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New Explosions Rock Kyiv; Getting Military Aid to Ukraine; Ned Price is Interviewed about Weapons to Ukraine; Biden Could Travel to Europe; Russian State TV Employee Disappears. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired March 15, 2022 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:26]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Russian forces continue their indiscriminate attacks on Kyiv. At least four buildings in residential areas were hit. At least two people reported dead. Good morning, I'm Erica Hill.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto. Those attacks today, more evidence that Ukrainian civilians are targets of the Russian invasion. Amid the violence, Kyiv has now imposed a 35-hour curfew. The mayor announced this morning that it will extend through the entire day on Wednesday.

And, today, leaders from three countries going directly to the heart of the battle. The prime minister, deputy prime minister of Poland, and the prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovenia, they're traveling to Kyiv, war torn Kyiv, to meet personally, in person, with President Zelenskyy.

Sources tell CNN that President Biden is now considering making a trip to Europe and NATO leaders are in discussions to hold an extraordinary session in Belgium next week.

Erica, it shows the grave concern western leaders have.

HILL: It absolutely does. Those two meetings, we can't underscore it enough.

Meantime, since the start of this invasion, Russia has launched more than 900 missiles, about 200 of those coming in just the last five days. As you know, Ukraine doing all it can to fight back. This is footage actually from a drone that captured its own artillery strike on a Russian military position. You see it in the trees there. That's where Russia had attempted to hide in a forest outside of Kyiv, hide some of its military installments there.

Let's begin this hour with CNN international correspondent Scott McLean, who is in Ukraine.

Scott, a very intense day in the capital. Fill us in on the latest.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Erica.

So, here in Lviv, there is normally a curfew at 10:00 p.m. In Kyiv, there is also a curfew starting at 8:00 p.m. But what's extraordinary is the curfew that's going to go into effect starting tonight. It will go all the way through Wednesday and won't lift until Thursday morning. And you can understand why authorities have put that in place.

It has been a violent last 24, 48 hours. Just today, four separate residential buildings have been hit by shelling. A house in the southern part of this city, a 16-story apartment building just west of the city, flames racing up and down all of the floors there. And then you also had early this morning as well a ten-story apartment building, the bottom five floors caught fire in that instance. You had fatalities. You've got people injured. And you've had people rescued.

So, Kyiv undoubtedly right now is a dangerous place to be. That last apartment building that I mentioned is literally just a stone's throw from Kyiv's city center. And yet you have this delegation from Europe, sent on behalf of the European council, including the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Poland, all headed by train to Kyiv right now.

Now, we don't have very many details on their exact whereabouts. They're not giving that out for security purposes. But according to Czech officials, they left by train earlier this morning. That journey is going to take probably at least half a day or more. The trains don't go usually more than 80 kilometers per hour, so about 50 miles per hour or so at maximum typically.

Now, a senior U.S. defense official said yesterday that it appears that the Russian offensive has stalled in most areas of the country, and so it seems like they're content for the moment to, instead, lob explosives into residential areas.

Well, President Zelenskyy had an appeal earlier this morning. He posted a video on his Telegram appealing for Russian soldiers to put down their weapons and stop this senseless war, promising that they would be treated humanely if they did.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE (through translator): I know that you want to survive. We hear your conversations in the intercepts. We hear what you really think about this senseless war, about the disgrace and about your state, your conversations with each other, your calls home to your family. We hear it all. We draw conclusions. We know who you are. Therefore, I offer you a choice, on behalf of the Ukrainian people, I give you a chance, a chance to survive. If you surrender to our forces, we will treat you the way people are supposed to be treated, as people, this (ph) simply.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: Now, Zelenskyy also weighed in on the status of those talks. Both the Russian and Ukrainian sides have expressed some level of optimism that progress could be made between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators. Zelenskyy said that -- the word that he had gotten from his negotiating team is that things were going pretty good, but we'll see.

[09:05:00]

We are still waiting for word on how good pretty good actually is.

Jim. Erica.

HILL: Yes, what does that actually translate to.

Scott, appreciate it. Thank you.

The northeastern city of Kharkiv is also facing relentless air attacks. Local officials say the city was struck 65 times on Monday alone. We know at least one person was killed.

SCIUTTO: Civilians. Those are civilians.

We have new video this morning of evacuations of some of those civilians taking place as the mayor says 600 residential buildings, 600, have been destroyed there.

Take a listen as even today's humanitarian efforts were disrupted by a fresh round of Russian shelling.

(VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: These cities are being burned down in many instances.

In addition to the homes, officials say some 50 schools, as well as a number of medical facilities, have been damaged so far. That's just in the city of Kharkiv.

HILL: Yes, just one city there among so many being targeted.

Meantime, back in Washington, the White House is facing growing bipartisan pressure to supply the Ukrainian military with Soviet-made weapons.

SCIUTTO: Yes. The reason this is important is because the Ukrainian military is used to using many of these weapons, including fighter jets. This comes as the Biden administration is still assessing the most effective way to get further military aid into the country without causing a direct military conflict between U.S. and NATO and Russia.

CNN White House reporter Natasha Bertrand, she is at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Natasha, what more do we know about the latest U.S. military -- U.S. and NATO military assistance going to Ukraine? Has there been any expansion of the kinds of weapons going there?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, we don't know for sure, Jim. We know that a number of different weapons systems have been going into Ukraine, including stinger missiles. But the Ukrainians want more. And, importantly, they want these heavier Soviet-made systems, including MiG fighter jets that Poland has, and also these longer range S-300 surface-to-air missile defense systems that they can use essentially to regain control, they hope, of their air space.

Now, there has been a lot of controversy, obviously, surrounding the possibility of getting these MiG fighter jets into Ukraine because we saw this last week where Poland said, hey, we can't transfer our fighter jets into Ukraine unless we are back filled by the United States here.

But, importantly, I just want to read you something that a lawmaker told us for our reporting, indicating that not everyone is on the same page about how effective those fighter jets would actually be. This lawmaker told us, the controversy over the MiGs is a classic case of Congress focusing on the shiny object instead of what will actually matter. The things that will really matter are the S-300s, surface-to- air missiles and drones. DOD is looking at ways to get them from allies since we don't have any we can give directly.

Now, this is something that we are told the State Department and Pentagon are, in fact, looking into. They are trying to figure out ways that those surface-to-air missiles could be transferred into Ukraine because, importantly, the United States does not have direct access to those. They are held by allies. So, would they have to back fill those allies as well and face the same kind of problem that they faced with Poland? These are the questions they are grappling with at this moment. They have not opted out of providing these entirely. But it's just a long process and they have to figure out how to do it.

Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, certainly urgency from Ukrainian officials.

Natasha Bertrand there in Brussels, thanks very much.

So, joining me now to discuss, U.S. State Department Spokesman Ned Price.

Ned, thanks for taking the time again this morning.

NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Thanks for having me, Jim.

SCIUTTO: First, I want to talk about communications between Russia and China. CNN and others reported that China expressed at least some openness to providing the military and economic assistance that Russia has asked for. Does the U.S. know today if Beijing has now accepted Russia's requests?

PRICE: Well, Jim, I can't speak to any intelligence reports, but here is what I can say. Every country around the world has a responsibility to stand up, to speak out against Vladimir Putin's war of choice in Ukraine.

Now, of course, the PRC has been an outlier in this. We have made very clear to the PRC that we will not allow any country, whether that is the PRC, whether that's any country around the world, to attempt to compensate Moscow for the losses it is suffering, whether that's in the form of economic assistance, financial assistance, or materiel support to its war effort in Ukraine. We have been very clear with the PRC yesterday. As you know, our national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and a delegation that included senior State Department officials, they were in Rome yesterday where they met with Yang Jiechi (ph), essentially the national security adviser in the PRC. This was another opportunity for us to lay out very clearly our concerns, and the implications as we're going to be watching very closely for any form of support that the PRC may seek to pass to the Russian Federation.

SCIUTTO: OK.

When you say the U.S. will not allow military support, what does that mean? It would penalize it or it would seek to block that support from going into Ukraine?

PRICE: Well, Jim, there would be severe consequences. And, obviously, we're not going to lay out what those consequences are. But those consequences would come not only from the United States, but one of our greatest assets when it comes to taking on challenges like Russia, taking on the challenge to the rules-based international order we have seen from the PRC is the unrivalled, unmatched systems of alliances and partnerships.

[09:10:19]

So, we will work in tandem with our allies in the Indo-Pacific, with our allies and partners around the world to impose very severe consequences should we see that happen.

SCIUTTO: OK.

Would the U.S. sanction the Chinese economy, as it has sanctioned the Russian economy, if China were to provide economic assistance to Russia here, such as buying Russian oil?

PRICE: Well, Jim, no country will be in a position to compensate Russia for the losses that it has suffered. You look at the toll of our economic and financial measures. The Russian stock market has been closed for going on two weeks now. It's going to be closed for at least the rest of this week. The ruble is virtually worth less, literally worth less than a penny. We have seen inflation skyrocket. We have seen Russia's credit rating essentially be downgraded to junk status. So, the measures we have imposed have had an immediate, swift and severe consequence.

SCIUTTO: OK.

PRICE: The same immediate, swift and severe consequence for the Russian economy that President Biden promised. As President Biden likes to say, big nations don't bluff. We and our international allies, we were not bluffing when we said this would be forth coming.

SCIUTTO: OK. Let's talk about military support. As you know, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, they've been asking for more military support. We're told that he will ask Congress for Soviet-made weapons, including Soviet-made surface- to-air missile systems, like the S-300. Will the U.S. provide such support?

PRICE: Well, Jim, virtually every day we have been providing massive amounts of security assistance to our Ukrainian partners. Within the past couple of weeks alone we have pledged $550 million worth of security assistance and much of that has been delivered.

One substantiation of that, the secretary, a couple of weeks ago, he authorized a drawdown of $250 million within just a few days. The vast majority of that sum had been delivered to our Ukrainian partners.

SCIUTTO: I know the dollar figures. I do know the dollar figures, Ned, but I'm curious, will they get these specific systems? Because I've been told by U.S. military officials that it is -- it is surface-to- air missiles, it is air defense that Ukraine needs most urgently.

PRICE: Well, Jim, let me tell you what we are providing. We're providing surface-to-air systems. We're providing anti-tank systems. We're providing anti-armor systems. We're providing small arms. We're providing munitions. We are constantly in search of our own inventories, and as Natasha referred to earlier, the inventories of our allies and partners around the world --

SCIUTTO: Right.

PRICE: To seek collectively what we might be able to provide.

Secretary Blinken has repeatedly signed authorizations for our NATO allies to provide U.S. origin equipment to our Ukrainian partners.

SCIUTTO: OK.

PRICE: So if something is in our stocks, if something is in the supplies of our allies and partners around the world, we're going to evaluate what the Ukrainian needs and provide it as appropriate.

SCIUTTO: We have, today, the Polish prime minister, deputy prime minister, the Czech prime minister, the Slovenian prime minister all going to war torn Kyiv to show support for Zelenskyy and his government.

Has the U.S. considered sending Secretary Blinken or another senior official to Ukraine to show similar support?

PRICE: Secretary Blinken was just in Ukraine about ten days ago. We met with Foreign Minister Kuleba just on -- across the Polish border with Ukraine. We -- it was another opportunity for the secretary to speak directly with his Ukrainian counterpart, including to hear what our Ukrainian partners need, it defend themselves against this Russian aggression. As you know, President Biden routinely speaks with President Zelenskyy. Secretary Blinken routinely speaks in, and in recent days has seen, Foreign Minister Kuleba. I fully expect that will continue.

SCIUTTO: Finally, if I can, and as you're aware, Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall injured in Ukraine. I'm curious, does the State Department have any update on his status, his team's status, and is the State Department working on medevacing him out of the country?

PRICE: Yes. Thanks for the opportunity.

You know, I was absolutely heartbroken to hear the news yesterday. I learned of it just as I stepped off the podium. I'm here in our briefing room. Then his seat is just to my left here. It is heartbreaking to know that he was injured in Ukraine. Our thoughts are with him, with his beloved family.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

PRICE: I have often been on the receiving end of not only Ben's warmth, his humor, his charm, but also his very, very tough questions. And I, frankly, hope to be on the receiving end of all -- all three of those, one perhaps less so than the others, very, very soon.

We've been in close touch with Fox News. We've been in touch with the highest executives at Fox News. We've been in touch with the bureau here in D.C. to offer any and all support we can.

I'm going to let my colleagues at Fox News speak to Ben and his condition, but we are going to do everything we can to help him.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

Well, our team is thinking of him and his family as well.

[09:15:01]

Ned Price, thanks so much for joining us today.

PRICE: Thanks, Jim. Appreciate it.

SCIUTTO: And our prayers do go out to Benjamin Hall and his family and his children.

President Biden is also considering a trip to Europe to show solidarity with NATO allies. We're going to have details on those plans next.

HILL: Plus, the story behind this Russian journalist who protested the war on state TV. What we know about her whereabouts this morning.

And later, dozens of babies born to surrogates are now stranded in Ukraine's capital, their parents unsure whether they'll actually be able to bring home the children they've waited so long for.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:00] SCIUTTO: Well, in a sign of just how seriously the U.S. and others are taking the situation in Ukraine, CNN has learned that the White House is now in discussions about the possibility of having President Biden travel to Europe soon, potentially to meet with NATO leaders in Brussels at the headquarters as early as next week.

HILL: CNN White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond and Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr both joining us now.

Jeremy, let's begin with you at the White House. What more do we know about this potential trip for President Biden?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, if it does happen, this would be a very, very high stakes trip for President Biden as the situation in Ukraine is worsening with more civilian casualties mounting.

Now, President Biden has done most of his diplomacy so far, speaking daily with U.S. allies and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via phone or via video conference. But now White House officials are discussing the possibility of President Biden heading to Europe as early as next week. That as there are discussions about a potential NATO summit in person at the headquarters in Brussels that would bring together the leaders of those NATO countries. The president could also potentially stop in Poland, as well as other parts of Europe, according to sources familiar with the planning of this.

Now, neither President Biden's trip nor this NATO summit have yet to be finalized or announced. But it is possible that the president could head to Europe as early as next week. Again, a very high stakes trip for the president who has been trying to maintain this united front among NATO and among western allies. This would certainly be another opportunity for him to do so this time in person.

SCIUTTO: Barbara Starr, defense ministers from NATO member states, they're going to have an emergency meeting in Brussels tomorrow. I wonder, beyond the obvious situation in Ukraine as it continues, is there a particular reason that they're having this meeting now? Is there added urgency on a particular issue or is this more broadly about the Ukraine situation?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, it appears by all accounts that what the ministers are going to talk about, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who took off from Washington just a short time ago, is the next steps for that NATO deterrence against Russia in eastern Europe. Look for NATO ministers to discuss possibly sending more troops, putting them under a NATO flag, putting more command and control under a NATO flag, including some U.S. military elements that have been sent to Europe, and air defense. Is there enough NATO air defense on that eastern flank to deter Russia if Russia was to make a move across the border into a NATO country.

This is what they want to flesh out. One official telling me, we need to put some meat on the bones. They have thousands of troops in eastern Europe, but how will it all work, putting the arrangements into place, the framework, if you will, just in case, just in case Russia makes a move across into NATO that nobody wants to see.

Nonetheless, NATO ministers want to be ready. They are not going to do this from a cold start. The idea of this meeting is to put everything in place, just in case. And we do expect to hear from the NATO secretary-general in Brussels in the next hour as he unveils the ministers meeting that begins tomorrow.

SCIUTTO: Barbara, is that abundance of caution regarding Russia -- a Russian threat to -- a potential Russian threat to NATO allies, or is there a specific threat or piece of intelligence that has led them to this new urgency?

STARR: If there is a piece of intelligence, it's certainly not visible in the public arena. I think one of the concerns they continue to have is chemical weapons.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

STARR: All the chatter about that. Whether Russia is really planning a false flag operation, claiming others are doing chemical weapons when it's doing it. These are the things that are of such deep concern right now, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Understood.

HILL: Barbara Starr, Jeremy Diamond, thank you both.

Just ahead here, Ukrainians picking up arms, heading to the front lines.

Up next, we'll be joined by a former diplomat and government official who left his family to join the fight as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:28:28]

HILL: The Russian journalist who held up a sign in the middle of a show that read in part, stop the war, do not believe propaganda, they tell you lies here, and Russians against war.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

It is a truly courageous stand.

CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now from London.

Nic, of course, you've been in Moscow for a number of years covering there. Already a difficult and dangerous place for people to challenge the government. But now there are new laws that could put people away for as long as 15 years.

Do we know what her current situation is and what she could face?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Questions about that at the moment, Jim. Her lawyer doesn't know where she is. The investigative committee, which is Russia's state tool to investigate and essentially control journalists, said that she is going to be --or she's -- they've opened an investigation into spreading false information about the Russian military.

Now, what does that really mean? Those new laws that came into effect less than two weeks ago. It could -- that statement could leave her with a three-year maximum jail term for spreading false information. But if they decide she was using her official position, and the presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov said today that employees at state institutions that broadcast live media have special responsibilities, then that tariff goes up to maximum ten years in jail.

And it was clear that she knew what she was getting into when she held up this sign because she recorded this statement shortly prior.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARINA OVSYANNIKOVA, RUSSIAN ANTI-WAR PROTESTER (through translator): What's happening now in Ukraine is a crime, and Russia is the aggressor country.

[09:30:03]

And the responsibility for this aggression lies in the conscience of only one person, this man is Vladimir Putin.