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Massive Russian Convoy Nears Kyiv as War Enters 6th Day; Ukrainians Mount Fierce Resistance to Russian Invasion; Western Sanctions Take Aim at Russia's Economy; Biden Approves $350 Million in Military Aid for Ukraine; Germany Agrees to Send Weapons to Ukraine; ICC Opens Investigation into Alleged War Crimes in Ukraine. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired March 01, 2022 - 01:00   ET

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

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes coming to you live from Lviv in Ukraine as this country faces day six of a Russian invasion.

And a massive Russian convoys bearing down on the Ukrainian Capital Kyiv. Satellite imagery showing it stretches for more than 40 miles or 65 kilometers and includes tanks and artillery.

Russian troops have breached the Kyiv suburbs before and met fierce resistance. What you're looking at there is social media video purporting to show what is left of another Russian column laid waste by the Ukrainians. But this latest convoyed looming to the north is stoking fears that the worst may be around the corner.

CNN has learned that U.S. lawmakers were given a classified briefing saying Ukraine could soon be overwhelmed. One source said they were given a timeline for when Ukrainian cities could fall and called it alarming.

And it's not just in Kyiv, Russian troops that pouring in by land, sea and air. Ukraine second largest city, Kharkiv became the scene of intense shelling on Monday. And you can see one of the barrages here buildings being blasted as thick smoke rises into the air. The mayor says at least nine civilians were killed in this. And all of this the same day Russian negotiators were meeting a Ukrainian delegation at the border with Belarus. Ukraine's president says the Russians were syncing up these attacks with the negotiations and he's accusing them of targeting civilians.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): It was clearly a war crime. Kharkiv is a peaceful city. There are peaceful residential areas, no military facilities. Dozens of eyewitness accounts prove that this is not a single false volley, but deliberate destruction of people. The Russians knew where they were shooting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now meantime Ukrainian stepping up to do everything they can to keep those Russian troops out of Kyiv. CNN's Jim Sciutto reports.

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ukrainian forces have so far managed to hold on to the capital Kyiv defying U.S. intelligence assessments, despite the increasing intensity of the Russian onslaught.

But U.S. officials are now warning that Russia could soon increase the intensity of their attack.

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: They have suffered setbacks, but I don't think we can just assume that they're going to stay set back.

SCIUTTO: Satellite images show a Russian military convoy getting closer to Kyiv from the North. The head of the convoy most recently observed at an airport fewer than 20 miles from the city center. As the Ukrainians tried to hold off the Russian advanced across the country, the U.S. and its allies are keeping up the pressure on the financial front, sanctioning Russia Central Bank, essentially cutting off Vladimir Putin's ability to support the Russian ruble, which fell as much as 30% on Monday.

NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: These actions will severely impact Putin's inner circle, impede the Kremlin's use of its international reserves and limit its ability to fund ongoing destabilizing activities.

SCIUTTO: And in a historic move even Switzerland, long a bastion of neutrality has decided to match the European Union sanctions on Russia.

IGNAZIO CASSIS, PRESIDENT OF SWISS CONFEDERATION (through translation): Russia's attack against Ukraine is unacceptable with regards to international law, unacceptable politically speaking and unacceptable from a moral point of view.

SCIUTTO: As the war continues to rage, Russia has come to the negotiating table with Ukraine. Ukraine says their primary aim is a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities. Russia says the two sides found points where they could make progress. A second round of talks will take place in the coming days, though Ukrainian President Zelensky sounded pessimistic before the talks began.

ZELENSKY (through translation): I don't really believe in the result of this meeting. But let them try. So then later on, no citizen of Ukraine would have any doubt that I, the president, did not try to stop the war when I had a chance. SCIUTTO: Today, the U.S. made a different kind of move on the diplomatic front, expelling 12 Russian diplomats from the U.N., accusing them of espionage activities. But noting this process had been going on for several months. CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment.

[01:05:07]

Military aid is still pouring into Ukraine. The Biden ministration approving another $350 million of security assistance over the weekend. And even Sweden, a non-NATO member announced they'd be sending 5000 Anti-tank weapons, 5000 helmets, 5000 body shields and 135,000 field rations.

KIRBY: We're going to continue to provide security assistance to Ukrainian armed forces. The Ukrainians have been effective at using these weapons in these systems. And about and that resisting and pushing back Russian forces.

SCIUTTO: Germany finally announced it would send weapons to Ukraine as well, and has said it will hike its own defense spending in light of Russia's continued aggression.

OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translation): President Putin should not underestimate our determination to defend every square meter of our alliances territory together with our allies.

SCIUTTO: Jim Sciutto, CNN, Lviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now, as the war rages on in Ukraine, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says more than 400 civilian casualties have now been reported so far, but warns the real number could be considerably higher than that. All of this coming as the International Criminal Court has announced it will open an investigation against Russia for possible war crimes. The ICC's chief prosecutor says they will begin their probe "as rapidly as possible." The Ukrainian ambassador to the U.N. says he welcomes the move.

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SERGIY KYSLYTSYA, UKRAINE'S AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: We welcome the statement issued to the by the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan on the situation in Ukraine. He, in particular, he's satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to believe that those alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now the Kremlin has said Russian forces would not attack Ukrainian civilians but Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says war crimes are being committed as Russians are targeting civilians and residential areas in his country.

Meanwhile, the Russian president lashing out at the sanctions imposed upon his country by Western nations which on Monday, he called "the empire of lies." Now, this coming just a day after Vladimir Putin put Russia's deterrence force which includes nuclear weapons on combat alert. A senior U.S. defense official says there is no specific threat at the moment.

And the U.S. president when asked if Americans should be worried about a possible nuclear war, bluntly said no. Still, President Putin's recent behavior is raising questions about his grasp on reality, as Melissa Bell now reports.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was only a week ago, a rambling TV address in which Vladimir Putin signaled the start of a war and the abrupt end of weeks of frantic diplomacy. So abrupt says the French President, the discussions had continued until just a few hours before.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translation): So yes, there was duplicity. Yes, there was a deliberate conscious choice by President Putin to launch the war, when we could still negotiate peace.

BELL: But if the abruptness of the announcement surprised the French President. Its tone did not. It says a French presidential source who described it as rigid and paranoid, something they say that chimes with what Macron had first noticed during his more than five hours of talks with a Russian president in Moscow on February 7, when the Russian president struck him as different, stiffer and more isolated than he had been in the past.

And few Western leaders have seen as much of Vladimir Putin these last few years as Emmanuel Macron, the Russian president was one of the first foreign leaders to visit Macron just after his election in 2017 at Versailles, and the Russian leader visited Macron again during his summer break in the south of France in 2019. And then again, at the Elysee Palace in December of that same year.

(On camera): That was the last time that Macron had seen Putin until he met with him in Moscow. What Elysee Palace sources say is that by then he found himself opposite a man who was much changed Macron felt that Putin was now on an ideological drift no longer the man he'd met in December of 2019.

(Voice-over): By Saturday, Putin was once again making televised remarks, referring to Ukraine's leadership as a Nazi or fascist regime, urging Ukrainian armed forces to seize power, even as the country's Jewish president was defiantly speaking to the world from Kyiv and Ukrainian forces and civilians were putting up stiff resistance.

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BERNARD GUETTA, JOURNALIST AND MEMBER OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: I think that this guy lost touch with realities actually. Reality and realities, American realities, Western European realities, Ukrainian reality, and even Russian realities. Because the Russian people this is clear and clear everyday doesn't support this war.

BELL: By Sunday, another televised address and a further escalation. The Russian President putting his nuclear arsenal on high alert, blaming NATO for its aggressive statements.

PETRO POROSHENKO, FORMER UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: That this nuclear madness Putin pose as much greater threat to the world than bin Laden.

BELL: Even as the Russian invasion slows in the face of Ukrainian resistance, the question is now one of disconnect, even within the Kremlin, Ukraine's Foreign Minister is saying Sunday that their intelligence suggests that even those close to Putin are against the invasion, a military move that may have devastating consequences for Russia. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Jeffrey Lewis is the Director of the East Asia Non- Proliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. And he joins me now from Monterey, California.

And thanks so much for doing so. What did you make of Putin -- his announcement of putting his nuclear forces on alert, but by doing it on television, it was like staged for maximum almost theatrical effect, do you read anything into that?

JEFFREY LEWIS, DIRECTOR, EAST ASIA NONPROLIFERATION PROGRAM, MIDDLEBURY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AT MONTEREY: Oh, yes, I -- it is not normal to put your nuclear forces on alert on television, it's not normal to do it by giving a little speech. These are things that are supposed to be written down. And so I look at this fundamentally as a performance. And it's a way of changing the subject. If Vladimir Putin had not made this announcement, we would have been talking about how the Russian military was performing dreadfully we would be talking about the civilian toll that was happening, we'd be talking about the sanctions. In short, we'd be talking about how badly things were going for him. By doing this, he changes the subject and gives us something else to talk about.

HOLMES: Yeah, yeah. How concerning though, is that even as a ploy, and at the same time, does the U.S. have systems that would detect what stage the Russians are at with their readiness?

LEWIS: Yes, the United States has satellites and other means of collecting signals intelligence. And so if there was an order that went out, or if the alert rate of nuclear weapons forces were to change, the U.S. intelligence community would have picked that up. And so when Richard Nixon put U.S. nuclear forces on alert in 1973, he didn't announce it, he just assumed the Russians would see it. The same thing is true here. So the fact again, that they've announced it suggests that it's really about the propaganda piece.

Now, that said, playing with nuclear weapons is playing with fire. And so there is a danger that emerges from this. And I don't want to discount that. But I think what we're seeing is somebody acting recklessly, more than we are somebody who's deliberately planning to start a nuclear war that I don't think is very likely.

HOLMES: Yeah, yeah, I mean, it is inconceivable that he would consider using nuclear weapons. But what would you sort of, I think they called Tactical or Battlefield, a nuclear weapons look like in Europe? What would they even do? One assumes he would have literal fallout for his own country.

LEWIS: Yeah, you know, there are a variety of different kinds of tactical nuclear weapons. And so it's a little bit hard to group them together. They run from everything, from death charges that you might use to try to destroy a submarine to nuclear weapons that you put on missiles to shoot that incoming missiles. I think in this scenario, if Russia were to use so called non-strategic weapons, what we do is that we target things like airfields in order to try to knock them out. We've already seen the Russians fire a number of conventional missiles and airfields. And so nuclear weapons might be something you use in that context.

But to be honest, I don't really think that gets Vladimir Putin anything new. I don't think that's actually a really helpful thing for him to do in terms of their military effect. And then, of course, all the follow on political and other effects that he would have to deal with. So again, it's you know, you can't rule anything out. He does seem to be making terrible decisions. But this really does not seem like it makes a lot of sense for him.

HOLMES: And presumably, well, obviously, I suppose for the West, the right thing to do right now is avoid escalation. So the West hasn't really done anything has it? I mean how should they respond going forward to nuclear moves like this by Putin? I mean do some things happen automatically when a foe makes a change in readiness?

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LEWIS: Well, yeah, I'll be honest, I'm not sure that there really is a serious change in readiness of Russian nuclear forces. The reality is that the United States and Russia have large numbers of nuclear forces on alert on a day to day basis. And so one of the reasons I think that you've seen the United States say that no response is necessary is that just as Russia does, we already have many nuclear weapons on the world. So again, this is one of those instances where people don't think about the fact that there are 1000s of nuclear weapons that could be fired on a few minutes notice. But that is the reality we live in. And Vladimir Putin can do his little show on TV, but it doesn't change that fundamental dynamic. And that's one reason why I think he's probably talking more than really trying to seriously think about escalating this crisis in a nuclear way.

HOLMES: Fascinating and important analysis, as always, from you, Jeffrey. Jeffrey Lewis there, appreciate the time.

LEWIS: My pleasure.

HOLMES: All right, Joe Biden faces a critical moment in his presidency. Coming up, his State of the Union address with a focus on Ukraine's crisis and the world's response to it. Plus, Russia's economy is hit by crushing Western sanctions. We'll take a closer look at the economic turmoil ahead.

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HOLMES: President Biden and key U.S. allies are coordinating their sanctions on Russia with a focus on maintaining global economic stability, especially regarding oil prices.

Mr. Biden hosting a call with European leaders, Japan and Canada's Prime Ministers and NATO Secretary General on Monday. The White House emphasizing President Biden remains firm in his commitment to keep U.S. troops out of the conflict.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said it also means us enforcement on a no fly zone in Ukraine is off the table. No real surprise there. Psaki says the crisis in Ukraine will have a major role in the president State of the Union speech later Tuesday. No surprise there either.

For more details on all of this CNN's White House Reporter Jasmine Wright joins me now live from Washington. Good to see you again. Jasmine. Thoughts early on in the conflict? Only 42% I think it was of Americans, in a CNN poll say they trust President Biden at least moderately to make the right decisions regarding Ukraine. What is his message going to be tomorrow?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, Michael is going to be a critically important speech tomorrow for the President something that just a few months ago, White House officials thought would be a perfect platform for him to do a domestic reset on the issues facing the country. But fast forward to right now, of course, things look a lot different and in Ukraine is going to have to be a major focus of the speech. So yesterday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, she laid out a couple of things that the President is going to talk about regarding Ukraine. First, she said that he is going to highlight just how unified NATO and Western allies are in the face of Russian aggression, especially when it comes to those sanctions. I think we've seen over the past week, plus, really a unified effort trying to punish Russia trying to cripple the economy and put the ruble in freefall. So that's going to be one of the things that he talks about.

He's also going to talk about the amount of military assistance, both the U.S. and allies apart because of what President Biden has built, she said have been able to deliver to the Ukrainian people are really trying to bolster and support that resistance, especially as we have gotten these grave warnings from lawmakers and U.S. officials of what they believe could be a real challenge ahead of the Ukrainian people in this long slog of a conflict.

And third, she said she's going to bring it back to the homeland and talk to the American people about exactly what this administration has done to try to mitigate, really the impacts on Americans lives when it comes to the Ukrainian situation. And one of the things that was quickly identify from U.S. officials is gas prices and how those could go up with oil restrictions in the face of this crisis. And it's been something of a focus of this White House trying to keep those prices low at the pump. So the President is going to address that as well.

Now, of course, Michael, he will have to address the domestic issues like the ongoing pandemic and the inflation problems and the squeeze that Americans feel and their wallet. But a big, big focus of this, again, is going to be on Ukraine, something that has had the White House's attention, not only just for the last week, really intensely, of course, we know all these calls that the President has been making really all the trips that his officials have gone on to really unite allies, but just for the last few months. And so this is going to be something that the President on his first State in the Union in his presidency is going to address head on, the White House says. Michael.

HOLMES: All right, Jasmine, good to see. Jasmine Wright there live in Washington for us, appreciate that.

We're going to take a quick break here. When we come back, we're going to hear from one Ukrainian woman who has been hiding in a bomb shelter with her children for days. Why she decided to stay in Kyiv once the invasion began. Our live coverage of the crisis in Ukraine continues after the break.

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HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes coming to you live from Lviv in Ukraine. Bitter fighting still underway across the country as Ukrainians try to hold off a Russian invasion. Deadly explosions rocking Ukraine second largest city Kharkiv on Monday.

Ukrainian officials are accusing Russian forces of carrying out strikes in a residential area near apartment buildings and a supermarket. I got video to show you now posted online that shows what appears to be rockets raining down outside some apartment homes. This is Kharkiv as people tried to run to safety.

Officials say, was one of several attacks on the city on Monday. In all, Kharkiv's mayor says, nine civilians including three children were killed in the attacks.

Now, these scenes playing out on the same day Ukrainian and Russian officials met for negotiations at the border with Belarus to discuss a possible ceasefire no breakthroughs but officials did indicate more talks could be on the horizon.

[01:34:51]

Meanwhile, a different crisis is developing on the edges of this conflict. The U.N. now says more than 500,000 refugees, half a million, have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded. That number is rising they say, exponentially, every hour.

And the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says the exodus is happening on a scale he has rarely seen before.

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FILIPPO GRANDI, U.N. HIGH COMMISSIOR FOR REFUGEES: I regret to say that unless there is, as (INAUDIBLE) said, an immediate halt to conflict, Ukrainians will simply continue to flee.

We are currently planning -- I repeat, planning for up to 4 million refugees in the coming days and weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: But for many Ukrainians, leaving simply isn't an option. Some have been ordered to stay, the men, while others say getting out has just been too difficult.

Earlier, CNN's Anderson Cooper spoke with one woman who has been sheltering with her children in Kyiv while her husband volunteered to fight for his country. Anderson asked her how she and her family are holding up amid all the chaos.

Here's their conversation.

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OLENA GNES, UKRAINIAN CIVILIAN IN KYIV BOMB SHELTER: For us we are bad but we keeping up.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Your children are with you. How are they doing?

GNES: My children are basically doing very fine. (INAUDIBLE) look sick because she was coughing right now, but she's getting much better. I have some important medications especially because she has like breathing problems. And obviously, the air in the bomb shelter is not the best air quality but she is doing well.

And the other kids who are five and seven years old. I'm amazed how wise they are. How they understood what's really going on, how quickly they grew up.

Like yesterday, I went away for like half of an hour for the first time back home just to take some food and water and clothes for them. And my daughter said I will come back very soon and my daughter said, mommy just come back please.

COOPER: How did you explain to them what is happening?

GNES: Just what is happening, just directly. Yes. On the first day, me and my husband, when we understood that everything (ph) started, we just told them that, yes, the war has started. That Russia attacked.

Because before we were telling them about this possibility, we were calming them down, that everything is going to be fine, that we have a very strong army, we will be protected. But we needed to tell them what is going on, for them to understand fully and to be prepared. And I would teach them first how to hide, how to lie down on the ground and cover you hide with your friends in case you hear -- there is a bomb shelling. Why they should urgently move and to rush into bomb shell territory outside and so on.

That you shouldn't pick up the toys on the streets right now, if you are out, because there could be explosives. So they fully understand everything absolutely what's going on.

COOPER: Have you've been able to talk to your husband? I know he has volunteered to fight.

GNES: Yes. Yes. I have been able to talk to him in the evening. So, right now. It's about half past three in the morning. And before the night started, I talked to him.

Yes, and we had about two minutes of conversation and that was the longest. Before he was saying only I love you and I respond the same and that was all. This time, he even described a little bit what they were doing. In total, he said, that it is not romantic at all.

But people are doing very well. Everybody, many people, they do their best to protect the city, to protect Ukraine.

COOPER: And what is it like in the bomb shelter? How many people are there with you?

GNES: So the first day -- night there were much more people here. There were more than 300 as far as I understand. This is the corridor of the bomb shelter. The first days and nights, it was full, absolutely when each of this here, they were some (INAUDIBLE) on this side, and even on the opposite side.

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COOPER: Where do your kids sleep?

GNES: There is another room, so I am right now in the corridor where there are lesser people. And there was that room near the corridor, where families with children mostly stay. So I do not want to wake them up. This is why I came here. I only took light.

So today, we have about 100 people in this bomb shelter. And you call it a bomb shelter, but in fact, most of these places where people hiding, they are not really bomb shelters. They're just the basements of buildings. So they are not very well prepared for any kind of bomb shelling.

So, if the missile hits directly this building, it will not stop it. And it will be a trap. But at least it will protect from some tiny explosions.

For example, in our room, we have a window with stained glass and there is no way how to change it. And the glass in a bomb shelter is dangerous.

COOPER: Do you have enough food, enough water?

GNES: For today, yes. Today we are not hungry. For today and tomorrow, and day after tomorrow, we have enough. But I'm not sure that we have enough for later. And so we have just for a couple of days.

There are obviously many people trying to get into Poland or Hungary or somewhere else. Women with children. Have you thought about trying to leave?

GNES: Yes, many times. That's a very complicated question with me, why we didn't leave. You see, at first, the government was saying that everything is under control. And we should not panic, you should stay where you are, and continue your work.

And basically, this is what we did in the first day. My husband went to his TV channel to work as a journalist, because that was very important. And I decided to stay and wait for him and see what happens.

In a couple of hours, after the bombs fell, the first bombs, there were already huge traffic around the city. So I understood that for me with three children, it was very complicated to leave the city in this traffic jam. And I can stuck on the road. And it wasn't equally safe for me, and my children.

Then in the daytime, there was an air defense alarm, but I need to run into the bomb shelter. And here I am, since then.

And we were talking with my husband, what should we do? There is two scenarios. One was to escape and survive. Another one is stay and take the battle. We decided to stay. What is going to happen, the worst happen to us in both cases. This is that we can die and we decided if we are going to die anyway, so let's just use the time we have left for some good.

COOPER: I have three-week old child at home, I cannot imagine the strength that you have, to take care of your children in this situation. It is stunning.

GNES: Well, all these people in the bomb shelter, they help a lot. Everybody are nursing, one by one hold (INAUDIBLE) your hands. I was not cooking for the first day, at all, because with children I couldn't run to the apartment and without me here, they would have been upset. So I was just given food by other people all of these days.

Like yesterday, only for the first time, I bought something for myself. The atmosphere here is very kind, and I feel how people care. So yes, they help me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Just incredible to hear that story from that woman there with her children. Hi everyone. John Vause in Atlanta. Our breaking news coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine will continue after a short break.

And when we come back, the shock and awe of unprecedented western sanctions sending Russia's economy into a meltdown.

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VAUSE: Over the past week, economic sanctions on Moscow have escalated from almost meaningless to devastating sending the Russian economy spiraling towards a financial meltdown.

The bank of Russia has more than doubled official interest rates to 20 percent to try and support the ruble which lost about a quarter of its value against the U.S. dollar on Monday alone.

There have been long lines in money dealers and ATMs across the country, many scrambling to exchange rubles for euros and dollars but foreign currency has been difficult to find.

And after heavy losses last week, the Moscow stock exchange will remain closed for a second day on Tuesday. Still, the Kremlin insists preparations have been made to compensate for the financial shock of western sanctions.

And for more on that, we are joined by Ryan Patel, senior fellow at the Claremont Graduate University's Drucker School of Management. Ryan thanks for being with us.

RYAN PATEL, SENIOR FELLOW, CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY'S DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT: My pleasure, John.

VAUSE: OK. So part of Putin's preparation was a nest egg of foreign currency reserves about $640 billion. About half of that, if not more, is now out of Putin's reach because of sanctions and other measures by the U.S. and Europe. It seems odd, firstly that Putin did not predict that but more importantly, how does this now impact Russia's economy, and how will it impact it over time?

PATEL: Well, obviously, impacting the war chest they've built and other assets and cash for the war. I think he probably planned to do that and they have that.

[01:44:56]

PATEL: But I think the plan here with the SWIFT financial institution making the blockade piece. It is the consumers that are -- you know the citizens are the ones that are struggling to go things, right.

And I think that happened a lot more faster than I think the sanctions came in a lot more quicker. And I think that's where the Russian government has to step in to create that stability.

And we're seeing in the last couple of days that it is now, right. When the currency isn't able to hold its value, it's going to cause people to go -- have to go to exchanges as fast as they can in banks having to take money out, go buy things, even iPhones as they reported in Russia. Like their prices can go up tomorrow because of inflation.

VAUSE: You know, on Sunday BP announcing it was going to sell its stake in Rosneft, its stake on the oil giant. Since then Shell is ending all joint ventures with Gazprom, Mobil is stopping production in a Russian factory. (INAUDIBLE) is stopping a partnership as well in Russia.

So what does it mean -- what does it mean when the corporate world moves this quickly and takes such serious action?

PATEL: That's it, John. I think it is the corporate businesses moving more quickly than ever before. That is causing also this ripple effect, because now when you have many corporations coming together, it makes it easier for other businesses to step in to provide.

I'm not going to buy anything from Russia, or I will go a different way. I mean you mentioned BP. That is huge for them. At a cost of $25 billion and a 20 percent stake, that is nothing -- that decision was not made lightly.

And even the largest foreign fund in the world in Norway, they came out -- the prime minister came out and said it would divest $3 billion dollars in Russian assets.

You know, these are not just a little statements. These are big statements showing the rest of the leadership. And we even heard in Switzerland, which is always pretty much neutral, they've come out and stated their positioning as well.

VAUSE: You know, these economic sanctions being imposed by Europe and by the United States and other countries are not without cost to those countries. And the calculation seems that, you know, the European economies can absorb the pain because if they don't, the cost further down the road if Putin is not stopped would be a lot more than whatever the increase in the cost gas and oil, right.

PATEL: And that's it, right. I think the E.U. is actually really leading the charge here because obviously they're going to be directed and affected the most in this war. And if they continue to support as it seems to Ukraine and be able to step through that and put itself in position, including countries like Germany, France, and the rest of the E.U., stating that they will burden that and protect their citizens.

And think the question becomes here, which we don't know how long will this go. I do want to make a point, John. These sanctions are not just an on and off button. We're going to see if even when the war stops, it's not like they're going to go back to normal business as normal. And so, these decisions that are being made, there is going to be a short term for sure effect. But there's going to be a long term effect in how business is being done in the future, especially from the corporate world. VAUSE: And the sanctions are normally sort of -- these ones anyway,

have been the financial equivalent of shock and awe. And normally those sanctions play out over the long term. Has there ever been a similar situation when economic sanctions have taken hold this quickly, and this painfully?

PATEL: Truthfully, I can't think of one and this kind of synchronous that happened so quickly. And I think part of the reason too John is that many of these corporations have learned from their mistakes.

And not to pick on BP, but they've made mistakes in the past. It seems like they kind of read a lot quicker. And I think the other aspect to this too, it is the citizens. It's all the employees.

We've seen a lot of the social injustice over the last couple of years. I think many of these leaderships are finally making decision but they're not going to wait for governments, for decisions they are being able to support and they're going to make this is in how they do business moves forward.

And also finally, I think many resilience in countries and businesses have realized that there has to be more than one way to make money or supply chain. And obviously Russia is in the mix of many of these things and aspects moving forward.

VAUSE: Yes. They're in a boatload of trouble right now, Ryan. Thank you, Ryan Patel, coming to us live from Los Angeles. Thank you.

PATEL: Thanks John.

VAUSE: When we come back from the football's World Cup to the Olympics, to world rugby -- Russia has now been cast into the sporting wilderness as well. Details in a moment.

[01:49:18]

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HOLMES: And welcome back everyone.

I'm Michael Holmes coming to you live from Lviv in Ukraine. I want to give you a quick recap of the situation here now.

Ukrainian forces continuing to mount fierce resistance to the Russian invasion which, of course, is now in its sixth day. The mayor of Kyiv says the city is under a nonstop attack by Russian forces.

On the outskirts of the capital, a massive Russian military convoy stretching more than 40 miles or 65 kilometers. Satellite images show plumes of smoke rising from homes and buildings in the areas near where the convoy is traveling. Although it's not clear exactly what cause the smoke.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's president accusing Russia of synchronizing Mondays negotiations with a new wave of attacks. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia committed war crimes by bombing Kharkiv and attacking civilians. The city's mayor says the rocket attacks killed nine of those civilians.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There can be fair negotiations if one side does not hit the other side with rocket artillery at the time of negotiations. So far, we do not have the results we would like to get.

Russia has stated its position, and we have declared counter plans to end the war.

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[01:54:51]

HOLMES: Now, one matter Russia doesn't have a say in is football. Both FIFA and UEFA have suspended the Russian national team and professional clubs from composition saying they stand in full solidarity with Ukraine.

The groups though were backed into a bit of a corner after at least 11 countries refused to play against Russia in matches leading up to the world cup. FIFA had previously ruled the Russian national team would have to compete under a different name, no flag, no national anthem, no fans present at their matches.

The International Olympic Committee's taking action against Russia as well recommending both Russian and Belarusian athletes be banned from all international sports. The Russian Olympic Committee or ROC says the decision contradicts the Olympic charter and the spirit of the games in Beijing.

Russian athletes had to compete there under the ROC name with no flag and no national anthem played for medal winners. The IOC has also stripped the Russian president of the Olympic Order for quote, "the extremely grave violation of the Olympic truth."

I'm Michael Holmes reporting live from Ukraine. Thanks for spending part of your day with me.

our breaking news coverage continues after the break. I'll see you then.

[01:56:10]

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