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Kremlin "Worried" About U.S. Troop Deployment To Eastern Europe; China's President Promising Safe And Wonderful Olympics; Austria Poised To Mandate COVID-19 Vaccine For Adults; President Erdogan to Visit President Zelensky; U.S. Aircraft Carrier Conducts Drills in Adriatic Sea Amidst Russia-Ukraine Crisis; Intercepted Drones in UAE; Winter Storm Devastates Travelers in U.S.; ISS Operations to Retire by 2030. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired February 03, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:03]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary church.

Just ahead. President Biden deploying thousands of troops to Eastern Europe to bolster NATO allies as Russia continues its military buildup on Ukraine's border. The Kremlin now reacting to the move by the U.S.

The Olympic Torch reaches the Great Wall with opening ceremonies just a day away. China's President promising the world a safe and wonderful winter games.

Plus, the first Western democracy getting set to mandate COVID vaccines for all adults, as questions arise about the legality of such a sweeping action.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. And we begin with new efforts of deterrence and diplomacy as tensions over Ukraine and fears of a possible Russian invasion intensify. U.S. President Joe Biden formally approved the deployment of 3000 American troops to bolster three NATO allies, Germany, Romania, and Poland. The Pentagon calls these moves unmistakable signals that the U.S. is ready to reassure allies and deter and defend against any aggression.

The Kremlin said it was worried by the deployment and once again accused the U.S. of escalating tensions in Europe. Mr. Biden says his decision should not have come as a surprise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

CHURCH: Meantime, there's new evidence of Russia continuing its military buildup along Ukraine's border. Satellite images now show further expansion at multiple locations in Belarus, Crimea and western Russia, which includes tents and shelters for troops. All this despite an increased diplomatic push. In the coming hours, French President Emmanuel Macron will hold a phone call with Vladimir Putin after speaking with the U.S. President on Wednesday.

Mr. McCrone is also expected to speak again soon with the President of Ukraine. CNN's Matthew Chance exclusively spoke with the Kremlin spokesman after the U.S. announced it would deploy thousands of troops to Eastern Europe. He has more on Russia's reaction from Kiev.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have some reaction now coming in to that deployment of additional U.S. forces to Europe. Coming as it does as Russia continues to mass troops near Ukraine's borders. In a first official statement from the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin spokesman told me that the U.S. is "continuing to pump up tensions in Europe with this decision."

And that the U.S. deployments is the best proof that we as Russia have an obvious reason to be worried. The Kremlin continuing to insist that it is the U.S. and NATO, not them that is trying to provoke a conflict. There's been reaction here in Ukraine as well. A senior official here telling me that Ukraine welcomes the reinforcements of NATO's eastern flank. But the official said that he hopes it will be accompanied by continued supplies of defensive weapons to Ukraine, including sophisticated air defenses.

The Ukrainian government clearly wants this new U.S. commitment to Eastern Europe to extend to them as well. Matthew Chance, CNN, Kiev.

CHURCH: I'm joined now by CNN Military Analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton. He joins me from Washington. Thank you, sir, for being with us.

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's my pleasure, Rosemary. Always good to be with you.

CHURCH: So as tensions rise, the Pentagon will now deploy 3000 U.S. troops to Poland, Romania and Germany. Another 8500 are still on heightened alert for deployment in the midst of this crisis with Russia over Ukraine. The Kremlin says this is why it's worried because the U.S. is continuing to pump up tension in Europe. So will this detour will provoke President Putin, do you think?

LEIGHTON: Well, I think that's an interesting question. And I think President Putin will try to use any excuse he can to appear to be provoked. And that's going to be a very interesting dynamic because, you know, whether you're sending 3000 troops or the other 8500 troops, that is nowhere near the total number of troops. I compared to what the Russians have arrayed around Ukraine.

You know we believe that there's somewhere between 120, 260 -- possibly even 175,000 troops that the Russians have arrayed around around Ukraine, and then you have to count the separatist forces plus the Belarusian forces.

[02:05:16]

LEIGHTON: That's way more than anything that shouldn't be provoking President Putin from our side would ever be. So that said, that, I think is, you know, an interesting dynamic, but I think that, you know, from President Putin's point of view, or at least the way he'll spin it, it will definitely appear to be a provocation and it could be used to his advantage in that case.

CHURCH: Yes. Because the Pentagon says President Putin keeps adding forces at Ukraine's borders with no signs of deescalating. What do you see is happening militarily, given Russia insists it has no intention of invading Ukraine, despite more than 100,000 troops sitting there at the border?

LEIGHTON: Yes. That's what's really interesting about this, Rosemary. I think that what you're seeing here is the ability of the Russians to get our attention. First of all, I -- now, what's -- what is interesting is where all those forces are raised. So, you know, based on what we know from press reporting, and what I'm, you know, pretty sure the intelligence reports are, we have Russian forces spanning the map all the way from Western Belarus, right on the Polish border, all the way around Ukraine and basically a kind of a three quarters of an arc type of formation.

And then on the western side, you even have a relatively small Russian contingent out of Transnistria, right out of the breakaway part of Moldova. And so in essence, what they're doing is they're surrounding Ukraine on all sides in one way or the other. And now, that looks good on a map. And, you know, we all talk about what's on the map. But we also have to think about though, is what is happening outside of those military deployments.

And that would be basically part of hybrid warfare, the asymmetric type warfare, and by that, I mean cyber warfare, information operations, targeted special operations, activities of various types. All of these activities are going on in one form or another, either in a preparatory phase or in the actual execution, especially on the cyber side, there have been increased cyber activities against the Ukrainian critical infrastructure that have been going on in a very increased volume for the past 40 days.

And that is perhaps more of what he's planning to do in real life. But of course, we are, you know, he's trying to distract us with the troop deployments, which could turn into real movements. But there are also other things that we have to be concerned about. And that, I think is where there is going to be a challenge for the Ukrainian forces to deal with that. It's going to be tough because we don't know exactly which battlefield or which battlefields he's going to be playing it.

CHURCH: Right. And Colonel, we now know that President Putin and China's President Xi Jinping will have a one-on-one meeting Friday, after China's said Russia's demands are reasonable and should be taken seriously. How significant is this in the midst of rising tensions? And what message China and Russia trying to send the West do you think?

LEIGHTON: Well, it's very clear that China and Russia have established what amounts to a very solid alliance, both geo politically and militarily over the past few years. Russian and Chinese forces conduct joint maneuvers on a fairly frequent basis. There is intelligence sharing between the two countries. There's technical sharing, for example, the Chinese company Huawei, advertises and hires Russian engineers for the 5G deployments, not only in Russia, but in other parts of the former Soviet Union.

So there is a lot of commonality both from an economic standpoint and from a military standpoint. The meeting with President Xi and President Putin in Beijing on Friday is going to be a very important watershed event, I think, for this crisis, because the Russians are getting support from the Chinese for this effort. And the fact that that is happening in a very direct way, basically gives Putin a green light to do at least some of what he wants to do visibly Ukraine.

And that, in essence is take over that government. Decapitate from -- in a -- hopefully figurative sense, the Ukrainian government and install his own more sympathetic regime in Kiev could be the ultimate goal that Putin is looking for. And if China's supports that then it's going to be much harder for the west to the NATO countries to go against it. And it's certainly going to be difficult for the Ukrainians to work against that as as well.

[02:10:10]

CHURCH: Yes. We'll see what happens there. Colonel Cedric Leighton, always a pleasure to talk with you. Many thanks.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Rosemary. Anytime.

CHURCH: Olympic action is officially underway. The Olympic Torch Relay past the Great Wall of China as the first events kicked off ahead of Friday's opening ceremony with curling alpine skiing and women's ice hockey in initial rounds. Chinese President Xi Jinping says China is ready to present a simple and safe Olympic experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): The Beijing Winter Olympics will start tomorrow night. The world is looking to China and China's 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)

CHURCH: And CNN's Ivan Watson joins me now from Hong Kong with more. Good to see you, Ivan. So geopolitics will also be very much on display as a backdrop to these games. Russia's President Putin meeting Friday with China's President Xi for a one-on-one meeting on their shared views on Ukraine. Mr. Putin writing about it in the signed article for China's official Shinwa news agency. What did he say? And what is the significance of all this?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Putin has been calling Xi Jinping his good friend. He gave an interview to Chinese-state media before his departure for Beijing. And he also wrote this long letter which has been published in the Xinhua News Agency where he talks about the flourishing trade ties between China and Russia, ties that have grown over the last number of years and hit record setting numbers in 2021.

Also talked about the two countries having kind of mutual respect for each other's kind of international concerns. So these are two leaders of two neighboring really, geographically enormous countries, they share a 4000 kilometer long border that have had many meetings in the past, and also seem to share an increasingly adversarial relationship with the U.S. which is -- seems to be helping to bring the two of them together.

Russia and China may on paper seem to be logical partners and allies. But these are two countries that have had very complicated joint histories in the past. Then USSR and China fought a border war in 1969. And if you go back as recently as 2008, Rosemary, the head of state who was at the Summer Olympics in Beijing was George W. Bush, when the U.S. and China had much warmer relations.

Now the U.S. is leading a diplomatic boycott of these Winter Olympics. And instead, Russia and the Russian leader are going to be side by side with Xi Jinping. It is a remarkable shift that we are seeing between these two countries. One final point maybe to add, economically, they are not equal partners. China's economy is roughly 10 times larger than Russia's. China still -- the U.S. is its largest trading partner, Russia trails very far behind that.

But it's clear as we just heard from your last guest, that there are other areas where the relationship is very symbiotic or increasingly symbiotic. And one of those areas is on the military front, with the two countries and Iran conducting joint naval exercises just days ago in the Indian Ocean. Roseway.

CHURCH: Very important points there. Ivan Watson joining us live from Hong Kong. Many thanks. Well, for more on this, I'm joined by Andrew Shields, a sports writer and editor and head of Editorial Services for the London 2012 Olympics. Great to have you with us. So we are counting down to the opening ceremony, but that hasn't stopped some Olympic events already getting underway. What have been the highlights so far?

ANDREW SHIELDS, SPORTS WRITER AND EDITOR: Well, so far, we've had the big stubbles curling underway. Curling is one of those sports that the world pays very little attention to for the majority of each four-year cycle, and then we suddenly get excited and realize what an exciting activity it is. And we've already had wins for the U.S. and G.B. teams who were expected to be -- to be two of the stronger contenders here.

[02:15:01]

SHIELDS: And even though the opening ceremony hasn't yet taken place, we're starting to see preliminaries in other sports with figure skating and ice hockey among those which are already underway.

CHURCH: And of course, COVID infections have already overshadowed these games with some athletes testing positive, resulting in some pretty heartbreaking situations. How bad has this been for some athletes so far as they deal with the stress of being tested regularly and possibly missing out on participating in the games if they do test positive?

SHIELDS: Well, these are the second games to take place under the shadow of COVID. In Tokyo, the athletes were subjected to a very clear regime under what were called playbooks. They were issued to all the participants in the games to define the way in which they had to behave and perform and the restrictions on their training, for example, where they could move to. What we're seeing in these games is the playbooks really plus one.

The athletes are under immense pressure here, and we've seen some very high-profile casualties. Marita Kramer, the Austrian ski jumper is out. One that's particularly sad is Elana Meyers Taylor, the U.S. bobsledding medalist who was going to be the flagbearer for the U.S. team. She's out to put out. And Brittany Bowe is taking over that. Nikita Tregubov, the Sochi silver skeleton medalist.

We're going to see casualties across all sports. And for athletes who are traveling from around the world, many coming from high COVID countries into this closed loop in which they'll be living and training and competing. There will be more cases. We've interestingly, today learned that the the observer program, which is where future host cities, get to see how a games is organized and operates.

It's been a feature of every Olympic Games. And is very important for knowledge transfer that has been cancelled, it just shows that the precautions are going to be extremely strict. And for athletes and officials, this will create a very tense atmosphere in which they're competing and performing and officiating.

CHURCH: Yes. I can't imagine the stress for some of these athletes. So what will likely be the events to watch out for during these games? What are you looking for?

SHIELDS: Well, I think I'm living in the U.K. where winter sports has a relatively low profile, we get unbelievably excited about the sports like snowboard bras, for example, which are pure excitement, extremely unpredictable and uncertain. And in many ways, these are the sports that have invigorated and reinvigorated the Winter Games. International Olympic Committee has been desperate to engage with youth, which is why we've seen in the Summer Games sports like skateboarding, speed climbing.

And in Paris we're going to see breaking enter the games. The winter games have had these already. And snowboard cross and the other snow sports have that inbuilt excitement that really captures the attention. I'm also really looking forward to seeing a Yuzuru Hanyu, the Japanese figure skating competing. He's already won two Olympic goals. He has a huge global following. His fans through Winnie the Pooh ties onto the ice after he's performed. And really these the kind of athletes who absolutely engage the world and show why winter sport is so exciting. I'd also point out Arianna Fontana, the Italian short track speed skater. If she wins one more, she will become the most decorated athletes in the sport.

CHURCH: Very exciting stuff. Andrew Shields, thank you so much. Joining us live from London. Appreciate it.

Well, still to come. While some Austrians say they plan to do once the country's COVID vaccine mandate for dogs comes into force this Friday. Plus, more British lawmakers are telling Boris Johnson to step down and the calls are coming from members of his own political party. WE'll take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:21:45]

CHURCH: New Zealand has announced a phase reopening of its borders after being largely closed for the past two years. Officials say vaccinated citizens and visa holders will be able to travel from Australia to New Zealand without managed quarantine beginning February 27th. Two weeks later, New Zealanders and those with visas in the rest of the world will be allowed to return. And in October all visitors will be able to enter the country.

Several European countries are lifting many of their COVID restrictions, embracing the current reality of living with the virus. In France, sports and cultural venues can now operate at maximum capacity. Both indoors and outdoors as long as masks are worn. And nightclubs will reopen from February 16th.

Working from home will no longer be mandatory in Norway unless someone's infected.

Neighboring Finland will allow restaurants to serve alcohol until 11:00 p.m. and stay open until midnight starting February 14th.

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

Well, 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 green light before it goes into effect on Friday. But not all Australians are happy about the new rules. CNN's Isa Soares reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL 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-LEILI, 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 says 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 job. But by March 15 when compliance checks begin, those without vaccination records or an exemption could face fines of up to 3600 euros or just over $4,000 up to four times a year. Still some residents have been preparing to skirt the new law.

TEUFEL-LEILI: 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 economy.

[02:25:01]

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

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 a handful of non-western countries. Across much of Europe, hospitalizations and deaths have eased as 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)

CHURCH: Truck drivers are blocking a checkpoint on the U.S.-Canadian border in Alberta for a sixth day. They're protesting Canadian requirements. They'd be fully vaccinated or face testing and quarantine rules. They're vowing not to move until all COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Meanwhile, heavy trucks are still clogging downtown Ottawa where the demonstration has been declared unlawful. There have been reports of harassment and homophobic and racist behavior.

Boris Johnson's future as British prime minister was already hanging by a thread. 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 2020.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IAN BLACKFORD, SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY LEADER: The Prime Minister is no 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 chairman of the defense Select Committee has submitted a letter of no confidence in him.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: 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)

CHURCH: It would take 15 percent of the 359 Conservative M.P.s to trigger a no-confidence vote. The number of letters submitted so far has not been made public.

Well, the U.S. and NATO was sending a clear message. Coming up. A show of force on the adriatic amid the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Plus, a new diplomatic effort to end the crisis is getting underway in Kiev with a visit from Turkey's president. That's next on CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:00]

CHURCH: The U.S. has announced another troop deployment to bolster NATO's Eastern flank, as new satellite images show Russia is adding more forces to its massive buildup along the Ukraine border. The U.S. will send several thousand troops to Poland and Romania, calling it an unmistakable message to Russia that it will defend its NATO allies. A Kremlin spokesman accuses the U.S. of pumping up tensions in Europe, and exclusively tell CNN that deployments prove Russia has an obvious reason to worry. Meanwhile, new satellite images appear to show Russia is expanding its own military presence and Belarus, Crimea, and Western Russia.

And in the coming day, the French president is due to speak once again with the Russian president. Emmanuel Macron has also been discussing the Ukraine crisis with the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents. And another push for a diplomatic end to the crisis could come from Turkey's president. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to visit Ukraine in the coming hours for talks with Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr. Erdogan has good relations with Moscow and Kyiv, and has offered to mediate the crisis.

So, let's head to Istanbul now and CNN's Arwa Damon. Good to see you, Arwa. So, what approach will President Erdogan lightly taken efforts to negotiate an end to this crisis?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it really is going to be quite interesting to observe this, Rosemary. Keeping in mind that President Erdogan has a fairly close relationship with both the presidents of Ukraine and of Russia. He has been making comments prior to his departure. He was talking about the significant number of deals between Turkey and Ukraine, that range from trades. They are expected to be signing a free trade agreement to tourism to defense.

When it comes to Erdogan relationship with Putin, this is specially interesting because when you look at how the U.S. approaches some of these global powers or global issues, it's very black and white. You're either with us or you're against us. But when it comes to how a country like Turkey approaches geopolitics, the relationship is much more nuanced.

And so, if we look at Turkey's relationship to Russia, for example, Erdogan and Putin have this sort of dynamic where they can both, at the same time, be adversaries and be allies. If we just look at Syria, for example, Turkey and Russia are very much on opposing sides of that conflict, and yet, Turkey and Russia, still throughout the vast majority of, it maintained very strong ties. And so, in that sense, Erdogan is perhaps uniquely positioned to be able to approach and talk to President Putin.

When it comes to Ukraine, Turkey's relationship to that country also very nuanced, in the sense that Turkey, for example, was staunchly against the annexation of Crimea by Russia, and yet, did not fully support NATO statements at the time. And, in fact, the line coming out of the government here, vis-a-vis, Ukraine and this possible Russian invasion that we're all talking about right now, has very much been that Russia should not invade. But, at the same time, that the West should understand where Russia is coming from. Should take Russia's security concerns into consideration.

And so, one gets the sense, and Erdogan mentioned this himself in comments a few moments ago, that he is going to wait and talk to both presidents before he figures out exactly what Turkey's broader position is potentially going to be. Turkey could very well also choose to sit this one out. And so, these developments are going to be quite interesting at this stage, especially given how sensitive the entire situation is.

CHURCH: All right. Arwa Damon, joining us live from Istanbul. Many thanks.

A powerful symbol of U.S. and NATO resolve is at the ready in the Adriatic. The admiral leading the U.S. as Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier won't say what will happen when drills end Friday. But its presence in the region is sending a clear message. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports from onboard the carrier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[02:35:00] FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): 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 naval flight officer Jeannette Lazzaro.

LT. CMDR. JEANNETTE LAZZARO, U.S. NAVY: So, we just got there and agree to a different NATO partners. Anybody we are working with and we worked to kind of smooth the communication processes.

PLEITGEN (voiceover): 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.

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

PLEITGEN (voiceover): Russia has pulled together more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, the U.S. believes. And Moscow could order an attack at any moment. 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 carriers 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 are committed to our alliances, our partnerships. We're able to operate plug and play anywhere in the world, and from adversary point of view, we're agnostic. If we have the strong partnership, then that's stronger than any individual adversary could ever be.

PLEITGEN (voiceover): 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.

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON SPOKESPERSON: 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 (voiceover): 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)

CHURCH: The U.S. military says it carried out a successful counterterrorism raid in Northwest Syria. The Pentagon's statement did not identify the target of the operation or other details, but did say there were no U.S. casualties. The U.S. has conducted numerous operations targeting Al-Qaeda and affiliates in Syria.

The UAE says it intercepted three hostile drones over its territory early Wednesday. No one has claimed responsibility, but Houthi rebels in nearby Yemen are blamed for several recent attacks inside the UAE, killing at least three. The UAE's defense ministry released a video, it says -- shows the destruction of a missile launch site in Yemen. One of the missile attacks on the UAE coincided with the visit of Israel's President Isaac Herzog.

Well, much of the U.S. is facing yet another path of winter storm, and it's making travel a nightmare once again. That story, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:40:00]

A massive winter storm is playing havoc with the road, air, and rail travel across the U.S. These are images from Missouri where police responded to more than 200 crashes, Wednesday, at least 12 people were injured. And airlines have counseled more than 3,700 flights across the country for Thursday, so far. That's on top of more than 2,000 flight cancellations, Wednesday. Several Amtrak routes are also canceled. Millions of people are under winter weather alerts and it's not moving out just yet.

So, for more on all of this, Pedram Javaheri joins us now from CNN's weather center. Good to see you, Pedram. So, what are you seeing right now, in terms of what's ahead and when relief will maybe onsite?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: You know, it's such a long-lived event here, Rosemary. We saw the storm began really pushing in the past eight,12 or so hours. And continue not only throughout the overnight hours, but potentially all into the morning hours and even continue into the evening hours of Thursday.

And an expansive area of coverage, covering well over 100 million Americans, 2,000 plus miles upwards of 3,000 kilometers of land. And, yes, even ice storm warnings in place where the national weather service in some of these areas really ominous wording here within their forecast saying, they do not even plan on going outside for any sort of road travels. They strongly discourage that. They say if you do, you better have yourself food, water, a flashlight, a blanket inside your car because you're likely going to be trapped for many hours across some of these roadways across the United States. And of course, that's just one area. But you notice how expensive the region is.

So, you know, shipping the lays across the United States certainly wouldn't be a possibility as a result of all of these power outages going to be significant threat as well and mainly because of the amount of ice coverage here. Again, several thousand kilometers of land with a pretty incredible amount of ice accumulations forecast from Texas into areas of New England. So, you notice the areas where we have the highest concern here for power outages. It's going to be across portions of Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee into Louisville, Kentucky. Some of these regions, you can see power out for a very extended period of time. And, of course, Arctic air is settling into this region as well. So, really, a dangerous setup.

CHURCH: Yes. That is just unbelievable, isn't it? Pedram Javaheri, many thanks, bringing us up-to-date on all of that.

Well, the International Space Station now has an expiration date. NASA says it will keep operating the station until the end of 2030, then commercially operated space platforms will replace it. The station was launched in 2000 and more than 200 astronauts from 19 different countries have been aboard. When the time comes, the station will be crashed into a remote part of the South Pacific Ocean known as Point Nemo.

And, thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. World Sport is coming up next. Then I'll be back with more news from all around the world in about 15 minutes. You're watching CNN.

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[02:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

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