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New Satellite Images Show Steady Russian Military Buildup; First Olympic Events Kick Off Ahead Of Opening Ceremony; New Zealand To Start Phased Reopening Of Borders This Month; Austria To Mandate Vaccines For All Adults; Several European Countries Easing Restrictions; Outraged Over E.U. Labeling Nuclear And Gas As "Sustainable"; More Conservatives Call For Boris Johnson's Resignation. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired February 03, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

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[00:00:35]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up here on CNN, countermoves, the U.S. deploys thousands of troops to Eastern Europe to reassure NATO allies concerned that Russia's military might not stop at Ukraine.

Living with COVID from Denmark to New Zealand, high vaccination rates during pandemic, restrictions are being lifted, a new normalcy taking home (PH).

And at the Omicron Olympics, COVID cases on the rise inside the closed loop system designed to protect athletes from COVID.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Thank you for joining us here at CNN Newsroom. We begin with the crisis over Ukraine, which continues to escalate militarily amid a flurry of diplomacy. The U.S. now deploying thousands of combat ready troops to Romania and Poland, a move designed to reinforce and increase defense and deterrence on its Eastern flank.

At the same time, European leaders continue to try and negotiate a diplomatic solution with Russia. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, just a day after the meeting with the leader of Ukraine. Johnson warned Putin any further incursion into Ukraine would be a tragic miscalculation.

And French president Emmanuel Macron expected to talk with Vladimir Putin again in the coming hours. That follows an earlier conversation between Macron and Joe Biden to which they agree to coordinate their response to Russia's military deployment around Ukraine, which according to the Pentagon continues to grow.

The Colonel though now says it's worried by the surprise deployment of thousands of American troops once again accusing the U.S. of escalating tensions. The U.S. insists the deployment is temporary and should not been unexpected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Totally consistent with what I told Putin in the beginning. As long as he reacted aggressively, we're going to make sure we reassure our NATO allies in Eastern Europe that we're there and Article Five is a sacred obligation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well, the U.S. and the allies continue to work to ease tensions. There is evidence that Russia continues to send more troops, more equipment to multiple locations surrounding Ukraine.

CNN's Melissa Bell has details reporting in from Kyiv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the sky, Russia's military build-up is clear, newly erected tents in Crimea, short-range ballistic missiles in Belarus, impact craters at training sites in Russia. Pictures released by the satellite image provider Maxar on Wednesday showing increased activity and preparedness at Ukraine's borders. A military build-up that has led to the worse tension between Russia and NATO since the end of the Cold War.

The Russian president blames the West, accusing the alliance and the United States of wanting to contain Russia.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT, RUSSIA (through translator): Their main task is to contain the development of Russia. Ukraine is simply a tool to achieve this goal. They could draw us into some kind of armed conflict.

BELL: Maxar says the new images show tents or shelters for troops at virtually every deployment location in Belarus, Crimea and Western Russia.

The military build-up was first spotted last Fall. Initially, Maxar's images showed hardware, but little sign of troop deployments. That has now changed. As has the tone of some of Ukraine's allies.

BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: It's about Ukraine, and that matters deeply to us. But this is about something even bigger, I'm afraid it's about the whole European security architecture.

BELL: Those fears are shared by Washington. The Pentagon announcing on Wednesday troop deployments to Romania, Poland and Germany.

JOHN KIRBY, PRESS SECRETARY, PENTAGON: The current situation demands that we reinforce the deterrent and defensive posture on NATO's Eastern flank. President Biden has been clear that the United States will respond to the growing threat to Europe's security and stability.

BELL: But if the latest satellite images confirm NATO's view on Russia's ability to invade Ukraine, there is division among its allies as to whether Russia intends to.

JEAN-YVES LE DRIAN, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): It's a clear and imminent danger, but at this moment, we have no information on the willingness of Vladimir Putin to take action.

BELL: The only man who knows has neither confirmed nor denied what Washington and London say is now only a matter of time.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[00:05:07]

VAUSE: CNN Military Analyst General Wesley Clark, served for three years as NATO Supreme Allied Commander. He is with us this hour from Little Rock in Arkansas.

General Clark, thank you for being with us. So, we have 3,000 U.S. troops now heading to Romania and Poland. A thousand deployed from Germany, 2,000 from Fort Bragg in North Carolina. They are combat ready, but they're not heading to Ukraine. They're not heading to countries which border Russia. So, why are they going? Explain the chest move here and why would the Kremlin now be worried as CNN is reporting?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.) CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, they're going to just show U.S. resolve and support for NATO, and to reassure our NATO partners that the United States is committed to their defense.

Now, Ukraine is not a NATO partner. These troops really don't have much offensive capability. And there's no reason for the Kremlin to be worried. So, let's not -- let's not accept that the Kremlin is worried. Let's say this is part of the information war that's currently ongoing.

The truth is that Mr. Putin and his Russians lost very badly in the session at the United Nations on Monday. They were exposed as liars. They were exposed as those who were provoking conflict. They screamed, they yelled they squealed back. And Mr. Putin continued that with a statement yesterday. And now, we heard the Kremlin is concerned about the fact that his troops -- he's mobilized 120,000 troops directly on Ukraine's borders, and it's a direct threat to Ukraine.

We're sending a few thousand troops into our NATO allies; these troops lack offensive capabilities in general. And they're there for reassurance to show that the United States is committed to the defense of our NATO partners. That's it.

VAUSE: But as far as Russia's military presence in the region continues to grow, I would like you to listen to the Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRBY: Mr. Putin continues to add forces, combined arms, offensive capabilities, even over just the last 24 hours. He continues to add in Western Russia and in Belarus and again, as I said, in the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic.

He has shown no signs of being interested or willing to deescalate the tensions. And it's not just the United States that's noticed this; our NATO allies have noticed this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: There are also new satellite images, which appear to show a new stage in this troop buildup, Maxar which provided the images told CNN, troops, tents, shelters for personnel have been seen at virtually every deployment location in Belarus, Crimea and Western Russia, which suggests that the units are now accompanied with troops and have increased their overall readiness level.

So, how long can Putin leave more than half his military camped on Ukraine's border? What are his pressure points here for deciding when and if to invade?

CLARK: Well, he can leave them there, you know, for a long time. The Russian troops are trained in winter warfare. So, they've got the right boots, they've got the right heating, whatever food they're going to get, their equipment is designed to operate in a below freezing temperatures for long periods of time.

So, I don't think you can -- you can start the clock ticking that this is somehow going to end necessarily, but it is expensive. It is -- he's continuing to provide reinforcements there. And the Pentagon looks at this and says, you know, you can set an end date, he's still building up forces.

So, most observers believe that he won't strike during the Olympics, which starts in a couple of days. So, that's two weeks. Can those troops stay there for two weeks? Absolutely.

VAUSE: Well, at that point, the Ukraine's Foreign Minister had an assessment of where the Russian forces are right now in terms of launching a successful invasion. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Despite Russian statements on some kind of limited withdrawal, which we saw a few days ago, we cannot confirm any real decrease in the number of troops.

At this moment, by assessment of Ukraine and its partners, this number and composition of forces is not sufficient for a full-scale invasion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, Ukraine's Foreign Minister says it's not sufficient for a full-scale invasion. From what you know about the Russian deployment as well as Ukraine's military defense, is the foreign minister correct? What do you see as the troop level here for a full-scale invasion? CLARK: Well, we don't -- none of us know what the detailed intelligence is. And even if we were talking at the classified level, well, there's a range of uncertainty when you're dealing with the experts in camouflage and deception like the Russian military is. So, they certainly have the airpower to strike. They have the missile forces to strike, they can strike at any moment.

Do they have enough forces to occupy the whole country? No, they don't have enough power to take Kyiv probably and may never have enough power to take Kyiv because the people in Kyiv will fiercely resist them.

[00:10:12]

VAUSE: That's a very good point for us to leave. General Clark, thank you so much for being with us, Sir. We appreciate it.

Just over a day until the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics and competition is already underway in curling, alpine skiing and ice hockey.

Earlier, the Olympic torch relay passed the Great Wall on its way to the Olympic Stadium, an iconic site. Chinese President Xi Jinping hopes that these Olympics will be a simple and safe experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT: The Beijing Winter Olympics will start tomorrow night. The world is looking to China and China is ready. We will dedicate ourselves to a simple, safe and wonderful Olympic Games for the world and live up to the Olympic motto of faster, higher, stronger together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Beijing Bureau Chief Steven Jiang is with us now for more and the motto of these games together for a shared future. Well, that might just refer to China and Russia when it comes to the Ukraine crisis.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF (on camera): That's right. This is, you know, obviously an increasingly tall order in terms of, you know, describing Olympics as this a unifying global event. Not only there was a diplomatic boycott going on launched by the U.S. and joined by a few of Washington's close allies. But as you mentioned, there is potentially a war in Ukraine launched by a man Mr. Xi is increasingly close to.

Now, Mr. Putin obviously is due to arrive here, fairly soon for a whirlwind trip on Friday. He's likely to be on the ground for less than 24 hours flying in, having lunch with Mr. Xi and then, a bilateral meeting before going to attend the opening ceremony and then flies out.

But this is obviously taking place at a crucial time. You know, as the U.S. is really trying to maximize its pressure on Russia to ostracize Russia, Mr. Putin is likely to seek and also receive reassurances from Mr. Xi when it comes to Chinese support for the Russian position on this issue.

China obviously has already voiced support for Russia's demand for a security guarantee from the U.S. China has also joined Russia in trying to block U.N. actions on this issue.

But probably most importantly, China and Russia has increasingly close economic ties is going to reduce or even minimize the impact of sanctions that the U.S. has already pledged to impose on Russia and its ruling elite.

That's probably why Mr. Putin in article written for Chinese state media really emphasized the fast growth bilateral trade. Bilateral trade actually grew more than 30 percent last year, according to Mr. Putin exceeding $140 billion covering an increasingly wide range of area, not just in energy, but also in manufacturing and infrastructure and agriculture.

So, this kind of close ties, of course, is what he's trying to bolster further during this trip. But the two men obviously also increasingly seeing eye to eye on dealing with a common adversary, the U.S. because they're both very resentful and increasingly hostile towards this idea of U.S. building alliances in their respective region to contain and to encircle them.

And for China, obviously, this could also offer benefits on multiple fronts, not only pushing Russia ever closer to China, but also, you know, distract the U.S. from focusing on dealing with a rising China in this region, especially when it comes to Taiwan.

So, all of this is probably why the two men are meeting for the 38th time. Mr. Xi by the way has met Mr. Putin more than any other foreign leader.

But John, one burning question we're probably not going to get an answer from Mr. Putin is of course whether or not he will hold off military actions during the Beijing Winter Games.

Remember, the last two major Russian offensives in a foreign land happened during the Olympics against Georgia during the Beijing Summer Games in 2008. Then, of course, again in 2014, invading and annexing Crimea during the Sochi Games, John.

VAUSE: Steven, thank you. Steven Jiang there for us in Beijing, we appreciate it.

It seems fortress New Zealand might soon be coming to an end with a phase reopening of borders for international travelers, which have been closed for the most of two years. Officials say vaccinated citizens and visa holders will be able to travel from Australia to New Zealand without manage quarantine beginning at the end of the month.

Two weeks after that, New Zealanders and those with visas will be allowed to return. And in October all visitors will be allowed to enter the country. New Zealand's Prime Minister explains why officials chose a phased reopening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACINDA ARDERN, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: Overall, opening back up in this managed way balances inflows of travelers so people can reunite and fill our workforce shortages, while also ensuring our healthcare system can manage an increase in cases.

After all, our strategy with Omicron is to slow the spread, and our borders are a part of that strategy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:15:09]

VAUSE: Travelers entering New Zealand will still be required to take a COVID test and self-isolate for 10 days.

A number of European countries lifting many of their COVID restrictions and bracing the current reality of living with COVID.

In France, sports and cultural venues can now operate at maximum capacity both indoors and outdoors, as long as masks are worn, and nightclubs allowed to reopen from February 16th.

Working from home no longer mandatory in Norway unless someone is infected.

Neighboring Finland will allow restaurants to serve alcohol until 11:00 p.m. and stay open until midnight. That starts February 14th Valentine's Day.

And Switzerland dropping work from home quarantine requirements with vaccinations there now on the rise.

Meantime, Austria is set to become the first European country to make COVID vaccinations mandatory for all adults. In the coming hours, lawmakers are expected to give the law the formal greenlight before it goes into effect on Friday.

But not all Austrians are happy with these new rules and CNN's Isa Soares has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In a small town in northwestern Austria, one mother of six says she plans to soon live outside the law.

KATHARINA TEUFEL-LIELI, AUSTRIAN OPPOSED TO VACCINE MANDATE (through translator): We have done a lot I think to protect the people who are at risk. But solidarity stops for me where it concerns one's own body.

SOARES: The 49-year-old harpist say she won't bow to pressure from the Austrian government as the country becomes the first in Europe to mandate vaccines for adults nationwide. Starting Friday, a phased rollout begins.

First, unvaccinated citizens will have the opportunity to get the jab. But by March 15th, when compliance checks begin, those without vaccination records or an exemption could face fines of up to 3,600 Euros or just over $4,000 up to four times a year.

Still, some residents have been preparing to skip the new law.

TEUFEL-LIELI (through translator): There are ways to find hairdressers even, there are private meetings. There is actually already a parallel society. It is there already, it is already being built up.

SOARES: A parallel society built on anti-vax sentiment, after failed attempts to stop what's imminently coming into force.

Since November, tens of thousands have protested the mandate, as well as other COVID restrictions. But government officials insist the new law is needed to help boost vaccination rates in Austria, with just over three quarters of the population are fully inoculated against coronavirus.

Now, as Austria's mandate goes into effect, other European nations will likely look on hoping to close vaccination gaps of their own.

In Germany, lawmakers are debating similar mandates to Austria hoping at least 80 percent of the population will soon have the jab.

In Italy, vaccinations are required for those over 50 years old. In Greece, for anyone over 60. But until this week, European nations had stopped short of a mandate is sweeping as Austria's such strict measures previously reserved to a handful of nonwestern countries.

Across much of Europe, hospitalizations and deaths of East a seemingly less severe Omicron variant dominates. But infection levels are soaring, stopping the spread still a central challenge of the pandemic, as one country puts Europe's most stringent mandate yet to the test.

Isa Soares, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE

VAUSE: Dr. Jorge Rodriguez is a Board Certified Internal Medicine Specialist and Viral Researcher. He is with us this hour from Los Angeles. Good to see you.

DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, BOARD CERTIFIED INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: OK, so earlier this week, the head of the WHO had a warning about a total relaxation of all pandemic restrictions with the Omicron variant, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We're concerned that a narrative has taken hold in some countries that because of vaccines, and because of Omicron's high transmissibility and lower severity, preventing transmission is no longer possible and no longer necessary. Nothing could be further from the truth. More transmission means more deaths.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And yet, that's precisely what's happening from Denmark to New Zealand. And it seems for many countries, which have high vaccination rates and these falling hospital admissions, it seems the right thing to do because COVID at least there in those countries, it's no longer considered a critical threat. How do you see this?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, I think he's absolutely right. The fact that I think it is a test of wills, and I think the wills are losing. I think people don't have the resolution in many places to really stick this out. And what they don't realize is that they are making matters worse. It's been shown that if you're vaccinated, you actually spread less virus, you're less likely to get it.

[00:20:01]

RODRIGUEZ: So, John, unfortunately, people are tired. And that is not any reason to change what is scientifically correct, which is that there should be vaccinations. And every time we release these requirements too soon, we always get into trouble. It happened here in July, when we released the masks mandates, and there were breakthroughs.

So, I'm more cautious. I think we need to wait a while to make sure that nothing is progressing before you release those mandates.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: Well, I mean, vaccination is a key here, right? Because if you look at the U.S., the numbers are pretty grim.

On Tuesday, almost 400,000 new infections, more than on 3,500 deaths, that's in one day. this country is on track for 900,000 dead in the next couple of days.

About 65 percent of the population has been vaccinated. So, does that low vaccination rate alone account for the death toll? And would you say that, you know, COVID remains a critical threat here in the U.S.?

RODRIGUEZ: COVID remains a critical threat here in the United States, there's no doubt about it. We have become numb to 3,000 deaths a day. Every day, 10 full airplanes crash. Can you imagine the scandal and how everybody would be scared to fly under those conditions?

But at the end of the day, people are wanting to live normal lives but they have to realize they are prolonging the abnormality of our lives right now by not just hunkering down for a bit, you know, for getting vaccinated. It's frustrating at best.

VAUSE: Again, it's the vaccines because when -- there's a new study which came out about the lockdowns and the effectiveness of these lockdowns. So, there was an analysis done by Professor Johns Hopkins University and they found lockdowns have had little to no effect on COVID-19 mortality. More specifically, stringency index studies find that lockdowns in Europe and the United States only reduced COVID-19 mortality by 0.2 percent on average.

The study has not been peer reviewed. But you know, as we head into the, you know, the third year of this pandemic, if nothing else, it makes sense to go back and take a closer look at what works, what doesn't work and to reassess.

RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely and it was a very interesting what's called a meta-analysis that compared many different studies and it -- I think it was pretty conclusive in showing that in order to decrease deaths, lockdowns don't work. Don't work very well anyway.

But it didn't say anything about the spread. But we know that in order to decrease deaths and hospitalizations, it is vaccination. That is the key.

John, I hate to ramble on like this. But I find that ironic, you know that people are so against these vaccinations, but trust me, if they wanted to holiday in some place in Africa on Safari, you have to take vaccines to get in. How come people didn't object to it then, this has become and has been from the word go almost a political issue, not a scientific one.

VAUSE: Yes. The politicization has been the problem, but very quickly, much of the world learning to live with COVID, China being the notable exception, sticking to zero COVID policy. And nowhere in the world is there are more strictly enforced at the Winter Olympics in a closed loop system. But yet, those numbers continue to rise on number of infections. Here's one of the IOC doctors, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN MCCLOSKEY, CHAIR, BEIJING 2022 MEDICAL EXPERT PANEL: We see there's people who have only recently arrived have a slightly higher positive rate than people who've been here for a week or more. We are going to a very, very low positivity rate within the loop. We hope they're not going to expect that that will be sustained throughout the games.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, we're just about to start competition. Can they beat Omicron?

RODRIGUEZ: No, they cannot beat Omicron. Omicron is coming in. It's already there. I mean, I follow a few of the athletes on Instagram and when I see the conditions in the Olympic Village, it's crowded. They are -- you know, they are sort of communing with each other and they're having social activities. And even though they're wearing masks, you know, the genie is already out of the bottle.

So, I think that the cases will increase. It may not be a huge amount, but it's already there.

VAUSE: Jorge Rodriguez, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate your time, sir. Thank you.

RODRIGUEZ: Thank you, Sir.

VAUSE: Still ahead, reports of another gathering during lockdown at Number 10 and more calls for the Prime Minister to resign. Could this be -- has the moment arrived? Is it possibly the last call for Boris? More on that in a moment.

Plus, can natural gas and nuclear power be considered sustainable energy sources? The E.U. says yes. And has angered a lot of people.

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[00:26:35]

VAUSE: There's been harsh blowback to the European Union's latest plan to become carbon neutral by 2050. Climate activists in some member states are infuriated the E.U. has decided to label nuclear power and natural gas as sustainable energy sources.

Germany which relies heavily on natural gas says it strongly opposes including nuclear energy on the E.U.'s green list. Other member states say they prefer nuclear over gas.

In response to the criticism, E.U. officials were quick to point out that natural gas would be a transitional energy source until greener technologies come online.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAIREAD MCGUINNESS, E.U. FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMISSIONER: And be very clear, it's the same with gas, there is no get out of jail here for nuclear or gas. We are seeing very clearly that these are instruments in transition to allow us get to where we need to be, which is more and more renewables.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Greenpeace was outraged by the E.U.'s decision calling it attempted robbery that will divert billions in investment away from sustainable energy sources.

Boris Johnson's future as British Prime Minister was already hanging by a thread, that thread just got thinner it seems. Three more lawmakers from his own Conservative Party have submitted letters calling for a no confidence vote, and he could be forced to step down.

The Prime Minister has apologized for attending parties in violation of COVID rules while the rest of the country was under lockdown. And now, a Scottish M.P. accuses Mr. Johnson of lying about yet another reported gathering at his home in November of 2020.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) IAN BLACKFORD, SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY LEADER: Mr. Prime Minister is now a dangerous distraction at home and a running joke on the international stage.

What does it tell the Prime Minister and the public that in the morning that he has returned from Ukraine? The chair of the Defense Select Committee has submitted a letter of no confidence in him.

JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, what it tells me that is more vital than ever for the government of this country to get on with the job, deliver our COVID recovery plan and that is what we are doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Bianca Nobilo has more now reporting in from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The prime minister and his party remain suspended in a state of political purgatory.

Boris Johnson's premiership depends on letters, 54 to be precise, that's the number required in order for a no confidence vote in the Prime Minister to be triggered, and then, potentially a leadership contest.

Three more of Johnson's own M.P.s publicly declared that they'd submitted letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister, while others from his own benches join the chorus of those publicly condemning his actions and asking him to consider his position.

The highly anticipated Sue Gray report into potential violations of COVID regulations inside Downing Street during strict COVID lockdowns had to admit the details of some of the most serious charges against the Prime Minister and those in his inner circle because of an ongoing investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

However, the publication of an update to the report did put pressure on Johnson's M.P.s to decide, decide what to say to their constituents angry at the Prime Minister's behavior and try to calculate what's best for the future of the Conservative Party.

While some M.P.s have decided to support the Prime Minister for the time being, others are showing their cards. One member of parliament who submitted a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson today said, "I cannot reconcile the pain and sacrifice of the vast majority of the British public with the attitude and activities of those working in Downing Street."

[00:30:15]

Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: We have major news to report about our own network. CNN president Jeff Zucker is resigning, effective immediately.

Zucker says that he was wrong for not disclosing a consensual relationship with a close work colleague. His announcement comes less than two months after he fired CNN anchor Chris Cuomo for inappropriately, or improperly, rather, advising his brother, former New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, on sexual misconduct allegations.

CNN executive Allison Gollust says that she regrets not disclosing her relationship with Zucker but will remain at the network.

Still to come, a powerful show of force. A U.S. aircraft carrier strike group now making its presence known amid the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. kept the Harry S. Truman longer than planned, as the standoff with Russia intensifies, to reassure America's allies that the U.S. is fully committed to collective defense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: The United States is sending 3,000 troops to Eastern Europe to support NATO allies and send a message to Russia. Both White House and Pentagon insist the troops will not enter Ukraine, will not engage Russian forces, and their deployment will be permanent.

A Kremlin spokesman tells CNN this new deployment proves Russia has good reason to be worried.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He basically said that this is an example of the U.S. continuing to pump up tension in Europe. Those were his words. He said that this is the best proof that we, as Russia, have an obvious reason to be worried.

Again, sort of pushing that narrative that it's the Russians that feel that they are under increasing threat from a NATO that is expanding, and from a United States that, in the Kremlin's words, wants to draw them into an armed conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: New satellite images appear to show Russia expanding its own military presence in Belarus, Crimea and Western Russia.

Well, a powerful symbol of U.S. and NATO resolve is now in the Adriatic for exercises. The admiral leading the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier won't say what happens on Friday when those drills end, but its presence in the region is sending a clear message.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports from on board the carrier. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The U.S. and its allies, in a United show of force, facing aggression from Russia. The USS Harry S. Truman is in Europe, refining cooperation with NATO allies to make sure the alliance can operate more coherently, says NATO flight officer Jeannette Lazzaro.

[00:35:07]

LT. CMDR. JEANNETTE LAZZARO, U.S. NAVY: We just go out there and integrate to different NATO partners, anybody we're working with. And we work to kind of smooth the communication processes.

PLEITGEN: As Russia continues to amass troops near the border with Ukraine, the U.S. says it will help further strengthen the NATO alliance.

This is the first time since the Cold War that a full carrier strike group has been placed under NATO command, with ships from various NATO countries flanking the Truman.

(on camera): The U.S. kept the Harry S. Truman longer than planned, as the standoff with Russia intensifies, to reassure America's allies that the U.S. is fully committed to collective defense.

(voice-over): Russia has pulled together more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, the U.S. believes, and Moscow could order an attack at any time.

While President Biden has said he would not send U.S. forces to Ukraine, the Harry S. Truman can effectively fortify NATO's eastern flank. Despite Russia's massive naval presence in the Black Sea, the carrier's F-18 jets can quickly reach the area close to Ukraine.

The Truman's commander says years of integration with allies are now paying off.

REAR ADMIRAL CURT RENSHAW, U.S. NAVY CARRIER STRIKE GROUP COMMANDER: We're committed to our alliances, our partnerships. We're able to operate, plug and play anywhere in the world. And from an adversary point of view, if we're agnostic, if you have the strong partnership, then that's stronger than any individual adversary could ever be.

PLEITGEN: The U.S. says Russia would pay a high price for any further invasion of Ukraine. And the Pentagon has just announced, it will deploy additional U.S. troops to Germany, Poland, and to Romania.

ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: The current situation demands that we reinforce the deterrent and defensive posture on NATO's eastern flank. President Biden has been clear that the United States will respond to the growing threat to Europe's security and stability.

PLEITGEN: But the U.S. and its allies say they hope diplomacy will prevail, as one of America's strongest deterrent forces remains on guard. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, aboard the USS Harry S. Truman on the Adriatic

Sea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come here, it's all about image control. Ahead of the Winter Olympics in China, the way to fix its reputation as a serial human rights abuser is by using social media influencers, including some in the U.S. Details on that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Well, for China, the payoff from the Winter Olympics was all about global prestige. CNN's David Culver reports it seems Beijing is now calling some foreign social media influencers to help do some reputation rehabilitation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: That's right, it's the bobsled track.

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is the side of the Beijing Winter Games that China wants you to see, as told by a Russian YouTuber. He's just one of many foreign influences granted access to China's Olympic venues ahead of the games, and posting videos that shower praise on the host country.

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As the Olympics kick off, get ready to see a surge in China-related posts on your social media feeds. CNN found some of it is even expected to come from inside the U.S., paid for by China.

VIPP JASWAL, CEO, VIPPI MEDIA INC.: While we're doing is, we're acting in the advisory capacity of promoting awareness, engagement, a bit of excitement, and support for the Olympics, and Team USA.

CULVER: In a U.S. Department of Justice filing from December, Vipp Jaswal's New York-based company disclosed that it plans to "develop a marketing initiative to create awareness of the Olympic and Paralympics event."

The listed client, China's consulate general in New York. The Chinese government paying $300,000 to target audiences outside of China, and that's just at Jaswal's company.

He'll use platforms like Instagram, Twitch, and TikTok, all of which are blocked inside China.

JASWAL: They don't need to audition for anyone's approval. They just need to present their side of the story that is not heard through politicians or the press.

CULVER: Jaswal says the roughly nine or so influencers he's a recruiting will not focus on politics, but rather, the Olympic spirit.

They'll join a steady stream of posts made by foreigners telling the so-called real China story. But on these profiles, you'll struggle to find any criticisms of China's human rights record. Instead, it's the positive spin.

(on camera): A lot of these western influences will come to iconic spots like this one, the Forbidden city, which is beautiful, and they'll show the best of China. That work, in turn, gets promoted by state media.

(voice-over): Take that Russian YouTuber, for example. He tells CNN he was invited to see the venues and is not being paid by China, nor told what to say.

But state-run China Radio International picked up his story. Then dozens of other state media outlets began reposting the article, amplifying his praise of China.

It's part of China's wider strategy to promote positive foreign voices. In fact, a report in China's official "Guangming Daily" suggested foreign influencers who are friendly to China be used to help bolster the official narrative.

It also characterized foreign athletes and their coaches as a rich mine to tap into.

That same strategy extended into controversial topics, like Xinjiang. It's where the U.S. alleges China is committing genocide against its Uyghur Muslim minorities, claims that China strongly denies.

But scroll through the posts of these foreign influencers --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no proof of genocide.

CULVER: -- and you'll see they echo the official narrative, painting a rosy picture and denying any wrongdoings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's totally normal here.

CULVER: Those videos then shared widely by Chinese state media and embassies around the world.

Promoting China abroad is not without risk. Jaswal says he's faced personal attacks and death threats for doing business with China.

JASWAL: I'm an American citizen. I'm a patriot. My mindset going in was I was promoting an event that belongs to the world.

CULVER: But the world is fractured, and even during a global sporting event that's supposed to unify, China's social media blitz may do little to sway minds.

(on camera): We did reach out for comment to several of the influencers. Those who got back to us maintained they are not paid by China, which in some cases may be true, but they at times see the benefit of their work being amplified to a population of more than 1.4 billion people.

David Culver, CNN, Beijing.

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VAUSE: I'm John Vause. More CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour. Hope to see you then. In the meantime, WORLD SPORT is next.

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(WORLD SPORT)

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VAUSE: Ahead here on CNN, counter move.

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