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Russian Military Offensive Strike Western Ukraine; Russia Seeking Military Help from China; War in Ukraine From a Journalist's Perspective; United Nations Reports 2.7 Million People Fleeing Ukraine. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 14, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, everyone and welcome to our viewers around the world and in the United States as well this hour. I'm Hala Gorani live in Lviv, Ukraine. We're following all the breaking developments on the war here in Ukraine. In the coming hours, Ukraine and Russia are scheduled to hold another round of talks even as Russia expands its unprovoked military assault on the country.

And we're now learning that Moscow may be looking for outside help. A senior American official says Russia has asked China for military assistance in Ukraine including drones. Meantime, the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken is calling for an end to the "brutality" as he condemned Russia's deadly attack on a military base near Ukraine's border with Poland.

The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, vowed that the U.K. will continue to pursue options to boost Ukraine's self-defense. During the call with the president of the country, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Sunday. All this as concerns mount for civilians trapped by the heavy bombardment from Russian forces including in Mariupol. Mr. Zelenskyy says a top priority now is to get a humanitarian convoy to that city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): Every possible diplomatic effort is being made to ensure that the convoy arrives. Let's see whether they will listen to us in Moscow. We know it's extremely difficult to all Ukrainians today, all of our 40 million. But we shall win, 100 percent. Glory to Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: CNN correspondents are tracking developments across the globe. This hour we have reports from Steven Jiang in Beijing, Oren Lieberman at the Pentagon, Ed Lavandera is at the border crossing in Poland. Bu first, we get -- we begin with Sam Kiley in Kyiv.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There has been a limited respite for the people of Kyiv over the last 24 hours. Notwithstanding the murder of American journalist Brent Renaud, there has been a reduction overall in the levels of airstrikes and bombardments here in the capital. That is because military analyst in the United States and the United

Kingdom have - believe that there is a consolidation and reorganization going on within Russian forces, possibly with reinforcements from their combat units further east for a push in against the capital city from the east as part of their ongoing attempts to try to encircle and perhaps ultimately besiege Kyiv.

The road to the south is the main supply route for goods and services coming in and out of the city and cutting that route would be disastrous for the capital. But this coming as the Russians have also increased with particular position the use of long range missiles against a location, 11 miles just from the border with Poland, attacking a Ukrainian military training facility there, killing at least 35 people and wounding over hundred using long range ballistic missiles.

These sorts of missiles we've seen used across the country, but nothing like the volume of the dumb bombs that they've been dropping particularly in the north here of Kyiv where bomb disposal experts have been disarming what look like old style second world war type dumb bombs, a very disastrous weapon to be using in built up areas, clearly indicating an intent to bomb civilians with no regard for targeting, simply a decision to try to kill as many people as possible.

Elsewhere in the country, Mariupol continues to be under bombardment yet again. Attempts to relieve it have fallen flat by as a consequence of the Russians not allowing a convoy in or indeed evacuation of refugees out. There's been limited evacuations from other cities around the country, but there has been no significant movement forward by Russian forces who still are being held up by the Ukrainian defiance. Sam Kiley, CNN in Kyiv.

[02:05:00]

GORANI: Well, more now on the death of a U.S. journalist, Brent Renaud, killed Sunday by Russian forces in Ukraine. His friend and fellow journalist, Juan Arredondo was wounded in that attack. Arredondo described from the hospital what happened to them. Apparently at the time, he didn't know that his friend had died.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUAN ARREDONDO, AMERICAN JOURNALIST: We were -- we crossed one of the first bridge in Irpin. We're going to film other refugees leaving and we got into a car, somebody offered to take us to 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's been shot and left behind.

UNKNOWN: And how is he?

ARREDONDO: I don't know. I don't know.

UNKNOWN: You don't know? You don't know what happened to him?

ARREDONDO: He was -- I saw being shot in the neck, and we got split.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, Brent Renaud was in Ukraine working for "Time" magazine. And the magazine says, "Our hearts are with all of Brent's loved ones." The publication said it is essential that journalists are able to safely cover this ongoing innovation and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Our condolences to the friends and family of Brent Renaud.

Yousur Al-Hlou is a video journalist documenting the war in Ukraine for "The New Yorker Times." Here's part of the story that she filed this weekend by about a young officer for the Ukrainian army who was killed eventually by Russian forces.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BENJAMIN FOLEY, NEW YORK TIMES (voice-over): Senior Lieutenant Vasyl Vyshyvanyi was killed on the eighth day of the war with Russia. He was a 28-year-old paratrooper with the Ukrainian army. With heavy fighting in the Mykolaiv region, it took five days to recover his body and sent it home to his family. A coffin arrived sealed shut.

UNKNOWN: I am very worried about mom, how she will get through this. Her youngest son.

FOLEY (voice-over): The family requested that Vasyl be buried in his home village in western Ukraine.

UNKNOWN: This is called a human chain, made of people who bid farewell to the hero.

FOLEY (voice-over): For miles as the funeral procession passed, villagers gathered at the side of the road to pay their respects.

UNKNOWN: God takes away the best ones. I think he has it easy over there now. He lived through the worst. He is at peace now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, Yousor Al-Hlou joins me now from Ukraine. Yousur, what's it like filming. You're behind the camera there, filming this invasion, some of the worst times in the lives of people who are losing loved ones who are fighting to defend their land. What is it been like for you as a journalist?

YOUSUR AL-HLOU, VIDEO JOURNALIST, THE NEW YORK TIMES: All right, thank you so much for having me on the show. Just to give the proper credit, I've been here for about two months then I spent the first month filming, and the second month I've had an amazing cinematographer in Michael Downey and now in Benjamin Foley.

So, the cinematographer behind that footage is my colleague Benjamin Foley (ph), but we were there together with the family. And actually, unfortunately, we learned last night that the brother in the video was actually killed. His name is Karilo (ph) and --

GORANI: Take your time.

AL-HLOU: Sorry. We're still confirming the details, but actually --

GORANI: That's okay.

AL-HLOU: -- it might have been -- he might have been killed in the strike at the Yavoriv base camp yesterday which I -- spent entire day reporting on yesterday but only found out sort of in the evening, but again, that needs to be confirmed. But unfortunately, these stories have been unfolding in front of us on a daily basis.

We filmed with a paramilitary fighter in early February who was also killed in Irpin last week. So, unfortunately, the tenor of the news here and the reality on the ground is just that the people that we meet on a daily basis and millions of other families, many of whom I've met along my journey here may potentially face the same faith, which is just a devastating part of our job here.

[02:10:03]

GORANI: Yes. Yes. I can see how much it affects you and it's a -- and that's a good thing, actually, because when you become numb to this type of thing, you're doing the wrong job. So, that's not a bad thing that you're feeling it so deeply. What is the morale like among these men and sometimes women? You know, they're taking losses but they are quite motivated to defend their land. Can you describe how they continue to keep that motivation up in the face of so much loss?

AL-HLOU: Absolutely. I mean, I've reported in many conflict zones around the world that something that I keep reiterating to my colleagues and my editors, is just the resilience that the people that we've been filing have. Their country is being attacked and they're willing to stay and defend their homeland.

We've covered the story of many civilians turned defenders turned fighters, computer programmers, actors, who have lined up for hours to pick up armed -- you know, to pick up a Kalashnikov and to spend their day in the freezing cold at a checkpoint to make sure that their city is safe.

We filmed with mothers who traveled extremely long distances from front lines like Kharkiv and Zhytomyr who've traveled alone because their men, their fathers, their husbands or brothers stayed behind to defend their cities. And these mothers took incredibly long train rides to Lviv and crossed into Poland.

And while they suffered enormous challenges and are suffering enormous challenges, they are so resilient, unresolved. I ask everyone, you know, do you describe yourself as a victim? You know, how do you want the world to see you? And I could comfortably say that every single person I spoke to says that they are prepared to do anything that they can do for their families and for their country.

GORANI: Yes. And you mentioned working in other conflict zones, Yousur each conflict is different. Each conflict is different, I mean, each conflict is different but in a fundamental way, each conflict is the same. And that it involves so much human tragedy and suffering. But if you could distinguish this one from others, is there anything the surprised you reporting from Ukraine versus other places? If so, what was it?

AL-HLOU: Yes. My family is Syrian-American and so, you know, unfortunately, if anything, the Syrian war is providing -- has provided a blueprint for some of the violence that we see here. Unfortunately, nothing seems to be too surprising anymore. I think, perhaps, some of these differences is the speed in which this happened and the extent to which the front line is sort of the entire country.

I left Lviv two days ago and at the time Lviv was considered the sort of final, sort of the city where, you know, refugees were staying and landing and staying. And the day after I left, of course, 35 people were killed in an attack in a base very close to Lviv and close to the Polish border.

So, there just seems to be no safe place in Ukraine anymore. And for a lot of the families we've met, I think just the speed in which this happened and the urgency to flee is perhaps something I haven't seen before.

GORANI: And you say you're Syrian-American, so that means you're familiar with the blueprint of how the Assad regime with the assistance of Russia targeted civilian installations, hospitals and we're seeing similar tactics used here were you have hospital, schools, shoe factory randomly, and this is really creating waves of desperate refugees that internally displaced people. Those people, too, not just the fighters are the one suffering. Can you tell us about your job witnessing that aspect of the invasion?

AL-HLOU: Yes, absolutely. And my colleagues have reported extensively on the impact of Russian bombs on civilians in Syria.

[02:14:55]

I, myself, was in Idlib in 2019 with my colleague, Evan (ph) reporting on just -- on what you just mentioned, attacks on civilians, attacks on hospitals. And, you know, I think that the burden is just for the -- it's sort of the most of the burden is borne by civilians. And, yes. I mean, it's -- on one hand, you have sort of the fighters who are picking -- and the civilians who picked up arms, but truly you also have people that are just suffering.

I mean, I think the most palpable place or scene that I've witnessed is sort of just the refugee exodus in Lviv. We filmed one of the first evacuation trains arriving there from Kyiv. The government organized trains to evacuate families from hotspots like Irpin (inaudible) Kyiv, Kharkiv, and we were sort of where they were landing, where they were arriving before their final journey across to the Polish border.

And just the desperation, mothers with children who were just born two months ago. We interviewed -- we interviewed mothers with children who were born just two months ago. We interviewed mothers who had one bag for their entire family that (inaudible) evacuate along with themselves. And I think these images will hunt us for the rest of their lives, unfortunately.

GORANI: Yousur Al-Hlou, take care of yourself. Thank you very much for doing this. Can you remind me of the names of our colleagues, and specifically you mentioned the name of the journalist who filmed the footage that we heard before you?

AL-HLOU: Yes. His name is Benjamin Foley.

GORANI: Okay, great. Yousur, thanks so much and thanks for the work you are doing, documenting all this. Really appreciate it.

AL-HLOU: Thank you. Thanks.

GORANI: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:20:00]

GORANI: Welcome back to our breaking news coverage. U.S. officials says that Russia is asking China for military and economic assistance. Let's go live to Beijing where Steven Jiang has more on this request. Steven?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIKING BUREAU CHIEF: Hala, we have reached out to the Chinese foreign ministry for comment. We have not heard back, but they are going to hold their daily press briefing in about two hours. But we expect officials to stick to China's usual talking points, stressing their supposed impartiality in this conflict and likely denouncing the U.S. effort to "smear China," and probably again going to blame the U.S. and NATO's eastward expansion for causing this conflict.

That, of course, is parroting a key Kremlin talking point. Now, the timing of this leak from Washington is very interesting though because Jake Sullivan, the U.S. National Security Adviser is meeting his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, who is also a key adviser to President Xi Jinping, in Rome in the coming hours.

The Chinese are framing this meeting as long planned, not something hastily arranged because of Ukraine, but Ukraine is in doubt (inaudible) going to be on top of their agenda. Now, probably in anticipation of Washington exerting more pressure over Beijing. Chinese state media outlets have been really pushing back on this end, warning U.S. against this approach, cautioning the U.S. not to try to sow division between Moscow and Beijing.

But ever since the war broke out, China has really been trying to strike this almost impossible balance. They obviously tried to stand behind Russia especially on the disinformation or some would say propaganda effort by the Kremlin.

But they are also trying to say the right things at least in public, reiterating their respect for national sovereignty and calling for peace talks. And they also, of course, trying to minimize the impact of severe western sanctions on Chinese entities. In recent days, some experts have pointed it to some subtle signs of changes from Beijing, including China sending small scale humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

And also, some Chinese entities with a large -- with large exposure to the western markets, for example, indicating their willingness to comply with western sanctions. But at the end of day, experts say China, the leadership here is very pragmatic. Self-interest are paramount. That's why they don't see -- how China see any benefits in getting deeply involved in the war, not fought on their soil.

So that's why whatever happens on the battlefield, they anticipate a weakened and a bitter Russia to have no other choice, but to move ever closer to this orbit of China as a junior partner in their so-called no limits partnership. That's why a lot of people are still very much skeptical of China getting directly involved in this war in Ukraine especially providing arms to Russia. Hala?

GORANI: Sure. Thanks very much, Steven Jiang. Now, nearly 2.7 million people have fled Ukraine, according to the U.N., but getting civilians out of some -- of these areas has been near impossible because of the heavy fighting. On Sunday, the Ukrainian government says that more than 5,000 people were evacuated using humanitarian corridors.

Nearly 4,000 were from the Kyiv region and about 1,600 were available to escape from Luhansk. Meantime though, temperatures have been well below freezing as hundreds of refugees, including the elderly, wait in long lines to cross the Ukrainian border into Moldova. And some are talking or sharing some horrific stories about living through the bombings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translation): We are bombarded, houses were blown up. People have no place to live. We're scared.

UNKNOWN: I have friends in Kiev. They stay underground by three, four days and not see skies and not see the sun. I can't imagine what they feel. But for me it was enough to feel one time vibration in the house from the bomb.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:25:00]

GORANI: Well, CNN's Ed Lavandera is at the Polish border town with more on the plight of these refugees.

ED LAVANDEARA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the pathway that is bringing thousands of Ukrainian refugees to safety, and also to a life of uncertainty. Many of these people have been traveling from the interior of the country. We spoke with one family that had come from Kryvyi Rih, which is as fate would have it, the hometown of Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown, who obviously has become such a beloved figure among Ukrainian people.

They told us they had been traveling since 7:00 in the morning on Sunday, and it was just after midnight when they finally arrive to this border checkpoint in the cold, here in Poland. And the uncertainty now comes from the fact that as these families begin to board these buses, what happens to them next is still very much up in the air.

They will be taken to a temporary shelter in a nearby town here on the Polish border and they will be able to figure out what to do next, where to go next. And that is the question that so many of them are now facing because many of them when you speak to these refugees, they talk about their homes in the past sense. So they don't know if they're going home in the coming weeks or even months or if ever.

And this is an operation here in the border city of Medyka, Poland that is running 24 hours a day as thousands of refugees continue to come across the border. And this is a scene that even here in the late hours continues to unfold, as thousands of refugees continue to arrive at the border here in western Ukraine.

A great deal of certainty about what happens next. A great deal of emotion, watching with so many of these people in the journey they've been through, and this is a scene that just continues to play out around the clock here in Poland. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Medyka, Poland.

GORANI: Well, if you would like to help people in Ukraine who may be in need of shelter, food, or water among other needs that they have, so desperate, some of them are at this stage. Go to cnn.com/impact. Last checked, CNN viewers have helped raise nearly $5 million to help in Ukraine and neighboring countries with all of these means.

Still ahead on the program, the U.S. is fast-tracking more military aid to Ukraine despite warnings from Russia that weapons convoys could become military targets. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:10]

GORANI: This is a scene in Kherson, Ukraine, Sunday morning. It's one of several cities that have fallen to Russian occupiers in recent days. But as you can see there, their residents are not taking it quietly. Hundreds of people turned out for one of the largest protests we've seen since the invasion began. At least one Russian soldier fired over their heads to try to disperse the crowd.

With the protesters continued to chant anti-Russian slogans and slurs aimed at Vladimir Putin, Kherson's mayor says his city's main weapon right now is unity. More now in our breaking news, Russia and Ukraine are expected to hold another round of diplomatic talks in the coming hours. Officials on both sides have signaled they are making some progress. But so far, negotiations have not yielded any breakthroughs unfortunately.

In Ukraine, the fighting rages on. This video from the besieged city of Mariupol shows Russian tanks firing directly into the city. Officials say hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped in Mariupol. Aid workers are saying that food, water, medicine all sorts of things are just running out.

But heavy fighting has prevented humanitarian convoys from reaching the city. And Russia meanwhile has expanded its offensive in western Ukraine Sunday carrying out a deadly strike on a military base not far from our position here in Lviv, just 25 kilometers from the border of Poland.

Ukrainian officials tell us, 35 people were killed and more than 130 injured in this attack. And despite Russia's relentless assaults, Ukraine's president says he's confident his country will win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We are going through the worst ordeal in our history, in our lives. We protect the most precious thing we have. We must hold on. We must fight and we will win. I know that. I believe in that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, the U.S. is moving quickly or quicker to send more military equipment into Ukraine to defend against the widening Russian offensive. Oren Liebermann reports speed is a priority with the Kremlin warning that it might target arms shipments.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Over the weekend, the White House approved another $200 million in security assistance to Ukraine. That's on top of some $350 million that was approved about two weeks ago. So, in this short span since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the White House is prepared to send in more than half a billion dollars of security assistance to Ukraine.

That's anti- armor, anti-tank, anti-aircraft missiles, and more. All of which the Pentagon says has been incredibly effective in slowing down the Russian advance and assault across the country, where it used to take weeks or months for this to get in on previously approved packages. It is now taking days. The U.S. well aware of the fact that Russia may make it difficult to get in those convoys, that equipment and they're trying to do this as quickly as possible.

In fact, Deputy Foreign Minister from Russia has said they would consider targeting these convoys if they continue. But National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has made it clear they're still going in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JALKE SULLIVAN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The United States, our NATO allies and partners and the Ukrainians have set up a system where 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. Of course, these convoys are going through a warzone.

[02:35:01] SULLLIVAN: And so, to describe them as safe wouldn't quite be accurate but we believe that we have methods and systems in place to be able to continue to support the Ukrainians as they fight very bravely, very effectively against the attacking Russian forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Of course, the U.S. remains concerned about the direction this is going as Russia's attack and invasion across Ukraine grows wider and gets closer to NATO territory in western Ukraine. There, of course, remains the concern about the use of chemical weapons. U.S. officials have said they're concerned not because they've seen evidence that Russia is preparing such an attack but Russia has accused the U.S. and the Defense Department of working in Ukraine on biological and chemical weapons with Ukraine.

It is that sort of warning that the U.S., this could be a false flag operation, as Russia often accuses others of what it intends to do itself. And that is what's ringing alarm bells here. Oren Liebermann, CNN at the Pentagon.

GORANI: A bipartisan delegation of American lawmakers, that delegation is in Poland right now to reaffirm the United States commitment to its allies during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there to meet with the Polish government and some of its officials and visit refugees. And some lawmakers are calling for more military help for you claim Ukraine, including fighter jets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): My personal feeling is we should provide those planes because they are potentially very important to the Ukrainian defense. We have given them helicopters as recently as January, we provided them U.S. military helicopters. And those are directly from the United States. I don't understand why this is any worse than -- from a Russian point of view that other things that we have already done or that we're talking about.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): I still don't rule out having planes at some point. But again, you take one day at a time and make the best defense system decisions. And that can always be discussed on the air or you'd be giving Vladimir Putin the roadmap.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, earlier I spoke with former Ukrainian finance minister Natalie Jaresko. I asked her what more the U.S. and its allies should be doing, especially since they've said a no-fly zone over Ukraine is a non-starter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATALIE JARESKO, FORMER UKRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: I think we need to do more urgently, the things that we're talking about, and we need to do them more completely. So, when we talk about providing military support, practically speaking, every day matters, every hour matters. And the NATO countries, the United States need to do this urgently and focus primarily on the air defense because if they're not going to provide a no-fly zone, and provide everything humanly possible to allow Ukrainians to close the sky.

On the sanctions, we need to finish what we started. We've been doing them out in tranches, and we need to be more complete. So rather than a couple selective banks, we need to fully sanction, fully adapt, fully blocking sanctions against all state banks. Remove all state banks from the SWIFT. Sanction all the state-owned energy companies, all the state-owned commodity companies and all the state-owned transportation company. We need to be more complete and more urgent.

GORANI: But do you think that will have an impact? It seems as though Vladimir Putin has not been swayed so far by very, very severe sanctions that have already been put in place that go beyond anything that's ever been implemented before. Are you suggesting that the whole energy sector should be cut off? Germany, among other European countries has expressed its opposition to that idea because it relies so much on Russian energy?

JARESKO: I understand that it seems costly for Germany, for the European Union to do this, but not winning this war right now, not defeating Putin will be much more costly than what they're thinking about with energy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, that was Natalie Jaresko, the former Ukrainian finance minister. And another troubling development, the staff at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant apparently is so tired that the workers have stopped carrying out repairs and maintenance of safety equipment. That's not very reassuring according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA says the physical and psychological fatigue of working nonstop for nearly three weeks is partly to blame.

The agency's director general has proposed a plan to deliver assistance but it has to be approved by the Ukrainians and also by Russian authorities as they are occupying the plant right now.

All right. That's going to do it for me for now. Rosemary church is at the CNN Center in Atlanta with more of our coverage. Rosemary?

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Hala. Thank you so much for that. We'll be back with you at the top of the hour. The International Ukrainian community is sending aid back home. We will meet a Los Angeles group gathering supplies in the United States. That's after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:43:22]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (voice over): New images showing riot police cracking down on anti-war protesters in Russia. More than 850 people were detained to demonstrations across the country Sunday. That is according to an independent human rights group. It says Russian security forces are no longer detaining just protesters, they're also trying to identify "unreliable people" in the places where demonstrations were announced.

Overall, the group says almost 15,000 anti-war protesters have been detained in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine began.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly is in a Twitter fight with the head of Russia's space agency. It began when Kelly criticized Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He then criticize the Russian Space official over a video he tweeted. Kelly says the video seemed to suggest an American astronaut who's on the International Space Station with two Russian cosmonauts will be abandoned in space by the Russians.

The Russian space official wound up calling Kelly a moron at one point and blocked him on Twitter. Kelly says this is the first word of argument he's ever had. But he insists the American-Russian partnership in space is vital and he doesn't want to see it end.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT KELLY, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: The space station has the program for the last 20 plus years has transcended what goes on politically on planet Earth.

[02:45:00]

KELLY: And I think it is worth saving because it is our connection with a country that, you know, were sometimes, you know, not too friendly with, but allows us to work cooperatively and peacefully together on something that's important to us. And I think if we lose this, then there's really nothing left that keeps us connected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Retired NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly there and his twin brother Mark is also an astronaut, and currently a U.S. senator. Well, many Ukrainians are facing an increasingly dire situation cut off from humanitarian aid and running out of supplies. But Ukrainians around the world are coming together to help. CNN's Paul Vercammen is at a Los Angeles church with that story.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here at St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Los Angeles, they are rallying for the people of Ukraine. They're collecting supplies, medical supplies here, some supplies for soldiers over there, including thermal underwear because it's so cold. They put together other kits. If you look behind me, they've got toiletries, hand sanitizer. Now there's about 14,000 Ukrainian-Americans here in the Los Angeles area.

And this scene is being played out at other Ukrainian churches. And the father here says what's astounding is not only are the Ukrainians helping out so much but other people in the community from all walks of life are also contributing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. VASILE SAUCIUR, CATHEDRAL OF ST. VLADIMIR UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH: Well, it started so small, and then I am overwhelmed with phone calls. People asking about Ukraine, and crying over the phone and supporting Ukraine with whatever they can. Clothing, medical supplies, money, everything. They -- prayers as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: And the father said as people have been reaching out to him, they've asked him, what is it that you need in Ukraine right now? And he said, think of it like camping, like backpack camping. Anything that you would take on that sort of trip is what people could use right now in Ukraine. Reporting from Los Angeles, I'm Paul Vercammen. Now back to you.

CHURCH: And remember, if you would like to help people in Ukraine who are in need of shelter, food and water, you can go to cnn.com/impact. At last check. CNN viewers like you have helped raise nearly $5 million to help in Ukraine and neighboring countries with shelter, food, water and other needs.

Well, war in Ukraine is rippling through the world of elite football. More countries are imposing sanctions against the Russian billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club.

Coming up. A look at the alleged ties between oligarch Roman Abramovich and Vladimir Putin. Back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:51:49]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (voice over): Even as war rages music still has the power to uplift and give hope. This group of violinists recorded themselves performing an old Ukrainian folk song. Some of them were hiding in bomb shelters as they played. According to the creator, 94 other musicians from 29 countries sent in videos over the course of just two days. Their music of show of support for Ukraine.

Within the past few hours, Australia announced sanctions against 33 Russian oligarchs, business people and their family members and this includes Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of the Chelsea Football Club. Australia joins a growing list of countries to sanction Abramovich and others believed to be close to President Vladimir Putin in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The British government also sanctioned Abramovich last week and halted any potential sale of Chelsea for now. Well, Chelsea, of course has a long and storied history and the club's success on the pitch has made Roman Abramovich one of Russia's most high-profile elites. CNN's Randi Kaye has more on the oligarch now facing an uncertain future. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): That's Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich celebrating a win by the British football club Chelsea, a team he bought in 2003 for what amounts to about $233 million.

MAX BERGMANN, FORMER U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: It's about time that the West really look at where is this money coming from.

KAYE: But the welcome ad in the U.K. is now gone. Abramovich is one of many oligarchs sanction for their alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

BERGMANN: So at any time can essentially get a meeting with Putin. He is very close to him.

KAYE: In Abramovich's case, the British government has banned him from its shores and frozen all his assets in the U.K. One day before he was sanctioned, Abramovich announced plans to sell the Chelsea Football Club and was also reportedly trying to unload at least some of his homes in London which include a 15-room mansion on what's known locally as billionaire's row.

BERGMANN: Russian oligarchs that when they get their money, oftentimes through very underhanded and corrupt means want to park that money in the west. Want to gain respectability. They buy real estate, whether that's in the United Kingdom, whether that's an apartment in New York which Roman Abramovich has. They buy yachts. This was a way of Roman Abramovich acting his money growing as well.

KAYE: The British government called Abramovich one of Russia's wealthiest and most influential oligarchs, saying he's being sanctioned because his wealth and connections are closely associated with the Kremlin. Abramovich's representative did not respond to CNN's request for comment. Forbes estimates as of this year, Abramovich is worth $14.5 billion. But now he's in jeopardy of losing many of his high-price toys, super yachts, luxury helicopters, supercars and mansions.

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KAYE: Abramovich accumulated much of his wealth when the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s. And Russian state assets were divided up.

BERGMANN: he had all these state-owned companies that suddenly got privatized and Roman Abramovich was there and was able to buy up and be part of buying up a number of these companies and became incredibly wealthy. And this is sort of the classic era of gangster capitalism in the 1990s.

KAYE: Abramovich bought an oil company from the Soviet Union for $200 million and later sold it for nearly $12 billion. With some of his remaining assets being seized by foreign governments, Roman Abramovich, his future is suddenly uncertain. This is absolutely devastating for him or his family, many of whom are remained in the West. This is costing the oligarch class tens of billions of dollars, so they think Abramovich personally at the very least, you know, in the billions.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach, Florida.

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CHURCH: Well, it turns out retirement doesn't sit well with Tom Brady. The 44-year-old legendary quarterback says he will return for his 23rd season in the National Football League. Just last month, of course, Brady said he was retiring after his second season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But on Sunday, he tweeted this. These past two months I've realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. How about that?

Well, thanks for being with us this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. Our breaking news coverage continues after a break with Hala Gorani.

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