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Ukraine: Russian Military Opens Fire On Protesters At Least On Hit; Putin Says Sanctions Introduced Equivalent To A Declaration Of War; Russia Accused Of Violating Short Ceasefire, Shelling Civilian Corridor; U.S. & NATO Believe Russia Ready to "Bombard Cities into Submission"; Israeli Prime Minister Holds Call with Zelensky Following Putin Meeting; Russia Shuts Down Last Independent News Sources; Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) Discusses Zelensky Call to House & Senate; Sky News: Journalists Ambushed in Kyiv Returned Safely to U.K. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired March 05, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:26]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us for this special CNN coverage. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta alongside my colleague Jim Sciutto reporting from Lviv, Ukraine. I want to welcome our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. So, let's begin with this breaking news. We're just into CNN that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is holding a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

That meeting said to be with the U.S.'s blessings. New video into CNN showing Russian soldiers firing apparent warning shots at protesters in eastern Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That barrage of gunfire there as a small group of unarmed protesters for walking the streets chanting Ukraine, Ukraine. Another video shows at least one person hit by gunfire. CNN has been able to confirm the authenticity of that (INAUDIBLE)

And this has Russian President Vladimir Putin issues new threats with Russian oil sanctions on the table. Putin warned today sanctions against Moscow are equivalent to a declaration of war. CNN is covering the latest developments on the ground in Ukraine and around the world. Let's pick up our coverage in Lviv with Jim Sciutto. Jim?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Fedricka. The shelling continuing on so many Ukrainian cities and one in particular sobering developments today in Mariupol in the south. There was supposed to be a ceasefire to allow a humanitarian corridor out of that city. But Ukrainian officials say that Russian shelling continued even targeted some of those people trying to flee. These pictures here in Lviv, Ukraine. That ceasefire was attempted and Mariupol what appears to have been broken. CNN's Scott McLean is live in Lviv. Scott, so, the civilian quarter failed, frankly, Russians saying they're beginning operations again, although it doesn't seem that they ever stopped. Is there a possibility of another attempt at a civilian corridor in the coming days?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Maybe the bottom line, though, according to the Red Cross, which is sort of the mediator in this whole civilian or humanitarian corridor between Russia and Ukraine says it's not going to happen today. Obviously, the window for that to happen has closed. And so now we're sort of back to square one and to see whether these parties can work something else out.

But again, perhaps there has to be a little bit of trust established between the two sides, because there wasn't much to begin with. And now there certainly is not much right now. And the situation -- the humanitarian situation, Jim, is pretty dire. We're talking about -- at least according to the Ukrainian some 200,000, people who would very much like to get out of Mariupol. 20,000, you'd like to get out of Volnovakha because obviously, there's no water, there's no power, there's no heat, no cell signal.

They're running out of food, grocery stores have been bombed. They have been looted, there is limited amounts of water. And so, when this humanitarian corridor broke down, that is disappointing to a heck of a lot of people who are pretty desperate to get out of that situation. And we're already starting to feel the effects here in Lviv. This is a Western train hub of Ukraine. And so, we were just at the station.

And there were so many people there that we weren't even able to get a signal because everyone was using their cell phone, the same signal that we're relying on to get live on T.V. And so, there are people literally lined up for several hours just to get in the station. Once you get in the station, I can only imagine that it's several hours more in order to potentially get on a train to Poland.

But as we've seen over the last couple of days, while they're more organized now it still takes quite a while. And look, people don't necessarily have to see bombing in their own community to get out. They are seeing the signs elsewhere. I spoke to one woman who fled Chernihiv, that place has been bombed but she went and get -- and got her mom from -- and sisters from another part of the country and all fled together.

I also just met a family who is probably going to be sleeping in their car tonight. A mother, her 16-year-old son and three younger daughters. That boy says he feels a heck of a lot like a man right now because his father has gone to fight now. He's left all the sudden. The man of the house having to help take care of the rest of his family, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes. You see those families. It's the moms and their kids. The fathers left behind. Families split apart and they don't know when they're going to see each other again. Scott McLean, thank you so much. [13:05:06]

SCIUTTO: Well, as we reported at the top of the hour, the Israeli prime minister is in Moscow now meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. This apparently with the blessing of the Biden administration. CNN Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour joins me now. Christiane, I wonder how significant a development you think this is there. There had been some talk of him mediating, Naftali Bennett mediating between Russia and the West. Do you think -- do you consider this talk significant?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, look, we'll have to wait and see honestly. And that's not just a cliche. But look, there are a few world leaders that have not fully disavowed Putin's actions. One of them is the Israelis, then you have the Chinese and you have the Indians, and you have those people who may still be able to go and, you know, see if there's any way to negotiate and have a diplomatic solution.

The fact of the matter is, as most experts say, in the end, this can only be resolved diplomatically. But it is unlikely that that time is now because President Putin thinks he's on a roll. He keeps going on television and telling us people that things are going according to plan, which, of course they're not. You can see on the ground that the convoy north of Kiev has been -- Kiev has been stalled for days.

You can see that they obviously have not given maps to their soldiers or commanders on the ground that would show where nuclear plants are and areas not to target because that is inexplicable a targeting of any piece of a nuclear plant. So, these elements show you that there's not a whole lot of control on the ground. But Putin keeps saying to President Macron, to -- I think the latest person you spoke to by phone was Chancellor Scholz that we are going to get our demands, either if the -- if the Ukrainian government agrees to them, or on the battlefield.

So, what right now, a Naftali Bennett or anybody might be able to say to change that dynamic is unclear. And I'll tell you that that failed ceasefire down at Mariupol is very indicative of this. It's clearly not organized. It didn't happen. And by the way, the Russians will want to -- I mean, expel is a word that I'm using, but will want people to flee there, because they want to capture that town because it fills up their land bridge from Eastern Ukraine to Crimea.

SCIUTTO: It is part of the Russian plan to terrorize the city. So, I mean, this is not accidental. And you've seen and covered this in the past. If we look at Syria recently, even going back to Chechnya, what does that mean for the people of Ukraine? There's really no escape except out of the country.

AMANPOUR: Well, you know, I covered and lived in Sarajevo for the best part of three years, it was the worst siege. I mean, you know, the longest siege in modern history. And a lot is very similar. When they say they're going after military targets, well, there's only a certain number, and that's what Putin again has said today. We're just going off to military targets. And he says that they're very close to taking down all Ukraine's, you know, air installation and whatever anti- aircraft weaponry they may have or radar, all of that kind of stuff that a country needs to defend.

And then when they get pushback, then they start on the civilian targets. And that is what all the NATO allies, what all the military has been seeing and what people on the ground have been seeing over the last several days. That of course, is a war crime. And that is going to be very closely watched. But that is what Naftali Bennett, if you can have to tell Putin to stop attacking civilian infrastructure.

SCIUTTO: Do you think we've seen the limit of Western NATO American support for the Ukrainian military? No-fly zone has been taken off the table by the NATO Secretary General, the U.S. president, other NATO allies, they're sending in a whole bunch of weapons, anti-tank and anti-aircraft. But is there --- is that the upper limit in effect of what the West is willing to do so as not to find itself in a broader war with Russia?

AMANPOUR: Well, clearly the reason why they don't want to put up a no- fly zone which means military jets and, you know, the escorts and all that and it could mean blowing out Russian jets from the air. We saw it in Iraq, right? The last major no-fly zone was after the Gulf War, when the U.S. and France and the U.K. flew for years over the Kurdistan and over (INAUDIBLE) but they had no chat from Saddam Hussein.

So yes, NATO does not want to get into a face-to-face confrontation with Russia at this point. Russia and Putin keep upping the ante about what he considers aggressive and warlike behavior. He's just said that sanctions are considered a declaration of war against him.

[13:10:02]

AMANPOUR: On the weaponry and self-defense like anti-aircraft and the rest and anti-tank weaponry, that will keep flowing in. And it's, you know, it's difficult because there are only so many entry points for it to go in. And it takes time. They don't seem to be preparing to airdrop stuff in at the moment. And it's coming presumably by land, but I suspect that that will continue a pace to allow the Ukrainians to try to defend themselves.

You mentioned sending Ukrainians on aircraft. I don't know about that. But that would be significantly -- as well.

SCIUTTO: I've heard two different views of the chances of the Ukrainian military continuing to hold off to a large degree the Russian advanced. And just in the last couple of hours, spider marks skeptical, it seems. Mark Hertling, he's been a big skeptic of Russian military power here. You speak to a lot of folks and you have your own experience covering conflict like this. Is it -- is it too hopeful to imagine that the Ukrainian military even without outside support can hold off this Russian advance given how far Russia has proven itself willing to go?

AMANPOUR: So far, they're holding it off. According to all the experts, it's only Kherson which is the only major city apparently, that has fallen to the Russians, right? And that's a major city. There are other areas that have been in terms of a major city. And it appears that the Ukrainian army fell back. I mean, that's all I can gather from what I'm hearing and seeing. So, they weren't captured, they weren't destroyed, they fell back to fight another day.

And -- but I do think it's going to be very difficult because the Russians have shown historically that they will not stop until they win. Whatever winning means. Winning will mean destroying Ukraine. That is what winning will look like if the Russians are able to -- if they can't get Kiev and if they aren't able to remove the government which is clearly what they want to do. They want to encircle Kiev and remove the government and put by puppet.

But again, go back to Sarajevo. There was an aircraft used in Sarajevo. But there were weapons that eventually started coming in. And Sarajevo had an air -- had weapons embargo on the Muslims, on the Bosnians, on the -- on the defenders. The attackers were getting them from Russia and Serbia, but still the city never fell. So, it's really about the morale of the defenders. And if they can get enough gear to help them as for -- as long as possible and see what else, you know, potentially in the diplomatic sphere or whatever it might happen.

But I think you've seen -- you've seen Grozny, you've seen Aleppo. You've seen what Russian airpower can do.

SCIUTTO: Ruthless. Christiane Amanpour always good to talk.

AMANPOUR: It's a war crime.

SCIUTTO: Yes, indeed. And lots of evidence of it.

AMANPOUR: And actually, the --

SCIUTTO: Thanks very much, Christiane.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: Does the Black Sea -- oh, sorry, you're back. Come back, Christiane. I didn't want to cut you off.

AMANPOUR: No, no, it's OK. You know, I'm just saying that the international community is already calling it that. And the -- and the International Criminal Court, as you know, is already starting its investigation. But here's the thing and you really need to -- viewers need to understand this. President Putin has said that Ukraine does not exist. Pulitzer-prize winning historian and journalist Anne Applebaum says that is a genocidal thought.

We need to keep that fear in our heads so we know what's going on on the ground. And we know what Putin is up to.

SCIUTTO: Indeed. And one thing we've learned about Putin is listen to what he says, he usually follows through. Christiane Amanpour, thanks so much.

Coming up, does the Black Sea make Ukraine vulnerable to an attack by the Russian Navy? A former commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe and Africa will join us next to talk strategy if this conflict moves from land and air to the sea. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:18:10]

WHITFIELD: Just moments ago, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukraine's foreign minister and told reporters afterward that they had a productive discussion on future steps to support Ukraine. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANTONY BLINKEN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: Good afternoon, everyone. The entire world stands with Ukraine. Just as I'm standing here in Ukraine, with my friend, my colleague, Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine. We've seen an extraordinary resurgence of support from around the world against Russia's aggression, against Russia's war of choice, against what is happening every single day, every single minute in Ukraine to civilians throughout the country as a result of this aggression, but also extraordinary support for Ukraine itself.

We've come from several days of meetings with NATO, the European Union, countries beyond the G7. And we see that support not only continued security support, humanitarian support, economic support, but that support will increase. And as to the pressure on Russia, not only is it unprecedented, not only is producing very, very concrete results in Russia, but that pressure too will not -- will not only continue, it will grow until this war -- this war of choice is brought to an end.

I have to say that I'm in in awe of my friend, his entire government, Presidents Zelensky encourage that they are showing every day, the leadership that they're showing to the world. It's inspiring and the world is here the world is with you. Thank you.

[13:20:03]

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, first of all I would like to thank Tony for coming here to Ukraine, literally we just crossed the line. And we're standing here. I hope the people of Ukraine will be able to see this as a clear manifestation that we have friends who literally stayed -- stand by us. Thank you for your leadership in consolidating international community in support of Ukraine.

We had meaningful discussions about weapons, about sanctions, about isolation of Russia on the international arena. And the message that I have to convey, that I would like to convey now is very simple. Ukraine will win this war anyway. Because this is the people's war for their land. And we defend to the right course. The question is the price, the price of our victory. And if our partners continue to take bold, systemic decisions to step up economic and political pressure on Ukraine, if they continue to provide us with necessary weapons, the price will be lower.

This will save many lives in Ukraine, many houses, many children will be born, many sufferings will be avoided. This is all -- this is the only question that is on the agenda. If anyone in the world, one day starts feeling the sanctions fatigue, for example, then people -- more people in Ukraine will be dying, suffering, and more destruction will be brought on us by Russian airplanes and by Russian weapons.

So, we appreciate everything that has been done in the last week. Unprecedented, swift reaction to the Russian aggression. But it has to be continued. The pressure has to be stepped up. And Ukraine has to be provided with all weapons necessary to fight in this, as Tony said, war of choice of President Putin. Thank you.

Well, we are satisfied with the already arranged supplies of anti-tank weapons and ammunition. This is one of the most badly needed and we destroy a lot of Russian tanks and armored vehicles. Using weapons that came from our friends, including the United States. It's no secret that the highest -- the highest demand that we have is in fighting jets, attack aircrafts and air defense systems.

We thank all those countries, including the United States who provided us the stingers, we effectively use them and just today we shut down three Russian attack aircrafts which were bombing our cities with the use of stingers. But we need to sort of say big air defense systems to ensure the safety of our skies. If we lose the skies, there will be much, much more blood on the ground. And that will be the blood of civilians.

And I don't want anyone to share responsibility for their blood, anyone in the world to share responsibility for their deaths and suffering.

Yes, yes. And we will continue to call, I understand. I hear -- I hear the messages. I heard what the NATO Secretary General said yesterday after the meeting of the allies. I regret I think it's a sign of weakness by -- of NATO. You know, we've been saying many things for the last eight years about Russia, about intentions. We will never hurt. Everyone was saying you're many were saying, you're exaggerating; this is not going to happen.

People were -- then at certain points, some countries were saying, no, we can never supply you with weapons. But in the last eight days, the world politics were shattered by the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and those countries who had never supplied us with weapons are now doing so. So, I'm used to it. We are now in the phase where NATO is saying, no, we're going to not -- we are not going to do that.

The time will come. It's, again, the issue of price. We do not -- it's Ukrainians, it's the people of Ukraine who will pay the price for the reluctance of NATO to act.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. You saw right there Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State for the U.S. on the Ukrainian border with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister there.

[13:25:01]

WHITFIELD: And the Foreign Minister saying he's happy with the arsenal that's come from friends but they still need more air assets. However, he did say because of stingers that they have received from allied states they were able to take down three Russian aircraft.

All right. Meantime, Ukrainian President Zelensky is urging the U.S. to do more, calling for harsher sanctions on the Kremlin and help closing Ukrainian airspace as Russian forces continue to advance. At least two U.S. lawmakers say they are open to sending airpower to Ukraine's Air Force.

Joining me right now to discuss this retired Navy Admiral James Foggo. He previously served as the commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe and Africa, and led NATO's Allied Joint Force Command. He's now the dean of the think tank Center for Maritime Strategy. So good to see you. So, where --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Wonderful. Wonderful. So, where are you on the idea of air assets, U.S. providing potentially air assets to Ukraine?

JAMES FOGGO, RETIRED NAVY ADMIRAL: Well, you speaking of no-fly zone or transfer of aircraft?

WHITFIELD: In terms of a transfer of aircraft potentially.

FOGGO: Well, I think that, as the Russians attribute some of the air assets that are in Ukraine, probably the thing that makes the most sense is to transfer some of the air assets that are the older Soviet era equipment from NATO countries to Ukraine, if we can get them across the border. This would be the mix and the Sukhoi aircraft. Earlier on CNN, there was some discussion and commentary about -- well, should they receive more modern aircraft.

Many of the Ukrainian pilots are familiar with the Russian jets, and they have been using them very effectively. If you tried to give them anything more modern I think there has to be a training program and we just don't have the time.

WHITFIELD: Right. That would make more sense. It just obviate the need for any kind of training because they need it. They need the assistance right now. Now, how about that on the no-fly zone? Are you in agreement that putting in place a no-fly zone would near immediately trigger a World War III?

FOGGO: Fredricka, this is a really tough problem for NATO and the United States. I've got some experience with no-fly zones, particularly in the Libya campaign. I was a one-star at the time and operations officer. And according to the U.N. Security Council mandate to stop the genocide of Khadafi, we were told to establish a no-fly zone. You may recall that Secretary of Defense Bob Gates at the time said a no-fly zone is yet another attack on another Arab country, he did not want to do it.

We ultimately did do it. And the problem with no-fly zones is you just can't fly aircraft into airspace over Ukraine and say, OK, we've established a no-fly zone. You have to mitigate the risk against those NATO or U.S. aircraft. And that means eliminating the threats to those aircraft. That means kinetic strikes potentially on Russian surface to air missile systems. So, they've got a lot of them in the Ukraine now.

One of them is the buck missile launcher shutdown the Malaysian airliner. Additionally, there could be a kinetic interaction between a Russian aircraft and a U.S. or a NATO aircraft. Putin has come out today saying that would be an act of war. So, this is a tough situation as much as we want to put air cover over the humanitarian corridor. It's a very difficult decision for politicians. And with the President, it leads to World War II and we probably can't do it.

WHITFIELD: Admiral Foggo, I want to show you this map and give you an idea of where the positioning -- where it's determined the positioning is as now where Russian forces seem to be and the conventional wisdom is, it is trying to surround Kiev. Among the most vulnerable of areas for Ukraine is along its port cities. What's your -- how are you seeing the vulnerabilities for the port cities? And if this -- these are likely to be the entry points for a greater Russian artillery?

FOGGO: Well, exactly, Fredricka. And this -- let's make no mistake about it. This is a combined forces, a joint forces campaign on the land, in the air and from the sea. And so, it's been a boiling frog scenario in the Sea of Azov in the Black Sea for a very long time. You know, I was there, I wear the pin of the U.S. flag and Ukrainian flag. I picked that up in Odessa when I was trying to help the Ukrainian Navy develop a navy after it was taken away from them in Sebastopol with the illegal annexation of Ukraine.

I knew (INAUDIBLE) Serdyuk and Poroshenko. Poroshenko was the one that came up with the Mosquito Fleet idea. H challenged the Russians in the sea of Azov. The ships were fired upon (INAUDIBLE) those sailors against the Geneva Convention were arrested and sent to Moscow to prison and they were released a couple years later. So, they have dominated in the Sea of Azov and that's why they were able to conduct an amphibious landing in Mariupol and now pounding the town and conducting war crimes.

[13:30:05]

FOGGO: I think Kherson has fallen. It's another port city of Odessa is next. I've been to Odessa. I would hate to see that happen. Sadly, the Ukrainians sank their flagship to keep it out of Russian hands. There's an amphibious plan coming.

They have plenty of forces. They have six reply ships and escorts to make that happen. We saw yesterday people were sandbagging the city to try to prepare for that onslaught.

WHITFIELD: You mentioned you believe Odessa might be next. We know Kherson has already been taken.

In your view, is Ukraine prepared to respond to a naval assault on any other of its southern port cities?

FOGGO: It would be very difficult to repel the naval assault when it comes.

The problem is, as the Russians drive into the urban area, they'll find that Ukrainian resistance is stiff, just like it has been in Kyiv, in Kharkiv, and around the rest of the country.

And these amphibious ships merely land tanks and armored personnel carriers and troops. Those troops have to establish a beachhead and then move to the objectives, which is the major port cities.

They'll have a real fight on their hands. Think about Fallujah in Iraq and the trouble that American Marines had there. Some of that fighting was building to building, house to house, and hand to hand.

With the resistance, the magnificence resistance of the Ukrainian people, I think the Russians are not just going to get a bloody nose, there's going to be a lot of them, unfortunately, for both sides, that are killed in action here.

And it's going to be a tough fight.

WHITFIELD: I wonder when the allied nations, Ukraine's allies, their friends, say that they are bringing in assets, infantry assets, air assault assets, particularly because getting in and out of country is so difficult.

How is that happening? There have been -- there's been no evidence of any kind of airdrops of arsenal. How are the people of Ukraine, whether it's the military or their civilians, able to receive any new assets?

FOGGO: Well, I don't think that the Russians have air superiority.

And you saw today some, you know, magnificent coverage on CNN of a Russian attack helicopter, flying very low and by the tree line trying to avoid any kind of surface-to-air missile. It looks like it was hit by a Stinger.

So until the Russians can establish that air superiority, they cannot see or they cannot interdict all the ground movements. They do have control a lot of territory to the west of Lviv.

And certainly, I would assume there are supply lines coming in and bringing both humanitarian assistance and additional weapons systems, the Javelins and the Stingers, and ammunition to the Ukrainian fighters.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Yes. There's the video right there of what appeared to be a Stinger taking down that helicopter. That's very help informal the low-flying kind of aircraft but not for any other aircraft flying high.

Admiral James Foggo, thank you so much. Appreciate it. We'll have you back. Appreciate it.

FOGGO: Thanks very much, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is in Russia today. In fact, he just met with President Vladimir Putin. What was discussed behind closed doors? That's after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:37:56]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: This just into CNN. The Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, is in Moscow meeting now with the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

CNN's Hadas Gold is in Jerusalem.

Hadas, it's our understanding that this has the blessing of the U.S., of the Biden administration. What is Bennett's office saying?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, this was a completely surprise unannounced visit. Today is Saturday. It's Shabat. Normally, Naftali Bennett would not travel on a Saturday.

But we heard a couple of hours ago is he was in Moscow, meeting with Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, for more than three hours.

We now know that the meeting has concluded. And that, in fact, Naftali Bennett is on his way to Berlin to meet with the chancellor of Berlin, Olaf Scholz.

They told us this meeting was coordinated with the U.S., France, and Germany, and done with the U.S.'s blessing.

I also just heard from the Ukrainian ambassador to Israel who told me that the Ukrainians knew about the meeting before it took place and they were supportive of it.

We also just heard from Naftali Bennett's office that he just spoke with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. They just had a phone call.

We still don't know exactly what Naftali Bennett and Vladimir Putin spoke about, specifically, of course, ostensibly to speak about bringing everything to a cease-fire, trying to end the hostilities between Ukraine and Russia.

But this meeting comes after several rounds of phone calls that Naftali Bennett has had with both Putin and Zelensky over the past 10 days or so.

Zelensky had asked Naftali Bennett, asked the Israelis to try to mediate between Ukraine and Russia. In fact, Zelensky had made the request initially back in October.

They wanted to have talks in Jerusalem because that's more neutral ground compared to where talks had been taking place in Belarus. But so far, it didn't seem as though the Russians were wanting to play ball with that.

But this -- clearly, this meeting is a big development. Hopefully, it may bring something forward -- Jim?

SCIUTTO: The U.S. blessing but more crucially the Ukrainian blessing. We'll see if, what, comes out of those talks.

[13:40:02]

Hadas Gold, in Jerusalem, thanks so much.

As Russia continues to bombard Ukraine, cities in Ukraine, people, civilian neighborhoods, it's also targeting independent news sources.

New Russian legislation has now criminalized what lawmakers there deem to be false information about the invasion or the Russian military.

Many civilians unaware of what's really happening in Ukraine because they're only hearing what Russian state media tells them. Much of it lies.

Among the casualties of this crackdown, independent Russian news media, such as TV Rain, which was forced to shut down as part of the Russia media crackdown.

TV Rain ending its final broadcast with a message of defiance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED TV RAIN ANCHOR (through translation): The last person to leave has to switch off the light. The first person back will switch it on.

We will end our broadcast with that and a small pause the channel is taking.

No to war. Definitely no to war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:44]

SCIUTTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is again calling for further U.S. military assistance, this time in establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, as well as more military support, as well as harsher economic sanctions on Russia.

He made these requests during a Zoom call with U.S. lawmakers this morning.

One of them was Congressman John Garamendi, a Democrat from California, also a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Good to have you on, Congressman.

I'm curious, as the Ukrainian president made these requests, what were your answers? What did lawmakers say?

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): Well, I think the lawmakers, all of us, maybe 100 or more on the call, were very, very supportive.

Not too much was said. There were a couple questions from the Senate, a couple from the House, mostly to gain clarification.

Zelensky was very, very clear. He went through the history of this war, the change to urban warfare, the killing of civilians, hospitals, kindergartens and the rest.

Then he moved on to the issue of air defense. I don't recall that he said he wanted the Western governments to provide the air defense, but he clearly wanted to be able to establish that on their own.

And he specifically asked that we arrange for the Russian fighter jets that are presently in Poland, the Polish army or military, as well as the Romanian and Bulgarian, that those airplanes be transferred to Ukraine.

So that Ukrainian pilots, who already know how to fly those craft, would be able to use them. He made that very, very clear.

I believe that the Congress would like to arrange that. That would take the backfill.

He also said that we should be willing to backfill those airplanes that are no longer in those countries. And we should do that.

SCIUTTO: OK.

GARAMENDI: He also went into some detail about the sanctions. He thought they were good, they were very useful, they were having an impact. He did say that we ought to cut off MasterCard and Visa.

And made it very, very clear that there should be an embargo on Russian oil so that the Russian government would not be able to continue to finance itself.

So those were a couple of the main ones.

SCIUTTO: OK. Let --

GARAMENDI: Then he went on to discuss his -- the situation for the leadership, citing a mayor in one of the cities that was overrun by the Russians.

The mayor and other officials were removed from the city hall and the mayor was then shot.

And he made the clear connection to what was in store should the Russians be able to overrun Kyiv.

SCIUTTO: Did he say which city that was in, that the mayor was shot?

GARAMENDI: He did. But I could not make out exactly what it was. I'm sure in the record it is there. But I couldn't make it out.

SCIUTTO: We'll follow up here.

Let's run through a few things he's asking for.

First, on an oil embargo, I understand this is something the Biden administration has been studying. Is it going to happen?

GARAMENDI: It will. There's a lot of pressure in Congress, myself and others that have been calling for that.

The first step, the United States certainly ought not be buying Russian oil.

Then going beyond that, I think what the administration is putting together now is a plan to backfill the Russian oil that would not be on the world market.

And I understand that's a significant amount of the world oil supply.

So that's going to take some time to put together, that increased production from countries such as the United States and certainly the Middle East and other areas of the world.

That's -- I am certain that's in process. And I know that Congress is going to very significantly push the administration to do that.

Also under way are plans to backfill the loss of Russian gas. Nord Stream is not going to happen.

And there are efforts under way to develop a mechanism for additional large amounts of LNG to be shipped into the European continent.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

[13:49:58]

GARAMENDI: There's one thing that's been on my mind, and that is the repurposing of the Nord Stream facility in Germany to receive LNG. It could be done and it ought to be done.

SCIUTTO: Yes. LNG, for folks at home who don't know, is liquefied natural gas. It can be shipped from the U.S. and other places.

Let me ask you about the aircraft. Because my understanding is that some of the administration, but also some NATO partners, not comfortable with sending those additional aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force.

They're concerned that Russia would read that as a, well, more direct NATO involvement in the war. Can that be overcome?

GARAMENDI: I think so. If certainly was in the past. Think about the Lend-Lease Program in the Second World War. And let the Ukraines buy used aircraft.

We're certainly going to provide a significant amount of money.

And this is a task that Congress has yet to do, and that is to pass a new appropriations bill that would provide financial support, humanitarian and continued military support to Ukraine.

But among that financial support to Ukraine could be money to buy aircraft wherever they are available around the world.

Zelensky did say that the Russian pilots are trained on these Russian pre-Soviet aircraft.

SCIUTTO: CNN is learning today that the "USS Truman" aircraft carrier now in the Agean Sea to ensure flight operations if tensions escalate in the region.

What is the significance of that, in your view?

GARAMENDI: Well, it is significant in that it is one more step in the deterrence program that the United States and NATO are putting into effect.

That deterrence program, most of us are now aware of additional American troops, more than 100,000 in Western Europe.

And many of those are being deployed to the eastern NATO countries, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Bulgaria and Romania.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

GARAMENDI: All of that is in place.

And at the same time, the U.S. Navy is positioning naval ships in key areas in that region. And so that aircraft carrier is one of the deployments.

There are many others that are taking place in key locations throughout the Western European area.

SCIUTTO: Yes, which is exactly what Putin did not want and he seems to be getting more of now.

Congressman John Garamendi, thanks so much for joining us this afternoon.

GARAMENDI: Thank you. And thank you for your work in Lviv.

SCIUTTO: Appreciate it.

Still to come in this hour, shelter in place or leave? Not knowing the future of the country. That is the difficult decision many Ukrainians are facing right now.

We have one mother's harrowing journey and her plea to the world, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:23]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Harrowing accounts from journalists on the ground in Kyiv, Ukraine. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED JOURNALIST: (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(CROSSTALK)

(GUNFIRE)

UNIDENTIFIED JOURNALIST: Run!

(GUNFIRE)

UNIDENTIFIED JOURNALIST: (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Cars marked and everything. And the journalists just terrified. Bullets flying, hitting the car.

This video was taken by reporters for the U.K.'s Sky News. They say they came under fire from Russian forces near the capital, an ambush, as they call it. You can right there they have "press" right there on their vest.

And CNN has not been able to confirm their account of who was shooting.

One of the camera operators reportedly took two rounds to his body armor. Thankfully, the entire team was able to make it safely back to the U.K.

A mother's defiance in the face of disorder. She and her three children staying in a shelter in Kyiv for over a week now.

She spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper about choosing not to leave Ukraine despite the increased violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLENA GNES, UKRAINIAN CIVILIAN: To leave Ukraine is not that easy and with three children, too. I mean, people who are leaving are risking. People are becoming refugees in Europe and elsewhere.

For them, life is not easy. Moreover, they are having, you know, the feeling of guilt I suppose since they left. And so like some of them, and so it shouldn't be that.

This is what I feel, what I am hearing from the people.

Today, I was outside on the street and I saw really many people, many people from our neighborhood. Almost all of our neighbors stayed.

Now I do not want the west to have, the world to have the wrong feeling that everybody left Ukraine. I mean, even if one million people left Ukraine, there are 43 million people who stayed.

And I'm not the only mother with children. We have other children in the shelter. We have other women and children in this neighborhood.

And lives of each of us, it is means something.

And because, like you are talking to me over there from CNN and showing my story. I am one of the few Ukrainian women who can speak English, yes, and I can talk to you.

But I wanted you guys to know that we are here. We, Ukrainian people, we are civilians and we have stayed here in our native land.

We have our Ukrainian army that is protecting us. And we need help. We need the no-fly zone here for Putin not to kill us all. And we still need help.

We are strong, yes, and we are trying our best, but we need more help, please.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: I think, for people who I know reach out to you and say that you should leave, I think that nobody can understand what it is like to be in the situation that you are in unless it is actually happening to them in their country.

I think that people make choices that may seem strange to people outside.

But when you are in a situation, when it's your country and your home and your husband fighting, and these are your streets, it is impossible to know what anyone would make.

GNES: Yes. And if you will allow, I will give you one example.

Before we were thinking sometimes, from time to time, what about emigrating to somewhere else, to another country, like with a higher level of life.

And we were like, no, this is the place where we belong. This is our nation. This is our challenge. We have to face it.

And 80,000 Ukrainians who immigrated before, they came back now to Ukraine to protect Ukraine. So how can I leave in this situation? I do not know.

COOPER: Years from now -- your daughter is 3 months old. When she -- years from now, what will you tell her about this time, this time that she lived through and won't remember?

GNES: I will tell her that she was the cutest baby ever. And that she played an important role, because she is like relief for everyone in the shelter.

[13:59:52]

You know, like everyone is so stressed and there's a lot of fear and anxiety. But when people take her in their arms or take her hand, they feel -- it is like a piece of life here and something kind.