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Russian Airstrikes Hitting Civilians; Russian Military Captures Nuclear Plant; French President Emmanuel Macron Urges Putin To Avoid Attacking Nuclear Plants; Vice President Harris Commemorates Bloody Sunday In Selma; WNBA Star Brittney Griner Arrested And Detained In Russia; Solidarity In Sports Supporting Ukraine. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired March 06, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington, and new images reveal Vladimir Putin for who he really is and what he is doing to the people of Ukraine. A warning, these images are graphic and disturbing, but they show the reality of what is happening on the ground.

This is the result of shelling from Putin's forces. Eight civilians were killed while trying to flee a district west of Kyiv today according to Ukrainian officials. The attack happened at a civilian check point in Irpin. The mayor of Irpin says a family including two small children died right in front of his eyes.

Across the country, Russian strikes turn residential areas into rubble and Secretary of State Antony Blinken today telling CNN some of Russia's actions against civilians appear to be deliberate and could amount to war crimes. Today also brings renewed fears about Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which was attacked and taken over by Russian forces a few days ago.

Those Russian forces there have shut off the internet, phone lines, and most mobile networks which leaves nuclear regulators with no reliable information about how it's operating. And in the chaos of war, more than 1.5 million people have managed to escape from Putin's wrath, but physical safety does not ease the pain.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

What Putin is doing is monstrous. There are also brand-new images we're getting of children from orphanages in Kyiv, Odessa and Kharkiv. They're now sheltering in a hotel in Poland. Just heartbreaking to see. CNN's Sara Sidner joins us now from the Polish border with the incredible story of a musician who has been there to try to greet refugees at the border, and I suppose, try to lift their spirits after what has been just a heartbreaking set of days for so many people in that area. Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's true. And we've just learned that Poland now can say that a million people have crossed over the border into Poland from Ukraine. You have to remember that this country only has about 39 million people total in the entire country. We're talking about a million people just in the last week or so coming over this border.

And what they are greeted by is pretty incredible. You will see help in so many ways, but in this instance on one night, you could hear something completely different, something no one was expecting to hear as they crossed over to safety here in Poland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER (voice-over): As the world's newest war refugees step into Poland from Ukraine, they arrive to an unexpected sound. A man at the Medyka Poland border crossing playing his heart out just for them.

DAVIDE MARTELLO, PIANO MAN: I'm just trying to welcome all the refugees and I know that all those people, they hear bombing, guns shooting, cannons and whatever.

SIDNER (voice-over): Davide Martello traveled from Germany.

MARTELLO: The peace is starting right here.

SIDNER (voice-over): A piano man for peace.

[17:04:58]

MARTELLO: I have a trailer and just drove like 17 hours straight. I turn the music very loud so they can hear me everywhere. That is my purpose.

SIDNER (on camera): Your purpose here is to bring peace through music.

MARTELLO: Yes. That's my messages. Peace through music.

SIDNER (voice-over): And the message is received. This is another stop on the piano man's peace tour.

MARTELLO: Taksim Square in 2014 and Ukraine, too, at Donetsk, Afghanistan with the army (inaudible).

SIDNER: I know one place that you've been because I saw you there.

MARTELLO: Minneapolis. Yes, Minneapolis two years ago.

SIDNER (voice-over): Sure enough, in 2020, after the police murder of George Floyd. There he was with his piano healing hearts in George Floyd Square.

MARTELLO: Music is the perfect medium to restore peace, I think.

SIDNER (voice-over): Nearly two years later and 5,000 miles away, he plays for the newly heartbroken in Medyka, Poland. His next stop, Lviv, Ukraine.

MARTELLO: Before I die or something happens, I at least want to do something. Maybe I can soften Putin's heart with music because everybody loves music. I bet Putin loves music, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER (on camera): Davide is a remarkable person who has been all over the world and goes to where conflict is so that he can try and soothe people's pain. I do want to report he was just texting back and forth with my producer, Anamaya (ph), and he says he has made it to Lviv. He will be playing in the train station as people flee Lviv to here in Poland or elsewhere in Europe.

ACOSTA: Sara, you know, typically, we start a newscast at the top of the hour showing the brutality of war and all of these heartbreaking images, but to listen to that wonderful man playing that beautiful music, it's just so soothing to listen to after what has been a horrendous experience. I'm sure for you on the ground covering this, but I'm sure for all of our viewers who have been watching this over so many days.

Sara, thank you so much for bringing that report and please give the piano man our best. That was just absolutely wonderful. That kindness and compassion he's showing there. Thank you, Sara.

SIDNER: That's true, Jim. You're welcome.

ACOSTA: All right. And let's go now to CNN's Alex Marquardt who is near Kyiv. Alex, we've been showing this throughout the program today. Just jaw dropping images from civilians being hit by attack after attack. Whole communities are just being leveled, indiscriminately wiped out to try to break the backs of the Ukrainians. You got a firsthand look at the damage. What did you see?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, every day, seemingly every hour brings new reports of Russian attacks on civilian areas, on residential buildings, on schools, on government buildings. Today, we visited the village of Hlevakha (ph) just south of Kyiv and there we met a man who was digging through the rubble after losing five of his family members. Some of the latest in the civilian Ukrainian death toll that is quickly growing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT (voice-over): The small country road is now lined by piles of rubble, burned out cars, collapsed homes, and a deep crater where a Russian missile struck. The attack caught on a village security camera hit the home of Igor (inaudible) in a small village about Hlevakha (ph) about 15 miles south of Kyiv where he lived with his family.

Now they're gone. Killed in an instant. Five family members and a friend including his 12-year-old daughter who was disabled in an accident with a drunk driver. His wife just 46 years old. And his son- in-law, the father of his grandchildren.

[17:09:55]

UNKNOWN: There was a massive explosion and we all got trapped under rubble. My daughter has died in her wheelchair. Me and my grandchildren were rescued from under the rubble.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Today, (inaudible), black eye and face bruised, picked through the debris trying to find belongings and documents. There was a brief moment of happiness when he found one of his missing cats. But the reality of how his life is forever changed has not yet sunk in.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): I have thoughts now. What thoughts can I possibly have? It's terrible. Terrible. I just want peace for Ukraine, just leave Ukraine alone already. God help this to end as soon as possible. I will bury my relatives tomorrow. That's it, I don't know what will happen then.

MARQUARDT (on camera): There is simply no explanation for all of this destruction, for the deaths that happened right here. There is no military target around for miles. This isn't a strategic village or town that needs taking. So, as the Kremlin continues to deny that they are targeting civilians, it is indiscriminate attacks like this one that show the reality of what is going on here.

(Voice-over): Olga lives down the street. She points to a mat that was used to carry the children out of the rubble.

UNKNOWN: The main thing is for this hell to end as soon as possible. How is it possible that a brother goes against a brother? This is unthinkable. Everybody used to go to Russia and back, relatives everywhere, and now --

MARQUARDT (voice-over): It's too much for Olga and for millions across Ukraine who are in utter disbelief about what is happening to their home. Praying and pleading for the violence to end.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT (on camera): And Jim, as more and more of these attacks happen, every Ukrainian is asking him or herself, do I stay or do I go? Do I become part of the now more than 1.5 million Ukrainians who left the country and become refugees? Olga who you just met there, says she isn't going anywhere. She says this is our home. We will rebuild. Jim?

ACOSTA: Alex, it's just an excellent report there. Thank you very much. Just a terrible, terrible scene there. Alex Marquardt, on the scene for us. We appreciate it.

Let's bring in a pair of military experts. Former commander of U.S. Army, Europe and 7th Army, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling and Brigadier -- retired Brigadier General Peter Zwack, former U.S. senior defense attache to Russia. General Zwack, let me start with you. I was going to ask you about the nuclear power plant situation.

I have to ask you about this indiscriminate bombing, shelling of civilian populations that Alex Marquardt was just showing us. These look like war crimes. This is what we've been talking about all day today with various military and national security, diplomatic experts and it's just -- this is horrendous. Is there anything the world can do to make this stop?

PETER ZWACK, RETIRED U.S. ARMY: Jim, it's the crucial question. And as a speaker here, I fight to try to be a little bit dispassionate, but it's impossible.

ACOSTA: Right. Right.

SWACK: What has shown over the last minutes or seconds is happening all over Ukraine. This is just a snapshot of the horror of this unprovoked invasion and ongoing aggression that I think has now consumed, if you will, the forward Russian military who have -- who are trying to -- who are trying to intimidate and (inaudible) there are two critical battles going on right now in my mind.

One is this, the resistance. And if there's anything we've learned, the more the brutality against -- not even -- it's an enraged population. The worst it gets and it's not going to end well for the Russians.

The second critical front is the information space where these broadcasts and through Facebook back and forth and through Instagram and through all those other things, makes the Russian fire wall on blocking this news because this is the truth and truth is what's going to ultimately make the population waiver.

What, 4,300 estimated already detained today. This is the Achilles heel. The longer Ukrainians hang on, the more stress on Russia in the field and in the country including the regime.

[17:15:06]

ACOSTA: Yes. And General Hertling, can you pick up on that point? I thought what General Zwack said there was just perfect.

MARK HERTLING, FORMER COMMANDING GENERAL, EUROPE AND SEVENTH ARMY: You know, Peter and I served together multiple times, Jim. We've been in organizations together, him on the intelligence side, me on the operations side. What peter said just now just reinforced.

You know, we both spent our entire career in the profession of arms. We've done our duty to maintain what the political masters have told us to do when it's time to bring force. This is not something political being exhibited by force in the Russian military. This is -- there's no other thing to call this but terrorism.

This is political terrorism. One man is responsible for this. That's Vladimir Putin. He is putting the people in Europe at risk. He has killed and I would reinforce what you said, Jim. It hasn't been said officially yet, but it will be. These are war crimes, specifically targeting citizens, specifically targeting civilian buildings like hospitals and schools and neighborhoods.

These are not military targets. This disgusts me as a soldier. This is not what soldiers do. And they're being hit from long range artillery pieces, missiles, and pilots that don't see the effect, but it's all being driven by one man and his generals. They are thugs. They are criminals. And this is an abomination on society.

And it's just, it is just heart wrenching. You leading off with the great reporter, Sara Sidner, just puts it into perspective.

ACOSTA: Yes.

HERTLING: There are people that try and bring the world to a better place. Vladimir Putin is trying to destroy a nation, its population, and its culture. And in my view, he won't get away with it.

ACOSTA: General Zwack, it's almost as if Putin is holding this entire country hostage and then he is brutalizing the hostage over and over and over again in a way that, I mean, I just think its unimaginable. I did not think that the Russian people were capable of this.

And I think you were right where you were saying earlier that the truth has to somehow get inside of Russia and Putin to the best of his ability is trying to stamp that out because that may be the only hope for the Ukrainians.

Because it sounds like what the west is saying is they're so bloody afraid of getting into World War III that they're just going to let him continue to pound the hostage. And to me, it's just remarkable. I know that the west is doing something, NATO is doing something, the White House is obviously getting arms in there, but it's just unbelievable to watch this unfold hour after hour. People just being brutalized.

ZWACK: Yes. And we -- the whole world is watching. It isn't just NATO. It is the whole what I call like-minded world. And also there's other autocrats that has got to be feeling uncomfortable by this. But here, I believe is absolutely critical with the brandishing, the threats that we've been reading about.

Sanctions are an act of war. Supplying the Ukrainians military arms. This is in my mind, the signs of weakness with Putin and the regime. They're pushing back where they can. I have a long history with the Russians. I studied there in 1989 when it was still the Soviet Union as a young Army captain and have been on the street many times since.

I really do believe that, and a lot of the Russians I met were -- and the core, good fundamental people you would meet anywhere. This continues. This is going to filter out. They desperately don't want to believe the news. Who would want to believe that your government, your leaders taking down this ugly path.

But if I'm a Russian, if I'm a Russian mother or father and this continues and I start to hear Putin brandishing nuclear threats, my sentiment would be, how dare you, Vladimir Putin, for raising or threatening nuclear war and threatening my family and my friends and my life and everybody. Stop.

ACOSTA: And General Hertling, a final word from you.

[17:19:58] HERTLING: Yes, and I'd carry on with what Peter said. This is not the first time we have seen Putin do these things. There has been a gradual increase of these kind of terrorist actions. We saw it within his own country as he attempted to put down a revolt in Chechnya and places like that.

He has done it at the behest of Assad in Syria where these same kind of tactics have been used against a different population. But now it is at such a large scale and such an incredibly horrific dynamic that he must be stopped because I agree with Peter. And in fact, Peter and I traveled in Russia together on a couple of occasions.

The Russian people are good people. I would venture to guess just like the Ukrainian people, that they are not -- if they knew who was going on, they would revolt as much Ukraine is doing. And some of the Russians are doing exactly that right now.

Unfortunately, Mr. Putin is also putting them down. The Russian people are good people. It's their leaders and some in their military that are causing this kind of action and it's just reprehensible, Jim.

ACOSTA: And you make a good point, General Hertling. I've been to Russia. I've been to Moscow, and St. Petersburg and in fact, you are seeing protests in those cities and other places across Russia. There are good people trying to stand up to Putin at this point. Need to see more of it, obviously, to make a difference. General Hertling and General Zwack, thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.

Coming up, the International Atomic Energy agency says Russian forces now control Europe's largest nuclear power plant. Now, French President Emmanuel Macron says he voiced grave concern about nuclear safety during a phone call with Putin. The French ambassador to the U.S., Philippe Etienne joins me next to discuss.

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[17:25:00]

ACOSTA: New today, French President Emmanuel Macron says he voiced his grave concern about nuclear safety during a phone call with Russia's Vladimir Putin. The call comes after Russian forces attacked and then assumed control of Europe's largest nuclear power plant located in Ukraine.

Today, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that the Russians have switched off some mobile networks and the internet at the plant meaning they can no longer get reliable information about how it's operating. And joining me now is the French ambassador to the United States, Philippe Etienne.

Mr. Ambassador, thanks so much for joining us. What did Putin tell President Macron about what is going on with the, I guess, the security of these nuclear facilities because obviously that has to be a very big worry across Europe.

PHILIPPE ETIENNE, FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Absolutely and for, again, it's big anger for all the people in Ukraine, but also for the neighbors including the Russians by the way. So, the call was motivated by the French initiative taken with the International Atomic Energy because there are standards.

Russia is part of this and they have to respect the standards to protect civil nuclear infrastructures. So, what we want, what the president of France had told President Putin is that we want to support the general director of this agency. We spoke to him, too. And we spoke also to the Ukrainian president, of course, who agreed.

And we want this agency to discuss with Russia and Ukraine respecting the sovereignty of Ukraine on the protection of this infrastructures and the fact that it is not possible to fire, to shoot at these infrastructures, but our president also mentioned of course with the Russian president the fact that there is something called international humanitarian law. You may not shoot at civilians. You may not prevent access of humanitarian aid. So, he made also, again, this point very strongly.

ACOSTA: I want to get to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, but we're showing these images of Putin at these long tables with macron. He's been doing this with other leaders. What is President Macron's sense of Putin and his mental state at this point? I know that is a difficult question to ask a diplomatic official such as yourself, but does President Macron have confidence that Putin is still dealing rationally with the world right now?

ETIENNE: I don't know exactly what he felt when he was in Moscow, but you have seen everybody has listened to Vladimir Putin's speeches just before he started the invasion of Ukraine. And the most important things are the speeches and the acts which have followed and which are happening every day.

So it's important to recall that through, in particular this meeting you mentioned in Moscow, but also through other conversations other leaders have like the German chancellor, the prime minister of Israel recently. We firmly ask for the cessation of hostilities and for starting real negotiations like President Zelenskyy has asked for, by the way.

And to recall that we have always on the side, of this side including the United States, we have always agreed to have discussions, serious discussions on security issues in Europe, but now we see what's happening.

ACOSTA: And when we look at these heartbreaking images and we've been seeing them all day today of just communities just wiped out in Ukraine. Our Alex Marquardt was just showing these harrowing images of one community that he visited. What more can the west do at this point? The U.S., NATO, important partners such as France? Because this can't -- it can't go on like this.

[17:30:04]

ETIENNE: No, exactly. I understand. It's those images you've shown. It's important to show. Absolutely, horrible. So, we have acted, we have been acting on three, along three lines. First, all these have one objective, to increased surprise for the Russian regime for what he is doing. The firs line is to isolate Russia.

It has been done through very impressive votes in the United Nations or in the human rights institution in Geneva, the council. And in Geneva in which three have voted with Russia. So, the isolation is working. And I think that inside Russia itself you see more and more courageous Russian citizens, really courageous because they risk a lot, now taking to the streets and protesting against this war.

The second action we have been taking and we will continue to take is sanctions and the bite. They are efficient especially the financial sanctions. And of course, so the action is to help the brave Ukrainian people both on the humanitarian way, we decided for the first time as E.U. to provide defensive weapons to them and so see change in the European Union.

And on the humanitarian front, there is two big issues. The refugees, which are welcomed in Europe. They are in Poland, in Romania, in Hungary and Slovakia. Now they come to Germany, they come to France. We all welcome them, but also inside Ukraine of course. And here we come back to this unacceptable killing, bombing, shelling, indiscriminate shelling.

ACOSTA: And the view of your government, does Vladimir Putin need to worry about being branded a war criminal?

ETIENNE: Well, I don't know what he thinks, but I think you know that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has started an investigation because of these things which are happening, which you show and which we have to document.

ACOSTA: All right. Ambassador Philippe Etienne, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it. Thanks for coming in.

ETIENNE: Thank you. Thank you.

ACOSTA: Thank you. We'll have you back. Still to come, as attacks battered Kharkiv, a journalist and her camera man left the city. The streets were flooded with people trying leave and they were forced to drive on back roads where they came under automatic gunfire. Just an incredible story. We'll share that with you, next.

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[1735:00]

ACOSTA: Happening now, you're looking at some live pictures in Selma, Alabama. Vice President Kamala Harris is there in Selma to commemorate the 57th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Let's get right to CNN's Nadia Romero. This is always just a very moving event to cover. Just -- I think its hallowed ground in the civil rights movement in this country. Tell us about what you're seeing.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes Jim. And let's not forget it's a historic moment of watching our nation's first black vice president walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with members of her cabinet and with so many others as they make their way on what you just called hallowed ground.

We know the late great Congressman John Lewis passed away and last year, they had this march, but it was done virtually. The last time he marched was back in 2020. So, this is the first year everybody coming back and now having Vice President Kamala Harris here. She made two big important points during her speech when she addressed the crowd before they marched.

She said that we need to remember those who are fighting and dying now in Ukraine, that democracy needs to be protected all across the globe. And then she also shifted and said that our rights here in the U.S. are under threat, under attack, that so many people across the country are having their voting rights stripped, and she believes that's being done by Republicans in Congress and in state-led legislatures that are stripping rights for people to vote.

She made that point that this is not just a day to commemorate the Bloody Sunday that happened here in Selma back in 1957, but a reminder that the fight for voting rights continues. That this isn't just a day, but this is a movement and that everyone must participate to ensure democracy in all of our rights and freedoms here in the Deep South, across the U.S. and across the world when she mentioned Ukraine.

This was an important moment for people in Selma and for many of the civil rights organizations who have been coming here for years and years to ensure that the spotlight was back on Selma and that their fight was still not over. What's always been a big part, Jim, of Bloody Sunday is for people to come out and register to vote and to make sure that you are still on the books and encourage people to not be apathetic about our voting process. And they really stressed the importance, Jim, of the upcoming midterms, hoping that people will once again come out and vote. Jim?

ACOSTA: Nadia Romero, always inspiring to watch that commemoration. Thank you so much for that. And we'll be right back.

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[17:45:00]

ACOSTA: New warnings tonight that Russia is planning to step up its assault on Ukraine. Even more gut-wrenching images like these show towns hallowed out by Russian shelling. The U.K. defense ministry says Russia is likely targeting populated areas to try to break the morale of the Ukrainian people amid staunch resistance.

Darja Stomatova is with us now. She's on the ground Poltave in central Ukraine. She's a reporter with our CNN affiliate, CNN Prima. Darja, if you can, you have an incredible story that you witnessed there as you were leaving Kharkiv. Tell us what you experienced.

[17:44:53] DARJA STOMATOVA, JOURNALIST, CNN PRIMA: Hello, and thank you for having us. Yes, I guess you are aiming about the story about Yakovlivka, the little village which is under Kharkiv. For us, for me and my camera operator, it was horrible to see what happened there and the stories of people were horrible and actually, we've been asking these people what they want and they were saying to us that they want just a space like they want the clear, the clear skies under there, under their heads for the children, for everyone, and they actually were asking NATO and Biden to secure the safe space so maybe this is good information for you.

ACOSTA: All right. Darja Stomatova, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it. Keep up the great work out there. And for more information about how you can help humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, go to CNN.com/impact and we'll be right back.

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[17:50:00]

ACOSTA: Amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittany Griner has been detained in Moscow. News of her arrest in February went public this weekend. Customs officials at the Moscow airport reportedly found cannabis oil in her luggage. CNN World Sport anchor Don Riddell joins me now. Don, any sense of when she can leave and do we have any indication at all that this was retaliatory on the part of the Russians?

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Jim, I think it's really too early to say anything with any sense of clarity about this. As you say, we only learned about this from the Russians on Saturday. Very little has been said since.

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken today offering a brief comment in a press conference alongside the president of Moldova when he said, and he was speaking in fairly generic terms that of course the U.S. government would provide every possible assistance to anybody in such a situation including those who find themselves in Russia.

Her family is asking for privacy. But she is in potentially an awful lot of trouble. She's a two-time Olympian, a seven-time WNBA All-Star but she could be facing a jail sentence of up to 10 years. As to whether or not this is retaliatory, the timing certainly couldn't be worse. There is no doubt about that.

The U.S. government is actively involved in applying some crippling sanctions towards the Russian government and the Russian economy. Obviously, the American government is trying not to further inflame the situation within the region because the tensions are already sky high.

But I've been speaking with Jason Rezaian, a man that I'm sure you know well, Jason -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes. RIDDELL: He was unjustly prisoned in Iran for 544 days. He was an American-Iranian journalist. He said on this quote that is "It appears to be the most audacious hostage taking by a state imaginable." So, I think his position is pretty clear on this.

ACOSTA: Right.

RIDDELL: It's perhaps not a coincidence that this situation has transpired.

ACOSTA: Yes, it seems like a very minor offense to hold a professional basketball player, a basketball star here in the U.S. in what seems like an indefinite fashion. Again, you know, the Russians are just up to their old tricks.

And let me ask you about the English Premier League. They've been showing solidarity with Ukraine this past weekend. And I've been moved by this. We've been seeing this over the last several days, haven't we, since all of this started. What more can you tell us?

RIDDELL: Yes. I mean, these pictures speak for themselves. Incredibly moving scenes from the Manchester Derby today, which was the big game in the Premiere League in England. T-shirts from the players, so much support, empathy, compassion from the fans. Manchester City's player, Oleksandr Zinchenko is Ukrainian player. It's been an incredibly difficult week for him.

And we've seen this across the Premiere League and in sports across the world, frankly. I'm going to show you a much more subtle example. This is Ian Poulter, the British golfer who is playing in Florida this weekend of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Have a look at this. It was so subtle. I think a lot of people missed it. Check out the coloring of his clothing, yellow on the pants, blue on the top. That's the Ukrainian flag. Very, very subtle, Jim, but no less powerful for it.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. You could see it plain as day. And there's a Paralympic American athlete who is Ukrainian born who has been competing. He also has -- this athlete has also been inspiring people. Can you tell us about that? She, excuse me.

RIDDELL: Yes. Oksana Masters is just an extraordinary story. For those of our viewers who don't know, she was born in Ukraine three years after the Chernobyl disaster. She grew up in an orphanage born with birth defects caused by the radiation poisoning. She is now an American citizen and competes for the Americans.

She has already won a gold and a silver at these paralympics. She could win potentially five more. That's how many more events she is going to be taking part in, and she's just a bundle of joy to watch. And she has said that while she is competing with a really heavy heart because of the situation, she is Ukrainian-American, she says she is showing the resiliency of all Ukrainian people that was ingrained in her from the start. She is just an extraordinary athlete, Jim. ACOSTA: Don, she sure is. Thank you very much for that report. And

we've been seeing that across the sports world, haven't we? So many athletes rallying around Ukraine in a moment where they just desperately need it. Thanks, Don, for that report. And so much of the world has been watching what has been coming out of Ukraine over the last several days.

[17:50:03]

Our hearts are with the people of Ukraine and hoping for the best in the coming days, although we know we have to prepare for the worst. That's the news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. I'll see you back here next Saturday at 3:00 p.m. eastern. Pamela Brown takes over the CNN NEWSROOM live after a quick break. Good night.

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[17:59:59]