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Russia Launches More Deadly Attacks On Sites In Ukraine; Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) Is Interviewed About The Ukraine Invasion. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired March 01, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:03]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Ukrainians officials say that five people were killed and the ministry of internal affairs says the blast knocked broadcasts off the air.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Russian military officials warn they will target additional buildings in Kyiv, including Ukraine's state security agency, and the main information and operation center. They directed Ukrainians near those sites to leave.

Heavy fighting continues in and around Ukraine's second largest city also, Kharkiv. This is according to a U.S. defense official, a Russian air strike blew up this government building there, incinerating the cars around it.

Ukraine's emergency services say at least ten people were killed and dozens wounded, including a child. These are civilians, of course.

And new videos just verified by CNN. They show burning debris and rubble after an air strike hit an apartment building across the street from a hospital in Kharkiv.

There are bodies that can be seen in this video. One person is screaming "the animals". Simply the animals. People were driving here.

BLACKWELL: Let's go now to Anderson Cooper, who is in Lviv. That's in Western Ukraine.

Anderson, Russia state media reports there will be another round of talks tomorrow between Ukraine and Russia. What do you know?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": Yeah. Ukrainian officials, we heard from President Zelensky, who was talking to our Matthew Chance, expressed skepticism, continuous skepticism about what might come out of that. But it does seem that will take place tomorrow, as of now. Russian state media is reporting the second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia near the Belarus-Poland border, just the same place it was before, Ukrainian officials have yet to confirm that. Ukraine's president, as I said, has had little faith in negotiations, but he has to support any attempt at peace.

Zelensky did just speak with President Biden as well. The White House tweeting a photo in which President Biden is wearing a tie in the Ukrainian flag colors. The White House says the two leaders talked for about 30 minutes. They discussed the escalation that we're seeing in attacks from Russia.

We're also learning the air strikes today in Kyiv have hit a holocaust memorial site. It's located near the Kyiv TV tower that was also damaged.

I want to bring in CNN's Alex Marquardt who is near Kyiv in this late at night.

So, what more are you learning about the airstrikes and the Russian advance on the city?

ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, these airstrikes are some of the worst and deadliest the capital city has seen so far. Five people are killed. They were on and around that TV tower but now, Anderson, we're also learning as you mentioned that they also hit and hurt the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial.

Now, this is an area that back in 1941, more than 30,000 Jews were massacred. So, this is an air strike by the forces of a man who claims that he is de-Nazifying Ukraine who is trying to replace a Jewish president. And meanwhile, his forces are hitting a Holocaust memorial that commemorates one of the worst massacres of World War II.

I want to read a tweet from President Zelensky not long after the strike that happened that killed five people. To the world, what is the point of saying never again for 80 years if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar. He said history is repeating.

Meanwhile, Anderson, continued fighting and continued attacks on Ukraine's second biggest city of Kharkiv. We have just verified and geo-located video that shows an attack on an apartment building. It is tough video to watch. We haven't confirmed the number of casualties.

In the video, you can see two bodies and someone saying on that tape, "The animals, the animals". This comes hours after an attack on the administrative building in central Kharkiv, a local civilian government building that in which ten people, we understand, were killed. Another residential building was hit yesterday. All of this, of course, Anderson, as Russia continues to claim that they are only going after military facilities. They are now broadening out their strikes against communication installations.

They say they are not trying to hurt civilians but obviously that is not the case. We have now a growing death toll among Ukraine civilian population, Anderson.

[15:05:01]

COOPER: Alexander Marquardt, appreciate it, Alex. Be careful.

As we mentioned, President Biden spoke with Ukraine's President Zelensky earlier today. Our Matthew Chance also spoke with President Zelensky from his secret location. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You sent the delegation to meet Russians for talks.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Yeah.

CHANCE: Did anything substantial come out of that? Is there any hope as the world watches for diplomacy?

ZELENSKY: They decided -- they decided to begin to speak about the situation. And I want it -- I really want it. You have to -- first of all, everybody has to stop fighting and to go to that point from where it was beginning. Yes, it began five, six days ago.

I think there are principal things you can do it, and that is very important moment. If you'll do this and if those site is ready, it means that they are ready for the peace. If they don't ready, it means that you're just, you know --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wasting your time.

ZELENSKY: Wasting time.

CHANCE: And do you think you're wasting your time or do you think they're ready?

ZELENSKY: We'll see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Clarissa Ward joins us now from Kyiv.

Clarissa, it's really just remarkable the transformation of this President Zelensky, a man who is 44 years old. He -- are those air sirens?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the air sirens have been going for the last 30 or 40 seconds, Anderson. We haven't heard any explosions or strikes. But, you know, they have become all too familiar sound I think now for the residents of Kyiv.

COOPER: I was saying the transformation of Zelensky, a man who after law school became an actor and comedian, played the president on television and then ran for president and won overwhelmingly. It's extraordinary, the stature he has based on his behavior, his statements while Ukraine has been under attack.

WARD: Yeah, it really is. I think a lot of people didn't know if this was a man who could meet the moment. As you said, he was a comedian, not for a political or military background, and yet what we have seen in last six days is this crisis has unfolded is, you know, extraordinary demonstration of bravery. He has been talking regularly to the public. He's still in Kyiv, as you saw. My colleague Matthew Chance met with him. And you can see in that

interview that Zelensky looks very tired, unshaven. He's wearing a military t-shirt, khakis. He's not dressed as a politician any longer, but he is dressed in what would only be considered the appropriate attire for this moment, with a country that's under siege and facing the most serious land invasion in Europe since the Second World War.

He zoned in on several important points when he was talking to Matthew. He reiterated his call to the U.S. for some kind of a no fly zone, an attempt to try to stop this Russian aggression, these cruise missiles and air strike having such devastating impact on the ground. He also talked about how important it is for President Biden in the State of the Union address tonight to use that opportunity when talking to Americans to make them understand what he was saying is this isn't about just Ukraine. This is about a way of life. This is about principles and ideals. This is about the concepts of self- determination, sovereignty, democracy, liberalism.

And so, he told Matthew that he really hoped that President Biden would be able to really emphasis that to the American public to give them a stronger sense that this is not just about one country really but a way of life, Anderson.

He also spoke with President Biden. They spoke for over half an hour. They talked about the incident today that you heard Alex talking about earlier, this strike on the TV tower. That was a huge explosion that we heard here, the air raid sirens were going again, five people we know now were killed in that horrifying scenes of devastation from the site. That TV channel obviously is now down and they said that they are working to try get up back up channels.

But the Russians warned this was going to happen tonight. They also warned about hitting SBU or Ukrainian security services facilities. So, now, the city waits on edge to see what the night will bring, Anderson.

[15:10:03]

COOPER: Yeah. Clarissa Ward, appreciate it. Thank you.

Just in to CNN, we're learning more about how the U.S. has been able to maintain regular contact with Ukraine's President Zelensky.

Also, U.S. official telling CNN that the U.S. gives Zelensky a secure satellite phone last month.

CNN national security correspondent Kylie Atwood joins me now.

Kylie, what more are you learning about this? Because obviously any form of communication with Zelensky has got to be incredibly secure so that it's not track by Russian authorities.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right.

So, the United States provided Zelensky with a secure satellite phone, as you said, last month. Of course, the expectation being a Russian invasion could occur and they would have to have a way to be in touch with President Zelensky if he wasn't in his office or wasn't able to go to the United States embassy in Kyiv. That's where most of the secure communications happen, between U.S. and Ukrainian officials.

So, they provided the secure satellite phone with Zelensky. They also provided one to Ukrainian foreign minister Kuleba. And this is way for those officials to be in touch with the U.S. government in a secure fashion while they are mobile.

And, of course, as we saw today, President Zelensky remains in Kyiv, in a capital city, at an undisclosed location, of course. CNN's Matthew Chance is reporting that he's moving around from one location to another, with, of course, security surrounding him. But we also know that today he spoke on the phone with President Biden for about half an hour.

So, evidence there that this line is going to good use -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Kylie Atwood, appreciate it.

Alisyn, let's go back to you.

CAMEROTA: Okay, Anderson, we see it has started snowing there. Just another reminder of the conditions of everyone in Ukraine right now. We'll check back in with you.

Joining us now is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey.

Senator, thank you so much for your time.

I understand you received a classified briefing last night from defense officials about everything that's happening in Ukraine. I know you can't give us specifics, but just generally from what you've learned, what do you think Russia is going to do next?

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-NJ): Well, Alisyn, I think that Russia is going to continue on and be all in. And while the Ukrainian, both its army and its civilians have been courageous, heroic in their efforts, I do think that some of the overwhelming challenges that they face by what is amassed against them is going to lead to greater and greater losses of civilians in Ukraine.

We see the indiscriminate shelling of residential buildings, of hospitals. This is not what a military exercise is supposed to be. These are, in essence, from my perspective, war crimes. You don't indiscriminately attack civilians and when you have precision-guided missiles, the purpose of them is to avoid civilian targets while attacking the target you're looking for.

They're using their missiles against entities like what we saw on your channel.

CAMEROTA: Well, this is why Congressman Adam Kinzinger, himself an Iraq and Afghanistan vet, is calling for a no fly zone over Ukraine to be declared.

He tweeted: Declare a no fly zone over Ukraine at the invitation of their sovereign government. Disrupt Russia's air ops to give the heroic Ukrainians a fair fight.

Do you agree?

MENENDEZ: Well, the challenge with the no fly zone is that you're ultimately engaging in a direct conflict with Russia. And that's a determination that has to be made. Are we ready? Not only the United States but NATO ready to engage in a direct conflict with Russia, because if you declare a no fly zone and Russian aircraft flies into the zone, the only way to enforce it is to take down that Russian aircraft ro to move it out of the zone.

So, I don't think that the West is ready to have a direct confrontation with Putin in a military context. Of course, what I've seen in my 30 years of foreign policy, I have never seen an international coalition come together as quickly and impose such punishing sanctions on oligarchs, on banks, on Putin himself, on the Central Bank, on Nord Stream, on SWIFT in terms of some of these banks, and so much more as we have seen now.

And these will have enormous consequences to Putin back in Russia.

CAMEROTA: Yes, eventually, they will. But, I mean, even President Biden has said it's going to take a while. I think the term he used was a month for some of the real pain to kick in.

[15:15:02]

That was before the latest round of sanctions.

But I guess my point is that since you said that the Ukrainians are facing these overwhelming challenges and it's about to get worse, what can the U.S. and European community do now to help them?

MENENDEZ: Well, just this past weekend, as the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, our committee has jurisdictions over arm sales and arm transfers, and it's normally a lengthy process. I got to ask to approve stinger and a whole host of other lethal defensive equipment. I did and it is now in Ukraine.

So, we have a pipeline of assistance into Ukraine in terms of variety of lethal defensive systems that we are providing Ukraine. We are in a midst of having a significant package for Ukraine, both on the military side, as well as the humanitarian side, because we have seen over 600,000 Ukrainians and more that we'll be coming, who have had to flee the country. So, we want to help them as well.

We want to help them in Ukraine not just those who have fled because as the ambassador from Ukraine told us last night, we appreciate you all helping those that have fled but we have to help those that have stayed as well.

So, all of that is in the works by the United States government itself.

CAMEROTA: In your classified briefing, did you learn anything about Putin's state of mind? The reporting is, is that he's seen as becoming less racial and more erratic.

MENENDEZ: I think, you know, trying to get to Putin's state of mind is a challenge for our intelligence agencies. He is -- he has been especially during this couple of years of COVID probably more isolated than any other time and that in and of itself creates a bubble in which reality is not one in which he is exposed to, plus there are very few people willing to speak truth to power in a totalitarian government like Putin's government.

So, that in and of itself, knowing that environment has to raise questions about what his mindset is. But as to exactly what he intends to do or has he become irrational versus a rational actor that many have thought him to be in the past, that's an open book.

CAMEROTA: Senator Bob Menendez, thank you very much for your time.

BLACKWELL: The U.N. says what we're watching as hundreds of thousands of people crossing the border out of Ukraine could become Europe's largest refugee crisis this century. We'll speak to an American who is in Ukraine volunteering to help some of those leaving the country.

CAMEROTA: Plus, President Zelensky renewing his call for Ukraine to be admitted to the European Union and demanding the E.U. prove it is committed to Ukraine's safety. His impassioned plea, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:22:19]

COOPER: Well, the United Nations Refugee Agency now estimates around 660,000 Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries so far. That number is likely to continue to grow.

My next guest is American who teaches English in Ukraine because of this crisis. In his newfound home, he's volunteering to house anyone who can't get on a train to Poland.

Joel Wasserman joins us now.

Joel, thanks so much for being with us.

I understand that you went to the train station in Lviv today. I'm wondering what the scene was there.

JOEL WASSERMAN, AMERICAN IN LVIV, UKRAINE VOLUNTEERING TO HOUSE REFUGEES: Okay. Fortunately the situation at the train station today was certainly bustling. It's clear there's a humanitarian crisis under way but it was under control. It wasn't too crowded. There are people serving food. There are people carrying around plates to offer people with sandwiches and hot tea.

The line for the platform for the trains to Poland was not crushing, but I should -- I should make clear this is only a snapshot that I was able to see at a particular moment in time.

As we speak, I really don't know what the situation is. The women who were staying with me today have gone to the train station and I pray will make it Poland tonight.

COOPER: I know you originally came to Ukraine to teach English to soldiers who fought the Russians in Donbas. Tell us more about that, about your coming here.

WASSERMAN: So, I've been interested in this part of the world for a long time. I did language study in Moscow in 2012. After that point I decided, I wanted to live in the Russian speaking world for a while. Then the revolution happened in 2014 as well as the annexation of Crimea and the Russian invasion of Donbas.

I decided I didn't want to go to Moscow. I watched the invasion that summer and I felt in my heart that I really needed to make myself useful over here somehow. So, I spent some years working. I got training with English certification for teaching English. I arrived in Kyiv in March 2018.

COOPER: Wow. What has it been like? I know you moved from Kyiv to Lviv a few months ago realizing that the situation in Kyiv might be untenable. What's it like? What have you seen over the last weeks as this has been increasing and getting more and more dangerous?

[15:25:03]

WASSERMAN: So, I came over just over a month ago because -- because it looked like the -- I was really concerned about the Belarusian forces or forces in Belarus north of the border. I saw arguments that were compelling on both sides of the "would Putin do it, wouldn't Putin do it, how much will he do it" argument. And I decided that the arguments against were not compelling enough for me to risk myself, my cat, a lot of my stuff in staying in Kyiv. I wanted to be able to get to a point where I would be confident of my safety well in advance.

Unfortunately, that proved to be the right decision. What have I been seeing over here?

COOPER: Yeah.

WASSERMAN: I have been seeing a tremendous, incredible response from the Ukrainian people. Your viewers should understand this is not the first time that the Ukrainian people have mobilized a civil effort to confront the Russian aggressor and help refugees who were displaced by the Russian aggressor. They did this in 2014 and 2015. They have this experience and, boy, are they putting it to use.

I'm on a number -- I'm getting a lot of news and connections from channels on Telegram and social media. The volunteer effort is just simply flooring and astounding. I'm so proud of this country that I call home for four years.

COOPER: Yeah. Well, it's great that you are pitching in to do what you can to help those in need. Joel Wasserman, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.

Alisyn and Victor, I mean, what Joel spoke about the extraordinary reaction by Ukrainians here, the coming together of people here is really a privilege to witness up close.

BLACKWELL: Yeah, the worst of one is bringing out the best in so many. We're seeing that across the country.

CAMEROTA: Yeah. So, let's talk about specifically the impact of all of this on children. So, Doctors Without Borders says they have seen parents crossing into Poland with children as young as three weeks old. Now according to the Ukrainian president, 16 children were killed yesterday in Russian attacks and their blood is on Putin's hand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKY (through translator): Yesterday, 16 children were killed. Again and again, President Putin is going to say that is some kind of operation and we are hitting a military infrastructure. Where are children? What kind of military factors do they work at? What tanks are they going with or launching cruise missiles? He killed 16 people just yesterday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the United Nations that Russian strikes are hitting schools and hospital and residential buildings. We've seen images -- look at this -- this is a pediatric cancer ward evacuated from its specialty sent tore the basement. Its young patients are still being treated under ground.

And then there's this video in is a neonatal intensive care unit. These tiny preemies, premature babies, and their doctors, they had to move to a bunker. And nurses are supplying oxygen by hand.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. It's so shocking. I mean, these images are so shocking. These kids with cancer, if they don't get treatment, they will die. And for what?

I mean, so that Putin can have more territory. Russia is the biggest territory on earth. For money? He's one of the wealthiest men alive.

I mean, for what? What is Putin's end game here, Anderson? You know, the world community wonders.

COOPER: Yeah. you know, in a situation like this, we forget about that regular life for people, it's obviously been stopped in its tracks but all the problems that people have to deal with during normal liar continue. It's now just continuing in the worse possible circumstances to see children from a NICU being treated in a bomb shelter, it's unthinkable.

I spoke last night on "360" with a woman named Olena who her husband volunteered the fight. He's a journalist. She decided to stay in Kyiv with their three children because trying to make it to the border just seemed fraught and full of difficulties and uncertainty.

I spoke to her while she was sheltering. To call it a bomb shelter isn't accurate. It's a basement in a building. There's not a lot of official bomb shelters that are hardened. There's a window in this basement.

This is some of what she said to me last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLENA GNES, UKRAINIAN CIVILIAN IN KYIV BOMB SHELTER: Today, we have about 100 people in the bomb shelter. You call it bomb shelter.