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Russian Military Ramps Up Attacks on Key Ukrainian Cities; First Key Ukrainian City, Kherson, Appears to Have Fallen; U.S.: Russia Moving Cluster & Vacuum Bombs into Ukraine. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 03, 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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[01:00:15]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Live from CNN's World Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm John Vause.
For more than a week into the invasion of Ukraine, it appears Russia is moving into a more brutal military campaign, escalating attacks on major cities.
Air raid sirens were heard earlier in Kyiv, where it is now 8 a.m. And there was at least one explosion a few hours ago on the outskirts of the capital. Newly released satellite images from Monday says some of the early impacts of the war, we're seeing homes with fire damage in a village north of Kyiv, with craters dotting nearby fields. A bridge there also destroyed. A dense cloud cover has prevented most satellites from capturing ground images over the past few days.
To the south, Russian forces are finally in control of a key Ukrainian city with the fall of Kherson, marked in red on the map here. Officials there say a fierce fighting lift dozens dead
In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Russian strikes hit at least three schools Tuesday. There have been -- not been in session since the invasion began and there is no word on casualties at this point.
On the diplomatic front, a new round of talks between Russia and Ukraine could begin in the coming hours. The Russian delegation says it's already arrived in Belarus. No word though, from the Ukrainian side.
America's top diplomat heading back to Europe for meetings with NATO. U.S. president has accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have tried to create divisions but says that will not work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) U.S. PRESIDENT: They're alone. And they did what they did in my view. He did what he thought he could split NATO, split Europe and split the United States. We're going to demonstrate to the whole world, no one can split this country. Thank you all so very much. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Our CNN correspondents are covering this conflict from Washington to Paris, to western Russia. They're on the ground in Ukraine as well. And Scott McLean is reporting on the evacuation efforts in Lviv. But first we will hear from CNN's Chief Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto.
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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russia's invasion of Ukraine is gradually gaining ground. The mayor of the city of Kherson in the south of the country with a population of 300,000 has said that the city has now fallen under Russian control, adding Ukrainian forces are no longer present.
The devastation inflicted across Ukraine is only growing. Russian strikes increasingly targeting civilians. President Biden says it's deliberate. Russian forces moving on the Capital, Kyiv, from the North have stalled due to Ukrainian resistance and their own shortages of food and fuel, say U.S. officials. The Russian military has increased its rocket and artillery attacks against the capital and other cities. Russian forces hit a television tower in Kyiv. A school in the city of Kharkiv, buildings in the town of Erpin.
TATA MARHARIAN, MEMBER, UKRAINIAN VOLUNTEER MEDICAL BATTALION: I'm seeing dead children. I'm seeing hospitals being bombed, churches being bombed. It's difficult. I'll do anything in my power to stop, stop this aggression.
SCIUTTO: The Ukrainian military has not led up its resistance nor have civilians. Here a man waved Ukrainian flags in front of Russian tanks in Kherson and the West is keeping up sanctions pressure on Moscow.
BIDEN: We're coming for you, ill begotten games.
SCIUTTO: President Biden announced a new Justice Department Task Force to investigate Russian oligarchs during the State of the Union address, and today the U.S. announced sanctions on the Russian defense industry and export controls on Belarus as well. From where Russia staged a large part of its forces for the invasion.
TONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: 22 Russian defense related entities will be designated including companies that make combat aircraft, infantry fighting vehicles, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles electronic warfare systems, the various systems now being used to assault the Ukrainian people. SCIUTTO: On the battlefield, the Ukrainian military has now lost more tanks, aircraft, armored personnel carriers and artillery than Russia has. However, by Russia's own admission, their losses are mounting as well. The defense ministry claims nearly 500 Russians killed. The Ukraine says that number is actually nearly 6000.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): Russian mothers are losing their children in a completely foreign country.
[01:05:00]
SCIUTTO: Ukraine and Russia are still engaged in some diplomacy, delegations heading to Belarus for a second round of talks but both the U.S. and Ukraine remain skeptical that Russian President Vladimir Putin would negotiate for peace.
BLINKEN: We of course, remain open, to pursuing any reasonable path, but it's very hard to see any path when the bombs are dropping, the planes are flying. The tanks are rolling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When he's saying I want peace, this mean get your Kalashnikov and prepare to war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A million refugees have fled Ukraine in just one week. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. More than half have headed west into Poland. And there are many families have said emotional goodbyes after being separated at border checkpoints. CNNs' Scott McLean spoke with evacuees boarding trains to leave Ukraine.
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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: About a week into the war, it is finally starting to get easier for people to flee the country, traffic is easing at land borders, both by car and by foot. And here at the train station and Lviv, trains are taking people into Poland on a fairly regular basis. Things are much less chaotic here now than they were just a few days ago, though it is far from a well-oiled machine. The people who are on this train here had to wait for several hours in very long lines, not knowing when or even if the train would actually arrive.
What there is here is an army of volunteers and police officers to help things to run smoothly. They are now allowing foreign men and older Ukrainian men to board the trains. The women and children are still very much the priority.
I spoke to one man who was in line not because he wanted to board the train. But because he wanted to spend every last minute that he could with his wife and with his daughter. He waited in the line with them and then walk them right up to the train platform right until their passports were finally being stamped. It was a very emotional goodbye because he doesn't know when he'll see them next. ALEX KHOMEYNKO: This is war. And for me it's better that they will be in safe. And that's why I have another feelings because I have to understand that they are in the safety.
YANA KHOMEYNKO, EVACUEE (through translation): It is very difficult. I don't feel any emotions. I hope I will come back. I don't think it is going to be for a long time. I think everything is going to be fine. We will win, I believe.
MCLEAN (on camera): Now, while this train is bringing people from Lviv into Poland, there are other trains now beginning to arrive carrying humanitarian aid, Scott McLean, and CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.
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VAUSE: Mirella Hodeib joins us now live from Western Ukraine. Mirella is the communication coordinator for the International Committee of the Red Cross. And thank you for being with us. And I'll start with the obvious, you are still in Ukraine. By you -- I mean, all of you, everyone there, who is part of the ICRC's operation. So just how dangerous is it right now? How concerned are you that the Russians are going to intensify these attacks in the coming days?
MIRELLA HODEIB, COMMUNICATION COORDINATOR, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: Good morning, John. Yes, the ICRC is in Ukraine. We've been here for the past eight years, and we're here to stay. The humanitarian situation is very dire. We've seen in the report about people leaving but there are millions also still in Ukraine facing very, very difficult conditions, lack of electricity, basic assumptions like food, water, et cetera. Most of them are in shelters, most of them are on the move leaving lives behind and only carrying one luggage. So the situation is really dire. Hospitals are overloaded. And if the intensification continues, then we really are witnessing a catastrophic humanitarian situation right now in Ukraine.
VAUSE: So you're saying that there are millions who have been internally displaced over the 1 million also who have who fled the country? What are their living conditions like for those who have lost their homes or, you know, seeking shelter in, you know, with ICRC or other aid groups? What are they living like right now?
HODEIB: Well, many of them are seeking shelter in public shelters, little bit everywhere in Ukraine. Metro stations as well are full of people. I mean, the situation for these people, these people are people who is life changed from one day to the other. They fled their homes, no food, no water. We have mothers who don't even have formula or diapers for the kids. We have -- I mean our hotline as receiving calls for people wanting safety, for people in in psychological distress. So that the needs are huge.
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And for the ICRC, it's very important to start responding. We've started in Mariupol in Kyiv. Mariupol, we visited shelters yesterday to distribute some food and essential hygiene items and water for more than 4000 displaced people in Kyiv. We're giving medical equipment to hospitals much needed for trauma, surgery, burns, a gunshot wounds, et cetera. But it's very important also security permitting, to be able to expand, we're already working in several locations in the east. But now that conflict has spread, it's very important that humanitarian organizations like the ICRC are given, are allowed to actually access the zones and the people most in need right now in Ukraine.
VAUSE: Is there any indication at this point that the Russians may not allow you to have access to the areas which they control?
HODEIB: We are in talks with all parties concerned, to be able to access those regions, we also call on everyone to give safe passage to civilians who want to flee the areas where they are in. This is an obligation for the parties under international humanitarian law, to facilitate humanitarian work, but also to allow safe passage for civilians wanting to get out of zones, heavily affected by violence.
VAUSE: We should make the point here because it's very important that we're talking about millions, millions and millions of people who are impacted, who have their lives destroyed. In some cases, they've died. They've been killed during this. But there are families now who have done nothing wrong, they're innocent, and they are now the victims of this war of choice by Vladimir Putin. That's the part that seems so clearly unfair for them.
HODEIB: Well, international humanitarian law is very clear. It's the rules that govern conflicts and wars, civilians, essential infrastructures that are critical for their survivals and speaking medical facilities, but also water companies, electricity companies, et cetera must be safeguarded under international humanitarian law. And this applies to all parties concerned by what's going on right now in Ukraine.
VAUSE: They're the rules, I guess, they just have to be followed by all sides, and we'll see what happens. Mirella Hodeib, thank you so much for being with us. And please stay safe. And thank you for what you're doing.
HODEIB: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, still to come, the massive Russian military convoy heading to Kyiv, appears to have stalled. But the Pentagon says could be the reason, that's up next.
Also, fears grow that Vladimir Putin ready to escalate this brutality of his attack on Ukraine, using devastating weapons back under international law. More on that in a moment.
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VAUSE: New developments on the investigation into the Capitol riots, a new court filing, the January 6 committee alleges that 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 state's evidence and information available to the committee establishes a good faith belief that Mr. Trump and others may engage in criminal and or fraudulent acts.
The committee alleges Eastman helped to orchestrate the plot and they're attempting to obtain his emails, something Eastman has refused to hand over claiming attorney client privilege.
Back down to our breaking news this hour, one week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, claiming the morale of Russian forces is now crumbling. He accused Russian troops of looted grocery stores to find food says many of them are fleeing back to Russia. Here is more now from the Ukrainian president.
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ZELENSKY (through translation): 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.
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VAUSE: Meantime, the U.S. says the march of Russian forces on Ukraine's capital has slowed. The large Russian military convoy on the road to Kyiv remains stalled and has not made any appreciable progress in the last 24 to 36 hours. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby explains why.
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JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: One, we believe the Russians are deliberately actually regrouping themselves and reassessing the progress that they have not made and how to make up the lost time. Two, we do believe that they have experienced logistics and sustainment challenges, challenges that we don't believe they have fully that they fully anticipated. And three, they are getting resistance from the Ukrainians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Ukraine is trying to hold off a Russian attack on its second largest city Kharkiv. Now, Ukrainian emergency officials say the center of the city was pounded with massive shelling and bombing on Wednesday. Over the past several hours videos and photos on social media show the city's assumption Cathedral has been damaged along with at least three schools. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports from just across the border from Kharkiv.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, from my vantage point here in Belgorod, which is on the Russian side just across from that major battlefield in Kharkiv but certainly seems as though the Russian military appears to be intensifying their campaign to try and take Kharkiv. One of the things that we've heard a lot more than the past couple of days on Wednesday was jets in the air. There seemed to be a lot of activity by the Russian Air Force. And the other thing also seemed to be a lot of outgoing Russian artillery, but it seemed to be coming from areas close to Kharkiv than it had been in the days before. Now, of course, we know from the Ukrainian side and from information that's verified by CNN that there were several hits that Kharkiv did take on Wednesday, like, for instance, a school that was hit an administrative building, a police station, and also the university building in Kharkiv as well.
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The Ukrainian saying that some of those were hit by cruise missiles. But certainly, from our vantage point here, we did have the impression that there was a lot more outgoing artillery fire and rocket artillery fire here, from this position and around this position as well. At the same time, the Russians now acknowledging for the first time, the number of casualties, they say that they've taken so far as this campaign has unfolded. Here's what the spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry had to say.
MAJ. GEN. IGOR KONASHENKOV: RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY SPOKESMAN (through translation): Unfortunately, there are losses among our comrades were taking part in the operation, 498 Russian military personnel have been killed. All possible assistance is being provided to the families of the dead, 1597 of our comrades were wounded.
PLEITGEN: Now, we have to point out is that the Ukrainians put the number of Russian soldiers who have so far been killed a lot higher than that. They say that so far around 6000 Russian soldiers have already been killed as this invasion has unfolded. And the U.S. official has told CNN that the U.S. puts the number at around 5800. So certainly a lot higher in case than what the Russians are acknowledging at this point in time.
Meanwhile, here near the Kharkiv front, also on the ground, we're seeing the Russians seemingly replenish their forces as this invasion continues. Certainly some new forces seem to be coming in. And they're moving beyond the final checkpoint where we stand a lot of the time and they're moving towards the area of Ukraine and the area of Kharkiv. Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Belgorod, Russia.
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VAUSE: Well, beyond the latest deadly conventional weapons of war, Vladimir Putin has other more terrifying options in his arsenal. The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations warns Russian forces are moving clutter and vacuum bombs into Ukraine. Both are banned under the Geneva Conventions. Tom Foreman shows us just how devastating these weapons can be.
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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A massive blast lighting the sky and scorching the ground, military analysts can't say precisely which weapons Russia is using. But this has some convinced Moscow is stepping up the conflict in a terrible way.
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY (retired): My guess is that that's a thermobaric weapon. That's a fuel air explosive. It's a very, very devastating weapon.
FOREMAN: CNN team spotted launchers for thermobaric bombs near the Ukrainian border. They fire missiles which produce to blast the first rapidly filling the air with fuel vapor the second igniting it with catastrophic effect, making some victims feel as if the air is being sucked from their lungs. Daniel Wasserbly is with Janes International Defense Review.
DANIEL WASSERBLY, JANES INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE REVIEW: Let's say you have people hiding, maybe in a basement or behind walls, they would not be protected against something like this. Because the aerosols can get into the basement, they can move around walls, and they catch fire and everybody dies a pretty awful death.
FOREMAN: Human Rights Watch is also pointing to debris as evidence that Russians are launching cluster bombs, missiles that crack open in the air flinging dozens of smaller powerful explosives in all directions.
WASSERBLY: If you are driving in your car and a submunition landed on the roof of your car. You and your car would be done.
FOREMAN: So far, analysts say many of the Russian strikes appear to have involved common munitions such as targeted cruise missiles, but civilian sites have been hit either by design or accident. And U.S. officials expect worse.
BLINKEN: The numbers of civilians killed and wounded the humanitarian consequences will only grow in the days ahead.
FOREMAN: Which brings us to that stalled Russian convoy near Kyiv filled with artillery pieces long a favorite tool of Russian generals. Analysts believe if those weapons get moving again and are placed around the city, they could rain devastating fire on military and civilian targets alike.
(On camera): Some of these weapons can kill so easily and indiscriminately. Many nations have pledged to never use them and Russia says it has not used them in Ukraine. But then Russia has said a lot about what it's doing in Ukraine, much of which is proven untrue. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: General Wesley Clark is a CNN Military Analyst and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, he is with us this hour from Boulder, Colorado.
General, thank you for being with us. So before this invasion began, there were some estimates out there that Russia's military could be done with all this, could sweep through Ukraine, maybe in a couple of weeks. But now we're a weekend and they've taken just one major city, in the south. Clearly this is not playing out as Putin had planned. What are the problems here? What does he do next?
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GEN. WESLEY CLARK (Ret.) CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yeah, well, the military may have planned, the Russian military may have planned 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 erode power, 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, brilliant 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 trackability 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 master forces, and they've been able 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, we have Kharkiv, which is under this heavy, constant shelling as well, these two cities are in the east. And, you know, they could fall within days, maybe a little bit longer, but they will fall that suggests that that gives Russia effective control of eastern Ukraine, which cuts off the capital from Ukrainian forces. So this could really quickly turn in Putin's favor.
CLARK: So what Russia really wants is they really want that corner open to Mariupol, that gives him the land bridge to Crimea. And it also helps open the way to Odessa. So they would be able to then isolate Kyiv and Ukraine from any seaborne reinforcements. They're already controlling the Black Sea as it is, but they want that coastline. And that's one of their major axes of movement.
The other is you'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 so that that comes is almost 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.
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LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE 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 urban area, and it's proven capable of doing that?
CLARK: Right now, these cluster bonds, 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 door weapon, or the so called vacuum bomb that's being used. They absolutely have no place on this kind of a battlefield. Their weapons of terror, they're being used against civilian targets, and they cause indiscriminate damage. And if you look at all this, it certainly looks like a war crime in the making to me.
VAUSE: With regards to the ongoing military assistance to Ukraine, 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 students 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 battle. One of the things about the Stingers is that they don't give a signature. So if you're an aircraft flying at 20,000 feet, let's say you cannot determine whether you've been 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 foreign forget missile also you lock it on to the target of 3000 meter range and it finds the target and attacks it and strikes it often from the top at the most vulnerable points. So these weapons have proved remarkably effective.
[01:29:41]
The javelin in particular has been effective in the north where the mobility is hampered. So the Russian vehicles are moving more slowly, in some cases they're stopped -- for retarget for Javelin standoff weapon.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: General Wesley Clark, as always, thank you sir.
CLARK: Thank you.
VAUSE: Russian anti-war protesters chanting their support for an elderly woman who was arrest ed in St. Petersburg Wednesday. One of at least 350 detained for speaking out against Putin's war in Ukraine.
A local monitoring group says more than 7,600 protesters have been detained in Russia since the invasion began. Well, the protests had been notice and received support from all around the world. In Germany, tens of thousands rallied in Munich Wednesday. One protester says she is there to encourage Russians to keep pushing back against the invasion of Ukraine.
We'll take a short break. When we come back, almost a million people with no other option but to flee while others are traveling to Ukraine volunteering to join the fight. That story ahead.
Also, an American couple with a newborn found themselves among those looking to evacuate Ukraine. Have they finally managed to make their way out of the country and to safety? That is next.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we first got out of the car, I was worried that Jacob and I have made the wrong decision. It was pretty windy outside. I'm sure the wind chill was even colder than 30 degrees.
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[01:34:54]
VAUSE: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause.
New explosions have been lighting up the sky over the Ukrainian capital as Russia intensifies its attacks against cities across the country. This was the scene in southwestern Kyiv earlier.
And it appears Russia has taken its first big price, the strategic port city Kherson. After fierce fighting, the mayor says the Ukrainian military is no longer in the city.
Meantime, America's top diplomat will soon travel to Brussels to talk with NATO and European allies. He says that Vladimir Putin's intentions for Ukraine are clear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Virtually everything the Russian government professed to be concerned about was not really what was at issue. For example, Ukraine joining NATO. President P1utin has said loudly and clearly and is now demonstrated by the actions that Russian has taken is that what this is about for him is Ukraine being absorbed in one fashion or another into Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The apparent capture of Kherson has raised concerns for those living in nearby Odessa.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is there with the latest developments along the Black Sea Coast. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It does appear a sea change has happened in the city of Kherson. It's strategic because of where it sits out from the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula up to the rest of Ukraine and sits on an inlet from the Black Sea.
But it appears that after days of seeing videos of Russian troops circulating in the town, they're armored vehicles on Freedom Square at one point confronted by one man waving the Ukrainian flag seeing Russian soldiers, moving shopping carts around full of goods, presumably looted and also leading away local men at gunpoint.
That there has been some sort of arrangement made between these Russian soldiers and the Ukrainian administration of that town. Its mayor posting on Facebook a statement in which he didn't mention Russian forces by name. But said armed men had been to see him in this building. And they'd essentially come up with an agreement of the various conditions for civilian life to continue in that town.
A curfew, people moving around at daylight and also pedestrians allowed to move around in ones and twos and all are very clearly to obey the instructions of armed men, that's the Russian soldiers.
As I say, not mentioned by name, but clearly the armed force in that town because the same statement says that the Ukrainian armed forces have indeed left.
The mayor says that the Ukrainian flag will still be flying over his building. But it is unclear really if that is just entirely symbolic or a broader concession. This, concerning because it shows how Russia has designs on the daily lives of Ukrainians in towns that it has fought over.
It does appear that it may have been some pocket resistance inside of Kherson too this Russian move-in over the past days. They may have calmed much of that and do appear now to be trying to call the shots as to what life under their occupation in fact it looks like.
That is concerning, of course, here in the key city of Odessa because the pressure Russia is putting on Kherson is being translated into more pressure on to the next town, Nikolai, and eventually on to here, the third largest city. A vital port that Russia must control, if it wants leverage over Ukraine's economy one where warnings of a potential amphibious assault here grow day by day as do the edginess of those in the street preparing for the city's defense.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN -- Odessa, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: While the U.N. believes that a million people have fled Ukraine in the week since the Russian invasion began. But heading in the opposite direction, is a small number of volunteers ready to fight for their country. CNN's Melissa Bell has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the sound that Valerie, like many in Ukraine, woke up to on Thursday.
VALERY, UKRAINIAN VOLUNTEER: I thought I was still dreaming. I couldn't believe my ears. But the sound was so persistent I couldn't fall asleep any further.
BELL: He'd arrived in Kyiv just hours before, after a marathon journey by road from his home in France, determined to see his ailing parents before war broke out. Many routes by air already cut off.
The Russian invasion beat him to it. An office worker back in France, within a day of the invasion, Valery had joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
CNN is withholding Valery's surname as he fears online attacks from Russians.
VALERY: Nobody could realize that our neighbors, the brother, our brother people (INAUDIBLE). Nobody could believe that. What can I do when the aircraft -- when Russian aircrafts are throwing bombs on the capital city? I just couldn't stay inside, indoors, in these four walls, doing nothing. So I came and I joined.
[01:39:58]
BELL: Since the Russian invasion, Ukraine has seen an outpouring of popular defiance with tens of thousands of citizens receiving weapons from the government to join in the country's defense.
VALERY: First, when I joined, when I received the weapon, I felt this sense of nausea.
BELL: This week has been a heavy mix of emotion for volunteers like Valery.
VALERY: You can look, if you go outside and see the eyes of the people who are gearing up to get across (INAUDIBLE) as well. There's a lot of hope. And there's a lot of determination to defeat the enemy.
BELL: On the other side of Europe, prayers for Valery and his comrades. Worshippers filled the Ukrainian cathedral in Paris for its five Sunday services. The parish has been gathering donations and compiling a database of hosts for Ukrainian refugees they already fear will be forced to flee to Paris. The aid comes in many forms.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We keep in touch with them, we support them, even if that's psychologically. We also tried to help financially, and if it's possible we help. We care about all the situations and we want to help.
BELL: Outside, Andry Sonsyadyk (ph) collects funds for his two best friends before they had to join the fight in Ukraine. The money, they say, will buy body armor.
ANDRY SONSYADYK, LAW STUDENT (through translator): It's a moment of great unison of all Ukrainians, of all our diaspora around the world.
BELL: Like many we talked to Andry had been sent photos from relatives in Ukraine. His two-year-old godson sheltering in the basement.
Even here in Paris, it's a stark reminder of how life in Ukraine has been turned upside down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Life was beautiful and shiny just two weeks ago. And it's stopped being shining and beautiful a couple of days ago when the Russians attacked Ukraine.
BELL: Melissa Bell, CNN -- Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: An American couple was in Kyiv to meet their new daughter born to a Ukrainian surrogate. Like many others, soon after the Russian invasion began, they tried to leave the country by road but kept hitting roadblocks.
Eventually, they abandoned their car and finished their journey on foot. What came next, we will hear in their own words.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACOB BOECKMANN, EVACUATED UKRAINE WITH NEWBORN: After sleeping in the car overnight, we were within, it felt like about 20 kilometers of the border. After three or four hours in the car, we found out that we were just very little, and so at that point we decided that it was going to be the warmest part of the day and the only opportunity to make it to the border before nightfall would be to get out and walk.
Our biggest concerned with our daughter being four days old was hypothermia. It was really cold. But we felt like if we didn't act then, then we wouldn't know how much longer it would be until we would make it across.
JESSIE BOECKMANN, EVACUATED UKRAINE WITH NEWBORN: When we first got out of the car, I was worried that Jacob and I had made the wrong decision. It was pretty windy outside, and I'm sure the wind chill was even colder than 30 degrees. But we constantly stopped to make sure the baby was warm enough and that she was breathing.
As the walk went on, I realized that we had made the right decision. We just walked through miles and miles of cars that weren't moving at all. And so I knew at that point that our walk to the border was the best decision we made.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The family, all three of them now, back home safe in California. Soon to come here the Russian owner of Chelsea says that the popular
football team now up for sale. We'll have all the details in just a moment.
[01:43:46]
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VAUSE: Well, not only how punitive Western sanctions sent Russia's economy into freefall, it seems to have sparked an exodus of multi- national corporations. And the companies is not cutting ties completely with Russia are significantly limiting their exposure.
And each day, the list keeps growing. American Express now among the latest, saying it was hoping relationships with bank partners in Russia as it complies with international sanctions.
In Moscow, the stock exchange will be closed for another day. The ruble remains under pressure after hitting a record low Wednesday. Meantime, oil prices have been surging amid global supply concerns.
Well, a rare chance to buy a storied English football club. Only one previous oligarch owner, billionaire Roman Abramovich has announced Wednesday he is selling Chelsea saying the move would be in the best interest of the club, the fans, employees, and sponsors.
CNN's Patrick Snell has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took control of the west club back in 2003. Now, 19 years on, the 55-year-old calling his decision to sell incredibly difficult growth.
In a statement Abramovich revealing he is not asking for any loans to be repaid and that "I've instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated.
The foundation will be for the benefit of all the victims of the war in Ukraine. This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims as well as supporting the long term work of recovery.
Since taking over, Abramovich has absolutely transformed the fortune of a success star whose last top flight league times, until it comes, in 1955. Amid lavish spending, twice of Europe and they're top flight title drafts snapped after half a century.
Chelsea's women's team now the dominant force domestically, and last year Forbes saying Chelsea was worth $3.2 billion. Compare that to the 233 million paid almost two decades ago.
The arrival of Roman Abramovich at Chelsea in 2003, electrified the English premier league's questions of his wealth assisted. But in football terms, it was no question that Chelsea won massive beneficiaries. The best managers in European football. The biggest players. The first league title in half a century.
The positioning of Chelsea as a big player domestically and in the champions league -- under Abramovich, Chelsea lifted all their worst to win club football. Without him, the club faces an uncertain future.
SNELL: Abramovich's decision to sell Chelsea comes after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Abramovich himself has not been sanctioned by the U.K. according to the sanctions list Website.
He maintains he's not an official political figure for Russia. On Wednesday, reports of a Swiss billionaire wants to buy the Blues. Though the club not responding to CNN's request for comment on that, while Chelsea's players booking their spot in the quarterfinals of the FA cup.
Just one topic of conversation afterwards though.
[01:49:54]
THOMAS TUCHEL, CHELSEA MANAGER: I think every decisions he takes is the right decision. It's his choice. It's his club. And that is not on me to comment.
The guys talk about it. Everybody talks about it. So yes, it is big news. Let's wait and see. I hope for the best.
SNELL: Abramovich says he's selling in the fans' and the club's best interest. And that he's hoping to go to Chelsea's home ground, Stanford Bridge to say goodbye to everyone in person one last time.
Patrick Snell, CNN -- Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: According to 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 is unclear whether President Xi personally made the 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 and saying their partnership had no limits.
Well, he made a name making people laugh. And now Volodymyr Zelensky inspiring the Ukrainian people to stand strong against a growing Russian invasion. How this war has turned an unlikely president into a worldwide hero.
[01:51:10]
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VAUSE: For some Ukrainians, that is the sound of safety, at least for now. A theater in Lviv is their temporary home. Artists and theater staff are providing supplies for the refugees and volunteer fighters.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says one million people have fled Ukraine in the week since the invasion began.
Air raid sirens sounded and large explosion lit up the sky near Kyiv a few hours ago as Russia steps up its attacks. Newly released satellite images from Monday show some of the earlier damage. Burned home in a village north of Kyiv could be seen and a bridge also destroyed.
Russia's defense ministry says Russian troops now controls Kherson after fierce fighting on Wednesday. This would be the first city to fall to the Russians.
And Ukraine state emergency service reported massive shelling and bombing in the country's largest city, Kharkiv, the regional police department was hit, buildings at the national university were left in flames.
Well, as Russia pushes on with its military offensive, Ukraine's president has remained defiant. Volodymyr Zelensky has been an inspiration to his fellow Ukrainians, encouraged them to stay strong against all the odds.
Few, if any could've anticipated the man who made a name as a comedian will became such a historic war time leader. Here is CNN's Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We are all here. Our military are here. Citizens and society are. We are all here defending our independence, our state and it will remain so.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky in a show of unity on the streets of Ukraine. The 44-year-old president refusing an offer from the United States to be airlifted out. Telling the U.S. early on, according to Ukraine's embassy in Britain, "The fight is here. I need ammunition not a ride".
ZELENSKY: The enemy has marked me as target number one. My family is target number two.
KAYE: For days, Zelensky has been leading the resistance. Using social media to call on Ukrainians to fight.
ZELENSKY: The world has seen that Ukrainians are powerful. Ukrainians are courageous.
KAYE: Just this morning, on his Facebook page, Zelensky posted this about Russia's bombing campaign.
ZELENSKY: It will have an order until later. To release our country. To release all of us.
KAYE: He went on to call Ukrainians, a symbol of invincibility. A day earlier, Zelensky got a standing ovation from lawmakers with the European parliament for European parliament for inspiring words like this.
ZELENSKY: Every square of today, no matter what it's called it's going to be called today Freedom Square. In every city of our country. Nobody is going to break us. We are strong. We are Ukrainians.
KAYE: Zelensky has won the hearts of many around the world, inspired by his resilience and defiance.
Even world leaders once tentative about backing Ukraine, now stand with Zelensky. Some vowing to help him fight. Germany's chancellor has promised to arm Ukrainians and has halted the certification of the pipeline project which would bring Russian gas to western Europe.
The U.S. and its allies, also inspired by Zelensky dealt a crippling blow by cutting off Russia's central bank from U.S. dollar transactions and kicking key Russian banks out of the swift global financial network.
For his part, Turkey's president invoked the 1930s convention that bars Russian warships from entering the Black Sea, limiting its naval operation.
ZELENSKY: Our main goal is to finish the slaughter. The enemy losses are very grave.
KAYE: The world today, galvanized by a defiant leader, who before becoming president was an actor and comedian.
In April, 2019 Zelensky was elected Ukraine's president. Now, the country's future may depend not on his comedy but his courage.
ZELENSKY: But we know we're defending our land and the future of our children.
KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN.
VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Rosemary Church takes over our breaking news coverage after a short break.
You're watching CNN.
[01:59:25]
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