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Biden: This is the Beginning of a Russian Invasion; New Images Show More Russian Military Gear Near Border; U.S. and Allies Move to Punish Moscow with Sanctions; U.S. Increasing Troops, Military Assets in Baltics; Biden Vows to Try and Limit Gas Hikes after Sanctions. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired February 23, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes in Lviv, Ukraine.

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Isa Soares in London. And just ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This is the greatest threat to security in Europe since World War II.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will be standing up to Russia.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We will continue to remain open.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The Russian president says he's open to diplomacy but on his terms after the U.S. and its allies slammed the Kremlin with sanctions. We're live in Lviv, Washington and Paris.

SOARES: And the verdict is in. Nearly two years after his murder the three white men behind Ahmaud Arbery's killing are convicted of hate crimes.

HOLMES: Now the U.S. and its allies trying to hit Moscow where it hurts. Delivering a raft of new sanctions aimed at deterring a Russian attack on Ukraine. Moscow though not appearing to back down. In a video message posted a short time ago, President Vladimir Putin says Russia is still open to dialogue with the West but adds that Russia's interests and security are, quote, nonnegotiable. Russian officials also hitting back at Western sanctions calling some illegal and saying that the impacts will be felt around the globe. Now the U.S. President, Joe Biden, already calling Russia's moves an invasion as he announced a new round of sanctions aimed at Russian banks and the country's powerful elites.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. If Russia goes further with this invasion, we stand prepared to go further as with sanctions. Who in the lord's name does Putin think gives him a right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belongs to his neighbors? This is a flagrant violation of international law and demands a firm response from the international community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Meanwhile, new satellite images showing more Russian troops and military equipment deployed to the Ukrainian border. So far CNN cannot independently confirm that any troops have actually crossed into the Ukraine. But on Tuesday Russian lawmakers did give the green light for that to happen, to send troops abroad. And Mr. Putin now saying the Minsk Agreement designed to end armed conflict in eastern Ukraine quote, no longer exists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The Minsk Agreements were killed long before yesterday's recognition of the People's Republic of Donbas and not by us. Not by representatives of these republics but by the current Kyiv authorities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now Mr. Putin is in -- also increasing support for those Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine saying Russia recognizes the independence of the entire Donetsk and Luhansk regions. And that's important because separatists only control a portion of that at the moment.

Now in response to the escalation, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called off a meeting with his Russian counterpart. The White House says the door to diplomacy is still open but so far, Blinken says, Russia hasn't been serious about a diplomatic solution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLINKEN: It confirms what we've been saying that he did not send more than 150,000 troops to the Ukrainian boarder because of benign military exercises or to respond to threatened aggression from Ukraine or to stop a fabricated genocide by Ukraine or any other manufactured reason. His plan all along has been to invade Ukraine, to control Ukraine and its people, to destroy Ukraine's democracy which offers a stark contrast to the autocracy that he leads, to reclaim Ukraine as a part of Russia. That's why this is the greatest threat to security in Europe since World War II.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: CNN covering this story from every angle as you would expect. Our Scott McLean is standing by in Paris. White House reporter Jasmine Wright joining me from Washington. Jasmine, to you first.

[04:05:00]

Explain these new U.S. sanctions against Russia and what is still being kept back.

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, these are first steps from President Biden. They say an effort to both punish Russia for its current actions but also to deter Russia from committing any more aggressive actions in Ukraine. So, this is a first tranche, something that President Biden said earlier today. And I kind of want to read you a portion of these sanctions and who they will affect.

He outlined sanctions on two large state-owned Russian financial institutions. Right now, you can see them on the screen under banks. As well as comprehensive sanctions on Russia's sovereign debt and sanctions on five Russian elites and their family members. Now the point of these he says is to cut off Russia's government from western financing.

Now this comes after months and months of being told by the White House officials that they are preparing what would be devastating economic consequences should Russia do exactly what they are doing now, which is beginning an invasion says White House officials. And so, the president has also said though that this is just not only what is in store should Russia go any further. They are reserving some of their tougher, harshest sanctions for the Russian President should he continue down this path.

Now on top of those sanctions the president also said that he's ordering more troops and more military equipment to be sent to those Baltic nations in a defensive posture really to bolster the defense of the U.S.'s commitment to NATO in Article 5 in those NATO allied countries.

But the president still says that he is looking for a diplomatic outcome to this situation. But it becomes hard to see, Michael, exactly what that diplomatic outcome looks like in this current situation. As we know Secretary of State Antony Blinken, he canceled his meeting with Russia's Lavrov, Foreign Minister where they were supposed to meet on Thursday in Geneva to talk about several different things including a potential meeting between President Putin and President Biden. It's now off the table because both of those meetings were on the condition that Russia should not invade Ukraine. And of course, we heard new language from this administration saying that Russia has now begun an invasion to Ukraine making things even more difficult to see a way forward diplomatically -- Michael.

HOLMES: All right. Jasmine, thanks so much. Let's go to you, Scott, there in Paris. G7 leaders met there on Tuesday. What did they say?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Michael. Yes, so the European Union put out its list of approved sanctions yesterday and they look a lot like the ones that the Brits have also announced. Britain sanctioning five banks and three individuals as well as 351 members of Russia's lower House of Parliament. In Europe's case they are going after 27 people and entities. We're

talking about, again, banks, military, personnel, politicians. Things like that. They are also barring Russia from using European sources to finance its debt.

Now this is not, as Jasmine described in the U.S. as well, this is not the full package of sanctions that Europe could have unleashed but it is what they were able to get done quickly and with relatively little pain.

The French finance minister for his part said just this morning that there are infinitely more penalizing sanctions in the reserve that Europe can put in place if there is further Russian aggression. The question is can they get other EU nations to actually agree. Because remember, they have to have a unanimous consensus which is what they reached. And so, EU officials will tell you that it's really no secret they can only go so far as essentially as Hungary will allow them to. Because the Hungarians have a much closer relationship with Russia. And it seems like there are limits on how far they are willing to go.

Other countries were wanting to go much further, one of them Lithuania. The foreign minister said yesterday he's not certain that these sanctions are going to have much of an impact in deterring President Putin and said that if they don't go even further to match the Russian aggression if it does come to that, then it may actually be an invitation for Putin to keep going.

The one big sanction in Europe that may actually have a big impact is not one from the European Union but from Germany, something they announced unilaterally. And that's the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. And Lithuania says that one might hurt. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INGRIDA SIMONYTE, LITHUANIA AND PRIME MINISTER: I think this is an unexpected move most probably. And I don't think that Kremlin was expecting this because there was quite a lot of speculation about Nord Stream project. We were critical about the project from its inception because we thought we were claiming that this will become a geopolitical tool.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:10:02]

MCLEAN: So, if there are further sanctions announced, the question really is what kind of consensus can European countries actually reach and how much pain are Europeans willing to endure in order to get Russia back in line -- Michael.

HOLMES: All right. Jasmine Wright in D.C., Scott McLean there in Paris. Thanks so much to you both for the reporting.

Now we have breaking news coming in to us here at CNN. Ukraine has just been telling its citizens to avoid traveling to Russia and recommending anyone already there to return to Ukraine. An interesting development. That's just happened. We will keep across that and bring you any further developments on it.

Now Hungary responding to the Russian crisis by deploying troops to its eastern border with Ukraine. Hungary's defense minister says it's for humanitarian tasks and border protection.

And U.S. President Joe Biden announcing Tuesday that he is moving additional troops and equipment to strengthen U.S. allies in the Baltic nations. CNN's Oren Liebermann has more on that decision from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: President Joe Biden made it very clear the U.S. would defend, as he called it, every inch of NATO territory and he would help bolster the eastern flank of NATO. But he also made it clear that he would again not be sending troops into Ukraine to avoid the possibility or probability of encounter or confrontation between U.S. troops and Russian troops that could lead to an escalation between the two superpowers.

He did say the U.S. would be sending troops to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. And shortly after he spoke, we got a much better idea of what that would look like. These are all troops that are already in European commands. And these are troops moving on the continent. About 800 troops of battalion task force will move towards the Baltic states, Estonia Latvia and Lithuania, coming from Italy. Meanwhile, eight F-35 fighter jets will split. Some heading for the northeastern flank of NATO, some heading to the southeastern flank.

And then 32 Apache attack helicopters, once again splitting there. There are 12 of them will head to Poland, 20 up toward the Baltic states. This again, in an effort to show a message of unity, a message of resolve to Russian President Vladimir Putin as he weighs what his next options are.

Now defense officials said here that these troops would be in position by the end of the week. Biden said when he announced these troops, that they were strictly for a defensive purpose to make sure the U.S. stands by its NATO allies. And of course, this is in addition to all of the other U.S. troops who are already in Europe, some 90,000.

Oren Liebermann, CNN at the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now we've heard a lot from world leaders about the crisis in Ukraine but what do people in Ukraine and Russia have to say about what's going on? Well, CNN has released the results of an exclusive poll carried out in both countries from February 7th to the 15th.

First, the poll asks Russians and Ukrainians if it would be right or wrong to use -- for Russia to use military force to accomplish various goals. To prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, 50 percent of Russians say it would be right to use military force. 25 percent said it would be wrong. Meanwhile, 70 percent of Ukrainians said it would be wrong. Just 13 percent said it would be right. Meanwhile, both Russians and Ukrainians think their countries should

be separate nations. Just 1 in 10 Ukrainians say the two countries should be one country. But a third of Russians say so. You can see more of that exclusive polling at CNN.com.

Meanwhile, here in Lviv, residents are also reacting to the escalating crisis and Vladimir Putin's latest moves. Here's what some of them had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Russia can't stand to see Ukraine as an independent state with our own national anthem, coat of arms, flag. Ukraine is and will always be independent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We are ready and we are taking it seriously. We are not panicking as you see. We are calm and we are just waiting for the order. I am ready to defend my country, my homeland which we all love.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He is making the wrong decision. People don't want the war. We want to live in peace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: All right. Joining me now from Kyiv with her perspective on all of this is Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk. Good to see you again. Where do you think this is headed? Do you think Putin will at least pause and consolidate now or do you think further invasion is likely?

NATALIYA GUMENYUK, UKRAINIAN JOURNALIST: So, the difference is at the moment that though for eight years there was the territories occupied by Russia. Russia still didn't recognize them as independent and in terms of, for instance, support, they still played this game that there are rebels.

[04:15:00]

So, what they had, you know, and even the military actions intended for 2015 were bad, were horrible for people, but they were limited. What now we have with Russian troops in those so-called republics might mean that Russia might use air force and navy, something which so-called rebels couldn't buy on the free market.

That is exactly why Ukrainians are taking it way more seriously, that it could be a different type of warfare. The decision by Russia isn't to recognize those so-called Republics in their current territory or overtake more land and for more towns where over -- around 2.5 million more people are residing is not yet there.

I think right after the speech Ukrainians were really, really concerned whether it would be, you know, like an imminent assault. The sanctions worked and stopped. We had a calm day. If we think about a full-scale, you know, (INAUDIBLE) or something like that. So, I think it's up to be decided. It's really about how the West would react. How Ukraine would react. Because the shelling is still bigger than during the last half of year.

HOLMES: Yes, and to that point you tweeted about the need for more OSCE observers in the Donbas, especially given the separatists could well increase shelling on Ukrainian positions to provoke a response that Russia could use to go forward. How important is that observer role?

GUMENYUK: So, it's really critical. We know that the observers cannot stop the work but at this dire moment when there is, you know, the constant attempt to either provoke Ukraine because, as I said, the shelling is stronger than it was within the last years. It's very hard to verify, even for the good media, for the independent media, Western media who is shelling. It's also possible that we all the time following the kind of local pro-separatist news so they always show some kind of possible terrorist attacks or something. So, those people are needed on the ground and unfortunately some of the countries -- including the U.K. and the U.S. have pulled out there monitors. But if they should be somewhere at some point of history, that's exactly now.

HOLMES: Certainly, an important role. I did want to ask you this. You know, as a Ukrainian, do you think that Donbas is or could be lost to Ukraine now, even if there is some magical resolution? How difficult would it be to, you know, reincorporate that area back into Ukraine proper? Not that that's likely to happen any time soon, but what are your thoughts on that?

GUMENYUK: Dealing with the process, dealing with the reconciliation process for last years, I was quite sure that there is a probability to, you know, bring the people together unless Russia hindered it if there is a political will. Of course, what's happening now and those recognitions isn't bringing us anywhere closer.

Yet, couple of things probably to add as well about what Ukrainians feel now today. We also very much concerned how the Ukrainian government answer whether Ukrainian military, whether they would be provoked because it's at any given moment things could split further. But interesting enough, Russia always tried to divide Ukraine politically in particularly. And the imminent reaction was in the Putin speech, for instance what that the president and the one of the richest Ukrainian oligarchs, and they were fighting three months ago.

Yesterday a former pro-Russian oligarch announced that he would support integrity, that he would pay more taxes in advance. 50 top Ukrainian business men are gathering and even political factions including the ones we consider pro-Russians are kind of unified for defense of Ukraine. So, I think it's also very interesting dynamic happening here.

HOLMES: Right. That is a great perspective. Really appreciate it. Always good to talk to you, Nataliya Gumenyuk. Thanks so much.

GUMENYUK: Thank you.

HOLMES: All right, I'm Michael Holmes in Lviv Ukraine following all the latest on the Russia/Ukrainian tensions. I'll be back in about 15 minutes. For now, though, let's go back to Isa Soares in London. Back to you, my friend.

Thank you very much Michael. And ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM, the impact of the sanctions on Russian on oil as well as gas prices in the U.S. We'll take a look at how Americans may feel the pinch at the pump.

Plus, guilty of a federal hate crime. That is the verdict handed down to the three men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery. We'll have the action from outside the courthouse.

[04:20:00]

You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: As I said last week, defending freedom will have costs for us as well and here at home. We need to be honest about that. I'm going to take robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at Russian economy, not ours. I want to limit the pain to the American people our fueling at the gas pump. This is critical to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: U.S. President Joe Biden there pledging he'll do everything in his power to prevent prices rising at the gas pump in the coming months. But Russia's ambassador to the U.S. is warning that these sanctions on Russia will have global financial as well as energy market. And even ordinary Americans will feel the consequences.

Let me break it all down for you. Let's start with European markets. You can see there on your screen. They have opened higher. Green arrows right across the board. Xetra Dax up more than 1 percent, 1.2 percent. Paris CAC fairly better. Markets clearly crawling back some of their losses and hoping that Moscow -- that Putin won't go any further in its incursion. And we're seeing similar gains in the Asian pacific region.

[04:25:00]

If we have a look at U.S. futures, expect it to have a turnaround as well. Green arrows right across the board after global stock markets stumbled, if you remember, on Tuesday. And then a quick look at oil. Currently steady reaching nearly $100 a barrel although experts did predict this. And here's what gasoline prices look like currently around the U.S. as you're waking up this morning. The national average sitting at $3.53. That is nearly $1 more compared to this time last year.

And if you remember on Tuesday, Germany's decision to put Nord Stream 2 on hold has not only drawn praise from Ukraine, Washington as well as NATO, but also brought a sigh of relief. For weeks the German Chancellor feared to hedge when it came to using the pipeline as leverage against Russia. CNN's Anna Stewart is here with me to discuss all of these sanctions

and the impact it can have on global markets. And, Anna, as we looked at those markets, the stock market is, I will it's seen a bit of a pull back from the markets, but it's incredibly volatile as investors try to make sense of these geopolitical tensions and where it might go. What's your assessment as you look at the numbers?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Huge volatility yesterday and actually before many of the sanctions were announced. I think investors were bracing for what could come and then of course a knee-jerk reaction once they were announced. And then we had sanctions being announced from the U.S., from the EU, from the U.K. So, investors watching a lot of different areas.

We saw the Dow Jones at one point drop 700 points. It came up a little, it still closed down. Futures still looking higher today. But so much concern really on energy and it's both a direct potential impact for disruption to oil and gas supply from Russia. But also, the indirect impact you could have if Russia were to withhold gas for instance. And that's why we saw oil hitting a seven-year high yesterday. Why gas prices in Europe were up 30 percent. Also, very bruising for Russia's financial markets though we had the main stock index fall 4 percent. Actually, it's down 20 percent this year. Russian ruble heading for a record low against the dollar.

SOARES: I saw the move on the ruble. Be interesting to keep an eye on those Russian markets to see whether it's being felt. Let's talk about oil and gas in particular. Because Nord Stream 2 that being put on hold. For so long (INAUDIBLE) member, this as well, when we talked about Crimea, how really Europe thought gas was being weaponized. And Europe knew this right from the beginning. What's Europe's assessment now?

STEWART: Europe was very concerned. And I think Germany was reluctant to have to take this measure that they have. It's pretty much the biggest stick they could wield against Russia financially, blocking or at least suspending the certification of this pipeline. It cost Russia $11 billion to make. They could export a huge amount of gas to Europe bypassing Ukraine, which is what they want. And it could have brought in $15 billion a year.

SOARES: This is expensive for us though?

STEWART: Well, this is the problem. For Germany, which is hugely reliant on Russian gas for over a third of all of its energy needs, this could be a problem. And this is worse, a tweet from Dmitry Medvedev -- he's a Russian government official, the former president any Putin ally. He took to Twitter following this announcement and said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has issued an order to halt the process of certifying the pipeline. Well, welcome to the brave new world where Europeans are very soon going to pay 2 euros for one cubic meter of natural gas.

Now that would be over doubling the current price. Why? This pipeline doesn't exist. It doesn't pump any gas right now. And actually, there's enough capacity in existing pipelines for Russia to massively increase their gas exports to Europe. This is all to do with energy security. And actually, that's what the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had to say. There's a benefit to this which is weaning Europe's reliance on gas. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EU COMMISSION PRESIDENT: And the crucial part for Nord Stream 2 is, will it contribute to a better security of energy supply or will it be a risk for the energy security of supply? And at the moment being we see that the focus on Nord Stream 2 will increase our dependency of Russian gas. This is something we do not want.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: Actions so far have been incredibly positive, from the U.S., the EU, the U.K. looking at some wealthy individuals, Russian oligarchs, looking at some banks but not the big ones. They haven't played their main card. And frankly the trump card, which would be disconnecting Russia from Swift remains in their hands. So, they have a lot further to go potentially.

SOARES: Yes, that might be the nuclear option. We shall see whether they do take that. Anna Stewart, thank you very much.

Now sanctions may not make Moscow flinch, at least not yet, but what about members of the billionaire boys club? Who are cozy with the Kremlin? What Russian oligarchs stand to lose in the standoff? We'll have that for you.

And the family of Ahmaud Arbery celebrates the outcome of the federal hate crime trial over his murder. More on their long journey for justice after this short break.

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