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Russian Ground Troops Regroup as Ukraine's West is Attacked; Pentagon: Dispersal of Russian Convoy Not a Sign of Progress Toward Kyiv. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired March 11, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:01:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: It's the top of the hour on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Alisyn Camerota.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I'm Victor Blackwell.

Vladimir Putin is expanding his attacks in Ukraine. For the first time, Russian forces hit three key cities. One of them just 60 miles from the Polish border, which is part of NATO. This is an explosion that was unleashed at an airfield in the city of Lutsk overnight. Russia has also ramped up attacks in Dnipro, which is near the center of the country, firing missiles at a kindergarten, an apartment building and a shoe factory.

CAMEROTA: On the outskirt, new satellite images show that 40-mile long Russian convoy has moved into new positions. But Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby says that is not necessarily a sign of progress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: I don't want to make too much of the fact that there's satellite imageries talking about this convoy moving off into tree lines or dispersing. That could be forced protection because the Ukrainians have continued to threaten that convoy and its progress.

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CAMEROTA: Also tonight, more sanctions against Vladimir Putin. President Biden announcing the U.S. is banning luxury Russian items like vodka and seafood. And along with the G7 and European Union, the U.S. will move to revoke Russia's most favored nation trading status.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Anderson Cooper is with us once again in Lviv, in western Ukraine.

Anderson, the fight moving to that part of the country despite the challenges that the Russians are having near the capital.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC360": Yeah, we have seen strikes in the west of Kyiv than we have seen thus far.

I want to check in with our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance who is live in Kyiv for us.

So, the convoy that the world has been watching for days that Admiral Kirby was talking about, does it -- what he said about it's not meaning much, perhaps it's force protection. Meaning it's not wise to be bunched up on the road, which was pretty obvious, and that's why they move off the road and under the cover of trees in some cases, does that match with your reporting?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, guess so. There's been some speculation that it's about moving into decisions for preparation for assault on the capital. They may be protecting that convoy from the constant attacks that they come under. That makes a great deal of sense, because as you know, that convoy has been very vulnerable. Elements of it have come under devastating attack from Ukrainian security forces with that Javelin U.S.-supplied anti-tank missiles, and we've seen the evidence of that, that firsthand.

So, it's understandable that tactic that the Russians have been using to kind of drive a huge armored column in a straight line stretching 30 miles or so into the capital and see it blown up in front of them is something they may have abandoned and looking at another way now. But the strategy of surrounding the capital and circling it, tightening the stranglehold on Kyiv certainly seems to be still in play, Anderson.

COOPER: Russia has been shelling the western part of the country, what are the details of that? I understand they hit an airfield.

CHANCE: Yeah, an airfield is first time that area has been hit, and it's significant because it's just 70 miles from the border with Poland. Poland is, of course, a NATO ally. And, of course, that, you know, underlines the danger of this war in Ukraine as it comes closer and closer to the West, closer towards NATO alliance members.

There's more of chance of a mistake happening, a direct confrontation between Russian forces and NATO forces and that could spiral and have catastrophic consequences if it escalates. And so, again, as Russia sort of apparently widens its footprint and broadens its range of targets inside Ukraine, that has opened up new dangers with a broader confrontation in the region.

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COOPER: You know, Matthew, it's interesting to hear John Kirby say that -- there's been a lot of concern here about Belarus entering the war, actually sending troops into Ukraine to support Russian forces in their invasion. Admiral Kirby said there's no real sign of that, though he did mention that the ruler, the president of Belarus did talk about the idea of perhaps Belarusian forces backing up the supply lines of Russian forces.

CHANCE: Yeah. I mean, and, look, Belarus has been used as a base from which Russian invasion forces have already entered Ukraine. Some of the early days of the invasion will carry out from the Belarus side. It continues to be an area which is a neighboring country and ally of the Kremlin that is being used as a back up reinforcement point for the Russian forces that have been pouring into the count. It would be a major step, though, and a major escalation to fully bring Belarus into there conflict with Russia against Ukraine.

Even though Alexander Lukashenko is the sort of autocratic leader of Belarus, who is almost totally now dependent on the Kremlin for his continued survival inside Belarus, even for him, I think, you get the sense watching him talk, listening to him that he would prefer not to do that but he is in the pay now essentially of Vladimir Putin, and in the end, I think he's going to have to do what the Kremlin wants him to do.

COOPER: Western officials confirm a third general has been killed by Ukrainian force which is pretty extraordinary and gives the real sense of the nature of the fighting on the ground.

CHANCE: Yeah, a third one. It was 20, the figure I hold, 20 officers at that level, generals in the combat zone at the moment. Three of them, if this report is correct, have already been killed. So, 15 percent of the senior commanders in field which tallies with the general performance that we have been reporting of the Russian armed forces which looks like between 8 and 12 percent some of the estimates that have come in to Ukraine whether it's manpower or machinery have been taken out what has been an unexpectedly strong Ukrainian defense, not just the military but the civil defense unit as well.

You know, they thought and we have been saying that the Russians thought it would be walk over, that Ukrainian military will throw in towel and surrender. But that hasn't happened at all. In fact, they put in an incredibly fierce resistance. They managed to outflank the Russians on numerous occasions. They have been assisted by that. Weapons provided by other western countries as well that have really made Russian armor very, very vulnerable, indeed.

COOPER: Yeah, Matthew Chance in Kyiv -- thank you, Matthew. Appreciate it.

As Matthew was just mentioning, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has been cheering on Vladimir Putin's war and echoing lies and misinformation about Ukraine. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, BELARUS (through translator): Due to the current situation not connected to sanction, just time for us, our people are concerned but thank goodness the further we go, the more people understand. We didn't attack them. Not us. We didn't start this war. Our consciousness is clear. I'm glad it started, biological weapons, largest nuclear stations, all of this was ready to be exploded.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: I should point out, there's tremendous opposition to Lukashenko in Belarus and that is why he's really wholly reliant on Vladimir Putin for remaining in power.

Natasha Bertrand is at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, for us.

Natasha, Ukraine is warning that Russia is pulling Belarus into a war. Admiral Kirby said there's no signs at this point of a Belarusian invasion. What are you learning -- what are you learning?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, Anderson.

So, Ukraine earlier today said they warned that Russia might be planning a false flag operation that would then pull Belarus into a war and the Ukrainian parliament said earlier today that they had seen evidence that a Russian aircraft had taken off from Belarus, entered Ukrainian air space and fired back into Belarus to make it look like Ukrainians had staged a provocation in that country.

So, the Ukrainians are warning here that given the sensitivity obviously of the situation, there is a potential that Russia might try to make it look as though Ukraine has attacked Belarus and Belarus would have to enter the conflict against would have to enter the conflict against Ukraine.

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COOPER: You were watching on a NATO surveillance flight, which was really fascinating to see NATO members onboard that aircraft activity -- Russian activity aircraft coming from Belarus.

BERTRAND: Yeah. So, we were on that plane for about 13 hours as they did kind of figure along the Ukrainian Polish border, and they were very watching for any Russian activity in Ukrainian air space, and, of course, they were also very cognizant of the fact that Russian airplanes were getting closer and closer to NATO air space. They are watching to make sure that those planes do not get close to that air space.

So, what they were looking for was signs that Russia is engaging in that conflict and what they saw is they are taking off, these Russian made aircraft from Belarus and entering Ukrainian air space. More an indication that Russia has begun to use Belarus as a staging ground for military operations.

Now, what they did say which was interesting is they could not tell who actually was operating that aircraft, whether it was Russians or Belarusians because they use the same kind of airplane. The Russians had begun do really use Belarus in a really meaningful way as part of their invasion for Ukraine.

And Belarus has said that they're staying out of it in terms of committing forces actually to the conflict for now, but obviously, with Ukrainians waning that the Russians might try to stage approve indication, the situation is very delicate right now, Anderson.

COOPER: Yeah. Natasha Bertrand, appreciate the reporting. Alisyn and Victor, let's go back to you.

CAMEROTA: Yeah. Natasha's reporting there is really valuable to see how they're surveilling everything.

Anderson, we'll check back with you shortly.

BLACKWELL: President Biden is warning Russia they will pay a severe price if they use chemical weapons in Ukraine. He also says the U.S. won't fight World War III in Ukraine. More on that, next.

CAMEROTA: And the number of people fleeing Ukraine is up to 2.5 million. Officials say that may be only the beginning.

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BLACKWELL: Today, President Biden warned Russia that it would pay a severe price if the country uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.

At the United Nations Security Council meeting today, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. said that there is growing concern that Russia could use chemical weapons on Ukrainians.

CAMEROTA: Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council of the U.S. fears Russia may try to blame a chemical attack on the U.S. and Ukraine as part of a false flag operation.

Let's bring in Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon.

Oren, what are officials seeing that make them think that Russia might do this?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Joe Biden didn't put forward any solid evidence about what he says is Russia possibly preparing to use chemical weapons on the battlefield as the invasion of Ukraine continues and we haven't seen that from the Pentagon. It's not only a U.S. concern. Ukrainian president in Facebook address said what the U.S. is saying. And he too fears the possible Russian use of chemical weapon, saying, look, if you want to know what the Russians are about to do, look at what they accuse others of doing.

The Russians also have a history of using chemical or biological weapons. Look at the poisoning of Sergey Skripal in the U.K., the poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, or Syria's use of chemical weapons. Of course, the Syrian regime propped up by the Russian government.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield says it's this sort of false flag operation that the U.S. warned Russia might do.

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LINDA THOMAS GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Today the world is watching Russia do exactly what we warned it would. Russia is attempting to use the Security Council to legitimize disinformation and deceive people to justify President Putin's war of choice. I will say this once: Ukraine does not have a biological weapons program. There are no Ukrainian biological weapons laboratories supported by the United States. Not near Russia's border or anywhere.

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LIEBERMANN: Biden when talking about the severe prices Russia would pay didn't say what that price would be and he decided not to set a red line as former President Barack Obama did when it came to Syria using chemical weapons years ago. It is worth noting that the Defense Department does have a program that they have done with Ukraine to rid Ukraine of biological weapons and testing from the former Soviet Union that were illegally placed in Ukraine. That program has been ongoing for years. The Defense Department says until 2014, part of that program happened with the Russians.

CAMEROTA: Okay. Oren Liebermann, thank you very much for that important update.

Joining us now is former deputy director of national intelligence and CNN national security analyst, Beth Sanner. She served as -President Trump's intelligence briefer. She also briefed then-Vice President Joe Biden a number of times.

Beth, it's great to have you here. What if -- what if Vladimir Putin crosses that line and uses chemical weapons as the West fears?

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, all bets are off. It would cross the line. Putin has crossed that line multiple times in Syria.

[15:20:02]

And, you know, we didn't really react as has been noted. So, I do think this is different. I think that probably the administration is preparing a lot of different responses. They have to be ready for this.

There's also the possibility that Putin is using this as a justification for the invasion. I mean I think that's the most benign sense, but I kind of the same camp as President Zelenskyy on this. We have to worry.

CAMEROTA: I just feels as though every time officials said Putin wouldn't do that or Putin -- we have no indication he would go this far then he goes that far. And so, of course, they have to prepare, but I don't know what that looks like. What is the response to that even look like?

SANNER: I don't know. I honestly don't know. I mean, you know, right now, President Biden made it clear today he does not want to create a third world war. So, the prospects of us going in directly are very limited. It might look like the next step of sanctions which would be basically shutting off all of oil and gas exports from Russia, perhaps.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about Chernobyl and what's happening there. How concerned should the world be that the IAEA says they lost communications with Chernobyl. Their monitoring systems have been taken offline.

SANNER: Well, it's definitely concerning. IAEA said they think even though the plant had lost power and there's not a risk from the lack of electricity for the cooling of the radioactive material, that is still in storage there. So, that's good.

I do think that Russia doesn't have an interest in creating another kind of release because the winds could go any way. They could go toward Kyiv or Moscow. So, at this point, I mean, I don't think the Russians intentionally will create a release at Chernobyl. But, you know, I think it's the accidental, the indiscriminate firing, the lack of fire control in any of these nuclear plants that cause me the greatest concern.

CAMEROTA: And as if there aren't enough apocalyptic things at the moment, now we have information that North Korea is testing an ICBM, intercontinental ballistic missile. And so, are they -- is it possible they will do something aggressive while the world is distracted with what's happening in Ukraine?

SANNER: I think this is pretty aggressive. It's in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. Unfortunately, China and Russia keep blocking even statements condemning North Korea's behavior, which is just appalling because it is dangerous.

But this is part and parcel of an ongoing effort by North Korea, by Kim Jong-un to develop very sophisticated weapons, nuclear weapons program and an ICBM that can rely if we strike the United States. That's what we saw the two tests the last two weeks. This was the ICBM that we identified in the intelligence community in parade in October of 2020. It's the mother of all North Korean missiles and it's a missile that can carry multiple warheads.

And so, what that means is when they shoot off one missile, there are many warheads attach to that, and ultimately, if they can perfect this and we are ways from that, it means they might be able to overcome U.S. missile defense and threaten U.S. cities.

CAMEROTA: It's so nerve wracking to think about the worst case scenario, but that's part of your job as the president's intelligence briefer. Is there plan if Vladimir Putin or Kim Jong-un goes nuclear?

SANNER: I'm sure that the military, it is their job to have plans for everything. It's what militaries do, they plan. And, certainly, you know, when we have gotten close in the past, there's a lot of planning under way of what to do in the circumstances.

So, I think that people can at least know, I don't know if we can rest easy, but we can at least know, that there are many, many people preparing for these kinds of eventualities. You know, Kim Jong-un is not going to strike the United States right now. That's not his interest. That's not what he's trying to do.

He's trying to perfect the ability to deter the United States or South Korea from invading and displacing his regime at this point.

CAMEROTA: Beth Sanner, thank you very much for your expertise.

BLACKWELL: We're just getting this new through CNN that the Justice Department says it is ready to crack down on the Russian oligarchs.

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We'll tell you who they are going after and how far the investigations may go.

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COOPER: We're following breaking news. Heavy shelling has now erupted around the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. Social media videos show fires in the area and the head of the Mykolaiv regional administration said there were active hostilities to the north of the city.