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Russia Unleashes More Attacks, Airstrikes on Ukraine; Biden Imposes Sweeping New Sanctions on Russia; France's Macron Calls Putin, Urges End to War; Ukraine Reports Clashes Close to Kyiv City Center. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired February 25, 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]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

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 coming to you live from Lviv, Ukraine.

Now President Volodymyr Zelensky is pleading with Ukraine's allies for help as Russia steps up its missile attacks on Kyiv. Air raid sirens have been sounding consistently following explosions in the capital as Ukraine and the U.S. say Russian forces plan to encircle the city and go after the government. The Ukrainian official says this video shows a Russian missile being shot out of the sky by an ariel defense system.

Now the defense ministry here says Ukrainian troops have blown up a key bridge north of Kyiv and are resisting Russia's advance from the north. Now Ukraine admits one of its own fighter jets has been shot down over Kyiv but it claims it has inflicted more than 800 casualties on Russian forces since the invasion began.

Other images show an apartment block on fire in Kyiv. The mayor says three people were hurt, one seriously when a rocket hit the building. Russian forces have been pounding air fields and military bases across Ukraine. British intelligence reports at least 80 strikes since the fighting began. A U.S. source says Russia has launched more than 160 missiles. Ukraine's president reporting at least 137 soldiers have been killed since the invasion began and in his latest social media address, he urged Ukraine's allies to do more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This morning we are defending our country alone just like yesterday, the most powerful country in the world looked on from a distance. Russia was hit with sanctions yesterday but these are not enough to get these foreign troops off our soil. Only through solidarity and determination can this be achieved.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Russian forces are said to have taken control of the Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine. The site of the worst nuclear disaster. A military advisor says staff members are being held hostage.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden unveiling sweeping new sanctions on Russia although he admits it will be some time before Moscow feels the effects. He also said he's still considering direct sanctions on Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war and now he and his country will bear the consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: CNN's Katie Boo Lillis is live for us this hour at the Pentagon. Senior International correspondent Jim Bittermann is in Paris. But we begin with White House reporter Kevin Liptak who is in Washington. And Kevin, these sanctions, how much impact will they have? What difference will they make in the end?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, they will have an effect on Russia's economy. They are unprecedented for a country of Russia's size to impose these kind of sanctions. But the real question is what effect they'll have on Vladimir Putin. And they don't seem to have had an effect so far. Though President Biden has been signaling that these are sanctions that he was considering for weeks and that did not deter President Putin from going forward.

What President Biden said yesterday is that once these sanctions take effect, that could affect president Putin's thinking but he also said that they would take time. And of course, what you're seeing on the ground today in Kyiv indicates that there really is not a lot of time to prevent what is happening there. That's part of why you see President Zelensky calling on Western nations, in particular the United States, to do more.

Now what was in these package of sanctions? The president froze assets of some of Russia's largest banks. He put limits on debt and equity across a range of sectors. He put new sanctions on businessmen who are close to the Kremlin and to Vladimir Putin as well as their family members. And really the center piece of this package of sanctions were the export controls. Limiting types of technology that can be exported to Russia that will have a real dampening effect on its military and aerospace sectors.

But it's also important to note what the president did not include in this package of sanctions. He didn't include Putin himself and he didn't include removing Russia from the SWIFT banking messaging system. And that had been something that had been considered something of a nuclear option for these sanctions. It had the potential to shrink Russia's economy by 5 percent.

The president said both of those things remain on the table. But the president was frank.

[04:05:00]

He said that you could not get Europe on board with the SWIFT messaging system in particular. Of course, a lot of European countries have a lot closer economic ties to Russia than the United States. And now earlier this morning the U.K. defense minister said that the United Kingdom was still in favor of removing Russia from the SWIFT system. He said that he would be continuing to work with allies on that.

And we should note today that NATO is hosting crisis talks, leader talks. President Biden will be participating virtually from the White House Situation Room. So, clearly a lot of conversations still ongoing as this crisis unfolds.

HOLMES: All right, Kevin Liptak, appreciate you being across all that for us. Jim Bittermann let's go to you in Paris. And the French President, Emmanuel Macron, really sort of positioning himself as a mediator between Moscow and Kyiv for a potential cease-fire agreement. What is he saying?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely, Michael. In fact, he revealed last night when the European Council sort of revealed their sanctions. Macron revealed he had been in phone contact with Vladimir Putin. That he called at the request of Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian President. That he had called Putin to demand an immediate cease-fire. He said obviously that didn't have much effect, but in fact he is trying to play the role of mediator. And here's why he explained it to the journalists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): I think it is my responsibility. First of all, to take such initiatives when they're requested by Ukraine. And then while condemning all sanctioning, while continuing to decide and act to leave this path open so that the day when the conditions can be met, we can obtain a secession of hostilities for the Ukrainian people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BITTERMANN: And he said that, in fact, he felt -- Emmanuel Macron felt that Putin had been duplicitous because he had been talking about how to get things -- how to settle things in Donbas before he was invading -- while he was making plans to invade. So, he felt that Putin had been duplicitous but he still had to call him and try to offer his services as a mediator.

One more thing, we're hearing -- just a follow-up on what Kevin was saying about SWIFT, the international global payments clearance system. In fact, Bruno Lamare was on the radio this morning, this is the French finance minister. He said we want to financially isolate Russia. We want to cut off all ties between Russia and the international finance system. On the question of SWIFT, he said, this is the very last resort. But this is one of the options that remains on the table, echoing what President Biden said last night -- Michael.

HOLMES: All right, Jim appreciate that reporting there. Katie let's go to you. What are officials at the Pentagon watching tonight?

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: Concern here tonight that the sort of Damocles is really hanging over Kyiv here in the Ukrainian capital. Senior members of the Biden administration briefed members of Capitol Hill earlier this evening. Telling them that Russian forces that had moved into Ukraine from the north, from Belarus had now moved to within 20 kilometers of the Ukrainian capital. And of course, we understand also that Russian forces continue to hold a key airport near the capital that could be used to airdrop in special operations forces to try to gain access to the capital.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken same publicly today that he believes that the Russians plan to try to encircle Kyiv. So, I think at this point for defense and intelligence officials they're pretty firm in their assessment that Russia intends to try to topple the Zelensky government in Kyiv. And we know from past reporting that there are plans in place to have a proxy government, a pro-Moscow Russia friendly proxy government in place and ready to go.

HOLMES: All right. Katie Bo Lillis, Jim Bittermann, Kevin Liptak thanks to all of you. Appreciate that.

Now joining me from London Orysia Lutsevych the manager of the Ukraine forum and the Russian and Eurasia program at Chatham House. It's good to be talking with you again. You tweeted that Russia attacked Ukraine not because it has security concerns but because it has territorial claims on Ukraine. That seems clear now, but how far do you think Putin will go in a territorial sense? Take it all?

ORYSIA LUTSEVYCH, MANAGER OF THE UKRAINE FORUM, CHATHAM HOUSE: Well, Michael, myself and I'm sure millions of people around the world are with Kyiv today.

[04:10:00]

As you said Pentagon officials are watching encirclement of the almost 3 million number of population city in the heart of Europe. And this is what we are talking about. Putin is after Kyiv, after establishing his political control over this country and whatever resistance there will be he's determined we could see a fight with brutal force. So, this is what we are after. And I think we all have to be very clear what is the cost of not and risks of not providing better resolute assistance to Ukraine in the next one to two days. Because if the capital falls, it will have a massive consequences for all of us.

HOLMES: What sort of assistance are you talking about in the next one to two days?

LUTSEVYCH: Well, we've convened a task force yesterday in Chatham House and will be releasing some of those recommendations. But we are looking at on one hand supporting Ukraine and its military capability. And Ukraine needs us, as we've seen these mobile paratroopers coming from the helicopters taking strategic objects. Ukrainians need to have equipment to counter that. Mobile artillery fire.

There's also support that is needed very much with finance, to setting up a special fund for Ukraine to rapidly procure military assistance similar to what Roosevelt did for the United Kingdom during the second world war. There's of course much more needed in terms of sanctions. The central bank of Russia should be sanctioned. And of course, this would be more power full than SWIFT. So, Ukrainians need to see today and tomorrow that the world is with them and ready to bear the cost.

HOLMES: Do you think it is inevitable now that the government of Volodymyr Zelensky will be overthrown and a Kremlin-friendly government installed in Ukraine? It's hard to see that not happening at the moment, isn't it?

LUTSEVYCH: Well, I would like to say that nothing is inevitable until it happens. We do see Ukrainian military and armed forces putting up resistance. They are likely to be preparing for counter offenses. Kyiv will not be, you know, given to the enemy without a fight. Whatever part of the city they will be able to take. And remember, it's a big city with a complex geography. It will not be very easy and I wouldn't even call it government. That military regime that will be installed to clearly be called a Russian occupation. Not any kind of Kyiv proxy regime because the only legitimate government in Ukraine is headed by President Zelenskyy and President Zelenskyy today is in the capital.

HOLMES: Now you also say that Vladimir Putin, quote, orchestrated a show, basically duped the West into what you call pointless diplomatic talks. How should the West have dealt with that, avoided being played in that regard?

LUTSEVYCH: Well, I think it was very difficult for the West not to partake in that charade because the West wanted to demonstrate the goodwill. I think the questions we should be asking ourselves now, what should have been done and what should be done today to protect countries like Ukraine, like Moldova, like Georgia that are on Russian territory and that have a transatlantic European aspiration.

This is the key question now. Because we have to understand that just engaging with diplomacy or just inflicting sanctions is not enough. We need to prop up countries to be strong, to be able to resist Russia and to stop Putin where he has to be stopped on Russian borders.

HOLMES: And just explore that a little more. I mean, should these other former Soviet states, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, should they be worried, they might be next at some point if not in the short term, but maybe in the long term.

LUTSEVYCH: Michael, this is exactly what it is. And I'm saying that the costs of not supporting Ukraine means that that shield that it is holding right now, a massive brutal Russian force will come much closer to NATO borders. I am sure the Baltic states feel it breathing on their necks. And that's why we see more deployment from the eastern flank of NATO. But you know we see Putin's agenda in the security ultimatums where he was clearly pointing to the worst so far that Stalin set up as an alternative so-called collective security. This is where Russia believes it also is entitled to have a certain say about what happens in eastern Europe. So, in a way eastern Europe is in all of this together. That's why we

see much more solidarity from Poland, from Baltic states with Ukraine.

[04:15:00]

HOLMES: Important analysis. Orysia Lutsevych in London always good to speak with you. Thanks so much.

LUTSEVYCH: Thank you, Michael.

HOLMES: Now we have this report just in to CNN. Ukraine's defense ministry is reporting clashes close to the city center in Kyiv. It says Russian reconnaissance troops have entered a northern district of the capital and it's asking citizens to, quote, make Molotov cocktails and take down the occupiers. That's a quote, obviously a significant development here. Now video from the area does show chaotic scenes, civilians trying to flee from small arms fire. We're working to get you those pictures. We'll bring you more information as we get it. Obviously, a major development there if those forces have entered the city center.

Quick break here on the program. When we come back on CNN newsroom, not everyone in Russia on board with this invasion. Some going to jail after protesting on the streets of Moscow.

And before we go to break, we want to bring you more reaction from Ukraine. We've talked to residents in Lviv to give you their thoughts on this invasion. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel angry. You know, I don't feel but I feel angry and I feel like we need an international support, a strong support. Today my president, President Zelenskyy, said that he encourages other countries to join an anti-Kremlin, anti-Russian coalition and I also would like to support this call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. You can't hear it now, but for the last few minutes air raid sirens have been going off over the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. This happens routinely. It happened here in Lviv earlier today, a few hours ago. And an announcement along with that here in Lviv telling people to gather their documents, turn off the stove and the gas and the electricity and check on the elderly and head for cover.

Again, this is a pretty routine and regular event now around the country in major cities. Now there's been a new report in in just the last few minutes. And I want to just bring you up to date on that because it's potentially very significant.

Ukraine's defense ministry reporting clashes close to the city center in Kyiv. Now it's saying that Russian reconnaissance troops have entered a northern district of the capital. It is asking citizens to, quote, make Molotov cocktails and take down the occupier. Now video from the area does show chaotic scenes, civilians trying to flee from small arms fire. We're working to get those pictures out. We'll bring you more information as we get it. But if Russian forces have, indeed, entered the capital's perimeter, enormously significant of course.

All right, let's bring you up to date on the rest of the breaking news. Ukraine's defense ministry reporting clashes, as we said, close to the city center, indeed in the city now. It says Russian reconnaissance troops they entered that northern district of the capital and, again, asking citizens to make Molotov cocktails and, quote, take down the occupier.

This comes as Ukraine's interior ministry says one of the fighter jets was shot down over Kyiv. The SU-27 fighter jet was shot down early on Friday over the capital. Photos tweeted by the Ukrainian emergency forces appearing to show a fire at a 2-story private home after fragments of the plane fell on it. It's unclear if those are the remnants of that precise jet, however.

Now the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson assuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the world is, quote, united in its horror at Russia's actions. According to Downing Street Mr. Johnson spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday morning to, quote, express his solidarity with Ukraine.

This coming as Russia decided to ban U.K. registered flights from its air space in retaliation for a similar move by Britain. All escalating at the moment.

President Vladimir Putin of course enjoys overwhelming support in his homeland in Russia but not everyone in Russia on board with this invasion. According to independent media and the local monitoring group, more than 1,700 people have been detained in anti-war protests around the country. And some and Russia are shocked by the recent events.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I can't stress how much pain they feel now. It hurts, because it's our friends, our relatives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm discouraged, shocked. And I don't believe to our government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now last hour I spoke with Peter Zalmayev. He is the director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative. He was literally leaving the capital Kyiv and his home to take his family to safety as the invasion unfolded. Here's part of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER ZALMAYEV, REFUGEE EXPERT: I'm currently driving towards the west of Ukraine, about an hour and a half from Kyiv. I'm hoping to get this over with quickly so I can return.

The president issued a call for all abled men to defend Kyiv. So, we'll definitely my friend and I were traveling in another car. We're like while we evacuated our (INAUDIBLE). We're intending to come back to the capital. It's a -- we're hearing that there are already, there's a fighting heavy fighting going on in Obolon, which is one of the districts adjacent to the very center of Kyiv.

[04:25:00]

HOLMES: And just to confirm, you are going to be dropping the family off to safety and going back to Kyiv, what, to fight?

ZALMAYEV: Well, I mean, what else is there to do? You know, it's a do or die situation for Ukraine. Putin let us know uncertain terms that this is the issue of whether the Ukrainian state will survive. So, this is the really kind of name of the game at this point.

HOLMES: Kudos to you. I mean, I just see you in this analyst role and now I'm hearing you are dropping the family off fearing for their safety and about to go back and defend your country.

Let's talk a little about the analysis side of things. I read where you pointed out that people here in Ukraine, they are used to war over the last eight years. We know that. But most aren't used to it on their doorstep. And you are a living example of that. How do you see the population responding and reacting?

ZALMAYEV: Well, it obviously it's a state of shock. You know, people are shell shocked. They are walking (INAUDIBLE) literally shell shocked. You know, people are still walking their dogs in like these early morning here in Kyiv. I have to say though there is no panic per se but you see people kind of dazed and confused. Walking down the road and trying to flag down cars with probably very little success.

Some roads leading to Lviv are just blocked. They are, you know, pretty much like jam packed and traveling moving at about less than, you know, eight kilometers an hour.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (on camera): Now I've interviewed Peter a number of times over the weeks and again, I urge people to just put yourself in his position. He is a political analyst. He is an expert on Ukrainian politics. He appears on television to tell us his view of what's going on. And there he is driving on the road with his family to get out of the capital, to drop his family off, go back, pick up a weapon and defend his country. Just think about that.

Well, Ukraine has been enduring explosions in air raid sirens as Russian forces try to push deeper into the country. I'll be back to update all the latest developments for you in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)