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U.N. Refugee Agency Says There Are Now 368,000 Ukraine Refugees; Ukraine And Russia Agree To Talks As Fighting Rages; Russia Acknowledges Casualties For The First Time. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired February 27, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:53]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone.

Thank you so much for joining us with this Special CNN coverage.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta.

We begin with some major developments in the escalating crisis in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is putting his country's nuclear and other deterrent forces on high alert as his forces continue to battle to take Kyiv and other key locations across Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Top officials in leading NATO countries have allowed themselves to make aggressive comments about our country, therefore, I hereby order the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff to place the Russian Army deterrence force on combat alert.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: An official in the Biden administration tell CNN the move is being seen as an unnecessary one and could escalate the situation.

Even as fighting rages, Ukraine confirmed today that delegations from both Ukraine and Russia are expected to meet for talks tomorrow on the border between Ukraine and Belarus. Ukrainian President Zelensky saying today he is not expecting much from the meeting.

And now to the battlefield, a dramatic new video into CNN showing Ukrainian forces successfully repelling a Russian advanced toward a strategic airfield and arms factory in northeast Kharkiv.

Take a look --

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

WHITFIELD: A Russian convoy slowly advancing on this neighborhood and then you see a children's playground there in the forefront. The Ukrainian counter attack awaits until the convoy gets closer and then unleashes a barrage of gunfire.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

WHITFIELD: From another angle, you can see the Russian troops scatter and retreat. Those armored vehicles backing up as the soldiers run for cover.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

WHITFIELD: And then here, you see the aftermath of the Ukrainian attack on that convoy, at least four Russian vehicles there destroyed and smoldering.

CNN has geolocated and verify the authenticity of the videos.

All of this playing out as Russia now acknowledging casualties in Ukraine for the first time since the start of the invasion. The official statement didn't give precise numbers, nor claim many Russian losses, but saying -- Russia saying that the losses are considerably lower than what Ukrainian forces suffered.

I want to bring in now CNN's Kylie Atwood, who is live at the U.S. State Department and Jill Dougherty who is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Jill, joining us from Moscow, right?

All right, so, Jill, you know, is this a signal that the Russian government is feeling increased pressure at home by at least acknowledging that there are some casualties?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think it is. Up until now, you know, you figure the operation has been going on, you know, what? For four days, and they haven't talked about anybody being killed or wounded. Granted, they didn't give any numbers, but I think this is an indication of what we've been seeing on the screen, the fact of the matter.

And then the other thing here in Moscow, which I think is really important, is that announcement by the President, President Putin, that he is putting the nuclear forces on this special -- he calls it Special Combat Regime, and the reason he gave for that, is it NATO is making threatening statements and the sanctions.

It feels, more of course then necessary to answer those, but this is, I think, almost reminiscent of the old Soviet days when Soviet leaders did much the same thing, which would be a very over the top threatening statement and it is interesting that the White House came back with a much more moderate statement saying that this was a manufactured crisis.

[15:05:13]

DOUGHERTY: But I also noticed, we had a statement this week from the former President, President Medvedev and he made another statement, which really is slamming the door on relations with the West.

He said: You know, there is no particular need to continue diplomatic relations and then he said, you should padlock the embassies, and we can look at each other through binoculars or through gun sights.

So there is a lot of very strong rhetoric, I think, it indicates a great deal of concern here in Moscow, in the Kremlin, for what exactly is happening. It is not going according to plan.

WHITFIELD: And then, Jill, what about for people who are bold enough to protest right there in Russia? In St. Petersburg, there were demonstrations, it looked like people were getting roughed up quite a bit.

DOUGHERTY: Yes, it is continuing practically every day now, about 2,000 people arrested, detained and that was in St. Petersburg. We've had it in Moscow, usually between 20 to 30 cities across Russia at any given time. So this is continuing.

And the police are intent on shutting it down. So as you can see, they usually very quickly try to pull people off and arrest them and detain them, but the fact that it is continuing, and it hasn't completely been shut down is significant, I think.

WHITFIELD: And then Kylie, there at the State Department, what is the U.S. posture or perhaps even plan, knowing that there is this planned talk that is scheduled there on the border of Belarus and Ukraine involving delegations from those two countries, Russia and Ukraine?

ATWOOD: Well, what we heard this morning, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, saying the Biden administration looks forward to seeing what comes out of those talks, but you don't hear a particularly positive sentiment that these are going to produce any real results from Biden administration officials.

They have said over the last week or so that this is essentially just not the time for diplomacy to succeed, that the Russians are going to have to back off. They are going to have to change and not continue with their assaults on Ukraine, if there is going to be a diplomatic path forward here. So they aren't exactly looking to tomorrow to be the breakthrough.

We should also note that U.S. officials are keeping a very close eye on what the Russians are doing in terms of their military progress in Ukraine, saying that they are having some success in the south, but a senior Defense official saying earlier today to reporters that the Russians are facing stiff resistance in the northern part of the country, and that is slowing down their momentum.

This Defense official explained, for example, that in Kyiv, which of course is the capital of Ukraine in the northern part of the country, Russian forces are still about 19 miles outside of the city center of Kyiv, and that is where they were about 24 hours ago as well. So that just demonstrates that the momentum has somewhat slowed in the last 24 hours or so.

And when it comes to the U.S. troop presence in the region, of course, we've seen thousands of U.S. troops headed to bolster NATO countries' defenses over the last few weeks and particularly over the last few days, but it remains the case that the Biden administration has no plans to send U.S. troops into Ukraine, no boots on the ground in the country, and Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that that also applies to the airspace when she was interviewed this morning on CNN.

She explained that U.S. troops aren't going to be headed to defend the airspace to create or defend a no fly zone in Ukraine -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kylie Atwood, Jill Dougherty, thanks to both of you ladies, Appreciate it.

So the crisis in Ukraine is sparking an exodus from Ukraine with the U.N. estimating some 368,000 Ukrainians have fled their home so far, and at least one European official says that region should prepare for millions to arrive in member states.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We're going to get some rest now because we haven't slept in almost two days. We are tired. My daughter is tired.

I will stay here, but the main thing is for my family to leave Ukraine and not feel the threat of attack.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are totally not same as Russians, and we don't want to be a part of Russia or any other country. It is really getting very emotional.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Samantha Power is the current administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development. She is also the former US Ambassador to the United Nations.

Ambassador so good to see you.

SAMANTHA POWER, ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Good to see you.

[15:10:04]

WHITFIELD: Before I ask you about what appears to be, you know a refugee crisis in the making, I wonder, are you hoping for some sort of breakthrough in these scheduled talks tomorrow on the Ukraine- Belarus corridor?

POWER: Well, I think Russia's actions in recent days and in recent months as they built up to this invasion, and the kind of fake diplomacy that was carried out by Russian officials over a long period of time as they plan to invade their neighbor, would give one grounds for pessimism. But on the other hand, there is nothing more important than diplomacy during a conflict.

We see the human stakes. I saw the human stakes today in talking to those same Ukrainian refugees you just heard from coming across the border and if this conflict continues, it's only going to get worse. So the fact that the Ukrainians are showing up in good faith, as they have over so many years, in an effort to avoid these kinds of scenarios, I think, is an indicator that they are willing to give diplomacy a chance, and we certainly support them in that pursuit.

WHITFIELD: What have your conversations been like with the many people who have crossed the border? I mean, the numbers are like 200,000 Ukrainians who have come into Poland. What have they been sharing with you? What have you observed in them?

POWER: Well, as somebody who's covered a lot of refugee crises over the years, really one of the most striking features of today's population coming over is it is almost exclusively women and children. And this speaks to the kind of society-wide mobilization that's occurred in Ukraine and the fact that fighting aged men are staying behind to be part of these territorial defense units, to be part of doing something, anything as they put it, to contribute to the fight.

But it was harrowing, this journey for the families that I talked to, you know, women, sometimes carrying toddlers and infants and then having other kids straggling behind, having to wait on the Ukrainian side of the Polish border in some cases for three or four days, sleeping on cars, or buses, some sleeping on the side of the road, and it was freezing at the border today. I mean, I was all bundled up and freezing, and I was only out for a few hours. Imagine if you've been out there for three or four days.

So it's very, very difficult on the Ukrainian side of the border, because so many people are interested in leaving, and again, women and children primarily to seek safer ground, they all want to go back. I mean, they all want to hear about a diplomatic breakthrough and to have the chance to return to the country that is theirs. But better safe than sorry, is their logic.

So we, USAID, and the U.S. government are supporting the frontline states who are really the first responders and it was amazing to see Polish generosity that just opened the border, anybody from Ukraine coming in, very few questions asked, just to be as welcoming as possible and you've seen that across Europe as countries are saying, you know, come travel for free on the train if you have a Ukrainian ID, no problem. You can come to Germany, you don't have to pay the train fare, and you can come and reside here.

So Europe is treating Ukraine as the European nation that Ukraine has been struggling and building to become.

WHITFIELD: You had mentioned that a lot of people that you talk to, I mean, they want to go back. They want to return to their homes in Ukraine, did any of them seem to convey any confidence that they do see, in realistic terms, that they will get a chance to go back home?

POWER: What I heard a lot about was sort of how inspired they were by the courage that their countrymen and women and probably their own family members were showing, so there was a sort of pride and defiance, that same resilience that we've seen from Ukrainians over so many generations, but really tested in a whole new way.

But also even four days later, still, just the shock of it, the shock that Russia could do such a thing. And no matter how many times American diplomats or President Biden, you know, warned that this could come it just -- it's so unthinkable that your neighbor could do this to you.

I mean, and that was the language I heard a lot of just "Russia why?" And also even heard some sympathy for Russian soldiers who themselves had been conscripted, you know, refugees talking about how little those soldiers knew about what they've been sent to do.

And so interestingly, at least for some inability to kind of distinguish Putin and his generals and what they are ordering from ordinary Russians.

WHITFIELD: I wonder if that makes it more believable to hear the Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. who has said they have record of a number of Russian troops who actually surrendered.

[15:15:04]

POWER: Well again, I can't confirm that, but I can't say that hope springs eternal and particularly when you've left your husband or your father behind, all you want is a diplomatic process that's going to bear fruit and no matter what Putin shows of his bad faith and his capacity for lying, and creating false predicates, and so forth, for this brutality, just the desire to go home, the desire to return to peace is the most overriding sentiment you hear.

WHITFIELD: Ambassador Samantha Power, great talking to you. Thank you so much.

POWER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, people and businesses around the world calling out Russia for its actions in Ukraine. From the sports world, well, to the spirits that you drink and everything in between, President Putin is getting hit from all sides.

Russian planes and private jets from oligarchs can no longer fly over dozens of countries. The European Union and Canada are banning the flights from their airspace. Air France also just announced that it has suspended service from Russia.

Russian made vodkas have been pulled from the store shelves in Ohio and New Hampshire. Governor Sununu has gone one step further and also banned Russian branded spirits across New Hampshire.

And then growing outrage in the world of sports. England's football governing body has announced their teams will not hold any matches against Russia for the foreseeable future.

Czech Republic, Poland and Sweden have also put a pause on matches with Russia. Gymnastics and boxing taking similar measures. Their governing bodies have announced that they will not hold any events in Russia until further notice.

And tech companies also getting involved. Elon Musk says his company SpaceX will help stabilize internet service in Ukraine after servers went down as Russian troops stormed into that country and social media sites, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram all banning Russian state media from advertising and monetizing their content.

Still to come --

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

WHITFIELD: New video into CNN of street fighting in the northern city of Kharkiv. We're live from Ukraine in minutes.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:20:35]

WHITFIELD: Senior U.S. defense officials tell CNN that Russian forces are facing stiff resistance in northern Ukraine with fighting reported around Kharkiv, which is very close to the Russian border.

Dramatic new video in to CNN showing Ukrainian forces successfully repelling a Russian advance toward a strategic airfield and arms factory in northeast Kharkiv. The Russians have also abandoned some of their Army trucks near the city. The Commander of Ukrainian forces in Kharkiv claiming that dozens of Russian troops have surrendered.

And as for Kyiv, this new video showing Russian armored personnel carriers destroyed in a battle with Ukrainian forces.

The site of this destruction on the edge of the capital was geolocated and verified by CNN.

CNN's Alex Marquardt is in Kyiv, so Alex, still nightfall there. What is the situation? Are you hearing any activity like nights before?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, this is a city that remains very much on edge. We are still in a curfew that goes until 8:00 AM tomorrow time, that is not just because of the danger to the citizens of this city, but that's also because as the mayor has said that if you're out and about, you may be believed to be Russian saboteurs.

Last night, the mayor said that large groups of saboteurs were -- there were fights with them, and that they were destroyed. It has been a relatively quiet evening. In the past few moments, I have heard some thuds really far in the distance and we have heard that throughout the course of the day, different distances, some closer, some farther away. It's difficult to tell what those are.

But there is evidence, Fred, that Russian forces are still trying to encircle the city and there have been skirmishes or movements from all sides of this city.

Some of the worst violence is actually taking place east of here in downtown Kharkiv. There have been street fights between the Russian forces and Ukrainian troops. That is the second biggest city in Ukraine. It is very close to the Russian border.

Our colleague, Fred Pleitgen has seen rockets taking off from the other side of that border in the direction of Kharkiv. The mayor of Kharkiv has asked residents to stay inside. So it is clear that the Russians are still trying to come at cities all across this country, including the two biggest cities.

We have also seen a Russian column of vehicles destroyed by Ukrainian forces on the edge of Kyiv. That just goes to show how -- this goes to show how close some of this fighting is. It is right on the edge of the city. We have this extraordinary video that shows the destruction of these Russian vehicles. Some of them have been turned on their side, thoroughly destroyed, and you can hear someone in the video is saying that "They came to our land, I wish you all burn in hell."

Now, it is possible that it is quiet tonight from the Russian side because there is -- there are talks tomorrow between a Ukrainian and Russian delegation that is going to take place right on the border of Belarus and Ukraine.

Belarus, of course, has been hosting tens of thousands of Russian troops for the past few weeks. They claimed initially that it was for exercises. It is clear now that that became a staging ground for part of this Russian invasion.

President Zelensky declined to have these talks held in the capital of Belarus, Minsk. So they are being -- they are taking place on the border. It's not like President Putin and President Zelensky are going to meet there. This is happening below the presidential level. Zelensky making clear that his top officials are remaining in Kyiv, as he has throughout this, emphasized that he is not leaving the fight.

And he has said or made the impression that you know, this is -- he is going to be on listening mode, that he's not expecting too much out of this. But he said he wasn't going to decline, a diplomatic opportunity, a chance to try to solve this in diplomatic terms -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Alex Marquardt, thanks so much, there in Kyiv.

Russia announcing it is putting its deterrence forces on high alert. The White House is responding calling the move manufactured threats. A live report straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:28:22]

WHITFIELD: All right, the White House is calling Vladimir Putin's decision to put Russia's nuclear forces on high alert just another manufactured threat to justify his attacks on Ukraine.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is with the President in Wilmington, Delaware where Biden is spending the weekend, so Arlette, what more can you tell us about what the White House is saying? ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, a senior

administration official tells me that this is yet another escalatory and totally unnecessary move on the part of Russia. Of course, U.S. officials are still assessing what actual tangible effect President Putin's order for his deterrence forces to be on high alert will have, but it is one that they are taking quite seriously.

It comes as the U.S. and its allies have really shown this strong condemnation against Russia in the wake of that aggression towards Ukraine, you know, implementing those sanctions, removing a significant portion of Russian banking systems from that system called SWIFT, providing more defense arms to Ukraine directly.

But the White House also says that this is all part of President Putin's playbook to try to manufacture things to justify a war.

Take a listen to White House press secretary Jen Psaki earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This is really a pattern that we've seen from President Putin through the course of this conflict, which is manufacturing threats that don't exist in order to justify further aggression and the global community and the American people should look at it through that prism.

We've seen him do this time and time again. At no point has Russia been under threat from NATO has Russia been under threat from Ukraine. This is all a pattern from President Putin and we're going to stand up for it. We have the ability to defend ourselves, but we also need to call out what we're seeing here from President Putin.

[15:30:09]

WHITFIELD: Now, the U.S. has declined to offer an update on their current nuclear alert levels, but officials have insisted that the U.S. is ready to protect the country as well as its allies against any possible nuclear threat. But a senior Defense official also warned today of the tension surrounding this whole situation, saying that any miscalculation could make things much more dangerous.

And Arlette, Japan is now also planning to sanction Putin and has indicated that it will join other nations in blocking Russia from SWIFT, that international banking transaction system. What more can you tell us about that?

SAENZ: Yes, Fred. Japan is actually the last G7 country to make this announcement that they will be removing select Russian banks from SWIFT, that international high security messaging system that allows financial transactions to occur between countries.

The White House has praised Japan for joining this move, but it really just highlights how united the U.S., the West, Japan all are in issuing these punishing sanctions against Russia's President Vladimir Putin as they're trying to make sure that he is paying the cost for his actions in Ukraine. WHITFIELD: All right, Arlette Saenz, thank you so much, traveling with

the President.

All right, and this news now just into CNN, the U.S. Embassy in Russia is warning U.S. nationals there that they should consider leaving immediately.

I want to bring back now CNN's Kylie Atwood live from the U.S. State Department what's behind this?

ATWOOD: Yes, this is the U.S. Embassy in Moscow encouraging all Americans who are in Russia that they should consider immediately departing Russia, and the reasoning that they're giving for this, Fred, is because there are so many airlines that are now canceling the flights, leaving Russia.

We heard from the E.U. earlier today that they are closing down their entire airspace, to all Russian planes, to Russian owned to Russian operated. And they said, of course, that included the private jet of Russian oligarchs.

But this is a warning signal to Americans in Russia that they should consider getting on commercial flights out of the country now, because they may not be able to get on those flights later, because it's very likely that those commercial flights could be canceled -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Right. All right, Kylie Atwood at the U.S. State Department. Thanks so much.

All right, so as the sanctions against Russia mount, the cancellation of a key gas pipeline could prove costly for countries around the world, not just Russia. We will explain, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:36:14]

WHITFIELD: As Russian forces continue their advancement inside Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies are ratcheting up their sanctions against Russia and its leaders. One of the biggest consequences is the halt to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. It's the pipeline that would have taken natural gas directly from Russia to Western Europe.

European countries, particularly Germany are now being forced to reassess their dependence on Russian energy.

Jason Bordoff served as a Special Assistant to President Obama and was the Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change on the staff of the National Security Council and Meghan O'Sullivan is a professor at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School. She's also a former U.S. Deputy National Security adviser.

Good to see both of you.

All right, Jason, you first, this Nord Stream 2 pipeline, is it done for good, or just put on hold the back burner for now?

JASON BORDOFF, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: We don't know. It seems very possibly done for good. It was basically completed. I mean, it was ready to start operation any day now and it required another German certification, and the new Chancellor said that we want to redo that certification to see if this pipeline was still in the National Security interest of Germany.

But given this level of hostility, the kind of aggression and violation really of all international norms that Russia has taken toward Ukraine, it would be pretty hard to see the Nord Stream 2 pipeline starting up anytime soon, and certainly, there is huge opposition in much of the rest of Europe beyond Germany, and in the U.S. Congress to it.

WHITFIELD: Meghan, that was a bold move, right? And a very costly one, too. So what are the immediate consequences of canceling that pipeline?

MEGHAN O'SULLIVAN, PROFESSOR, BELFER CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AT HARVARD'S KENNEDY SCHOOL: Well, actually, the really important part about this pipeline is to note that as Jason mentioned, it wasn't yet operational. So it wasn't actually delivering any gas to Europe at this point. But the Russians and the European built this pipeline, it was very close, very close, and so it was expected.

But the pipeline was really advocated by the Russians so that they would be able to circumvent Ukraine in the future. They don't want to send their gas to Europe through Ukraine, for the reasons that we're seeing playing out right now. They consider it to be a big geopolitical risk.

So the fact that that pipeline won't be carrying gas to Europe anytime soon, doesn't exponentially throw Europe into an immediate energy crisis, which is good, because Europe is already in an immediate energy crisis.

And if it were, in fact, ceasing the delivery of gas to the European economies right now, it could really provoke some very short term and immediate economic consequences that right now are still hypothetical, because Russian gas is still flowing through other pipelines.

WHITFIELD: Jason, okay, and you both wrote in "The New York Times" that getting away from fossil fuels will be bumpy and expensive, and also have a big impact on geopolitics. How do you see this going?

BORDOFF: Well, I think we -- you know, since the Arab oil embargo a half century ago, we've had some energy crises since then, but a general kind of complacency set in, especially in the last decade. We were in a period of energy abundance, largely affordable energy, and the attention focused importantly, and rightly, on the urgency of dealing with climate change.

But we should remember, and we're being reminded every day now that the traditional geopolitics of oil and gas are alive and well, and for decades to come, the old geopolitics of oil and gas, maybe they will fade eventually when we get to net zero emissions decades from now, but for a long period of time, they are going to exist along with potentially new geopolitical issues, concerns, risks around things like critical minerals and trade tensions that could arise from the energy transition itself.

[15:40:10]

WHITFIELD: Meghan, you wrote in an op-ed for Bloomberg that Russia's oil production may be an even bigger weapon for Vladimir Putin than natural gas. Why?

O'SULLIVAN: Well, this is because the Russian contribution to global oil markets is very, very substantial. Right now, Russia produces about a tenth of the world's daily oil production, it exports about five million barrels of oil a day, which is a very significant amount of oil for the global markets.

Now, Russia has a lot of reasons why it may not want to pull back on this production, it may not want to cease providing this oil to global markets, but if it did decide that it was in a situation where it really wanted to wreak havoc on Western economies, it could do so by pulling back on production, which would increase the price overnight. And that would, of course, fuel inflation in the United States and Europe and other parts of the world.

Of course, this would also upset some of Russia's close partners here, and namely, I'm thinking about China. So that is a very real constraint on the strategy, but certainly, it's an option that Russia has if it really is willing to jeopardize the long term for the short term.

WHITFIELD: Fascinating. A lot at stake. Meghan O'Sullivan, Jason Bordoff, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

Alright, straight ahead. I'll talk to the last foreign TV reporter in Kharkiv as this firefight continues to go on. She and her cameramen are holed up in their hotel in a makeshift shelter with plywood protecting the windows. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:12]

WHITFIELD: As the world watches the fighting unfold in Ukraine, many eyes are focused on President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is leading a defiant nation in a David and Goliath battle.

CNN's Brian Todd takes a closer look at how Zelensky's life imitated art?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Just three years ago, Volodymyr Zelensky may never have envisioned himself dealing with the largest conventional military attack in Europe since World War Two. Zelensky was known to Ukrainians then as a comedian, playing the role of a school teacher in the series "Servant of the People."

On that show, Zelensky's character unexpectedly became President of Ukraine after ranting about corruption. Then life imitated art, positioning himself as a political outsider running on a platform of fighting corruption and ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Zelensky won a landslide victory over incumbent, Petro Poroshenko in 2019.

JOHN HERBST, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: His background, he is Jewish, and he was very comfortable in what's called the Russia world that if he made a great career for himself as a comedian, and a businessman, in part by appealing not just to Ukrainians, but also to Russians.

TODD (voice over): Just a few months into his presidency, Zelensky became enmeshed in the scandal that led to then President Donald Trump's first impeachment trial, a phone call in which Trump leaned on Zelensky to investigate allegations of corruption against Joe Biden's family in Ukraine, allegations that were never supported by any evidence.

Zelensky made no promises on the call and later denied Trump pressured him.

HERBST: He handled it well because he understood that what he is being asked was outrageous.

TODD (voice over): But this crisis makes the Trump phone call seem almost trivial.

This was the 44-year-old President's message to his country on Thursday.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The enemy has marked me as target number one, my family is target number two. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state.

TODD (voice over): According to AXIOS, Zelensky told E.U. leaders in a video conference Thursday, quote: "This might be the last time you see me alive."

TODD (on camera): How enormous is the pressure he is under right now?

SAMUEL CHARAP, RAND CORPORATION: It's really tremendous. I mean, he, to a certain extent, is alone and it is clear that the Russians have put a target on his head, so I certainly don't envy the position he is in.

TODD (voice over): By Friday night, Zelensky's warning to his nation was dire.

ZELENSKY (through translator): This night will be very difficult, and the enemy will use all available forces to break the resistance of Ukrainians. TODD (voice over): Is he over in head overall?

CHARAP: You need a real like Churchill type leader to excel at a moment like this. I think he is scrambling in trying to find the right tenor and the right message.

TODD (on camera): Even top Russian officials won't flat out deny that Volodymyr Zelensky is in danger. When asked by CNN: Do you intend to decapitate the Ukrainian leadership? Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov didn't say no, saying only quote, "Nobody is going to attack the people of Ukraine."

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: My next guest has not been able to leave the hotel where she has been covering these events in Ukraine detailing what she can witness through cracks in the windows.

Darja Stomatova joining me live now from Kharkiv. She works for CNN Czech affiliates, CNN Prima News.

Darja so glad you could be with us. I hope you continue to be safe. What have you and your crew been experiencing from where you are right now?

DARJA STOMATOVA, REPORTER, CNN PRIMA NEWS: Hello, and thank you again for having me. As you said we are currently in the hotel. You see the blocked windows and we are not able to go outside because we hear there are still some Russian soldiers outside, the Ukrainian Army is trying to get rid of them.

Also during the day, the situation was changing. In the morning, we hear loud gunshots in the streets close to the city center. We also hear some explosions and artillery and also my colleague, Kyan (ph) who is a camera operator, if you don't see him, he actually went to see what's going on in the morning. And he saw some Ukrainian soldiers close to the gas station.

But during the day it was getting more calm, and also the local authorities told us around 3:00 or 4:00 PM that the city, that Kharkiv is secured.

WHITFIELD: And then tell me what you or perhaps your photographer have been able to witness or see in ordinary citizens, Ukrainian who have taken up arms who are trying to help the Ukrainian military fight Russians.

[15:50:00]

STOMATOVA: Yes, there is actually a lot of help here. There is a lot of volunteers who went to Army, we were cooperating with one person. He is a veteran and he actually called me today and told me that he joined the Army. The problem here is not that the people don't want to fight, but that

they don't have actually the stuff for that. They gave them guns, but they don't have helmets or vests or quite good boots.

So also, they are asking for this kind of help right now.

WHITFIELD: So I also understand that you have families still there in Ukraine and they have been at an underground shelter. If that's true, tell me what you believe they have been experiencing or have you been able to communicate with them?

STOMATOVA: Yes, of course. We also went to the first line where there were some fights and we were asked -- we asked the soldiers if we can actually make some footage, but because of their security, we were not allowed so we asked the people to actually show us the bunkers where they are staying and they told us very emotional stories how this all began and how they decided to be together in this bunker right now.

So many people also actually today, they went to the metro station, which is also used right now as the banker.

WHITFIELD: What are you and others doing about food?

STOMATOVA: Well, the food is quite an issue right now here. We also before we saw some very empty shops, some shops are closed, but many people actually went to the shops before or at the first day and they bought some food so they are quite secured right now.

But also, it might get a bit worse if this war will continue as it is right now.

WHITFIELD: How long are you and your crew expecting that you are going to stay exactly where you are to be safe?

STOMATOVA: Well, we are thinking about our security of course, it is the first place that's why we are not going outside, but as we hear it, we are the last foreign crew here right now in Kharkiv. So we're going to stay as much as long as possible right now.

WHITFIELD: So you are staying in that hotel. You are trying to stay safe there. Other Ukrainians who have been huddled trying to stay in, you know safe places, too. We have video of this group huddled together and then singing the National Anthem.

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WHITFIELD: What does this say to you about what you are all experiencing together? And how you're trying to stay unified?

STOMATOVA: Yes, it's very important to be here right now. And of course with the people we are staying with in this hotel, it actually feels that we are friends. They are supporting each other. We are telling stories.

Actually, when we go outside and we experience something and come back they're asking: What you saw? What did you hear? Where you've been? Are you afraid? So it's very nice.

And also the atmosphere, if you compare it to what is going on outside right now or the time before, it's very nice and people are very much together right now in this danger.

WHITFIELD: Darja Stomatova, thank you so much for joining us and continued blessings and try to be safe.

We'll be right back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALVIN LESS SMALLS, NEW YORK CITY BAKER: My name is Alvin Lee Smalls, owner of Lee Lee's Bakery in Harlem, New York. I will be 80 in April.

I've been baking for at least 57 years. Fifty years ago, I was going through a newspaper. I found this recipe. I didn't know what I had. The recipe was for rugelach. I knew it was special when I tried it. I didn't even know it was a Jewish pastry. I changed everything around.

I changed the sour cream to cream cheese, good flour. I cooked the raisin in honey to give it a nice flavor. Nice and moist.

A lot of people saying that I make it better than their grandmother.

Well, I shouldn't say this, but people say I'm the best baker that ever lived.

That's what people say now.

We ship nationwide. We had the bakers back in their 60s and 40s and all those recipes are gone.

Like, it's only me and a few others left. People don't do thinks like this anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Lee's rugelachs are a small bite of heaven. I come back to see Mr. Lee because of the feelings and energies I think that he's created in Harlem as a baker.

SMALLS: Everything from scratch from sugar to the flour, Danishes, rolls, sweet potato pie, apple pie. Everything made by hand.

What makes my bakery special is good recipes and me, Alvin, I bake with a lot of love.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, landmarks around the world standing in solidarity with Ukraine. Paris's Eiffel Tower sparkling in blue and gold Friday night, a similar sight in Germany, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, illuminated in support there and from the London Eye to Downing Street, to Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, landmarks all across the City of London expressing their support Friday night. And in New York, the Empire State Building lit up there in blue and

gold.

Thanks so much for joining me this weekend. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The NEWSROOM continues with Jim Acosta right now.

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