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No Breakthrough In Flurry Of High-Stakes Talks About Russia; More Nations Urging Citizens To Leave Ukraine; Trucker Convoy Rolls Into Paris; Russia's Kamila Valieva Doping Hearing Scheduled For Today; Super Bowl LVI; L.A. Expecting Record Heat; Flower Prices Surge Amid Supply Chain Woes. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired February 13, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

While Presidents Biden and Putin held a critical phone call aimed at preventing a global crisis, more countries urged their citizens to leave and Ukrainian officials urged calm. We're live from the Russia- Ukraine border.

Plus, the latest twists on the Russian skater doping scandal at the Winter Olympics. We'll have a live report from Beijing.

And let the countdown begin. We're hours away from Super Bowl LVI as the Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals. We'll have a preview of the big game coming up.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine are so high right now that countries around the world are advising their citizens to get out while they can. The U.S. is one of the number of nations drawing down its embassy staff in Kyiv.

The Ukranian government says that's an overreaction but the U.K. has also withdrawn staff at its embarrass and is telling its citizens to leave. We received these images a short time ago, Britain pulling out its observers with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The U.S. is doing the same.

Now in much of Ukraine, there's no sense of imminent danger. Large crowds again marched through the capital on Saturday to show their defiance of the Russian threat. But both Washington and Moscow agree: Saturday's call between their two leaders didn't yield any progress in ending the dangerous standoff. CNN correspondents are covering this story from across the globe.

Arlette Saenz is at the White House. Sam Kiley is live from Ukraine and Nic Robertson is in Moscow. We begin our coverage in Washington and President Biden's latest attempt to dissuade his Russian counterpart from further aggression. Here's Arlette Saenz.

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The White House says there was no major breakthrough in that one-hour call between President Biden and Russian president Vladimir Putin.

A senior administration official warned that there is still a distinct possibility Russia moves forward with an invasion of Ukraine. The president spoke with Putin while spending the weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David.

And the White House, in a statement, reading out the call, said that the president warned of severe and swift cost that Russia would face if it moves forward with an invasion of Ukraine.

The White House also said President Biden reiterated that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia's standing. President Biden was clear with President Putin that, while the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy, in full coordination with our allies and partners, we are equally prepared for other scenarios.

The U.S. has crafted sanctions with its allies to implement should Putin move forward with an invasion of Ukraine. And the U.S. has also reiterated its commitment to offer defense support to Ukraine so the country would have means to defend itself in the event of an invasion.

Now the U.S., at this moment, says that they do not believe President Putin has made that final decision to invade Ukraine. But they also note that what they are seeing on the ground and in the area does not tend to show de-escalation, which is what the U.S. is seeking in this moment.

Now the U.S., over the course of the weekend, has drawn down its embassy presence, evacuating most nonemergency personnel from the embassy in Kyiv, and they are also warning Americans to depart the country immediately, saying it is past time for Americans to get out of Ukraine.

The U.S. is warning that they will not be conducting an American military mission to evacuate American citizens if an invasion occurs. Now going forward, President Biden and his team plan to remain in contact with Russia in the coming days, as the threat of an invasion looms.

But officials are warning that they also believe, while they are conducting, while they're trying to stay in contact with Russia, it is still very possible that Putin moves forward with an attack -- Arlette Saenz, CNN, the White House.

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BRUNHUBER: And CNN's Sam Kiley joins us now from Ukraine. He's in the city of Kharkiv near the Russian border.

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BRUNHUBER: So what's been the reaction to the flurry of diplomacy that doesn't seem to have led anywhere?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think the simple answer to that, Kim, is that the authorities, if not the population here -- and I think that probably includes the population, too -- are clinging, clinging to the idea, the hope, that there could be a diplomatic solution.

There is more than a Russian division --

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KILEY: -- imagery just 40 or 50 miles away from here, across north into the border, into Russia, this city of 1.5 million people, 75 percent of whom are Russian speakers, is very anxious about being invaded by Russia.

But at the --

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KILEY: -- with the messaging coming from their own president, who's saying panic plays into the hands of the enemy. This is what he said on a visit to the front line in the south yesterday.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We have a lot of information because we are on these borders. It's our borders. It's our territory, you know.

I have to speak with our people like, you know, like president and say people truth and the truth that we have different information. And now the best friend for enemies, that is panic in our country. And all this information, that helps only for panic, doesn't help us.

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KILEY: Now what also doesn't help the Ukrainians is the withdrawal of 160 U.S. and 100 British military trainers, who have been teaching the Ukrainian armed forces to operate, as a NATO level of sophistication.

But more recently, to use those shoulder-launched anti-armor Javelin and NLAW missiles that the U.S. and U.K. have recently supplied into Ukraine, not a great deal to stand against the might of the Russian army, though, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much, Sam Kiley in northeastern Ukraine. Appreciate it. Not all Ukrainian political leaders are on board with Zelensky's

message that you heard there. One parliament member joins us in about half an hour to explain why she feels a growing sense of panic in the face of Russia's pressure.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Well, you're looking at scenes from early Saturday morning in Windsor, Canada, as police began to clear a blockade at the Ambassador Bridge on the U.S.-Canadian border.

What began as a handful of truckers protesting vaccine mandates has become a broader movement of Canadians, unhappy with current restrictions. Several border blockades across Canada have taken a toll on the economies of both countries.

Meanwhile, many American right-wing politicians are weighing in, throwing their support behind the protesters.

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SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): I'm all for it. Civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is a time honored tradition in our country from slavery to civil rights to you name it. Peaceful protests. Clog things up. Make people think about the mandates. I hope the truckers do come to America. I hope they clog up cities.

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BRUNHUBER: Prime minister Justin Trudeau and other officials are discussing additional measures to break up the protests. CNN's Lucy Kafanov is at the border crossing in Canada and filed this report.

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LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're here in Windsor, Ontario. You can see the Ambassador Bridge behind me, that critical, vital link between the U.S. and Canada. The bridge remains closed.

But the crowd is significantly thinner since the early hours on Saturday. That's when we saw a heavier police presence. They sort of pushed back the protest line a little bit, a lot of protesters leaving on their own. There's a lot fewer trucks and cars blocking that area.

In terms of the crowd, it's been a lot of families, a lot of people milling about. You hear the occasional honks, like you're hearing right now, shouts of "Freedom." There's been young kids and families, some religious minority groups, walking back and forth with protest signs.

A lot of frustration toward the vaccine mandates but also toward the government of Canada. So a lot of different people joining these protests. But again, the steam, at least here in Windsor, seeming to thin out.

That's in part due to the harsher restrictions that have been imposed, things like up to $100,000 fines, penalties for protesters, a potential year in prison. That may have had an impact in getting some folks to go home. But for now, the stalemate remains -- Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Windsor, Canada.

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BRUNHUBER: And those protests are inspiring similar action in France. The so-called freedom convoy descended on Paris Saturday and blocked traffic at various locations around the city. CNN's Jim Bittermann has more.

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JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: France's so-called freedom convoy managed to make it into the center of Paris, Saturday afternoon, despite the mobilization of 7,000 police and gendarmes and some pretty impressive armored vehicles and towing equipment.

Along the famous Avenue Champs-Elysees, where weekend traffic frequently can be a problem, it was made even worse by several hundred demonstrators, trying to block the thoroughfare by parking their vehicles in the middle of the street.

Using tow trucks and tear gas and making arrests, the police were able to gradually get control of the situation. The demonstration was modeled after those taking place in Canada.

But protesters here are not only against the vaccination mandate but also, against the high price of fuel and the increased cost of living. From Paris, some of the demonstrators will try to go on north to Brussels, the home of the European Union.

But authorities there say that they are going to control the convoy at the border -- Jim Bittermann, CNN, just outside Paris.

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BRUNHUBER: There's new scrutiny of federal U.S. COVID guidance as more states move forward with lifting mask mandates. New infections are declining across the country, as the Omicron wave subsides.

Well, that drop has led to a number of states relaxing measures toward a new normal and even retailers are making the change.

Walmart is lifting its mask mandate, effective immediately for fully vaccinated employees. The chain also said that it's ending the required daily health screenings for employees by the end of the month, except for those working in states where it's still required.

Now the evolving guidance at the local level has drawn attention to federal standards at the CDC, which has yet to change its recommendations. Plus, the World Health Organization warns that the pandemic isn't over.

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DR. SOUMYA SWAMINATHAN, CHIEF SCIENTIST, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We have seen the virus evolve, mutate and, in fact, the Omicron variant was detected here in South Africa.

The whole world came to know about it because of the scientists here. So we know that there will be more variants, more variants of concern. And so we're not at the end of the pandemic.

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BRUNHUBER: Earlier, I spoke with Dr. Abraar Karan, a physician for Stanford University's Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine. I asked if the disconnect between federal and local health officials is more about politics than good public health policy. Here he is.

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DR. ABRAAR KARAN, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND GEOGRAPHIC MEDICINE, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: I do think a lot of this is being dictated by politics at this point because, if you look at the public health response, one of the most important things is to have a unified response.

We can't have 50 separate responses, different communications, different messaging. The biggest problem to me is the incidence is still very high.

We have hundreds of thousands of new cases. And when you pull back on restrictions at a time like this, really not restrictions but protections for people, you run the risk of having another large surge.

I worked in a state health response for over eight months in Massachusetts during our first surges in 2020. When the epidemic is well controlled, I would say our test positivity rate was below 2 percent, closer to 1 percent.

In California, for instance, that number was closer to 8 percent this week. And that's just far too high. We're dealing with a more transmissible variant now. I think a lot of people are kind of discounting the potential harms that are associated with infection alone.

It's been now over a year and we're starting to get some of the results back, showing that long COVID is a problem, immunologic issues as well with, once you've gotten infected even if you've recovered. I think we need to realize this.

I'm a clinician and caring for our (ph) patients. But I've also worked on the public health side and I realize this is going to be a problem.

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BRUNHUBER: Now to some other COVID developments around the world.

Hong Kong reported over 1,500 new COVID cases on Saturday, the highest daily case load recorded to date. A top health official says he's not ruling out the possibility of placing Hong Kong into a citywide lockdown as cases surge.

Iceland's prime minister tested positive for COVID-19 after contracting the virus from a family member. She'll have to isolate for five days, according to Iceland's rules.

And in Frankfurt, Germany, Reuters reports that hundreds gathered on Saturday to protest against COVID regulations and potential mandatory vaccinations.

Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, the Beijing Olympics are halfway over and all eyes are on the doping scandal. Let's bring in Steven Jiang.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER, BEIJING BUREAU: Kim, all eyes indeed on this virtual hearing by the Court of Arbitration, taking place in about three hours. And their decision will determine the future of a Russian figure skating star and her team's Olympic gold medal.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, it's another day of intense competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics; 18-year-old American skier Eileen Gu, who is competing for China, was supposed to hit the slopes in a qualifying event today. But it's been postponed due to weather.

We're also following the latest in the doping scandal over Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. A hearing is set to be held in just a few hours to determine if the 15-year old will be allowed to continue to compete.

"WORLD SPORT's" Patrick Snell joins us here in Atlanta. But first, let's bring in CNN's Steven Jiang, live in Beijing.

So Steven, on that doping controversy, we're still sort of in a waiting pattern here. But bring us up to speed on what's been happening in the meantime on this story.

JIANG: Kim, we're learning Valieva has been named on the roster for Tuesday's figure skating event. That, of course, is the next event she is scheduled to appear.

And as we've said, that decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday will indeed determine whether or not she will go ahead to compete in that event. The International Olympic Committee still saying very little about

this case, citing this ongoing process. A complicating factor here, of course, is that positive test sample was collected on December 25th, well before the Winter Olympics. That's why it actually falls outside the jurisdiction of the IOC.

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JIANG: But that's also why the Russian Anti-Doping Agency said it decided to lift a temporary ban on Valieva, because she's been passing her doping tests before and after that date, including testing negative since she arrived here in Beijing.

And the Russian sports authorities have been throwing growing support behind her, with the country's sports minister and the head of its figure skating federation both saying that they have no doubts over her honesty.

With them also pointing to the circumstances surrounding that positive test result, saying how unusually long it took the lab in Sweden to analyze the sample.

Of course, there have been some reports saying that that was due to a wave of COVID cases in Sweden at the time. But that obviously is going to be one point being raised during this hearing. That's why a lot of people around the world are eagerly awaiting the court's decision, including many here in a very snowy Beijing -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. All right, Steven Jiang, thank you so much.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, French and U.S. leaders again try to talk Russia out of invading Ukraine.

But after investing in a massive military buildup, is the Kremlin even listening?

We'll have reaction from Moscow after the break.

Plus, we'll talk to a Ukrainian lawmaker about the growing fears of a Russian invasion and why, so far, while most Ukrainians aren't panicking. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM. The threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine has been building for

months but the U.S. and its allies fear it could happen very soon, as diplomatic efforts stall.

The U.K. foreign office says British observers with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe are being withdrawn from Ukraine for their own safety. U.S. observers have also been told to leave.

Both countries are among the dozens telling their citizens to get out of Ukraine. And the U.S. is drawing down its embassy staff. Heavily armed Russian forces surround Ukraine on three sides. The U.S. says Poland will allow Americans to cross Ukraine's western border into Poland without prior approval.

Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke with President Biden on Saturday and, separately, with French president Emmanuel Macron. The top diplomats from Russia and the U.S. also had a call. CNN's Nic Robertson explains what came out of the flurry of high-stakes diplomacy.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: From any of these three big phone calls today -- President Biden, President Putin; President Putin, President Macron; Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, with secretary of state Antony Blinken -- really hard to see any diplomatic advancement.

The readout from the phone call, the Kremlin's readout from the phone call with President Biden, was that it was coming from a position of hysteria about this, supposed, Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Russians, pushing back as well to what secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on that particular issue, saying, this is, really, sort of a propaganda position, that this is allowing the Ukrainians the opportunity to try to start a war in Ukraine, start it with the pro- Russian, Russian-backed separatists, in the east of the country.

So in all of these diplomatic phone calls, talking past each other, it seems to be the case.

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ROBERTSON: And the Kremlin, in all of these calls as well, making the point that they have not had their core issues addressed; those core issues being denying Ukraine to be able to have membership of NATO and NATO to go back to its 1997 lines and membership position.

So the Kremlin, just staying in their current position. I think one takeaway, certainly, from the phone call with President Macron and the phone call that secretary of state Antony Blinken had as well.

Both trying to get Russia to commit to a track of diplomacy. But by saying to get to that track, de-escalate the forces around Ukraine, show you are committed to moving forward with diplomacy. That is the way to go.

Really, just trying to test and see if Russia has actually an intention to try to talk this through.

Or, really, are they just building up their forces as a threat?

And then as the U.S. assesses, they say Putin hasn't made a decision but it's the U.S. assessment, increasingly looking likely of the possibility of a Russian invasion, very hard to make a determinant read.

President Putin just not conceding any ground or developing a new position at all -- Nic Robertson, CNN, Moscow.

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BRUNHUBER: Lesia Vasylenko is a member of the Ukrainian parliament and she joins me now from Paris.

Thanks so much for being here with us. I wanted to start with the strain of this ongoing threat. It's obviously something that many in your country are used to dealing with on some level. But you've written about your own sense of growing panic.

Why is that?

LESIA VASYLENKO, MEMBER, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: Well, the reason being is that, obviously, right now, we are all witnessing an escalation of Russian aggression toward Ukraine.

Russian aggression, which has started back in 2014, it will be eight years on February 22nd. We Ukrainians have learned to live with this fact in our lives and to constantly be prepared for the worst, although hoping for the best.

But at this point in time, it seems like the West, all of our allies, have also woken up to the fact that there is an aggressor in this world which is breaching all rules of international law --

BRUNHUBER: I think we may have lost our guest but --

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VASYLENKO: -- but also of --

BRUNHUBER: There we go.

Sorry, go ahead. We lost you there for a second but, hopefully, you had finished your thought there about the growing threat that people are seeing from Russia.

In terms of trying to find a solution, much of the focus has been on the high-level diplomacy between Russia and the U.S. and other Western countries like France, where you are right now. Do you feel that Ukraine is being cut out of the discussion.

Is your nation having enough say here?

VASYLENKO: I feel that Ukraine needs to be more involved in the negotiations, which are happening about and around Ukraine. It cannot be just a discussion between Putin and Biden or between Macron and Putin. It really needs to be all the time with Ukraine at the table and involved in the process.

What the world cannot afford is for this escalation to turn into Cold War II, which will then lead to World War III. And this is what is going to happen if countries continue to think in terms of spheres of influence.

And if the race for domination over international affairs continues between France, the U.S., the U.K. or whatever other nation. What is at stake here is the independence of a sovereign state. And what is at stake here is people's lives and the lives of people who chose to live in a democratic country and who choose to defend their homes, their territories, their families and the lives of their children.

BRUNHUBER: You say -- obviously don't want another world war just now. But I saw you tweeted this, for every American diplomat and citizen out of Ukraine, the USA should send in a soldier now.

I'm wondering how that would help.

Wouldn't that just escalate the conflict and increase the chances of a catastrophic military confrontation between the U.S. and Russia?

VASYLENKO: You know, appeasement for sure didn't work. And eight years of Russian soldiers being stationed in Donetsk and Lugansk and for eight years of Crimea, a Ukrainian territory being annexed by Russia.

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VASYLENKO: It's the result of that appeasement toward Putin and trying to talk to him and look into his eyes and find some kind of solution there. Whenever the aggressor or a bully is being appeased, they just go on the offensive even more.

And the world has been witnessing that for the last eight years. So the only way out is to actually stand up and to stand strong together, with all allied parties behind Ukraine and also, within Ukraine, ready to fight back Putin and sending him a strong signal, that this fight is going to happen and there's no way out of it for him.

And another thing is that a lot of people are talking about, well, a lot of people, a lot of ---

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BRUNHUBER: I think we might have actually lost her signal there. We would like to thank her very much, Ukrainian member of Parliament, Lesia Vasylenko.

All right, still ahead, today is the day for Super Bowl LVI. The L.A. Rams and Cincinnati Bengals hope to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. We'll have a preview of the big game, coming up.

And if the pressure playing on football's biggest stage isn't enough, well, players will have to battle record heat. We'll have the Super Bowl forecast when we come back. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Football's biggest day is here. The Los Angeles Rams will take on the Cincinnati Bengals, just hours from now in Super Bowl LVI. It's a matchup few people expected before the season started.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Have a look at this, colorful lights, floats and dancers parade the streets of southern France. They're loudly celebrating the return of the Nice carnival.

The carnival, canceled last year due to COVID, opened on Friday, roaring the theme, King of the Animals. With relaxation of some health restrictions in France, organizers of the event hope to seat 5,000 people and welcome 7,000 standing spectators.

Attendees are mandated to wear face masks and carry proof of vaccination, according to local news reports. The carnival is open for 15 days, closing February 27th.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: Well, Valentine's Day is tomorrow and love is in the air. But thanks to supply chain issues, the cost of celebrating could spell heartbreak for your bank account. CNN's Lynda Kinkade explains.

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The classic red rose, a symbol of romance and a staple of Valentine's Day around the world. But this year, because of COVID-19 and supply chain issues, florists are facing some thorny issues, like price increases.

According to the Society of American Florists, in some areas, the cost of Valentine's Day roses is as much as 60 percent higher than their everyday price. But that increase can vary based on location. Shipping and increased labor costs have driven up the price that florists pass on to consumers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely higher prices. Definitely, like I am double, double from last spring.

KINKADE (voice-over): Despite the high prices, people are still buying.

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KINKADE (voice-over): Sales of Valentine's Day flowers, candies and cards in the U.S. are expected to rake in nearly $24 billion this year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Just a few years ago, flower growers in the Netherlands, the world's biggest flower exporter, were destroying their stems because of a lack of demand. Many florists around the world are temporarily closing their businesses because of COVID lockdowns.

But the industry is booming once more. Weddings are back on and florists say people sent flowers as a way of keeping in touch during the pandemic. And that has not slowed down.

Flower growers in Colombia, who primarily sell to the U.S., say the biggest challenge this year is keeping up with demand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The difficulties have been huge. The main thing has been to protect the health of the workers and, on the other side, the logistical problems, the lack of aerial transport.

KINKADE (voice-over): Experts say it's best to be flexible when shopping for flowers this year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a shortage in, from what I understand, white flowers, roses and whatnot. But there are other floral products that are readily available and abundant.

KINKADE (voice-over): As Shakespeare wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." This year, consumers might have to look to other options. The price of that perfect red rose is too dear -- Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, here's another gift idea for Valentine's Day. The Idaho Potato Commission has launched a French fry-scented perfume.

That's right, if your loved one loves the smell of this salty side item, well, then, this might be the gift to get. It's made from distilled potatoes and essential oils and retails for just under $2. And that's about the price of a large order of French fries from a fast food restaurant here in the U.S.

But why?

I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Please do stay with us.