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Zelenskyy: Russia to be Held Responsible for Acts in Ukraine; Russia: West Could Face Oil Prices of $300 Per Barrell; Russian Businesses in U.S. Facing Backlash as Putin's War Rages; Over 25 Million People Under Freeze Warnings in South; Chelsea Owner Roman Abramovich Disqualified by Premier League; Racing to Protect Ukraine's Cultural Treasures. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired March 13, 2022 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome to our viewers here in the United States, and all around the world. I'm Paula Newton at CNN Headquarters in Atlanta. And we, of course, are following breaking developments on the war in Ukraine. Now, in the coming hours, Ukraine and Russia are again scheduled to hold another round of talks.
And that's even as Russia expands and still intensifies its unprovoked assault on the country. And we are now learning Moscow will be looking for some help. A senior U.S. official says Russia has asked China for military assistance in Ukraine, and that includes the use of drones.
Any potential assistance, of course, from China would be a significant development in Russia's invasion. In the meantime, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is calling for an end to the brutality in his words as he condemned Russia's deadly attack on a military base in Yavoriv near Ukraine's border with Poland.
Now, we go to the east where Ukraine's foreign minister says Russian forces have abducted another Ukrainian mayor, though CNN cannot independently confirm that claim. While in Russian occupied Melitopol the newly installed mayor says Russian TV channels -- Russian TV channels will now be broadcast in the region.
Now, despite the relentless assault from Russia Ukraine's president says the country remains defiant and determined.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: (speaking in foreign language). ZELENSKYY (through translator): Russia also lost thousands of units of
military weapons, 74 planes, 86 helicopters. We understand they've got more, but we also know that we shall continue defending ourselves. Ukraine does not surrender, the army does not surrender, the people do not surrender. The whole of Ukraine is fighting heroically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, as this conflict grinds on one thing seems increasingly clear. Attacks against Ukraine are growing more and more destructive. Here's CNN's Orin Lieberman with more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OREN LIEBERMANN, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT, CNN (voice-over): The attack on the Yavoriv Military Base is the closest Russian attack to a NATO member. The barrage of missiles hit just about 11 miles from Poland killing at least 35 people according to the Lviv Military Administration and wounding more than 100 others.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine grows more destructive by the day. Near the city of Mykolaiv on the Black Sea nine people were killed in a Russian bombardment according to the regional administration. And satellite images show the city of Mariupol burning.
Russia has besieged the city for days Ukrainian officials say leaving hundreds of thousands without power and water. Nearly 2,200 people have been killed there since Russia's invasion began according to the city council. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says help is on the way if it can get through.
ZELENSKYY: (speaking in foreign language).
ZELENSKYY (through translator): Our humanitarian convoy is two hours away with only 80 kilometers remaining. We're doing everything possible to fight the resistance of the occupants who block even the Orthodox Church priests who are escorting the convoy with food, water, medication. Ukraine has supplied 100 tons of the basic necessities for its citizens.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Among those killed in this war American journalist Brent Renaud. Russian forces shot him outside of Kyiv according to
regional police. Another journalist was wounded.
JUAN ARREDONDO, PHOTOJOURNALIST: So the driver turned around, and they kept shooting, it's the two of us.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The widening attack on Ukraine has not deterred the U.S. and NATO allies from shipping in weapons and equipment that have proven effective at slowing down Russia.
JAKE SULLIVAN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We believe we will continue to be able to flow substantial amounts of military assistance and weapons to the frontlines to help the Ukrainians ensure that Ukraine is a strategic failure for Vladimir Putin.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Multiple rounds of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have led to few if any breakthroughs. Another round of talks is set for Monday.
WENDY SHERMAN, U.S. DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: We are seeing some signs of a willingness to have real, serious negotiations. But I have to say, as your reporter said, so far it appears that Vladimir Putin is intent on destroying Ukraine.
[23:05:00]
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Ukraine's resistance to slow the Russian advance toward the capital city of Kyiv, Russia has so far been unable to encircle the city. Meanwhile, the U.S. is watching for any threat of chemical weapons from Russia, and a possible false flag operation.
JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: It is of the Russian playbook that that which they accuse you of they're planning to do. Now, again, we haven't seen anything that indicates some sort of imminent chemical or biological attack right now. But we're watching this very, very closely.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): A Russian airstrike Saturday night damaged the Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Lavra monastery in the Donetsk region. According to Ukraine's Parliament, the historic church sheltered more than 500 displaced people Parliament said.
In Kherson, the first major Ukrainian city to fall to Russia protestors held a mass rally marching amid armed Russian troops. A brazen show of spirit for Ukraine in Kherson Svobody Square, which means Freedom Square.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIEBERMANN (on-screen): Another $200 million in security assistance approved by the White House over the weekend, that's after they approved $350 million just a couple of weeks ago. So we see the White House and the Biden administration moving very quickly here.
Again, within just a couple of weeks more than half a billion dollars. And where these used to take weeks if not months to get in, it's now getting in within days: anti-tank, anti-armor, anti-aircraft missiles, and more. Oren Liebermann, CNN at the Pentagon.
NEWTON: Meantime, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet his Chinese counterpart in Rome in the coming hours. And this comes amid reports that Russia is asking China for military assistance in Ukraine.
CNN's Steven Jiang joins me with more from Beijing now. I mean, Steven, the headline really does not betray the significance of this, China possibly giving military aid, right, not economic aid. What more do we know?
STEVEN JIANG, BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF, CNN: Paula, we have asked the Chinese Foreign Ministry for comment, we have not heard back. But if and when they do hold their daily press briefing in about four hours I expect -- I expect officials to stick to their usual talking points stressing China's supposed impartiality in this conflict.
And likely denouncing the U.S. for trying to quote, unquote, "Smear China", while also, of course, again, pointing a finger at the U.S. and NATO's eastward expansion as the root cause for this conflict. Which, of course, is parodying (ph) a key Kremlin talking point. But I think the timing of this leak from Washington is indeed very interesting.
As you mentioned, Jake Sullivan is meeting Yang Jiechi who is this country's top foreign policy official but also a key adviser to President Xi Jinping in just a few hours in Rome. The Chinese has framed this meeting as long-planned, not something hastily arranged because of the situation in Ukraine.
And state media outlets may be anticipating -- and anticipating of the U.S. exerting more pressure on Beijing have also warned the U.S. not to sow -- and not to try to sow division between Beijing and Moscow. But they do acknowledge this as a positive sign that is two sides are still keeping their communication channels open especially at such a senior level in this time of crisis.
Now, almost from the beginning of this war the Chinese obviously have been trying to strike this impossible balance standing behind Russia, especially when it comes to parodying (ph) a lot of the propaganda, some would say disinformation from the Kremlin.
But also saying the right things in terms of calling for peace and asking all sides to exercise maximum restraint. But then, of course, also trying to minimize their own companies and institutions exposure to increasingly severe western sanctions.
In recent days some outlets have point -- have been pointing to some subtle signs of changes, for example, with China providing some small- scale humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. And also, with some of their companies with large exposure to western markets indicating their willingness to comply with Western sanctions.
But at the end of day most experts we've talked to say China seems to have been -- have adopted this strategy of saying everything but doing almost nothing. Because they don't see a lot of benefits in getting deeply involved in a war not fought on their soil. Their calculus is they are trying to wait things out, wait for the crisis to clarify.
Because at the end of day no matter how things go on a battlefield a weakened and bitter Russia will probably have no choice but to move ever closer into China's orbit as a junior partner in this so-called no-limits partnership.
That's why a lot of people are quite skeptical of China getting directly involved in this conflict, especially providing arms to Russia, Paula. NEWTON: Yes. And you make a good point, that even if it does it may choose to wait before it does so. Steven Jiang, really appreciate that perspective from Beijing for us. And joining me now to discuss everything is CNN Political and National Security Analyst David Sanger, he's also the White House and national security correspondent with "The New York Times".
We are leaning on you again, David, on what has been another busy few hours. I mean, let's get first to what you make of the U.S. making public its intelligence. And we know that they leaked this for a reason, saying that, you know, Russia is asking for China's help militarily. We just talked about the meeting upcoming in Rome with Jake Sullivan and his counterpart.
Why do you think the U.S. wanted to set the table this way, ahead of that meeting?
DAVID SANGER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it was fascinating and all through this war and the run-up to the war what we've seen is a consistent effort by the Biden administration to declassify intelligence and make it public for America's benefit.
So, what does this do by revealing this? First, it makes Putin look as if he has bitten off more than he can chew. That he is going to the Chinese to bail him out of a military operation that he hadn't thought entirely through.
This drives Vladimir Putin crazy, because he hates to be seen as sort of a vassal state to the more -- richer and more powerful Chinese.
Secondly, it puts the Chinese right in a really tough spot. It was only three weeks ago, this weekend, at the Munich Security Conference that the foreign minister of China told us that China respects sovereignty and the independence of nations. And the added, at that includes Ukraine.
So, they can't be happy with what Putin has done. And now, by revealing this the U.S. has put the Chinese in a really tough spot. If they say yes and give the aid to Russia, then they're going back on what they said publicly three weeks ago. If they say no, it becomes clear that the alliance of a sort that was announced between Putin and Xi at the opening of the Olympics in January isn't worth much.
NEWTON: Yes. And it is definitely taking a side, either way -- either way they go down that road. So, as you said, the U.S. is really cornering them, at least on that.
I want to go to whether or not there can be a negotiated settlement on this. I will say that just in the last few hours, you know, you basically posted a fairly pessimistic story about what this is looking like. I want to get to the issue that, you know, despite Putin's bravado he knows this isn't going well.
Is there something that can be exploited there? We just discussed China, but as you also point out we've got the leaders of Turkey and Israel now trying as well. SANGER: Turkey, Israel and France, and they're all talking about
basically the same thing. Some kind of deal in which Ukraine would declare that it is neutral, change its constitution, which currently calls for it to seek membership in NATO.
We've already heard President Zelenskyy say that he might be able to live with this because he's come to recognize that NATO isn't going to let him in anytime soon. The harder part would be the Russian demand that Ukraine recognized that Crimea, is now a part of Russia. And recognized these two semi-independent states that Russia has recognized.
And those are both across the Donbas. So, that would mean that Zelenskyy would have to basically agree to give up a big chunk of his country. In return, he might get some better security guarantees, but it seems hard to imagine right now that he would trust that Putin would then pull back his troops.
NEWTON: Yes. And as you're speaking, David, we're showing you know video Zelenskyy meeting with soldiers and giving them, you know, medals. As you said, it's hard to envision him backing down in that way.
Before I let you go, I do want to talk about what is going to happen in the days ahead with the Biden administration. They have faced some criticism. What more will they be under pressure to do in the coming days? We know the red lines already that Biden has very carefully drawn. But, there must be pressure building.
SANGER: There is pressure on them. And, obviously, they got a lot of pressure to arrange for the delivery of those MiG fighters that Poland had and they decided that was over the line and would -- could make the United States a co-combatant.
But, they don't seem to have a problem delivering anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons. And I think there'll more of that done. Take a look to see whether or not they've pressured Turkey to take those S-400s that Turkey bought over American objections from Russia, oh, back four of five years ago now and deliver those to Ukraine. That would solve a few problems together and get Turkey back in American good graces.
[23:15:00]
I think I'd also take a look to see whether or not the United States finds more ways to cut -- to cut Russia off from the International Banking System by sealing off the rest of the SWIFT System from Russian banks. Right now only a few banks are.
The risk here, of course, as we described in "The Times" story today, is that that makes Putin feel even more cornered. And so far what American intelligences officials are saying is when cornered he usually doubles down.
NEWTON: Yes. And we have learned that rule in so many different conflicts in the more than two decades that Putin has been the leader of Russia and engaged in these military exploits. We'll continue to watch it all unfold in the coming week.
David Sanger, thanks again. Appreciate it.
SANGER: Great to be with you.
NEWTON: Now, in another troubling development, the staff of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant are so tired they've stopped carrying out repairs and maintenance of safety equipment. Now, that's according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA says the physical and psychological fatigue of working non-stop for nearly three weeks is partly blame.
Now the agency's director general has proposed a plan to deliver assistance, but it must be approved by Ukrainian and now Russian authorities before its implemented.
Ukraine's train system, meantime, is a reliable mainstay of daily life, even in this conflict. Just ahead, you'll want to see this story about how rail operators are keeping people and supplies moving despite the Russian invasion.
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NEWTON: So great, isn't it? Even as war rages, music we've learned still has the power to uplift and give hope. Now this group of violinists recorded themselves performing an old Ukrainian folk song. Some of them were actually hiding in bomb shelters as they played. Now according to the creator 94 other musicians from 29 countries sent in videos over the course of just two days. Their music, of course, a show of support for Ukraine.
Now meantime Ukraine and Russia are expected to hold another round of diplomatic talks in the coming hours. Ukrainian leaders and citizens alike are desperate to find a peaceful solution. They also remain determined to defend their country until the Russian attacks stop. Here's more from Kyiv's Mayor and his brother who's fighting with the Ukrainian Army.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO, KYIV BRIGADE OF UKRANIAN DEFENSE FORCE: The whole country's highly motivated to stop Russian aggression and the war. There is nothing that is possibly can break the will of our women and men. We all stand together and we're highly motivated to defend our country because this is our home. That's where our children were going to school. That's where our relatives buried in the ground. This is our home, and there is no other way that we're going to leave. And why? Because this is our home. So we will defend the country until last drop of the blood.
VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV, UKRAINE MAYOR: And regarding how - the how much time we have, we have a lot of time. We never lose the fight for our homes, for our future because whole population against Russian aggressors, and whole population, everyone and we never give up and that why - that why we continue this war.
But the key which can stop this war is the unity of all. We have to make pressure - political pressure, sanction pressure, and please, weapon deliveries delivering to Ukraine. We're ready to fight not just for our city, not just for our country. We fighting the - for exactly the same wells (ph), for the same principles. It's this war can touch anyone, everyone in the European Union, in Europe, and can touch everyone in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: The Mayor of Kyiv there along with his brother. Now refugees fleeing the violence in Ukraine are braving brutal weather conditions in their journey to safety. Temperatures are well below freezing as hundreds of refugees, including the elderly seen there, wait in long lines to cross the Ukrainian border into Moldova. Now according to the U.N. nearly 2.7 million people have now fled Ukraine and some are revealing horrific stories living through Russian bombing attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (through translator) And as of on that (ph) we're bombarded. Houses were blown up. People have no place to live. We're scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have friends in Kyiv. They stay underground by three four days. They not see skies. They not see the sun. I can't imagine what they feel, but for me it was enough to feel one tiny vibration in the house from the bomb.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now despite the kind of bombardments that she just described, Ukraine's railway system continues to be a reliable lifeline for its people, but, of course, fears of being targeted by Russia are a challenge for its operators. CNN's Scott McLean has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: First light in Ternopil, Ukraine is the rising sun. The city's lights have been kept off since the war began, more than two weeks that have exhausted, overwhelmed, and completely upended normal life. But through it all Ukraine's rail network has kept running.
Every morning, the railway's executives led by 37-year-old Oleksandr Kamyshin gather for a morning call. No cell phones, no Zoom. Just a Soviet-era closed circuit phone system that connects every station. They won't stay here long. They can't. They believe they're a prime Russian target.
OLEKSANDR KAMYSHIN, URAKINE RAILWAY CHAIRMAN: The strategy is to move fast so that they don't catch you.
[23:25:00]
MCLEAN: How long can you stay in one place?
KAMYSHIN: Hours.
MCLEAN: Instead, their work managing 231,000 employees continues on a single car train headed west for now. Often their work is aboard ordinary passenger trains to blend in with the masses. Since the war began they've been in near constant motion, crisscrossing the country to keep the Russians guessing.
The decision to leave their headquarters in Kyiv was made in the early morning hours of February 24. Kamyshin snapped one last picture with his two young kids, one still asleep.
Are they still in Ukraine? How does that make you feel?
KAMYSHIN: For me it's easier when they know that they are safe, and I have time to do my job.
MCLEAN: The country's rail network, one of the largest in the world, has been a lifeline in war, moving desperately-needed supplies in and desperate people out of danger. More than two million since the invasion began. Schedules are drawn up the night before and changed in response to panic scenes like this one is Kharkiv or in Lviv in the early days of war.
How on Earth have people still been able to use the trains in a warzone?
KAMYSHIN: That's something which is surprising for the whole country and for the president as well.
MCLEAN: Surprising because every day the network is hit by Russian bombs. Small damage breaks the link between cities temporarily, a downed bridge indefinitely. New Kharkiv an undetonated bomb fell right next to the tracks.
ROMAN CHERNITSKYI, UKRAINAN RAILWAYS (through translator) We are reacting and repairing railway even under artillery shelling every day. Unfortunately, some of my colleagues have been killed and injured during shelling.
MCLEAN: 33 killed, 24 injured and counting.
The difficulty working aboard a moving train is that the cell phone signal is not always great. Now, they do have Starlink internet systems now courtesy of Elon Musk, but they barely ever turn them on because they say it makes it easier for the Russians to target their location.
The Russians have taken control of rail links in cities like besieged Mariupol, Sumy, Harrison, and Chernihiv. But for now all of the major hubs are still connected by Ukrainian rail.
How bad would it be if the Russians took these major stations? KAMYSHIN: Really bad. Don't ask me how bad, but really bad.
MCLEAN: when the train reaches Lviv, Kamyshin makes a quick visit to the main station. And more calls and meetings and a message for the rest of the world.
KAMYSHIN: What we can do, we already do. What best can do, close the sky and all the rest we'll do ourselves.
MCLEAN: Scott McLean, CNN in Western Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: OK, now the arts have long been considered a bridge between countries, but a new report says Russian artists aboard are facing pressure to take a stand against the war in Ukraine. We will dig further into this story after the break.
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[23:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): We have to stand firm and keep on fighting every night. And every day, we should be fighting for ways to destroy, to harm the enemy and all the directions.
We will achieve and we will reach what's ours so that all the occupiers and all the collaborators will know that Ukraine will not forget. Never, nothing.
Ukraine will not forgive. Ukraine will find them and will call them to responsibility, each one of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN HOST: Also, Ukraine's energy minister said the country is doing everything possible to reconnect to the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant to that power grid.
The plant has lost external power, which it needs to cool used or spent nuclear fuel. And right now, it's running on generators.
The U.N. Atomic Energy Agency now says Russian officials told it that power cables can be extended from nearby Belarus.
Ukraine says Chernobyl employees have now been allowed to leave since Russia occupied the plant.
Now, as sanctions against Russia continue to pile up, Russia is making clear it does plan to fight back. Its weapon? Oil and gas or, rather, the lack thereof.
Russia's deputy prime minister warned Monday that global prices would skyrocket if his country cut off oil exports to the West.
Russia says cutting off its supply would push prices to $300 per barrel. That's about three times the current price of Brent Crude of $112 a barrel.
We want to take a closer look at this stunning $300 per-barrel figure. We're joined now by Ed Hirs, an energy fellow at the University of Houston, who, in fact, co-authored a paper on this very scenario.
Thanks for joining us this evening.
And let's get to that point. I mean, OPEC has been a sticking point here in terms of not really rushing to increase demand.
And now Russia is seizing on research, apparently, that you co- authored, that this 300-barrel figure could really be reality.
Are they correct?
ED HIRS, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: Yes, they are. When I heard the threat on Monday, I pulled the paper and worked the math out, and it's there to the dollar.
You know, we wrote this paper in 2010. The price elasticity demand for oil is very elastic. Once you've filled your car with 15 gallons, the value of the 16th gallon goes to zero.
But if you need that extra gallon to get to grandma's house at Thanksgiving, it becomes a lot more valuable to you. And that's the way it is around the world.
You know, most folks have been planning on a supply interruption in the Strait of Hormuz. But any interruption in the global market has an impact.
An interruption in the midland or Saudi Arabia or Ghana, Russia, the North Sea, it ripples across the entire globe.
NEWTON: So this is not a hollow threat. What can be done by the administration or other countries around the world to help?
We all know it's complicated. And I think one thing you can help viewers understand is, well, it's not like swapping out one barrel for another barrel. It's not like for like.
It depends on what kind of oil it is, how it's refined, where it can be refined. It's quite complicated.
HIRS: That's absolutely right. There are 70 different trading nodes around the globe, you know, sweet, sour, light, heavy.
If the Russians decide to take their seven million barrels off the table, that -- we've all been concerned about them shutting off the natural gas flows to Europe.
But pulling that seven million barrels a day off the market, there's no quick response to this.
Keep in mind, the reason we import oil from Russia, the reason they're able to sell it into the market is they can sell is for less than it takes us in the United States to drill and produce it.
They have a competitive advantage. And we just can't dial up production that quickly.
The Saudis have stated that they don't think this is going to happen. They don't see this as a long-term supply-and-demand disconnect. It's just a temporary dislocation.
NEWTON: You know, what's interesting here is, again, what you do to make sure that even if you can't solve this in the next few weeks or months that there's more of a long-term solution.
At CNN, we've spoken to a former secretary of the Navy. No, he was not the energy secretary. His name is Ray Mabus.
I want you to listen to what he says now in terms of what must be done to move to energy security. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY MABUS, FORMER U.S. NAVY SECRETARY: The thing that makes oil prices and gas prices spike and causes so many problems for American families and American businesses and around the world is chaos and uncertainty of the kind we're seeing right now.
And so the U.S. ought to speed up getting off -- I took the Navy and Marine Corps mainly off fossil fuels as a war-fighting measure. It is a national security issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[23:35:08]
NEWTON: Professor, is he right?
HIRS: Well, I mean, the Navy and the Marine Corps need fossil fuels. They need oil and gas. That has not changed. You know, aircraft fly on petroleum.
And so -- going back to an issue of energy security, President Eisenhower saw this in 1959 when he imposed an oil import quota.
He saw that the United States would become vulnerable to cheaper oil supplies from foreign nations. And also that we're the high-cost producer. He wanted to make sure that we weren't terribly dependent upon foreign producers.
This import quota was reversed by President Nixon in the '70s. And ever since then, we've become more and more dependent upon not only oil produced but on the economic impacts of the global oil market, ripples in Brazil, ripples in Venezuela and Mexico.
And that's left us very vulnerable, too, not only the price hikes but to issues with supply security.
NEWTON: You know, his point is also, though, that we should be moving quickly to renewables. Again, diversifying the supply there.
I mean, a lot of people in the United States have complained, look, we're trying to trade barrels from one dictator, namely Putin, from another dictatorship, whether it's Iran or Venezuela.
We don't have a lot of the time left. But what do you think would be the best response to that Russian threat?
HIRS: Well, the first thing is select a price increase because that's going to make more renewable fuel, such as renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, come back into the money.
It's going to encourage the switching by consumers to electric vehicles.
You know, we've been trying to do this top-down with Washington policy. It has to be done bottom-up.
The consumer has to make the decision to run away from F-150s as the most popular vehicle in America and go forward with more economical cars and electric vehicles.
NEWTON: OK, that is certainly a long-term fix to what could be a short-term problem just in the coming weeks.
Ed Hirs, the University of Houston, I really want to thank you for your insights.
HIRS: My pleasure.
NEWTON: Now, Russian-themed restaurants and businesses in the United States are facing backlash over the invasion in Ukraine. Some are experiencing bigotry and seeing their storefronts vandalized.
As CNN's Jason Carroll reports, owners and employees are anxious about whether their businesses can survive this.
(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 calling for 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 theatre district.
SHATS: Sixty percent of businesses down. Overnight, just wake up one day and the business is gone. Nobody's here.
CARROLL: 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: 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.
CARROLL (on camera): People leaving messages.
VON SHATS: Leaving messages on our machine. It's never nice. Our sign has been 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 (voice-over): (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CARROLL: The restaurant owner is Armenian and most of the staff are 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, RUSSIAN TEA TIME: We really feel pain. We have a waitress whose mother's hiding in bomb shelters in Kyiv.
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 Chi-Chi Chicken.
CARROLL: But the Von Shats say they will never change the name Russian Samovar.
[23:40:02]
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.
CARROLL: They also wanted to make this a teachable moment, saying he wanted to teach people that, oftentimes, if they are lashing out at Russian businesses, they are also lashing out at the people who work there.
And who might be not only Russian but Ukrainian or Romanian, some of the very same people who actually support Ukraine.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: OK. I don't have to remind many of you, right, parts of the U.S. are absolutely shivering and digging out this weekend. We go to the CNN Weather Center for the latest on this massive winter storm.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Oh, my god.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Yes, you can say that again. That was a waterspout coming on shore in Florida Saturday. At least two tornadoes, as well, were reported in the state.
The storm is at the tail end of a strong winter storm system that has more than 25 million people right across the southern U.S. under freeze warnings.
Joining me now is Meteorologist Derek Van Dam.
Quite a slap in the face, even here in Atlanta. Today, it was freezing.
[23:45:00]
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And interesting tidbit about that footage you saw. When you have a waterspout that moves on land, it's classified as a tornado at that particular stage.
This is one of two tornados that formed across the Florida peninsula leaving damage to apartment buildings and snapping trees, almost toppling them like they were twigs.
You could almost follow the advancement of the cold front as it moved across the state of Florida. Starting to weaken as it did so.
But it's part of the broader system here that is located across the Canadian Maritimes. And that word right there really tells it all -- cold. Arctic air that
has settled in across the northeast and across the south.
All the way to the deep south, in fact, into the Gulf of Mexico. We have a potential for 40 overnight lows being broken in terms of records.
This is terrible news because the growing season has already begun across this area. Think about the impacts of temperatures.
A prolonged period of time where overnight lows will drop below freezing, below zero degrees Celsius, 32 Fahrenheit.
Soybeans, wheat, the citrus industry here will be impacted with a 25 million Americans being impacted by in freeze warning.
The northeast, you can't escape this arctic blast either. We're talking temperatures 20 to 30 degrees below where we should be this time of year. Very, very chilly.
And you factor in the winds, and this is what it feels like on your exposed skin as you step outside. Eight in Boston, 11 degrees for the windchill in New York City this morning.
And a fresh blanket of snow across many locations from Pennsylvania to the Tennessee River Valley. We're approaching snowfall totals upwards of a foot.
The snow is coming to an end. This storm is moving away quickly. But it's the winds behind it that's going to pick up and it's going to get -- again, going to drop our temperatures.
You felt it here in Atlanta. We've got another 24 hours before it warms up here.
NEWTON: Wow. And on it goes. As I said, quite something at the tail end of winter.
VAN DAM: Yes.
NEWTON: Derek Van Dam, appreciate the update.
Police in New York are looking for the suspect in a knife attack at the city's famous Museum of Modern Art.
Now authorities say a 60-year-old white man -- he was, in fact, a regular visitor to the museum -- stabbed two employees in the neck, back, and collarbone.
He had been denied entry because of two previous incidents of disorderly behavior at the museum. Police say he became angry, jumped the reception desk, and stabbed the employees. Two victims were rushed to hospital and are expected to survive.
New video captured the moment just a few hours ago when a flurry of missiles hit Erbil in Iraqi Afghanistan. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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NEWTON: The Kurdish regional government says a dozen missiles have struck its capital city early Sunday morning. So far, reports say there were no casualties.
The Kurds say the missiles were launched from outside Iraq. And the U.S. says none of the missiles hit the new American consulate under construction in Erbil, although areas around the compound were, in fact, hit.
The U.S. and the prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan both condemned the attack.
In Ukraine, a separate race for safety. Coming up, the push to save cultural treasures from Russia's offensive.
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[23:52:10]
NEWTON: Another blow to Russian oligarch and Chelsea Football Club owner, Roman Abramovich. The English Premier League has disqualified him as the club's director.
It comes just days after the U.K. government sanctioned Abramovich, freezing his assets.
Patrick Snell has our update.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK SNELL, CNN "WORLD SPORT" ANCHOR (voice-over): Both Chelsea's men's and women's teams take to the field of play on Sunday in their first home league fixture since U.K. government sanctions were imposed on the Blues billionaire Russian owner, Roman Abramovich.
The four-time Super League champions hosting Aston Villa, while Thomas Tuchel's men take on New Castle in the English Premier League after a tumultuous week for the football giants.
THOMAS TUCHEL, CHELSEA MEN'S MANAGER: Of course, there was a lot of distraction, another level of distraction actually, with the sanctions.
And we could feel it that the players talk about it, they are aware of it and accepted it.
But -- but like I said, think the rhythm and the excitement and the love for the game, in general, helps us.
SNELL: During the nearly two decades of Abramovich's ownership, Chelsea amassing 21 major trophies, including five Premier League titles and two Champions' League crowns.
Now, though, with his assets, including Chelsea, frozen by the U.K., the West London Club has been granted a special license to continue paying staff and players.
But buying and selling new play and selling tickets to matches beyond those already sold to fans is not permitted.
EMMA HAYES, CHELSEA WOMEN'S MANAGER: Let's be honest here, you know, there's a war going on in Ukraine. There -- there's bigger situations.
And, yes, it's a big moment for the club. But I -- but I believe in giving both sides the time to get it right.
SNELL: On Saturday, meantime, Chelsea's week of turmoil continuing with news of a Premier League's board has now disqualified Abramovich as a club director, though, remember, he had already announced his intention to sell last week.
And within the last few days, we have learned the U.K. government is open to Chelsea's potential sale and would consider an application for a new license to allow for it to happen.
Patrick Snell, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: So of course, it's become clearer there's a dwindling number of safe places to take refuge in Ukraine.
Now, while civilians consider their options for escaping the relentless attacks, there's a separate effort to try and protect what's left behind.
Atika Shubert reports on the rush to safeguard the country's heritage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Racing against time to save Ukraine's cultural treasures.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SHUBERT: Among them, a thousand-year-old Bible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SHUBERT: Ancient manuscripts hastily stored in boxes meant for supermarket bananas, the fastest way to save them from the threat of Russian bombardment.
[23:54:59]
When Russian missiles hit the historic Holocaust Memorial in the capital of Kyiv, National Museum director of Lviv, Igor Korshun (ph), realized no place was safe.
From his now empty museum, he tells us why he ordered the emergency storage of the city's entire collection.
"We see how Russia is shelling residential areas, even people that are evacuating," he tells us.
"They guaranteed they wouldn't, but now we can't trust them. And we need to take care of our heritage because this is our national treasure," he says.
SHUBERT (on camera): It's not just about saving priceless works of art. This is the country's spiritual heritage.
These are from the 17th century. And they're here in the hallway because the museum has run out of space in its basement.
(SINGING)
SHUBERT (voice-over): Even religious sites fear the worst. This mass at Lviv's Cathedral Basilica was one of the last before its giant stained-glass windows were boarded up with steel plates.
Praying for protection in a war where it seems no place is sacred from attack.
Atika Shubert, for CNN, in Lviv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: OK. I am Paula Newton. We will be back to Ukraine in just a moment where explosions were heard just a little while ago outside the city of Lviv.
Hala Gorani will be there live for us coming up just after the break.
Our live coverage continues here on CNN.
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