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Don Lemon Tonight

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky Introduces Martial Law; Air Raid Sirens Heard In Kyiv; Russia Attacks Ukraine: Blasts Heard In Multiple Cities; President Joe Biden Condemns Russia's "Unprovoked And Unjustified Attack On Ukraine; President Volodymyr Zelensky Says "Russia Conducted Strikes On Our Military Infrastructure And Our Border Guards"; Russia Attacks Ukraine: Troops Cross From Belarus Border. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired February 24, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: In the border near Kharkiv.

[00:00:02]

LEMON: President Biden spoke to Ukraine's president just tonight. And he'll also address the nation and the world at noon on Russia's military action in Ukraine, there's a lot going on. It's coming in in the moment.

The U.S. and allies are planning to trigger the full scale of sanctions that have been discussed for weeks now, that's according to a senior administration official.

And discussions about the final package expected to be on the agenda at the virtual G7 meeting scheduled in the morning.

And as we have been saying, the worldwide resources of CNN are there. Clarissa Ward (INAUDIBLE) spread out throughout Ukraine. You see some of them, they're up on your screen, that is just a small part of who we have there on our breaking news.

Frederik Pleitgen is in Belgorod, that is a region of Russia. Nick Paton Walsh is in Odesa, that is in Ukraine. Clarissa Ward also in Ukraine in Kharkiv. Kaitlin Collins is at the White House in Washington, D.C. and Matthew Chance is live for us in Kyiv.

Matthew was the first on the air when those series of explosions were happening live here on this very program.

Jim Sciutto is in Lviv, Ukraine for us and Jill Doherty is in Moscow. We appreciate you joining us. That is the very -- that is the very latest for now.

Excuse me, producers, where are we going to now? We're going to get to Matthew Chance now live for us in Kyiv.

Again, this is all happening in the moment. Matthew, welcome back to the program here. You heard a series of explosions just moments before Clarissa heard them where she is in Kharkiv, you are in Kyiv. You said you were also seeing helicopters, what is going on from your vantage point?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, all of that is still going on. And we're still hearing periodic thuds as those explosions sort of sent shockwaves through this capital city of Ukraine.

But there's also been an announcement from the Ukrainian president. He's posted this within the past few minutes on social media, basically, a statement -- a video statement saying that he's introducing martial law to to Ukraine.

He said he's had a conversation, let me just -- let me just read this to you. It says, look, Russia has conducted strikes on our military infrastructure, and our border guards. So, that's something new because we knew that the military infrastructure had been targeted, but the border guards as well. We hadn't -- we didn't know that.

Now, the president of Ukraine is confirming that that's also -- those people have also been a target of these cruise missile attacks and other potential artillery attacks and things like that.

Their blasts have been heard in many cities. We're introducing martial law on the whole territory of the country.

A minute ago, he said, and this was like five minutes ago when he made this. A minute ago, I had a conversation with President Biden, the U.S. has already started uniting international support.

Today, each of you and he turns now to the people of Ukraine. Today, each of you stay calm, stay at home, if you can. We're working, he says, the army is working. The whole sector of defense and security is working.

He entered this little simple message. Don't panic. We're strong. We're ready for everything. And we will win over everybody because we are Ukraine.

Obviously, that was a statement that was made in Ukrainian. So, it's been translated for me into English.

But, you know, again, that declaration of martial law, the fact that we are hearing multiple explosions in various parts of the Ukrainian capital, from the South to the East to the North, specifically targeting apparently air defenses in the country. With what -- with what -- for what reason, we don't know, presumably to take out those defenses so that Russia has undisputed air superiority in the skies, not just over Kyiv, but over the whole country.

And all that points to along with the other reports we've had from around the country have more Russian military activity taking place, whether it's in the East or in the South, or elsewhere, points to the idea that this is just the start of a much broader Russian at military incursion, if not full-scale invasion of this country, Don.

LEMON: All right, Matthew, I want you to stand by. If you start to hear any explosions or strikes, get back to us. We'll get to you immediately.

As you heard Matthew Chance there saying that the President Zelensky has introduced martial law to Ukraine. This is the full statement from Volodymyr Zelensky the President of Ukraine. He says, dear Ukrainian citizens, this morning President Putin announced a special military operation in Donbas. Russia conducted airstrikes in our military infrastructure -- on our military infrastructure and our border guards. There were blast heard in many cities of Ukraine. We're introducing martial law on the whole territory of our country.

A minute ago, I had of Congress with President Biden, the U.S. have already started uniting international support. Today, each of you should keep calm. Stay at home if you can. We are working. The army is working. The whole sector of defense and security is working. No panic. We are strong. We are ready for everything. We will win over everybody because we are Ukraine.

[00:05:24]

LEMON: The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky also ending his phone call with the President of the United States Joe Biden just moments ago. We'll get to Caitlyn in a minute with that. Matthew Chance explosions, go on.

CHANCE: Hi Don, there's no explosions, there has been an air raid siren, just suddenly -- oh, here it is.

They are -- that said an air raid -- an air raid siren, several of them going off here in the center of the Ukrainian capital. Now, whether that's them just testing it, I don't think so though, given the situation we currently find ourselves in, or whether Ukrainian radar has picked up approaching aircraft, or missile attack inside the center of the city, I don't know.

But this adds another ominous alarming feature to what has been an ominous and alarming day so far.

Now, in terms of the explosions we've been hearing, they've subsided for the past couple of minutes, I would say. (INAUDIBLE) whether you can call a couple of minutes without explosions. You know, them subsiding.

But, you know, what is happening right now is unclear. But, you know, we are anticipating that this could be just the start of something much bigger.

I want to point to some traffic over there. Because while we hear those sirens, you can imagine how panicked the people of this city are being shaken out of their beds at these thundering explosions that have been taking place all around it.

I don't know whether we can see that traffic over there, the car headlights coming down that main road, can you see that? Those here, we can see that.

Well, that traffic is all heading in one direction. And it's absolutely packed that main road is and that direction is West. And so, you can see the residents of Kyiv seem to be getting in their cars, listening to those explosions, accompanied by these air raid sirens now and driving as fast as they can to the West, towards the safer areas, if you like of the country, perhaps towards Poland, which is three or four or five hours drive from here.

But you can see, it's almost a constant stream of traffic. The residents of this country moving out towards the West, the opposite direction of Russia. It is an absolute -- an absolutely chaotic scenes there on the -- on the -- on the road.

And of course, with that additional sort of alarm that is being -- additional alarm that's now blaring through the center of the city as well, it does add an additional layer of, you know, tension, I want to say but it's more than that. It's fear -- it's fear, people are frightened.

I can see people down on the street, they're now on the square, right under this hotel, we're not going to pan there, but they're running across the square, running for cover as they -- as they listen to those sirens.

And you know, there really is a great deal of, you know, cautious, anticipation about what will come now.

LEMON: Matthew, so no indication, no one has given reason for the air raid sirens that you -- we have been listening to here on CNN for the past several minutes?

CHANCE: No official reason has been given. But of course, you know, we have been experiencing for the past several hours, airborne raids at various locations in the city, we're told they are cruise missile attacks.

One of the reasons that those attacks seem to be targeting the air defenses, maybe to make sure that the Russians keep or maintain strong air superiority. And one of the reasons they might do that is because they might be intending to fly aerial -- you know, manned aerial aircraft or regular aircraft to sort of more, you know, pinpoint target. Particular buildings, particular, you know, assets, areas or whatever the military command and control assets they want to in this city and also elsewhere as well.

Look, I mean, I don't know why those air raid sirens have been blaring out for the past couple of minutes. It was a -- it was surprise, it was a shock to us as I expect it was a shock to most other residents of this city. It may have just been a practice in case there are air raids in the future.

But I mean, given what we're currently witnessing, I mean, we can't rule out the possibility that, you know, that the Russian -- sorry, that the Ukrainian authorities are warning the people right now about possible more air raids in the minutes or in the hours to come.

LEMON: I think the possibility you just said -- you just read my mind, the possibility they want people to know how serious it is. And it is to see people driving on the highways or interstates there is a quite a juxtaposition as to what we have been seeing and hearing earlier and the reporting from you, Matthew.

CHANCE: Yes, absolutely. And, of course, you know, when when you couple that with the state of emergency that was imposed from midnight last night, that's been now upgraded substantially to martial law that's been imposed.

Now, I don't know what the terms of that -- of that martial law are. But presumably, it's a suspension of all regular sort of civil laws in this country, in this emergency that Ukraine is currently finding itself in as it comes under a multi-pronged attack.

From every official that has given a statement so far publicly, they've said, we will resist this. In fact, the Ukrainian Defense Minister just put out a statement a few moments ago, just before those air raid sirens went off, saying that, you know, the military is fighting back against the enemy.

They've always been insistent that they will be able to not just to resist a Russian invasion, but also to push the Russians back, because they've been fighting Russians, they say, for the past eight years in the trenches, in the streets of Eastern Ukraine, where that brutal war which costs the lives of 14,000 people has been taking place and has been continuing at a lower level, right up until now.

But clearly, what Ukraine is now facing is something very different. This is not trench warfare. This is not fighting against the proxy rebel force with a few Russian officers perhaps in charge. This looks like the full night of one of the world's most powerful air forces, or militaries at least in a multi-pronged attack on this country to overwhelm it as quickly as possible.

LEMON: And Matthew, it looks like what U.S. sources are saying a full skip -- a full-scale Russian invasion on Ukraine.

Clarissa Ward is with us now from Kharkiv. Clarissa, you are witnessing something that is taking place right in front of your very eyes on the streets. Take us -- tell us about it.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think this, Don, really speaks to the sort of desperation of this moment. We just see a small group of people and I'm hoping you can see them on our shot here. A small group of people have gathered in the main square, and they are kneeling and praying. Because right now, there is truly a sense of having no idea what is coming down the pipeline, what is in store for the people of Ukraine in the coming hours, in the coming days. And it's freezing cold here.

So, to see these people kneeling on the cold stone in prayer is honestly, it's very moving, Don. And I think it speaks to the state of ordinary Ukrainians here who have done absolutely nothing to deserve this, who have no quarrel with Russia, who have no desire for war, or conflict, who are not engaged with the geopolitics underpinning all of this. And yet, who will ultimately be the ones to bear the brunt of as what

Matthew called it, this multi-pronged major attack by one of the world's most sophisticated militaries on a sovereign, independent nation.

We've heard from the mayor here, Don, who's told people to stay at home, it does feel very quiet on the streets today, it's early. So, it's a little difficult to call whether that's because people are heating, that directive to stay at home, schools are closed today according to the mayor's post.

Also, people have been told not to go to work. They have been told that public transport is working though. They've also opened this public bomb shelter. That, you know, I think probably everyone here wishes they would never have to use.

There's no sign that people are going there at the moment, but it is open. And there are police there. And so now the question becomes, is this limited to the strikes or the nature of the strikes that we've been hearing for the last few hours? Or do we start to see some kind of a ground incursion as well, because, as you've seen, talking to my colleague, Frederik Pleitgen, as you've seen from those satellite images, there is a massive buildup of weaponry, troops, armor, personnel, just beyond that border, that border is just over 20 miles from here, satellite images showing troops 10 miles beyond that.

[00:15:05]

WARD: And so, there's a very real fear here, that there could be even more coming along for these people. And I think that's why you're seeing those people just behind me getting to their knees and praying as they wait to see what today will bring, Don.

LEMON: Yes, let's hope they don't have to use those shelters as you said, Clarissa.

Clarissa, I want you to stand by. I want to get to the White House now in CNN's Kaitlin Collins. Kaitlin, earlier the President released a statement calling it an unprovoked and unjustified attack. And that was a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of human suffering. He spoke moments ago to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. I understand that call is over and you have a readout on it. What do you have?

KAITLIN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Don, they just got off the phone. And this is a readout that we should note is in the words of President Biden himself. Often, we get these readouts from the National Security Council spokesman when he has a call with another world leader. These are the words of President Biden, so I'm going to read them in full.

He says President Zelensky just reached out to me tonight, we just finished speaking, I condemn this unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces. I briefed him on the steps that we are taking to rally international condemnation, including tonight at the United Nations Security Council. President Biden says that President Zelensky asked me to call on the

leaders of the world to speak out clearly against President Putin's flagrant aggression and to stand with the people of Ukraine.

Tomorrow, I will be meeting with the leaders of the G7 in the United States and our allies and partners will be imposing severe sanctions on Russia. We will continue to provide support and assistance to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.

Of course, Don, we wait to see what those sanctions are exactly. We have been talking about them for weeks with White House officials. We know that they are seeking to go after Russian banks, financial institutions, export controls are an option, going after President Putin himself is an option according to President Biden.

It remains to be seen exactly what is spelled out in these sanctions when President Biden addresses the country tomorrow at noon on what we are seeing happening in Ukraine right now. But obviously, a grave situation. And obviously, this call coming as president Zelensky is dealing with a city that is under attack as Matthew Chance was just reporting.

He was on the phone with President Biden tonight. So, we will see President Biden tomorrow in person speaking about what has happened overnight.

LEMON: Kaitlin Collins at the White House. Two presidents, President of Ukraine and president of the United States on the phone talking late into the evening here in the early morning hours of Ukraine.

Kaitlin, thank you very much. Standby. We'll get back to Kaitlin.

I want to get to CNN's Jim Sciutto. Jim is live for us in Lviv, Ukraine. He has been listening to Kaitlin.

Jim, I'm not sure if you heard me, I read the response or the address I should say by Vladimir Putin to the people of Ukraine urging them to stay strong. Do not panic. We are strong. We are ready for everything. We will win over everybody. Because we are Ukraine -- we are Ukraine. Again, that's from Volodymyr Zelensky.

The President of the United States talking about the call saying that they will continue -- we will continue the United States to provide support and assistance to Ukraine and Ukrainian people.

The two gentlemen just got off the phone a short time ago. You heard Kaitlin's readout on it, what do you say?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me give you what the latest U.S. Intelligence assessment is of what we're seeing here -- seeing and hearing now on the ground in Ukraine.

First of all, the U.S. assessment is that those explosions we have heard in Kyiv and in Odesa are the result of missile strikes by Russia. The explosions that we're hearing in Kharkiv in the Northeastern part of the country, which is a bit closer to the Russian border, those part of an artillery barrage.

And prior to tonight, we had seen those artillery -- mobile artillery units lining up there on the Russian -- the Russian side of the border.

The U.S. assessment remains that an air missile campaign would be followed by, would soften the battlefield for a ground invasion with the intention of crippling this country, a good half to two thirds of the country. Based on again, the U.S. assessment, that that is what is being looked for right now. Right the ground forces coming across.

Just one note about those sirens we've been hearing in Kyiv. The U.S. assessment has been that the targets of the Russian aerial campaign a shock and awe campaign that's been described to me by U.S. military officials. The targets would largely be military targets, things like airfields, aircraft, and as Matthew Chance was noting, there's an airfield quite close to the Capitol, which is a Ukrainian military airfield, but also the possibility of hitting infrastructure.

It was the U.S. assessment that Russia would not attempt to bomb cities indiscriminately. However, with this important caveat that from the U.S. perspective, Russian targeting is not perfect. And therefore, if the target is X as a military field, but those bombs from the air or missiles from afar, or shells from artillery don't hit that target, they might strike civilian targets as well. That's been told to me a number of times repeatedly, just in terms of everyone's own safety here is that the U.S. does not have great confidence in Russian targeting, and that may help explain the air sirens that you're seeing in Kyiv right now as a precaution, even if the bulk of the targets are military or the possibility of infrastructure.

[00:20:32]

SCIUTTO: I do have -- we were talking -- Kaitlin was talking about the intention of making sanctions and condemnation of this invasion, a ally wide response. We do now have a statement from the British prime minister in just a short time ago, which says "I'm appalled by the horrific events in Ukraine and I have spoken to President Zelensky to discuss next steps. President Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this unprovoked attack on Ukraine, the U.K. and our allies will respond decisively."

I'm told that in conjunction with the U.S. that the U.K. will announce its own round of sanctions today as well, to punish really, because the question of deterrence, Don, is gone, right? This is starting. So, these are now punitive sanctions. So, the expectation is as the plan have been, allies act together on this response.

LEMON: Jim, I want you to stand by. A very important you said so far and correct me if I'm wrong, you said, no sighting of ground forces -- Russian ground forces yet, correct?

SCIUTTO: To this point, from at least the people I talked to, I have not heard confirmation of that. But of course, we also have a lot of eyes on the ground here who are watching as well. At the moment, when I have confirmation, I'm going to bring it to you, Don. LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Jim Sciutto.

I want to get back now to Matthew Chance in Kyiv. Matthew, I understand you have some new video for us, some new pictures. What do you have?

CHANCE: Standby. Hi, Don, that's right. Well, look, I mean, a couple of things. Couple of breaking things actually but let me just get to those images that I know we've got still pictures of. These are attacks that the explosions that took place at Boryspil Airport, short distance from here, just to the East over here on the outskirts of Kyiv. It's the main International Airport, a couple of stills photographs sent to me by the president's office, saying that there were five explosions at least at that airport, obviously targeting command and control systems, and, you know, various other things, the surface during air missile battery, that's there as well, which may also have been attacked.

There's also another airport that's been attacked to the -- to the North of the city, which is a military air base and where fighter jets are based, that seems to have been pounded as well by multiple volleys of cruise missiles fired from Russia.

But within the past few seconds, we've just had a statement from the border force of Ukraine. And they've posted this officially now, the border force of Ukraine say that their forces on the Ukrainian border, obviously to the North of the country. So, bordering Belarus have come under attack, the border forces of Ukraine have come under attack. This is according to them, their official posting, by Russian troops, and by Belarusian troops as well, troops in Belarus as well.

So, a combined force of Russian and Belarusian troops have apparently attacked, according to the border forces of this country, those border outposts that control the Northern border of the country, that's obviously massively significant, because it's not just Russia, it seems according to this statement that is involved in this assault on Ukraine. But it may also be if this is accurate, and it's what the border forces in this country say. It may be Belarus that's also joined with its ally in Russia to take part in this assault, this attack on Ukraine.

It's also significant for another reason as well, which is that that Northern border with Ukraine and Belarus is not far from here. It's a very short distance from Kyiv. And of course, over the past couple of weeks, there have been extremely big joint military exercises between the Russians and the Belarusians inside Belarus.

And our Frederik Pleitgen actually went there to see those military drills take place between those two -- those two allied countries.

And the big concern, of course, is that these weren't really military drills. They were just preparations for a grand assault on Kyiv. And the fact that -- I'm not saying that's happening, but the fact that there has now been apparently an attack on Ukrainian border guards by a joint Russian and Belarusian force, it again opens up that possibility, and is another sort of front of concern that we have to now have about what exactly is going on in Ukraine right now? What Russia is playing at? What their -- what their objectives are? And what will be the next step?

[00:25:14]

CHANCE: You know, we do seem to be looking at a general broad assault on all fronts in a multi-pronged way, from the air, from the sea, on the land, by one of the most sophisticated militaries in the world on this -- on this country. And this latest development, again, is another worrying and ominous sign of what may be to come, Don.

LEMON: All right, I want you to standby because we're getting some new information in, video that will come in shortly. So, standby.

But I just want you to take us through the newest information that we have, those still pictures that we have from you, Matthew, this is at the airport. Explain -- take us through this image that we're seeing now. It's from the Ukrainian president's office.

CHANCE: Yes, well, I mean, it's just somebody at the office that sent me these but the pictures aren't of the president's office of course. They're of Boryspil Airport, according to the person that sent me -- that sent them to me. I'm looking at now at my telephone. They were texted to me. And they're sort of like little mushroom clouds, aren't they, on the horizon?

Obviously, that's the aftermath of what we now know are cruise missile attacks, at least five explosions were told by Ukrainian officials at that main international airport.

But five is a very small number, when you consider how many explosions we've seen around the city and of course, you know, I think I've counted more like 20. We've been -- we've been hearing big loud bangs in various locations in the city. And we've heard air raid sirens -- air raid sirens going off repeatedly. You know, apparently warning of a some kind of, you know, further air attack as well.

But obviously, extremely tense the Ukrainian leader, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared martial law but he's also urged Ukrainian citizens not to panic at this stage. The defense minister of the country has issued a statement as well saying the military is fighting back effectively against the airborne.

I've been handed something that might be a bit more information. Yes, so that's the -- that's the same thing as I was just talking to you about, about troops apparently, military vehicles entering Ukraine from Belarus in and is now witnessed to live stream video troops in a column of military vehicles entering Ukraine from a border crossing with Ukraine in a live stream video, I'm reading this alert --

LEMON: We want to get to that video, Matthew. So, if you'll stand by and the person we want to go to for that because it's a closer situation -- thank you, Matthew. Closer situation is our Frederik Pleitgen.

Frederik, thank you for joining us this evening. Frederik, listen, Matthew said partially what we had here through live stream of troops atop a column of military vehicles entering Ukraine from a border crossing with Belarus. It was taken in Senkivka, Ukraine crossing the border to Belarus. Column is seen entering Ukraine around 6:48 this morning, you have video, you have the information on this, take us through it, please.

Frederik?

OK, apparently, we don't have Frederik but let me just read to you what we have here and I'll read it again as we're looking at these images. What you're looking at in your screen, this is through live stream, if you can put the video up there. Are you there, Frederik?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, can you hear me?

LEMON: I can hear you, Frederik. So, we have these images up, they're through a live stream video.

PLEITGEN: OK, perfect.

LEMON: Take us through what we're seeing.

PLEITGEN: Yes, so, it's live stream video. What you can see on that live stream video, Don. As you can see several tanks and armored vehicles cross the border, really through a large amount of time for at least a minute or a minute and a half for those vehicles going across the border.

And then, we have that information that is that very border crossing between Ukraine and Belarus net these troops are now coming in from Belarus.

And it really is remarkable because I was actually with those very troops just last week when they were conducting large scale exercises together with Russian forces inside Belarus and the possibility of an invasion from Belarus was always something that the U.S. had warned about.

And I asked that very question, Don, to the Belarussian strong man, Alexander Lukashenko just to give you an idea of some of the lies and the misinformation that had been spread ahead of this. And he laughed at me, he said, look, do you really believe that we are going to invade Ukraine?

And obviously now, only about a week, a little more later, we're seeing that that apparently is exactly what's going on.

[00:30:08]

Still unclear, at this point in time, whether these are Russian and Belarussian forces. It could very well be the case, because these two militaries worked very closely with one another. And they've been practicing with one another for -- for a large amount of time.

And just to give you an idea, Don, about the possible size of the force that we're talking about, there were about 30,000 just Russian troops inside Belarus, allegedly, for those drills. And then of course, you also have the entire Belarusian army as well.

So certainly, this is an extremely dangerous development that we're looking at and certainly, broadens also the assault that is going on against Ukraine at this point in time. Because of course, these are two very formidable forces.

Belarus, of course, a very small country but nevertheless, with a very powerful military that now seem to be crossing the border as we can see there on that -- on that video into Ukraine.

And as Matthew was pointing out, the fastest way for an invasion force to get to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv is exactly from Belarus. There's a pretty new road that, actually, the Ukrainians built to try and increase traffic, to try and increase trade with Belarus when the relations were still better. It really is a very quick way to get to the capital of Kyiv.

So this is definitely a very worrying development that we're seeing here. And of course, on top of that, we have to keep in mind that there is also this large Russian force that's on Russian territory, where there are obviously a lot of people who believe, as Jim Sciutto was pointing out, that some of these airstrikes that we've been seeing, the missile strikes we've heard them launch from here, from this very location in Belgorod. That those are there to soften up the possible -- the battlefield for a possible ground invasion that could come.

And, you know, one of the things that we saw in the past couple of days, as we've been roaming around the border here, between Ukraine and Russia, is we saw forces that certainly looked like Russian special forces. And those, in many cases, would be the first to go into an area to then set the stage for a a larger invasion of ground forces. Or some of the many armored forces we've also seen here.

So certainly, some warning developments. And this CCTV video, definitely remarkable to see, that apparently, there are on a large- scale, foreign forces invading Ukraine, Don.

LEMON: Frederik, I want you to respond to this, because we're getting information that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko spoke by phone Thursday.

Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported the morning Russia launched military strikes against Ukraine. At about 5 a.m. today, a telephone conversation took place between the presidents of Belarus and Russia, during which Vladimir Putin informed is Belarussian counterpart about the situation on the border with Ukraine and in Donbas, BelTA cited the Belarussian president, presidential press service, as saying.

So this sort of bolsters what you are saying about those troops and whether they were Belarusian, and whether it is exactly going on. The two men spoke not long ago. PLEITGEN: Yes, absolutely. I think it certainly bolsters that. And one

of the things that we have to keep in mind is that both Putin and Lukashenko, they are very, very close to one another. Definitely, Alexander Lukashenko, after some of the protests that happened in Belarus in 2020, is pretty much dependent on Vladimir Putin to actually stay in office.

And one of the other questions, actually, we asked Lukashenko last week, when we were at those large-scale military drills where he showed up, is whether or not he would actually support a move by Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine. The very question, the verry scenario that we're seeing right now.

And he simply said that the two countries obviously are very close to one another and that he would support Vladimir Putin in pretty much anything that he does. That the two countries would support one another, because they are in a military union, as he put it.

Now, whether or not Belarusian forces are also among that invasion force that's currently apparently moving into Ukraine, that's something that we have yet to confirm.

But certainly, the Russians would not be able to do that if they didn't have the permission of Alexander Lukashenko, which in any case they would get, because he's dependent on Vladimir Putin, but also with the aid of the Belarusian military, as well. To use staging areas within Belarus, to use military bases within Belarus, to use military bases within Belarus, and also to use transport within Belarus, as well.

So you know, one of the things that the Biden administration said, a couple of weeks ago, they said that Belarus would pay a very heavy price if it were to aid Russia in invading Ukraine, or if it had a -- the invasion were launched from Belarussian territory. Certainly, that seems to be the case.

And -- and I think also, Don, the other thing is that it's coming to light as we're reporting here, just how big this invasion is, just how widespread it is. If you look at the amount of kilometers, of miles, that Ukrainian forces now need to defend against what appeared to be two armies right now. Thousands of miles of border.

I traveled part of that just today. And it was a very, very big distance that you need to travel. This is something where you really see Ukraine essentially getting bullied by -- by Russia. And -- and with Belarus, obviously, in many ways being the accomplice here.

It certainly is -- it's hard to overstate just what a difficult position Ukraine is in right now, with that extra caveat right now, of those forces moving in from Belarus now.

LEMON: All right. Thank you, Frederik Pleitgen. I appreciate that.

I want someone who can help us sort of get a synopsis of everything here, to break it all down for us. Steve Hall is joining us. He's the former chief of Russian operations for the CIA. Just as you've been sitting here very patiently for the last couple of

minutes, you have seen the livestream of troops arriving through the border of Belarus. The president of Belarus, Vladimir Putin speaking; Zelensky and Biden speaking. There's a lot -- blasts at the airport. There's a lot going on.

What's your assessment of what you're seeing? Is this a bigger scale operation then anticipated?

STEVE HALL, RETIRED CHIEF, CIA RUSSIAN OPERATIONS: Well, Don, where we are right now, I think, is sort of literally in the fog of war. I mean, we're you know, hours into this. And so there's a lot that remains clear. But I think there's a lot of things that are also actually unclear. There's a lot of things that are becoming more clear very quickly.

I think there may have been a question initially as to whether or not Putin was going to go, basically, simply into the Donbas region. Or into parts of the Donbas region which are controlled by his proxies. That has, of course, begun to happen. We have seen the softening of military target in Ukraine in preparation for that.

But the thing that got my attention most was what's happening further north and west on the Belarusian border, because it could have been a scenario whereby Putin may have gone into the Donbas region and said, OK, I've got -- President Biden is referring to as the beginning of sanctions. So if I just go as far as the Donbas and then stop, will -- will it end well for me? Will it just be light sanctions? Will there just be these beginnings of sanctions?

But it's very difficult to maintain that position and say, I'm only going into Donbas, when you see not only the forces that are surrounding Ukraine, but now you've got actual, we have reporting there are forces coming in from Belarus into Ukraine.

So this is no longer just about the Donbas. This is something much larger now. And I think that's also what's triggered a much more robust, we would hope, economic and other types of sanctions against Russia.

So there may have been an initial thought that it was going to be limited, perhaps, but now that it's happening all over Ukraine, I think it's become more and more clear that it's more of a worst-case scenario. He's actually going in from multiple different angles. If what you're seeing in Belarus is any indication.

LEMON: Do you think that this galvanize -- galvanizes the NATO/U.S. allies f people around the country, who are as opposed to what is happening in Ukraine? I'm not sure, you know, beyond very heavy sanctions, what can be done.

But does this at least help on that front? That it brings people together in order to try to at least limit what's happening?

HALL: I think, at least psychologically, you know, there was -- I think in the west, we have this tendency to be always optimistic and always thinking -- I mean, you hear it from our politicians. We're not closing the door to diplomacy, despite the part that Vladimir Putin is just -- it's really not speech he's making. He's ranting about how Ukraine shouldn't even exist.

And yet, in spite of that, we have a lot of people saying, well, maybe it will all work out in the end. I think now, at least, we begin to see it's probably not going to work out in the end, and that stronger action needs to be taken.

One of the issues, however, is that I think Vladimir Putin learned verry early on and figured out early on that, by the words of the president of our country and other NATO nations, there are going to be no boots on the ground in Ukraine.

So what does that leave us with? It only leaves us, essentially, with the strongest of sanctions that we can -- can come up with. And we don't know whether Putin is going to react to that or not.

LEMON: We've had former secretaries of state, former defense secretaries on who really alluded to -- to Putin's state of mind, especially after the pandemic and so on and so forth.

In his speech, where he says that he was conducting a special military operation, and its goal was to protect the people that have been subjected to abuse and genocide in Kyiv, regime for eight years. Also saying that this was a special military operation just for Donbas.

But he's been repeating these baseless claims of genocide in the country's Donbas region. And then also saying that he wants to demilitarize and de-Nazify (ph) Ukraine.

What is this all about? Because none of it's making sense. Even earlier in the week, giving justification for an invasion by using a history that does not exist of Russia and the Soviet Union.

HALL: Yes. Again, Don, I think this is -- this is sort of one of the problems that we have here in the West, is looking through a Western lens and trying to make sense out of what Vladimir Putin --

LEMON: It doesn't make sense.

HALL: It doesn't. It does to him, though, and it does, in some sense, to the Russians that he's speaking to.

I think the largest target for that ranting speech that he gave the other night was the Russian people to sort of prepare them for this.

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In the west, we see this as a transparent mechanism by which he is going to set up a provocation in the Donbas and then say, I've got to go save those poor Russians that I myself, by the way, issued a bunch of passports to not too many years ago to make them Russians. But now I've got to go in and save them.

The thing that concerns me the most is not the demilitarization part of it, but it's the de-Nazi-ization [SIC] of it. And the reason that concerns me is because whether Vladimir Putin or anybody in the Kremlin talks about how Kyiv is run by Nazis, he's talking about the government. He's not just talking about the Donbas. He's not just talking about trying to help these make-believe countries that he helped create in Donetsk and Luhansk.

What he's talking about when heh talks about Nazis is he's talking about Kyiv. And that could foretell a sort of decapitation type of the operation where you get a lot of military stuff going on, and then he sends folks in to basically take care of the government.

LEMON: And quickly, because I need to get to other stuff. But I want to ask you, as you were listening to the sirens, the airstrike sirens going off in Kyiv, I heard you, you know -- I saw you sit up and take notice. And mm, wow. What were you thinking when you heard that?

HALL: What I was thinking was, there have been so many places that I've served overseas that are close to Russia where things like this have happened.

And, a lot of times, right after, a huge massive force that is certainly larger than anything that the country that is being attacked can respond to, which is the situation that Ukraine finds itself in, sometimes the only thing that's left is for the emergency personnel to hit the air siren button.

It's almost an act of -- I'm not going to say it's an act of surrender. And they're doing their jobs. They're trying to help protect civilians. But really, when you've got the Russian military crushing down on you, what else can you do but hit that button and hope for the best.

LEMON: Yes.

The former chief of Russian operations for the CIA, Steve Hall. Thank you. We appreciate it. Steve, stick around.

And you, stick around, as well.

Do we have a picture of -- that picture of what's happening in Ukraine? I would imagine Kyiv is somewhere out there.

And this is what's happening now. It is 7:41 in the morning in Kyiv, Ukraine. We have heard some air -- we've heard airstrike sirens. We've heard explosions. Some of them are saying that it is -- it is, indeed, airstrikes. Some of our folks who are on the ground.

And it is a full-scale, according to the U.S., and as you can see, one would surmise, a full-scale invasion of Russia by the Ukraine and possibly Belarus, at least the -- we see military forces crossing the border from Belarus.

Another picture, 7:42 in the morning. Traffic on the streets. People waking up to what is a full-scale invasion of that country.

We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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LEMON: Back now with CNN's live coverage of the invasion of Ukraine. I want to get now with CNN's Jim Sciutto. He is live for us in Lviv.

Jim, I understand you heard air sirens just moments ago.

SCIUTTO: That's right. Just for the last several minutes. And they've faded now, but they were sustained for several minutes here in Lviv. So this would be just the latest city, potentially, under air attack now.

We heard those reports earlier in Kyiv, the capital. And this would be truly remarkable, Don, because Lviv here, in the western part of the country, there had been some expectation that Russian -- the Russian invasion would be concentrated in the east, perhaps in the north where the capital is, the central part of the country, and central south down in Odessa, where we saw the first strikes in the last couple of hours. Missile strikes, artillery strikes.

This is the first time we've heard those air raid sirens here.

And that would speak to what, again, the latest U.S. military assessment is, intelligence assessment that Russia's plan is for a full-scale invasion and that what we're seeing this morning, in the early morning hours here in Ukraine, are the first steps in that full- scale invasion.

So again, just in the last few minutes here. Air-raid sirens, sustained air-raid sirens in Lviv.

And I'll tell you, as I've been watching from the balcony here, Don, in the central part of the old city, folks are walking to work. The cars are still going. The buses are still going here. Remarkably calm, given this yet -- seems to be yet one more Ukrainian city potentially under attack this morning here.

LEMON: One quick point. When last we left you, the last we spoke, Jim, we talked about troops on the ground. We've gotten the report, and we saw the livestream of the troops entering through Belarus.

The U.S. Department of Defense is tracking the report of incursion of troops in Belarus. This is according to our reporting here, into Ukraine. U.S. defense officials said Thursday it was not clear if troops were only Russian or also Belarusian. The importance of that, Jim.

SCIUTTO: It would mean that Ukraine is under attack from two countries now. Remarkable, really.

Now, we should note that Belarus is essentially under Moscow's sway. Has been for months now, since it has been alleged they stole an election there to keep their man, Lukashenko, in power. But it also speaks to these big military drills, as they were called,

exercises that Russian and Belarusian forces were doing shortly, in the last week. There's been some suspicion on the U.S. side that those drills were not really drills or exercises, but preparation, a massing of forces to enter Ukraine.

And if it is, indeed, confirmed that it is both Russian and Belarusian forces coming across from the north, that would seem to indicate Ukraine is now under attack by two countries.

And as we look at that picture, if you put it up again there, Don, of those tanks coming down across the northern border. Note this. You know, there had been a lot of discussion about timing and the shortness of timing for Russia.

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It's cold here now that the frozen ground in the east and the north was important so that those Russian tanks don't get bogged down in the mud, a genuine set.

But to see Russian tanks armor just rolling in on the highways shows you just how massive a force this is. And perhaps that entering the country, those forces entering the country was easier -- easier than expected.

LEMON: Yes. Jim Sciutto now. Thank you Jim, in Lviv.

I want to get to Odessa and Nick Paton Walsh, who's on the ground there with the very latest -- Neck.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Don, I mean, it is extraordinary here. We were woken about 5 a.m. by three or four explosions. And subsequently, about an hour ago, heard another two.

But at this stage, this strategic port city is still quiet. Signs of police on the streets and concern here, definitely, sort of people staying at home.

But it's remarkable. We are so far away from the east, from the north, where we've seen these troop movements heard and felt the likelihood of a threat for days now.

But still, explosions have been heard here this morning in this key port city. It shows possibly the breadth of the ambition here. Behind what Russian President Vladimir Putin is possibly getting underway here.

And one thing I think it's important to remind our viewers about is his comments in the last hours or so. He says now a few important words for those who may be tempted to intervene in ongoing events from the outside. That might be a reference towards NATO or the United States who he has long falsely used as the justification. They're a threat, he says, to Russia for possibly moving in here.

"Whoever tries to interfere with us, and even more so, create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia's response should be immediate and will lead you to such consequences as you have never experienced in your history. We are ready for any development of events. All necessary decisions in this regard have been made. I hope that I will be heard."

Now that is extraordinary. I mean, for eight years, we've seen this conflict in Ukraine on this sort of slower, lower-level boil. We've seen denied reports of Russian troops going into Crimea. Separatists who clearly were being run by Moscow, making their own regions in the East.

But today, we are seeing an overt invasion by Russia across borders with troops, possibly in the assistance of Belarus, as well. And a scale of which, I think, anybody who's been observed in this conflict, thought was utterly unimaginable.

And then these comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin, essentially threatening consequences that nobody has seen in history before. Utterly chilling. And a different day for European and global security this morning -- Don.

LEMON: Nick Paton Walsh, joining us from Odessa, Ukraine. Thank you for very much for that, Nick.

Back with me now, CNN national security analyst Steve Hall. Former NATO supreme allied commander General Wesley Clark with me, as well.

General, we spoke earlier, and the situation has -- is a quite different situation now than when we spoke earlier. There was no confirmation of an invasion, and yet here we are. And we've heard from all parties involved.

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, this is pretty much what we expected. First off, there's going to be the take-out of the air defense, and that's what it looks like has been done so far. There's sabotage. Another thing probably going on.

We don't know about it yet. The first troops that come across the border, we know that. We don't know what's happened in Donbas.

Coming in from the north is the most direct way to get into Kyiv. We saw the video of a battalion tactical group moving right down the road, unless the roads are blocked by Ukrainian forces.

They'll be in Kyiv in a few hours. And then we'll see what happens. I assume that the Ukrainians have defenses out there. For CNN to capture the sites of that. Hopefully, we'll get social media, they've got something.

But they've got to stop this force coming in. Or it will -- it will be over very quickly, except for whatever fighting might be coming out the city.

Two other things. The leadership is saying for people to stay in their homes. So they haven't mobilized civil defense yet. And they don't do that pretty quickly, in the face of the advance, it's going to be too late.

And secondly, you heard the warning to NATO and the United States not to interfere. So depending on what happens, there's going to be a lot of pressure in the United States and NATO to interfere. Ukrainians, the largest force in Europe, other than Turkey.

And so that's the toughest nut to crack. They take it like this, the rest of NATO, despite the fact that it's NATO, is in a much less defensible position than especially the Baltic states. And so we're not riding on this operation right now.

LEMON: I see in the short time we have it left, sum it up for us. The -- we have heard that they promised bloodshed from some leaders, the president of the United States saying that this is -- all of this is on Russia's hands, and we will hold Russia accountable.

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HALL: Absolutely. There's -- we also have to remember how this all started, whether it was Georgia in 2008, whether it was the annexation of Crimea, this is all something that Russia started.

And it is indeed on Vladimir Putin's hands. I do think it's something that he would very probably say yes, it is. And this is part of my plan geopolitically. I am going to protect my borders by taking over these countries, which is now being made very clear by the images that we're seeing coming out of Ukraine.

LEMON: General Wesley Clark, Steve Hall. Gentlemen, thank you both. I appreciate it.

And thank you, everyone, for watching. And a very momentous evening here on CNN for the country and for the world. Our live coverage of the attack on the Ukraine continues with Michael Holmes in just a moment. I'm Don Lemon in New York.

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