Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Putin Ratchets Up Tensions By Putting Nuclear Forces On High Alert; Ukraine And Russia Agree To Talks As Fighting Rages; Fighting Breaks Out In Ukraine's Second Largest City, Kharkiv; White House Calls Putin's Nuclear Alert Part Of "Pattern Of Manufacturing Threats"; President Zelensky, TV Actor To Defiant Wartime Leader. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired February 27, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): And dangerous weapons that could change the face of the world in a moment's notice. But with his nuclear saber- rattling, as one of your guests before, I want to tell you, I'm going to get in trouble, but your interview with Mitt Romney, I thought when it was over.

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: OK.

DURBIN: What do I disagree with, and the answer was nothing from start to finish so I think --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Mr. Chairman, we're out of time. Thank you so much. I'm so sorry to interrupt you.

Thank you very much for watching. And the news -- for being on. The news continues next.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me for this special CNN coverage. Welcome to our viewers in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is putting his country's nuclear and other deterrent forces on high alert as Russian forces continue to move across Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIA (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 OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A senior White House official telling CNN it is being seen as another escalatory and totally unnecessary step. Even as fighting rages, Ukraine confirmed today that delegations from

both Ukraine and Russia will meet for talks tomorrow, they're scheduled to, on the border between Ukraine and Belarus. Ukrainian President Zelensky just saying a short time ago that he doesn't expect much from that meeting, but adding, quote, "Let them try."

Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S. also making it clear what won't happen at those talks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OKSANA MARKAROVA, UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Our president from the beginning, even before the war started always focused -- was focused on the diplomatic solution. And even after they started the war, he actually called for peace talks all the time, but he always said, we're ready for peace talks, we're not ready to surrender.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The talks come as Russian forces can be seen moving into Kharkiv, Ukraine's second biggest city. Video showing Russian equipment as well as Ukrainian forces fighting in parts of that city.

U.S. officials say Russian forces are meeting tougher than expected resistance from the Ukrainians. New video showing Ukrainian forces destroying Russian armored personnel carriers and other vehicles on the edge of the capital of Kyiv.

As the fighting intensifies, Poland says almost 200,000 refugees have crossed into its country from Ukraine so far, and the European Union is now warning that countries should prepare for the possibility of millions more.

Earlier on CNN, NATO's secretary general condemned Putin's order, putting Russia's deterrence forces, including nuclear arms, on high alert. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: This is dangerous rhetoric. This is a behavior which is irresponsible, and of course if you combine this rhetoric with what they're doing on the ground in Ukraine waging war against the independent sovereign nation, conducting full- fledged invasion of Ukraine, this adds to the seriousness of the situation.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Nic Robertson and Kylie Atwood joining me now.

Nic, let me go to you, you're in Moscow. Does it seem that Putin's move is a legitimate threat, talking about this nuclear deterrence force or an effort to simply raise the stakes, try to intimidate and threaten Ukraine?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It does seem as if it's set to raise the stakes. That's undoubtedly clear. What is not clear is, you know, how far he's willing to push the situation. And until now, his narrative has been to go into Ukraine to change the leadership, to demilitarize the country, and this therefore raises the pressure on the leadership of Ukraine as they get ready to go into those talks on Monday.

And therefore, overall in the region, it raises the stakes. There are, again, a lot of people in this country that are not supporting the war. And there's been a fourth day of protests in Russia, more than 5,000 people arrested.

We're at one of those quiet protests today. You see these flowers laid here. This is not just about ending the war in Ukraine, but about this man, Boris Nemtsov. He was one of the leading opposition figures here in Russia. He was shot dead on this sport seven years ago today. But we'll just spin the camera around then you can see where it is, right outside the Kremlin, shot dead right outside the Kremlin seven years ago today.

[13:05:07]

People were arrested but his family felt those responsible were never adequately prosecuted. But this really gives you a flavor here of the anti-war sentiment, no to war. I'm just going to walk along here with Lee. No to war up here, more no to war, no to war. Look at all these flowers. And this is the number of people that are coming out. We've seen them all day. A Ukrainian flag here as well. All day people coming laying flowers. One flower, two flowers, three flowers. And over here more anti-war logos.

That's the sentiment. Now a lot of people in this country still do support President Putin. And we've heard for the first time today the Russian Ministry of Defense admit that some of their soldiers have been killed and wounded in Ukraine. That also is a change. But there's talk about the strategic deterrent, the nuclear deterrent, that raises the stakes. Certainly puts more pressure on the situation in Ukraine.

But as you can see, so many people in this country laying their flowers right outside the Kremlin. One message, it's right here, no to war. That's the message they want to communicate here -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nic, and those no war sentiments coming at great risk. As we know already hundreds of people there in Russia, in Moscow, have been arrested for contesting the war and being outspoken against the Kremlin and Putin.

Thanks so much, Nic. We'll check back with you.

Kylie, you are at the State Department. A senior U.S. Defense official says Russian momentum is slowing in parts of Ukraine. So what are they seeing and what's behind all this?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Fred, a senior Defense official acknowledging that in the south the Russians are having a little bit more success but saying that in the north they are facing stiff resistance, and that is slowing down their momentum, citing fuel shortages and logistical problems that they have run into.

Now of course we have seen those military assault from afar into those cities in the north, and Kyiv specifically, of course, the capital of Ukraine, is one of those places. But this senior Defense official saying that Russian forces are still about 19 miles outside of the city center of Kyiv. And that is where they were also 24 hours ago. So that just demonstrates that there is momentum that has slowed down here in the last day or so.

Now also we are looking at these reports, of course President Putin putting these nuclear deterrent on alert, these nuclear deterrent forces. And the United States' ambassador to the United Nations calling that totally unacceptable this morning, and she also said that this isn't however altogether surprising because this is what Putin has been doing on his own accord of course, going further and further.

But she said this more of the reason to continue on with putting more pressure on Russia to pull back, to put more essentially prices that they have to pay so that they can potentially change the situation here.

And I also think when we're talking about the U.S. force posture in the region, it's important to note the Biden administration has continued to say no U.S. troops are going to go on the ground in Ukraine. And Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said also this morning that that applies to the air space as well. There are not going to be any American soldiers who go into the air space to create or to defend a no-fly zone.

WHITFIELD: Right, instead the commitment as of now is U.S. troops there in European-NATO nations in a support capacity.

All right, Kylie Atwood at the State Department, thank you so much. Nic Robertson in Moscow, thank you as well.

All right, so the question remains, so why now? Why did Putin decide to make this high alert announcement today. CNN's Fareed Zakaria, host of "GPS" joining me right now.

And I know it's been difficult for anybody to answer the questions as to what motivates Putin to do what it is he's doing, but is there a feeling that he might be bluffing or that he means it when he says these nuclear deterrent forces are on alert and might be utilized?

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN ANCHOR: It's difficult to know, but what we can say is this is highly unpredictable, erratic, almost irrational behavior that is very dangerous. You know, I had a conversation on my show with Robert Gates, the former secretary of Defense, and we were talking about how Putin -- the old Putin was a tough, nasty Russian nationalist, aggressive, but he was rational.

He was calculating costs and benefits. When he went into Georgia, it was a limited intervention. He ended it. He went into Syria similarly, limited, ended it. This appears to be reckless. Bob Gates' phrase was he's gone off the rails. And the nuclear deterrents -- the nuclear alert piece is frankly utterly mystifying. [13:10:07]

The U.S. has said time and time it is not getting involved directly. As you pointed out just now not even in air space. It has made clear that there are no scenarios under which that would happen. So you have to ask yourself, why is Putin doing this? And it's part of the -- you know, it's another version of the question you have to ask about, why this massive invasion of Ukraine that he could have achieved many of his objectives in different ways?

I have to conclude that this is more of Putin's emotional, irrational, reckless behavior that gives you the sense that there's something slightly unhinged. He's now -- you know, it's like the bully who's amplifying the threats as he sees resistance to his actions. There is really -- there's no rational way to explain why you would do this. This is -- just to put it in perspective, and this is the kind of thing that has happened maybe during the Cuban missile crisis.

You know, I cannot recall in the -- you know, since the advent of the nuclear age, other than the Cuban missile crisis, something like this, putting your forces on combat alert.

WHITFIELD: And he is in further isolation for a host of reasons. And so in addition to Ukraine's President Zelensky going to the airwaves, so is his predecessor Petro Poroshenko. I talked with him yesterday on air. You spoke with him today. He is cautious about this planned meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegations along the, you know, Belarus border. These are among the conditions, however, that Poroshenko told you needs to be put in place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZAKARIA: President Poroshenko, do you believe that this pause, this negotiating offer from the Russians is a ploy?

PETRO POROSHENKO, FORMER UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I think this is -- needs to have a strong combination of factor. Hell sanctions, readiness for the negotiation, but without any precondition and the only precondition should be please withdraw your troops from Ukrainian territory.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So don't you suspect, again not getting into the mind of Putin, but doesn't anyone kind of suspect that Putin must be stunned at this kind of defiance, his bravery coming from Ukrainians?

ZAKARIA: I think what probably surprises him is the bravery of the everyday Ukrainian, the man on the street, the woman on the street. Because, you know, Poroshenko was very tough in his negotiations with Putin when he was president. Zelensky has been tough in the negotiations. That's why Putin hates the government. He keeps calling it a band of Nazis and drug leaders because he has seen them, you know, stand up to him.

He seems to have -- again part of the delusion is he seems to have thought that this government would crumble, the military would step in. You know, he called for a popular uprising, which is all crazy. I mean, Zelensky was elected, you know, by about 70 percent of the vote. Poroshenko was an unelected leader. The Ukrainians have become more nationalistic, more anti-Russian, as a consequence of Putin. A Ukrainian friend of mine said, you know, the number one person who is now helping create a real Ukrainian nation is Vladimir Putin.

WHITFIELD: Now how will it be calculated? How crippling is this for Putin to, you know, see the quickness of sanctions, other global responses from restrictions on air space for a Russian aircraft, to limitations on international banking? And Japan now is the latest to put a freeze on Putin's assets.

ZAKARIA: Yes, look, there's a lot going on. Some of it is symbolic. Putin does not keep his assets in his own name. I think this is all symbolic, it won't have much of an effect. The one that might have a big effect is Turkey just decided that the conflict now, they were going to characterize as a war which means they can invoke a 1936 treaty which allows them to block all shipping in those waters, you know, which border Ukraine and Russia and Turkey.

If that happens, primarily it affects Russia, it means the Russia cannot do amphibious landings in Odessa as they have been doing. So that's a big deal. So SWIFT sanctions are a big deal. And most impressive is the way in which countries that perhaps Putin didn't think would get involved like Turkey are getting involved, and the degree to which the Europeans have unified.

The other extraordinary moment is that the Germans who have long said that they would not send lethal weapons, really to any country, are now sending nuclear weapons to Ukraine, and they have agreed to what has been a probably 40-year demand of the United States that they raise their defense spending to ever 2 percent of GDP.

This has been a longstanding American request to revitalize NATO so that the Europeans have defense muscle. Well, again, Vladimir Putin has triggered this almost a 180-degree reversal in German foreign policy. So when you --

[13:15:09]

WHITFIELD: And it's remarkable because Germany was reticent for a moment, and then suddenly, I mean, this surprise announcement yesterday certainly changed the game, perhaps, in terms of helping to demonstrate a kind of cohesion around Ukraine.

ZAKARIA: Exactly. But I do want to say, Fred, it's important to remember, the Russian army is the largest land army in Europe. It is a fearsome army. This is a totally unequal contest and the Russians are using every weapon at their disposal so far since other than nuclear weapons. They are being -- it's a brutal assault. It's a David versus Goliath fight. So, you know, we have to keep in mind the pressure has to keep rising.

It is difficult to believe that the Ukrainians will be able to hold out forever. I think the hope has to be that they hold out enough that Putin realizes that this is causing real costs, unanticipated costs, the world is coming together to condemn him, but we cannot, you know, we cannot bank on the Ukrainians holding out.

They are up against an army that, you know, at the height of the Cold War the United States didn't believe that NATO could stop Russian forces. That's why we put in short-range nuclear missiles. This is a formidable army and it is behaving brutally. We have to think about every way financial and non-financial that we can help the Ukrainians.

WHITFIELD: All right, Fareed Zakaria, good to see you. Thank you so much.

ZAKARIA: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. The world calling out Russia in its own special way, from the sports you watch to the spirits you drink and everything in between. President Putin getting hit from all sides. Russian planes and private jets from oligarchs can no longer fly over dozens of countries now. The European Union the latest to ban the flights from their air space following Spain, Italy, Germany and Canada.

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

And growing outrage in the world of sports. The International Gymnastics Federation will not allow Russian or Belarusian national flags or the country's anthems to be played at sanctioned events. They have also cancelled World Cup and World Challenge Cup events in the two countries. Boxing's governing organization also cracking down. They will not hold sanctioned 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 the country.

And there's more. Social media sites YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram all banning Russian state media from advertising and monetizing their content. And more is likely to come.

All right, still to come on this broadcast.

New video into CNN of street fighting in the northern city of Kharkiv. We're live in Ukraine in just minutes. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:22:25]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. A senior U.S. Defense official telling CNN that Russian forces are facing stiff resistance in northern Ukraine with fighting reported around Kharkiv which is very close to the Russian border. 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. As for Kyiv, this new video shows Russian armored personnel carriers

en route to the capital destroyed in a battle with Ukrainian forces. The sight of the destruction on the edge of the capital has been verified by CNN.

CNN's Alex Marquardt is in Kyiv. Alex, very volatile situation no matter which way you look. What are you experiencing and seeing?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It is very volatile. It is still very tense, Fredricka. We continue regularly to hear those blasts from here in the center of the city. They are outside of the city, some closer than others. It's difficult to tell from this vantage point often where they are coming from or whether it is Ukrainian outgoing fire, whether it is Russian incoming fire.

We continue to hear gunfire as well as those air raid sirens that go off fairly regularly. So this is still very much a city on edge. The streets are empty. People are either inside their homes or in bomb shelters when those sirens go off.

Fred, what is becoming increasingly clear is that the Ukrainian military is really standing its ground in keeping the Russian forces at bay from this city. I remember the most dire warnings were that this city could fall in 24 to 48 hours. But here we are on day four of this invasion and that has not happened.

There was some fierce fighting to the west, on the western edge of Kyiv in a place called Bucha. And we have that video, you can see there a column of Russian vehicles, including armored personnel carriers, that were torched, burned out. Some have rolled over, they're on their side. This is evidence of the fierce fighting and pushback that the Ukrainian forces have given these Russian troops.

You can hear there in some of that video someone speaking in Ukrainian saying they came to our land, I wish you all to burn in hell, and I would give my life if needed. That video has been verified by CNN and geolocated to that western edge of the capital. And then to the east of here in the second biggest city of Kharkiv, that's right near the Russian border, there has also been some fierce fighting battling in the streets.

[13:25:03]

Russian forces are in that city fighting against Ukrainian troops, residents of that city being told to stay inside. That city has been a particular focus for the Russians because it is so close to that Russian border. So while the Ukrainians are managing to stand their ground, it is clear that the assaults on these two biggest cities of Ukraine continue, the Russians still very much trying to take control of this capital and to topple this government -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: But I'm sure there is some surprise that they are, you know, confronted with the kind of resistance they're seeing, you know, from the Ukrainians.

Alex Marquardt, thank you so much. We'll check back with you. All right. With us now to talk more about the situation in Ukraine is

retired Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. He is the former commanding general for Europe and the 7th Army and a CNN military analyst.

So good to see you, General. So let's talk about how the Ukrainian forces are holding up. The Russian forces must be surprised, must have thought this is going to be a cake walk, and so far it's demonstrating not to be.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's been a very challenging fight for the Russians, Fredricka. Truthfully I predicted that a long time ago. They're taking tanks and BMPs into cities. I heard a commentator just a while ago talking about how Kyiv was encircled, and the only thing I would say is I'd use a quote from World War II at Bastogne where someone said the poor bastards, they have surrounded us again.

It is -- we're seeing some extremely tough fights by Ukraine. When you put tanks in a city against infantry with anti-tank missiles, it's always going to be ugly. And we're continuing to see the kind of damage and destruction that Ukrainian military is pouring in to the Russian force. They are -- the Russians are very frustrated right now, and truthfully, they have not accomplished any of their objectives on the time table that they thought they would.

WHITFIELD: So the battle today has largely been in Kharkiv and we have video right here. The Ukrainians say they are holding the city this hour. You mentioned, you know, the real conflict, infantry versus tanks. So how important is it that the Ukrainians seem to have the upper hand in Kharkiv?

HERTLING: It's critically important because we're talking again about combat in the cities. The key cities of Kharkiv and Kyiv were major objectives of the Russian force. I'll put this in perspective, Fred, Kyiv is a city of three million people, the same size as the city of Chicago. Kharkiv is the same size as the city of Philadelphia, with a population of about 1.5 million.

To put very few forces in tanks against those cities against a determined and willful Ukrainian army and underground will just spell disaster. You add to that, and this is the piece I've been making, and I am a tanker so I know what tanks in a city can do or can't do, the Russians are not resupplying their forces, either with fuel or ammunition or food. So you're talking about a declining morale as well of the Russian forces.

WHITFIELD: Is that possibly what's behind the surrendering? I mean, the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. had told our Dana Bash that they had record that a number of Russian troops had surrendered? Do you believe lack of resources is among the reasons why?

HERTLING: I think it's a combination of a couple of things. First of all, a lack of a will to fight. There have been many Russian prisoners who had told their captors they did not know what they were going in to do. They were told it was a training mission. The other piece, as you just showed the TAT uniform tank on the screen which is Russia's most advanced tank, that has a turbine engine. It carries about 230 gallons of gasoline but it only gets about -- gallons of fuel, but it only gets about 200 miles to that gallon.

So you're talking about one gallon per mile about. When you run out of fuel and you don't refuel those tanks, they stop being a moving maneuver force and they start being a pill box and they can't take the attacks of the infantry within the cities.

WHITFIELD: So that also means an absence of fuel trucks then for those armored vehicles. So let's talk about Kyiv now. We have this video in showing destruction of Russian armored personnel carriers by Ukrainian troops and now a senior U.S. Defense official says Russians are facing some logistical challenges. You spelled out what some of them are, you know, lack of fuel. What might some of the other challenges be?

HERTLING: Well, the other challenge is when you're talking about using anti-tank missiles, which are all ground mounted, you're in a terrain that's unlike the desert. You know, the United States have been fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq where there is not a lot of trees, not a lot of buildings in these kind of places.

[13:30:00]

But when you have mobile armored forces going down streets where there's buildings and trees, you can hide those infantrymen with the anti-tank weapons within those locations. And what happens is when -- and most of these vehicles, you'll see, have been attacked from the rear.

Truthfully, Fred, I'll confess this as a tanker, sometimes tankers don't look behind them. So when you have infantry seeking up behind with anti-tank weapons, picking off tanks and personnel carriers, BMPs as they're called, in the city streets is relatively easy to do. So I think the Ukrainian forces are doing an extremely good job of combat in the cities.

Now that's going to point to a bad thing. What's going to happen next? I think unfortunately we're going to see additional war crimes committed by Mr. Putin's forces, a lot of artillery, perhaps aerial advances, but Ukrainian forces have also done very good in their air defense. So again, it goes back the point as Mr. Putin did not know what he was getting into with this and his generals in my view were incompetent in terms of the way they planned this operation.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much.

HERTLING: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right. And our breaking news coverage continues straight ahead. Take look at these very large pro-Ukraine demonstrations taking place globally. This one is in Poland. It's just one of the many demonstrations taking place. We'll have more coverage right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:35:19]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. I'm quoting now another escalatory and totally unnecessary step by Vladimir Putin. That is how a senior administration official is describing the Russian president's decision to put his country's deterrence, nuclear deterrence force on heightened alert.

With me now, David Sanger, White House and national security correspondent for the "New York Times" and a CNN political and national security analyst. He is also the author of "The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage and Fear in the Cyber Age."

David, always good to see you. So what's your thinking? Is Putin bluffing when he says he's putting this nuclear deterrence force on high alert?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I don't think he's bluffing, Fred, I think he's signaling. And I think the signal he's sending is, this is isn't going well for me, so all of you stay out of the way. Don't think you're going to get involved, don't try to help the Ukrainians, because this could spin into something nuclear.

You know, he referred to it as his nuclear deterrent but he's using it in this case for threatening purposes. And, you know, the administration had two ways they could have reacted. They could have gone to DEFCON 3 or DEFCON 2, and, you know, done everything that you've seen in all the Cold War movies, or they could have sent people out, which is what they ultimately did, to say, we've got plenty of defenses, our nuclear deterrence is perfectly secure.

This is Vladimir Putin once again manufacturing an issue and escalating again. And that's what they chose to do. That's fine as long as his actual moves with the nuclear weapons don't look like they are particularly threatening.

WHITFIELD: It also seems like it's cementing what has become a global response to support Ukraine and perhaps Putin might have thought that this would intimidate others, but it seems like it's done quite the opposite.

SANGER: Well, it could end up intimidating some of the eastern flank NATO countries that have long worried not about Russia's strategic weapons, ICBMs that can reach the United States, but their tactical nuclear weapons. And I think one of the concerns that they have long term is that if Russia does end up taking control of Ukraine, they will move those tactical weapons right to NATO's borders, which is one of the reasons you've seen President Biden moving troops out preemptively in those NATO countries, obviously not in Ukraine itself. But we could be right back in the worst days of nuclear standoff that we had so many years ago.

WHITFIELD: Let's talk about what could potentially happen tomorrow. Delegations from Ukraine and Russia are to meet now without pre- conditions on the Ukraine-Belarus border. I mean, your initial reaction to this. Does it seem like it is a sincere attempt at negotiations, at furthering diplomacy, or, again, might this be a distraction?

SANGER: Could well be a distraction, but you'll never know until you try. So that was the theory under which the United States met the Russians in Geneva a month ago, seems like an eternity ago, had continued conversations including between President Biden and President Putin. It's the reason the French president, President Macron, went to Moscow. So if you don't create these diplomatic moments, then there is no offramp.

But that's it, I think expectations are low. We don't expect that President Zelensky will be there partly because of the fear that the Russians could use this as a moment to try to decapitate the government. The Russian representative sounds like he is mid-level at best, a former cultural minister, so I wouldn't put a lot of stock in it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Also this weekend, we've seen a lot. You know, we've seen a flurry of activity from the U.S., from Europe, targeting Russia's financial system, including Russia's central bank. And additionally there are plans to go after the assets of Russian oligarchs, their yachts, mansions, you name it, properties in other ways. Putin has not been deterred by sanctions in the past.

But could these moves offer some pressure to him in country, in Russia, where he might change his course?

SANGER: I think the one that has the biggest chance of creating pressure in the country is actually the move on the central bank.

[13:40:04]

It sounds that's spruce, but basically what they're doing is taking away the ability of the Russians to support the ruble, which has already been in considerable fall in recent days. And if they can't support it by buying the ruble with hard currencies, you're going to see potentially significant inflation in Russia, and I think that the concept here is begin to put enough pressure on the Russian people that they put pressure on Putin.

Now he may think that he's immune to that. There is a lot of thinking underway right now that he's isolated, that he's not listening to a wide range of advisers. He certainly seems to have bitten off more than he can chew right now in Ukraine, but I'm not sure at this point that any of these sanctions efforts will get him to change course. It may get him to think about not going further beyond Ukraine, and of course that's one of the next big worries.

WHITFIELD: All right. David Sanger, but still lots of damage already done there in Ukraine. David Sanger, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

SANGER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, and then just a short time ago, the White House responded to Russia's decision to put deterrence forces on high alert. We'll take you live to Wilmington where CNN's Arlette Saenz is traveling with the president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:08]

WHITFIELD: The White House is calling President Putin's decision to put his country's nuclear forces on high alert just another manufactured threat to justify his attacks on Ukraine.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is with the president, President Biden, in Wilmington, Delaware, where he is spending the weekend.

So, Arlette, what more is the White House saying about this new threat from Putin?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, a senior administration official tells me that they view this move by Russian President Vladimir Putin as yet another escalatory and totally unnecessary step. The Biden administration really believes that this follows the playbook that we've seen so often from Russia that includes these manufactured threats.

Take a listen to what White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had to say 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 to it. We have the ability to defend ourselves but we also need to call out what we're seeing here from President Putin.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now this comes as the United States and its European allies have really shown this united front against Russia's attack on Ukraine. When it comes to implementing those sanctions that they hope will isolate much of Russia from the global financial system. The U.S. and its allies of course also stepping up its supply of defense supplies directly to Ukraine.

But a senior U.S. Defense official says that they are monitoring this warning, this positioning by Putin when it comes to the nuclear deterrence force, but they also insists that the U.S. stands ready to defend itself and is confident in its ability to do so, including when it comes to the, quote, "strategic deterrent route" -- Fred. WHITFIELD: And Arlette, Japan is also now planning to sanction Putin

and has indicated it will join other nations in blocking Russia from SWIFT, an international banking transaction system. What more can you tell us about that?

SAENZ: Well, Fred, Japan was the last of the G7 allies to sign on to this move, but this morning Japan's prime minister did announce that they would be backing and agreeing to those decisions to isolate select Russian banks from the global financial system. Additionally, Japan will also be freezing the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other government officials.

Now this is something that the United States has praised as Japan has now joined the U.S. and other Western allies as well. as the U.S. and its allies continue to try to show that they are in lockstep in punishing Putin for this attack that he has engaged in and waged against Ukraine.

WHITFIELD: Arlette Saenz, thank you so much in Delaware.

All right, coming up, a closer look at the man who has become the face of Ukrainian defiance against Russia. The unlikely path of President Volodymyr Zelensky, when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:52:31]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. As the world watches the fighting unfold in Ukraine, many eyes are focused on President Volodymyr Zelensky who is leading a defiant nation in this 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 II. Zelensky was known to Ukrainians then as a comedian, playing the role of a schoolteacher 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 is Jewish. And he was very comfortable in what's called the Russia world. 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: 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's being asked was outrageous.

TODD: But this crisis makes the Trump phone call seemed almost trivial. This was the 44-year-old president's message to his country on Thursday.

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

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

(On-camera): How enormous is the pressure he's under right now?

SAMUEL CHARAP, RAND CORPORATION: It's really tremendous. I mean, he to a certain extent is alone and it's clear that the Russians have put a target on his head. So I certainly don't envy the position he's 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 (on-camera): Is he in over his head overall?

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

[13:55:10]

TODD: 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: And stay with us, in the next hour, we'll return to our breaking news. Ukraine and Russia set to hold talks tomorrow. This as we have new video from Ukraine showing Russian tanks in the streets as the fighting rages on. We'll talk with former U.S. ambassador to Germany Richard Burt when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)