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Russia Targets Ukraine; Russian Troops Coming from All Points of Entry in Ukraine; Ukrainians Scrambling to Leave Kyiv; President Zelensky Beg World Leaders to Act; European Leaders Promise to Punish Russia. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 24, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes coming to you live from Lviv in Ukraine. And we begin this hour of course with the breaking news.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is under way. Attacks reported from Russian territory in the east, Belarus in the north, and from Crimea and the Black Sea in 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.

According to Russia, they got no resistance from Ukrainian border guards and have suppressed Ukraine's air defenses. We're unable to independently confirm that. Meanwhile, Ukraine says five Russian aircraft and a helicopter have been shot down. Russia denies that. Difficult to confirm such things in the fog of war.

Video from northern Ukraine shows Russian military vehicles entering the country from Belarus. This is significant. Tens of thousands of Russian troops have been conducting military drills there for several weeks, and suspicions arose when they just didn't go home.

Now another video shows a Russian convoy entering Ukraine from Crimea. That's in the south of the country.

CNN's Matthew Chance, he was on air in Kyiv, the capital just a few hours ago when the city was hit. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I tell you what, I just heard a big bang right here behind me. I thought we shouldn't have done the live shot here. There are big explosions taking place in Kyiv right now. I can't see where they're taking place from this vantage point here on top of the roof of the hotel in central Kyiv, and I can't explain what they are. But I heard four or five explosions a few moments ago. I don't know whether our viewers or whether you in the studio could hear what I just heard.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: We could hear, Matthew.

CHANCE: You could.

LEMON: Yes.

CHANCE: So, I don't know what it is. But I will tell you that the United States has warned that the Ukrainians --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Was that another one?

CHANCE: Yes, I think it was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (on camera): All right. Russian President Vladimir Putin, he's calling this a, quote, "military operation to protect Donbas in the east of the country." Well, that is clearly far more than that. He made a surprise appearance on state television calling for the demilitarization of Ukraine, blaming the government in Kyiv for any bloodshed. But he said that Russian forces are not planning an occupation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (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 it will be lead you to such consequences that you have never experience in your history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (on camera): Now Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky he went on Facebook to address the nation. He said he is imposing martial law around the country, but at the same time urging the country not to panic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: 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 (on camera): U.S. President Joe Biden condemning what he called the unprovoked an unnecessary Russian invasion. He is planning a White House address in the days ahead -- when the day ahead where he is expected to announce full-scale sanctions on Russia. Mr. Biden tweeted out this, quote, "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, let's bring Nick Paton Walsh in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. Our White House reporter Kevin Liptak is in Washington, Katie Bo Lillis is at the Pentagon.

Nick, we begin with you in Odessa. This is way bigger than anyone really anticipated. And certainly, what the Kremlin led people to believe.

[03:04:58]

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes, look, I mean, it's difficult to take seriously or put too much for us to what we hear from Russian officials given the constant suggestion that this was all hysteria when it was warned about when it was warned about by western officials in the past weeks. And even frankly, seasoned observers of Russia felt it would be hard for Russia to realistically try something on this scale, even over here in the southwest port city of Odessa, we heard explosions just before dawn.

It's clear too from pictures emerging from the capital Kyiv where there have been significantly more explosions that people are deeply concerned. Many of them it seems fleeing. Some of the images from there showing the outbound highways, most likely westbound clogged with traffic.

It's not entirely surprising, but of course it must come to a shock people in the capital who literally a week or so ago often we're talking about how they didn't believe something like this could occur. And so we have a country in a state of emergency now. Martial law, and deep fears as to when they might start seeing Russian military action in the skies over -- or Russian troops in the streets where they live.

You can hear police sirens intermittently here in Odessa. I can tell you, Michael, you know, we did hear from the interior ministry early on that Odessa may have been subject to some sort of invasion. That hasn't borne out on what we have seen here, obviously Odessa area is larger.

So, these are things that we continue to try and assess. This being so vital, I think, many think to any part of Russian's bid to pressure Ukraine's economy or infrastructure generally speaking going forward.

But this is a startling day for European history, frankly. All of the worst predictions about what Vladimir Putin's regime were capable of have come true this morning, even if this is the extent of what he plans to do. If he is simply just trying to probe into Ukraine to spark this kind of fear, make a series of demands and extract concessions.

This is still a moment where every member of NATO should be taking stock and the people of Ukraine who are desperate for some kind of outside assistance in this really working up to a new world. Michael? HOLMES: Indeed, Nick. I appreciate your reporting there. And before

we go to Katie Bo Lillis at the Pentagon, let's have a look at those, that video of those cars pouring out of the capital Kyiv. An extraordinary traffic jam heading west. We know people here. We've interviewed people here who fled Kyiv a week ago because they were worried what could happen.

And that is a remarkable image there. People pouring out, or not moving because there is so much traffic, trying to get out of the capital of a major European country, escaping the Russian army. Absolutely extraordinary. They could be heading here to Lviv. Poland is readying itself for refugees to come across.

We've already seen images of people lining up outside gas stations all over this country and outside ATMs as well. Utterly extraordinary images there. Let's go to Katie Bo Lillis at the Pentagon and the reaction there, Katie.

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: Yes. So, you know, look, U.S. intelligence and defense officials have been warning that this potential worst-case scenario could be in the offing really for weeks now. And of course, now what we are seeing is the most maximalist version that they had -- that they had warned was possible was playing out.

We do know that officials in the Defense Department are in real-time closely tracking all of those sort of Russian military maneuvers, trying to get a sense for how this campaign is going to unfold. In particular, we know that officials are watching the incursion from Belarus, the Russian troops that have rolled across the boarder there because of course that offers them a fairly direct pathway to Kyiv, to the Ukrainian capital.

And what we understand from a senior U.S. lawmaker, a member of the Senate intelligence committee, Senator Marco Rubio, who has been receiving intelligence briefings on what the Russian planning for this invasion entails, tweeting -- tweeting just in recent hours that that incursion in particular suggests Russian planning to try to cut off Kyiv from Ukraine's own forces operating in the east of the country, sort of butting up against this, against this separatist-held republics in the east of the country.

So, the Defense Department intelligence community closely looking really at this point at how the ground campaign is going to unfold and what sort of air support might be brought into bear in order to facilitate that ground campaign.

You know, big question right now I think is will Russia attempt to hold territory. Russia has obviously said that it doesn't intend to occupy territory, but obviously we have seen them say one thing and do the complete opposite in multiple times in recent months.

[03:09:59]

Certainly U.S. officials tell us that they are very aware of a Russian military doctrine called Maskirovka, which is really the embrace of deception as part of a military campaign. And so, I think U.S. officials very closely tracking not necessarily what Russia says but what Russia is doing at this point.

HOLMES: Yes, you're right. And as you and Nick Paton Walsh said leaving anything out of the Kremlin at the moment would be a risky venture. Thank you so much Katie Bo Lillis there at the Pentagon.

Let's go to CNN White House reporter Kevin Liptak in Washington. And the Biden administration, Kevin, they were saying all along that if this would happen, there would be punishing sanction. What do you know of what's planned?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, this is something that the president has been warning of for months. And initially, he wanted this to be a deterrent for Vladimir Putin. Clearly, Putin wasn't deterred, and now it's being meant as a punishment.

And so, we do expect the president to come out midday tomorrow and to unveil this new set of sanctions. We are told that this is, quote, "the full set." This is what the president has been warning about. That includes export controls, which would limit exports of technology to Russia. That would have a real effect on its military sector.

We expect new sanctions on financial institutions. And we expect new sanctions on members of Putin's inner circle and their family members. And that's important because the U.S. is trying to avoid these oligarchs from funneling their money in a way that would protect it from American sanctions.

So, we're told that the president was on the phone with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky just before midnight Washington time. They spoke for a few minutes. The president said that Zelensky reached out to him to speak as his capital was coming under siege this evening.

In a readout of the call, the president said that Zelensky asked him to call on the leaders of the world to speak out clearly against President Putin's flagrant aggression and to stand with the people of Ukraine. Now tonight we're told U.S. officials and European officials have been on the phone to try and coordinate these sanctions that they plan to unveil tomorrow.

The president also planning to get on the phone tomorrow with members of the G7 in a virtual call, again, to try and coordinate these sanctions.

There have been some questions about how willing certain European nations like Germany, like Italy that have a much closer economic relationship with Russia than the United States, how willing they will be to impose really harsh sanctions against Russia. The president clearly wanting to get all of them on the same page in this call tomorrow before he comes out and addresses the American people.

But clearly, this is a jarring night for the White House. The president has been warning about sort of a step by step of how this would unfold, really, over the last several weeks and months. And you're seeing it now unfold tonight. The president will sort of reckon with that reality tomorrow when he addresses the American people, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, I don't know if you've been able to get a sense. Of course, it's the middle of the night where you are, a sense from, you know, these sanctions have not worked so far. Clearly, the Russian leader has baked in the fact that there would be more punishing sanctions. You know, is there a -- if the initial sanctions were plan a and these sanctions are plan b, is there a c?

LIPTAK: Well, the White House has said all along that these sanctions would come in waves. The first wave was Monday. This is the second wave. It's not necessarily the last wave. They have built in this sort of long list of sanctions that they've been preparing over the last several months that includes things like removing Russia from the swift banking system. Even sanctioning Putin himself.

Those are not necessarily things that we're expecting tomorrow, but they're also things that the White House has left on the table to impose down the line. So, I think what you see tomorrow will be severe. It will be what the president has been warning about. But it's not necessarily the end of the road.

But you do make a good point. A lot of Russia's economy has essentially been sanction-proofed. The White House has baked a little bit of that into what they're planning down the road. But, again, it's a tough thing for them to get around. And clearly, President Putin wasn't deterred by the threat of those sanctions. We'll see what happens when these new sanctions go into effect tomorrow.

HOLMES: Yes. Absolutely. Kevin Liptak, appreciate your reporting there. Also, Nick Paton Walsh and Katie Bo Lillis as well.

Now, speaking of the Europeans and their unity on this, a short time ago E.U. leaders gave their response to the Russian invasion. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:15:00]

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: We are facing an unprecedented act of aggression by the Russian leadership against the sovereign independent country. Russia's target is not only Donbas, the target is not only Ukraine. The target is the stability in Europe and the whole of the international peace order. And we will hold President Putin accountable for that.

JOSEP BORRELL, E.U. HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: 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 briefing of the European Council this evening and they will agree and provide political guidance to adopt a stronger package, the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (on camera): The long feared Russian incursion into Ukraine is under way. Do stay with us for our continuing breaking news coverage of this attack on Ukraine. We'll be right back.

[03:20:00]

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Russia's attack on Ukraine is tantamount to an attack on the U.N. and every member state in the chamber tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (on camera): America's U.N. ambassador there condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Explosions have been reported in cities from near Kyiv, the capital, to Kharkiv and many others in between. Ukrainian officials say attacks from Russian troops have come from Russia, Belarus to the north, and Crimea to the south.

You're looking there at video of military vehicles entering Ukraine from a border crossing with Crimea. We also have exclusive video of troops crossing into Ukraine from Belarus. A source telling CNN the Pentagon is tracking the incursion -- incursion from that country on Ukraine's northern border. That official says it's not clear if Belarusian troops are among those forces which crossed over.

We're joined by Malcolm Davis. He is a senior analyst for the Defense, Strategy and Capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. He is speaking with us from Canberra. And thanks for doing.

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, 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 barrages coming off the Russian-held areas in the east in the Donbas and 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 we're likely to see intense fighting. And at the same time, you're going to see Russian forces in Belarus advance south towards Kyiv. And I think that's a key area of access of advance that we need to focus on. The third area of course is south around Mariupol and potentially an amphibious operation against Odessa as well. HOLMES: Yes. Some reports that that is happening in Mariupol in term

of marines operating there. Putin says he does not plan to occupy the country. He says he wants to, quote, "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 air assaults and so forth.

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

HOLMES: Again, 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 in this country. What are the chances then and there is 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: Look, he's going for pro. He is 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.

[03:25:10]

And I have no doubt that he will try to alter territorial borders through brute force as well. So, he is not going to pull any punches. He is 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 to wrap 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 occupation.

HOLMES: Yes. My next question, and quick, if you will, given the imbalance between the two militaries, I -- what sort of fight do you expect from the Ukrainians now? And do you except that insurgency to eventuate going forward? DAVIS: 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 lack the overwhelming firepower of the Russian military today. They lack the air power. 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 countryside and try to raise the cost of any Russian occupation of Ukraine.

HOLMES: Fascinating analysis. Malcolm Davis, thank you so much. I really appreciate it there, joining us from Canberra.

All right. Explosions ringing out in Ukraine amid global condemnation, and a very ominous threat from Vladimir Putin. We're covering all of this live from Ukraine. Do stay with us. We'll be right back.

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back. I'm Michael Holmes live in Lviv, Ukraine. Continuing our breaking news coverage. And before we go on, we're getting reaction from around the world.

And I want to read what the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has just said about this. He condemned the military operation in the strongest possible terms. He called it a reckless act by President Putin and a terrible day for Ukraine and a dark day for Europe. He also said the E.U., G7 and NATO would coordinate closely on this day.

Now, the Ukraine Defense Ministry meanwhile is saying that its forces are inflicting losses on Russian troops and are countering the offensive, quote, "with dignity." And they say the situation is controlled, but that last part might be a tough sell after Russian forces launched their long-feared invasion.

Here in Lviv, local authorities have urged people to turn off lights, take cover. But people have been rushing to banks to withdraw cash. And we're also seeing lines of cars. This is in Kyiv, the capital. People trying to flee what likely feels like an ominous situation.

And these exclusive images show what appear to be Russian and perhaps Belarusian convoys entering Ukraine from Belarus in the north. Ukraine says it was also attacked through its border with Crimea which you see here and with Russia. Russian occupied Crimea, we should say.

Hours ago, the Russian president announcing a special military operation in his words in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine, claiming it was needed to protect locals subjected to abuse and what he called genocide by Kyiv. And he insisted that his plans do not include occupation.

Clearly this was not restricted to the Donbas. This is a national event. Explosions have rung out in and around several Ukrainian cities, well away from Donbas. The Russian military claiming it is not targeting cities but rather Ukraine's military infrastructure. Air raid sirens have been going off too in cities around this country.

CNN's Matthew Chance was reporting live from the Capitol when sirens sounded. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(AIR RAID SIREN)

That is 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: Yeah. And here in Lviv in the west of the country, air raid sirens went off eight or nine times over the period of an hour and a half. They haven't gone off for the last hour or more, which is a good sign. But clearly worrying times. Imagine being in your home and hearing that and watching the news and seeing what is happening to your country.

[03:35:00]

Now Ukraine's foreign minister tweeted earlier, I want to read that for you, "A peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes. This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now."

Now earlier, President Putin bluntly threatened those who might be tempted to intervene in all of this. I asked our Russian affairs contributor Jill Dougherty about that and his end game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, his objectives he says, Michael, are to demilitarize and denazify the country, Ukraine. So, demilitarize, could be obviously he has been taking out military installations, airports, et cetera. Denazify is kind of a different question. How do you do that? Who does he define as Nazis?

You know, over the past week, 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 were constant reports about Nazis both from World War II and supposedly from today.

So how he is 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 is 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 in 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 is really quite amazing. And that last quote that you heard where he warns anyone, and that presumably could be NATO, or 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Jill Dougherty there. And we will have much more from Ukraine coming up. But first, let's go back to Rosemary Church in Atlanta. Rosemary?

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): All right. Thank you so much, Michael. Well, some Ukrainians woke up to a terrifying sound after the Russian invasion got under way.

Next, the latest on the ground in Ukraine where air raid sirens have been ringing out across several major cities.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

CHURCH: The sound of air raid sirens could be heard multiple times in the Ukrainian city of Lviv and in the capital of Kyiv, as Russia's attack on the country began. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry says Russia has launched an attack on multiple fronts, but its forces are countering the offensive with dignity and inflicting losses on Russian troops.

Meanwhile, Russia's military claims they got no resistance from Ukrainian border guards and have suppressed Ukraine's air defenses. CNN has not yet verified those claims.

This video shows a column of military vehicles entering Ukraine from Belarus where Russia has been conducting military drills. The Belarusian president says his troops are not taking part in the Russian operation.

To the south, video shows Russian military vehicles entering the country from Crimea. And this all follows an announcement from Russian President Vladimir Putin that he was launching a military operation in the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine.

Russia's moves have triggered swift international reaction, including from the U.S. President who condemned what he called an unprovoked and unjustified attack. Joe Biden is set to deliver remarks in the hours ahead. One official

says the U.S. and its allies plan to trigger full-scale sanctions on Russia later today.

An international condemnation was quick to come following the Russian attack. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the move shakes up the foundation of the international order. He also pledged to work with the international community to respond quickly.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, tweeted that he is appalled by horrific events in Ukraine. He added that President Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction, and said the U.K. and its allies would respond decisively.

NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, called the attack reckless and said it's a grave breach of international law.

Well, explosions and shelling ringing out across Ukraine. The latest on Russia's military assault, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WENDY SHERMAN, U.S. DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: One can never underestimate Vladimir Putin. This is not just a war of choice he has made. It's going to be a war of carnage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: A top U.S. Diplomat there reminding Russian President Vladimir Putin of the cost of war. But it didn't deter Vladimir Putin from launching an attack on Ukraine, of course. That assault began with shelling near Kyiv and Kharkiv.

[03:50:03]

These are plumes of smoke. Have a look at that from -- this is (Inaudible), which is near the capital where the main international airport is located. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urging calm and has announced that martial law is being introduced.

The U.S. President Joe Biden swiftly condemning the attack as unprovoked and unjustified. He is set to lay out additional consequences for Moscow in the coming hours. Mr. Biden will also take part in a meeting with G7 leaders to discuss the crisis.

All right. Joining me now is Jan Egeland, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council. It's great to have you here, sir. Just a word of warning. I can't hear you. But let's go ahead. You tell me what you see is the potential effects in a humanitarian sense of what's unfolding here. We've seen lines of cars pouring out of Kyiv. People lining up for gas, petrol and ATMs. What is the potential for what could happen? JAN EGELAND, SECRETARY GENERAL, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL (on camera):

What is the potential? What is the reality is that millions of civilians are now engulfed in fighting. I was up and down the front line earlier this month. It's a densely populated area. Moreover, it's extremely vulnerable populations. There is a lot of elderly there, a lot of pensioners.

They are in sad conditions of freezing cold with still destroyed buildings from the last war. This senseless, senseless fighting must end. It is engulfing millions and hundreds of thousands will now be displaced. We are ready as humanitarians but of course, we will be overstretched and we will be underfunded.

HOLMES: Now, I just got your audio back at the tail end of your answer. So forgive me if I've being repetitive. I wanted to ask you what sort of infrastructure is in place and what does the world need to do to prepare for the worst.

EGELAND: Well, of course, as a human aid worker, I'm amazed how much has been of investment now in military hardware. Russia, but also the other parties to this war now have invested billions in this war. The humanitarian appeal which is to address the needs of 2 million that has needs before this war is 9 percent funded.

What we need now as humanitarians is to scale up. We need to have support. We need to be there in the hour of greatest need of the civilian population on both sides that will be suffering on both sides. The politicians sitting in comfortable offices in Moscow and elsewhere will not suffer. The people who will suffer are those who are now engulfed in the fighting, and including along this densely populated front line in Eastern Ukraine.

HOLMES: The potential for this has been mentioned. It has not, however, been discussed widely. Do you think people, you know, outside appreciate or even understand the seriousness of what could be to come in that humanitarian since where the people are pouring here to Lviv, whether they are going to Poland, whether they are going elsewhere?

EGELAND: No, Michael, it has not been understood in all of this talk of injustice, generations to go on true borders or not true borders, on military alliances, et cetera. It's not been understood that there are millions of civilians suffering already, and they will be cast into crossfire here.

They will have to flee for their lives into all of the neighboring countries, and most importantly, within Ukraine. We need to be there for the people, but we also need to really demand an end to this senseless use of violence in 2020 in year.

HOLMES: Jan Egeland of the Norwegian Refugee Council, I really appreciate you coming on. This is such an important aspect to what is unfolding here in Ukraine and we appreciate you coming on.

Clearly there could -- as Jan Egeland was just saying, there could be literally millions of people trying to head out and away from danger and it's something that certainly needs to be addressed. EGELAND: Thank you.

HOLMES: Thanks, everyone, for watching our coverage. I'm Michael Holmes coming to you live in Lviv in Ukraine. We will have much more on our breaking news coverage after the break. I'll see you then.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:55:00]

HOLMES: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes coming to you live from Lviv in Ukraine. And we begin this hour with the breaking news. The Russian military moving into Ukraine from three different directions. Ukraine's leaders calling it an act of war. The Russian military claims its troops encountered no resistance as they move into Ukraine.