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Awards Postponed Over Drug Controversy; Russia Refuse to De- escalate; European Leaders to Meet Over Ukraine/Russia Tension; Ukrainian Forces Ready 24/7; Trucker Protesters Not Giving Up; Europe Wants to go Back to Pre-COVID Life. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 10, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): 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, Olympic size controversy. They won the gold medal on the ice but the celebration is on hold, and there is a good reason why.

Tens of thousands of Russian troops are beginning 10 days of military drills in Belarus ratcheting up the tensions with Ukraine.

Plus, still honking on holding things up in Canada, the vaccine mandate protests are growing, and so is the misinformation around them.

UNKNOWN: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well, it is a very busy day six at the Beijing Winter Olympics with both redemption and controversy on the ice. And that's where we begin this hour.

American Nathan Chen claimed gold in men's figure skating, hanging on to the lead after setting a world record with his short program earlier this week. He finished fifth just four years ago at the games in PyeongChang, but a potential scandal is brewing and threatens to overshadow more performances on the ice.

The medal ceremony for the figure skating team event has been delayed. And there are reports it's because of a positive drug test.

So, let's get the very latest, CNN's Coy Wire joins us live outside Beijing. But first, we want to bring in Ivan Watson who is live in Hong Kong. So, Ivan, what is going on with this report of a positive drug test?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Russian figure skating team which won the gold on Monday was supposed to be awarded gold medals on Tuesday, and that awards ceremony has been delayed until when, we don't know, and the reasons the International Olympic Committee is not giving a solid one, except saying that there is now an active legal matter. Listen to a spokesperson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ADAMS, SPOKESPERSON, INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: I'm not going to comment on all sorts of speculation that I have also seen overnight. And that speculation will continue. As I said, as you said, I had a -- we had a situation arrive yesterday at short notice, it has legal implications, and I'm not -- and I hope you would appreciate that I'm not from the podium of a press conference is going to comment on a legal case because it wouldn't be appropriate.

On the wider issue, you said a potential doping case and I think that's complete speculation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (on camera): The international skating union has just put out a statement saying that it also cannot disclose any information about this about any possible anti-doping rule violation. In the meantime, a number of sources have told CNN sports analyst -- CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan that an athlete who is a minor has tested positive for a prohibited substance.

There is only a one minor in the winning team of the Russian Olympic committee, of their six athletes and that is 15-year-old Kamila Valieva whose been a breakout star in these Winter Olympic Games.

The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson took to social media to issue a statement saying that this young athlete performed a miracle, and then she went on to accuse evil forces of trying to cause evil, and that Russia is going to stand by its athletes as it had in the past when there had been accusations against other Olympic athletes.

And the Russian newspaper RBC Sports has reported that of one the six figure skaters on the Russian Olympic Committee team tested positive for a banned substance called Trimetazidine. That according to the World Anti-Doping Agency is a banned metabolic modulator.

So read between the lines, there is something going on here that is resulting in the unusual decision not to award gold medals at this time to the winning team. The spokesperson for the U.S. team has come out with a statement saying, we don't have all the details, but in situations like this, it's about more than gold, it's about the integrity of fair sport and accountability.

[03:05:08]

I don't need to say that this is the first time that there have been allegations of doping involving athletes from Russia at the Olympics.

CHURCH: All right. We'll be watching for more details on this. And Coy, let's go to you now for all the Olympic highlights, and of course, a thrilling day for Nathan Chen. COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, big -- big day for team USA on some

of the biggest stars of these Winter Games, Rosemary. Nathan Chen, men's figure skating, generally known as the most dominant skater on the planet in the past several years, and he had been on a collision course with this moment since the last Winter Olympics when he felt short of expectations.

But the quad king reigns supreme. Team USA three-time defending worth champ lands five quadruples in an action-packed long program performance to win Olympic gold. He set the new world records in the short program a couple of days. Nathan Chen, student at Yale, now officially does it all snagging his first ever individual Olympic medal.

And Japan finishing two, three, and four in this, Rosemary. Yuma Kagiyama taking silver, Shoma Uno taking bronze, and the legend Yuzuru Hanyu finishing fourth.

Let's go to the halfpipe now, and it is a repeat for Chloe Kim. She has done it again. Team USA is defending Olympic gold medalist in the snowboard halfpipe becoming the first woman to ever win two golds in the event.

And how good is she, Rosemary? She said afterwards that she was just playing it safe on her first of three runs, because she had just had the worst practice of her life, was feeling all sorts of emotion and self-doubt, but she still scores a 94, and even the commentators said, that's it, that's enough for gold, she's won it after one run.

Chloe got to see her family virtually watching back home in L.A. Afterwards it was a great moment. It's difficult to go out there in this big stage, Rosemary, and do it once again, but she has done it. Just 21 years old. She is a big star at these games.

CHURCH: Yes. These athletes are just incredible when you consider the intense pressure they are feeling right now. But just fantastic wrap there. Ivan Watson, Coy Wire, many thanks to you both.

Well, 10 days of joint military exercises are underway in Belarus featuring an estimated 30,000 Russian troops. The drills are adding to the fear that Russia could eventually move into Ukraine, but the Kremlin says the large of the usual exercises are a response to unprecedented threats from NATO.

Russia's top general is on hand, but President Vladimir Putin will not attend.

Meantime, diplomatic efforts to ease tensions are shifting to British leaders today. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet with NATO secretary general and Poland's president. And the top U.K. and Russian diplomats are meeting in Moscow.

U.S. officials insist Russia is showing no signs of de-escalating the crisis. And a source tells CNN Moscow added another 2,000 combat forces to border areas near Ukraine. Well, Ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country are

preparing for a possible Russian invasion, but they are already finding a war with Russia-backed separatists that's claimed thousands of lives over the past eight years.

CNN's Alex Marquardt visited the front lines.

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ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Lying low over the Ukrainian countryside, this Soviet-era military plane heads towards the border with Russia.

We traveled here with senior Ukrainian officials and military leaders to get a sense of the mood and preparations where Russian troops are the closest near Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. This is Avdiivka where many of these Ukrainian troops were mostly young men have been fighting Russian-backed forces on this cold and desolate front

They are eager to show us how they have been living and fighting here is a conflict involving Russia that has been largely forgotten but which has taken over 14,000 lives in the past eight years, according to the United Nations.

Ivan has been here the whole time. Like the other soldiers here, he says they are confident they could face a new Russian invasion.

UNKNOWN: Of course, we are ready for some bad situation and basically, we wait here.

MARQUARDT: Do you think that will happen this bad situation?

UNKNOWN: I'm not -- I don't know because I don't know what's in the head of the guys in that territory.

MARQUARDT: But for you, the war has already started?

UNKNOWN: Of course.

MARQUARDT: We're taken to the farthest point forward where sandbags and tires are piled high. Then --

So, there was just a burst of what sounded like automatic gunfire. We are just 70 meters. We are told from the fighters on the other side of the front line.

We are rushed away, our escorts keen for us to see what happened but not too closely.

[03:09:57]

Hearing this gunfire and being so close to this front line, you can't help but think that even if diplomacy succeeds in preventing Russia from invading Ukraine, yet again, this fighting, which has been raging since the last time Russia invaded Ukraine will almost certainly continue. NATO leaders say that ending the fighting already happening here is a

critical part of preventing further Russian aggression. With NATO so far refusing to send troops to Ukraine to fight, Ukraine insist it needs more help.

OLEKSANDR TKACHENKO, UKRAINIAN MINISTER OF CULTURE AND INFORMATION: But the important issue what they need is additional weapons assistance from the West., from our Western allies. Financial assistance. That's what we need to make sure that we will defend not only peace in this country but peace in Europe.

MARQUARDT: As if to punctuate their point, more gunfire brings up.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, in Eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): CNN's Melissa Bell is live this hour in Kyiv, she joins us now. So Melissa, what's been the reaction in Ukraine to these joint military drills?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Zelensky has spoken to the drills that are taking place. The second phase of them begins across the border with Belarus today for the next 10 days, calling them psychological pressure. Now, what we're talking about today is the beginning of those -- of those exercises in Belarus, but there's also the exercises that are taking place in the Black Sea to the south.

We know that six Russian war ships have been moved there for their own naval exercises over the course of the next couple of weeks. So, psychological warfare says President Zelensky, and yet here in Ukraine, we are ready. That's very much been the message of Ukrainians. Not only in the military exercises that we went to witness just 10 kilometers south of the Belarus border at Chernobyl last week. But also, the ones that we are likely to see over the coming days and weeks.

We know that Ukrainian forces will be holding more military drills this time, showing off some of the military hardware that they've been receiving from western allies over the course of the last few weeks.

Now those at the heart of what Moscow is now demanding from Ukraine. We heard from Russia's foreign ministry yesterday saying, that if Ukraine wanted to see any de-escalation, it would have to send back those weapons shipments and send home any of the advisers or military trainers that might have arrived in Ukraine since. Something that is clearly not going to happen from the point of view of Ukraine's leadership.

So, ratcheting up of the demands and the tension and the military exercises all around Ukraine's borders, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And Melissa, how will the weather play a major role in any possible war here? BELL: Well, even as the world waits to figure out what's on Vladimir

Putin's mind, and even as those combat forces removed within Ukraine's border, post to Ukraine's borders, and according to western sources, it is half of all Russian combat troops that have moved -- been moved there, the question is, will they be ordered to invade? Will they be ordered to cross the border?

One factor in any decision the Russian president might make is a simple, as what the weather is likely to hold in these coming weeks, Rosemary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BELL (voice over): Across much of Ukraine, it's been a mild winter. Still, plenty of snow but much of it turning to slush. The Sea of Azov less icy than normal for the beginning of February. According to the latest data, temperatures are running between one and three degrees Celsius higher than the 30-year average. And that just might make a difference to any Russian military offensive.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're trying to move in and occupy the whole country, particularly from the north of Belarus. It's a -- he's going to have to wait a little bit because the ground is frozen.

BELL: The view in Washington is that a Russian offensive needs frozen ground given Ukraine's landscape.

MARK MILLEY, CHAIRMAN, U.S. JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Prominent terrain includes flat, open plains. And there is an abundance of rivers and lakes and there's a high-water table. And when that high water table freezes, it makes it for optimal condition for cross-country truck and wheel-vehicle maneuver.

BELL: It's not so much that modern tanks get bogged down in wet conditions, but the support they need can do.

J.D. WILLIAMS, SENIOR DEFENSE RESEARCHER, RAND CORPORATION: More importantly, than the truck vehicles themselves is what they need to sustain themselves, which is fuel and ammunition, which are very heavy and are generally carried by wheeled vehicles that need good roads.

BELL: Even the Russians admit that in some areas wet conditions can be a factor.

VLADIMIR CHIZHOV, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE E.U.: If you studied geography of the area, actually the southern part of Belarus close to the Ukrainian border it's a very swampy area which is hardly fitting for certain active engagement of tanks and other heavy weaponry.

[03:15:03]

BELL: It's not just the conditions on the ground, it's the skies as well. Clear skies are important for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering and for landing of soul troops. WILLIAMS: Cloudy weather, rain, snow, all of that would inhibit the

reconnaissance measures that you would use to find the targets. And if you can't find the targets precisely, then the effect that your fires are going to have, are going to be diminished.

BELL: But in the initial phase of any conflict, some experts say that Russia would likely opt for weapons that can operate in any weather. Long-range artillery, ballistic missiles, they would seek to take out Ukrainian command and control not frontline forces.

Satellite imagery indicates that such weapons have been brought forward to positions near the Ukrainian border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL (on camera): What analysts agree on, Rosemary, is that if Vladimir Putin wanted to invade or carry out an invasion on the part of the Ukrainian territory, the ideal time would be any time from now until the end of March, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Fascinating, isn't it? Melissa Bell joining us live from Kyiv, many thanks.

Well, the protesting truckers in Canada say they aren't going anywhere. Coming up, Canada struggle to end the anti-vaccine demonstrations amid warnings of the growing economic impact.

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CHURCH (on camera): Authorities in Canada are struggling to find ways to end the protests over COVID vaccine mandates. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the growing disruptions with parliaments on Wednesday. He warned about supply chain issues the protests are creating. The issue has deepened the split between the ruling liberals and opposition conservatives.

Conservatives who support the protesters accused Mr. Trudeau of wanting to keep Canada in a state of permanent pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDICE BERGEN, CANADIAN CONSERVATIVE LEADER: It's time to shift out of the restrictions and back to normal life. So, why is the prime minister is so off-site not only with the science, but it would seem like with a growing number of his own M.P.s.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Canada's protest has sparked similar demonstrations around the world. Police in New Zealand arrested at least 120 demonstrators outside parliament Thursday.

Stephanie Carvin is an associate professor of international affairs at Carleton University, and she joins me now from Toronto.

Good to have you with us. STEPHANIE CARVIN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS,

CARLETON UNIVERSITY: Thanks for having me on.

CHURCH: So, despite the small number of trucker protesters, they are receiving support from conservative and other right-wing figures in Canada and the United States. So, who exactly is behind these protests at Canada's border, and why do authorities there appear reluctant to bring this two-week blockade to an end?

[03:20:03]

CARVIN: Lots of good questions there. In the first instance, the actual organizers of the -- of this protest are actually some pretty hard-core far-right individuals in Canada. Maybe the, you know, the world doesn't think of Canada having this far-right movement, but we do.

And these are individuals who have expressed anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, and really conspiratorial world views. And they've tried numerous times to actually organize convoys. It's really only been with, I think the frustration of the pandemic, that these individuals were able to kind of, catch a more populist fire within Canada.

Unlike other countries we're coming out of a fourth very strict lockdown in most provinces, and Canadians are tired. Some of them feel that this is the best way to express their frustration to the government.

CHURCH: So why can't authorities end it?

CARVIN: Right, that's a great question, and I wish I had a better answer to you. The answer, I think, is several factors. The first is that, you know, in Canada we are dealing with three layers of government, municipal, provincial, and federal. And I think none of them really want to take responsibility for it, if I'm quite honest with you.

They're you know, it's probably going to be quite messy, and I think there's some nervousness about the potential for violence. The second thing is, is just police forces appear to be outnumbered, and they don't seem to want to take action, which is, you know, a little disturbing.

But also, thirdly, you know, in some provinces there coming up to elections, politicians, I think are worried about what might happen if this goes badly. But you know, even just taking, you know, nonviolent steps like parking tickets and noise violations, there's been reluctance to issue that.

So, I think Canadians generally, and maybe the international community as well is looking at this and we're just scratching our heads and wondering why we really haven't had a more fast solution. Because in failing to act, quite frankly, I think this movement has spread within Canada, and also now might be spreading internationally.

CHURCH: Yes, and we want to talk about that, because the longer they stay, the more they do inspire others across the globe. We know that there have been similar demonstrations in New Zealand and across Europe. Tapping into the anti-vaccine sentiment, pandemic fatigue, and also inciting civil disobedience.

And now the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says trucker convoys like these could soon disrupt the Super Bowl in the United States. And of course, the state of the union, and other big events. How bad do you think this could get, and how do you stop this?

CARVIN: Well, honestly, I never expected it to get really to this point. I mean, I was well aware of who is organizing this event. But if you had told me this would spark off a world-wide rebellion of angry people with industrial machinery, I would not have believed that three weeks ago.

I mean, really, this whole thing started January 14th when we saw a Go funding campaign, it's a crowd funding site, you know, be established to effectively sponsor this. And you know, far-right groups in Canada picked it up, but it caught wind in social media and in U.S. circles as well.

And I think that's what's really, you know, for lack of a better word, interesting here. Is that, you know, in the United States they saw this campaign and they -- we believe, although we can't be certain because the campaign donations are anonymous, that a lot of this money, over 10 million Canadian dollars, so about $8 million U.S. dollars is effectively coming from the United States. They raised more money in two weeks than all the Canadian political parties did in the fourth quarter.

CHURCH: And of course, we are also seeing false information surrounding these protests, misleading photos, false tweets spreading online about the so-called freedom convoy. With some pictures falsely captioned, and one glaring example is a picture of millions of people at an anti-communist rally in Moscow back in 1991, but claiming to be a recent aerial shot of crowds in Ottawa.

And even Tesla boss Elon Musk posted an aerial shot of a Canadian convoy of trucks from 2018, implying it was linked to these current protests. So, how do people avoid being fooled by this misinformation? How did we get to this point?

CARVIN: I mean, I think there's something over like 150,000 trucks in Canada, there is really just a few hundred taking part in this protest. Many of the people who organized this, virtually none of them are actually truckers.

But I think this is one of the things that is really kind of scared Canadians because we have been warned for a number of years by our various intelligence and national security agencies, that this is exactly the kind of issue that foreign states would try to pick up in order to kind of sow division, in like the same way we have seen perhaps in the U.K., in France, and the United States.

[03:24:58] So, in doing so, I think it's really important to recognize that there is the potential, here for clandestine foreign interference to be taking place that we just may simply not yet know about or recognize, we have no hard proof of that.

But yes, I mean, it's not surprising to me that the convoy itself is spreading disinformation, it's been spreading disinformation about the pandemic really since the spring of 2020. But could there be other international actors that have an interest in doing so? It's likely, even if we don't have hard proof yet.

CHURCH: Yes, it has certainly energized a lot of bad actors, hasn't it? Stephanie Carvin, many thanks for joining us. I appreciate it.

CARVIN: Thank you so much for having me on.

CHURCH: And increasing number of European countries are now looking to drop their COVID restrictions amid drops in new cases. France's top vaccine expert says if current COVID trends continue, the country may be able to scrap its controversial vaccine pass by late March.

In the Czech Republic, the prime minister says all restrictions there could fall by march. That's the case in Poland, too. Meantime in Italy, health care workers this week began rolling out Pfizer's COVID pill to those at high risk of serious illness.

Well, a new quote twist in Britain's so-called party gate scandal. London's Metropolitan Police say they will be questioning dozens of people suspected of attending parties at Downing Street while the rest of the country was under strict lockdown.

Now this comes the same day the British prime minister announced plans to end all remaining COVID restrictions a month early.

CNN's Bianca Nobilo picks up the story.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Boris Johnson will be hoping that by indicating a return to pre-COVID normality, he might stave off more letters of no confidence in him being sent, and perhaps give his conservative party a boost in the polls.

Speaking in the House of Commons Wednesday, Johnson said that the government intends to end the remaining COVID restrictions a full month earlier than intended. So, at the end of February, instead of the 24th of March. That will include the requirement to isolate if you test positive for COVID-19. Replacing it instead with guidance, urging people to stay at home if they test positive.

Meanwhile, party gate rumbles on. A photo published by the Daily Mirror shows the prime minister, two members of his staff (Inaudible) and alcohol on the 15th of December 2020. Number 10 has said this was a virtual quiz.

When the photo was taken, London was under tier two restrictions which banned social mixing between households indoors. The Met has said that they will look again at that event. And this comes as the Met has also announced that they will be interviewing over 50 people suspected to have attended the alleged parties in Downing Street (Inaudible) as part of its investigation.

Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.

CHURCH: Time for a short break. Just ahead, Russian troops are staging wargames in Belarus, it's worrying Ukraine, but also strengthening ties between Vladimir Putin and one of his closest allies. Back with that in just a moment.

[03:30:00]

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CHURCH (on camera): Russia and Belarus are beginning 10 days of joint military drills near Ukraine's northern border finally putting into practice weeks of planning. Russia's top general is in Belarus for the exercises, which NATO estimates will include 30,000 troops.

The Kremlin admits the drills are scaled up this year, but blames on president the threats from NATO. Russia's Deputy foreign minister says the West has ramped up pressure on Moscow by sending military aid to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, a U.S. official says Russia has added another 2,000 combat troops to border areas near Ukraine.

I'm joined now by David Marples, a professor of Russian in Eastern European History at the University of Alberta. He joins me now from Edmonton, Canada. Thank you so much for being with us.

DAVID MARPLES, PROFESSOR, RUSSIAN IN EASTERN EUROPEAN HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA (on camera): My pleasure.

CHURCH: So while Ukrainian forces prepare for battle in the event of war, so to the Russian troops, in conjunction with Belarus, where joint military exercises begin today. What sort of training will they be doing and what's their strategy here?

MARPLES: Well, it's a different sort of exercise. Russia and Belarus have had military exercises for some time now, known as the West or (inaudible) exercises. Which are sort of (inaudible), some kind of NATO threat. But this is something rather impromptu. It's not something that was planned well in advance, and it will take place in a number of regions throughout Belarus.

And involve about 30,000 -- 35,000 troops from both Russia and Belarus. But most of the troops are from the Russian eastern front. That is they are being transferred over from the eastern region of Russia. And they will be in different parts of Belarus.

And, there's already some speculation that they're not in places where they were scheduled to be, according to the Belarusian ministry of Defense. That is, he allocated certain places, but in fact, many of those troops seem to be very close to the Ukrainian border. In places where there's not actually a known military training ground. So there's some kind of doubt about exactly what these troops are going to do.

CHURCH: And I did want to ask you what the nature of the relationship between Russia's President Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Lukashenko is, will Lukashenko be doing Putin's bidding when it comes to another invasion of Ukraine. Because, that's certainly not what he did back in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea.

MARPLES: Right. Things have changed for Lukashenko since then. In August 2020, he took part in a presidential election, and by all accounts, he probably lost that election. And there are mass revolts in Belarus. None of the European states, or North American states recognize the election. And since then, he's been heavily reliant on Vladimir Putin as his one supporter, the one person who stood by him.

So despite a fairly difficult relationship in the past, a lot of irritants between them. Today, Lukashenko is very much beholden for Putin. And Putin can more or less telling what to do now and has done for the past few weeks. The tone of the conversations is also markedly changed. And I've watched him talk together quite a lot over the years. It's always been on an equal basis, but now quite clearly, Putin is leading the way and Lukashenko is very conciliatory and clearly (inaudible) a partner of Putin.

And he has said that he, since then, he has recognized Crimea as a Russian state. And he's also prepared to invade Ukraine if necessary. Belarusian forces in other words would be allowed to go over the border if they were ordered to do so by Russia.

CHURCH: Yeah. That's quite a change in tone, isn't it? And of course, meantime, the White House approved a Pentagon plan for 2,000 U.S. troops to help Americans evacuate from Ukraine if Russia invades. And Russian warships are heading to the Black Sea, while another 2,000 Russian combat forces are heading to Ukraine's borders.

So, we are seeing this clear escalation on all sides, while these diplomatic efforts are going to overdrive. Do you have any sense that an invasion can be averted at this juncture, or has this just move too far forward?

[03:35:07]

MARPLES: I think is gone much further forward than the earlier one, where there were a larger number of troops on the border. And that this time, they have the weapons there, and they kept these troops in a state of readiness now for a long, long time. They've been there well over a month in these positions.

But at the same time, when you think about 130,000 troops, when Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia back in 1968, there were 500,000 troops. And Ukraine is much bigger than Czechoslovakia. In other words, there are not enough troops there right now to occupy all of Ukraine. There could be enough for some limited campaign, either in the east, or perhaps a direct attack on the Ukrainian capital. Whatever what that would prove.

So I don't think a full scale invasion right now is on the cards, he would need a much more extensive buildup. So I think this is all a matter of a chess game. Putin trying to decide how he can irritate Ukraine, how he can undermine the Ukrainian state, and how he can eventually remove the government of Ukraine, and put a government in there that is a little more compliant.

CHURCH: The Kremlin says, Russia and Belarus are facing unprecedented threats from NATO, and they want concessions. Should any concessions be given during this very delicate diplomatic dance, do you think?

MARPLES: Well, it is delicate, but at the same time when you think that the last NATO expansion into the borders of Russia took place in 2004, it was 18 years ago, why now? There's no threat to NATO, from NATO to Russia, right now.

And in fact, the states that have joined NATO didn't do so out of aggressive intentions toward Russia, they joined them because they were afraid of Russian intentions toward them. So I don't think the expansion of NATO, whether in fact it's a legal expansion, and whether in act it goes against what was promised to Russia back in 1990, or 1991.

The fact is, it's now in place. And it is in threatening Russia, there hasn't been a single attack on Russian territory. And I don't think he can seriously say that Ukraine is threatening to occupy all of Donbass, let alone move over the border into Russia. This is simply farfetched.

CHURCH: David Marples, thank you so much for talking with us, I appreciate it.

MARPLES: Yeah. You're very welcome.

CHURCH: Iran has unveiled a new long-range missile as negotiators try to salvage a flagging nuclear deal. The nation released this dramatic video displaying the missile, and state media says it has a target range of more than 1,400 kilometers.

Meantime, the nuclear deal talks resumed in Vienna on Tuesday. Sources say the Biden administration believes it has until the end of the month to get it back on track. That's because the U.S. believes Iran maybe just weeks away from having enough weapons grade material to fuel a nuclear weapon.

Coming up, a New York couple is charged in an alleged scheme involving billions of dollars' worth of stolen cryptocurrency. We'll explain, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

CHURCH: You are looking at a waterspout off the coast of Cuba as it made its way toward land on Wednesday. It hit the land of Guanabo with its tornado strength winds ripping up trees and power lines. Residents say it's one of the strongest they've seen, one even saying, they were shaking with fear after the storm had passed. Cleanup from the waterspout is now underway.

In Madagascar, the death toll from a powerful cyclone has risen to at least 92. Cyclone Batsirai swept through the island nation last weekend. Thousands of homes were either flooded or destroyed. And tens of thousands of people have been displaced according to officials. The cyclone is the second storm to hit Madagascar in less than a month.

And we are learning more about a New York couple accused of trying to launder billions of dollars of cryptocurrency stolen in a huge hack of a virtual currency exchange in 2016.

CNN Zain Asher has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They're being called the crypto Bonnie and Clyde, 34-year-old Ilya Lichtenstein and his 31- year-old wife Heather Morgan have been arrested on charges of conspiring to laundering $4.5 billion in stolen cryptocurrency.

The New York couple were arrested following a six year investigation into the hack of a virtual currency exchange. They have not been charged with a hack, and their attorney could not be reached immediately for comment. So far, officials have seized $3.6 billion of those funds.

LISA MONACO, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: This is the largest seizure of cryptocurrency ever, by U.S. law enforcement. It is also the department's largest single financial seizure in its history.

ASHER: A major win for law enforcement amid a growing number of heist from cryptocurrency platforms. Hackers have stolen hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years. This alleged schemes stems from the hack of the digital exchange Bitcoinex, which trades bitcoin.

The couple had an interesting online presence, Heather Morgan posted rap videos online under the name Razzlekhan and called herself the Crocodile of Wall Street. She was also a contributor for Forbes and INC. Magazines. In a 2020 Forbes article, she wrote about protecting your business from cybercriminals. The two have been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. They face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

MONACO: The message to criminals is clear. Cryptocurrency is not a safe haven. We can, and we will, follow the money no matter what form it takes.

ASHER: Zain Asher, CNN, New York.

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CHURCH: U.S. President Joe Biden cleared his schedule for an important meeting on Wednesday, not for diplomats or heads of state, but for popstar Billie Eilish. The president posted a photo of himself with Eilish and her brother to social media, where the White House spokesperson saying, the Bidens are a longtime fans of their music. Eilish was a supporter of Biden's presidential campaign, and was in Washington as part of her world tour.

I'm Rosemary Church, thank so much for your company. Enjoy the rest of your day. "WorldSport" with Don Riddell is coming up next.

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