Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

U.N.: More Than 360 Civilians Killed In Ukraine, Including 13 Children; Russian Attacks Halt Plans To Evacuate Ukrainian Civilians; Humanitarian Crisis In Ukraine; Zelensky Warns Russia Is Preparing To Bomb Odessa; Major Credit Card Companies Suspend Operations In Russia; WNBA Star Brittney Griner Arrested At Moscow Airport. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired March 06, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:35]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with this breaking news coming out of Irpin, Ukraine northwest of Kyiv where heavy shelling is forcing residents to flee.

Three people were reportedly killed at an evacuation crossing point outside of Kyiv. Two of whom are said to be children, according to journalists who saw it firsthand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINE FOREIGN MINISTER: As we speak, Russian planes continue to bomb Ukrainian cities, kill Ukrainian civilians including women and children. It's a disaster here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ukraine and Russia will hold a third round of talks tomorrow, according to negotiators as new warnings come today that Russia will increase the pace and strength of attacks on key populated areas.

Ukraine's President Zelensky telling citizens this morning that Russia is planning to launch bombs in Odessa. He's pleading to the west for more help to defend his people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: It's your humanitarian duty to protect us, to protect civilians. And you can do it. If you don't do it, if you don't at least give us airplanes so we can defend ourselves, the only thing we can think is that you also want us to be killed slowly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meantime, French President Macron voiced his quote, "grave concerns" about nuclear safety and he did that in a phone call to Putin today. That call prompted by Russia's takeover of Ukraine's largest nuclear plant earlier this week.

The U.S. now is looking at new paths to stop Russia. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying today that Russia's main moneymaker could soon be cut off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're now talking to our European partners and allies to look in a coordinated way at the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil.

WHITFIELD: The U.N. is saying today more than 360 civilians, including 13 children have been killed in Ukraine since the invasion began 11 days ago.

And earlier today, CNN's Alex Marquardt visited what was left of a town near Kyiv after a deadly strike there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This is a village that has no real strategic value and yet it was the subject of a fierce Russian air strike on Friday afternoon.

Just take a look at this. Houses all around this area were hit in that Russian air strike. What you're looking at here is the remnants of the house of a man named Yger (ph) who we spoke with earlier.

There's a huge crater here in the ground. He lost five of his family members, as well as a friend. His wife and his wife's friend and his mother-in-law were in a car when the strike happened. They were killed. His daughter was in the house in her wheelchair. She was also killed.

We spoke with him earlier today. He said obviously that he is just empty. He seemed disoriented. He's horrified by what's going on. And he said doesn't know what he is going to do now.

The Russians have said that they're only going after military infrastructure. That is clearly not the case. This home has nothing to do with the military. There is nothing within miles that has anything to do with the military.

So that begs the question, are the Russians really bad at aiming? Is that why they are -- they've killed hundreds of civilians and they've hit all these residential areas? Or do they simply not care? Is it that they are simply just trying to bomb the Ukrainian population into submission? And it looks more and more like that may be the case.

Now the Russians have said that they've agreed to allow people out through humanitarian corridors. But we've already seen today bombing north of here near an area called Irpin where people are trying to get out where people have been killed. So it does certainly appear that all bets are off. That certainly we cannot believe what the Russians are saying when it comes to their intentions here. Very clearly not just going after the military infrastructure but hitting civilians as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:04:51]

WHITFIELD: Alex Marquardt, thank you so much for that.

So an attempt at civilian evacuations was canceled for the second time this weekend as Ukrainian officials say Russia attacked an evacuation checkpoint near Kyiv.

CNN's Scott McLean is live for us in Lviv. So Scott, a third round of talks will begin tomorrow but with these attacks, how much confidence is there going into it?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the Ukrainians say that their position has strengthened since the first round of talks. I'm not sure that it's strengthened between the second and third round of talks that we expect tomorrow.

But there's a few things on the agenda. A cease-fire which seems like a distant dream, an armistice which isn't even really in the question at this stage. And these humanitarian corridors which the party seemed to be able to agree on in principle just not in practice.

And so things did not work out today in the southeast of the country in Mariupol and Volnovakha. There was shelling in Mariupol, a city that Ukrainians say 200,000 people would very much like to get out of. That's about half the population because the conditions there are so, so dire.

Now these corridors are being facilitated on the ground by the Red Cross which put out a statement today essentially scolding both sides saying, look, we are here to facilitate talks. We are here to get everyone organized in order to go. But we are not here to enforce the cease-fire in that area. It's simply not something that we can do.

And so they've given some marching orders for the talks tomorrow saying that they need to work out the fine granular details of how exactly these corridors are going to work, what time, where, what the route is going to be, who will be allowed to leave, whether or not supplies will be allowed in. All of those questions need to be answered.

Again, the red cross says they are there to be the go-between, between the two parties. But they say ultimately it is up to the Russians and the Ukrainians to stick to their word.

WHITFIELD: And Scott, there are growing fears, you know, that Russia may amplify its attacks on key cities in Ukraine. I mean it said that it's likely to do that.

So how are people in Lviv responding? What are they saying?

MCLEAN: You know what, Fredricka, here's the thing. I ask a lot of people when they get to Lviv from other parts of the country why they don't just want to stay here because there has not been a bomb that has fallen within the city limits of Lviv. In fact, not even really close to the city limits of Lviv.

And so it is still relatively safe here but they say they simply do not trust that Vladimir Putin won't start sending troops in this way. They won't start bombing the city. And so they won't feel safe until they get out of the country altogether. And that is why they are all headed to the border with Poland.

And it seems like the more there's bombardment, the more there is air strikes, the more that there is fear in the east, in the north, in south of the country, the more people start to get on trains, get in cars, get on buses and head west to where I am and ultimately toward the border, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Scott McLean, thank you so much in Lviv.

All right. The U.S. and Europe are currently weighing plans for how the west would support a government in exile if President Zelensky would have to flee Kyiv. That according to western officials telling CNN.

Let's talk more about all of this. Joining us right now, Congressman Tom Malinowski. He is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a former senior director for the National Security Council under President Clinton, and a former assistant secretary of state for human rights under President Obama.

Congressman, good to see you again.

So I mean, we're looking at utter devastation. It's just hard to put into words what everyone is witnessing in Ukraine right now. But what role do you see the U.S. p1otentially playing and mapping out a plan for President Zelensky or an exile government as a whole.

REP. TOM MALINOWSKI (D-NJ): I think it's too soon to talk about that. Obviously we should be planning for every contingency, but right now, as devastating as these attacks on Ukrainian cities are, I think we also have to keep in mind that the Russians are experiencing absolutely horrible difficulties as well.

Yes, they can lob artillery at Kyiv and Kharkiv. But if their troops move forward into those cities, they're massacred. Meanwhile, the Ukrainians are going to get better and better at hitting them behind their lines, hitting their supply lines.

Meanwhile, their country's economy is crashing every single day, which is going to make it harder for the Russian government to support these troops outside these cities. So I think we're sort of in a race against time.

If the Ukrainians can continue to hold out, which they are doing brilliantly with the weapons that the United States and our allies are giving them, and the sanctions are given time to really bite. I think we may be looking at a very different scenario from Russia than the one that we might have expected a few days ago.

[14:09:54]

WHITFIELD: So it is a race against time, but we heard from President Zelensky today. He needs more support now. He says any country that is not offering that support immediately is complicit in the kind of killing that's taking place.

So while the U.S. has promised more armor and is working in concert with Poland, Poland would try to supply some MIG-29s, older aircraft, can it come soon enough? I mean, you just talked about the challenges that Russia has being able to mobilize. Well, that means there are challenges in trying to get this equipment in country, too, right?

MALINOWSKI: Yes. And look, we do need to do more of it. I think we also -- we should not discount the power of what we have already done. It's President Zelensky's job to ask us for more every single day, but his troops right now are doing a very good job. And this is very grisly, but they're doing a very job killing very large number of Russians with the anti-tank weapons, with the other weapons that are already pouring into Ukraine right now, courtesy of the United States and our NATO allies.

What more can we do? Absolutely getting them these Russian-made planes from our eastern European allies would be helpful. Ukrainian pilots can use those planes, not just to deal with Russian aircraft. That's not actually the biggest problem, but also potentially Russian artillery and rocket fire, which is the main thing that is devastating Ukrainians right now.

I think we need to get them, again, through our eastern European allies more effective air defenses. And something that people don't talk about as much for some good reason. We need to be giving them real-time tactical intelligence on the battlefield so that they can use their artillery more effectively to counter these Russian units that are shelling Ukrainian cities. Those are the practical things that we can and should be doing.

And at the same time, there's more we can do on the sanctions front. I was very heartened to hear Secretary Blinken today talking about a coordinated effort to go after Russian oil exports. The U.S. banning Russian oil is symbolic, but if we can get our allies to work with us on a plan, that would be -- that would be further devastation to the Russian economy.

WHITFIELD: We know that, you know, the talk of the no-fly zone is really off the table as the U.S. and other NATO allies are concerned. Let's talk more a little bit about that plan now that the U.S. is supporting in terms of Poland supplying fighter jets to Ukraine.

This was -- the plan that the U.S. would actually backfill aircraft to Poland in so doing. Listen to what the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. said this morning about that potential plan. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: We have been in close consultations with the Polish government, as well as with our other NATO allies on this issue. We have not in any way opposed the Polish government, providing these jets to Ukraine.

And we're working, as you noted, to see how we can backfill for them.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: Could U.S. Jets be provided to Poland and those nations?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: We're still in discussions with the Poles on that issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But it too, is an issue of training, right? The Ukrainian pilots are trained on, say, the MIG-29s, perhaps not on the more -- the latest, you know, U.S. jets available.

Time is of the essence. So they are going to need planes that the pilots are ready to fly. Do you know anything about how many Ukrainian pilots might be available to fly any jets that might be donated?

MALINOWSKI: I think they have the pilots. We're not talking about a huge number of planes. And yes, these would be Russian-made aircraft that the Ukrainians are able to fly right away. So this is -- this will be helpful.

A no-fly zone in contrast would be, I think, the highest risk and lowest reward option that we have. Highest risk because it would mean a war between the United States and Russia directly. Lowest reward because a no-fly zone would not address the artillery, the missiles, the rocket fire that is coming from the ground not from the air and is causing the largest amount of devastation on Ukraine.

If we allow Ukrainian pilots to fly planes that they're familiar with, they could use them to go after ground targets as well. And then let's keep on providing the stuff we are already providing that is having such a devastating and lethal effect. Don't discount the importance of what we're already doing.

[14:14:52]

WHITFIELD: And those planes in the hands of Ukrainian pilots also potentially going after that, what -- 40-mile convoy that seems to be either immobilized or stuck or slow moving.

MALINOWSKI: Potentially. I certainly wouldn't want to give them tactical advice from our studio here, but yes, theoretically they could go after ground targets with those aircraft as well.

But again, this is where the U.S. providing them with tactical intelligence in a real-time way, what's actually going on in the battlefield would also be -- would be very, very helpful. WHITFIELD: All right.

MALINOWSKI: And then, you know, in the scenario, imagine a scenario in which say, a city like Kyiv is totally surrounded and cut off. It's not yet. We are still able to get as far as I know, supplies in through the ground.

I think we do also need to be prepared to think about something like a berlin airlift where we are helping the Ukrainians fly in supplies, humanitarian supplies, food, medicine, but also ammunition and military supplies.

WHITFIELD: That would be significant indeed. All right. Congressman Tom Malinowski, good to see you again. Thank you so much.

MALINOWSKI: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, mounting concerns that Russia is going to attack a major port city in Ukraine. We'll bring you the latest on what we know.

Plus, Ukrainians are going to extraordinary lengths to escape the brutal onslaught from Russia. Their emotional and physical struggles to flee, next.

[14:16:25]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

Russia's widening assault on Ukraine. In Zhytomyr, 85 miles west of Kyiv, video shows a Ukrainian tank factory leveled by Russian military strikes at that complex. And in the video Ukrainian soldiers survey the damage at the factory as one soldier curses at the Russian jets which can be seen and heard flying overhead.

And this stunning, heartbreaking picture showing a huge crowd. You see them right there of Ukrainian refugees huddled under a bridge in Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv.

And we're getting new pictures in to CNN of some of the aftermath of those civilians trying to flee the areas at that bridge. And we do want to warn you, the images are very disturbing.

CNN now learning at least eight people killed, including members of the same family with two children. They were reportedly struck and killed by mortar fire from Russian troops as they tried to flee the bridge to safety. And you can see in the photo their luggage, sitting close to where they fell.

CNN's Clarissa Ward and her camera crew were also at that damaged bridge crossing on the outskirts of Kyiv where thousands of refugees are desperately trying to flee heavy bombardment.

Here are some of their harrowing stories. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For seven days, the Kyiv suburb of Irpin has been pummeled by Russian strikes. And you can see it in the faces of those leaving. Exhaustion, fear, and gratitude to the soldiers helping them flee.

This bridge was downed by the Ukrainians to prevent Russian forces from getting in to the city center. Now it's yet another hurdle people must cross.

(on camera): There has been a steady barrage of artillery since we got here just over an hour ago, and a never-ending stream of people just desperately trying to cross to safety.

(voice over): Natalya tells us she was injured just a couple of hours earlier. We tried to get some stuff out of our apartment, she says, and a shell or something hit and I got hit by shrapnel. Still in shock, she dismisses the pain and walks away unaided.

Others need more assistance. Soldiers carry a makeshift stretcher to ferry an elderly woman to safety.

President Putin has said his army is not targeting civilians. But the exodus from Irpin tell as different story.

Everyone steps in where they can, including us. An elderly woman calls out for help, clearly confused by the chaotic situation. I take one of her bags.

(on camera): So people are obviously, incredibly affected by this situation. They're frightened. They're exhausted. They're on edge.

(voice over): They leave behind whatever they cannot carry with no sense of when they will return.

A woman approaches completely overcome. She said, "I'm afraid." For what? She cries. For what? This is just one suburb in one city. It has felt the wrath of Russia's onslaught -- artillery, missiles and fighter jets.

The planes were flying, and I just covered my ears, Olga Kudlai (ph) tells us.

(on camera): So she's saying that now she doesn't even know where she's going to go next.

(voice over): She has lived in Irpin for 45 years. "It was so beautiful, and now it's destroyed," she says. "What are they trying to achieve? To bring us to our knees?"

[14:24:51]

WARD: But against all odds, ten days into this war, Ukraine is still standing. A woman waits to be evacuated, trembling, resilient.

"We will overcome everything," she says.

For the people of Irpin, the journey is just beginning. They're loaded on to buses to the train station. From there, they don't know where they will go.

Clarissa Ward, CNN -- Irpin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The Ukrainian port city of Odessa was once a place Russians went on vacation. And now Ukraine's president warns Russian forces rather, are about to begin bombing it. We'll discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:03]

WHITFIELD: There are growing concerns that Russian forces are now targeting strategic Ukrainian locations along the Black Sea, including the port city of Odessa. Ukraine's president showed his anger over that when he spoke earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE (through translator): They are preparing to bomb Odessa. Russian people always used to come to Odessa and they only knew our generosity. And what's now, utterly bombs against Odessa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's bring in retired Lt. General Mark Hertling. He's a CNN military analyst and former commanding general for Europe and the Seventh Army.

So good to see you, General.

So what does this mean to target Odessa?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Fred, let's talk a little bit what Odessa is. It is a beach town. It's about 15 miles long as it curves around the Black Sea coast at its widest margin. It's about four miles wide.

It has a wonderful international airport there. It is connected to the rest of the southern coast, obviously, of Ukraine. If you take a look at that map we've been showing for such a long time, though in my view, Russia is really making a very dangerous, tactical and operational decision to go into Odessa now because as you look between Odessa, all the way over to Mariupol where they have been fighting for the last several days, that's about 380 miles.

So from a military perspective, they've got to control not only the forces that are attacking, but the supply lines. The difference here than what we've been seeing in Kharkiv and Kyiv over the last several weeks is you're talking about artillery support from a potentially naval gunfire. They are probably going to launch caliber cruise missiles again from the navy sea launch missiles, not only frigates and surface ships but submarines.

So they will not have the extent of artillery support that they have used so effectively and horrifically in some of the other cities. The population of Odessa before all of this started was right around a million people. You combine that with about 600,000 in Mariupol, another 300,000 or so in Kherson, this is a tough military requirement to quote, unquote control those cities.

I'm still convinced that Russia will never control those cities. They'll continue to bomb them, and strike them, but they are never going to control the citizens of those cities as we've seen in some of the films.

WHITFIELD: While you say you think this is dangerous tactically, that Russia has already taken Kherson there, which is, you know, Odessa is just west of there, strategically, is that why Russia would feel like they have an advantage?

HERTLING: Well, I'm going to suggest that they have not taken Kherson. They have sent forces into Kherson. They do not control that city yet. So we've got to disavow anybody of that.

But what we're talking about is a 400-mile stretch of land where they are controlling populations that vary between two and three and 4 million people with a force that probably is not equal to that. So what we're talking about is not only not having what the military calls the troop to task requirements to control those cities. You've just extended the supply line and the logistics support by another 50 to 100 miles when you're talking about going from Crimea to Odessa.

That is a major problem, and we have seen Russia, so far in this campaign, have extremely clumsy and inefficient logistics and they cannot resupply with food, fuel or ammo.

So, this is just extending their lines without any support to give them logistics. So I can -- that's why I continue to believe they are increasing their objectives while decreasing their capability to support the operation.

WHITFIELD: And then as Russia pledges to target more populated areas, does this mean that there should be, you know, a speeding up or somehow world response should be expedited in the form of weaponry and fighter jets?

HERTLING: I certainly believe that. And the announcement last night to potentially transfer some MiG aircraft from Poland to Ukraine, I believe is a very good idea. But even that's going to take a couple of days to do, at best.

But at the same time, you're seeing, and this hasn't gone without notice, Mr. Putin is still continuing to try to have discussions with Ukrainian leadership. He has been known to do this in places like Syria and Chechnya where his discussions are further delays. So he can attempt to get forces in place and logistics moving. It's not been successful but he'll continue to use that approach to

try and delay the operations on the Ukraine side.

[14:35:03]

And while speeding it up and catching up with what he has failed at doing so far on the Russian side.

WHITFIELD: Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has said he is target number one. And earlier today, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked about what plans are in place, should something happen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: The Ukrainians have plans in place that I'm not going to talk about or get into any details on to make sure there is continuity of government, one way or another. And let me leave it at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: What's your response to that kind of planning?

HERTLING: You know, when I was in the military on the joint staff in the Pentagon, one of my jobs was to work the continuity of government plan. It's identifying who will live on. Last week, we had the State of the Union Address, and we even had a plan for someone in President Biden's cabinet to go away in a safe spot in case something happened in the Capitol.

That's a smart move for a nation at war. Even sometimes for a nation not at war. You have a sequence of individuals who will take charge. And I think the Biden administration has been attempting to persuade President Zelenskyy to split his cabinet, to split his staff in case something happens to one group, the government of Ukraine's resistance can continue on.

And I think that's a very smart move to perhaps move some of the elements of governmental and national power to another location that isn't under constant attack like Kyiv is.

WHITFIELD: All right. General Mark Hertling, thank you so much. Good to see you.

HERTLING: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:41:18]

WHITFIELD: Visa, MasterCard and now American Express are all suspending operations in Russia.

Joining me right now to discuss is CNN global economic analyst Rana Foroohar.

Rana, good to see you.

So, what does this mean now that inside Russia, it's difficult to get cash from your bank and now it's difficult to use plastic, American Express, Visa and MasterCard.

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Yeah, so it's just the latest beat in the way the U.S. and Europe are together using the western-controlled financial system to try and isolate Russia. So first we saw financial sanctions. We saw Russia being taken off of the SWIFT system that banks used to pay each other. Now we're seeing commercial credit card companies pulling out.

So, what you see really is this use of financial networks in a weaponized way to really put more and more financial pressure on the country.

WHITFIELD: Earlier today, the Ukrainian foreign minister told CNN's Fareed Zakaria that -- I'm quoting now -- all Western companies must withdraw from Russia, end quote, on humanitarian grounds.

So what's your response to that?

FOROOHAR: Well, I think that's probably -- there's probably a very good case to be made for that.

You know, I have no doubt that many of the companies that are still operating there are going to pull out, if this war continues. One thing we have to remember, though, is that as the West pulls away from Russia, China is moving in to fill that void. This was something happening even before war in Ukraine, that China and Russia were doing a lot more trade together, oil deals together, all that done in Chinese currency versus dollars.

And this is something that China very much wants. They want to de- dollarize the world to try to reduce the power of the dollar, because as you see at times like this, there's a lot of power in the dollar and in U.S.-led financial systems.

WHITFIELD: Right. No one should forget, I mean, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are friends. After all, Putin was at the opening ceremonies during the Olympics, which only happened just a few weeks prior to this invasion.

So, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this on "STATE OF THE UNION" today. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLINKEN: We are now talking to our European partners and allies to look in a coordinated way at the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And overall, what kind of impact would that have? And what is, you know, holding things up? Why hasn't that happened already?

FOROOHAR: Well, so Russia is the single largest exporter of oil and gas combined in the world. It has about 10 percent of gas reserves. It is the majority supplier to many European countries.

So what's been holding this up is the fact that, you know, wow, if you pull Russian gas completely out of Europe, you'll probably go into recession. The price of gas will go above 150, maybe closer to 200. Now, that can be mitigated if allies come together and start trying to move supplies around. You're seeing some Asian countries offer up their spare capacity to Europe.

You are seeing talk about can U.S. shale ramp back up. Have a little more coal production in the short term and nuclear power. But the bottom line is Russia has a lot of the world's energy. And that is the key weapon that it will fight back with.

WHITFIELD: How quickly can those alternative methods actually work?

FOROOHAR: So Europe has enough energy to last through this winter and into next winter, but we're going to see energy price inflation and food inflation. We haven't even talked about the fact that Russia and Ukraine are about 25 percent of the world's wheat. They are not planting right now. They are bombing.

So we're probably going to see food inflation and food shortages in the next year.

WHITFIELD: Gas prices on average, you know, already up almost $4 gallon in many places in the United States. How high do you see it potentially going and how quickly?

[14:45:02]

FOROOHAR: So gas depends somewhat on refinery capacity which, you know, can be more domestically controlled. The U.S. has some control over that. Not all the control. The price of oil is definitely going to go up.

I wouldn't be surprised if you saw another 20 percent kick up in gas prices over the next few weeks and months. But I think this is solidifying minds about how the U.S. and Europe together need an energy policy. They need a combined energy policy because we cannot go back to depending on Russia for energy. It's just -- I think it's a nonstarter.

WHITFIELD: Rana Foroohar, good to see you. Thank you so much.

FOROOHAR: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up -- anxiety and uncertainty surrounding an American WNBA star basketball player detained in Russia. What we know about the charges against Brittney Griner, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:20]

WHITFIELD: All right. Adding to the tensions with Russia, an American pro basketball player now finds herself in the middle of this geopolitical crisis. WNBA star Brittney Griner is being held on drug- related charges in Russia. She was detained in Moscow's airport last month, according to reports after customs officials say they found cannabis oil in her luggage. Griner is among several U.S. pro players who play in the Russian League during the WNBA off-season.

Here with us now, CNN sports analyst and sports columnist for "USA Today" Christine Brennan.

Christine, good to see you.

I mean, this news came as a shock to many. What more have you heard concerning the arrest, Brittney Griner's status right now and how she's doing?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Fredricka, there's great concern right now about this top WNBA player, Brittney Griner, two- time Olympic gold medalist, one of the great stars of the WNBA, and one of the most important female athletes in the country.

I have talked to a couple sources and they said it's been a couple of weeks this has been going on. One source said since the NBA all-star game which was two weeks ago today. Whatever the case, it has been awhile. And the fact that --

WHITFIELD: We're really just hearing about it in the past 24 hours.

BRENNAN: Well, exactly. And that is, of course, a concern. My sources have told me that one of the reasons we haven't heard about it is because, of course, they were working behind the scenes, clearly, the authorities and the right people, her lawyers, et cetera, certainly knew about this.

And the fact she's in custody and this is occurring right as Putin is unleashing his horrors in Ukraine, of course, adds great concern for everyone who is watching this and very, of course, concerned about her well-being.

But the fact that nothing has happened over those two weeks tells us a lot. That tells us she's there and she is in custody of some kind and whatever attempts to get her out of this situation clearly have not succeeded because she's still there.

WHITFIELD: Right. So she's been playing in Russia for years now. Help people understand why she and other players are playing in Russia, or anywhere, quite frankly, in the off-season.

BRENNAN: Unlike the NBA, the WNBA does not have huge multimillion- dollar salaries. These are the top basketball players in the world, but they happen to be women. So they do not get -- garner the kind of attention, the kind of money that the men do.

So they played in the WNBA and then in the off-season of the WNBA, they go overseas, many of them, and play and make much more money, whether it be in Russia, other places in Europe, in Spain, Turkey. There are many options for these women.

And they are regarded as heroes. This is a very popular form of basketball for those who are in Europe cheering on the women. And it's kind of bizarre because you'd think the United States with title nine nearing its 50th anniversary in June that you'd see the women be elevated but they go overseas to make even more money. And that's obviously what Brittney Griner has been doing.

WHITFIELD: Right. And love the global appreciation for these athletes but this is what is also upsetting is that because of the inequities, there is a need in which to go abroad to make up for not being fairly compensated, equivalent to their male counterparts in the NBA in this country.

So, I mean, her agent saying this: We are aware of the situation with Brittney Griner in Russia and are in close contact with her, her legal representation in Russia, her family, her teams and the WNBA and NBA.

I mean, is there a feeling that her reps, their hands are kind of tied because this would seem to be an issue for the U.S. State Department to get involved, but, of course, what terrible timing now for any, you know, real quick success on that given Russia's involvement with Ukraine.

BRENNAN: That's right. Well, the idea of quick success, which everyone would have wanted in this case, I'm afraid that's gone out the window because it's been several weeks and she's still there. The fact we just heard about it is unusual as well. I think it was shock, right, when people found out about it yesterday, Fredricka. But I also think it shows that they were working behind the scenes.

The timing could not be worse. Putin cares very much about sports and athletes. Obviously, that would not be the top of his agenda right now, but could he be using her as some kind of a pawn? There are -- every question we can think of --

[14:55:02]

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

BRENNAN: -- is out there. And that is the great concern. It's just the absolute uncertainty of every piece of this story.

WHITFIELD: Right. That's why it's so upsetting, so scary.

All right. Christine Brennan, thank you so much.

BRENNAN: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Around the world, massive shows of unity and support for the people of Ukraine as the Russian invasion continues.

In Chile, people taking to the streets there waving Ukrainian flags and denouncing the horrific actions taken by Vladimir Putin. Similar scenes playing out all over the world. Here in the U.S., hundreds gathering in New York's Times Square chanting, singing the Ukrainian national anthem, and urging U.S. lawmakers to do more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)