherson is unclear. We heard small arms fire in the distance around this town in the dark a little earlier on. And there are suggestions that some Russians may have gone west and others to the east too. But this is a key strategic city for the passage north from Crimea up to the separatist areas, Jake.

TAPPER: Our Nick Paton Walsh in southern Ukraine, thank you so much. Be safe.

On the Russian side of the border, you're looking at mobile artillery, howitzers, heading towards Ukraine this morning from Russia.

And our CNN's Fred Pleitgen is right now, just on the other side of the border from Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Fred, you've been watching Russian rockets fired into Ukraine, Russian artillery rolling past on the road to Ukraine. We should note, Putin does want have any issue with these images of his unprovoked war being broadcast to the world.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I certainly think that he didn't, certainly something that we saw the entire day.

I can tell you, Jake, just before we went to air right now, we heard a massive salvo of what seemed to be Russian artillery rockets fired towards the area of Ukraine. It's quite interesting because the outgoing fire seemed to come from a position several kilometers further towards Ukraine than what we saw earlier today. We saw them fire earlier today from sort of around where I am right now. Now it seems to be a little forward deployed rockets.

So, what we can deduct from that, I think, is that the Russians have made some advances today further into Ukrainian territory. But you're absolutely right. The entire day that we stood here, that's the check point before you get to Ukrainian territory, before we get towards the town of Kharkiv, where, of course, we have some crews as well who have been feeling the brunt of some of the rockets fired from the positions here on Russian territory.

There have been military convoys going through that checkpoint through the entire day. You're right, Jake, to point out that there were heavy howitzers that went through there, there main battle tanks that we saw that still had treads just full of dirt and took the main road to go into Ukraine. And then also lots of convoys with massive amounts of troops as well.

So from the vantage point that we have here, which again is the last checkpoint before you reach Ukrainian territory, this invasion certainly does seem to be very, very big and it seems to be the case that it's ongoing and indeed accelerating as time goes on. There have been a lot of convoys that were parked out here but then drove in. It really showed no sign of letting up.

It's gotten a little bit more quiet now but at the same time we are hearing those artillery rockets still very much being fired at Ukrainian territory, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Fred Pleitgen on the Russian side of the border, thank you so much.

Let's talk about all of this with Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. He's the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and served in the Senate Intelligence Committee, in addition to being a veteran himself.

Senator, do you think Putin intends to conquer all of Ukraine including the capital of Kyiv?

SEN. JACK REED (D-RI): I think he's set upon capturing Kyiv and other major cities in the eastern part of Ukraine. And then I think he will stop and his forces will reset and reform, and then there will be a decision at that point whether they'll continue forward.

I think there's a very high likelihood that he would continue forward. One reason is I think he would -- his military advisers would be uncomfortable with an ungoverned space in Ukraine and having Ukraine resistance, use that to attack Russian forces.

So, I -- there's a very good chance that he would take the whole country.

TAPPER: Do you think he'll just have an occupying force of hundreds of thousands of Russian troops for an indefinite period of time?

REED: Well, I think he will move his national guard troops, which are primarily designed for that type of operation. A lot will depend on the scope and intensity of the resistance.

What we're hearing, what you're hearing is that the Ukrainian people feel strongly that they want their independence, that they are not Russians and that they're resisting. We're getting reports that there's in some places significant resistance by Ukrainian military forces, but it's sporadic because they don't have the numbers nor the ability to move with the same ease as the Russians.

So, again, I think the judgment of what is it literally costing the Russians in terms of the lives of their soldiers and military personnel, and what is it costing internationally both in terms of economics, but in terms of just international condemnation.

TAPPER: Clearly, sanctions from the U.S., the U.K. and the E.U. have not deterred Putin from waging this unprovoked, undeclared war on a sovereign state.

Do you think anything can stop him at this point?

REED: I think the sanctions will be an impediment to his economy, obviously. I think you'll see more sanctions.

And one of the issues with sanctions is not just imposing them but sustaining them, because they do take a while to have a full powerful effect. I think the president is trying to ensure, as he has to date, that these sanctions are supported across the board by our allies in NATO particularly, but other major economic powers.

So those sanctions will increase. They will put pressure on him. We all saw -- as you've reported -- that there's been some spontaneous demonstrations within Russia, which is quite surprising. The Russians are looking closely at their economy. That could be a real point of pressure against Putin.

That, I think, is a strategy at this point that we should pursue and allows us the best opportunity to reverse or at least stop this invasion.

[16:30:08]

TAPPER: In addition to being a veteran, you're the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

President Biden is sending more troops to Germany and is redeploying troops that are already in Europe to the eastern flank, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania.

But the troops that they're sending from the U.S. are from an armored brigade combat team, which means these are not the light forces the U.S. sent earlier with just trucks. The armored team means tanks, fighting vehicles, significantly more firepower.

Interpret that for us.

REED: Well, the first response was to move elements that were in Europe. They were striker brigades which are mechanized infantry which does have considerable striking power and then to quickly move additional forces. They took the ready brigade from the 82nd airborne division. That brigade went into Poland.

Now, we're beginning to move as you indicate, Jake, stronger forces with the significant tanks, significant fighting vehicles, the ability to if necessary protect NATO countries. The president has made it clear we're not going to introduce troops into Ukraine, but protect NATO countries against what you've already seen, your reporters have described, significant armored forces backed up by air and artillery.

TAPPER: All right. Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for your time today. Appreciate it.

REED: Thanks.

TAPPER: Coming up next, Russian forces have seized Chernobyl, the site of the worst nuclear disaster in the history of the world. We're going to talk to a former NATO supreme allied commander about why Russia might want that site.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:36:13]

TAPPER: We're back with more breaking news. You just heard CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reporting from southern Ukraine about what he heard sounded like sustained air strikes and low-flying jets. After explosions have been heard from all corners of that country today, from an apartment building decimated in the northeastern city of Kharkiv to Melitopol, which is just north of annexed Crimea which Russia seized in 2014, where you see a large explosion at the airport.

Let's get right to retired Colonel Cedric Leighton at the magic wall. He's a CNN military analyst and former member of the joint staff at the Pentagon.

Colonel Leighton, what is Putin's strategy in blanketing all corners of Ukraine?

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Jake, the basic strategy that he's got is to take over as much of this territory as he possibly can. So what you see here, this is the eastern part. This is what we thought he would go after, and most people said this is where he'll stay. But he had a better idea from his point of view, and that was to take things in this area around Kharkiv and also to make a move on Kyiv. That is coupled with the move that we just heard Nick Paton Walsh talk about in this area in the south.

So what you're seeing now is Putin going for every single part of Ukraine that he can get easily and then if he is successful in this area, he could then move westward to Lviv or he could do it from Belarus and move down this way. So that is basically what Putin is doing. In essence he is trying to take over the whole country as quickly and as economically as he possibly can.

TAPPER: And where do you expect Russia -- where do you expect Putin to focus on next?

LEIGHTON: So what I would say he would do, Jake, is he will take not only these areas right here, so Kharkiv is first of all in his target set. Mariupol, as you mentioned here, is also this way because that gives him the land bridge to Crimea.

And then you have Odessa and then that goes up here to Kyiv. So I think his next area is really going to be Kyiv and then followed by all the other areas that he would need to mop up the basic areas there.

TAPPER: All right. Colonel Leighton, thank you so much.

Let's bring in former NATO supreme allied commander, retired General Wesley Clark.

General Clark, you've been speaking with your sources and colleagues in Europe. What are they telling you about the situation on the ground?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, first of all, Ukrainians are fighting very hard. They have inflicted significant losses on the Russian forces in various locations, including in the south and around Kharkiv.

They do need more munitions and this is what always happens in combat, because when you distribute the ammunition before the fight, you don't know where the key fight is going to be and so you have to redistribute so some of that is going on right now.

The main effort it seems to me, first of all, why are they coming in from so many directions? Well, as the colonel said, of course he wants to take as much as he can, but also because it really complicates the command and control issues for the Ukrainian staff. You get good information, you get bad information, you get no information. You don't know what's happening. And it's overwhelming when that information flow starts, so they know this.

So I think the main objective is going to be Kyiv. I think what they want to do is what we call in the military is to go right into Kyiv, change the leadership, put a Russian stooge in charge and tell the Ukrainians stop fighting. Some would stop fighting, some would be confused, some would continue to fight.

But this would be the basic strategy, I think, that Putin is following. So we have to look at what's happening around Kyiv. Now, a couple of airports were seized earlier in the day. There's fighting around those airports. We don't know whether they have been taken back or not.

[16:40:02]

During the hours of darkness, this would be the time that you'd expect Russians to bring in air mobile or airborne reinforcements to those airports. So that's the danger period right now.

And then we know there's been some Russian armor movement coming down from the north, both from the northeast and the northwest of Kyiv. How far it is, what's opposing it, it's not clear. Those reports aren't clear to us, but that would be a reinforcement. And their intent would be to encircle Kyiv, penetrate it exactly like we did with Baghdad in 2003 and get regime change.

TAPPER: So Russian forces have seized Chernobyl, the site of the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history. Why would the Russians seize that? And are you concerned about what they might do, what might happen intentionally or unintentionally with all that radioactive material?

CLARK: Well, yes, I'm concerned. There are other power plants, nuclear power plants in Kyiv also, more than a dozen. So they're all significant risks. Chernobyl was on the approach into Kyiv so I think they went through that area. They thought they could go through it, it would be relatively unprotected.

This is the way the Nazis invaded France and Belgium in 1940. Find the forest, go through the forest, nobody sees you. Get on the road, go as fast as you can.

So I think that's some of what the Russians have tried to do here. I don't think they're going to try to make a mess because some of that would affect Belarus. So, it could happen, but I don't think that's a good weapon for them. They have other weapons to deploy against the Ukrainians.

TAPPER: All right. Former NATO supreme allied commander, General Wesley Clark, thank you so much, sir. Appreciate it.

We're following all the breaking news, including how the Russian attack sent global markets spiraling. The economic impact of this war, that's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:46:25]

TAPPER: In our money lead, the Russian war against Ukraine 5,000 miles away is having a direct financial impact here in the United States.

After a global market plunge, a volatile day in the U.S. the Dow finishing up 92 points, but that's a major rebound after diving 800 points at one point earlier today. After Putin's invasion, Russia's main financial index dropped 45 percent. That's almost half.

I want to bring in CNN global economic analyst, Rana Foroohar, who's an associate editor at "The Financial Times".

And, Rana, this is the third straight day this week that U.S. stocks finished down. I guess they did tick up a bit at the end there.

What does that mean for the folks watching who have 401(k)s and investments?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, it means strap in, we are in for a long period of volatility due to what's going on in Ukraine. You know, you saw stocks dip, Jake, because of fears of inflation, energy inflation is poised to rise. There's no question about that. But then of course Biden came out and said, look, we're going to go into the strategic energy reserves and release some of those to try to keep gas prices down. That calmed markets a bit.

In general, I think you're going to see stocks being very volatile because of worries over a recession. How much is consumer demand going to be affected by all of this? The final point to consider, though, is that prior to the Ukraine conflict, we had been looking to see several rate hikes this year, which would dampen stock prices.

Now people are wondering is the fed going to do that? Maybe stocks will stay a little higher because rates are going -- the rate hikes may not come as quickly as we thought. So, a lot going on in the markets.

TAPPER: As Americans lose money in stocks, they're also paying more on everyday items due to the inflation you mentioned. If this conflict continues, this war, is there any way that the U.S. financial market could ultimately be spared?

FOROOHAR: You know, it's interesting, Jake, it's a big question mark. On the one hand you could see a scenario in which things are so bad in Europe that the U.S., as is often the case in conflict, becomes the cleanest dirty shirt out there, you know? U.S. stocks are -- U.S. citizens actually are not going to be impacted in the same way that Europeans are by this war.

So it's possible that could keep stocks up. On the other hand, if you start to see Chinese buying more Russian oil, more of sort of an interlocking sanction rebound, you know, from the Chinese saying we're going to support Russia, that could create trouble for the U.S. It's really hard to tell right now. I just think that investors should not be thinking about selling or making any quick moves at the moment.

TAPPER: Obviously, one of the big issues going on right now is that Europe gets almost 40 percent of its fuel, its energy, from Russia. Does this mean that this war will further impact the price of oil here in the United States, therefore, making it more expensive to heat our homes, not to mention prices at the pump?

FOROOHAR: A hundred percent. And, you know, as I said, Biden is trying to tamp down those worries by saying we have strategic reserves and we'll open them up further if need be.

But Jake, oil is a global market. Russia has a lot of that. Taking that off the market globally is going to impact prices. I would not be surprised if you see a pretty sharp uptick in energy inflation.

TAPPER: All right. Rana Foroohar, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

As Russian forces move further into Ukraine, we are already seeing a steady flow of evacuees leave Ukraine, crossing the border in Poland.

[16:50:04]

CNN's Scott McLean is in Poland near a check point.

Scott, once evacuees from Ukraine get to the Polish side of the border, then what? Where do they go?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it depends. Sometimes they know people over here in Poland, Jake. Sometimes they're just trying to find a hotel, others are trying to make it to the airport in Warsaw. We've heard all kinds of differing stories.

I just want to set the scene for you where exactly we are right now. So this is the path that leads from the border. This is a pedestrian crossing. You can also cross here in cars as well. So the actual border check point is where you see those lights over there. And the reason why people are kind of coming through at a trickle is not because there's not very many of them but because it's taking a very long time to get through the border.

The Polish side is relatively quick. They're letting Ukrainians through no problem. But the Ukrainians are taking quite a long time to get through.

Nearly everyone that we've talked to has told us some version of the same story and that's that they didn't think that there was going to be conflict in Ukraine. They thought that Putin was bluffing. When they woke up this morning and heard the news or maybe heard the explosions, that's when they packed their bag, put their family in the car, in a taxi or a train and got out of dodge. Here's how one woman described it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's awful. You have to -- you have to ask are you next? Maybe not in America, but Poland, other countries of Europe need to act immediately. It's not normal. People spend seven hours with a baby on the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: Let me just flip around and show you a little bit more. A bus just left here carrying people to go pick people up, presumably from the border checkpoint. There have been many buses, cabs coming in throughout the day.

Let me show you the rest of the scene here, Jake, if I can. There's people kind of lining up trying to figure out what they're going to do here. Some people are, again, trying to find a ride. They're trying to link up with a bus. They're hearing things about maybe there's a bus going Warsaw, maybe they're going to another town.

Other people are trying to get to Warsaw so they can catch a flight somewhere else. There is exchange shops here, a little restaurant here, a hotel back there that you're not going to find a room at. So people are struggling to find a place to live.

Pols are also preparing for this. In the towns that we came through on the way to the border, you saw very, very long lines, some 20, 30 cars long, because they're stocking up on fuel because they simply don't know what's going to happen.

TAPPER: For people who are wondering why didn't these Ukrainians leave earlier, we should remember and remind our viewers that the leaders of Ukraine, President Zelensky on town, trying not to have panic, tried to reassure the public that Russia was not actually going to invade and attack, and ultimately they were wrong.

Scott McLean, reporting from the Polish side of the Ukrainian border -- Scott, thank you so much.

President Biden announcing what he calls significant sanctions on Russia, but how much of a difference will they make when the Russians are already bombing Ukrainian cities? We'll go live on the ground to Russia and to Ukraine, that's next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:58:07]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We have a lot of breaking news for you this hour. President Biden along with Western allies slapping Russia with another round of sanctions, this time around five major Russian banks and ten Russian individuals. But President Biden stopping short of sanctioning Putin personally. President Biden also announcing the deployment of 7,000 U.S. service members to Germany and the movement of U.S. forces already in Europe to the NATO eastern flank allies, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania.

It has been a brutal 24 hours across the country of Ukraine after Russia launched an unprovoked, full-scale invasion by land, sea and air. Russian troops have taken control of Chernobyl north of the capital of Kyiv. That, of course, is the site of the world's worst nuclear plant disaster in 1986 where tons of radioactive material remain.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry warning if Russia continues the war, Chernobyl can happen again in 2022.

Joining us live from Kyiv, CNN's Matthew Chance.

Matthew, you and your team exclusively witnessed a confrontation today at an airfield outside Kyiv. Tell us what happened and what it tells you about Ukraine's chances of keeping control of its own capital.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean it was astonishing but it was unexpected as well. We were making our way to an airfield near the capital of Kyiv that had been attacked. We knew there had been fighting there over the course of the previous hours. It's an essential air base that the Russian special forces we understood had been dropped there to seize in order to establish a bridge so they could bring in more forces.

We went there. There was a checkpoint at the gates. I was told my Ukrainian officials that the Ukrainians had it back under control after fierce fighting.

I spent some time talking with the soldiers outside saying who is it that's in control right now I said to the commanding officer in my broken Russian. He said it's the Russians that are in control. I said, okay, so where are the Russians then? And he said, we're the Russians, which was incredible because we thought they were Ukrainian forces.