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Crisis in Ukraine Rattles Global Markets; Russian Troops Defy West, Seize Crimea; Kerry Heads to Kiev for Diplomatic Talks; Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Weighs In; New Winter Storm Threatens Millions; Blade Runner's Murder Trial Begins

Aired March 03, 2014 - 09:00   ET

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

BOLDUAN: And leaves behind his wife and two little girls. He will most certainly be missed. We couldn't leave the show without saying goodbye to him.

CUOMO: And our thoughts go to his family and he'll be with the show forever.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

CUOMO: It's time for a special edition of "NEWSROOM". Thanks for watching us on NEW DAY. We turn you over to Mr. Wolf Blitzer -- Captain.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, guys. Thanks very much. And our deepest, deepest condolences to his family as well. NEWSROOM starts right now.

Good morning and welcome to a special edition of NEWSROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

We begin this morning with Russian troops and Soviet-style aggression. Moscow launches its greatest challenge to the West since the end of the Cold War. Washington says Russian President Vladimir Putin, himself a Cold War KGB agent, has mobilized some 6,000 of his own forces. Many have swept across the border and into Crimea in orange and seemingly seized control. Chilling standoffs now unfolding in military bases.

Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender to invading forces, who stand armed and ready just a few feet away. So far the stalemates are peaceful but international tensions are growing by the hour.

Around the world the crisis is already having a devastating blow on the global economy. Here in the United States, Dow futures have dropped a staggering 120 points ahead of the Opening Bell.

Let's bring in CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans. She got the latest from New York.

Ominous signs on Wall Street -- Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And, Wolf, markets around the world are moving and they're moving in a very big way. Asian stocks closed lower. European stocks tumbled. The Russian stock market down 11 percent.

Wolf, the Central Bank in Russia had an emergency interest rate hike to try to prevent damage to the economy there. The ruble at a record low against the Euro and the dollar. So clearly there is some diplomatic pressure on Vladimir Putin that's coming from markets as much as it's coming from the West.

Let me show you here what's happening in some of these other markets. We've got grain prices higher, oil prices up 3 percent this morning. These are big moves for one day.

You've got wheat prices up almost 5 percent, Wolf. Corn up 2.3 percent. That's a big move there. And gold prices up about 2 percent. So you can see around the world different assets are moving as money is moving quickly. You know, Russian businessmen tweeted money doesn't love war. And that's what you see, people trying to find a place to put their money.

Some of those raw commodities very interesting because, look, you might not know this but Ukraine is a top exporter of wheat and grain. And in the oil patch, I mean, take a look at the pipeline. I've got a map for you. The pipelines that go through Ukraine from Russia to Europe, about 25 percent of Russian exports go to Europe and half of that goes to those pipelines that go through Ukraine.

So you can see the uncertainty something at play in all the markets today -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Those ports -- those warm water ports in Crimea for Russia, the only warm water ports they have.

Christine Romans, thanks very much.

In just a moment we'll check in over at the White House. But first the latest from Crimea itself. Let's go to our correspondent on the ground, Diana Magnay, for the very latest.

What is the very latest, Diana?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. Well, the new Ukrainian Naval commander, because the old one defected just a few days ago and transferred the pro-Russian Kiev side, the new commander says that 10 naval and military bases across Crimea are now under the control of Russian forces, and we've also heard reports of attacks on border posts along the east of Crimea.

Our own Ben Wedeman is on his way to see whether there's been any violence there.

So far, as you said, most of these -- in fact most of these sort of takeovers have been very peaceful, it's a very strange standoff where the soldiers are basically standing around but it still means that this entire continent is seemingly under their control. They are wearing no kind of military insignia, but I think there's little doubt as to who they are.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAGNAY (voice-over): Ukraine's military is on high alert this morning. According to U.S. and Ukrainian officials, thousands of Russian ground and naval forces occupy the Crimean Peninsula with troops surrounding several bases and demanding Ukrainian forces surrender and hand over their weapons.

The Ukrainian military is mobilizing troops and calling on army reservist to report for duty immediately. Ukraine's new prime minister now fears a wider invasion by Russia.

ARSENY YATSENYUK, UKRAINE'S INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: This is actually the declaration of war to my country.

MAGNAY: Ukraine's ambassador to the U.N. says his country needs military support, but NATO is pushing for peaceful diplomacy.

ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: We urge all parties to urgently continue all efforts to move away from this dangerous situation. I call on Russia to deescalate tensions.

MAGNAY: Putin is defending his actions. He argues that Russia is only trying to protect Russian-speaking people and its interests in the region, including a valuable naval base.

Outrage, though, over Russia's moves is mounting, as Western nations accuse Mr. Putin of violating international law and ignoring warnings not to intervene.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MAGNAY: The only aggression that we've seen, Wolf, has been towards us. A lot of the pro-Russians on the streets are very angry at journalists who they believe are telling a false story.

What you have here is not so much a region at war, but you have a war of information going on between those who are watching Russian television and those who are getting their news from the West -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Diana, thanks very much. A complicated situation in Crimea to be sure.

For President Obama the escalating stalemate could become the greatest crisis at least national security crisis of his presidency. He's dispatching the Secretary of State John Kerry to Kiev for emergency talks with foreign ministers from other European allies.

Let's check in with our White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski for the very latest from there.

Michelle, what are you hearing?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. Secretary Kerry is making these tough statements about Russia's actions. Tonight he will travel to Ukraine and meet with new leaders there and offer strong U.S. support.

The senior administration officials, too, have been making these -- offering these warnings, really hammering Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision-making on this, saying that he badly miscalculated as well as beefing up warnings that we will isolate with other nations Russia internationally.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOSINSKI (voice-over): The secretary of state is preparing for an emergency trip to the center of the crisis. It comes after President Obama and his National Security Team worked through the weekend on the dangerous escalating situation in Ukraine.

The president spoke by phone with leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Poland, the U.K. after an hour and a half call with Vladimir Putin himself.

Senior administration officials say Obama flatly rejected Putin's reasons for entering Ukraine and taking over Crimea, telling him to back out, but also offering ways forward through dialogue or international monitors to make sure the Russian-speaking people there are protected under Ukraine's new government.

Secretary of State John Kerry didn't hold back on Russia's move in a string of TV appearances.

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: It's an incredible act of aggression. It is really a stunning, willful choice by President Putin to invade another country. It's a 19th Century act in the 21st Century.

KOSINSKI: Russia's action comes after Ukraine's president was ousted last month in the wake of a bloody street protest after his rejection of a deal with the European Union that would mean closer ties to the west and away from Russia. Secretary Kerry says at least 10 other nations are prepared along with the U.S. to sanction Russia, to go to the hilt, he said, to isolate it economically just as it craves foreign investment.

Now the administration has cancelled trade talks with Russia and with several allies has backed out of meetings leading to the G-8 Summit in Sochi in June.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSINSKI: So for all the work and warnings coming from the U.S. it now appears that possibly Germany has found that off-ramp to Russia's force. In a statement saying that President Vladimir Putin has accepted Germany's proposal to form a contact group of fact-finding mission and a dialogue on Ukraine. That said, though, it's being reported that Chancellor Angela Merkel said that after a call with Putin she felt that he didn't firmly have a grip on the reality of the situation -- Wolf.

BLITZER: The reality of the situation is not very nice, let's put it that way. Michele Kosinski is our newest White House correspondent.

Michelle, we're happy you're here at CNN with us. Thanks very much.

KOSINSKI: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: A warning to Russia. Ukraine's acting prime minister said the country will not give away Crimea.

Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is -- joining us now.

Christiane, you just had an exclusive interview with Ukraine's former prime minister. What's the upshot? What's his message?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is Yulia Tymoshenko who is the very well-known female politician. You're right, the former prime minister but also a very powerful politician right now. She was released just last weekend in the scrum that led to the ousting of Yanukovych. In any event, she is also very close to power and pulling a lot of strings and she literally begged for the United States and Europe to help Ukraine remain whole.

She said, and it has been reported on the Russian media and we're looking into this to fully confirm it, that the Russian parliament is currently debating annexing Crimea. Again, we're looking to make that that is absolutely confirmed. She is saying that, though, and is literally appealing for help to make that not happen and for the West to stand by Ukraine.

When I pushed her on what she actually wanted from the West -- was it military intervention, what was it -- she wouldn't go that far. But she said, look, we are unable, us Ukrainians, to militarily face off against Russia. And if it's going to come to that we need some help, otherwise this is going to be a huge, huge destabilizing move not just for Ukraine and Russia, and for that region, but for the whole world.

And, Wolf, it is literally no overstatement to say that this confrontation over Ukraine is the most serious east-west confrontation since the end of the Cold War with far-reaching ramifications if both sides don't cool down and Russia can't be persuaded to remove its troops which are now controlling Crimea and the big worry is whether they might go into other parts of eastern Ukraine as well.

BLITZER: We have a little excerpt from your interview, Christiane, with the former prime minister of Ukraine. Let me play it for our viewers right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YULIA TYMOSHENKO, FORMER UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER (Through Translator): If it is in hard times Ukraine is left on its own and is given to -- when Russia is allowed to take away Crimea then the world will change and then not only politics and life in Ukraine will change but politics and life will change practically every where in the world. And then we have to accept to state that in 21st century one country, an aggressor, can violate all the international agreements, take away territories whenever she likes. We can't afford this in the world. That's why if the instruments of diplomacy won't work, if all the negotiations and instruments weren't working and personal relations with Mr. Putin won't work, the world has to apply strongest means.

AMANPOUR: Miss Tymoshenko, you sound like you're raising the stakes and you are calling for the West, the United States, Britain, Europe, to use military force against Russia. Am I reading you correctly? Is that what you're calling for?

TYMOSHENKO (Through Translator): I am asking all the world personally, every world leader, to use all the possibilities in order to avoid Ukraine losing Crimea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Christiane, she says the strongest means, and you pressed her appropriately, does she mean military action from NATO and the West? We didn't really get a firm response from her, did we?

AMANPOUR: No, because she's not going to say that publicly. That would be really raising the stakes. And what's happening right now is presumably not just pressure on Russia to pull back militarily but also pressure to try to convince Ukrainians not to do anything that would give Russia a pretext to step up its military intervention as it is right now.

When I asked her, so if that is happening and she also said we're trying not to give Russia any more pretext but Russia is continuing in this regard, I said to her, well, what about this order that's gone out calling all able bodied men in Ukraine to report for military training and it's starting today.

She said look, if they take Crimea and if this becomes a military confrontation then she said Ukrainians will die to preserve the sanctity and unity of their country. Said Ukrainians have already have died and they will continue to do so even though she knows that there is no winning against Russia at least not in the short term in any kind of formal military confrontation with Russia.

So right now, all these foreign ministers who are meeting in Brussels and then, you know, Secretary Kerry is going, there'll be more meeting, there are a lot of further diplomatic and economic trade and all sorts of sanctions that can be ratcheted up against Russia and many are saying that this is what needs to happen. A systematic ratcheting up of all believers of the United States and the rest of the world, you know, EU have to use against Russia.

And you know Russia has its economy fully tied into the world now, fully tied into Europe and the rest of the world. So any kind of sanctions and any kind of pulling out of business ties would really, really hurt Russia and people are calling for those to be applied now.

BLITZER: And given the integration of these economic developments between Russia, Europe, the United States, Asia, that's why we're seeing a -- a serious downturn in the Dow futures as we speak right now.

Christiane, thanks very much.

Christiane Amanpour reporting.

We're going to have much more on the crisis in Ukraine in just a few moments. But first let's get to some other stories making news this hour. Kyra Phillips is following that at the CNN worldwide headquarters in Atlanta -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Wolf.

Well, more heavy snow and dangerous ice making life pretty miserable for millions of people across the Eastern U.S. right now. Meteorologist Indra Petersons is following the latest for us -- Indra.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Kyra, the temperatures continue to drop. The wind continues to pick up. The heavy snow headed this way. We'll give you a full update coming up in just a bit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

We're watching all the developments as they are unfolding in Ukraine right now. Our correspondents are spread out throughout region. You can check out on the left side of the screen the latest information.

But, first, we want to check some other stories making news this morning.

Let's go back to Kyra. She's at the CNN worldwide headquarters in Atlanta -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Wolf, thanks so much.

Let's go ahead and check those top stories.

President Obama is set to meet the Israeli prime minister at the White House this afternoon. The president said that time is running out to negotiate an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. So he's calling on Benjamin Netanyahu to seize the moment. Those two leaders are expected to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

Then in North Korea, well, it's freed an Australian missionary, John Short has now arrived in Beijing. The 75-year-old was accused of secretly spreading his bible tracks around the Buddhist temple. Also today, North Korea fired two more short range missiles off its eastern coast. It's the second such launch in less than a week.

And hundreds of protesters were arrested outside of the White House Sunday in a massive demonstration against the Keystone oil pipeline. Some of them actually acted out a human oil sociopolitical lying on black tarps. Others zip tied their hands to the White House fence. If approved the $5.3 billion pipeline would run from Alberta, Canada all the way to Texas.

Are you fed up with that brutal weather in the U.S. right now? You are not alone. Nearly 100 million people or about a third of all Americans are waking up to deadly snow, ice and freezing temperatures.

States of emergency have been issued in New Jersey, Delaware, Mississippi and Tennessee. Public school systems from Dallas to Philly are closed today and for drivers it's pretty much a nightmare out there.

In Illinois, every major roadway in the state is iced over. If you're flying well you better get comfortable because more than 4,000 flights have already been cancelled or delayed.

Let's get to Indra Petersons. She's live in D.C. where the federal government is actually closed down today.

Hey, Indra.

PETERSONS: Kyra, does it took like it's March at this point? I mean, once again, it feels this winter wonderland out towards D.C., it's hard to believe. If you look at the snow on the ground this just came in the last few hours. When I woke up it was still raining then freezing rain and that quickly switched over to ice. It's hard to tell where the road is in comparison to the mall.

The worst part about this is underneath these several inches of snow is a thick coating of ice because, again, we had rain this morning and the temperatures this morning were warmer than the afternoon. The temperatures are cooling off each hour but now we're talking about single digits with wind chill, feels like 6 degrees out here and every once in a while a gust comes up and makes things miserable to definitely a good day to have the capital closed.

Now, as far as what we're expecting, keep in mind this is the same system guys that was over L.A. right before the Oscars, such a big storm. Had an EF-0 tornado outside of Sacramento.

So, this same storm has impacted really everyone from the West to Midwest and now bull's eye is on the mid-Atlantic. There's concern we'll still have heavy snow in New York. That system shifted farther to the south. Right here in .D.C we're getting the biggest of the impact and west of us out towards Virginia.

As the day continues on, we're going to continue to see heavy bouts of snow even until 6:00, 7:00 p.m. We're still going to be talking about snow in this area. Something that's hard to believe considering just three years ago, it was supposed to be the biggest storm we had two weeks ago. Just two weeks ago, we just went through this. And now, another foot of snow is possible before all is said and done.

Behind all of this, of course, comes another round of cold air. We're talking about air so cold that places as far south in Texas are in 35 to 40 degrees below where they should be for this time of year. All that cold air making its way in. So, any snow that does make to it the ground is expected to stay for the next several days.

I really, really, really want spring, Kyra.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I know. The favorite part of your job, spring and summer, definitely, and a beautiful fall. Cherry blossoms. I know.

Indra, we'll keep talking. Thanks so much.

PETERSONS: I'm thinking about it.

PHILLIPS: There you go. We all are.

Well, still to come, Oscar Pistorius on trial for the murder of his girlfriend. A neighbor testifies about blood curdling screams from the Blade Runner's home. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Good morning. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

We're watching all the developments in Ukraine right now with correspondents spread out throughout the region. We'll have live reports coming up in just a moment.

Throughout the day, by the way, all new developments coming out of Ukraine will come up on the left side of your screen.

But, first, I want to check on some other stories making news this morning. Let's go back to Kyra at the CNN worldwide headquarters in Atlanta -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Wolf, thanks so much.

The first day of the murder trial of Oscar Pistons and it's now adjourned. It actually began with pretty chilling testimony, though, from its neighbor. The track star as you know, known as blade runner, entered the court actually through a back door to avoid the massive media circus in fronts of the building.

Also in court, Reeva Steenkamp's mother, June. It's the first time she has faced her daughter's killer in court. Pistorius pleaded not guilty to the four charges against him, one charge of premeditated murder and a firearms charge associated with his girlfriend's killing. Plus, two separate gun indictments from previous incidents.

Well, the Olympic sprinter has never denied killing his girlfriend saying that he mistook her for a burglar. A neighbor was first to take the stand today, recounting the blood curdling screams that she heard just before dawn on Valentine's Day of last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHELLE BURGER, WITNESS: She screamed terribly and she yelled for help. (INAUDIBLE). Also I heard a man screaming for help and three times he yelled for help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Let's get to CNN forensic expert Laurie Peters. She's been following the trial for us there in South Africa.

So, Laurie, forensically speaking what do you find so interesting about this case thus far?

LAURIE PETERS, CNN FORENSIC ANALYST: Well, forensically, they are going to go through the forensic evidence. At the moment, now they are busy with the witness stages. What's interesting today is the distances the witnesses were away from Oscar Pistorius' house and how much they could hear in the circumstances they were experiencing.

PHILLIPS: Let me also ask you about Reeva Steenkamp's mother, June. It's the first time she came face to face with Pistorius. What was that like? Could you feel the tension in that courtroom?

PETERS: Yes. I think you could, actually. Of course she's going through a terrible time and psychologically, she must be suffering greatly at this point, having to listen to this evidence about Reeva screaming and how terrified and the blood curdling screams.

It must be very, very difficult for her. It's interesting, she hasn't actually been confrontational with Pistorius. She's sitting quietly and he's doing pretty much the same.

PHILLIPS: Final thought, quickly, before we let you go. A lot of talk about whether Pistorius can get a fair trial -- what do you think?

PETERS: Yes, I think Pistorius will get a very, very fair trial. You know, with the media and everything people say it will influence the trial. I don't believe it will. In South Africa, we don't have a jury system, a legal officer is appointed to a high court who has a lot of experience, she will not be swayed either way by the media attention.

The media's attention on him may be uncomfortable, the media witnesses on the witnesses maybe uncomfortable, but it shouldn't sway their material evidence. It shouldn't sway what they say at all. They are all there for a reason.