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Russian Troops Lay Siege To Several Ukrainian Cities; Russian Military Ramps Up Attacks On Key Ukrainian Cities; Joe Biden Sidesteps Accusing Russia Of War Crimes Amid Invasion; U.N. General Assembly Votes To Condemn Russian Invasion; Residents in Lviv Gear Up for a Fight; Ukrainian President Zelensky: From Comedian to Hero; Growing List of Companies Cut Ties with Russia. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired March 03, 2022 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[00:00:20]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
VAUSE: Hello, welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta.
Just hours ago, another loud explosion was heard near the Ukrainian capital. Another sign perhaps Russia is moving into a more brutal military campaign, escalating attacks on major cities and seven days into what was predicted to be an overwhelming military offensive sweeping across all Ukraine within weeks. Only now, are Russian forces in control of a major Ukrainian city with the fall of Kherson in the South. City officials say fierce fighting there left dozens dead.
Well, in Kharkiv, at least three schools were destroyed by Russian artillery fire and a cathedral reduced to rubble on Tuesday. No words so far on casualties.
But Putin's war of choice has seen some serious setbacks as well. The military convoy, which had been advancing on Kyiv appears to have stalled, possibly out of fuel.
The Ukrainian president who's holed up in a bunker claimed some occupiers are fleeing back to Russia, and he praised the courage of his fellow Ukrainians.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Our military, our border guards, our territorial defense. Even ordinary farmers capture the Russian military every day, and all the captives say only one thing. They do not know why they are here. Despite the fact that there are dozens of times more of them. The morale of the enemy is constantly deteriorating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The U.N. says at least 227 Ukrainian civilians are confirmed dead, the total toll is likely much higher.
Ukraine State Emergency Service said at one point, more than 2,000 civilians had been killed but later backtracked on that.
CNN cannot confirm any of these figures. The Russian military denies targeting civilians and says designated evacuation corridors have been mapped out for Mariupol, Kharkiv and Kyiv, where Russia's increasingly fierce attacks continue to be met with a brave determine Ukrainian resistance.
But as CNN's Matthew Chance reports, many now wonder how much longer can Ukrainians hold out against the full might of the Russian military?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Russia's assault on Ukraine continues without mercy. This is what's left of a university in Kharkiv. The country's second city amid upending (PH) of civilian areas.
In the port city of Mariupol, also the scene of heavy shelling, local officials say hundreds of casualties are now feared.
The United Nations has confirmed more than 200 civilians killed across Ukraine in the week since this Russian invasion began. Ukrainian officials say the figure is much higher.
You think those figures would scare people off the streets. If you look at this scene from the town of Konotop, where Russian officer holds up to grenades for protection. After delivering an ultimatum, demanding surrender.
Shame on you, the angry crowd shouts, just go back to where you came from. Minutes later, the local man sets out Russia's turns.
If we stopped resisting, they will shell the city, he tells the crowd but if you vote for it, we will fight back. The decision has to be taken by everyone though, because the artillery is aimed at us.
Across Ukraine, there continue to be courageous acts of civilian defiance against the Russian occupiers. This was a scene in the Southern town of Melitopol now under Russian control. Locals literally lying in front of these military vehicles to resist.
And this resistance on the battlefield too, Russian officials admitting nearly 500 of their own soldiers have been killed so far.
Ukrainians say the figure is closer to 6,000. Either way, the human cost of this war is already tragically high.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Kyiv.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: General Wesley Clark is a CNN Military Analyst and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander. He's with us this hour from Boulder, Colorado. General, thank you for being with us.
[00:05:06]
VAUSE: So, before this invasion began, there were some estimates out there that Russia's military could be done with all of this, could sweep through Ukraine maybe in a couple of weeks.
But now, we're a week in, and they've taken just one major city, (INAUDIBLE) in the South. Clearly, this is not playing out as Putin had planned. What are the problems here? What does he do next?
GEN. WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, well, the military may have planned -- the Russian military may have plan to come in there and finish it in a week or two. But they didn't count on the warm weather North of Kyiv. And that land up there is not frozen. And so, the Russians have been (INAUDIBLE).
And this was really their main objective, they wanted to sweep into Kyiv, take it and install a puppet government. And they just haven't been able to get there. And they've also discovered that the Ukrainians are pretty good fighters, they're, in fact, resilient against an overwhelming force.
And so, the Russians have had very, very tough going north of Kyiv, in large part because of the fierce resistance. But also, because of the draft (PH) ability the ground. It's been different elsewhere in the country, not because the Ukrainians haven't fought harder. But because it's more amenable to open maneuver.
And the Russians have been able to move their forces, they've been able to amass their forces, and they've been able to more isolate some of the Ukrainian defenders. So, there is a Russian move in the South, it's moving up toward Kyiv. And that is a major concern.
VAUSE: There's also a situation as far as Kyiv is concerned that you have Russian forces, and certainly Mariupol, you have Kharkiv, which is under this heavy, constant shelling as well, these two cities are in the West. And you know, they could fall within days, maybe a little bit longer, but they will fall. Some suggested that then gives Russia effective control of Eastern Ukraine, which cuts off the capital from Ukrainian forces. And so, this could really quickly turn in Putin's favor.
CLARK: So, what Russia really wants is they really want that quarter open through Mariupol that gives them the land bridge to Crimea. And it also helps open the way to Odesa.
So, they would be able to then isolate Kyiv and Ukraine for many seaborne reinforcements. They're already controlling the Black Sea as it is, but they want that coastline. And that's one of their major access of movement.
Together is they're going to come up both sides of the Dnieper River toward Kyiv. So, they can reinforce the encirclement of Kyiv both on the East and on the West banks of the river. VAUSE: CNN is also reporting that U.S. officials believe Russia will increasingly hit civilian targets and see slow annihilation of Ukraine's military. And to that, there comes this ominous warning at the U.N. General Assembly from the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations of what is actually happening within Ukraine itself by the Russians, listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We've seen videos of Russian forces moving exceptionally lethal weaponry into Ukraine, which has no place on the battlefield. That includes cluster munitions and vacuum bombs, which are banned under the Geneva Convention.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: How devastating are those weapons if they're used in a -- you know, high civilian population area or an urban area and has proven capable of doing that?
CLARK: Right. Now, these cluster bombs, we saw them coming out of the broad rockets in Kharkiv a couple of days ago, we understand the toss has been moved. Also, this is this flame thrower weapon, or the so- called vacuum bomb that's being used.
They absolutely have no place on this kind of a battlefield. They're weapons of terror. They're being used against civilian targets, and they cause indiscriminate damage. And if you look at all of this, it certainly looks like a war crime in the making to me.
VAUSE: With regards to the ongoing military assistance to Ukraine, now, the U.S. delivered hundreds of stinger anti-aircraft missiles this week, that could bring back some bad memories for the Russian president and many other senior officials in Moscow given how effective the stingers were in Afghanistan against the Soviet invasion. How effective could they be in this conflict in Ukraine?
CLARK: I think the stingers and the javelins are proven to be incredibly effective in this -- in this battle. One of the things about the stingers is that they don't give a signature. So, if you're in an aircraft flying at 20,000 feet, let's say, you cannot determine whether you're being tracked by a stinger or not. There's no way to do any suppression of air defense when you're being engaged by the stinger.
But once the stinger gets a lock on, it's a very accurate weapon. It's very effective and they brought down a number of aircraft with them and helicopters.
As far as the javelins are concerned. That's a fire and forget missile also, you lock it on to the target of 3,000-meter range and it finds the target and attacks it and strikes it often from the top at the most vulnerable points.
[00:10:12] CLARK: So, these weapons have proved remarkably effective. The javelin in particular has been effective in the North where the mobility is hampered. So, the the Russian vehicles are moving more slowly. In some cases, they're stopped, because they're a perfect target for javelin standoff weapon.
VAUSE: Gen. Wesley Clark, as always, thank you, sir.
CLARK: Thank you.
VAUSE: One day after condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, during his State of the Union address, U.S. President Joe Biden refused to accuse the country of committing war crimes.
On Wednesday, the president said it was too early to make that call but said it's clear Russia is targeting civilians. Biden renewed his commitment to Ukraine saying the country would overcome its Russian enemy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Putin is now isolated from the world more than ever and will continue to aid Ukrainian people as they defend their country and help ease their suffering in the process.
When history of this era is written, Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Live now to Washington and CNN White House reporter Kevin Liptak. And Kevin, he may not be willing to accuse the Russians of war crimes just yet, but they will be at least according to Joe Biden, some severe price to pay if civilians are targeted by the Russians.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And what you heard the President say was really channeling what U.S. officials have been warning of for weeks, which is that as Putin grows more frustrated as his campaign becomes stalled somewhat in Ukraine that he could turn to increasingly brutal tactics.
And the president said today that he believed it was clear that Putin was targeting civilians in Ukraine, but he stopped short of calling it a war crime.
Of course, targeting civilians intentionally is considered a war crime. And you already saw today the International Criminal Court beginning investigation into the Russian invasion in Ukraine there at The Hague.
Other world leaders have also called it a war crime, what's happening in your Ukraine, in particular, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but in those remarks in Wisconsin today, the president reiterated this unity you're seeing in the Western world in trying to punish Putin for what he's doing in Ukraine. After he spoke, the White House did announce these new sanctions on
Russia but also on Belarus, which is, of course, Russia's ally in this, they're facilitating Russian troops crossing into their border into Ukraine.
Those sanctions include export controls, the same ones that we saw applied to Russia earlier this week. The president also applied new sanctions on the Russian defense sector, so companies that produce aircraft, missiles, weapons, systems that help design warfare, all of those new sanctions applied to those.
We're also told the Treasury Department is working on a new list of oligarchs to apply sanctions to, as well as their families. You heard the president in his State of the Union address, say that he would go after these oligarchs, and what he called their I'll-begotten gains. Things like luxury apartments, private jets, their yachts.
And so, we did hear from the Justice Department today, they're forming a new task force to carry out this initiative. It will include prosecutors, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, all sort of seeking out these assets that Russians may hold in the United States.
How easy that will be is remains to be seen. A lot of these oligarchs use laws to disguise the true identity of their assets in the United States. But clearly, President Biden putting this as a priority of his -- as he laid out in the State of the Union address, the Justice Department is calling this task force KleptoCapture, John.
VAUSE: Kevin, 13 minutes past midnight there in Washington. Thank you for staying up with us. We appreciate that.
We have new developments on the investigation into the Capitol riots in the new court file at a January 6 Committee, alleges former U.S. President Donald Trump and right-wing lawyer John Eastman were part of a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The filing states evidence and information available to the committee establishes a good faith belief that Mr. Trump and others may have engaged in criminal and/or fraudulent acts.
The committee alleges Eastman helped to orchestrate the plot and attempting to obtain his e-mails, something Eastman has refused to hand over. Claiming attorney client privilege.
When we come back, civilians in Kyiv increasingly in harm's way as Russia changes up invasion tactics, we'll look at a closer look at the aftermath of an attack on a T.V. tower in a moment.
Also ahead, far from home and relying on the kindness of strangers. Reality for one million people who fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. Their stories, just ahead.
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[00:18:56] VAUSE: At the United Nations Wednesday, an historic vote denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A rare emergency session of the General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning the attacks and demanding Russia's immediate withdrawal. 141 of the 193 members voted in favor. Five countries, including Russia voted against it while 35 countries including China, Cuba and Iran abstained. Ukraine says the vote sends a powerful message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGIY KYSLYTSYA, UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Now people of Ukraine have more reasons to believe in the United Nations. It is just the beginning. Don't think that it was the end in itself or purpose in itself, the vote. The vote is a powerful message to the Russian Federation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: As more explosions rocked the capital Kyiv, U.S. officials warned that Russian forces are turning to their old brutal tactics of laying siege to cities while targeting civilians and infrastructure from afar.
Just like the Russian missile strike on a T.V. tower in Kyiv Tuesday, which CNN's Alex Marquardt reports could be an ominous sign of much worse to come.
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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Russia has launched a new phase of this war on Ukraine's communication and information. This was the moment a Russian missile struck Kyiv's T.V. tower. Today, we walk through the rubble of the buildings below it.
Russia has launched a new phase of this war on Ukraine's communication and information. This was the moment a Russian missile struck Kyiv's TV tower. Today, we walk through the rubble of the buildings below it.
Shown around by Rostislav who joined the civilian territorial defense forces just last week when Russia launched their invasion. The 38- year-old is normally a hot air balloon pilot whose wife and daughter have fled the country for safety. The Russian rockets on Tuesday landed all around Rostislav.
ROSTISLAV, CIVIL DEFENSE FIGHTER (through translator): First two, followed by two more, I saw them personally where they were coming from. I was standing next to the wall over there.
MARQUARDT: As Russia ramps up its bombardment of both military and civilian targets in Ukraine, it warned that Ukraine security services, communications facilities would be hit to "suppress information attacks against Russia".
Russia can't help but see that it is losing the narrative. The information war, with the world rallying to Ukraine's side and rejecting Russia on diplomacy, sports, business and on and on.
In the lead up to this Russian invasion, there was a lot of speculation and fear that Russia would try to shut down communications, shut down power and impose a blackout over Ukraine. They have not been able to do that almost a week into this war, but in hitting this T.V. tower and announcing that they would be attacking other communications targets, that may be changing.
While Russia claims to not be targeting civilians, Tuesday's strike killed at least five, the government says, the deadliest in the city of Kyiv, so far.
Near the T.V. tower was a gym, a fire still smoldering. Smoke pouring out of the broken windows with gym equipment covered in dust and debris.
At the garage next door, staff stoically cleaned up glass, broken ceilings and throughout insulation, all of this steps from Babyn Yar, with its memorial for the massacre of over 30,000 Jews in the holocaust, an area that has seen so much suffering for the Jewish people hit by a Russian leader who claims to be de-Nazifying Ukraine.
YAAKOV BLEICH, CHIEF RABBI OF KYIV AND UKRAINE: This fellow who says he's coming to fight the neo-fascists in Ukraine comes and bombs that place which is the memorial to Jews who were killed by the fascists.
MARQUARDT: But the T.V. tower is still up, now also as a symbol, reinforcing Ukraine's resistance against this increasingly harsh Russian invasion, standing tall.
Alex Marquardt, CNN, in the Kyiv region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In the past week, from the moment when the Russian tanks and troops began spilling across the border, one million Ukrainians have fled their country according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Poland's ambassador to the U.N. says many of those crossing the border are unaccompanied children. Families are being separated at checkpoints. More than half of those evacuating have fled West into Poland.
European Council president met with refugees at a border crossing on Tuesday, he pledged Europe would do everything possible to support them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES MICHEL, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COUNCIL (through translator): Our moral task, the European task is to be at the frontline to support and that is with all these teams who are here to bring a bit of humanity to the people who are fleeing bombs, who had to leave relatives behind. We will do everything possible to bring help to welcome Ukrainians in a dignified way. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Many refugees are fleeing to Hungary as well and reality is setting in for tens of thousands who have no idea when they'll be able to return home or if home will even still be there.
CNN's Ivan Watson spoke with evacuees at Hungary's border with Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN WATSON, CNN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The train to safety arrives 20 minutes late, rolling across the border from Ukraine loaded with civilians, all fleeing the world's newest war zone.
It is a carefully managed procession. Families emerging one by one. Expatriates from South Asia and Africa. And of course, Ukrainians, welcomed by a Hungarian officials and aid workers.
Each handed a solidarity ticket, a free seat on another train to the Hungarian capital where more help waits.
DAVID OROSY, REFORMED CHURCH IN HUNGARY: They will help them with traveling, with food, with Wi-Fi and all necessary things, even with hotels.
WATSON: Among the new arrivals, Anastasia Hrankina, her son Mark and their cat.
ANASTASIA HRANKINA, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE: Shaddick (PH), her name is Shaddick.
WATSON: They fled Kyiv on the first day of the invasion.
HRANKINA: Two days ago, I was thinking that this war is going to finish just in few days, and that we want them to leave Ukraine. But now, I just can make any plans. I don't know when I'll see my family again.
[00:25:22]
WATSON: The Ukrainian refugees are almost all women and children. Absent here, husbands and fathers, men of fighting age ordered to stay behind to defend the country.
You're going to Ukraine?
OLEKSANDRA SHULENINA, RETURNING TO UKRAINE TO RETRIEVE HER CHILDREN: Sure.
WATSON: Oleksandra Shulenina was on a foreign business trip when Russia invaded. Now, she's hurrying back into Ukraine to collect her children.
SHULENINA: My husband insists that I protect our children. So, I take to my son, to my niece. We can go to Europe when my friend waiting for us and he stay at -- in Ukraine for protect our country.
WATSON: Anastasia Hrankina's husband is also back in Kyiv, defending the city against Vladimir Putin's invasion.
And what would you tell people in Russia?
HRANKINA: I will tell them, just get rid of your president. He's insane.
WATSON: Safe, but now uprooted with no idea if and when these people can ever go home.
Ivan Watson, Zahony (PH), on the Hungarian Ukrainian border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: French President Emmanuel Macron says refugees have been and will continue to be welcomed in Europe, a continent he says which has been shaken by the war in Ukraine. Macron had a message during an address on Wednesday, here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT, FRANCE (through translator): But still, we are not at war with Russia. We all know what binds us to this great European people that is the Russian people who sacrificed so much during World War II to save Europe from the abyss. We are today alongside all the Russians who refuse an unworthy war to be waged in their name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Mr. Macron has maintained contact with the leaders of both Russia and Ukraine. He says he's tried to convince Vladimir Putin to drop arms and prevent the enlargement of this conflict.
More Russians have been arrested for talking out and speaking out against the war in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, at least 350 More antiwar protesters were detained in St. Petersburg. That's according to a local monitoring group, which also says more than 7,600 people, about 8,000 had been detained in Russia for opposing the war since the fighting began.
These images show police arresting an elderly woman who is holding anti -- an anti-war sign. Other protesters cheered and applauded for her as officers took her away.
Well, ground battles are still far far away from parts of Western Ukraine but as you will see, people there do not want to be caught off guard if Russian forces close in, more on that in a moment.
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[00:31:20]
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause.
Well, new explosions have been lighting up the sky over the Ukrainian capital as Russia intensifies attacks on cities across the country. This was the scene in Southwestern Kyiv earlier. Meantime, it appears Russia has taken its first big prize, the strategic port city of Kherson.
After fierce fighting, the mayor says the Ukrainian military is no longer in the city. Kherson is located along the Black Sea near Crimea.
Battles are also raging in other parts of the country, including Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv to the East.
U.S. officials believe Russian forces are increasingly targeting civilians and warned Russia will seek the slow annihilation of Ukraine's military.
The U.N. says at least 227 civilians have been killed in Ukraine in the week since fighting began. Ukraine's state emergency service had put the number much higher, more than 2,000 but later backtracked.
CNN, though, cannot confirm any of these figures.
While many Ukrainians are fighting the Russian forces head on in close quarters, residents in Lviv in Western Ukraine are also preparing for battle, even though they're not on the front lines, as CNN's Anderson Cooper reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (through translator): In an old factory in Lviv, they prepare for war as best they can, welding steel to block roads. Hedgehogs, they're called.
(on camera): These are most effective, I'm told, when the ground is soft and they can get dug down into the earth. Or perhaps even on a cobblestone street they can dig down between the cobblestones. But with a hedgehog this size, it's unlikely to be able to stop a Russian tank. But perhaps a vehicle or a Humvee.
(through translator): Lviv has so far been unscathed. At night, air- raid sirens sounds, but the fight is still further East. Each night, each day, the determination here grows.
At a brewery in Lviv, they now make Molotov cocktails. Taras Misoko (ph) says they've made 2,000 at least, using empty battles of a popular anti-Putin beer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's Putin (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE), which means "Putin Dickhead." And you would see --
COOPER (on camera): Wait. The beer is called "Putin Dickhead"?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
COOPER: How long have you've been making Putin Dickhead beer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, we started to brew this beer in 2015, because in 2014, Russians came to Crimean Peninsula and gathered in Eastern regions. So this label has a history already. So --
COOPER: Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you see --
COOPER: (EXAMINING LABEL OF BEER) That's quite the -- that's quite the image.
(voice-over): It's a primitive weapon but potentially deadly. These Molotov cocktails almost have additional materials in them to ensure the fire will stick to whatever it's thrown at.
(on camera): Petrol alone isn't good enough. You want something to make it sticky so that it sticks on -- on a person?
UNIDENTIFIED: Yes. Stick on the surface.
COOPER (voice-over): When we got here to the factory, there was a group of maybe 70 or so men who were all standing around a car. And there was somebody in a uniform, a Ukrainian in uniform, who was explaining to them how to throw a Molotov cocktail inside a vehicle to the best effect.
There's a lot of people here who are trying to get as much training as they can in order to be able to face Russian forces, if and when they come.
In another neighborhood, residents gather supplies and send them wherever they're needed. Spike strips to puncture tires. Flak jackets with metal plates inside.
"We're continuing sending them to our guys there throughout the day," he says. Herer, you can see camouflage nets. They're to use as a cover so that the enemy doesn't know where tanks and armored personnel are located. In other rooms we have medicine and groceries."
[00:35:05]
A week ago, he was a construction worker. But then Putin invaded, and everything changed.
(on camera): You have a message to Vladimir Putin? What is it?
(voice-over): "What would I tell? him?" he says. "I would tell him he can go (EXPLETIVE DELETED) himself."
Fourteen-year-old Andriy's (ph) school is closed. He says volunteering makes him less nervous about the war.
(on camera): Are you scared?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the first time, first day I was. But now, I understand that we need help and support to our soldiers and people, and then we will live in peace. In peace.
COOPER (voice-over): Before leaving, we meet Pavlo (ph) and his son Artur (ph), just 10 months old, wrapped in the Ukrainian flag. He told me, "I just want to say my son Artur (ph) will learn to say 'glory to Ukraine' faster than he says 'mom' or 'dad.'"
(on camera): Those will be his first words, "Slava (ph) Ukraine"?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
COOPER (voice-over): Anderson Cooper, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We'll take a short break, when we come back, Russian officials admitting the economy taking some serious blows as companies shut down operations and the West imposes crushing sanctions. More on that in just a moment.
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VAUSE: Well, for years as a comedian, he kept Ukrainians laughing. But now as leader of Ukraine, he has won praise as an unexpected hero. A wartime leader whose courage and sacrifice are inspiring people across his country and around the world.
CNN's Phil Black takes a look at the unconventional career arc of Volodymyr Zelensky.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[00:40:07]
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's one really good reason why, even in peacetime, many wondered whether Volodymyr Zelensky had what it took to lead his country. His preparation for the job was pretending to lead his country. His preparation for the job was pretending to lead his country.
In the popular Ukrainian TV show, "Server to the People," he played another unlikely president. A teacher, suddenly elevated to the highest office after a private rant about corruption goes viral.
In real life, his political party uses the name of the show as its own.
Zelensky's showbiz career was all comedy and light entertainment, including playing Paddington Bear in the movie franchise's Ukrainian release.
Somehow, that path has led him to the role of wartime president at a perilous moment for his country.
(on camera): Is it fair to say that he was an unlikely presidential candidate, and he is a thoroughly improbable wartime leader? JOHN HERBST, ATLANTIC COUNCIL, FORMER AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: I think
that is fair to say. He's a man of extraordinary achievement and capabilities.
BLACK (voice-over): Capabilities widely noticed through his recent example of leadership. So Zelensky's videos from the streets of Kyiv are being watched everywhere. Calm, determined, insistent the world must do more.
And he's provided perhaps the most memorable line of the war so far. Responding to a U.S. offer to get him out of Kyiv with "The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride."
HERBST: And you can be sure that that courage has appreciated, has strengthened his own people and their resolve to deal with this this display, this act of blatant aggression.
BLACK (on camera): He could personally make a difference to the outcome, you believe?
HERBST: Oh, there's no doubt about it. Look, he's now an international hero. A living symbol of standing firm against overwhelming odds.
BLACK (voice-over): In an exclusive interview with CNN's Matthew Chance, Zelensky played down the personal risks and hardship he's enduring.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: I'm the president of Ukraine. I'm not iconic. I think Ukraine is iconic. And I always was sure in it; I knew it always. I knew it, that Ukraine is special country. Ukraine is the heart of Europe.
BLACK: Zelensky has met his foe. He sat across from Vladimir Putin during talks in late 2019. Clearly the junior, vastly less experienced statesman. Now, Putin's forces are coming from him.
This moment is revealing Zelensky's character, as he rallies his people and the world to resist Russia's assault and save Ukraine's democracy.
Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: According to a Western intelligence report, Chinese officials asked senior Russian officials to wait until after the Beijing Winter Olympics before invading Ukraine.
U.S. officials believe the report is credible. China says it's a smear. The invasion began four days after the closing ceremony.
It's unclear whether President Xi made that request when he met with Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, at the start of the games. Moscow and Beijing later issued a joint statement condemning NATO expansion, saying their partnerships had no limits.
We will take a short break on that. Back in a moment. You're watching CNN, 43 -- 43 minutes past the hour. See you in a moment.
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[00:47:29]
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. The latest developments now on Ukraine.
Air raid sirens sounded, and a large explosion lit up the sky near Kyiv a few hours ago as Russia steps up its attacks.
Russia's defense military says it's now captured Kherson in the South after fierce fighting on Wednesday. This would be the first city to fall to the Russians.
Kherson's mayor says the Ukrainian military is no longer in the strategic port city. Residents must now follow the instructions of the Russians.
Ukraine's state emergency service reported massive shelling and bombing in the central part of Kharkiv, the country's second largest city. The regional police department was hit, and buildings at the national university left in flames.
And the U.N. high commissioner for refugees says one million people have fled Ukraine in the one week since the invasion began.
Not only have Western sanctions sent Russia's economy into freefall, it seems they sparked an exodus of multinational corporations. And the companies not cutting ties completely with Russia are significantly limiting their exposure.
And it won't take long before the average Russian takes notice, whether it's not being able to buy the latest iPhone or not see the latest movie released from three big Hollywood studios.
CNN's Brian Todd has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Soon, no amount of waiting in line will get you a coveted new iPhone in Russia. Apple has announced it stopped selling its products in Russia and has moved to limit Russians' access to digital services like Apple Pay.
SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Huge lines of people in the metro, who were used to using Apple Pay or using a credit card, now they had to find cash.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm so used to having my Apple laptop, phone, ear buds, and watch. If I lose it all, I will be very disappointed.
TODD: Apple is growing a different roster of major companies who are even pulling out of Russia completely or scaling back operations, seeking to punish Vladimir Putin and his country far beyond the battlefield. GLASSER: Essentially, a new Iron Curtain is going up around Russia
right now. And it's becoming more isolated than at any moment since the Soviet Union collapsed.
TODD: The Ford Motor Company says it's winding down operations in Russia. ExxonMobil is just pulling out of its last major oil and gas project in Russia and pledging not to invest in new developments there.
BP and Shell say they'll get out of their Russian businesses, taking hits of billions of dollars to their balance sheets.
American Express is terminating its relationships with its banking partners in Russia. The world's biggest container ship operators, Maersk and MSC Mediterranean, are halting their cargo bookings to Russian ports.
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(on camera): Which is the most devastating to the average Russian?
MARTIN CHORZEMPA, PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: Well, maybe the most is actually Maersk and the shipping companies, which have stopped shipping just about anything. So that's not I -- just iPhones. That's about any consumer goods that are imported from abroad.
In the short term, that's going to be a significant impact.
TODD (voice-over): In the media and entertainment space, RT, the Kremlin-backed TV network known for putting out Putin's propaganda, is being dropped by providers like DirecTV.
Netflix has paused all future projects in Russia. Disney and CNN's parent company, WarnerMedia, have stopped releasing movies there.
While the moral component is a strong motivation for these companies, are they also pulling out of Russia to avoid P.R. headaches?
CHORZEMPA: Well, it's pretty easy to have it be both, in fact. Because there's so much risk. Not only reputationally, but also from a legal perspective.
TODD: Another move that will hurt the average Russian psyche: all Russian soccer teams have been banned from competing internationally until further notice, which means Russia may not play in this year's World Cup.
GLASSER: I think Russians will be devastated at being cut off from international sport, the World Cup in particular. Just a few years ago, Russia was hosting the World Cup in Moscow.
TODD (on camera): Ukraine's government is even pressing for Russia to be cut off from the global Internet. Analysts say it's not clear if the nonprofit that operates the global system of I.P. addresses and domain names has the power to do that. And they say it may not even be such a good idea, since cutting
Russians off from the rest of the digital world will also cut them off from legitimate outside information about the war and may limit many Russians to only getting propaganda.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: Steven Hamilton is an assistant professor of economics at the George Washington University. At this hour, he joins us from Brisbane, Australia.
So, Steven, thank you for being with us. I just want to start with you with, you know, for the corporate world, refusing to do business with Rosatem or Gazprom, the two big state-owned energy producers, that's kind of low-hanging fruit. That's one thing.
But at this rate, soon it seems doing any business with Russia will be unacceptable. Are we now watching 30 years of post-Cold War engagement with Russia being rolled back in just days?
STEVEN HAMILTON, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Yes, good day, John. I think that's exactly right, actually.
I mean, I think a week ago, we expected these sanctions to be somewhat modest. In fact, I was a bit concerned that they wouldn't go far enough as a -- as a deterrent.
But on the weekend, things were stepped up, really to an unprecedented level. And yes, there have been carve-outs from these sanctions, but we have to remember that the financial system is incredibly interconnected.
So it's really hard, if you're a financial firm or operating a financial market, for you to make sure that the transactions you are conducting with Russian are abiding by the sanction rights. So a lot of companies, there are moral issues, obviously. But a lot of companies are just choosing not to go there, for fear that they'll sort of step over the line.
VAUSE: To get around some of the sanctions, Russia could turn to cryptocurrency. China can try and make up for the loss of the consumer goods to a point.
Then there's the ongoing revenue, which is still there from the sale of Russia oil and gas. That hasn't been sanctioned.
But here's how President Joe Biden answered the question about that on Wednesday. Listen to this.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you considering banning Russian oil imports?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nothing is off the table.
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VAUSE: Essentially, hitting Russian oil and gas, it's -- it's on the table. And it's not without price, though, for the West. So would it leave Putin, though, with very little else to lose if they went that far?
HAMILTON: Yes, I think that's -- that's right. So we've seen with all of the sanctions, we've seen a gradual escalation. Again, a lot of people have criticized that. But this is how, frankly, a financial war works right now. We start small and gradually ramp up.
As you said, if you go too far, then the other guy's not left with anywhere to go.
So at the moment, you know, we -- the sanctions are very significant. They're very stringent. And frankly, they're devastating Russia's financial system and Russia's economy. But they aren't all the way.
The issue is the next stage of really cutting off those commodity exports, yes, they would decimate Russia. But they would also have a massive effects on the European economy, the U.S. economy, the global economy. And at a time when inflation is so high, where these leaders are coming under political pressure for gas prices, it's a pretty hard thing to do. Right?
So I think they're trying to keep that in reserve and wait and see what Russia does.
VAUSE: We heard from the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who said, "Russia's economy is experiencing serious blows. But there is a certain margin of safety. There is potential there. There are some plans. Work is underway." You know, all this sort of stuff.
There was a lot of work done over years long before the invasion, this invasion of Ukraine. But overall, have Moscow's efforts to try to insulate the Russian economy, to build this fortress Russia, have they've been a failure? A dismal failure?
HAMILTON: Well, you mentioned before, you know, the integration of Russia into the -- into the global economy. And I think that's the -- that's something they simply can't get around, that Russia is highly integrated.
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So they had some manufacturing, but a lot off that manufacturing relies on foreign imports. So you might need a Taiwanese microchip for your rockets that you're producing in Russia, right? And there's -- there's kind of no way to get around that.
So, really, regardless of what they've done, Russia is still heavily reliant on the rest of the world.
Now, they've built this really big foreign exchange reserves, more than $600 billion, this huge war chest, to protect themselves against sanctions, right? So to have that there, as something they could use to prop up the currency and also do other things.
The trouble is, they didn't count on the West freezing that war chest. And that's the measure on the weekend that really threw the whole financial system into chaos.
VAUSE: Steven Hamilton, economist and fellow Brisbane boy. Thanks for being with us, Steve. We appreciate. Take care.
HAMILTON: Cheers.
VAUSE: Well, the Russian owner of Chelsea says he plans to sell the football club. Billionaire Roman Abramovich made the announcement Wednesday, saying the move would be in the best interests of the club, fans, employees, as well as sponsors.
We learned last week he gave stewardship of the club over to trustees. Abramovich said when the sale takes place, net proceeds will be donated to a foundation set up to help those affected by Russia's invasion.
I'm John Vause here at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta. Please stay with us. Our breaking news coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues right after this.
