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War in Ukraine; Thousands Flock to Lviv Amid Calls for Global Aid; Zelenskyy Thanks Biden for Banning Russian Energy Imports; Zelenskyy Continues to Call for No-Fly Zone over Ukraine; U.S. Dismisses Poland's Plan to Provide Jets to Ukraine. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 09, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN HOST: Hello and very warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and around the world. I'm Isa Soares in London. We're following the breaking news coverage of the war in Ukraine just ahead right here on the show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From the U.S. perspective, the end game is the strategic defeat of President Putin in this adventure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is likely to double down and try to grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States is targeting the main artery of Russia's economy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was pent up, please; we want to leave want to be happy. Stop shooting please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More is to come worse is to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

SOARES: It is Wednesday March 9th, at 11 am in Ukraine where the government has agreed to a Russian proposal for a limited ceasefire and civilian evacuations in six hard hit areas. Ukraine says about 5000 people left Sumi on Tuesday during a pause in the fighting.

Just a few hours earlier though, if you remember Ukraine claimed Russian airstrikes killed 21 people, including two children. The Southern Port City of Mariupol is also a part of today's ceasefire residents there have been without water or electricity now for days, Ukraine claims Russian forces struck an aid convoy bringing vital supplies on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Russia is moving more military vehicles and supplies into Ukraine. As you can see there new video from the south shows armored train carrying equipment in from Crimea. Still a NATO source tells CNN Russia's actually making very little progress in Ukraine. And that's not expected to change in the foreseeable future. Take a listen to the CIA Directors' assessment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BURNS, CIA DIRECTOR: I think Putin is angry and frustrated right now. He's likely to double down and try to grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties. Where that leads I think is for an ugly next few weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, hundreds of Ukrainians are protesting occupation of the Southern Port City of Kherson. Russian forces took control after days of heavy bombardment and shelling. The Mayor says that city's 300,000 people are without water and electricity and desperately need help.

The U.N. says the number of people fleeing Ukraine has now surpassed 2 million. Most of them are women children and the elderly since men are fighting age are barred from leaving. Poland has taken in by far most refugees 1.2 million by U.N. estimates.

But just minutes ago, the Polish border guard announced that it's now up to two more than 1.3 million hundreds of thousands of others have made it to neighboring Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, and Romania, where many of them have family and connections.

Other areas of Europe have received some 200,000 refugees. The EU warns of humanitarian crisis will only grow more urgent. CNN's Scott McLean is live for us from Lviv, Ukraine, one of the major cities refugees are traveling through trying to escape this war. And Scott, let me start on the evacuation corridors that we've been hearing that opened up for civilians, talk us through what has been promised by Russia and whether it's holding critically.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isa yes, at least on paper, those routes would have opened up to two hours ago. And they're supposed to go for another 10 hours from now.

And we've just gotten word from the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister that Ukraine has agreed to a handful of these routes out of cities like Sumi - that is the city where the nuclear power plant is now under Russian control, and Mariupol and - places where a previous humanitarian corridors have not had very much success instead running into as the Ukrainians say heavy shelling from the Russians in the direction of those convoys.

So if these humanitarian corridors can hold today, and it's not clear that they will be able to but if they can, that will be a lot of new Ukrainians fleeing that area and likely fleeing the country as well. There was some success yesterday, getting people out of the northeastern city of Sumi, according to local officials there, some 5000 people traveling and 1000 vehicles were getting able to get out of the city.

Many of them were foreign students who had been trapped. But look, Ukraine has been reluctant in past days to take Russia up on its offers, because initially, many of the routes that they had been proposing would have gone back into Russia, something that President Zelenskyy said would have just been a propaganda win for the Russians.

But even once people managed to get out they still have a long way to go. It takes several days to get across the country through checkpoints or on trains. And as we found out yesterday, even once people reach the border areas to actually flee the country. Their journey is far from over.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN (voice over): For more than a million Ukrainians the road to safety in Poland is filled with checkpoints bumper to bumper traffic and seemingly endless anticipation.

[04:05:00]

MCLEAN (voice over): Valentina Dekhtiarenko and her family have been waiting to cross the border for more than 24 hours. They're still nowhere near the front of the line.

VALENTINA DEKHTIARENKO, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE: I don't know what's waiting for me and my family. We're going into the unknown and it scares us.

MCLEAN (voice over): Everyone in their cars is willing to wait, closer to the border, even hobble. Buses drop people off by the dozens to cross on foot joining lines that stretch for blocks and for hours.

Max Amelin is taping and zips tying leftover insulation from his heating business to his daughter's feet to make sure she's warm while she waits for hours in the frigid cold.

MCLEAN (on camera): You just wanted to make sure that your family got here safe.

NATALIA AMELIN, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE: Yes, he saves us and that's all.

MCLEAN (voice over): When they get to the front of the line, Max will have to stay behind as a man of fighting age. His in laws aren't leaving either.

AMELIN: It's very difficult. It's so hard. My heart is ripped into pieces. My parents stayed back in Kyiv region. I don't know even what is going with them now. It's so scary.

MCLEAN (voice over): Ilona Gutnichenko, her young daughter and God's Son in tow, fled the heavy shelling of Irpin just outside Kyiv.

ILONA GUTNICHENKO, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE: It was terrible. And we left only two days ago, set on the last train. We didn't believe that in 21st century, it can be the real war.

MCLEAN (voice over): Valentina also fled Kyiv. She's never been forced from her home. But she is no stranger to tragedy.

DEKHTIARENKO: My husband died at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Do you understand? And that's what they are doing now. They are destroying the whole world. It is outrageous. People around the world shall not be silent.

MCLEAN (voice over): This elderly couple fled Kharkiv, but only after spending eight days sheltering in a metro station. On the eighth day an explosion shook their underground hideout.

VLADIMIR CHUMAKOV, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE: The women were hysterical. I understood this is not going to pass. This horror cannot be endured. I cannot express it, the fear, and the crying children. When I saw a pregnant woman entering the metro, I understood this cannot be forgiven.

MCLEAN (voice over): From here, many have no idea where they'll go when they get to Poland, or when they might be able to come back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN: Now many of the people that we met near the border say that they had family or friends in Poland or elsewhere in Europe that they plan to stay with for the time being. The UNHCR says though, that what they're worried about is that the next wave of refugees won't have the same connections outside the country won't have the same resources and therefore will be much more vulnerable.

Most people almost everyone that we talked to said they given a choice wouldn't leave at all. They're less worried about where they're going and more worried about actually having a homeland to come back to. And Isa one more point on those humanitarian corridors that I mentioned earlier.

And that's that, you know, even if 5000 people are getting out of Sumi, that's a drop in the bucket in a city of a quarter million people. When it comes to Mariupol the Ukrainians estimate that there are some 200,000 people who'd like to get out of that city. So even if you have one day or two days of these corridors, these convoys actually working to get people out. That's not good enough.

They're going to have to work long term in order to get everyone who wants to leave actually evacuated.

SOARES: Yes, ever deepening humanitarian crisis, Scott McLean I know you'll keep our eyes peeled for what is happening on the ground in Lviv there. I appreciate you Scott.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's President remains defiant. In an address the UK House of Commons Volodymyr Zelenskyy echoed Winston Churchill's Wartime vow to fight to the very end. And as you can see there members of parliament gave them a standing ovation and Mr. Zelenskyy urged more action against Russia. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Strengthen the sanctions against the terrorist state recognize it as a terrorist state find a way to make our Ukrainian skies safe. Do what you can do what you have to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Mr. Zelenskyy supports British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's commitment to a new Marshall Plan to rebuild Ukraine. He was also grateful for the UK plan to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year. And Ukraine's President also thanking his U.S. counterpart after Joe Biden announced the U.S. would be banning all Russian energy imports.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's personally grateful for this powerful signal to the whole world. The U.S. decision coming of course, as the EU announced plans to move away from dependence on Russian energy by the end of the decade and plans to slash Russian gas imports by two thirds the sheer the moves are meant to punish Russia for its assault on Ukraine and Mr. Biden war the Americans will also feel the impact

[04:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: This is a step that we're taking to inflict further pain on Putin. But there will be cost as well here in the United States I said I would level with the American people from the beginning. And when I first spoke to this, I said defending freedom is going to cost it's going to cost us as well in the United States. Republicans and Democrats understand unlike understand that Republicans and Democrats alike have been clear that we must do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: And it appears every day Americans are on board as well. A new Reuters IPSOS Poll found 80 percent as you can see, there are those surveys support stopping oil and gas purchases from Russia during the war in Ukraine, even though that means prices, of course, will climb.

And speaking of prices, we've already seen a big jump over the last month with the price of gas in the U.S. now at an all-time high. According to AAA the price for a gallon of regular gas stands at $4.17. And we are seeing more corporate backlash this hour amid Russia's assault on Ukraine.

"The New York Times" says it's pulling all correspondence out of Russia. This marks the first time in more than a century that the paper will have no reporters on the ground there. And in just the last hour, in fact, Heineken announced its cutting ties with Russia, saying we'll stop the sale as well as production of its beer in the country.

Coca-Cola has also announced his suspending business there. And 32 years after the first McDonald's opened in Russia these were the images back then just imagine that the company says it will temporarily close all of its restaurants across the country and pause operation.

CNN's Anna Stewart is monitoring all of this for us and joins me now. And Anna, there's a lot for us to talk about. Let's start with Russian energy. That decision from President Biden is mostly symbolic. But what about Europe, because the problem always has been that Europe hasn't been able to wean itself off Russia, oil and gas can it do it?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It can do it but it is going to take a lot longer. And that is why they announced they would slash their gas dependence in Russia by two thirds this year and try and end all fossil fuel dependence on Russia by the end of the decade.

But you can see why it's to do with reliance, we can show you a chart looking at the difference between the U.S., the UK and the EU, and it correlates directly as to the timeframe in which they want to wean themselves off.

Now Russia is not happy by the announcements yesterday, there was a presidential decree overnight from President Vladimir Putin saying that they are going to ban and restrict certain exports and imports. No details as to what but of course that could be metals. It could be wheat, which the world relies on, it could also be energy, and they've been plenty of threats regarding energy.

Really interesting that the EU Commission President in the last couple of hours was speaking to a German channel ARD and reaffirmed that they now have the EU has enough LNG supplies liquefied gas to see it through this winter.

So it's really showing Russia that after all of these threats now for many weeks, they are standing ready and they are committing to this. Right now we've spoken about this a bit, but 70 percent of Russian seaborne gas is unable to find a buyer. That's according to JP Morgan, and the discount for Russian oil is now about $25 cheaper a barrel than Brent. So it's working.

SOARES: So it is working. Is it having the effect though, on Putin and the oligarchs around him? Because the concern is, of course, that we may hobble the population. What are you hearing from the industry? I mean, they can't fly. They can't - they can't buy anything they want. So what is left?

STEWART: You have to feel really sorry for ordinary Russians at the stage, given the number of businesses that are backing out in recent days and in just every minute frankly, we're getting more news.

In the last hour Heineken and Mothercare are pulling out their operations. That adds to in the last 24 hours Coca-Cola, Pepsi Unilever, Starbucks and McDonald's, and you mentioned that in the lead in and it's really important, McDonald's may be late to this party and #boycottMcDonald's has been trending on social media now for days, but they are closing 847 stores. They don't franchise as much in Russia as they do in other countries. They actually own many of these locations those 62,000 employees that will not be working, still being paid a salary. But Russia's, you know, McDonald's is iconic in Russia because it opened in 1990.

You saw those images, you those crowds that were as the Cold War had ended and the Soviet Union was coming to an end. And people were celebrating the absolute icon on American capitalism. It is symbolic that it is closing.

You're going to see you know, high streets in Russia increasingly with close up shops, shelves increasingly emptied of Western products. So even though it's a stranglehold on Russian media and censorship, people will really questioning at this stage, the ruble crashing, what they're seeing people will question what their president is doing.

SOARES: And we've also seen in the last hour or so the late - the rating agency fetch warning of an imminent Russian default so basically that means that Russia won't be able to pay up - pay off its debts.

[04:15:00]

SOARES: Anna Stewart I appreciate it. Thank you very much. And still ahead right here on the show, Ukraine's President continues to call for a no-fly zone over his country. Why Western leaders say the idea would only escalate the conflict not solves it? You are watching CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: On day nine we listened to the meeting of NATO countries and we saw no result that we were hoping for no courage. Yes, I don't want to offend anyone. But we felt the alliances are not working. They can't even close the skies. So there is a need to rebuild European security from zero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy there once again calls for no-fly zone over Ukraine urging NATO as well as the West to do more as Russia's invasion nears week three. So far the U.S. and its NATO allies have denied Ukraine's request for a no-fly zone arguing would only escalate the situation a risk a direct conflict between Russia and NATO.

[04:20:00]

SOARES: But the U.S. is ramping up defenses on nearby NATO territory. On Tuesday, we learned U.S. sending two patriot missile batteries to Poland as a defensive deployment. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is dismissing Poland's offer of Soviet year of fighter jets for Ukraine.

Poland floated the proposal on Tuesday, but U.S. defense officials argue the move would be too risky, CNN Oren Liebermann explains.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly asked the U.S. and NATO for a no fly zone over Ukraine. And on that point, he has repeatedly been refused. U.S. and NATO leaders saying it's simply too close to a declaration of war to try to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine since it would require shooting Russian aircraft out of the sky should they violate that no-fly zone.

After that his request was for more MIG 29 more fighter jets that the Ukrainians already know how to fly to help the Ukrainian Air Force challenge the Russian Air Force for control of the skies over Ukraine. Now Poland put out a statement earlier on Tuesday, saying they had a proposal in place and were ready to hand over all of their MIG 29 to Ukraine.

As they said it, they would hand over their aircraft to the U.S. at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and then it would be up to the U.S. to get those aircraft to the Ukrainians. But after a few hours the Pentagon poured cold water on that saying it was not tenable.

In a statement Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said the prospect of fighter jets at the disposal of the government of the United States of America departing from a U.S. NATO Base in Germany to fly into airspace that's contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance.

It's simply not clear to us that there's a substantive rationale for it. Now the Pentagon did say they're in touch with Polish authorities on the possibility of this happening. The U.S. has said they're OK with Poland transferring their MIG 29s. But it's a decision of the Polish government, not one the U.S. will make for Poland.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials also said they were completely blindsided and surprised by Poland's announcement about how they intended to get their MIG 29 to Ukraine. So this question of can the U.S. and NATO get their aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force remains an open question with little statement, though many different claims about how it would work.

It seems everyone is for it. But no one yet putting forward raising their hands and saying yes, we'll be the ones to hand it over. Oren Liebermann CNN at the Pentagon.

SOARES: Well, for more I'm joined by Ukrainian Member of Parliament, Andrii Osadchuk. Andrii, thank you very much for joining us and just so our viewers are aware, we are not disclosing your location for security reasons. But give us a sense, Andrii, what you have been witnessing in the last 24 to 48 hours there.

ANDRII OSADCHUK, UKRAINIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: In fact, first of all, thank you for having me here. So we witnessing what in fact, we expected and what we warned the West during years because we were saying in Ukraine that if the Russia will start a full scale war, we will not be able to protect Europe from the wave of refugees. And now we have, I think already almost two or more than two millions of Ukrainians, running away from the eastern Ukraine and the center Ukraine to the western border. And it is very natural and important because from one side is this a safety and security issue? Because people are saving their lives from another side, as less people we will have in the center of the country as less people we will have in the big cities as more resources we will have for our army, for our police and for our volunteers who physically fighting with Russians on the ground.

It is a full scale equation. I think Americans have seen that only in Hollywood movies. But it is reality. It is reality in the center of the Europe right now. Many of us were able to advocate friends and relatives. I was lucky to take three of my daughters out of Kyiv - storage day of bumping; they are somewhere next to Lviv.

My older son is in Kyiv and he said that he will stay in Kyiv. But again, it is abdication with a lot of complexity in logistics. Because my first journey from Kyiv to Lviv to the western border took almost 27 hours. And that's like the standard for travel throughout Ukraine.

In usual time it takes from six to seven hours for you to understand. So it is massive evacuation and we very much expect that European Union will simplify as much as possible the rules have for Ukrainians to stay.

[04:25:00]

OSADCHUK: Plus we expect them mass support for Ukrainians because many of them running away without any understanding where they will stay, what they will eat? Where they can sleep, and so on so forth?

SOARES: Go ahead, go ahead.

OSADCHUK: Yes, just let me finish one detail and other thing that we expect the simplification of the rules of United Kingdom and United States to add people in. Especially we have a lot of cases when parents for example, they have a U.S. visa or UK visa but kids or other members of the family they don't.

So we asked the officials of United Kingdom and the United States to simplify the entry procedures for these people. And again, for everyone in U.S. to understand we evacuate just women's kid's babies and old people all men are staying inside Ukraine.

From one side the most of them they don't want to leave Ukraine so they're staying here from another side we in the parliament, we prohibit any exit on men from the country.

SOARES: So really a call for the U.S. as well, the UK, from what you're saying Andrii to fast track their travel to the U.S. and to the United Kingdom. Let me ask you about what you're seeing on the ground in terms of what the U.S. and NATO allies can do here.

As you heard in last few minutes from our reporter, Poland has offered to send MIG 29 jets to a U.S. base in Germany as a way to kind of replenish your air force. But the U.S. has now dismissed this how frustrating is this for Ukraine? Or do you still believe there's a chance of this happening here?

OSADCHUK: Unfortunately, neither Ukraine nor West was really prepared for this full scale war, Ukraine was warning the West and was warning the United States that it may happen. We were explaining during the years that Putin Russia is evil.

They can do absolutely dramatically things not just for Ukraine, but for entire world. Finally it's happened and the Western politicians, they're not really preparing. They're not really prepared for that. They continue to measure risk, and they continue to take a decision.

We are not asking the West to die for us. We are asking the West to pay their fair share in protection of the West because Putin said that he is attacking Ukraine because he afraid that Ukraine can be used as a ground for NATO to attack Russia.

In fact, he is attacking Ukraine because of his conflict with nature and with the United States. So we are paying our price with the life of our men and women, kids and babies. It's already the fact. So that's why we ask you to pay your fair share with money.

If any American will pay I don't know 3 or $5 more for gas in a gas station, it will be not much comparing to what we do. But the price of the oil yes may raise but we need full scale embargo on Russian oil because NATO doesn't want to come into combat actions with Russia, that you may kill Russia, economically.

Russia, modern Russia may repeat the path of Soviet Union who died mostly because of economy. Modern Russia is very much different to compare into Soviet Union, there had a huge advantage during last decades being fully integrated into the world economy.

Now it is the way how to kill them economically. We shall put them to cage we shall to convert them into another North Korea. And that's the only way how Russian oligarchs and tycoons may influence on their political leadership and political decisions.

And another comment from my side asking what you asked and do last 48 hours was very good our demands on suspension are the business with Russia. And the least of American companies and other listed companies who left to Russia is very good.

But I want everyone to accept the fact that it is not suspension of the business as long as Putin Russia exists none of the business shall be restarted in any form. Nonsense of the taxes or fees shall be paid to Russian budget because all this money will be converted on two things Russian military and to Russian - who are stealing money from Russian budget. So we ask the West to be--

SOARES: Andrii Osadchuk I appreciate you taking the time to speak to us a Member of Parliament for Ukraine Scholars Party. Stay safe and thank you so much for taking time to speak to us here on CNN sir.

And we are monitoring the proposed humanity evacuation routes and limited ceasefire in Ukraine that is our top story. There's an urgent need to find safety after Russia increasingly hit and killed civilians in recent days.

[04:30:00]