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CNN Team, Ukrainian Minister Come under Mortar Fire; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Talks to CNN's Christiane Amanpour; Zelensky Asks Europe and NATO for Security Guarantees at Munich Security Conference; Hong Kong Steps Up Efforts to Contain COVID-19; Olympic Winter Games Final Day; U.K. Dealing with Aftermath of Powerful Storm Eunice. Aired 12-12:40a ET
Aired February 20, 2022 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello, everyone, I'm Michael Holmes, live in Ukraine. As world leaders call for a diplomatic resolution, residents in some parts of Ukraine are trying to flee.
And Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to CNN about what he needs from the international community.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
The Beijing Olympic Games are coming to a close in just a few hours, with Elana Meyers Taylor becoming the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history.
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HOLMES: We begin here in Ukraine, where the threat of a Russian attack seems to continue to grow by the day, as the U.S. warns, Moscow could strike at any time. President Biden will be meeting with his National Security Council on Sunday.
Still, Western leaders are making an 11th hour push for diplomacy. The French president, Emmanuel Macron spoke with Ukraine's president on Saturday ahead of a phone call with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Faster. Go, go, go. HOLMES (voice-over): On the front lines, though, no signs that
tensions are cooling. A CNN team, on tour with Ukraine's interior minister, came under mortar fire on Saturday, the latest example of escalating cease-fire violations near the border.
Now the Kremlin is offering a reminder of where the conflict could lead. Mr. Putin and the Belarusian president overseeing nuclear drills on Saturday. Russia, of course, denies it has plans to invade Ukraine. But Western leaders say the evidence suggests otherwise.
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LIZ TRUSS, U.K. FOREIGN SECRETARY AND MINISTER FOR WOMEN AND EQUALITIES: There are many people who would want to think hopefully about the situation. But I think we need to prepare for the worst-case scenario. And that worst-case scenario could happen as early as next week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: World leaders gathered for the Munich Security Conference this weekend, the Ukrainian President Zelensky among those taking the stage on Saturday, as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris had this warning for Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me be clear: I can say with absolute certainty, if Russia further invades Ukraine, the United States, together with our allies and partners, will impose significant and unprecedented economic costs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, a different story being spun by Russian state media, of course, which continues to claim Ukraine, not Russia, is the aggressor. And now some pro Russian leaders in Eastern Ukraine are telling residents to either flee or prepare to fight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice-over): A steady stream of civilians leave Donetsk after the leader of the Russian-backed separatist region orders an evacuation of civilians. He's claimed that Ukrainian armed forces plan to attack the breakaway region, which the Ukrainians repeatedly deny.
The exodus so far, according to Russian officials, some 10,000, mostly women. The men have been told to stay and take up arms.
Russian media are calling those leaving "refugees" and covering their arrival from every angle. Some are at temporary camps set up near the border.
This woman is saying that she hopes everything will calm down soon and that they will be able to go home.
Not that it's been all smooth; the group arriving in Rostov-on-Don complaining they're unable to register their arrival. The Ukrainians see this very choreographed evacuation as a pretext by Moscow to begin an invasion -- and President Biden sees that as a certainty.
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QUESTION: You are convinced that President Putin is going to invade Ukraine, is that what you just said a few moments ago?
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, I did. As of this moment, I'm convinced he's made the decision. We have reason to believe that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES (voice-over): President Vladimir Putin not responding. He spent Saturday observing exercises involving Russia's nuclear deterrent. Russian officials repeat every day that there are no plans for invading Ukraine.
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HOLMES (voice-over): But the NATO allies say the evidence around Ukraine's borders, from Belarus in the north to Crimea in the south, show a continued buildup of Russian armor.
The latest satellite imagery released on Friday detects a new addition, combat and transport helicopters deployed at two sites close to Ukraine's border. Video geolocated by CNN show some of them on the ground, part of a force of more than 150,000 Russian troops close to the Ukrainian border.
The Ukrainian leadership assesses the risk of a full-scale invasion as low and continues to insist diplomacy can work. President Volodymyr Zelensky in Munich rallying support and appealing for calm.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are not panicking. We are very consistent that we are not responding to any provocations.
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HOLMES (voice-over): On the front lines in Eastern Ukraine, the pace of cease-fire violations continues to rise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go.
HOLMES (voice-over): A CNN team, on a tour with Ukraine's interior minister, taking shelter quickly amid incoming mortar fire. Whether this sporadic, rumbling conflict erupts into something far worse now in the hands of the Kremlin. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: CNN's Christiane Amanpour sat down with Mr. Zelensky during the Munich Security Conference and talked about a range of topics concerning a potential invasion by Russia. She asked him what he thought was behind Vladimir Putin's provocative actions toward his country.
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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: First, I want to ask you, that I'm not sure how many people in this room expected you to make the decision to leave your country and come here today.
What was so important for you to be here?
And what do you know about Vladimir Putin's intentions that, perhaps, the United States or others don't know?
Because they think he has made the decision to enter your country.
ZELENSKY (through translator): Thank you very much. Thank you for this question. And thank you for your -- for the invitation.
It is very important, when Ukraine is being discussed, for Ukraine, for these -- for this information to come from the mouth of our country.
I'm the president. And our team, it's important for all our partners and friends not to agree about anything behind our back.
And I do believe in our partnership. And I do believe that this is the case. And I had very important meetings with the leaders of different countries and still more to go. And I would like you to hear, to see, to ask questions and get the answers, to understand the level of resilience of our country, that we are not panicking.
We are very consistent, that we are not responding to any provocations. We have our own vaccine already developed for that, not as good as COVID vaccines. But this vaccine is already eight years old. We don't know the things we need to react to and things we shouldn't.
Of course, when our soldiers are being killed, we know we need to respond. But we understand who is killing us.
We understand what these military groups are. But -- and we also understand when they are shooting from the localities surrendered by civilians, to provoke us, for us to respond and to start an escalation on the other side in response to the fire.
It's also important for us to be on the same page in terms of information. The fact that the partners are sharing with us the information, we are very grateful for that, by the way, for the cooperation of our intelligences. But we are in this tension for many, many years now. We do not think that we need to panic. We think these risks are indeed very high because we have more troops, 150,000 troops on our borders. Yes, indeed, that's a big risk but a very big risk if we respond, if we do respond to one provocation or the other.
On the other hand, I think the Russian Federation and when we are talking about Russia this is the people, the whole people of Russia. So I think they will not be able to start to go to war against Ukraine.
And although on the temporary occupied territories we have a lot provocations and we see them, we see this through the mass media there disseminating different, provocative information, we need to preserve our stability.
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ZELENSKY (through translator): We need to keep calm and be adults.
This -- in these terms, Ukraine army is more adult that others.
AMANPOUR: A bit of escalation on the so-called false flag issues, you have just talked about two Ukrainian soldiers being killed. The Russians say mines have exploded, Ukrainian mines on their side of the border. We have seen this rhetoric before.
We understand the concept of false flags but how tense is that?
How do you think you can stop it?
Have you considered the levels of the current provocations?
ZELENSKY (through translator): Any provocations are very dangerous. As I already said, I think the most complicated question that in the Crimea, in the temporary occupied territory of the Donbas, along the borders of Ukraine and Russia, there's 30,000, 35,000 on the temporary -- or temporary and there is 35,000 more and 150 along other boards.
So provocations are indeed very dangerous if you have this number of troops. One shelling, one fire, cannon fire can lead to war. And we perfectly understand. As I said, I do think so and this is what our partners believe,
I mean the partners who are around us who have joined borders of us, who know the history of the Soviet Union and they do understand the kind of risks we are facing. Poland, the Baltic states, Lithuania and Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, they know what that could lead to.
So we need to be very careful. I can't tell you about what will happen now. If you compare to 2014, 2015, there were much more casualties, unfortunately. When someone in mass media says now this is the most horrific situation, that is not true.
It is horrible, it's a tragedy for our nation, for our people. It is a tragedy and in the future, you will see that this is the tragedy for Russians as well, who used to have good relationship with the Ukraine.
How do we stay neighbors and live with each other from now on? But we are at a different point in our lives. We are not talking about neighborhood. We are talking about the war and that it shouldn't start. This is why the risk is high.
What was shown yesterday on the temporary occupied territory there, shown some shelling allegedly flying from our side and they have shown something flying all the way to Rostov region of Russia.
This is just plain provocation. These are pure lies. There's no one dead or wounded. This is just cynicism of such a high level that they are blowing up something on their side and shooting. This is not the first time since 2014 that they are aiming their guns and shooting at the territory that they themselves control.
This is the kind of cynicism. That's it. And all we care about is peace. And I've mentioned this many times to the president of the Russian Federations and Angela Merkel and Macron in 2019 and we have sent a massive amount of signals, all on a monthly basis.
We have been passing on to different world leaders and directly to Russian federations that we are ready to sit down and speak. Pick the platform that you like. Pick the partners that will be there around the table with us. We are ready for that, prepared for that.
What is the point of us shooting and proposing diplomacy at the same time?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Do stay with us. After the break, we will hear more from Mr. Zelensky. An important interview, including why he thinks it's a mistake for the West to wait until after an invasion to reveal exactly what new sanctions it would impose on Russia. We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: Welcome back.
As we've been reporting, the Ukrainian president attended a key global security conference in Munich. While he was there he spoke with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, about Russia's military threat toward his country. Here is more of their wide-ranging conversation.
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AMANPOUR: Can I ask you how you feel today compared to a few days ago?
Because I think everybody has been quite amazed at the solidarity between the United States and your country and Europe and the united front that's being presented and also the extraordinary departure that the United States has used intelligence to telegraph exactly what it sees President Putin doing.
You have said different things about that, that on the one hand, it could sow panic and you're going to remained disciplined. And you just said again, we're not going to panic.
How do you evaluate the U.S. aggressive use of intelligence to try to dissuade President Putin?
ZELENSKY (through translator): It's difficult for me to judge how the United States should be using their intelligence. I guess they're doing this in a professional manner. This is their choice.
But I'm grateful for the work that both of our intelligence has been doing but the intelligence I trust is my intelligence.
I trust Ukrainian intelligence in our territory who understand what's going on along our borders, who have different intelligent sources and understand different risk-based on intercepted data. We're talking about how this information should be used.
I repeated this many times. We are not really living in delusion. We understand what can happen tomorrow.
But maybe the comparison I will make is not good but just putting ourselves in coffins and waiting for foreign soldier to come in is not something we are prepared to do. We are not going to advance on anyone but we stand ready to respond to everything. We cannot remain passive. We cannot say on a daily basis that war will happen tomorrow.
What kind of state is it going to be?
What kind of economy is it going to be?
How can you live in a state when on a daily basis you are being told tomorrow the war will happen, tomorrow the advance will happen?
It means crushing national currency, money is being taken out, business is flying out. Can you live in that kind of country?
Can you have stability in that kind of country?
No.
And those who want to disbalance our country from within are multiple. And everyone wants Ukraine to be weak, weak economy, weak army. And if there's a weak army, you can just go ahead and invade and we won't be able to protect our people, not our children or the economy.
This is why are response is very calm to one piece of information or the other. We have to assess it. We have to think not how to react to what I just got but I have to digest this information.
I have to understand what will happen after my words, after my reaction to this, what will happen to my people?
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ZELENSKY (through translator): What will happen after these people run to the banks to take money from their deposit accounts, after they start fearing and the panic will start.
We have the information war, the hybrid war going on. This is why Ukrainians are not given up in a different sense of this word. We want to live day after day and protect our country. If you want to help us, we have lots of examples.
Apart from this, a lot of very concrete things -- strengthen our arms, give us more armaments, strengthen our economy, invest in our country, bring your business in. If you are afraid, OK, give us cheap financing. Give us support, finance, grant support. Why, when we are given money, why are we always getting these
conditions?
You have to get to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and a dozen of other reforms.
Is there any other country in the world who would have such a strong army on the eastern borders with all these reforms implemented at the same time?
That is not easy but we're not panicking. We just live our lives. We want to live it as a strong country. That's it.
AMANPOUR: Mr. President, you talked again about NATO --
(CROSSTALK)
ZELENSKY (through translator): I'm sorry. I just wanted to add -- I'm sorry for interrupting you. Sorry.
We had a discussion some time ago with one of the leaders of one of the leading countries and we were talking about the sanction policy. We had a different vision on how sanctions should be applied when Russian aggression will happen. And we are being told that you have several days and then the war will start.
And I said, OK, then apply the sanctions today. Yes, they say, we apply sanctions when the war will happen. I'm saying, fine, but you are telling me that it's 100 percent that the war will start in a couple days.
Then what are you waiting for?
We don't need your sanctions after the bombardment will happen and after our country will be fired at or after we will have no borders, after we will have no economy or part of our countries will be occupied. Why would we need sanctions then?
What is this about?
So when you're asking, what can be done?
Well, lots of different things can be done. We can even provide you the list. The most important is willingness.
AMANPOUR: So you're calling for sanctions to be leveled now. You also talked about NATO now. Obviously, this is the big sensitive issue in this whole issue, right. So you have just talked about, again, wanting to be part of NATO.
And yet you said you don't expect any NATO soldiers on your territory now. You specifically said we want no foreign soldiers with foreign flags on our territory right now.
What is your position on wanting to join NATO today?
ZELENSKY (through translator): To respond to the first part of your question about sanctions, the question is not about introducing them today. The whole world understands that tomorrow there's a high probability of escalation by Russian Federation.
And if Russian Federation, if they are pulling back their militarizing, there would be a bad step. If they are pulling back, then there is no question. That's a soft option.
I'm talking about the diplomats who cannot apply sanctions automatically. I'm talking about the logic. If they pull back their troops, there will be no sanctions.
But today, even the question of just making it public preventively, just the list of sanctions, for them, for Russia to know what will happen if they start the war, even that question does not have the support.
OK, let's be on then. Then I have a question.
Why, if you can't even disclose what will happen to whom if the war starts, then the question is that it will be -- I doubt that it will be triggered after it even happens.
In terms of NATO, we have a lot of debate regarding this and there were lots of discussions about the world leaders and my friends and meanwhile, I have lots of friends among the world leaders.
I will not name them, because others will get offended. Ukraine is being supported, indeed.
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ZELENSKY (through translator): But Ukraine needs security guarantees. We are smart people. We are not narrow-minded. We understand there are lots of different risks because of NATO.
There's no consensus around the allies. Everyone is saying there is some distance between Ukraine and the NATO that we need to walk.
All we're saying is tell us how much time does it take to complete this distance, measure it in years. And you see this is measured not just in hours and you can see where the tragedies in lives. This is measured in the human lives of Ukrainians.
So tell us, on this distance, is it fair to us to get the guarantees while we are still walking the paths?
Some diplomatic guarantees, isn't it just simply fair?
No one is pushing anyone against the wall with a question for us to be there in the NATO. That's not the way. We want it, we do but unless -- but until we have that possibility, what we want is the guarantees, security guarantees.
AMANPOUR: And I know you have to go. I'm getting the old wrap. But can I ask you --
ZELENSKY: Just a second, I think cyberattack.
(LAUGHTER)
ZELENSKY: Can I have another one?
AMANPOUR: But maybe you.
ZELENSKY: You see Russia is not here but they are here.
(LAUGHTER)
ZELENSKY: That's -- it doesn't work. I'm sorry. I have two.
AMANPOUR: How about if I try talk to you and you will understand me.
ZELENSKY: I understand you from the very beginning but you know, there are some very important things.
AMANPOUR: So what I want to ask you, Mr. President, is that the U.S. has its intelligence, you said you have yours. What is your interpretation of Putin's intention, not his capability, his intention?
Do you think he will invade?
He will decide to do that or he has?
ZELENSKY (through translator): I don't know what the president of the Russian Federation wants. That's why I proposed to meet.
That's it.
(LAUGHTER)
AMANPOUR: On that note, your people are telling me that I have to stop. Were
ZELENSKY: Syria --
AMANPOUR: Huh?
ZELENSKY: Sorry.
AMANPOUR: Your people are telling me that you need to go. Were you at all afraid of coming here?
ZELENSKY (through translator): No. Why?
There are friends here.
AMANPOUR: No, no, leaving your house unguarded.
ZELENSKY (through translator): Well, my response will be very brief. I'm sure that our country is in good hands. This is not just my hands. These are the hands of our soldiers and our citizens.
I think my visit here is important and I would like to say that I had breakfast in the morning in Ukraine and I will have my dinner in Ukraine as well. I never leave home for long.
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ZELENSKY: Thank you so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: I am Michael Holmes in Lviv, Ukraine. I'll be back with more at the top of the hour. For now, let's head back to Atlanta, where Lynda Kinkade has the day's other top stories.
KINKADE: Thanks so much, Michael.
As the Omicron driven surges have siphoned much of the world, that is not the case in Hong Kong. Just ahead, a look at how the city is coping with the rise in cases that's pushing its health care system to the brink.
And police in Canada, doubling down on demonstrators in the capital, using pepper spray as the protests in Ottawa enter their fourth week. Stay with us.
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KINKADE: Well, police in Canada's capital say they are ramping up tactics to try to end protests that have choked the area around parliament for weeks. Ottawa police say they have arrested 170 people, including protest leaders.
They have fired pepper spray and issued thousands of tickets and towed dozens of trucks. Some have voluntarily left the area around Canada's parliament. But other protesters insist they will stay.
The demonstrations began over COVID-19 vaccination mandates. The government says it will give up to $20 million to businesses that have lost revenue due to the blockades.
Hong Kong is stepping up efforts to contain the runaway spread of COVID cases. It has overwhelmed the city in recent days and some of the strictest quarantine and tracing measures in the world don't seem to be working anymore. CNN's Kim Brunhuber looks at how officials are trying to keep up with the onslaught of cases.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A medical team from Mainland China arrives in Hong Kong to help fight a surge of COVID-19 cases in the city.
Relief in the form of supplies and additional manpower could not come at a more critical time for Hong Kong. Hospitals here are in a desperate state. Too many sick people, not enough space.
More than 90 percent of hospital beds in the city are full. Over the past few days, many patients were forced to wait outside under tarps and tents in cold, wet conditions. One Hong Kong resident says he was shocked by the scenes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's crazy, it's kind of unbelievable that it could be this out of control.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): On Saturday, the chief executive of Hong Kong's hospital authority apologized for the situation and said most patients have now been moved indoors or to other facilities.
Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam says hotel rooms and public housing units will be used to help with the overflow. Soon, 10,000 isolation and treatment units will be built with the help of crews from the Mainland.
Back in Wuhan in early 2020, Chinese workers built a hospital with more than 1,000 beds in just 10 days. Lam says there will also be a testing blitz.
CARRIE LAM, HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE: One of the measures that we are planning, planning very seriously, is a mandatory universal testing. So we will test everyone in Hong Kong.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Food supplies across the city have also been disrupted, after many cross border truck drivers tested positive for COVID. But officials say the shortages are beginning to ease in some areas, as shipments from the mainland arrive.
Carrie Lam also announced that Hong Kong's leadership election, scheduled for March, will be postponed until May to allow her administration to focus on the health care crisis -- Kim Brunhuber, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: It's the final day of the Beijing Winter Olympics and the closing ceremony is just hours away. We will look at who is leading the medal count and what is still ahead, coming up in a live report. Stay with us.
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KINKADE: Welcome back to our viewers around the world, I'm Lynda Kinkade. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, good to have you with us.
We are just a few hours away from the closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. And this turned out to be a historic competition.
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KINKADE: Well, the U.K. and parts of northwest Europe are reeling in the aftermath of Storm Eunice. Experts are calling the system one of the worst in decades with record strong wind gusts. CNN's Allison Chinchar shows us some of the damage the storm left behind.
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ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Crashing against the shores of southern England, Storm Eunice wreaked havoc in Ireland and parts of northwestern Europe, tearing down rooftops and trees, crushing cars and people alike.
The storm, which began in the Central Atlantic, brought record-high wind speeds. In England, the storm shredded parts of the white dome of London's famed O2 Arena, with scraps of the roof falling into the River Thames.
With rescue efforts underway, forecasters are warning people that more strong winds are set to sweep the country in the coming days.
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CHINCHAR (voice-over): In London, many waited helplessly in the train station as authorities announced another delay. The country's railway network was lashed by the storm after damage to overhead power lines in some areas.
The storm has also left more than 100,000 homes without power. Some are trying to make the most of a desperate situation.
NICHOLA TOWNSHEND, GENERAL MANAGER, TAN HILL INN: We had do it from we mix slow ment we got. I brought some sledges (ph) up because I was supposed to be at home for my days off, realized that the weather is going to be as bad as it is proving today.
So I came back last night and I brought some sledges (ph) with me so that at least we can have a bit of fun while we are stuck here.
CHINCHAR (voice-over): As the wind made its way toward Europe, residents hunkered down at home to save themselves. In Belgium, the whipping winds sent a crane crashing onto the side of a hospital, leaving some people injured.
In Amsterdam, onlookers watched in horror as a tree fell on a line of parked cars. One couple said their apartment was shaking and whistling as they took cover from the storm. However, their bikes, which were parked next to the canal, felt the brunt of those winds.
ANDY GOLDING, AMSTERDAM RESIDENT: It was a little bit disconcerting, because our apartment was swaying. Like my --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
GOLDING: -- workstation, my screens were moving in the wind, even though everything was closed.
CHINCHAR (voice-over): With several dead, rescue workers are trying to clear the deadly trail of destruction left in the wake of the storm -- Allison Chinchar, CNN.
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KINKADE: A dramatic helicopter crash at a crowded Florida beach on Saturday afternoon, take a look at this harrowing scene, as the chopper narrowly misses swimmers and sunbathers. This happened near the popular South Beach in Miami.
Police say three people were on board, two were taken to hospital and reportedly are in a stable condition. The third person was not hurt.
What caused the crash is not yet known but, of course, an investigation is underway.
Well, get off your phone and watch where you are going or you may find yourself falling through a hole in the floor. Take a look at this footage from Istanbul.
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KINKADE (voice-over): As a worker prepares to drop packages into a storage hole, the boy approaches, glued to his phone and falls through. Thankfully instead of breaking a bone, he was cushioned by that state of cardboard boxed. He must have been in an bit of shock there.
It is a stark reminder to pay attention to your surroundings. Don't want that to happen.
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KINKADE: He is very lucky he is fine. Thanks for joining us so much for this edition of CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Lynda Kinkade, stay with us. "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS" is next and I will be back at the top of the hour with Michael Holmes with much more news.
