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Air Raid Sirens Sound In Kyiv And Lviv, Ukraine; Ukraine's Zelensky Introduces Martial Law, Urges Calm; Putin Announces Military Operation In Donbas. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired February 24, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN "BREAKING NEWS".

[02:00:51]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us all around the world, live from Ukraine, I'm Michael Holmes.

And our "BREAKING NEWS" this hour. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is underway, with attacks reported from the north, the east, and the south.

Ukraine's interior ministry says missile strikes have hit the capital Kyiv, airfields, and military headquarters in Kharkiv have been shelled, and Russian troops have landed in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa.

Now, according to Russia, they got no resistance from Ukrainian border guards, and according to Russia, have suppressed Ukraine's air defenses.

Ukraine's Armed Forces says five Russian aircraft and a helicopter have been shot down. Russia denying that.

Video, meanwhile, from Ukrainian border guards shows a column of military vehicles entering the country from Belarus to the north.

Tens of thousands of Russian troops have been conducting military drills there for several weeks. And as Matthew Chance was on the air, just a few hours ago from Kyiv, when air raid sirens sounded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Just been an air raid siren just suddenly -- oh, here it is.

They are -- that's an air raid -- an air raid siren. Several of them going off here in the center of the Ukrainian capital.

Now, whether that's them just testing it, I don't think so, though given the situation we currently find ourselves in. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And air raid sirens here in Lviv, Ukraine in the west of the country, they're going off again right now in the background here. And that's probably the seventh or maybe eighth time in the last hour and a half that, that has happened. They're coming from multiple parts of the city as well.

Local television reporting, the government officials are telling residents here in Lviv to stay indoors, gather their documents, and not panic. Time to see how that is possible given the tension and what's going on around the country.

HOLMES (voice-over): Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, he went on Facebook to address the nation. He says he's imposing martial law, but he too urge the country not to panic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Today, each of you should stay calm. Stay at home if you can. We are working. The army is working. The whole sector of defense and security is working. No panic. We are strong. We are ready for everything. We will win over everybody because we are Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, he's calling this a "military operation to protect Donbas", while it's clearly much more than that.

He made a surprise appearance on state television. Early this morning, Mr. Putin blaming the government in Kyiv for any bloodshed, but said Russian forces are not planning an occupation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): Whoever tries to interfere with us, and even more so to create threats for our country, our people should know that Russia's response will be immediate, and will lead you to such consequences that you have never experienced in your history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: U.S. President Joe Biden, he condemned what he called the unprovoked and unnecessary Russian invasion. He plans a White House address in the days ahead where he is expected to announce full scale sanctions on Russia.

Mr. Biden, tweeting, "Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way." He goes on, "The world will hold Russia accountable."

All right, we've got Nick Paton Walsh, standing by in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, Atika Shubert here in Lviv with me. Jill Dougherty in Moscow, and Katie Bo Lillis is at the Pentagon.

Jill Dougherty in Moscow, let's start with you. What is -- what do you think Vladimir Putin is up to? What is his calculus here? Because that's certainly not what he's been saying was going to happen over recent weeks.

[02:05:06]

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, RUSSIAN AFFAIRS (on camera): Well, his objectives, he says, Michael are to demilitarize and de-Nazify the country, Ukraine. So demilitarized could be, obviously, he's been taking out military installations, airports, et cetera.

De-Nazify is kind of a different question. How do you do that? Who does he define as Nazis? You know, over the past weeks, actually, for a very long time, the Russian media have been talking about Ukraine as a neo-Nazi country.

And today, in fact, and yesterday, there was -- there were constant reports about Nazis, both from World War II, and supposedly from today. So, how he's going to do that? I really don't know.

But that speech, I think when you look at it, it popped-up around 5:30 in the morning, Moscow time, just before some of those missiles began hitting in Ukraine.

And as you look at it, I've been reading it and rereading it, he's making kind of a limited argument that he had to protect the people in those breakaway regions that he recognized officially just a couple of days before.

But then he broadened it, he attacked NATO as being as supporting neo- Nazis. And then an extraordinary moment, he spoke directly to the Ukrainian military saying, essentially, give up your weapons, go home, and nothing will happen to you.

So, it's really quite amazing. And that last quote that you heard, where he warns anyone and that presumably could be NATO, the United States, Europe, et cetera, not to get involved, or they would see something that they've never seen before.

So, it's really quite extraordinary. It had a real edge to it. It was angry, and I would say pretty emotional.

HOLMES: Yes, indeed. Jill Dougherty in Moscow, great to have you there.

I want to go now to Katie Bo Lillis, she's at the Pentagon for us. One thing that's interesting about this, Katie, is this move in from the north, which you know, the Belarusian leader said was ridiculous.

Just a matter of days ago, to our Fred Pleitgen, well, here it is happening. What are they saying at the Pentagon?

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER (on camera): Yes, of course. So, what we're hearing from both our sources here in Washington and our sources in the region is, you know, look, U.S. defense and intelligence officials have always seen a potential Russian incursion from Belarus as pretty critical because it offers the Russians this fairly direct path to Kyiv -- to the -- to the Ukrainian capital.

Now, what we have heard from one senior U.S. senator, Senator Marco Rubio, who is the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, based on -- what we're told is based on intelligence briefings that he has received -- he sees this incursion from Belarus as a part of Russian planning to try to isolate Kyiv, from Ukraine's own forces that are operating in the east of the country, sort of on the eastern flank butting up against these separatist controlled regions.

A sort of attempt to cut-off Kyiv from its own forces, which obviously would be, you know, would be hugely significant.

But at this point, you know, what officials are telling us is that, look, we're still largely in the fog of war here. The United States' defense department and intelligence community is still watching closely, trying to get a sense for how this campaign is going to unfold.

You know, the bottom line here is what we have been told from officials sort of from the beginning is that Ukraine is massively outgunned, massively outmanned here.

The expectation is not that they're going to be able to repel this assault, the -- but the question now, I think for, for U.S. officials closely tracking this is, is how much hurt are they going to be able to extract from Moscow?

How difficult are they going to be able to make it? What kind of costs are they going to be able to impose as this invasion continues to unfold?

We're obviously also hearing from the Ukrainians that they have seen -- they have seen ground incursions from the east and the south as well. So, you can expect that the DoD here in Washington and allied forces overseas are going to be closely watching to try to get a sense for, you know, what, who -- what, how many, where, and how this is all going to continue to unfold.

HOLMES: Katie Bo Lillis at the Pentagon. Appreciate that.

I want to go down to the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. Nick Paton Walsh is standing by there.

Nick, give us a sense of what is happening there. And also your thoughts on the breadth of this operation. I mean, the Russians, of course, Vladimir Putin was saying, it's just to go into the Donbas to support those separatists. It's way bigger than that. Your thoughts.

[02:10:02]

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (on camera): Yes. I mean, it's way bigger than that. It speaks to a mindset, if a Kremlin had to -- is feeling expansionist in ways we haven't seen in Europe in decades.

I mean, here, we are waking up at 5:00 in the morning by a three or four blasts, not in the city center. As far as you can tell, it's difficult to know where things detonating in an urban environment like that. But it didn't seem to be here in the city center at all near the main port.

There are various sort of military installations around this third largest city in Ukraine, essentially to ensure that it continues to function as Ukraine's main maritime access to the outside world.

6:00, two further explosions. We don't know where they were. We don't know what caused them. But it's pretty fair to suggest this is linked to the broader Russian moves across the country.

The fact that it is so far south here, this is a -- you know, Russian speaking city predominantly, where the Russian general consulate shutdown a couple of days ago shows exactly how wide this is. It is the sort of nightmare situation that when Western intelligence officials first start talking about it, seemed preposterous that Russia would have the resources, the goal to attempt taking over a nation of 40 million.

We're not necessarily seeing that scale of occupation, but the initial moves of troops from the north, possibly from Crimea in the south and from the east, as well, speak to something much wider than just the Donbas being protected, as Vladimir Putin suggested.

I mean, the Donbas is an open interpretation how big you choose to define that. Importantly, when the separatists Republic's asked for recognition, Vladimir Putin clarified that he regarded that to be both the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which is an area pretty much, three times the size of the area they currently control.

So, that in itself was a massive increase of what we thought maybe Moscow and separatist's ambition was.

But the idea you might be seeing troops coming in from the north, and the east, and even our indications from Crimea to, would speak, to this. And what sounded like a mad idea of Russian troops trying to move through the country, cut off the bulk of Ukraine's military, which is in the East, focus around those separatist areas, and then, possibly with that Ukrainian military disabled to the East have an easier time threatening the capital city of Kyiv.

But these, when they come out of my mouth, sound like completely absurd ideas that the Russian military has a scope on trying to move into a capital city of nearly 3 million people.

So, we have to see whether this is a shocker nor type, a beginning of a phase. And then we see a bid for requesting concessions from the Ukrainian government. We don't know where we are here. But we do know we've recently seen Vladimir Putin, who clearly have a mindset of intense personal grievances.

And just in the speech released last night, warning anybody of outside interference to bring consequences they hadn't seen in their history. That, to me is deeply chilling. We've always been in this debate about, well, Putin, you know, isn't really looking to do the craziest things he can. It's always small little steps here. He doesn't have big, overarching terrifying schemes for Europe.

But we got an impression today that, that might be something we're beginning to see unfold here. Michael?

HOLMES: Yes, and frank -- frankly, terrifying comments coming from the Russian president.

Nick Paton Walsh in Odessa, a critical strategic city for Ukraine. Appreciate that. Nick, we'll check in with you later.

And let's go now to Atika Shubert, who is here in Lviv. And you and I are both here. And we both been hearing these sirens going off. I think I've counted eight or nine separate times now, warning people to stay indoors and to everybody -- you know, stay calm as well, according to state television here.

What are you hearing about how people are protecting and preparing?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, a couple of days ago, we know that the Ukrainian government sent out brochures to people what to do in the event of an emergency, in the event of war. They told people to be ready stocked up on food, water, any cooking gas, that they -- in case they get cut off.

Also make sure they have another source of heating. They ask people to stay at home, but if needed to, to find out where the closest shelters are as well. Now, we've been hearing those sirens as you point out, and I've noticed just here on the street, many people going out to get that extra food that was recommended.

I saw some several families actually come by kids with their backpacks stuffed. I think it goes to show that people, you know, for a long time just didn't believe this was really going to happen.

They've lived with the specter of war here for eight years now. And this was their worst nightmare, it seems to have finally come true. And so, people are now reacting, making sure they have those emergency plans.

Their bags are packed, but it's still very worrisome, and they're not sure what's going to happen next, Michael.

[02:15:06]

HOLMES: Yes, terrifying for people to be in this city in the west of the country and waking up to those sirens and the news that their country is being invaded. Atika, thank you.

Atika Shubert there in Lviv where I am.

All right, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, U.S. President Joe Biden, of course, swiftly condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. We'll go live to Washington for more on how the U.S. plans to respond. That's when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO UNITED NATIONS: At the exact time as we are gathered in the council seeking peace, Putin delivered a message of war in total disdain for the responsibility of this this council. This is a grave emergency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The American ambassador to the U.N. there, moments after the Russian president announced what he called a "special military operation" into Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials, of course, are calling it an invasion because that's exactly what it appears it is. Explosions have been reported in cities from near Kyiv, the capital, to Kharkiv, and many others in between. Ukraine says military infrastructure is being targeted.

[02:20:09]

HOLMES: CNN obtained exclusive videos showing military vehicles entering Ukraine from Belarus in the north of this country in the early hours of the morning. And we also now have video of troops crossing into Ukraine from Crimea in the South.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden, condemning the attacked as unprovoked and unjustified. He is expected to announce further consequences, "for Moscow" in the hours ahead.

Let's talk about that, go live to Washington, and CNN's Kevin Liptak. The U.S. said that the punishing sanctions, the full weight of sanctions would happen. If this happened, this invasion, what are you expecting?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER (on camera): Well, we are expecting sort of the full package to be announced tomorrow. And we're told that U.S. officials are on the phone tonight with their European counterparts trying to kind of coordinate their response here.

The president is also expected to talk to G7 leaders tomorrow morning -- mid-morning, Washington time to try and get sort of on the same page on the sanctions. And then, he will come out midday tomorrow and lay out what he's planning to do.

And what we're told to expect is, again, these sort of swift and severe sanctions that the president had been promising should Vladimir Putin go ahead with this assault in Ukraine.

And that includes things like export controls, which would restrict American export of technology to Russia, and that would have sort of a weathering effect on things like its military sector.

We also expect a new sanctions on Russian banks. The president announced sanctions earlier this week onto Russian financial institutions, but this would go after much larger financial institutions, and potentially have a much bigger effect.

We also expect additional sanctions on members of Vladimir Putin's inner circle. Again, the president sanction three members of that inner circle earlier this week. He's expected to go after additional members tomorrow. And that will also include members of those people's family.

That has been a way that these oligarchs really have avoided sanctions in the past, the U.S. now trying to go after members of their family to try and cut off that escape route, if you will.

Those are the sanctions aspects of what the president is expected to announce tomorrow. We also would expect potentially announcements of additional aid to Ukraine.

On Monday, this week, the president announced he was deploying additional U.S. troops to NATO's eastern flank. He's been very clear that U.S. troops won't be going to Ukraine itself, but that's another area that we expect the president to potentially discuss tomorrow.

Now, earlier tonight, the president did speak with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. They got on the phone just before midnight. President Biden, in a statement said that Zelensky reached out to him to speak.

He said that on that call, Zelensky asked me to call on the leaders of the world to speak out clearly against President Putin's flagrant aggression, and to stand with people of Ukraine.

And now, on these sanctions, we should note that the president had initially viewed these as a way to deter President Putin. Clearly, that deterrent effect for the sanctions didn't work out. And now, he is viewing these sanctions as more of a punishment against President Putin.

The president saying in a statement earlier tonight that the world will hold Russia accountable. Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, It's going to be interesting to see how the Western alliance holds together when it comes to how punishing those sanctions are.

Kevin Liptak in Washington. Appreciate it. Thanks so much.

All right. So, what could be Russia's next military moves in Ukraine? For that, we're joined by Malcolm Davis. He's a senior analyst for defense, strategy, and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. He is speaking with us from Canberra. And thanks for doing so.

So, when you look at the battlefield and where forces are coming in from, what do you see is the most likely strategy militarily to be employed by Russia as these operations continue? MALCOLM DAVIS, SENIOR ANALYST FOR DEFENSE, STRATEGY, AND CAPABILITY, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Well, look, I think what you're seeing is the initial air and missile bombardment, lots of footage of cruise missiles hitting targets all over Ukraine. Large artillery barrage is coming off the Russian held areas in the -- in the east, in the Donbas, Luhansk, and Donetsk.

I think the next step would be the Russian forces in that area, expand their offensive into Ukrainian held territory, and that's where you're likely to see intense fighting. And at the same time, you're going to see Russian forces in Belarus advanced south towards Kyiv. And I think that's a key area of access of advanced that we need to focus on.

[02:25:04]

DAVIS: The third area, of course, is the south around Mariupol, and potentially, an amphibious operation against Odessa as well.

HOLMES: Yes. Some reports of that is happening in Mariupol, in terms of Marines operating there.

Putin says he does not plan to occupy the country. He says that he wants to, "demilitarize" Ukraine. Do you buy that? And could he hold the country if he wanted to in the bigger sense?

DAVIS: I don't buy that. Because if he doesn't occupy the country, and he withdraws, the Ukrainians will take back Russia's lost gains. So, I don't buy into what Putin is saying there.

I think certainly, he intends to use overwhelming brute force to physically destroy the Ukrainian military, through massive artillery and rocket barrages and airpower assaults, and so forth.

But at the end of the day, you only win wars by seizing and holding Brown. And so therefore, I think it's highly unlikely that the Russians would go through all of this, only to then we've tricked retreat back into the Donbas. No, I think he will occupy key parts of Ukraine, including potentially going into Kyiv.

HOLMES: Again, yes, actually, that's a good point. Let's talk more about that. I mean, you talked about potential military operations going on in Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, a critical and strategic port for this country.

What are the chances then that and there's also activity in Odessa? What are the chances that he will get his long desired land bridge from Russia to Crimea, from Mariupol? All the way past Crimea? And to Odessa? What are the chances he would do that? And what would be the impact of that on Ukraine's ability to even operate economically?

DAVIS: Though he's going for bro, he's really committing massive amounts of Russian military force, to what is a massive invasion of Ukraine, with the goal to dismember Ukraine, to remove the democratically elected government, and to put in place a regime that is loyal to Russia. And I have no doubt that he will try to alter territorial borders through brute force as well. So, he's not going to pull any punches. Yes, he's going to see an opportunity here to create that land bridge from Mariupol, all the way through to Odessa. It's possible that Russian forces in that advance could then meet up with Russian forces based in Transnistria in Moldova.

And certainly, that would then seal off the entire Ukrainian southern coast, leaving the rump Ukraine, perhaps around Lviv, where you are at the moment, as like the remnant of Ukraine.

And the challenge then for Putin is that the Ukrainian forces would fight a war of insurgency and resistance against an army of (INAUDIBLE).

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: Yes. My next question and quick, if you will, given the imbalance between the two militaries, I-- what sort of fight you expect from the Ukrainians now? And do you expect that insurgency to eventuate going forward?

I think the Ukrainians are better prepared than they were in 2014 when Russia invaded and annexed the Crimea and also launched the proxy wars in the Donbas.

But they lacked the overwhelming firepower of the Russian military today. They lack the firepower, they lack the missile power, the electronic warfare, and all of those capabilities that Russia has.

So, the Ukrainians will fight as best they can, they will force the Russians to pay a price. And then, they will switch to insurgency and resistance from the cities and through the countryside, and try to raise the cost of any Russian occupation of Ukraine.

HOLMES: Fascinating analysis. Malcolm Davis, thanks so much. Really appreciated there, joining us from Canberra.

DAVIS: Thank you.

HOLMES: A state of emergency in Ukraine, martial law and air raid sirens as Russia attacks. We're covering all of this live from Ukraine. Do stay with us. We'll be right back.

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[02:33:29]

HOLMES: All right. We are getting a response -- we are getting a E.U. response to what has happened here in Ukraine with the invasion. Ursula von der Leyen there speaking. Let's listen.

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: Capacity to modernize. And in addition, we will freeze Russian assets in the European Union and stop the access of Russian banks to European financial markets. Like with the first package of sanctions, we are closely aligned with our partners and allies, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, but also for example, Japan and Australia.

These sanctions are designed to take a heavy toll on the Kremlin's interests and their ability to finance war. And we know that millions of Russians do not want war. President Putin is trying to turn the clock back to the times of the Russian empire. But in doing so, he is putting at risk the future of the Russian people.

I call on Russia to immediately stop the violence and to withdraw its troops from Ukraine's Russian territory. We will not let President Putin tear down the security architecture that has given Europe peace and stability over many decades.

[02:35:03]

We will not allow President Putin to replace the rule of law by the rule of force and ruthlessness. You should not underestimate the resolve and strength of our democracies. And history has proven, societies and alliances built on trust and freedom are resilient and successful. And that's exactly what the autocrats fear.

The European Union stands with Ukraine and its people. We will continue to support them. Ukraine will prevail. Thank you.

JOSEP BORRELL, HIGH REPRESENTATIVE EUROPEAN UNION FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: These are, among the darkest hour for Europe since the end of World War II. A major nuclear power has attacked a neighbor country and is threatening reprisals of any other states that may come to its rescue. It is not only the greatest violation of international law. It's a violation of the basic principles of human co-existence. It's costing many lives with unknown consequences ahead of us.

The European Union will respond in the strongest possible terms. President of the European Council, President Michel, has called for a meeting of the European Council this evening. And they will agree and provide political guidance to adopt a stronger package, the harshest package of sanctions, strongest package, the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented.

As head of Representative for the Foreign Affairs Security Policy of the European Union, I will be in touch with our partners around the world to ensure the international community will be fully grasping the gravity of the moment and to call strongly and united on Russia to cease immediately this behavior, intolerable behavior. And Russia leadership will face unprecedented isolation.

This is not a question of blocks. This is not a question of diplomatic power games. It's a matter of life and death. It's about the future of our global community. And we will stand united with our Trans-Atlantic partners and will all European nations in defending this position. We stand united in saying that no violence and destruction as means to obtain political gains. We the European Union remain the stronger group of nations in the world and this should not be underestimated.

More immediately, we will be designing urgent assistance to Ukraine in this dire situation. We will also be active in supporting evacuations operations including of our own staff in zones affected by this Russian attack. The European Union together with the Trans-Atlantic and like-minded partners have made unprecedented efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution to the security crisis caused by Russia.

But Russia has not reciprocated these efforts and instead has opted unilaterally for a grave and premeditated escalation conducting to war. President Putin needs to stop this senseless aggression. And today our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine. We will stand with them.

HOLMES: All right. Sorry. Just hearing there from Ursula von der Leyen, the E.U. commissioner talking about the first package of sanctions. How united the E.U. is, saying we want to hit Putin's financial ability to wage war. We will not allow them to tear down the security infrastructure that has kept peace for many decades. We stand with Ukrainians. Ukraine will prevail, she said.

And then Josep Borell, High Representative of the E.U. for Foreign Affairs, spoke of the darkness of the hour, the grave escalation and the senseless aggression and the harsh sanctions to come. He said Russia's behavior was intolerable.

[02:40:08]

We're going to take a quick break now. And then when we come back we're going to discuss what the human cost could be as a result of this invasion. We'll speak with a human rights activists. That's after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back to Lviv, Ukraine. And I'm Michael Holmes. And we continue to cover Russia's invasion of this country. And the U.S. already warning of a dire refugee crisis in the making with projections of millions displaced by this Russian attack. Potentially here's how the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UNITED NATIONS: If Russia continues down this path, it could according to our estimates create a new refugee crisis.

[02:45:05]

One of the largest facing the world today with as many as five million more people displaced by Russia's war of choice and putting pressure on Ukraine's neighbors. The tidal wave of suffering this war will cause are unthinkable.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And joining me now from Kyiv is Oleksandra Matviichuk, who's chair of the Center for Civil Liberties. That is a human rights group.

Let's start with the potential refugee crisis that could come out of this latest war. What do you fear? OLEKSANDRA MATVIICHUK, CHAIR, CENTER FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES: We expect

that if Russia will go further, it will be a huge refugee crisis. We can compare it with 2014 when the war started. We have up to two million IDPs. In this situation it will be much more.

HOLMES: Where do they go? What do they do?

MATVIICHUK: I am in Kyiv, and a lot of people, active people, staying here and will fight for our country and for our city, and for our dignity. But people with children, people with elderly parents, people who are scared, it's very natural, try to leave the city.

HOLMES: Yes, I think many are expected to head here to Lviv, perhaps, or on to Poland. It's going to be an enormous crisis if that happens. You say that Russia uses war crimes as a tool. What types of human rights issues are you preparing for and what can be done?

MATVIICHUK: Russia, you know, will try to find physically liquidate active people, active civilians. Their target will be journalists, human rights defenders, civil activists, religious, and art leaders, volunteers, because they have to physically liquidate active minority who are able for self-organization and resistant to the occupation.

HOLMES: Many more Western sanctions as we just heard from the European Union are coming soon. The U.S. as well. So far, though, they did not deter Vladimir Putin. Is there anything that will get him to pull back or is it too late now?

MATVIICHUK: Now it all depends on the immediate reaction of the West because Putin understands only force. And the price has to be too high for Kremlin. We as Ukrainians will win. I don't know how my personal story will end. But I have no doubt that Ukraine will stand. But we need time, and the West can provide us with this time, with their immediate reaction.

HOLMES: All right, Oleksandra Matviichuk in Kyiv, we really appreciate it. Thanks so much for coming on.

And that potential for refugee fleeing this country or fleeing their cities is certainly enormous potential issue.

All right, we continue our live coverage of Russia's military attack on Ukraine. Next up, we will bring you up to speed with the latest developments on the ground.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:52:59]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back to our breaking news coverage. I'm Rosemary Church.

An empty airspace over Ukraine, as the crisis sharply escalates on the ground. This radar showing no signs of any craft after aviation authorities restricted the country's airspace. Russia also issued a notice banning civil aircraft from flight routes along Ukraine's border.

Well, Ukrainian officials say attacks from Russian troops have come from Russia, Belarus, and Crimea. And you're looking at video now of military vehicles entering Ukraine from a border crossing with Crimea. CNN correspondents have heard explosions in cities across Ukraine including near Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odessa.

Ukraine's Defense minister insists that the situation is under control and that Russian troops are suffering losses. Russia meanwhile claims it met no resistance from Ukrainian border guards and that it has suppressed Ukraine's air defenses. CNN is unable to independently verify these claims.

And we've just learned that Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have triggered NATO Article Four, meaning they will consult with each other over security concerns.

Well, as the Ukrainian president urged residents to be calm, a poignant scene unfolded at Kharkiv's main square. And CNN anchor Don Lemon spoke to senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward about what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Clarissa, you are witnessing something that is taking place right in front of your very eyes on the street. Tell us about it.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think this, Don, really speaks to the sort of desperation of this moment. We just see a small group of people, and I'm hoping you can see them on our shot here.

LEMON: Very clearly.

WARD: A small group of people have gathered in the main square and they are kneeling, and praying, because right now there is truly a sense of having no idea what is coming down the pipeline, what is in store for the people of Ukraine in the coming hours, in the coming days.

[02:55:11]

And it's freezing cold here. So to see these people kneeling on the cold stone in prayer is honestly -- it's very moving, Don. And I think it speaks to the state of ordinary Ukrainians here who have done absolutely nothing to deserve this. Who have no quarrel with Russia. Who have no desire for war or conflict. Who are not engaged with the geopolitics underpinning all of this. And yet who will ultimately be the ones to bear the brunt of, as what Matthew called it, this multi- pronged major attack by one of the world's most sophisticated militaries on a sovereign, independent nation.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And we thank you for watching. I am Rosemary Church. Michael Holmes will re-join me with our breaking news live from Ukraine in just a moment. You're watching CNN.

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