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Officials: At Least Two Killed in Strikes on Kyiv Suburb; Deadly Russian Strike on Military Base Near Poland; U.S. Official: Russia Requesting Military Aid from China; Russia Counting on China to Help Withstand Sanctions; U.S. Sending Another $200 Million in Defense Aid to Ukraine; Russia Expands Attacks as Ukraine Holds Capital Kyiv. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 14, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vladimir Putin is intent on destroying Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have seen many things that were unimaginable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They stay on the ground three, four days, they do not see the sky, they do not see the sun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many of the people are traumatized.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Russian people are living in perverted relative.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all stand together and we are highly motivated to defend our country because this is our home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

SOARES: It is Monday, March 14th, and another round of talks between Russia and Ukraine is set to take place in the hours ahead as the war in Ukraine pushes well into a third week.

In just the last hour, Ukraine's emergency services said at least two people were killed when a residential building in a Kyiv suburb was hit by shelling. This amid a widening Russian offensive.

Now, Russia's military assault has spread to western Ukraine where missiles hit a military base near the city of Lviv, close to the border with NATO member Poland. A local official says at least 35 people were killed. The White House national security adviser is warning any attack on NATO territory will trigger a full response by the alliance. A warning as well from the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said it's only a matter of time before Russia's military assault expands into NATO territory and he's calling once again for a no-fly zone in Ukraine. The Pentagon spokesman reacted to the expanding Russian offensive. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: This is their third now military facility or air field that the Russians have struck in western Ukraine in just the last couple of days. So clearly at least from an air- strike perspective, they're broadening their target sets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: And this right here is Mariupol. The video shows Russia -- as you can see there -- firing on apartment buildings. Officials in the besieged city say more than 2,000 people there have been killed so far. The Red Cross is calling for an urgent solution for the hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in Mariupol to prevent a, quote, worst-case scenario as the convoy of humanitarian aid remains stalled.

And we are seeing more devastation east of Mykolaiv where a school in one village was destroyed by Russian military strike. One official said there were several casualties there.

Still, the Russian assault is being met with strong resistance. New satellite images show Ukrainians thwarted a Russian military attempt to cross a pontoon bridge towards Kyiv. Photos show the bridge and nearby Russian vehicles destroyed as you can see there. Ukraine's president says the country remains defiant as well as determined.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia also lost thousands of units of military weaponry -- 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)

SOARES: Let's get more on the latest developments. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins me from Lviv, Ukraine with the latest. And Salma, we have been seeing yet again Russian forces getting ever so closer to Kyiv though still on the outskirts. What can you tell us about their advance in the last 24 hours or so?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Well, Isa, we do understand according to western intelligence agencies that Russian tanks are just about 15 miles from the outskirts of Kyiv. What's been of particular concern is that there were images of this huge convoy, a 40-mile-long convoy of armored vehicles, tanks, troops, a Russian armed convoy that had been on the outskirts of Kyiv just a few days ago, and that appears to have dispersed. Western intelligence says that is a sign potentially that Russian troops could be preparing to besiege the capital.

Now, that's not something that is easy or could happen overnight. There is also a geographic barrier, Ukrainian resistance.

[04:05:00]

But we do have a worrying sign this morning. We have new breaking information, I know you mentioned this, of a residential building in a suburb in Kyiv hit in the early hours of this morning. Shelling hit the 9th floor of this residential building in the Obolon district. Emergency services arrived quickly. They evacuated 15 -- 65 people were evacuated, rather, but two people have died and three were hospitalized. Fires continued for hours to burn at that building. Have now been put out, but emergency services are continuing rescue operations.

Now, why is this a worrying sign? Well, the Ukrainian government says that when Russian troops are unable to capture a city, take for example, Mariupol. What they do is besiege, they encircle, they cut off food, they hit residential buildings and that's of course what has many civilians terrified, is that Russian tactics might be become more brutal in the absence of clear military victories -- Isa.

SOARES: And, Salma, on that point, I mean, where are we on the humanitarian corridor? Some were promised we saw last week, not all Russian stick to all of them, their promises of letting civilians through. We are we expecting more humanitarian corridors in the next few days?

ABDELAZIZ: We are indeed. Today a humanitarian corridor, a green corridor is set to reopen towards Mariupol. There's been a convoy trying to make its way there for the last two days now. They still have tens of miles to go before they can arrive in Mariupol. It is a huge convoy with aid, help, assistance. It's led by orthodox priests who want to get into that city. Again, Mariupol has been cut off from electricity, food, water, basic supplies.

What we hear from accounts from eyewitnesses inside Mariupol is absolutely horrifying. People unable to get their basic medicines, unable to provide for their families, apparently people who have died in shelling. Their bodies left behind in streets unable to be retrieved by their families because of that fighting. So that convoy getting to Mariupol is crucial. It is critical. But here's the thing, Isa. This is the sixth time that the Ukrainian authorities have tried to get help to Mariupol. This convoy has been on the way for two days now. This will be the third day of its journey. Everyone is really hoping, Isa, that that convoy makes it because that help is absolutely critical for the people of Mariupol.

SOARES: Yes, we will believe it when we see it. Like you said, Salma, it's been a city that's been under siege for nine-plus days and like you said, the people are in dire need of humanitarian help. Salma Abdelaziz there for us in Lviv. Thanks very much, Salma. Stay safe.

Well, a U.S. journalist is among those killed Sunday by Russia's war in Ukraine. Brent Renaud was hit by gunfire in northern Ukraine near the capital. His friend and fellow journalist Juan Arredondo was wounded. Arredondo described from the hospital what happened to them. Apparently at the time, he didn't know his friend was killed. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUAN ARREDONDO, PHOTOJOURNALIST: 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 the other bridge and we crossed a checkpoint and they start shooting at us. So, the driver turned around and they kept shooting. It's two of us. My friend is Brent Renaud and he's been shot and left behind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And how is he?

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't know what happened to him?

ARREDONDO: I saw he was shot in the neck and we got split.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, Brent Renaud was in Ukraine working for "Time Magazine." That magazine says -- I'll read it out to you.

Our hearts are with all of Brent's loved ones. It is essential that journalists are able to safely cover this ongoing invasion and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

Well, Russia is asking China for both military as well as economic assistance in its war against Ukraine. That is according to a U.S. official. But Beijing is denying it received any such request for help from Moscow. The topic will, no doubt, come up as U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan meets with his Chinese counterpart in the coming hours.

CNN's Nina dos Santos is standing by here in London with more on the impact of him will get to that sanctions on Russia. We'll get to that in just a second. But first I want to go to Beijing with Steven Jiang has more on Moscow's call for assistance from China. So, Steven, I know the thought of, you know, China probably weighing in this very carefully because perhaps it's got very little to gain here. So, tell us more about the Beijing response this morning.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Isa, the Chinese foreign ministry just responded to this issue with the spokesman basically dismissing this report saying this is, again, U.S. officials peddling false information with, quote, unquote, sinister intentions.

[04:10:00]

Now, the timing of this leak from Washington, of course, is very interesting because this is definitely putting China under an intense spotlight for its role in the war just as Jake Sullivan as you mentioned is about to meet his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, who is also a key adviser to President Xi Jinping in Rome in the coming hours.

Now the Chinese are framing this meeting a longs planned, not something hastily arranged because that Ukraine is undoubtably on top of their agenda. Perhaps in anticipation of Washington exerting even more pressure over Beijing, Chinese state media outlets have been pushing back and warning against this approach and cautioning the U.S. not to try to sow division between Russia and China.

But obviously, ever since the war broke out, China has been trying to strike a very, almost impossible balance, standing by Russia especially when it comes to parroting a lot of the propaganda, some would say disinformation from the Kremlin. Also trying to say the right things, at least in public, reiterating its respect for all countries' sovereignty and calling for peace talks.

But also, increasingly trying to minimize Chinese entity's exposure to severe Western sanctions. That's why in the past few days some analysts have been pointing to some subtle signs of change here, including China, for example, sending a small-scale humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and some Chinese entities indication that they were willing to comply with Western sanctions.

But at the end of the day, experts we talked to say the Chinese leadership is very pragmatic. Chinese -- China's self-interest is paramount. That's why they don't see any upside for China to get deeply involved in a war not fought on its soil. And the calculus is, no matter what happens on the battlefield, eventually a weakened and a bitter Russia would have almost no choice to move ever closer into China's orbit as the junior partner in this so-called no-limits partnership. That's why at this stage most experts are very skeptical of China getting directly involved in the war especially militarily -- Isa.

SOARES: Yes, especially because this is supposed to be China's recovery post COVID, and we all know Beijing needs that stability. Thanks very much.

I've got Nina here with me to talk more about what Russia needs and is requesting here. I mean, I don't know if you remember this, but during the Beijing Olympics, Nina, both leaders, both Putin and Xi Jinping next to each other, talking about this new no limit alliance. The fact there was no limits to this relationship. How much does Russia need China here?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, quite a lot actually, especially at the moment. In fact, it's gotten a lot closer to China, Russia has, since the first round of sanctions were imposed in 2014, 2015, after Russia's invasion of Crimea. A number of sanctioned oligarchs. Oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin were sanctioned, particularly by the United States and so, it started doing a lot more business in China.

There were energy projects that were taking place between China and Russia as well as Western firms had pulled out. So, this is an extension of that relationship, albeit likely to be turbo charged here. As you just heard there from Jake, we've had these interesting leaks

coming in the run up to this big meeting is taking place between China's top diplomat and Jake Sullivan. And over the course of the weekend, Jake Sullivan, in fact, actually told CNN that the White House believes that China was pre-informed that Russia was going to invade Ukraine albeit they might not have been made clear exactly how, to what extent this invasion was going to be as damaging to Ukraine, and the relationship between Russia and the West as it was.

What exactly would Russia need from China? Well, the White House hasn't said exactly what type of military assistance they might have asked for, but on the other hand, we know that repeatedly Russia will be relying upon China to provide technological products. This is something that obviously now they're not going to be getting from the West. That could be important for military assistance, but also just for consumer goods as well.

I mean, we know that companies like Apple and telephone companies have pulled out of Russia alongside many Western firms. Could China make up the difference? And also, we know that Jake Sullivan has been very emphatic over the last few days saying that the United States would not tolerate large-scale sanctions if China were to help Russia evade sanctions, and the key thing there is large scale. That's a qualifier there. To understand exactly how far this diplomatic relationship will go.

China and Russia have had a history of closer cooperation since they've becoming under increasing scrutiny over issues like human rights. But on the other side over the last five, six years they've been getting closer and closer. China is Russia's largest trading partner. And now that obviously the West is trying to push Russia to its favored trading status. Well, that partnership is going to get tighter.

SOARES: They're pretty much cornering China to -- they may have to walk a very fine line here, of course, on sides. Nina dos Santos him well, thank you very much.

Well, plenty of help is on its way to Ukraine, U.S. help. The U.S. is moving quickly to send more military equipment to defend against the widening Russian offensive. Oren Liebermann reports speed is a priority here with the Kremlin warning, it might target those armed shipments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:15:00]

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 are trying to do this as quickly as possible. In fact, deputy foreign minister from Russia 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.

JAKE SULLIVAN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: 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 front lines to help the Ukrainians ensure that Ukraine is a strategic failure for Vladimir Putin.

Of course, these convoys are going through a war zone, 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.

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 are concerned not because they have 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. says could be a false flag operation as Russia often accuses others of what it intends to do itself, and that is what is ringing alarm bells here. Oren Liebermann, CNN, at the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, I would like to bring in Romeo Kokriatski. He's a journalist of the podcast Ukraine. He's been hosting refugees in his home and he joins me now from Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Romy, thank you very much for your time really here on the show. I want to get your sense of what you've been seeing as well as hearing in the last 24 to 48 hours as Russian troops, of course, get closer to the capital. Still on the outskirts but obviously getting closer.

ROMEO KOKRIATSKI, JOURNALIST: Hi, thanks for having me. Yes, what we've seen in the past couple of days basically is that the Russians are still trying to break through the defensive lines that the Ukrainian army has set up on the outskirts of Kyiv. They've attempted once again to break through the flash points that have basically been there since the beginning of the conflict around the Kyiv, the northwestern Kyiv suburb of Hostomel, Bucha, Irpin. And from the opposite side the northeastern side through the Kyiv suburb of Profuree (ph).

But so far, the Russians have not been able to break through these defensive lines and have effectively been held at bay. Though that has not stopped them from shelling residential neighborhoods in Kyiv itself. Such as Obolon where multiple strikes have killed multiple civilians in the area.

SOARES: And we saw such shelling. We're looking at pictures actually from shelling from this morning just in the suburbs of Kyiv, of an apartment building on the suburbs. I mean, as you -- can you hear from where you are? Talk to us about the defense from your vantage point how Ukrainians have been able to withstand this pressure as they get ever so closer.

KOKRIATSKI: I mean, a lot of it is down to the fact that quite frankly we are fighting for our very existence, and that tends to motivate people quite a bit, as you can imagine. So, we are incredibly determined to defend Ukraine and to defend our way of life and defend the freedoms and liberties we have built over the past 30 years of independence.

And the Russians, well, what are they fighting for? Just conquest, just imperialism. And we can see how demoralized the Russian armed forces are. We can see how poorly they're supplied, how poorly the logistics is. There's even rumors of dissent within the F.S.B., Russia's security service itself, with several F.S.B. higher ups said to have been placed under house arrest. So, in Russia their mood is nowhere close to the kind of resolve that we have to win. And obviously it's impossible to overstate how much strength that's given us.

[04:20:00]

Of course, Western arm shipments haven't harmed our ability to defend ourselves either.

SOARES: Yes, and I know that you mentioned you've been sheltering, hosting refugees in your home. Give us a sense of how many people are staying with you, whether you have enough food, enough medicine.

KOKRIATSKI: Yes, luckily where I am in Vinnytsia is about 300 -- it's a city about300 kilometers southwest of Kyiv. So, it's considered relatively safe. We've had a few missile strikes, but mostly on the military air fields that surround the city. Nothing within the city itself. As a result, Vinnytsia has become one of the major staging points and thoroughfares for evacuees going from the eastern parts of the country.

So, I've hosted quite a few families here, and it is typically families, people with children who cannot afford to stay where they are, who have other lives to consider besides their own. And aren't exactly willing to gamble on them. And mostly people have been in shock. I mean, in the beginning I would say about a couple -- till about maybe a couple days ago, there was still this very strong sense that the war may be over very soon and normal life will continue. Now I think that kind of optimism has been fading, not we're going to lose, but that this is going to grind on for a while longer and hoping for a short victory is probably not worth it. SOARES: I mean, viewers watching from around the world are probably

thinking, why would people stay? Why will you stay? Why would people stay? I know you're still on the outskirts of Kyiv and it's relatively safe, but why stay?

KOKRIATSKI: The reason a lot of people stayed -- and I've asked a lot of my friends who have remained in Kyiv itself, and their response has been, well, we have elderly relatives who refuse to leave. In a lot of cases, these are grandparents with either some kind of age-related frailties or are simply stubborn to leave the places that they've built their entire lives and raised families in. And they don't want to go, you know, to an unknown future in a different country on the drop of a hat and they would rather stay to take care of them. Obviously, a lot of people have stayed.

And on top of that, it is incredibly difficult to just uproot your life and leave. I mean, you don't know -- in a lot of cases, these are people who don't know the language of the country that they're traveling to. They don't know the culture there. They don't know anyone there. And so, going to a completely new place, not speaking the language, not knowing whether you're going to have food, work, a place to eat, funding, it's a really tough decision to make. And as a result, a lot of people have chosen to stay. Though now that the shelling has become intensified in a lot of these bigger, bigger cities near the Russian border, you've seen a lot of people start saying, well, it's getting way too dangerous. It's too much, and we have to go.

SOARES: Romeo, I appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. We are in awe of your defiance as well as the rest of Ukrainian people. Keep safe. Keep us posted. And let's stay in touch. Romeo there. Thank you very much.

KOKRIATSKI: Thank you.

SOARES: Now, more than 850 people were detained in anti-war protests across Russia on Sunday. That is according to an independent human rights group. It says Russian security forces are no longer detaining just protesters. They are also trying to identify, quote, 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.

And just ahead right here in CNN, Ukraine's president set to address the Council of Europe soon about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. We'll bring you that story just ahead. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[04:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Ukraine's president warns it's only a matter of time before Russian missiles fall on people in NATO territory if the Western block does not close the skies above Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday renewed his call for a no-fly zone to help stop Russia's attacks. And in the coming hours Mr. Zelenskyy is expected to address the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights organization. The group is meeting today and tomorrow to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand joins us now live from Brussels with more. And Natasha, good morning. What more can we expect to hear from Zelenskyy besides calling once again for a no-fly zone here?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Isa, he's likely to reiterate the message he has been sending over the last few weeks and months. Which is that Ukraine wants to be a member of European Union. Of course, last week EU members met and they actually decided against fast tracking the EU membership candidacy status for Ukraine. And that has been very disappointing obviously for Zelenskyy.

In addition to calling for this no-fly zone, he has also of course been conveying to the Europeans that Ukraine feels European. That they would find it to be a very important symbolic message to Russia to be a member of the EU and this is not only a fight that they are waging on behalf of Ukraine, but also, for the whole of Europe. Much in line with what he said yesterday about the possibility that missiles might actually start to fall in NATO and in European territory.

So, this is going to be an opportunity for him yet again to send that message. And it comes just days after Europe actually slapped new sanctions on Russia, targeting its energy sector, targeting, you know, banning luxury good exports from the EU. Actually, cutting them off from that most favored nation trade status. And so, the EU obviously is trying its best here to help Ukraine under the circumstances, but they say that they are not yet prepared to implement this kind of fast-track status for their membership because Ukraine is in the middle of a war right now. It would just be pretty untenable for them to have this application be considered as they have been struggling, of course, to get their legal, political and financial systems in line with EU standards.

And so, this is not a priority right now for the Europeans. They say the priority is actually to be sending additional humanitarian and lethal aid to Ukraine to help them fend off the Russians.

[04:30:00]