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Russia Claims Pullback, U.S. And Ukraine Skeptical; New York Times: Three Heart Substances Found In Kamila Valieva Sample; Prince Andrew Settles Case With Accuser Virginia Giuffre; Israeli Prime Minister And Bahrain's Crown Prince Vow Greater Cooperation. Aired 12- 1a ET

Aired February 16, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

[23:59:49]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm Michael Holmes live in Ukraine where Russian claims of a troop pullback are being met with skepticism.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Vause at CNN's world headquarters with details of a settlement in the sexual abuse civil lawsuit against Britain's Prince Andrew.

[00:00:20]

HOLMES: Welcome everyone, thanks for your company. We begin with Russia's claim that some of its troops are returning to their home bases after finishing up their military drills. The U.S. NATO and Ukraine all say that would be an encouraging sign, but they haven't seen evidence of a de-escalation so far.

Now in Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden warned a Russian invasion of Ukraine is still a very real possibility but struck an optimistic tone about the chance of a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Mr. Biden also warning that Russia would pay a high price and face international condemnation for invading Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Russian defense minister reported today that some military units are leaving their positions near Ukraine. That would be good but we have not yet verified that. We have not yet verified the Russian military units are returning to their home bases.

Indeed, our analysts indicate that they remain very much in a threatening position. And the fact remains right now Russia has more than 150,000 troops encircling Ukraine and Belarus and along Ukraine's border and invasion remains distinctly possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is the latest European leader to visit Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin. The Russian President calling Western deterrence measures a direct and immediate threat to security that says he's open to negotiations. Mr. Putin also claimed the human rights of Russian speakers in Eastern Ukraine are being violated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): According to our estimates, what is happening in the Donbass today is genocide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now here in Ukraine, it is a day officially of national unity, where the President is encouraging people to fly the country's flag and wear blue and yellow ribbons. Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to visit the coastal city of Mariupol to mark the occasion.

CNN's Matthew Chance has more now on Russia's claims of a troop withdrawal and the skeptical response from Ukraine and the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: To the citizens of Russia, you are not our enemy.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden with a powerful message for Russia amid fears it stands on the brink of war with Ukraine. A war that would he said is self-inflicted wound.

BIDEN: If Russia attacks Ukraine, it would be a war of choice, or a war without cause or a reason. JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENNT OF THE UNITED STATES: If Russia does invade in the days and weeks ahead, the human costs for Ukraine will be immense.

CHANCE: President Biden spoke as the crisis reaches a potential turning point with these images of what Russia says is a drawdown of some of its forces near the Ukrainian border.

Russian defense officials say these tanks and other armored vehicles have been taking part in planned tactical exercises and are now returning to their permanent basis. It's a possible Russian de- escalation has been greeted in Ukraine and elsewhere with suspicion.

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We continuously hear different statements from Russia. So, we have a rule, we believe not what we hear, but what we see. If we see the pullout, we will believe in de-escalation.

CHANCE (voice-over): But it's not just a pullout, as the Russian and German leaders met in Moscow, there are also signs from the Kremlin that Russia for the moment is looking to talk, not go to war.

PUTIN (through translator): Do we want it or not? Of course not. That is why we have offered our proposals to start the negotiation process, which should lead to an agreement of providing equal security for everybody, including our country. CHANCE: But as ever, messages from Moscow are mixed. And while some Russian forces were drawn down, major military drills, like these multiple rocket launches in Crimea was stepped up. These images released by the Russian defense ministry as President Putin spoke.

There's also this new satellite imagery suggesting a major deployment of what military analysts say are at least 60 Russian transport and attack helicopters that are previously vacant Crimean base. Amid encouraging signs that Russia is easing tensions over Ukraine, its capability to stage a devastating strike remains very much in place.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now joining me from Washington, CNN Military Analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Colonel, good to see you.

[00:05:05]

HOLMES: So, OK, first of all, what do you make of the Russians pulling back some troops and it is only some? I mean, they're not the troops who traveled across the country to get in place, they -- units whose home bases and all that far away. What do you make of it?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, Michael, I noted that as well. And it's good to see you in Lviv. I think that the the real issue here is that they're using as many of the different methods that they have to make a movement that looks like it's something but it's really not very much. Because like you said, these are units that are relatively local to this area. So, they can be used once again, to move forward to the border area that can be used for invasion purposes, if that's what Putin decides that he wants to do.

And so, it doesn't really make much difference for them to be going anywhere. That's I think what the Russians are doing, they're moving a few things here and there, but they're not really important pieces in the whole equation.

HOLMES: Yes, I'm curious, do you think Vladimir Putin would invest this much effort? I mean, 150,000 troops, all of the helicopters and tanks, and so on, and then back down?

I mean, what are the risks of him doing something simply because he can't look like he's doing nothing, or he's achieved nothing?

LEIGHTON: I think the risk is quite high that he's going to do something, the question is exactly what that something is. You know, if you see what, you know, with the 150,000 troops that are arrayed around Ukraine along the border, you know, clearly, he's demonstrating his capacity to bring forces up to that front line.

The other thing that I think he's going to do is he's going to try to do something in the Donbass region in Eastern Ukraine. That coupled with perhaps if he's going to get really dramatic, a move against Kyiv, or a move in the South around Crimea, those could be things that we should look for.

And for one other piece that I think would be quite critical here would be some kind of a land bridge between Crimea and the Eastern part of Ukraine, the occupied part and Russia, I can see that happening as well.

HOLMES: Yes, which would involve Mariupol where the Ukrainian president is going to be visiting later today.

I mean, if Putin does make a move militarily, either full invasion or smaller action, apart from the threatened sanctions, what could the U.S. do in a -- in a military sense? They're not going to go into Ukraine, but how far might they go in perhaps arming insurgents and so on, as they did for the Mujahideen fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan?

LEIGHTON: You know, that could could be very interesting. Because yes, back in the day when the Soviets were in Afghanistan, we famously did that. We went in and we supported the Mujahideen, we provided them with everything, from small arms all the way to Stinger missiles.

And that's the kind of thing that we would probably see in Ukraine as well, in essence, arming the resistance that would then cross the line probably between military and intelligence operations. But that's the kind of thing that we could expect. And what that would mean, of course, is a protracted insurgency in at least parts of Ukraine. And that could get very messy and very bloody very quickly.

HOLMES: I guess if Vladimir Putin's goal or one of his goals short of invasion is destabilizing Ukraine. I mean, economically and socially, that's a goal being achieved, isn't it?

LEIGHTON: To some extent, it is. You know, there -- it's interesting because as you've probably noticed in, you know, certain parts of Ukraine, there is a relative affluence compared to a few years ago. And other parts, there is still destitution and in some limited economic opportunities for the people there. The other thing of course, the Ukraine is dealing with is a considerable drain on its population over the past 20, 30 years.

So, Ukraine has got a, you know, very tough road to hoe even without this extra pressure from Putin. So yes, it's very easy for Putin to destabilize the country. It's very easy for him to do the kinds of things that he's doing and achieve some kind of a negative effect on the spirit of nascent democracy.

HOLMES: Colonel Cedric Leighton, always great to get your analysis, appreciate it. Thanks.

LEIGHTON: You bet Michael, anytime.

HOLMES: OK. Ukraine says an investigation meanwhile is underway into a cyber-attack that targeted the websites of the Defense Ministry and Armed Forces.

Now, the websites of a couple of major banks were also hit, although access to those sites has already been restored.

Now, as of Tuesday night, the websites for the defense agencies were still however difficult to access. Investigators say it is not clear who's responsible and that is important to highlight but they say this particular type of attack which floods a website with phony traffic, while not particularly sophisticated, it is disruptive and pretty easy to carry out.

[00:10:21]

HOLMES: All right, I'll be back with much more from Lviv at the bottom of the hour. But first, let's throw it back to John in Atlanta with today's other news, John.

VAUSE: Michael, thank you. Just hours after she returned to competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics came word, Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive in December, not just for one heart medication, but three.

The 15-year-old is at the center of an ongoing Olympic doping scandal but was clear to compete in solo events.

New York Times reporting in addition to the banned drug trimetazidine, the Court of Arbitration for Sport revealed Hypoxen and L-carnitine were also detected, but neither of those two substances are prohibited.

Valieva came in at the top of the women's single skating short program Tuesday, guaranteeing her a spot in Thursday's free skating program where she is the favorite to win another gold medal.

CNN Steven Jiang live now from Beijing with the very latest. So, not one, not two, but three hard medications. One apparently used by her grandfather and mistakenly taken by Valieva. Another her mother reportedly says was treating her daughter's heart variations. This is quite the coincidence.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: John, I think a lot of people around the world share your sentiment and reaction including actually many here in China, where Valieva has been enjoying a lot of support and popularity.

Now the issue here, as you pointed out, is that New York Times revelation that she tested positive for three substances. That obviously is painting really damning picture on the -- on the adults around her and throwing even more doubts on their claims that the positive test result was the result of a one-off accident.

And that's why more experts as well as critics, of course, are further convinced of her being part of a systemic doping problem in Russia.

Here's what the head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency told us just a little earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRAVIS TYGART, CEO, U.S. ANTI-DOPING AGENCY: Having these three, you know, two declared and one obviously testing positive that wasn't declared, the one that is prohibited, just raises, you know, significant red flags and alarm bells that there is someone behind whether it's coach, doctor, the state that's helping this young athlete and teaching this young athlete to use the substances in order ultimately to increase and enhance performance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIANG: Now, as Travis was saying there, even though only one of the three substances is banned, the other two actually known -- have long been known to Anti-Doping Agencies around the world for their potential performance enhanced capabilities.

And also, there were attempts at least in the U.S. to ban one of the two Hypoxen back in 2017. Although that ban was never implemented.

He also pointed out the amount of trimetazidine the banned substance in her system was more than a trace amount. So, all of this according to him points to intentional use instead of accidental intake.

So, all of this obviously casting even darker clouds not only above her but her team, Russia's sports system, as well as the Olympic games overall, but probably as a sign of increasing division in the world we're living.

In China, for example, the state media has mostly stayed away from this topic, the reporters never asking any questions about this at press conferences, and their state T.V. announcers making no mention of this doing her a competition on Tuesday night.

But on the other hand, many other broadcasters around the world have mentioned this, including in South Korea, John. One broadcaster chose to stay silent during the time she was on the ice as a form of protest, John.

VAUSE: Steven, thank you. Steven Jiang live for us in Beijing with the very latest, appreciate it.

We'll take a short break. When we come back with his reputation already destroyed, Britain's Prince Andrew has reached a settlement with Virginia Giuffre over her sexual assault lawsuit.

Also, Hong Kong has never seen a COVID outbreak like this. It's never been this bad. We'll tell you what Mainland China is now advising the city to do with hospitals are forced to treat patients outside.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:16:20]

VAUSE: Lawyers for Britain's Prince Andrew have reached an adequate settlement with Virginia Giuffre, ending her sexual abuse civil lawsuit and sparing the Prince the embarrassment of a public trial.

Still, the damage to his reputation is already done.

CNN's Royal Correspondent Max Foster has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The case against Prince Andrew is over. He hasn't been found guilty. He hasn't been cleared. They've reached an out of court settlement and for an undisclosed sum according to the court documents.

Virginia Giuffre had accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault in three different locations, including when she was 17 as a minor. Prince Andrew doesn't accept any guilt. He doesn't accept any of the accusations made against him. But there has been this out of court settlements. So, in effect, he hasn't been cleared and there's been a huge amount of reputational damage here.

At one-point, Prince Andrew's team suggested that Virginia Giuffre was simply out for a payday. That's why she pursued this case. But they addressed that in the statement filed at the court saying Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre's character.

It also says the Prince Andrew regrets his association with Jeffrey Epstein and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.

And this appears to be addressing the fact that Prince Andrew has also been accused of a lack of empathy for the victims of Epstein throughout this case.

Now, there has been so much damage to his reputation. Buckingham Palace aren't commenting on this, we do know that the Queen has stripped Prince Andrew of his titles, and they've been redistributed to other members of the royal family.

So, he's not going to be able to go back to his royal role. And it's difficult to see how he could return to any sort of public role. He could take up a private sector job perhaps or take a loan from the private sector in order to pay for some of his costs going forward.

A suggestion in the statement that he might find a future out of this case perhaps a some campaign work, it says he pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.

So, that's potentially a way he may try to redress some of the criticisms that have been leveled towards him, but it's very difficult to see him going back to any sort of public role that he had before all of this came out.

Max Foster, CNN, Hampshire, England.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Areva Martin is a CNN Legal Analyst and Civil Rights Attorney. She is with us this hour from Los Angeles. Arriva, it's good to see you.

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, John.

VAUSE: OK, so the amount of the settlement has not been disclosed. But there are reports that ranges from 10 million to $15 million. If this case had gone to a New York jury and he'd lost, keeping on the hook for a lot more than $15 million. So, financially, did he get a much better outcome by settling?

MARTIN: Well, definitely there was a potential chance that the jury award had this matter gone to an actual New York jury could have been a lot more in these kinds of cases not only does a pint of a prevailing plaintiff, she or he in this case, as she entitled to compensatory damages, but there's also the possibility of punitive damages and punitive damages can run in the high millions, multi millions of dollars.

So, if the number that we're hearing 10 to 15 million is accurate, I think it's probably a pretty good deal given the horrific nature of the allegations made in this lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre.

VAUSE: And he also avoided the embarrassment of those details coming out under oath. And as he's being cross examined by Giuffre's lawyer. So, that is obviously worth much more than the $15 million discounted settlement.

[00:20:02]

MARTIN: Absolutely, John, not only worth more to him individually, but to the royal family. This was a complete nightmare, not just for the Prince, but the royal family.

And there was the prospect that many of them might have been called to depositions, they may have actually been called as witnesses during the trial. So, you can imagine the kind of pressure that he was under to in this lawsuit, in order to put -- try to put this behind them.

But I have to say, John, this is a huge victory, even though it's not a court victory. In the court of public opinion, this is big for the Me Too movement. This is a victory for women who had to face powerful and rich men like the Prince.

And even though he didn't admit to liability, he is singing a very different tune. He's no longer suggesting that she's some kind of, you know, fanatical gold digger. He's talking about becoming an advocate for women and for victims.

So, women, I think, around the world have a lot to feel good about and to applaud this settlement.

VAUSE: And that really comes down to the wording of that joint statement. And this is an area where it seems that Giuffre's lawyers may have played hardball, much harder than when it comes to the financial settlement. Because you touched on this, the language, the tone, it comes so close to vindicating Giuffre. MARTIN: Absolutely. And I can tell you almost with certainty, having entered into many of these settlement negotiations and draft with these agreements myself, that this was probably the suggestion of Virginia herself, or at least her attorneys in the settlements.

When you settle these kinds of cases, you get an opportunity not just to state what the monetary amount should be, but to talk about other ways that the defendant can make amends, can do things that give the plaintiff the victim a sense of justice.

So, that statement about donating money to her nonprofit and working as an advocate for sex trafficking victims is a huge win for Virginia Giuffre and her team.

VAUSE: You touched on this as well, Andrew -- Prince Andrew is not exonerated in this, in fact, far from it. But agreeing to this settlement, what does that make of his past claims of total innocence?

MARTIN: Well, it suggests that he didn't believe in his claims himself, because anyone that believed that they had no liability, you would expect them to go to trial, to testify in their own trial and to try to prove that.

Now, trials are tricky, and you never know what the outcome is. So, oftentimes, even if a person is not responsible for allegations in the lawsuit, they may want to settle but typically in those cases, John, you see what's called a nuisance value settlement, something that minimum is just to make the lawsuit go away. Rarely do you see someone who has absolutely positively no liability, settling a lawsuit for a large sum of money, then making the kinds of concessions that have been made by the press in this matter.

So, I have to believe that he did not have confidence that he could convince a jury that he had no involvement. They didn't rape, that he didn't sexually assault Virginia when she was a minor.

VAUSE: Yes, it is a powerful moment for survivors of sexual assault as well. We should not lose sight of that at all.

So, Areva, thank you for being with us.

MARTIN: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: Well, the leaders of Bahrain and Israel say their countries can do great things together. After decades of strained relations, Naftali Bennett became the first Israeli Prime Minister to make an official visit to Bahrain. And Bahrain's Crown Prince has now accepted an invitation to visit Israel, "In the near future".

CNN's Hadas Gold explains what's behind this diplomatic breakthrough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It's a scene that might have been unthinkable for many people just a few years ago, the Israeli Prime Minister being welcomed to the Kingdom of Bahrain with honor guards upon his arrival at the airport, as well as upon his arrival at the royal palaces. This is the first time an Israeli Prime Minister has visited Bahrain since the two countries signed those historic normalization agreements in 2020.

And so much of these trips are about the symbolism and about building the personal relationships. The prime minister met with the Crown Prince and also with the king of Bahrain. Take a listen to what the Crown Prince said about their budding relationship earlier today.

SALMAN BIN HAMAD AL-KHALIFA, CROWN PRINCE, BAHRAIN: I think that, if we see a wider Middle East that is free from conflict, that is based on principles of mutual respect, understanding and a shared responsibility toward security, we must do more to get to know one another and build upon the Abraham Accords of which our -- have been such a historic agreement, concluded in the last year.

GOLD: Top of mind likely in those talks behind closed doors is Iran which lies just about 200 kilometers from where we are in Manama, the capital of Bahrain.

The shared security concern for both countries and what helped push them together in signing those normalization agreements in 2020.

And although Bahrain is a very small island country, it is very strategically important in this region, especially for Israel not only because of its proximity to Iran, but also because of its proximity and relationship with Saudi Arabia.

The U.S. Navy also has its Fifth Fleet here, who the Israeli prime minister met with also during this trip, and for the first time ever, an Israeli military officer will be posted in Bahrain, the first time an Israeli military officer will be posted in an Arab country.

[00:25:10]

GOLD: Just a couple of weeks ago, the Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz also made his inaugural visit to Bahrain, where he signed a formal security agreement, a formal security memorandum between the two countries which will open up cooperations between the two militaries.

Importantly, paving the way potentially for Bahrain to one day start purchasing some Israeli missile defense systems, potentially one day like the Iron Dome.

Hadas Gold, CNN, Manama, Bahrain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well, Russia says some troops are pulling back from the Ukraine border but satellite images of the military hardware are telling a very different story, details on that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes coming to you live from Lviv in Ukraine with more on our top story as the sun comes up over the city.

Now, Western officials are expressing skepticism over Russia's claims that some of its troops are being sent back to base after drills near Ukraine's border saying they've seen no evidence of that so far.

The U.S. President Joe Biden says analysts indicate Russian forces remain very much in a threatening position. Mr. Biden delivered a direct and urgent message on Tuesday, warning of an invasion of Ukraine remains distinctly possible in his words with more than 150,000 Russian troops masked at the border. And he made clear that if Russia makes a military move, it would be "a war of choice".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The United States and NATO are not a threat to Russia. Ukraine is not threatening Russia. Neither the U.S. nor NATO have missiles in Ukraine. We do not -- do not have plans to put them there as well.

We're not targeting the people of Russia. We do not seek to destabilize Russia. To the citizens of Russia, you are not our enemy. And I do not believe you want a bloody destructive war against Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, the U.S. President also urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to give diplomacy a chance. Mr. Putin who met with the German Chancellor in Moscow on Tuesday indicated he is open to further negotiations but wants his security demands to be addressed, he says Russia does not want a war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN (through translator): Do we want it or not? Of course not. Our intention is and we strive to negotiate with our partners on the

issues which we raised to resolve through diplomatic means.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:3014]

HOLMES: Now, while it's still a question whether Russian troops are actually pulling back, the arrival of more military equipment to the border region, well, that's clear.

Jim Sciutto reports now on the latest satellite images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New video from the Russian ministry of defense, as it claims that some units have completed their exercises and are now returning to their home bases.

The Russian military did not identify the locations in the videos. CNN, however, geolocated one rail yard where these tanks were being loaded onto a train. It's in Crimea.

Asked if NATO has been able to verify Russian assertions that some units are going home, Estonia's prime minister told me, not yet.

KAJA KALLAS, ESTONIAN PRIME MINISTER: We believe it when we see it, but we don't see it right now. And Russia has done this military buildup around Ukraine for, already, months. So nothing happens in a few days and a few hours, and we haven't seen any real de-escalation yet.

SCIUTTO: And there is still plenty of Russian armor near Ukraine and moving closer still. Among the more recent arrivals, transport and attack helicopters. These, in an improvised base near Belgorod, just a few miles from the Ukrainian border.

Perhaps most notable, these images showing more than 60 helicopters at a disused airfield in northwest Crimea. There was nothing there just a few days ago.

The helicopters shown are a mix of attack and transport aircraft, about 40 miles from Ukraine's southern coast.

Just off the coast, the Russian defense ministry's media outlet is reporting on the Black Sea navy drills, which involve some 30 ships. In satellite images, Maxar also detected that the Russian air force has deployed at least ten SU-34 strike bombers to an airport near Krasnodar in southern Russia. The air field is some 70 miles across the Sea of Azov from the Ukrainian coast.

It will be a few days before new satellite images and video can confirm that at least part of the force of 130,000 Russian troops have indeed moved away from Ukraine.

For now, a substantial force on land, in the air, and that sea, remains on three sides of Ukraine.

Jim Sciutto, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now, Wall Street is hanging on every word of the developments here, and investors' fears were eased somewhat on Tuesday after those reports of Russia's troop pullback, or partial pullback.

You can see the green arrows. All three indices finishing solidly high. The Dow up 422 points.

And also, oil prices dropped more than 3 percent on Tuesday, retreating from a seven-year high.

I'm Michael Holmes here in Lyiv, Ukraine. Much more from here in the next hour, but for now I'll toss it back to John Vause in Atlanta -- John.

VAUSE: Michael, thank you. The World Health Organization is warning of a new wave of Omicron

cases in eastern Europe and the Caucasus due to lagging vaccination rates. Infections have been rising in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia, and Ukraine over the past two weeks. Here's more now from the WHO.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. HANS KLUGE, WHO REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR EUROPE (through translator): Over the past two weeks, cases of COVID-19 have more than doubled in the six countries in this part of the region. As anticipated, the Omicron wave is moving east. Ten eastern member states have now detected this variant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The WHO is once again stressing the need for rapid testing and masking, and governments are being asked to find out why vaccination rates are so low.

Less than 40 percent of those over age 60 are fully vaccinated in some Eastern European countries.

In Asia, Chinese President Xi Jinping is telling Hong Kong's government to take necessary measures to control a growing outbreak of COVID-19.

It's never been this bad before. The record spike in new infection has overwhelmed some hospitals, with patients being treated outside in overflow areas and housed in tents.

Hong Kong reported more than 600 new COVID cases on Tuesday, all locally-transmitted.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is live in Hong Kong for us.

OK, so apart from the take all necessary measures -- thank you, Captain Obvious -- what else did China's president have to say to Hong Kong's government?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a top- down directive from the very top, from Chinese President Xi Jinping to the government of Carrie Lam, saying, Get your pandemic house in order.

What we're hearing from the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, is he is urging the Hong Kong government to stabilize and control the COVID-19 situation here in the territory as soon as possible.

The statement was made in a couple of a pro-Beijing local media outlets out on Wednesday. Let's bring up a headline for you. And what you see for there, Xi Jinping, of course, above the fold there. And the headline reading this: "Xi Jinping: Make it an overriding task to override the epidemic as soon as possible."

[00:35:07] We have an excerpt of these articles that were released earlier today. Let's bring it up for you. In them they say this, "The Hong Kong SAR government should take up the main responsibility, according to Xi Jinping. It should mobilize all forces and resources that can be mobilized, take all necessary measures to protect Hong Kong people's lives and health, as well as ensure Hong Kong's social stability," unquote.

Now, it's interesting to note, if you parse these articles that what the central government is saying is it is Hong Kong's responsibility to look after the pandemic situation, which is worsening here in the territory.

Now, the report also adds what we've heard before, that Beijing is pledging to help by boosting treatment, by providing testing capability, as well as quarantine capacity, as well.

Also, in the last couple hours, we heard a response from Hong Kong's top leader, Carrie Lam. She said that she appreciated Xi Jinping's concern and that she will work to unite Hong Kong to defeat the virus.

All this messaging is coming at a time when Hong Kong is grappling with a growing wave of COVID-19 infections during this fifth wave of infections on Tuesday. The territory reported over 1,600 new daily cases of the virus.

On top of that, 5,400 preliminary positive cases of COVID-19.

At public hospitals across the territory, they're running out of beds for COVID-19 patients. Outdoor treatment areas are being set up. I think I've seen video lined up for you, where you see outside the Caritas medical facility, the Caritas Medical Center here in Hong Kong.

Patients are lining up outside a parking lot. Again, this is a hospital here in Hong Kong. The parking lot has been turned into a field hospital.

And an isolation facility has been moved outside. And you can only imagine that it could be quite uncomfortable overnight, especially for vulnerable, elderly patients as the temperatures dip. Rain is also in the forecast.

And as we see these scenes play out, and as the numbers continue to grow exponentially in terms of these cases, Hong Kong's top leader, Carrie Lam, continues to double down on this dynamic zero-COVID policy. Yesterday we heard from her at a press conference. She says she remains commitment to this policy, a policy designed to suppress the outbreak. Not to what Xi Jinping is calling for, to control and to stabilize it -- John.

VAUSE: Yes. Interesting times, between Beijing and Hong Kong. Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout, live for us in Hong Kong.

STOUT: Yes. See you.

VAUSE: Take care.

Well, still ahead, a death threat against a security inspector has led to the U.S. to suspend all imports of avocados from Mexico. How the security situation is impacting both countries. That's in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Heavy rain, mudslides, and flooding have turned deadly in Brazil. Authorities say the extreme weather has killed at least 18 people north of Rio de Janeiro.

In the municipality of Petropolis, water, mud and debris are gushing through the streets. Residents are being urged to evacuate to safe areas, as well as shelters, while rescuers use boats to search for survivors.

Other areas of Rio de Janeiro state are also dealing with downpours. And emergency response teams now standing by.

Amid weeks of protests against Canada's COVID regulations, Ottawa's police chief is now out of a job. Peter Sloly was widely criticized for his department's handling of the protest, which left Canada's capital paralyzed.

Officials say they reached a mutual agreement for him to leave.

He released a statement on Tuesday, saying he (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to keep Ottawa safe. Before stepping down, Sloly had repeatedly said he did not have the resources needed to manage a large-scale protest.

The deputy chief, Steve Bell, now interim police chief.

U.S. officials are investigating a death threat made against an American safety inspector in Mexico, which has led to the suspension of all avocado imports from Mexico. And there could be economic consequences for both countries.

CNN's Matt Rivers reports now from Mexico City.

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MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is one state here in Mexico that is currently legally allowed to export avocados to the United States, and that is the state of Michoacan.

And we know that since the weekend, the United States has temporarily suspended Michoacan's export license. And now we're getting a little bit more information as to why that decision was taken.

So according to a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the matter, a USDA safety inspector who was working here in Mexico, whose job was to make sure that these shipments of avocados bound for the United States met U.S. safety standards.

One of those inspectors working in that capacity here received what this official called a credible death threat after that inspector did not allow a shipment of avocados to go from the state of Michoacan up north to the United States.

Now this official added that it's not yet known who made this death threat, and that U.S. embassy personnel from here in Mexico City have already been dispatched to the state of Michoacan to try and get to the bottom of this and figure out how to get those inspections back on track.

But this official added, when we asked this official how long will this temporary suspension be in place, the official said, Look, there cannot be a security situation where the United States feels like these USDA safety inspectors can't do their jobs without fearing for their lives, with this official saying that this temporary suspension won' be lifted until the United States is comfortable with the security situation for these inspectors working here in Mexico.

This is going to have a big impact, depending on how long all of this lasts, economically speaking. There's hundreds of thousands of jobs that rely on the export industry of these avocados here in Mexico, also the United States.

Consumers are going to see, perhaps, problems with avocado supply, given that Mexico is far and away the largest exporter of avocados to the U.S. market.

So, consumers might have trouble finding avocados in the days and weeks ahead, and if they do find those avocados, the price of the avocados that they find may very well go up, according to multiple analysts that CNN has spoken to.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.

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VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT starts after a short break. I'll see you again, hopefully, at the top of the hour.

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