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Ukrainians Civilians Take up Arms; Teras Ishchyk is Interviewed about Fighting for Ukraine; Refugees Flee Ukraine; Putin Holds Emergency Meeting. Aired 9:30-10a
Aired February 28, 2022 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[09:33:12]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has put out a global call to action now urging foreign fighters to join his nation's defense of Ukraine, Europe and the world order, he says. Ukraine's military and growing civilian volunteer forces are standing tall in the face of Russian aggression, despite being outgunned and outnumbered.
I spoke to some of those brave volunteers this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO (voice over): Young and old, students and retirees, veterans and non-veterans, these are the volunteers for Ukraine's citizens' army, the territorial defense force.
SCIUTTO: (on camera): Tell me why you came to volunteer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We came to volunteer because we -- because Ukraine, Ukrainian are the strong nation. And we feel that all Ukrainian are united.
SCIUTTO (voice over): Zachary (ph) and Keril (ph), friends and university students, say they're ready to fight. They're just 19.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are very proud of our army.
SCIUTTO: This volunteer told us he's an excellent sharpshooter. He's 73.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm a bit ill, but I'm ready to die for Ukraine. These are similar things. SCIUTTO: The challenge at recruiting posts in Lviv, too many
volunteers. Many waiting days just to sign up. And at the blood bank here, too much blood. They're turning donors away now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Blood donation center, we have many donors, around 400 people a day.
SCIUTTO: As Russian forces invade their country, Ukrainians are helping any way they can. In the north, families are turning old clothes into camouflage nets to conceal tanks in trenches. This is not a symbolic effort. This is a real war with real dangers. Soldiers and civilians are dying.
SCIUTTO (on camera): Are you afraid for your lives? Because what you're volunteering to do is dangerous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, we're not afraid because we know that it's -- it's our home here. And we feel that if you want to have home, it's going to be -- it's better to die if not have a home. Yes.
SCIUTTO: Do you feel the same?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, of course. And joining our territorial defense is the easiest way now to join army and to help army.
SCIUTTO (voice over): National spirit and, as has now become familiar in this war, a few colorful words for Russia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For Russians who -- hey, we will be in Kyiv for one day. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) yourself, guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: We've heard that a lot here since this began.
Joining me now to discuss, Taras Ishchyk. He's a member, also spokesperson, for the 103rd Territorial Defense Brigade of the armed forces of Ukrainian.
Good to have you here, Taras.
TARAS ISHCHYK, MEMBER AND SPOKESMAN, TERRITORIAL DEFENSE BRIGADE OF UKRAINE ARMED FORCES: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: I want to ask and I want to let people at home know, you were a marketing executive before this all started, and then you got the call for the national mobilization and now you're out to do your part.
ISHCHYK: Yes, actually, five days ago I was a marketing manager. So -- and was the president degree I joined to the army, like the Territorial Defense Forces, like a member. Yes.
SCIUTTO: Did you have any hesitation?
ISHCHYK: Actually --
SCIUTTO: Hesitation -- did you have any fear? Fear about what was to come?
ISHCHYK: Oh, no. No. Actually, I did not -- I don't have any fear because we have a war for 80 years and it's -- it's fight for our freedom. So I -- I don't have any fear.
SCIUTTO: When this started, most of the world was convinced it would be over very quickly because Russia has so many forces, so many weapons, so many planes. That hasn't happened yet. It's five days in. Were you surprised to see Ukraine fighting back so hard?
ISHCHYK: No, I'm not surprised because, as I said, for eight years we have a war. We know who is the enemy and how they fight. So, I'm not surprised for our Ukrainian people because we are maybe one of the best armies in the world. And so it's -- I understood that it will not be over quickly.
SCIUTTO: That it would not be over quickly for the Russians.
ISHCHYK: Yes, yes, yes.
SCIUTTO: I understand.
Tell me about the kinds of Ukrainians that are volunteering for the Territorial Defense Force.
ISHCHYK: Actually, the territorial defense -- the Territorial Defense Forces we have a lot of people in different ages and professions.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
ISHCHYK: So, all of the civilians go to the defense forces and can join with the armed forces of Ukraine. So, it's mostly people from 18 to 60. Also, we have international legion of the Territorial Defense Forces when -- where every former soldier, different countries can join this international legion. And we appreciate all of these people to join and to fight not for the independence of Ukraine, but for the freedom of the world.
SCIUTTO: We heard President Zelensky calling again today for foreigners to come join the fight.
I wonder, President Zelensky has become an international figure through this, partly by staying, you know, with his life in danger. Tell me what you and your fellow members of the force think of his leadership.
ISHCHYK: He is our president. He is our leader. He's leader of the armed forces of Ukraine. And he did all what we needed to hear and to see. Like a real president of Ukraine.
SCIUTTO: Lots of courage from him and from you.
I wish you the best of luck.
ISHCHYK: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Thanks so much.
Taras Ishchyk, he's a member of those citizens armies we were describing there, Erica. And it's been remarkable to be here and see how many people are willing to stand up and fight.
HILL: Absolutely. And so great, Jim, to hear from them, to hear from the two young men who you were speaking with just before that who said they weren't afraid. It was better to die than not to have a home, which really speaks volumes about where so many of their heads and their hearts are in this moment.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
HILL: Still to come here, thousands of Ukrainians are still stuck in the country, desperate to leave. We're going to take a look at the incredible challenges people are facing. That's next.
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[09:44:25]
HILL: Heartbreaking new images this morning of children battling cancer in Ukraine who have now been forced into a makeshift bomb shelter in the basement of a hospital in Kyiv. Russia's invasion has already killed more than 350 civilians, including at least 14 children.
And more than half a million refugees have now fled the country in what is proving to be a very difficult journey to safety.
CNN's Scott McLean joining me now live from Lviv, Ukraine.
Scott, you've also spent a significant amount of time over the last several days along the border and spoken with a number of these folks firsthand.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's absolutely right.
[09:45:01]
And the word that comes to mind is desperation and exhaustion. That's how people here are feeling. So, we're on the platform of -- one of the platforms here at the Lviv train station. We are waiting for a train that should have arrived about an hour ago that is supposed to take people to Poland.
We were here about an hour, two hours ago when an earlier train arrived and it was absolute madness just trying to get people onto that train and to try to keep others off of it as it was being filled up. They are, you'll notice, as we look around here, you'll notice it is almost entirely women and children. And that is who they are prioritizing right now.
When the last train came, they were actually holding all of the single men back. And so on the stairwells you actually had, because there was this backlog of people and police standing at the top, you actually had people grabbing children from down in the stairwell and pulling them up through the balcony.
And there was one woman in particular that I remember who had grabbed her young baby, maybe two years old or something. And I asked her how she was feeling because she was crying. And to be honest with you, Erica, I don't remember what she said. But you don't have to remember her words because her face just said it all. She was tired, she was exhausted and she was absolutely overwhelmed. And if you're a parent, you can understand that feeling of being, you know, out with your kid in a really desperate situation and finally finding refuge, finding safety. You're -- you know, you have all the empathy in the world for these poor parents who are in this situation. And so that's why the authorities have -- are deciding to make sure that they get on the train first.
But even after that last train came, there were still women, there were still children who were not able to get on. All of this has led to some frustration, especially amongst foreigners in this country. From what we can tell, many of them are single men traveling without children. And so they're being kept off of these trains and they're frustrated because they're finding it very difficult to either get on a train or to get to the border or to get out of this country anyway they can really.
HILL: Yes, absolutely. Scott, appreciate you continuing to stay on that story and bring more to us. Desperation, as you point out so clear right there.
Still to come, Russia's scrambling to prevent a financial meltdown as sanctions slam the country's economy.
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[09:51:53]
HILL: Russia, right now, is scrambling to prevent a financial meltdown brought on by widespread and harsh economic sanctions from western nations.
SCIUTTO: Today, the value of the Russian ruble plunged nearly 30 percent, a third of its value. The country more than doubled a key interest rate to 20 percent to try to boost the currency. And the Moscow stock exchange, it is staying closed today because of fears about a massive selloff.
CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is live in Moscow now.
Nic, what struck me today in this whole range of sanctions so far is the one announced today that attempts to cut Russia off from really a large portions of the reserves it's built up to withstand this. You know, Putin has an emergency meeting today. What are his moves here?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: That's what he's trying to figure out, Jim, because he sure didn't expect this. Despite the fact that President Biden and the EU all said, you're going to face sanctions like you've never had them before. It's clear he didn't expect them to come this way. Why do I say that? Because he built up that $630 billion rainy day fund. And as you say, the U.S. is coming in from the dollar part of it. Question mark over if he can get to the gold part of it. The EU is doing the same thing on the euro part of it.
So, this money that Putin has -- and let's remember, he's been putting this aside since he invaded Ukraine the first time in 2014, annexed Crimea. So, 2015, '16, '17, he really begins digging in deep and stashing away this money. Clearly he has in mind that this day is going to come when he's going to face sanctions. Now he's at the table and he's got his prime minister with him, his first deputy prime minister, the head of the central bank, the heads of other banks. And he was -- he appeared on TV today which, you know, Putin's style narrative to the nation, I'm not the one at fault. He called the rest of the world an evil empire, an empire of lies.
So, Putin, again, lashing out at others being responsible for what he has brought on his country. And no answer yet how they're going to tackle these new sanctions. They -- as you say, they didn't open the stock market today. There's a reason. Because they're worried about what's going to happen.
Reciprocity, they're talking about that. So we can expect sanctions back. But that's not going to dig them out of the hole that they're in right now, Jim.
HILL: Yes, it is somethings, as we watch this all play out.
Nic Robertson, appreciate it. Thank you.
Still ahead here, new video which shows Russian bombs raining down as high-level negotiations are underway. What's happening in Kharkiv at this hour. That's next.
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[09:59:08]
SCIUTTO: Good morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto, reporting from Lviv, Ukraine.
HILL: And I'm Erica Hill in New York. New video just into CNN this morning which appears to show bombs raining down on the city of Kharkiv. Russia issuing a blanket denial here saying it is not targeting Ukrainian civilians. CNN is reaching out to the Russian government for comment on this.
But it comes amid high level negotiations between the two countries. Right now, officials from Ukraine and Russia are discussing a potential path to de-escalation, as Ukraine demands an immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of Russian troops.
SCIUTTO: Meanwhile, the fighting still goes on. We also have new images out of the capital, Kyiv. Our Matthew Chance toured the scene of an attack after a Russian convoy slammed with heavy artillery and missiles, Russian tanks and armor just decimated in the fighting.
[10:00:04]
Russian troops now facing strong opposition in many parts of this country. The Russian president
