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Ukrainian Officials: North Korean Troops Seen in Ukraine; Wisconsin Kayaker Reported Missing in August Accused of Faking His Death; New Storm Lashing Areas Hit By Deadly Bomb Cyclone. Aired 3:30- 4p ET

Aired November 22, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: New today Ukrainian officials say they're seeing North Korean troops and advisors inside of Ukraine. They were spotted in the southern city of Mariupol and also in the eastern region of Kharkiv dressed in Russian uniforms.

CNN chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is in Kyiv, the capital for us. Nick, tell us more about this.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, to be honest, what's most extraordinary about the presence of North Korean troops on the front line is how little we've known about what they're up to so far. Now, we did learn today from a Ukrainian security source that they have been spotted in Russian uniform in the southern port city of Mariupol, which is interesting.

They don't appear to be infantry there, but they appear to be there in some sort of technical advisory capacity. And then also, too, there have been reports, most likely intercepts, indications from Ukrainian forces up in the Kharkiv region that North Korean troops have been spotted in that direction, too.

But the vast preponderance of their 11000 strong force appears to be inside Russia in Kursk being involved in Russia's bid to push Ukrainian forces out of that part of the Russian border region.

Now, the same Ukrainian security source said that that North Korean unit is operating quite separately from the rest of the Russian forces. They're sort of doing their own thing with their own food, their own accommodation. Obviously, Ukraine spending a lot of time trying to assess what this new comparatively small contribution from the Russian ally of North Korea is indeed doing to contribute towards that fight.

But it certainly provides you a window as to how Russia is looking for extra manpower, as it has been from the beginning of this war, to try and bolster its ranks. With some reluctance, it's felt from the Russian elite to look towards the middle classes of Moscow and St. Petersburg to bolster their very sharply diminished numbers because of the huge casualty rate they seem to be absorbing on the front lines -- Brianna. KEILAR: And Nick, what can you tell us about Putin's new vow to continue testing this hypersonic ballistic missile that was used in yesterday's attack on Ukraine?

WALSH: Yes, the two big questions about what hit Dnipro at 5 a.m. are can Russia do it again? And what was it?

Now what it was, we appear to be getting more answers. Vladimir Putin has said it was hypersonic, non-nuclear. That's pretty much backed up by what the Ukrainians have said. They've also said it was about Mark 10, exceptionally fast.

And they've also said that they believe, Ukrainian defense official here, that Russia was testing an experimental prototype, what they call the Kedr. And they believe that Russia, as of October, had two prototypes. And perhaps this one of those was tested over Dnipro.

They hope they have less, but there are certain signs, potentially, this is Russia trying to flex its technological muscles, its prowess, and show the West that it has more in its toolkit to use in this increasing war of escalation -- Brianna.

KEILAR: You said Mark 10?

WALSH: I'm sorry?

KEILAR: What was the speed?

WALSH: Yes, I mean, exceptionally fast. Potentially. No, forgive me, I'm not a physicist, but I think it's 7,000 kilometers an hour. I mean, 3 kilometers a second, Vladimir Putin claimed when he spoke from the Kremlin. So, exceptionally quickly. And the point the Kremlin is trying to make is that these weapons are able to evade all kinds of Western air defense, regardless of the ones that have been supplied by the West for Ukraine to defend Kyiv here. So, heightened anxiety here, certainly.

KEILAR: Yes, certainly. It really puts into context what we're seeing in these pictures. Nick, thank you so much for that update for us from Kyiv. We appreciate it.

[15:35:00]

A missing kayaker accused of faking his own death just revealed he's alive. What he won't say is where he is or whether he's coming home to his wife and his kids. We're going to talk with the sheriff who helped track him down next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: This is Hollywood type stuff. Investigators in Wisconsin say a kayaker who vanished in August, sparking a weeks long search, is actually alive and well after faking his own death. Authorities say Ryan Borgwardt is somewhere in Europe right now. They made contact with him last week, but they're still not sure why he abandoned his family.

And as CNN's Whitney Wild reports, they're now pursuing charges after a costly and emotionally taxing ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN BORGWARDT: Good evening, everyone. It's Ryan Borgwardt. I'm in my apartment.

I am safe, secure. No problem.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ryan Borgwardt speaking barely above a whisper in this video he says was recorded November 11th. These are his first comments since disappearing in August. Police now believe the husband and father of three is alive and living in Eastern Europe with no plans to come back to the U.S. Though Green Lake, Wisconsin Sheriff Mark Podoll says Borgwardt talks to investigators regularly.

SHERIFF MARK PODOLL, GREEN LAKE COUNTY, WI: Our biggest concern that we had was that he was safe and well. We asked him a number of questions that pertained to him and his family that he would only know. And then we asked him for a video of himself.

WILD (voice-over): The search for Borgwardt began this summer after he failed to return home from a day of kayaking and fishing. Law enforcement found his capsized kayak, car and other belongings but no trace of him.

PODOLL: While we might have stopped the search on Green Lake, that didn't stop our search continuing to look for life.

WILD (voice-over): The Green Lake County Sheriff now says he planned an elaborate escape. Borgwardt told investigators he paddled his kayak and a child-sized boat out into the lake, overturned the kayak and dumped his phone in the water, paddled the inflatable boat to shore, got on an e-bike and rode through the night to Madison. There, he boarded a bus, went on to Detroit and eventually crossed into Canada and hopped on a plane to Europe.

PODOLL: In our communications, we are expressing the importance of his decision to return home, clean up the mess that he has created.

WILD (voice-over): A digital forensic search of Borgwardt's laptop revealed that he replaced the hard drive and cleared his browser history on the day of the disappearance. Podoll says investigators found that the 44-year-old moved funds to a foreign bank, changed his e-mail, communicated with a woman in Uzbekistan, purchased airline cards, and took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January. Now that Borgwardt has been found alive, law enforcement is laying out potential charges.

PODOLL: The information that the Green Lake County has at this point leads us to an obstructing charge.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WILD (on camera): Boris and Brianna, the other thing here is that the sheriff in Green Lake, Wisconsin, says that there could be major restitution charges. In fact, he thinks because this took so long to investigate and incurred so much cost that the restitution numbers here could be between $35,000 and $40,000 -- Boris, Brianna.

SANCHEZ: Whitney Wild, thank you so much for that report.

Joining us now is the Green Lake County sheriff, Mark Podoll. Sir, thank you so much for being with us.

As of last night, your office didn't know where exactly this guy was in Eastern Europe. Do you have any clarity on that now? Do you have a sense of where he is at least?

PODOLL: No, we do not.

KEILAR: Do you have a sense of why he did this?

PODOLL: Not a clear sense. He just felt that it would be beneficial to his family and himself, and that's why he staged his death. But we don't know exactly the reason why.

SANCHEZ: Sheriff, we're showing images of what the search was like for this man. It took a lot of hours, a lot of resources that had to be focused on this. How upset are you that he faked his death?

PODOLL: Well, I guess the word not upset, it was just a complete surprise, something that I never experienced, a case like this. I have a very strong department, and we stuck together for the purpose of trying to find him in our lake.

KEILAR: And you did for weeks, which is astonishing that the revelation that he wasn't there came to light. How has it been for his family? How has it been for his wife and three kids going from worried that he is gone, that he has died, to realizing that actually, no, he's faked his death and he's left them?

[15:45:05]

PODOLL: Very emotional. And, you know, trying to figure out reasons why, why he would do that. And just a rollercoaster. Like you stated, you know, he was drowned, presumed drowned, and then we knew that that didn't happen, and now we know that he's well and safe.

SANCHEZ: Sheriff, do you know if he's spoken to his loved ones?

PODOLL: No, he has not.

KEILAR: Has he said why he's not telling you where he is, or his reticence to come home, which, you know, you and others have implored him to do?

PODOLL: Not really. He expressed concerns that if he does come back, it's going to be hard to live. No one will accept him, but the community has stated before that they're willing to forgive, and they all know what their real purpose is to get him back with his children, and hopefully that he can patch up things between them.

SANCHEZ: You've said that Borgwardt could face as much as $40,000 in restitution charges. If he doesn't return, would his family be on the hook for that?

PODOLL: No. It would stay out there, and if he ever did try to return, we would certainly be waiting for him.

KEILAR: Can you give -- are there any assurances? I mean, it seems like, and correct me if I'm wrong here, Sheriff, that it seems he's gotten in touch, so it seems that he may have a desire, obviously, to come home under some circumstances. He does have some reticence.

Is he looking for assurances? Is that the sense that you get? He's looking for some kind of assurance to come home?

PODOLL: No, I think that deep down inside, he's having some challenges with that. We continue to focus on his emotional strength and try to pull at his heartstrings, the importance of coming home to his kids.

SANCHEZ: Sheriff Mark Podoll, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate you sharing this aspect of the story.

PODOLL: You're welcome.

SANCHEZ: Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL. We'll be right back.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Today there's a second storm that is hitting the Northwest coast after the historically strong and deadly bomb cyclone. Gusty winds are ramping up in Washington State where more than 160,000 homes and businesses remain without power for the third day now.

We're joined now by CNN's Chad Myers. Chad, what can we be expecting from this new storm?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Finally, some of the rain that has caused the flooding in Santa Rosa and Sonoma and Napa finally going to move into the Bay Area, maybe toward Richmond and Oakland, and also even into San Francisco itself, moving away from those areas that are so flooded. Look at the numbers. All of these, over a foot of rainfall just in the past 72 hours.

This is what the fields look like here in Sonoma County. Not all of them, but there's a lot of water on the ground. Now the good news is that second storm that you talked about has moved to the north and it's going to swing this rainfall farther to the south where it hasn't rained yet.

Now there's still some flood risk here because there's so much water on the ground. Any more rainfall will certainly be bad for the area that's already saturated. Any wind is going to bring trees down, probably bring that power outage number up. But snow into the higher elevations. And you know what next week is? It is Thanksgiving ski season and there will be fresh snow, man-made, yes, but also some fresh snow coming down here in the form of the powder that we'd love to see at least a foot, maybe two, in some of the higher elevations. We will take that snow.

The people in the northeast, though, they're seeing the snow as well. Got to be very careful. It is still snowing across parts of Pennsylvania into parts of New York. I've seen some accidents out there and seen some pictures of some very slow travel. Be careful.

KEILAR: Yes, we saw snow in D.C. this morning. It didn't stick, but it sort of surprised me a little. I'm not going to lie.

Chad Myers, thank you so much. We do appreciate it -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: It is that time of year and over the next few weeks we're going to be introducing you to our top five CNN heroes. This week's hero has always had a passion for math and engineering. Now she's fighting to help bring STEM and dance together for young girls. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YAMILEE TOUSSAINT, FOUNDER STEM FROM DANCE (voice-over): We bring STEM and dance together by allowing the girls to create dance performances that combine the two so they can work on costumes that light up as they move. And they're learning how to program the circuit so that when they press a button on the circuit, the lights turn blue or whatever effect that they want to be able to convey a message.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to talk about song structure today.

[15:55:00]

TOUSSAINT (voice-over): They can create their own song through computer science and AI.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So these are the poses in the beginning.

TOUSSAINT (voice-over): And then be able to make a dance routine to that song that they created.

TOUSSAINT: Love it. This is going to be so fine.

TOUSSAINT (voice-over): We're normalizing that girls of color can do computer science and create something together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: You can go to cnnheroes.com right now to vote for your CNN Hero of the Year. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: No such thing as a free lunch, but there is such a thing as a free coffee if you're willing to dance for it. That is the deal at this coffee shop in eastern Massachusetts. And so far, lots of people are taking them up on it.

[16:00:00]

SANCHEZ: The cafe shared the moves in this now viral on TikTok. Customers busting out to the rhythm of the Macarena. This has more than 7 million views so far. An untold number of free cups of coffee.

KEILAR: People would give me coffee to not dance.

SANCHEZ: No, we've been waiting for you to show your moves here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: I did it once. That was it.

SANCHEZ: Right now?

KEILAR: No, it's "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starting right now.

END