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Russia Strikes Close To NATO's Front Line; Russian Forces Abduct Second Mayor; Interview With Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Aired 3-4p ET

Aired March 13, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:22]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday for this special CNN coverage. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta.

We start in Ukraine, the war-torn country facing an unrelenting Russian assault as millions of Ukrainians flee the invasion. Chaos and panic as a Russian airstrike hit a large military base near Lviv in western Ukraine just miles from the border with Poland, a member of NATO. The attack killing at least 35 and wounding more than 130.

And in eastern Ukraine, bombardments damaged temples at a historic monastery housing hundreds of refugees, and it comes as the Russian grip tightens on Kyiv. Russian forces inching closer to the capital now just 15 miles from Kyiv's center.

Desperation also growing in Mariupol under siege now for more than a week. Officials say nearly 2,200 residents had been killed since the onslaught began.

And we're also getting word of the first U.S. casualties in this war. Police say two American journalists were shot by Russian forces in Irpin. One of them, award-winning documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud was killed.

Journalist Juan Arredondo survived the attack and is being treated at a Kyiv hospital.

CNN's Scott McLean joins us now live from Lviv.

So Scott, let's talk about the base just 11 miles from the border with Poland. What more can you tell us about why it may have been targeted?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Fredricka, well from the beginning, Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that he is only targeting military targets inside Ukraine. That is obviously not true, given the countless examples of residential areas that have been targeted and countless number of civilians who have been killed.

In this case, this was a military target. This is a military, a sprawling military base not far from Lviv actually, and very close to the Polish border. It is right next to a wooded area that stretches all the way to Poland, which is about 11 miles away and many people likely figure that that proximity to Poland would likely spare it from Russian military strikes given you would think that Putin would not get want to get too close to a NATO ally. Obviously, that is not the case.

Now this base was known as a training facility where Americans, Canadians, and many European soldiers would come in to train Ukrainian troops in combat and in peacekeeping.

My colleagues were in the area today. The roads were blocked off for several miles and so it was impossible to get close, but they did in a nearby village see some foreigners, a Finnish man and a British man and another group of people in military fatigues and they said that they were there volunteering with medical evacuations.

Now of course, Ukraine has made no secret of the fact that it is trying to entice foreigners to come and fight as part of this international legion against Russia.

Officially, though no foreigners were killed; 35 people killed, more than 130 injured, but none of them foreigners. Russia, on the other hand, though, claims that 180 foreigners were killed, as well as a stash of foreign weapons as well. That is something that the Ukrainian Defense Ministry says is pure Russian propaganda.

A couple of other things, Fredricka to tell you about. One is that a second mayor in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister has been abducted by Russian troops. This one in the small city in southern Ukraine, it is called Dniprorudne, and this is according to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.

Now CNN can't confirm this, but if it is true, then this would be the second mayor of a Ukrainian city to be abducted by Russian troops since Friday, when the mayor of Melitopol was taken sparking protests of people there, demanding his release -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then Scott, with that abduction, also Russia has put in their place their pick of leadership.

MCLEAN: Yes, it appears that way. You had this elected mayor snatched in broad daylight and now all of a sudden, you have a replacement that has been installed by the Russians calling for calm in the wake of what has happened.

Obviously, a lot of people are not happy in that city. There is international detonation. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister says that this is essentially terrorism and so it is a very tense situation.

[15:05:09]

MCLEAN: But if this is, again, the second mayor being abducted, then it may start to be a pattern that we start to see the Russians employing here.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and we just saw the video of the mayor in Mariupol, who was allegedly abducted in that videotape.

Scott McLean, thank you so much. Stay safe.

All right, more now on the American journalist killed. This tragic development happening in the midst of this invasion. The first reported U.S. casualty was an award-winning journalist named Brent Renaud.

Kyiv Police say he was killed and another American journalist was wounded in Irpin by Russian troops. Christof Putzel was a friend and colleague of renowned and renowned brother, Craig, all of them seen here in this photograph. Putzel says Renaud was working on a documentary about refugees around the world when the crisis in Ukraine hit.

Putzel told CNN today that his death is immense and he talks of Renaud's constant courage. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOF PUTZEL, FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE OF BRENT RENAUD: Brent had this ability to go anywhere, get any story, listen and communicate what was happening to people that otherwise wouldn't other -- wouldn't otherwise see it and it is a devastating loss to journalism today.

The only thing bigger than Brent's balls are his heart, and I stand by that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Our hearts go out to Brent Renaud's family. A huge loss.

President Biden's National Security adviser believes Russia's deadly airstrike at the military base near Poland is a sign Putin is lashing out, frustrated with the lack of progress from his military campaign in Ukraine.

Jake Sullivan also weighing in on concerns about the possibility of nuclear escalation from Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The escalation risk with a nuclear power is severe and it is a different kind of conflict and other conflicts the American people have seen over the years.

As things stand today, the United States has not adjusted our nuclear posture, but it is something that we monitor day by day, hour by hour, because it is a paramount priority to the President.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Arlette Saenz joins us now from the White House with more than this. So, Arlette, the Biden administration is also warning that Russia may launch a chemical attack of some sort. What more can you tell us?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, these are two issues that U.S. officials are increasingly growing concerned about. First, that new possible nuclear threat when it comes to Russia ever since Russia first put their nuclear forces on alert a few weeks ago.

The U.S. has insisted that they are watching it closely, but also that there has been nothing that has changed in the U.S.'s own posture when it comes to nuclear initiatives.

But on those chemical weapons, the U.S. officials have really been warning for days that Russia could employ chemical weapons and they have been -- while they haven't outlined the evidence showing that, they have been pointing to these false accusations from Russia, that the U.S. and Ukraine and other governments are preparing or planning to launch chemical weapons of their own.

The U.S. warning that those false flag operations have may essentially spark Russia or create these this pretext for Russia to use it.

But take a listen to what National Security adviser Jake Sullivan had to say a bit earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SULLIVAN: It is a very legitimate concern, a fear that Russia would use chemical weapons in Ukraine. They are right now accusing the United States and the Ukrainians of potentially using chemical or biological weapons, which is a-tell. It's a-tell that they themselves may be preparing to do so and then trying to pin the blame on someone else. That's a classic page out of the Russian playbook.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: And Sullivan today reinforced President Biden's comments earlier in the week when he said Russia would pay a severe price if they use chemical weapons. Sullivan said that they have relayed that message directly to Russia, though they have not outlined exactly through what mechanisms that message has been delivered -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Arlette Saenz at the White House. Thanks so much for that.

All right, let's get more analysis now. Phil Mudd is a CNN counterterrorism analyst. He is also a former C.I.A. counterterrorism official and F.B.I. Intelligence adviser.

So good to see you. So, do you agree with Jake Sullivan, that it's a- tell that this is Putin signaling what he is going to do next?

PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: I do and I think he is right in saying that the U.S. has to consider what to do in response.

Look, the question you face of course is, we've already got strict sanctions. Do we go kinetic? Do we have a strike, for example, on the Russian units that would commit a chemical attack? I think we have some precedent here. Remember, this happened in Syria and the Americans responded. The

final thing I'd say is, if you want to do that, you've got to get some ducks in order. Number one, that's got to be bipartisan. You've got to be talking, if you're the White House and the Republicans, about a severe response and you're not going to have a lot of time. The second thing is, you've got to talk to Europeans.

[15:10:08]

MUDD: If we take that step, if there is a chemical strike and we respond militarily, the Europeans have got to be on board. So there are a lot of moving parts here on this Sunday, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: There are indeed, including these reports of a second abduction of a mayor in Ukraine. A., is there any kind of insight you can give us as to how they've been able to do this, if it is indeed the case? The first case has been the mayor of Mariupol, that was confirmed that he was abducted, and now another mayor, in another portion of the country being abducted.

If indeed, that is the case, is there a way in which you can paint a picture as to how Russian forces or perhaps the mercenaries are able to do that, and at the same time you simultaneously install a Russian pick?

MUDD: Boy, I think the doing it is pretty straightforward if you look at the number of Russian forces on the ground, and the fact that there are a lot of people who are going to sympathize with them, or at least provide information to them, locating someone who is a prominent political figure to me as a former Intel guy, shouldn't be that difficult.

The question, I think, when you get down the road, and this is really interesting to me watching what appears to be the Russian mindset is when do you look at this in three months, six months, nine months, the local population is not going to support this, not going to support a Russian-backed mayor.

If there is a Russian imposed government and the Russians roll over, eventually the Ukrainian military, are we going to have an insurgency in Ukraine in months to come? And are the Americans going to get involved in supporting a secret insurgency like we did in Afghanistan 30 years ago?

I think it's not capturing the mayors, it's what do you do to install a government months later? And how do you maintain it? I don't get it.

WHITFIELD: Right. And I mispronounced that city, it is Melitopol that was the city in which a mayor has been abducted.

So let me ask you, too, I don't get it either, except that it also seems to be a form of intimidation. I mean, President Zelenskyy has been defiant, as have been so many Ukrainians defiant that they are not going to lose any of their land, any of their power.

But in your view, does it appear as though Russia has the upper hand especially in the psychological warfare or no?

MUDD: Not yet. I think the big question you face when you look at insurgencies over time is how is the local population responding, not just the Ukrainian people, but the Ukrainian population?

I look at this and say, not where we're going to be in 30 days. I mean, it's already -- the Russian offensive is already slower than we would have anticipated. My question would be if, as we expect, the Russians eventually roll through Kyiv and the rest of Western Ukraine, is there going to be a will among the Ukrainians to mount a secret campaign and insurgency, and as I said earlier, are the Americans going to support it?

Where are we going to be in three months?

I guarantee you, Fredricka, there are people at the White House, the Pentagon and the C.I.A. who are figuring out how do we arm an insurgency in Ukraine if the government falls? And I suspect, believe it or not that we will.

WHITFIELD: All right, Phil Mudd, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

MUDD: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Good to see you.

All right, still to come, a bipartisan group of senators is in Poland meeting with U.S. troops stationed with NATO Allies along Ukraine's border. We will talk with one of the senators.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:27]

WHITFIELD: Right now, a bipartisan group of senators, U.S. Senators is in Poland meeting with U.S. troops stationed with NATO Allies along Ukraine's border. Those senators also meeting with refugees today and helping to feed some of them at a reception center.

So far, more than 1.6 million people from Ukraine have fled into Poland since the start of the invasion.

Joining me right now from Poland is Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. He is a member of the Armed Services Committee.

Senator, so good to see you.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: Yes, before I get to what you've been able to experience and see with the refugee crisis now. Let's talk about that missile strike that came not too far from where you are, I understand just within miles. Tell us about what happened. Did you hear see or feel anything? BLUMENTHAL: Today was really one of anguish and apprehension; anguish,

because we saw the women and children who were fleeing that bomb strike just 12 miles from where we were on the Polish-Ukraine border, Kurosawa (ph) and the bomb strike was devastating. It was absolutely ruthless.

It killed more than 35 people and wounded hundreds and shows that Vladimir Putin is expanding the war literally, to the Polish border. And what we saw were the women and children, not men because they are staying to fight who are going into very uncertain future. Their lives upended, terror and trauma on their faces, in their voices, tears in their eyes. And they are among millions of people an estimated six to eight million people who by the next six to eight weeks will have fled this horror and it is expanding.

WHITFIELD: The two million plus refugees who have fled Ukraine, many of whom are there in Poland, have been thinking that this is a safe spot, this NATO ally. But now that this strike has come so dangerously close to this NATO ally, what are Polish people, what is the Polish government sharing with you about its concerns?

BLUMENTHAL: Great question. The polls have been absolutely resolute in aid in Ukraine and also making clear that we will stand together as allies and the 82nd Airborne of the United States Army is there in increased number. We met with them.

[15:20:12]

BLUMENTHAL: The security situation is certainly challenging, but they are working with the Polish military and the main takeaway here is that NATO is absolutely united, and will adopt any kind of defense necessary if Vladimir Putin attacks any one of the NATO allies.

But literally, this war is so close to Poland that the ground shook at the border crossing, and the Polish authorities were deeply concerned that the strike in fact, had been on Poland, not on Ukraine, because it was only 12 miles away into Ukraine.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Yes, you felt those reverberations, as if it happened right there on Polish soil.

So today on CNN, Republican Senator Rob Portman, who is with you on this trip called on the Biden administration to reverse course and allow Poland to send fighter jets to Ukraine. Your Democratic colleague, Senator Klobuchar says she doesn't want to rule out sending fighter jets at some point. Do you think the White House should reconsider letting Poland send its jets to Ukraine?

BLUMENTHAL: I think we ought to use every tool that we have to keep Ukraine in the fight and to secure its airspace, including jet fighters, aircraft defense, such as increased batteries and missiles, and drones.

Because right now, Ukraine is a victim of indiscriminate and ruthless, savage bombing by Putin's Air Force and we should give the Ukrainian people every means to defend themselves, but we should also provide more humanitarian assistance because clearly, they are in deep need, grave need of more medical supplies, food, shelter, and those airplanes will be important if we can provide them safely to the Ukrainian pilots.

WHITFIELD: The Ukrainian Foreign Minister in fact said today on the issue of whether planes are escalatory, he draws a parallel to drones as well. If airplanes are potentially escalatory, then so are drones.

So, what's the difference he says that they should be supplied with the air support because it could get the job done better?

BLUMENTHAL: That point is very important means of air defense, such as planes, drones, anti-aircraft, batteries, and missiles, all means of air defense should be considered.

My personal feeling is we should provide those planes because they are potentially very important to the Ukrainian defense, not with American pilots, but with the training that Ukrainians need to fly those planes and make them effective as a deterrent, as well as a force to protect the Ukrainian people against the air superiority of the Russian jet fighters.

So any means necessary that Ukraine can defend itself, I think should be considered and should be provided.

WHITFIELD: So isn't the critical issue if Poland were to supply these Russian MiG 29 fighter jets that the Ukrainian pilots are trained to use, Putin claims that that means war with Poland and anyone who helps provide that kind of air assault. Do you agree with that? Or do you believe that in order for Ukraine to best defend itself, it needs arsenal just like that, whether it be from a NATO ally or not?

BLUMENTHAL: Vladimir Putin has made a lot of threats and used a lot of scare tactics, such as raising the nuclear alert of his own forces, and saying that economic sanctions are an act of war.

We need to provide whatever the Ukrainians need to keep themselves in this fight. Whether it is planes, anti-aircraft batteries, including missiles, and other means, such as drones, whether from Turkey or elsewhere, and that is the critical distinction.

Ukraine carrying on successfully its own defense, their resilience and courage and determination are so inspiring to the entire world and giving them the tools they need is what I'm advocating and what I think United States authorities have adopted as well.

[15:25:17]

BLUMENTHAL: At the same time, we need to make sure that those MiG 29s can actually do the job and that Ukrainian pilots have the training they need to fly them and they have the munitions and ordnance to be effective against the Russian jet fighters.

So we need to make sure that we are giving Ukraine really effective deterrent and force against Russia. WHITFIELD: And Senator Blumenthal, I also want to get your point of

view on the first American casualty, an American journalist who has been killed, and we now have video, a new video of his colleague American journalists, Juan Arredondo in the hospital after he was wounded by Russian forces.

His colleague, Brent Renaud was killed. I'd like you to listen to what Juan is saying here in the hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Tell me, please. What is your name?

JUAN ARREDONDO, JOURNALIST: Juan.

QUESTION: Juan?

ARREDONDO: Juan.

QUESTION: Where are you from?

ARREDONDO: The U.S.

QUESTION: The U.S. What happened to you?

ARREDONDO: We were -- we crossed one -- the first bridge in Irpin. We were going to film other refugees leaving, and we got into a car, somebody offered to take us to the other bridge, and we crossed a checkpoint and they started shooting at us.

So the driver turned around and they kept shooting. There's two of us, my friend is Brent Renaud, and he has been shot and left behind.

QUESTION: And how is he?

ARREDONDO: I don't know.

QUESTION: You don't know. You don't know what happened to your --

ARREDONDO: He saw -- I saw him being shot in the neck and we got split and I got pulled into the --

QUESTION: And who brought you here?

ARREDONDO: An ambulance. I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So at that moment, Juan did not know that his friend, Brent Renaud has died, a consequence of being shot there. What are your thoughts, especially if intentionally targeted these journalists after crossing that checkpoint?

BLUMENTHAL: A couple of points. First of all, my heart goes out to the families as well as the survivors. These courageous journalists deserve our respect and admiration and even reverence for their continued coverage under the most difficult and often savage situations.

But it also shows that Putin is willing to kill journalists abroad just as he imprisons them and sometimes imperils their lives at home. He is an enemy of the truth. That is why we need to provide Ukraine with everything it needs to defend itself against this onslaught, including those planes that the Polish officials may have.

We're going to be discussing with Polish officials literally, tomorrow, what the options are. But the point here is that Putin knows no bounds. He has no respect for human life. He is a butcher and a war criminal. He should be investigated and tried as a war criminal, and part of the crimes for which he needs to be held accountable are the deaths of these great journalists.

But it shows finally, how truth is really reported at grave danger and often severe price, and we should be grateful to all of the men and women who are innocents in the fight right now, the fight for truth, just as the Ukrainian people are in the fight for their freedom and independence.

WHITFIELD: Yes, the fight for truth and the fight for freedom, indeed. Senator Richard Blumenthal, thank you so much. Safe travels while you're there in Poland and on your return back to the U.S.

BLUMENTHAL: Thanks very much.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:33:38]

WHITFIELD: More than 2.7 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion less than three weeks ago, and many of them facing harrowing journeys by train, by car, and even on foot to escape war. More than half ended up in Poland.

Ed Lavandera is at the Poland-Ukraine border crossing. So Ed, tell us more about what you've been witnessing.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, where we are in Medyka, Poland, which is right on the Ukrainian border and behind me you see what has been essentially converted into an alleyway and this is where Ukrainian refugees take their first steps into Poland, and they kind of start making their way through this alley and it has been converted into like an aid zone where aid organizations have set up places where they can get warm food, medical attention, bottles of water, toys and candy for all of the children that we're seeing come through here.

It has been turned into a 24-hour, around-the-clock operation, as all of these people continue to come over, and over this checkpoint here in Medyka has seen the vast majority of the refugees that have come into Ukraine seeking help.

And what happens once they come through here, but they end up in buses and they are taken into the nearest town and from there, they begin the process of figuring out where to go next and that has really become one of the more difficult situations because so many of the smaller communities here in the border region of Poland and Ukraine have already been filled up with refugees.

[15:35:14]

LAVANDERA: So we see a lot of people who have driven in from Germany, from Denmark, offering homes, offering rides to far flung places across Europe, and that is the uncertainty that so many refugees here are now facing exactly once they get here and it has already been a long and arduous journey to get to this very point.

Where do they go from here? Those are the questions that still remain for so many of them. And on top of that, what is becoming increasingly clear is they don't know how long they will be gone from Ukraine, their homeland. In fact, several people I've talked to over the last few days, they talk about their home in the past tense and that is something that has been very striking as we've talked to so many of these refugees coming to hear through Medyka, Poland.

And it is just after nine o'clock here, and you can see, Fredricka, that this is an operation that just goes on and on and on with no end in sight -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's just heartbreaking. The uncertainty that continues. Ed Lavandera, thank you so much.

And throughout all of the heartbreak, these strums of hope, war rages, but the music doesn't stop. A group of violinist, some forced to hide in bomb shelters recording themselves playing an old Ukrainian folk song.

Ninety-four other musicians from 29 countries sent in videos of themselves playing the same piece. Their work played in unison here as a show of support for Ukraine.

And many of you want to know how you can help. For information about organizations helping with humanitarian aid, go to cnn.com/impact.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:43]

WHITFIELD: Almost 580 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, including at least 42 children according to the United Nations and thousands more people have been injured. Hospitals have also been the target of attack including this maternity hospital in Mariupol.

After seeing Ukraine's healthcare system under siege, some doctors in Montreal decided to help. They made a series of videos on how to treat patients who have traumatic injuries and they translated the videos into Ukrainian. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking in foreign language.)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: With me right now, Dr. Nadia Demko. She's a medical resident at McGill University and spearheaded this project. She is also Cultural Committee Director of the Ukrainian National Federation of Montreal; and Dr. Tarek Razek is co-director of the Center for Global Surgery at McGill University. Good to see both of you.

So Dr. Demko, you first, A., how are these videos being made available? And how did you come up with this idea?

DR. NADIA DEMKO, MEDICAL RESIDENT, MCGILL UNIVERSITY: So good afternoon, Fred. Thanks for having me. I'm Nadia. I'm a resident physician at McGill, as you mentioned, and I'm also a very proud first generation Ukrainian-Canadian.

My brother and my parents actually escaped communism in the 80s. So that's been my driving force.

We're working together with the Trauma Surgery Team at our center at McGill and I'm joined today, as you mentioned by Dr. Tarek Razek. He's the Director of Trauma at McGill, and we're really just doing our part in what is now a global humanitarian crisis caused by Russia's war in Ukraine.

To be clear, this is Russia's very deliberate attempt to destroy Ukrainians. This has been Day 18 of this tragic war, a war that of course, started in 2014 and we've seen at this point, the full spectrum of war crimes, bombs and artilleries aimed at hospitals, among them, multiple children's ones and maternity ones, nuclear facilities, schools, residential apartments.

And now there have been thousands of civilians who have been murdered or injured, and over two million are now forced to leave Ukraine as refugees.

WHITFIELD: So Dr. Demko, there are so many people who continue to be in country who are injured, who cannot go to a hospital because many of these medical sites have been demolished and damaged. And you have put these videos together, you along with Dr. Razek put together these videos.

How are people having access to these videos, whether they be doctors, medical or otherwise in Ukraine?

DEMKO: So we're actually spreading it to our network. So we're actually -- we've been working in Ukraine since 2012, the Center for Global Surgery. So we have a network in Kyiv, in Lviv, in Odesa, in Donetsk, so we're really just sending it to anyone who wants it.

The idea sprang from a surgeon, our colleague surgeon in Kyiv, who said: Hey, these videos would be very helpful, and so this is just our response and us trying to do our part in creating these videos. [15:45:11]

WHITFIELD: It's an amazing response. And so I wonder, Dr. Razek. I mean, you're a trauma surgeon yourself, but all of the doctors and nurses who continue to be in country in Ukraine may not necessarily be, so these videos will be helpful for them.

So how did you decide upon what kinds of procedures to incorporate in the video to help them? What kind of injuries are you hoping they're going to be able to address because of your videos?

DR. TAREK RAZEK, CO-DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR GLOBAL SURGERY, MCGILL UNIVERSITY: Well, yes, thanks again, for having us on. And you're exactly right, Fred. The Ukrainian medical community is obviously very rich, and they're very capable, especially in their main centers and we've had the pleasure of working in them, as you've mentioned, for many, many years.

But this is such a large volume crisis that affects so many people, and there is so much disruption to the normal infrastructure, human resources, physical infrastructure, so that many healthcare workers who would not normally necessarily take care of major trauma situations are being forced to be engaged in that treatment.

And so this would help sort of refresh, make sure best practices are being disseminated to those who may not normally do this kind of work, and give them sort of a security and safety of being able to review just in time type of training.

And with the technology now, it's very easy, relatively easier than it ever has been to do these and get them out and translate them, et cetera and we're fabulously thankful for the community that we work with here in Montreal, as well as the assistance team --

WHITFIELD: And when I look at this kind of procedure that we're seeing that's performed on a dummy, we are going to be talking about mostly shrapnel kind of impact injuries, right?

But then, in addition to having the right training, you've got to have the right equipment. So are you helping them in these videos learn how to improvise, how to make do with equipment that they may not have access to, but they have to kind of create to address these injuries, Dr. Razek?

RAZEK: Absolutely. There's a shortage of supply in this kind of setting, no doubt. And one of the things that in doing major trauma resuscitation or emergency resuscitation, there are standard procedures that we try to keep extremely basic so that they can be managed as easily as possible under difficult circumstances.

So there is a basic component to this that really should be able to be managed even with severe limitations on infrastructure and resources. And there is a very standard protocol to manage the most serious life threatening problem first and in a sequence, and you build that sequence up to give the best chance for the patient to survive, and give the best chance for the healthcare provider to be able to do what they need to do in order to achieve those goals, and that is sort of packaged in the construct of resuscitation.

WHITFIELD: Well, it's an extraordinary effort that I'm sure everyone in the country and Ukraine is going to greatly appreciate. Dr. Tarek Razek and Dr. Nadia Demko, thank you so much.

RAZEK: Thank you for having us.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

DEMKO: Thanks for having us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:52:40]

WHITFIELD: And this just in to CNN. Former President Barack Obama has tested positive for COVID. He announced it on Twitter moments ago saying: "I had a scratchy throat for a couple of days, but I'm feeling fine, otherwise. Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted and she has tested negative." He also reminded everyone to get vaccinated even as cases go down.

Russian restaurants here in the U.S. that once proudly displayed the country's heritage are feeling repercussions from a war thousands of miles away.

Here now is CNN's Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VLADA VON SHATS, CO-OWNER, RUSSIAN SAMOVAR RESTAURANT: I'm going to show you the table that is called the Brodsky table. This is a special table. There are people that actually call in to the reserve just this table.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): But not these days.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine increasing worries about empty tables and fewer bookings at this restaurant in New York City's theater district.

VON SHATS: Sixty percent of businesses down overnight. You just wake up one day and the business is gone. Nobody is here.

CARROLL (voice over): Vlada von Shats is co-owner of Russian Samovar with her son. It has been in the family for three generations. Her family defected from what was then the Soviet Union to New York when she was a child.

Her stepfather co-founded the restaurant with ballet dancer, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Russian poet, Joseph Brodsky.

VON SHATS: Everybody escaped the same evil and they all found a little piece of heaven here.

CARROLL (voice over): But now this little piece of heaven is facing the wrath of hell on earth, half a world away.

VON SHATS: Calling us Nazis, fascists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People leaving messages --

VON SHATS: Leaving messages on our machine it is never nice signs, being kicked in.

CARROLL (voice over): Never mind von Shats is married to a Ukrainian and many who work here are Ukrainian. All she says people see is the word Russian and lash out and it's not just here.

In Washington, D.C., the famous Russia House vandalized, threatening messages left at the Pushkin Russian restaurant in San Diego.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via phone): You killed my uncle and all my family. You disgusting Russian.

CARROLL (voice over): The restaurant's owner is Armenian and most of the staff, Ukrainian.

Similar messages sent to Chicago's Russian Tea Time Restaurant where just like the other restaurants, some of the employees are Ukrainian.

VADIM MUCHNIK, PARTNER, RUSSIA TEA TIME: We really feel pain. We have a waitress whose mother is hiding in bomb shelters in Kyiv.

[15:55:08]

CARROLL: Some Wisconsin supermarkets have discontinued sales of Russian vodka. In Las Vegas, a bar owner is dumping Russian made vodka.

And back in New York, there is no more McPutin's.

Von Shats' children changed the name of their takeout restaurant and delivery business.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe they're calling it Chichi Chicken.

CARROLL (voice over): But the von Shats say they will never change the name Russian Samovar.

CARROLL (on camera): You think you can survive this?

VON SHATS: Yes. With a lot of help from our friends. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time will tell. This place has lasted through a lot.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, Jason Carroll.

And thank you for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jim Acosta after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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