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Ukraine says Russian Forces Trying to Surround Mykolaiv; Russia Steps Up Air Attacks as Ground Offensive Stalls; Mariupol Maternity Hospital Bombing Claims More Victims; Russian State TV Employee Disrupts Broadcast: "No War"; U.S. Warns China of Consequences if it Aids Russia; Documenting Human Rights Abuses in Ukraine; 400,000 plus Ukrainians Arrive in Romania Since Start of War; Urgent Efforts to Free Americans Held in Russia; Thousands in U.K. Sign up to Host Ukrainian Refugees. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 15, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:21]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. I'm Hala Gorani, and welcome to our viewers around the world and in the United States, and we're going to live from Lviv in Ukraine. The Russian assault on this country is intensifying by the day with cities and civilians across Ukraine hit by shelling and airstrikes. Two very loud explosions were in fact heard in central Kyiv just over an hour ago.
A senior U.S. defense official says almost all of the advances by Russia's ground forces, though, "remains stalled." But Ukraine reports systematic aerial bombing, destroying military and civilian targets. Ukraine says at least one person was killed when a shell hit the ninth floor of a residential building in the suburbs of Kyiv. You're seeing images of that on your screen now.
Russian forces are inching closer to the Capitol itself but for now, it is still under Ukrainian control.
Also in the capital Kyiv, closed circuit video shows a man walking through a park as an explosion goes off up very close to him. And then he walks away or sort of runs away understandably.
Reuters is reporting that a bus and several other vehicles were damaged in that strike. Multiple people were killed in an attack on the eastern city of Donetsk. Pieces of a missile still smoking. You see it there in the middle of the street. Russian backed separatists who control the region blame Ukrainian forces.
Now, the U.S. says Sunday's attack on a military complex near the border with Poland will not affect shipments of weapons to Ukraine. But Western leaders are concerned it could be a shift in strategy for Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: This is now the third significant strike in western Ukraine. It certainly appears as if the Russians are broadening their target set.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the Russian military will ultimately be held responsible for war crimes. He posted these comments online and he directed them at Russian soldiers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): Why should you die. What for? I know that you want to survive. We hear your conversations and intercepts. We hear what you really think about this senseless war about this disgrace and about your state. 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And Ukraine says Russian forces are trying to surround Mykolaiv but so far, they've held them back. Heavy fighting has hammered the city in southern Ukraine on a near constant basis. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh shows us the situation on the ground in Mykolaiv. But first, I must warn you the report contains graphic images, they -- that may not be appropriate for some viewers.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: We've seen during the night behind me, the sky occasionally light up from the continued rocket fires that go back and forth between the two sides here as Russia, it seems, is trying to move to the north of this strategic port and essentially encircle it, like we've seen in Mariupol further to the east. That will be deeply chilling for the third largest city in Ukraine, Odessa, which will be their next target.
But for the people living here behind me, it results in a daily barrage of rockets that seemed to randomly hit anywhere, frankly. Yesterday, Sunday, our time it was when we saw the bodies of nine individuals outside the supermarket who'd been hit by perhaps a stray rocket or perhaps deliberate targeting of civilian areas so hard to tell when we see so regularly rockets slam into residential areas.
Their bodies lying outside a supermarket, the glass shattered there. And I spoke to the recently made widow of one of the men who died there, who as injured as she was herself described seeing her husband, her his head so heavily damaged and describing how they've been their buying supplies for the wake of their daughter, who'd also recently died as well.
That's the kind of compound trauma that we're seeing amongst civilians here in Mykolaiv. And we saw today the volume of ambulances whizzing around here. It is quite extraordinary to see a population trembling frankly with the kind of heavy shelling that we're seeing at this stage. The question really is how is the balance in between the two militaries around it? There seem to be claims again from the Ukrainians that they've managed to clear some roads. But there's also fears of potentially the Russia's moving back in at some point.
[01:05:11]
This is so vital for Russia's project for the south here for control of the Black Sea coast. That's important for their broader, perhaps farfetched goal of a longer term occupation of Ukraine. And Mykolaiv really all of that hinges upon here. And there are deep concerns about what may lie in the days ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, while global leaders continue to push for diplomacy, the U.N. Secretary General warns a worst case nuclear scenario is still possible.
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ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: Raising the alert of Russian nuclear forces is a bone chilling development. The prospect of nuclear conflict once unthinkable, is now back within the realm of possibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And that was Antonio Guterres.
Joining me now from Canberra, Australia, retired Australian Army Major General Mick Ryan, is the author of the book, War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power -- sorry, War Transformed, I should say, he's the author of that book. Thanks for joining us.
Let me ask you a little bit about where, what your assessment is of the Russian troops advanced? They've still not taken Kyiv. They're encircling Mariupol. They've taken some of the smaller urban targets. But they're only inching closer to the Capitol. Where do you see this going from the Russian side?
MAJOR GEN. MICK RYAN, (RET.), AUSTRALIAN ARMY: Well, Hello, Hala. Over the last 48 hours, we've seen almost no Russian progress at all, whether it's in their stated aim of surrounding Kyiv, or the northeastern activities around Kharkiv, or in the South, in almost all of these fronts, the Russians have stalled, and indeed, they are very close to culminating in their capacity to continue advancing.
GORANI: So what happens next then, are the Ukrainians, obviously, they're able to keep them from taking price targets, like the Capitol, but the Russian military power, the might of the Russian military is more powerful, even if the Ukrainians are certainly a lot more determined to defend their country against the invaders?
RYAN: They certainly are -- and they've done a sterling job so far. After Russian initial failures in the last first couple of days, they move to Plan B, which is a slow grinding war of attrition, the Russians have found that actually hasn't worked well for them either. And they will now transition to what I call Plane C, which is the bombardment of cities, the terrorization of civilians, and the large scale destruction of the infrastructure of Ukraine.
GORANI: So, bombing a city and terrorizing a city is not the same as taking it and holding it, they're going to have major, major issues in a in a city the size of Kyiv, with very, very good defenses, at least against ground troops that have already been set up by the Ukrainians?
RYAN: Now, that's right. They think troubles surrounding smaller cities, like Kharkiv and other cities in the east of Ukraine. I find it very unlikely with the forces the Russians have deployed in Ukraine at the moment they will be able to surround Kyiv, taking it is a much larger task with way more troops that the Russians currently have in the country.
GORANI: And where do you think, first, before I ask you another question on the south, we've reported some strikes against targets in western Ukraine, as you know, a military training facility very close to the Polish border, what do you think the thinking is there from the Russian perspective?
RYAN: Yes, we ignore the west at our peril. This is Putin and his senior military leaders, sending a message to the west, that they will seek to interdict Western supplies coming in, and also to Western volunteers who wish to enter that they will seek to use these strikes to dissuade them. They are broadening the scope of this war, but without really the resources to conduct a campaign across the entirety of Ukraine.
GORANI: And in the south, a very different picture, because as you mentioned, the Russians are having a hard time encircling smaller cities than Kyiv. But if you look at the total territory that they are now engaged in and combating Ukrainian forces on, it is -- it's quite a larger swath of territory, where do you see this going?
RYAN: Well, the Russians are certainly seeking to advance over a wide swathe of Ukraine. But they can't logistically support all the different offenses they want to undertake in the southeast and the North.
[01:10:09]
Mariupol has been stuck in their throat for the last two weeks. They cannot join up Crimea with the rest of Russia because Mariupol sits astride a major supply route. So almost in every area, the Russian advances have stalled, they will have to inject a lot of new troops if they seek to continue these advances in the short term.
GORANI: All right, retired Major General Mick Ryan, thanks so much for joining us from Canberra. I appreciate it.
The bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol last Wednesday laid bare the cruelty of this war. It was clear on the faces of the wounded women and children who emerged from the blast. And the grim aftermath is still playing out as the heroic efforts to save the patients were not all successful.
Phil Black has our report. And again, we must warn you, it includes disturbing images.
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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We don't know, this woman's name, but we can see the desperate effort to rescue her from the devastation of Mariupol's maternity hospital.
She's hurt. There are terrible injuries down her right side. She appears days by the enormous blast that hit here only moments before but she's conscious and clearly concerned for her baby.
At another medical facility, doctors work to save them as their condition deteriorated.
Surgeon Tim Amarin (ph) says they tried to resuscitate the woman while also performing a cesarean delivery. They couldn't revive her or her child. They both died.
Russian officials claimed the hospital was being used by Ukrainian troops and all civilians had left before the attack. The evidence shows that's not true. Children, patient, staff, all experience the terrifying blast that created this crater.
We do know this woman's name, Mariana Vishegirskaya, hurt and bleeding. She walked through the chaos after the explosion. The next day she gave birth in another hospital. She and her husband have named their daughter Veronica.
The strike on Mariupol's Maternity Hospital has become a defining moment in a war already notorious for its brutality and great suffering inflicted on the innocent. Phil Black, CNN, London.
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GORANI: Well, in Russia a stunning act of protest on live state-run television, with cameras rolling a woman walks onto the set holding a sign that reads, "no war, stop the war, do not believe propaganda. They tell you lies here." The broadcast and quickly cut away to video. CNN has now learned that the woman was apparently an employee of that channel. Her lawyer sent us this video which she reportedly taped before her protest.
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MARIA OVSYANNIKOVA, HELD ANTI-WAR SIGN ON RUSSIA CHANNEL ONE (through translation): What's happening now in Ukraine is a crime. And Russia is the aggressor country and the responsibility for this aggression lies in the conscious of only one person. This man is Vladimir Putin.
My father is Ukrainian. My mother is Russian and they have never been enemies. And this necklace and my neck is a symbol of the fact that Russia must immediately stop this fratricidal war. So all fraternal nations will still be able to reconcile, go to the rallies and do not be afraid, they cannot arrest us all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: They cannot arrest us all. Well, earlier Ukraine's president spoke directly about this incident, saying he's grateful to those Russians who've been brave enough to speak out and encourage them to keep fighting.
Next, on CNN, a high level in-person NATO Summit could be coming. As world leaders explore new ways to respond to Russia's assault on Ukraine. And the U.S. has a warning for China if it tries to assist Russia's war efforts. We're live in Beijing just ahead.
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GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. We're live in Lviv, Ukraine. We're expecting another round of talks between Moscow and Kyiv in the hours ahead. This comes as Russia steps up its assault on cities across Ukraine. Other nations have also attempted to mediate talks and negotiate safe passage for civilian evacuations inside the country. But the White House says these attempts have not produced concrete results.
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JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We've been very appreciative of the efforts of our allies France, Germany, Israel and Turkey and others to be participants in these talks at times or engage in these talks at times. But again, diplomacy requires both sides engaging in good faith and to deescalate. And what we're really looking for is specific delivery of actions. I think it's important to remember that there have been five or six attempts to implement a humanitarian corridor. Those have not been effective.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, CNN has also learned that the leaders of NATO may meet in Brussels as soon as next week in-person and what would be an extraordinary summit to address the invasion.
Now, the U.S. is making it clear to China that there will be consequences for Beijing if it assists Moscow in its war with Ukraine. A senior Administration official says the concerns were laid out in the U.S. national security advisors seven hour meeting with his Chinese counterpart on Monday. And meantime the President Joe Biden may be heading to Europe on a diplomatic Mission. CNN's Kaitlan Collins has that for us.
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Russia winded assault on Ukraine, President Biden is winning a trip to Europe to showcase America support as the U.S. sees the effects of the invasion at home.
JOE BIDEN, (D) U.S. PRESIDENT: Make no mistake, the current spiking gas prices largely fall to Vladimir Putin.
PSAKI: The diplomatic visit has yet to be finalized. But discussions are underway following Biden's 49 minute call with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy who pressed Biden to take further steps to cut Russia off from international trade, continue targeting Russian elite and close off Russia's access to international waterways.
Zelenskyy will address U.S. lawmakers in a virtual speech to Congress on Wednesday, where he's expected to request more assistance.
NANCY PELOSI, U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: We're thrilled. It's such a privilege to have this leader of this country, where these people are fighting for their democracy and our democracy.
COLLINS: Lawmakers from both parties have continued to push the Biden administration to fulfill Zelenskyy's request for more fighter jets, which so far, the Pentagon has rejected as a high risk effort.
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, U.S. SENATE DEMOCRAT: My personal feeling is we should provide those planes because they are potentially very important to the Ukrainian defense.
COLLINS: National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan sat down with China's top diplomat in Rome today after CNN reported that Russia sought China's help with military equipment and economic assistance amid crippling sanctions.
JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We are communicating directly privately to Beijing, that there will absolutely be consequences for large scale sanctions evasion efforts or support to Russia to backfill them.
COLLINS: U.S. officials say Russian President Putin has been frustrated by the sluggishness of his advanced in Ukraine, amid concerns that he may now turn to chemical weapons.
SULLIVAN: Vladimir Putin is frustrated by the fact that his forces are not making the kind of progress that he thought that they would make against major cities including Kyiv.
COLLINS: Although negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are expected to continue Tuesday. U.S. officials say that for now, there is no evidence that Putin is changing course.
WENDY SHERMAN, U.S. DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: So far, it appears that Vladimir Putin's intent on destroying Ukraine, we need to help Ukrainians in every way we can.
COLLINS (on camera): And on that meeting that Jake Sullivan had, officials came out of it saying that it was an intense meeting. It lasted for about seven hours. And obviously Ukraine was one of the biggest subject matters that Sullivan and the top Chinese diplomat discussed. But officials would not say whether or not the U.S. does believe China has expressed an openness to fulfilling those requests made by Russia for military equipment and economic assistance amid these sanctions. They also would not say if China has offered assistance to Russia, since they first invaded Ukraine. Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
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GORANI: Well, for more on the talks between the U.S. and China national security advisors, let's bring in CNN's Steven Jiang in Beijing. So, the U.S. national security adviser told his Chinese counterpart there will be consequences of China tries to actively help Russia in its invasion and military efforts in Ukraine. Do we know more? What more can you tell us about what was discussed? Because it went on for seven hours.
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: That's right Hala. You know, we've been talking about how China has been trying to strike this almost impossible balance ever since the war broke out.
Now, this information from the U.S. about China's willingness to consider this Russian request for help is obviously putting them in an even more awkward position, because if they do, obviously, this is likely to lead to even more tensions between China and the U.S. and the European Union. But if they don't, Putin somehow gets undermined or even replaced. That scenario in the mind of the Beijing leadership would constitute probably an even worse outcome for China both strategically and ideologically. So the question facing the Chinese leadership seems to be according to many analysts, whether or not the U.S. or the E.U. dares to impose the kind of sanctions against Russia, on China, given the much bigger and deeper economic and investment and trade relations between China and the West.
Now, for their part, of course, the Chinese have been pushing back insisting all these reports from Washington are part of the U.S. information -- disinformation efforts to smear China. But, you know, these leaks are not coincidental. It's really putting China on the spot, and also indicating how the U.S. is increasingly frustrated and annoyed with China on the war because despite its close ties, and its huge economic leverage over Moscow, and despite that, supposedly very close personal relationship between Xi Jinping and Putin, there is no indication China's trying to persuade the Russians to stop this increasingly bloody war which of course they still refuse to call a Russian invasion. Instead, the only thing Beijing seems to be very active in, is joining the Kremlin led propaganda and some would say disinformation campaign. That's why at this stage a lot of analysts say based on what China has been doing or not doing they just don't seem to be serious of being impartial or trying to play the role of a peacemaker. Hala?
[01:25:12]
GORANI: All right, that's interesting. Thanks very much Steven Jiang.
From the very start, Russia's tactics in this war have been internationally condemned. Coming up, the long list of violations of that Human Rights Watch is documenting every day.
Plus, for many fleeing Ukraine the road to safety is filled with sadness, fear and of course many unknowns. But there are a few who are returning home to help. Stay with us.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are willing to die for Ukraine?
We all die, he says. Then adds, I'm afraid to die, but I'm not a coward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[01:30:13]
HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Russia's relentless assault on Ukraine is showing no signs of letting up even as senior U.S. defense officials say almost all Russian advances on the ground remains stalled. The attacks now increasingly coming from the air as Russia broadens its targets with civilians paying a very heavy price.
Closed circuit video from Kyiv shows a man walking on a sidewalk right before an airstrike slams into a building in the background. And just about an hour and a half ago, two loud explosions were heard in the central part of the capital.
And in the city of Donetsk in Eastern Ukraine, multiple casualties have been reported in what appears to be a missile strike. You see the remnants of it there. Donetsk, is held by Russian-backed separatists.
And at the United Nations, the secretary general is calling for an immediate end to the violence.
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ANOTNION GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: The appeals for peace must be heard. This tragedy must stop. It is never too late for diplomacy and dialogue. We need an immediate cessation of hostilities, and serious negotiations, based on the principles of U.N. charter and international law.
We need peace. Peace for the people of Ukraine. Peace for the world. We need peace now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Richard Weir is a researcher in the crisis and conflict division of Human Rights Watch. And he joins us now live from Odessa. Thanks for being with us.
Talk to us about what you have been able to observe. I know you've been traveling around the country. What have you seen since this Russian invasion started a few weeks ago? RICHARD WEIR, RESEARCHER, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Really since the opening
hours of the Russian invasion here in Ukraine, we have seen Russian armed forces resort to attacks, using unlawful weapons, cluster munitions, indiscriminate attacks, dropping bomb after bomb on residential neighborhoods, killing dozens of civilians in multiple different cities.
The tactics used in Mariupol to lay siege to that city, trapping hundreds of thousands of residents without water, electricity or heat in freezing cold conditions, where food is running scarce. And very few people are allowed to leave. It's another example of brutal tactics which violate the laws of armed conflict.
And this has been the real marker and the real demonstration about what Russian forces, not only are capable of but are determined to do in Ukraine.
GORANI: And are Russian forces deliberately targeting civilians in this conflict?
WEIR: What we have certainly seen is a proclivity for the use of the kinds of weapons that are not able to be -- that are not able to be targeted in such a way that avoid civilians. And so the use of these weapons in populated areas invariably results in civilian casualties, deaths, and harm to structures like hospitals.
And this is extremely concerning because this is also something that we have seen in other conflicts where Russia has participated and where it has killed and injured countless civilians.
GORANI: You mentioned other conflicts, the one that comes to mind obviously is Syria, where civilian infrastructure was relentlessly targeted and destroyed over many years by the Assad regime with the help of Russia.
Are you concerned that we're going to see something similar play out here in Ukraine?
WEIR: In many ways, we're already seeing something play out similar here in Ukraine. And that really the same kinds of weapons, the use of air power to pulverize residential neighborhoods, affecting hospitals, damaging the ability of civilians not just to survive but to flee and to get access to life saving care when those attacks occur.
And one of the other common themes here is that thus far, there has been no accountability for Russia's actions. Although the actions taken by the International Criminal Court and the international community to set up mechanisms in order to hold the perpetrators accountable are encouraging.
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WEIR: This environment of impunity has really paved the way for these continued violations of international law.
GORANI: Yes. And human rights groups -- I mean what -- Human Rights Watch, in particular, what is your message to the world? What needs to be done urgently now to try to reduce the horrific, destructive impact on civilians and civilian infrastructure?
WEIR: The international community needs to continue to place pressure on their leaders of Russia and the leaders of the armed forces in order to get them to stop, not only these indiscriminate attacks, but to cease the kinds of tactics that trap people in their cities and result in freezing conditions that endanger their lives.
And the international community needs to work hard to ensure that their responsibilities are met. To make sure the humanitarian aid gets to these areas as quickly as possible in order to alleviate the suffering that we see across the country.
GORANI: Well, thanks so much, Richard Weir in Odessa, Ukraine of Human Rights Watch there. Thanks for the work that you do.
And the Ukrainian refugee crisis is growing by the day. The numbers are quite staggering. More than 2.8 million people have now fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. More than 1.7 million of them have crossed into neighboring Poland alone. And the United Nations says the number of Ukrainian residents seeking temporary refuge in Poland is considerably lower because many of those people who have crossed into Poland are continuing their journey into other European countries.
This map highlights the handful of other nations, where Ukrainians are fleeing. Many of the refugees are women, but also the vulnerable children, and the elderly.
And to the south of Ukraine over 400,000 refugees have arrived in Romania since the start of the war.
As CNN's Miguel Marquez reports, the locals appear to be going to great lengths to make them feel welcome.
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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT; They arrive by the hundreds. Normal Ukrainian citizens one day, refugees the next.
VALERIA PAVLIN, REFUGEE FROM UKRAINE: This is stressful, yes. Because we have no idea what to do, where to go, and when we will be able to return to our homes.
MARQUEZ: Pavlin is from Kharkiv, Ukraine's second biggest city which has been devastated by Russian artillery and rockets.
"When I was packing my clothes," she says, "I thought it would all be over in three days."
For many, just arriving on Romanian soil, emotional. One woman cries as a volunteer hands her a bottle of water.
DENIS STAMATASCU, RESTAURANT OWNER AND VOLUNTEER: All the Romanian people are mobilized and our help these people. Romanians stepping up trying to make Ukrainians feel a little bit at
home. Denis Stamatascu closed his restaurant in Costanza. He now serves meals, free to refugees.
STAMATASCU: We closed the restaurant and we are coming here to help these people.
Chicken, pork --
MARQUEZ: And for all of those getting out, a few, going back in.
Alexander Pajumenka (ph) is returning to Mykolaiv. Russians have hammered the city.
And you are willing to die for Ukraine?
"We all die," he says. Then adds, "I am afraid to die, but I am not a coward."
Tatiana Buketava (ph) from Odessa, along with her daughter, Miteraslava (ph), their dog, and two cats. She says they left because of what they heard was happening in places already controlled by the Russians.
"I have heard about the violence," she says, "and killings of peaceful people without any reason." She added, "I had to leave, I was too stressed about it happening to me and my daughter."
Miguel Marquez, CNN -- Isaccea, Romania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: I will have more from Ukraine at the top of the hour. But first, John Vause in Atlanta, picks up our coverage.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hala, thank you.
We will take a short break here on CNN, but when we come back --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN FRANKS, ADVOCATE FOR TREVOR REED: Folks are legitimately in danger. They are being held by folks that are thugs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: -- the fate of three Americans being held in Russia and can anything be done to bring them home? Details, in a moment.
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VAUSE: Right now, at least three Americans are being held somewhere in Russia. Two were detained long before the invasion of Ukraine. But the fate of them all seeming to grow more dire by the day as relations between Russia and the west plummet to new lows.
CNN's Brian Todd has our report.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A new sense of urgency regarding three Americans being held in Russia and the efforts to get them released.
FRANKS: I think we are in a place where folks are legitimately in danger. They are being held by folks that are thugs.
TODD: Jonathan Franks is a crisis management consultant, who is campaigning for the release of kept Trevor Reed, a former U.S. Marine who's been detained in Russia since 2019 allegedly, for endangering the lives of Russian police officers which Reed's family denies and the U.S. ambassador to Russia called "absurd".
But Franks is also concerned about the fate of basketball star, Brittney Griner who CNN is told has been held in Russian custody since February 17th, after Russian authorities said they had found cannabis oil in her luggage when she landed in Moscow.
Franks warns, we should be skeptical of those charges and the fact that the Russians put out images of what looked like a mugshot.
[01:44:58]
FRANKS: I think that there is an effort underway on Moscow's part, to cast her as some sort of kingpin, and not exactly clear to me that she's -- I certainly have not seen any evidence to suggest that she actually is guilty.
TODD: Jason Rezaian, the "Washington Post" writer, who was held in Iran for nearly a year and a half has a harsher phrase for the detentions of Griner, Reed, and former U.S. Marine, Paul Whelan.
JASON REZAIAN, "WASHINGTON POST": In the case of Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed, I don't think that there is any doubt that they are being held hostage. It's politically motivated. Detentions that have gone on in an exorbitant amount of time.
In the case of Brittney Griner, it would appear to be part of that similar trend of an American being arrested during a very sensitive moment on political grounds. If that is the case, I would call her a hostage.
TODD: Security analysts very concerned about how long the Russians may hold on to the three Americans given that the war in Ukraine is intensifying, and tensions between the U.S. and Vladimir Putin are at their worst levels ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is hard to imagine a more difficult negotiating environment than this.
TODD: A key question, given the climate of tensions, what will it take to get the three Americans released? REZAIAN: I'm the fortunate beneficiary of a massive government effort
to get me out. That government effort was galvanized by private efforts, by the company that I work for and my family. And I think when families, employers, and the U.S. government are working together, Americans wrongfully detained abroad can come home.
TODD: Last week, Trevor Reed's parents said they feared he had tuberculosis and would be sent to solitary confinement rather than a medical facility. Jonathan Franks says since then Reed's parents have indicated, he was sent to a prison hospital, but Franks does not have confidence that Reed is getting adequate medical care.
The Russians have just issued a statement, saying it is not true that Reed has tuberculosis and that he is healthy, serving his sentence in a penal colony.
Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Perhaps it was an early sign that Ukraine would not go down without a fight when 13 Ukrainian soldiers, defending a tiny island off Ukraine's coast, stood their ground against the might of the Russian navy sending a message of defiance heard around the world.
Well now, they will be honored by Ukraine's postal service, issuing a special stamp, which shows a soldier standing on Snake Island, while making an obscene but very appropriate gesture to a Russian warship.
It's well worth hearing the radio exchange again between the Ukrainian soldiers and the captain of the Russian ship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am a Russian military ship. Repeat, I am a Russian military ship proposing to put down arms immediately to avoid bloodshed and unjustified deaths. In worst case, you will be hit with a bomb strike.
I am repeating. I am a Russian military ship propose to put down arms or you will be hit. Acknowledge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just in case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Russian warship, go (EXPLETIVE DELETED) yourself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In the immediate days after that, the soldiers were feared dead but the Ukrainian navy now says, they're alive, they surrendered but only after running short of ammunition.
Almost three million Ukrainians have fled since this war began and across Europe, many are being welcomed with open arms. More on the kindness of strangers, opening their homes to these refugees, in a moment.
[01:48:36]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: More than 25,000 people and organizations in the U.K. have offered to host Ukrainian refugees, signing on to a plan by the British government to offer safe haven to those who have already lost so much.
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MICHAEL GOVE, BRITISH HOUSING SECRETARY: The British people have already opened their hearts in so many ways. I'm hopeful that many will also be ready to open their hands and to help those fleeing persecution find peace, healing and the prospect of a brighter future.
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VAUSE: And in a sign of European solidarity, refugees of Putin's war of choice are being welcomed in homes across the continent.
Here's CNN's Lynda Kinkade.
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mugs of cheese served off in a kitchen in northern France. It's a warm welcome for some new faces at the table who desperately need a place to stay.
This is Europe's newest version of a blended family. Ukrainian refugee Kateryna and her family, share a piece of cake with new housemates. They are celebrating host Guillaume's mother's birthday.
Kateryna says she is grateful that she has such a special day with them. It took her family a week of traveling to get to France from Ukraine. Arriving just days before, with only a few backpacks to their possession.
She says, she wants to say thank you to them, for giving her a roof, clothes, everything they need.
Families around the world are opening their homes to Ukrainian refugees. Host Guillaume says he just wanted to help and offered up his home on social media. He says three families replied, Kateryna's, a family that will staying with his parents, and a mother and daughter we found a place for, in the south.
About 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine and countries around the world are trying to find ways to house them. The United Kingdom, launching the Homes for Ukraine Program, which matches people in Britain willing to offer a room or home rent free to Ukrainians escaping the war.
GOVE: There will be no limits to the number of Ukrainians who can benefit from this scheme. [01:54:48]
KINKADE: The government also says it will give around $450 a month in compensation to sponsors for a minimum of six months.
Germany says, so far, nearly 150,000 people have taken shelter there from the war. Berlin resident, Katya, was so moved by the scenes in Ukraine, she took in four Ukrainian teens.
She says three weeks ago, they were on ski holidays, (INAUDIBLE) moving our children to Great Britain overnight, it's crazy. The teens say it is hard to be away from their loved ones.
POLINA OKHRYTKOVA, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE: Every day, we speak about this. We are here in safety but our family in Ukraine we can't help.
KINKADE: An agonizing position to be in, but through the hospitality of others, it is at the very least, a safe and supportive one.
Lynda Kinkade, CNN.
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VAUSE: There are other ways to help the people of Ukraine. And if you would like to find out please go to CNN.com/impact.
Thank you for being with us this hour. I'm John Vause.
I will see you right back here tomorrow.
Our breaking news coverage continuing after a short break.
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