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Putin Says, We See NATO At Our Door, But We Don't Want War; Djokovic Says, Willing to Skip French Open, Wimbledon Over Vaccine Stance; Woman Followed, Stabbed to Death in New York City Apartment. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired February 15, 2022 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:30:00]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN NEWSROOM: This morning, following his news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country does not want war but he also sees NATO at his country's door. Putin also confirming Russia is pulling back some troops from around Ukraine.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: How true is all of that? A short time ago, I asked the Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, whether NATO has seen evidence of that pullback, she said no. And at the same time, the U.S. has observed Russian units moving into combat positions the last 24 hours. The U.S. remains on alert for a possible Russian false flag event.

Joining us now to discuss how we should read all this is Steven Pifer, he's the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and William Perry Fellow at Stanford University. Ambassador, good to have you back today.

So, you have skepticism, not only from the Ukrainian foreign minister but the NATO secretary general as well as the Estonian prime minister that Russia has actually done something here. I imagine they're watching very closely right now but what would you need to see to believe that this is a genuine pullback by the Russian president as opposed to a temporary one like we've seen him do before?

STEVEN PIFER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Right. Well, the big question is, do you actually see significant amounts of Russian troops begin to move away from Ukraine? As I understand it, what the Russians are talking about now is withdrawing some forces in Crimea back to their home bases in Russia, in Rostov, that doesn't move them very far. A bigger indication would be if the Russian that have been deployed to Belarus, those troops have come from the Russian Far East (INAUDIBLE). They traveled 4,000 miles. If those begin to come back to home garrisons, I think that would be a better indication. But, certainly, lots of eyes are going to be wanting to see if Russian forces begin to move away.

GOLODRYGA: So short of a war and a major invasion, just play this out longer game for us, because we know Putin is beholden to no one at home and we have seen him withdraw troops in the past. Just look at last spring. What should the U.S. administration and NATO as a whole do if things do cool down a bit, but Ukraine is still threatened, still surrounded with enough troops to really sort of be in a frozen limbo of sorts?

PIFER: Yes. Well, I think NATO has done a good job and I give the Biden administration some credit for this in terms of having a unified stance towards Russia on this question. And so I think that needs to continue.

As the crisis appears, though, it's going to be important for NATO to keep the pressure on Russia and to basically indicate that if the Russians maintain this kind of threat, there will be some consequences. Those consequences could be things like continued deployment of a bolstered NATO presence in the eastern flank but also continued flow of defensive supplies and arms to Ukraine so the Ukrainian military is in a better position to defend itself.

SCIUTTO: The Russian president used quite a strong word in his press conference in Moscow today, accusing Ukraine of, in his words, genocide in Eastern Ukraine and areas populated by Russian speakers. We've also noted that the Russian Duma today talking about recognizing some of those eastern areas as independent from the state of Ukraine, though they are within Ukraine's sovereign borders here.

Do you see in those rhetorical points there and the movements in the Duma an effort perhaps by Putin for something short of a full invasion but an attempt to slice off another piece of Ukraine instead, as it did with Crimea before?

PIFER: Well, first, on the term of genocide, Mr. Putin has used that term before with regards to what's done in Donbas. It's a perversion of the word. Russia instigated and has supported the conflict there in Donbas, which has now lasted eight years and claimed 14,000 lives, but that's result of Russian actions and it's certainly not genocide.

The moves in the Russian Duma, their parliament, are a bit concerning, and that's designed to put some political pressure on Ukraine basically saying, well, maybe we'll recognize the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics as independent states, much as the Russians did back in 2008 with regards to (INAUDIBLE) in Georgia. That's designed to put pressure on Ukraine but it also would signify a big Russian break from the Minsk process, which has been the effort to try to broker a solution to the conflict in Donbas.

GOLODRYGA: Perhaps with another gun to Ukraine's head, forcing them to comply with Minsk too that heavily favors Russia, we might add.

If we could go back to the U.S. position here, I'm just curious as we've been talking about these new table top exercises that this administration has been holding really novel approaches in handling this crisis. Do you see this evolving as the dominant issue that this administration and President Biden will be facing internationally during his presidency? He had been wanting to turn to China.

[10:35:00]

The longer this goes on, the longer he's going to have to wait to deal with China, no?

PIFER: Yes. No, I think certainly back in the fall, the preference in the white house would be to focus on china and that Russia would stay quiet. Russia didn't stay quiet. But, again, I would give the administration good marks for how they've handled that crisis and to the extent that they built and maintained NATO unity, and that actually is not a bad message to send to China about the capability of this administration to mobilize allies and to focus.

SCIUTTO: Ambassador Pifer, I wonder if I could ask you before we go, because last night, I went to the U.S. embassy here in Kyiv, which has now closed. Diplomats, a few remaining in the country, have been moved west to Lviv. You served here. How shocking -- I don't know if shocking is the right word -- but certainly unusual damaging a blow is that? Do you think it was the right move?

PIFER: I kind of wish that we had stayed there but I don't have access to the intelligence. And I think the decision by Washington to relocate to Kyiv -- I'm sorry, from Kyiv to Lviv in Western Ukraine, that was a reflection of the assessment by the U.S. government as of yesterday that there was a significant risk, a real possibility, if not, a probability of a Russian strike. And they wanted to minimize the risk to Americans.

Hopefully, if Russian military forces do, in fact, begin withdrawing, the diplomats can return to Kyiv as soon as possible.

GOLODRYGA: Ambassador Steven Pifer, thank you, as always. We appreciate it.

PIFER: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Well, another significant story we're following, one that Vladimir Putin does not want us to follow but we'll continue to out of Russia is opposition leader Alexei Navalny appearing in court today from inside his prison for a trial on new charges that could extend his sentence by at least a decade. The Kremlin claims Navalny stole millions in organizations given to his political organizations. Human rights groups are slamming the trial as a sham.

Navalny, an open and a vocal Putin critic, is serving a two-and-a- half-year sentence already after the Kremlin claimed that he violated his parole while he was hospitalized in Germany. He was there recovering from poisoning of a nerve agent in an attack he blames on Russian security services and Vladimir Putin. And, of course, we will continue to follow this important story. And still ahead, he's the number one men's tennis player in the world, but he's willing to risk missing the sport's biggest competition just to stay unvaccinated.

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GOLODRYGA: This morning, the 15-year-old Russian skater who tested positive for a banned substance is poised to take gold in another event. Kamila Valieva leads the field in the women's single skating short program. It was discovered that she had tested positive for a banned heart drug several weeks before the Olympics.

She now blames that failed drug test on a mix-up with her grandfather's medication. She was cleared to skate just yesterday. Valieva entered the competition a favorite to win gold. The IOC has said if Valieva medals in a competition, there will be no ceremony until her case is resolved.

And moving on to tennis, where Novak Djokovic said he is willing to skip playing in the French Open or Wimbledon over his COVID vaccine stance. In a new interview with the BBC, Djokovic says that he would rather sacrifice his world number one ranking than get the shot.

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NOVAK DJOKOVIC, UNVACCINATED TENNIS PLAYER: And I understand that not being vaccinated today, I'm unable to travel to most of the tournaments at the moment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's a price you're willing to pay?

DJOKOVIC: That is a price that I'm willing to pay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ultimately, are you prepared to forego the chance to be the greatest player to ever pick up a racket statistically because you feel so strongly about this jab?

DJOKOVIC: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Here with me now is CNN Tennis Contributor Reem Abulleil. Reem, Djokovic opting out of future tournaments, sure to send shockwaves through the tennis community. This looked like an answer that he was well prepared to give. What message does this send to sport?

REEM ABULLEIL, CNN TENNIS CONTRIBUTOR: It's very obvious that it's so clear in his mind that he believes that this is the right thing to do in his mind. Obviously, it has massive ramifications on the sport, on his legacy on the sport, on the history of the sport because he is going for an all-time record when it comes to grand slams.

The fact that he's willing to say, I'm not going to take part in tournaments because of this, first of all, it affects tennis because, ultimately, you do want your world number one on tour. Second of all, he's the only top 100 tennis player right now who is unvaccinated.

Tennis is a very difficult sport (INAUDIBLE) pandemic because they travel 11 months a year and they're in a different city every week, so there are different tribulations of policies everywhere they go. So, the safest way to keep the tour going is to be vaccinated. So, the fact the world number one is saying that he's willing to forego, going for records and taking his place as the world number one and all of that because he refuses to be vaccinated, it's a shock, I have to say.

GOLODRYGA: I mean, it's hard not to just see it as pure selfishness, even for the other players, because, clearly, some of the world's top players, like Rafael Nadal, they all want him to play because they want to play him. So that if they do win, they can say they beat the world's number one tennis player rather as opposed to there being an asterisk next to his name because he just voluntarily took himself out of the games.

[10:45:03]

I want to show this tweet from airline Ryanair, reposting a headline of Djokovic saying that he's not anti-vax, with the caption, we're not an airline but we do fly planes.

Has Djokovic lost credibility as a leader in the tennis community? I mean, you've seen so many opportunities where he could have stepped up and done something that would have made him a leader, and yet this controversy just hangs over him.

ABULLEIL: He's trying to draw a line between saying that he's not part of the anti-vax movement while still refusing to take the vaccine. It's very difficult to see it the way he's seeing it. He thinks they're two separate issues, they are not, and, hence, the tweet from Ryanair so many other tweets as well.

Does it affect his credibility? In his mind, he thinks he's sticking to his gun. He thinks he's sticking to what he believes in. He thinks he's being a good leader. But the reality is he stands out as the only player who's unvaccinated. So, yes, it does (INAUDIBLE).

GOLODRYGA: Reem Abdulleil, thank you so much, great to see you.

And still ahead, new details in Brian Laundrie's full autopsy, how this final report gives a clearer picture of the final moments of the Gabby Petito's fiance.

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[10:50:00]

GOLODRYGA: Authorities in Florida have released the final details from an autopsy on Brian Laundrie. Laundrie was the subject of a nationwide manhunt following the disappearance of his fiancee, Gabby Petito. His remains, along with some of his personal items, were found in a heavily wooded area in Sarasota County, Florida. The medical examiner described those remains as skeletal and said they showed signs of scavenging by animals.

The autopsy confirmed Laundrie died of a gunshot wound to the head. Investigators used dental records to identify him. Petito's family did not respond to the findings, but yesterday, her father tweeted out a message for Valentine's Day, promoting the Gabby Petito Foundation to Fight Domestic Violence.

And in Manhattan, a man is accused of following a woman into her Chinatown apartment and then stabbing her more than 40 times. Police say the suspect slipped in behind 35-year-old Christina Yunali after she entered her building, followed her up the stairs and then forced his way into her home. Neighbors then called 911 when they heard her screams.

CNN's Athena Jones is here with me. Athena, you've been following this story all morning. And as frightening as it is to hear, we now see some video evidence too.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And the video evidence, the surveillance video, they cameras on every floor of that building, it is terrifying really for anyone who lives in an apartment or anyone who has a child who lives in an apartment building in a big city like New York.

You can see from the video, police it showing 35-year-old Christina Yunali entering her apartment. The suspect who has been identified as 25-year-old Asamad Gnash entering the building, the outer door before it closes, and then following Li up the stairs. You'll be able to see it in the lower right-hand corner, him following her up the stairs. There you see them entering. He followed her up six flights of stairs, police say, according to the criminal complaint, while maintaining a distance of about a flight. So, he was carefully following behind her and then ran up when she reached her door and pushed his way in.

And now police called 911 when they heard -- sorry, neighbors called 911 when they heard screaming. When police arrived, they couldn't get in. They heard her screaming. They also heard a man's voice saying calm down, I have a gun. And then they heard, they say, the suspect imitating a woman's voice and saying we don't need police.

It took them an hour-and-a-half to get inside the apartment. The man had barricaded himself inside after trying to escape through the fire escape. They finally got him with the help of the Emergency Services Unit. That is when they found participant, he had apartment. Finally got help with the emergency services unit when they found Li naked from the waist up in her bathroom having been stabbed more than 40 times.

Now, this is important because this is coming at a time, this happened in Chinatown, the victim was Asian. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office will be investigating whether race was a factor in this crime. But, of course, it's raised a lot of concerns in that community because there's been a rise in crime against Asians both in New York and in other cities.

You'll remember that just last month, the woman pushed in front of the subway car in Times Square who died, she was also Asian. Neither of these have been labeled hate crimes but, still, it raises a lot of concerns. And it also raises concerns at a time when violent crime here in New York City is on the rise and a lot of folks are talking now about bail reform once again.

We've seen even New York Mayor Eric Adams focusing on the issues of bail reform. There were reforms to the bail system to avoid as many people being held in pre-trial detention for many crimes. This suspect, Nash, was arrested at least three times in the last six months, including for vandalizing a subway card machines but also for punching someone.

GOLODRYGA: So, he had a history of violence there?

JONES: He had a history of violence and now he has is facing charges of murder in the first-degree, burglary in the first-degree and burglary in the first-degree, sexually motivated. So, a really, really chilling crime here that -- my dad lives in a small town in Louisiana. He always say, watch your back. This is what he's talking about.

GOLODRYGA: Listen, this is advice for anybody, any woman especially coming home late at night all by themselves to look out for who's following them, behind them.

[10:55:08]

We have heard from the mayor, right? He spoke out and addressed this. What did he say?

JONES: He did. He said, I and New Yorkers across the city mourn for the innocent woman murdered in her home last night, this is on Sunday he put this out, in Chinatown, and stand with our Asian brothers and sisters today. The mission of this administration is clear. We won't let this violence go unchecked.

Athena Jones, thank you so much.

And thank you all for joining us today. I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York.

SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto in Kyiv. We're going to continue to bring you the latest from here inside Ukraine this week.

Right now, At This Hour with Kate Bolduan starts after a quick break.

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