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Biden Urges Biden To Act As The World's "Leader Of Peace"; Biden Calls Putin "A War Criminal." Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired March 16, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:22]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Top of the hour in CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Victor Blackwell.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: I'm Alisyn Camerota.

Ukraine's president made a direct public plea asking Americans for help in a historic speech to Congress this morning. Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. for its support and urges the West to set up a no-fly zone over his war-torn country. He dedicated his final words to President Biden, stopping the use of a translator and making his case in English.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: To President Biden, you are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Zelenskyy also presented a video montage of heartbreaking footage from Ukraine. These images are very graphic and hard to watch. They show the destruction and death and bloodshed of Ukrainians since Russia invaded 20 days ago.

Many of the victims that you see on here are young. They're children. They're babies and when the clip ended with this call, to close the sky over Ukraine.

BLACKWELL: A short time ago, President Biden did not respond to that no-fly zone request, but he announced another $800 million in security aid to Ukraine, including 9,000 anti-armor systems and 20 million additional rounds of ammunition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Putin is inflicting appalling, appalling devastation and horror on Ukraine. Bombing apartment buildings, maternity ward, hospitals. It's god off. These are atrocities. They are an outrage to the world. The world is united in our support for Ukraine and our determination to make Putin pay a very heavy price.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, President Zelenskyy told Congress that Ukraine is going through its version of 9/11 every day. And there's this video just in to CNN. It shows the bombing of a drama theater in Mariupol where several hundred people had been taking shelter, according to preliminary reports.

Local officials said that their fate is unknown. Under the rubble are pregnant women and children, according to that official.

And then a warning that this next video, like much of the video coming in from Ukraine also is graphic. This shows a bombing of a bread line. This is north of Kyiv. At least ten people were killed here. That's according to a local official.

CAMEROTA: Once again, just the most vulnerable people.

Let's go now to Lviv, that's western Ukraine, where Anderson Cooper is standing by for us.

So, Anderson, President Zelenskyy made multiple U.S. references in this address to and he knew exactly which of our national atrocities to invoke. So, here are a few examples.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): We need you right now. Remember, Pearl Harbor. Terrible, mourning of December 7, 1941 when your sky was black from the planes attacking you. Remember, September 11th when innocent people were attacked, attacked from air.

Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death. I have a dream. These words are known to each of you today, I can say. I have a need. I need to protect our sky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Anderson, each of these speeches to the Congress, to the Canadian parliament, to legislature in U.K. tailored to these groups but this one we'll still have to see if it convinces any additional lawmakers to give the support he's hoping for.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Yeah. As you said, when you talk to Britain's parliament, he echoed Winston Churchill, some of his famous lines in the fight against Nazis in World War II.

What he's talking about the closing of the skies, it's a reference not only to aircraft but missiles which are being fired at will by Russia into civilian structures and other targets, closing -- shutting that down is very difficult for Ukrainian forces. I want to turn now to the east of me and CNN senior international

correspondent Sam Kiley who is in Kyiv, which has born the brunt of so many bombardments.

It's -- what have you been hearing today?

[15:05:04]

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, again, this morning, there were missile strikes against apartment buildings here in Kyiv. At least one was severely damaged. Amazingly, although there are a number of injured of this incident, there were no reported deaths, in sharp contrast, of course, of what we just heard to -- about to the -- what happened in Chernihiv, where there were ten people killed in the bread cue, in what appears to have been a missile strike there.

Extraordinary that that town has held out against Russian forces, it was the first one on their way to try to get into where I am here in Kyiv and decapitate the administration. That effort has run into the sand and overnight it was very heavy exchange of bombardments coming out from Ukrainian forces going into Russian forces as much perhaps as going the other way and at least one adviser to President Zelenskyy is now openly talking about the Ukrainian counter attack in number of different locations -- Anderson.

COOPER: We saw the theater in Mariupol, where, according to a local official, hundreds o of people had been sheltering. It looks right now, it's under a plume of smoke. It looks like it has collapsed. What do we know about what happened there and is there any actual information? Do we know any facts about whether people were still sheltering there under ground?

KILEY: According to local authorities in Mariupol, a city now that's been surrounded entirely for about more than a week, there were indeed people buried in this strike which not only hit the theater itself but also collapsed the entrance to what they are describing as the bomb shelter there. That will probably be the theater cellars.

The locals on the ground said women and children were trapped there, but this is very important example I think not only of the attacks on civilians, but on the resistance against the Russian onslaught, which -- and I was talking earlier on today to the deputy prime minister here, who's responsible for relations with NATO, among other things, and she put the resistance against to the Russians and the mistakes that the Russians have been making in these sorts of actions that we've seen in Mariupol, down to the poor management of Vladimir Putin and bad advice that he's been given. This is what she said.

(BGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLHA STEFANISHYNA, UKRAINIAN DEPUTY PM, EUROPEAN & EURO-ATLANTIC INTEGRATION: Even in the biggest cities of Ukraine, which has now been circled by Russian army, or even with the Russian army in there, these are the people who are standing in front of the tanks with Ukrainian flag having no fear with that and this is what surprises Putin. So, this is where he fails.

So, I'm absolutely sure that he's uncomfortable in every moment that he's sitting in his bomb shelter, he fails in each of his assessment, and the chain of command which disinforms him, and the senior management around, shows that they know nothing about our nation. So, and this is the strength that we have against this terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KILEY: Now, clearly, the misinformation if you like is described that's led to the assumption from the Russians that they would win very quickly has turned, as you and I have discussed many times in the past, Anderson, to the sort of Groznification, that idea that you could smash civilian areas into pulp, murder people hiding in a theater, attack women and children in maternity hospitals and somehow break the will of the Ukrainian resistance. As deputy prime minister was saying there, he seems -- the Russian president -- to have been badly misinformed.

COOPER: We're also hearing about the first bombing to hit Zaporizhzhia. You were near there recently. What do we know about what happened?

KILEY: This was a strike against a TV tower, or the communications tower that was 35 people -- no, sorry, there was, I got that figure wrong, that was a different attack near where you are. But there were a number of people killed in the west of the country when the TV tower was struck several days ago.

In this attack, there are no reported deaths. But, again, it's clearly an attempt by the Russian system to break the ability of the Ukrainians to communicate -- not only to communicate amongst themselves but the government to communicate on television. What has opinion interesting about most of the attacks and social security the same in central of the country there that swiftly after these attacks, and there's been two attacks on the TV tower here in Kyiv, the broadcast system has been back up and running amazingly quickly. I think that's because the Ukrainians knew these would be targets that are built in redundancy. They built in a capacity to keep on the air for as long as they possibly can.

[15:10:05]

COOPER: Sam Kiley, appreciate it. Thanks so much, Sam.

I want to go back to Alisyn and Victor, where you have some new information.

CAMEROTA: We do. We're just getting there into our news room because just moments ago, President Biden was asked if Vladimir Putin is a war criminal, and here's his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Mr. President, after everything we've seen, are you ready to call him a war criminal? JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No.

(INAUDIBLE)

BIDEN: Did you ask me whether I would call --

REPORTER: Would you call him a war criminal, sir? Are you ready to call him a war criminal?

BIDEN: I think he is a war criminal.

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK, that was interesting. Basically at first president Biden -- somebody was shouting a question to him. It was a very packed room. It was obviously very noisy.

First, he said no and dismissed the question. And then he circled back --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CAMEROTA: -- and said yes, he is. What's the significance there?

COOPER: Well, the president has actually -- that's, I believe the first time he has said that. He's always sort of hesitated to actually use that label. Obviously, others have already used that label.

I spoke to the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor who is actually already on the ground here in Ukraine. He was in Lviv. He met with President Zelenskyy remotely today. 41 member countries who were part of the international criminal court, they have referred war crimes -- they've referred and encouraged the prosecutor to investigate.

He is here now actively starting an investigation and it's likely going to go on for quite some time to determine if war crimes have been committed and by whom, not only war crimes but also crimes against humanity. It's not enough for the prosecutor from the criminal court to just see, you know, civilians being killed on television. Although that evidence is potential -- could potentially be used in court. It is his job to actually find the chain of command for each individual act that may be war crime or crime against humanity and bring to justice those responsible.

Here's some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARIM KHAN, CHIEF PROSECUTOR FOR INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: We have reasonable grounds to believe crimes within the jurisdiction of the court are being committed.

COOPER: You have reasonable grounds to believe that alleged war crimes, alleged crimes against humanity have been committed?

KHAN: Absolutely. And, you know, one would see -- one thing is clear, I mean, the law is clear on this. It is a crime to intentionally target civilians. It is a crime to intentionally target civilian objects.

Now, of course, there has to be further investigations. Were those civilian objects being used to launch attacks that made them legitimate targets? But even then, it's no license to use cluster bombs or use disproportionate attacks in concentrated civilian areas. There's a duty of distinction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: He says time is of the essence. He wants to move as quickly as possible. He's apolitical. He's looking at both sides in this conflict to see war crimes, if there are war crimes on any side of this conflict.

But he's determined to collect not only video information but satellite information, any intercepts, intelligence, anything that can help document that chain of command to see who gave the order for any specific act that might be a crime.

BLACKWELL: Yeah, this is a significant development because members of the administration have not spoken with one voice on the answer to this question. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. made it clear that, yes, she said that Putin is a war criminal. These things that are happening in Ukraine are war crimes and now, for the first time, we're hearing this from President Biden.

All right. Anderson, thank you.

CAMEROTA: So, President Biden announcing that he's sending millions of addition military aide to Ukraine. But he stopped short of giving President Zelenskyy what he desperately wants, fighter jets and a no- fly zone.

Matt Miller is the special adviser for communications at the White House National Security Council. He joins us now.

Matt, thanks so much for being here. I know it's a busy day.

Can you tell us about this call between Jake Sullivan and his Russian counterpart today? What was said on this call?

MATT MILLER, SPECIAL ADVISER FOR COMMUNICATIONS, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Sure. I won't get into the details of the call. We have had some conversations with the Russians, since the outbreak of this conflict, mostly through our ambassador in Moscow. This is the most secure call we have had since Russia launched its invasion.

We wanted to make two things clear. One, if Russia continues its attacks on civilian structure, if it continues its attacks on the Ukrainian people, we will continue to impose consequences on them as we have so far. And number two, if Russia does engage in chemical or biological attacks in Ukraine, as we have said we are concerned they will do, that there will be consequences that we will impose with our allies and our partners.

[15:15:07]

CAMEROTA: President Zelenskyy said today that he hears that the Russian position is sounding, quote, more realistic. Is that your impression too?

MILLER: You know, I'll let President Zelenskyy speak for himself. I think our position in this is that the Ukrainians have to be at the forefront of any democratic effort. We stand by them. We support diplomacy.

But we think diplomacy to be effective needs to be a two-way street. And it's unclear if the Russians actually are engaged in serious diplomacy. I think if they did want a diplomat path, they would stop bombing infrastructure in Ukraine, they'd stop attacking the Ukrainian people.

So, let me say what we will do from a U.S. perspective. We have a very clear two-part strategy, and that's number one, support the Ukrainian military and the Ukrainian people with security assistance, with humanitarian assistance, with economic assistance. The president announced $800 million in new security assistance today, a total of $1 billion just in the past week.

And number two, we will continue to put pressure on the Russian government and the Russian economy with the serious economic and other measures that we've imposed. We think those two actions together strengthen the Ukrainians' hands on the battlefield and strengthen their hands at the diplomatic negotiating table.

CAMEROTA: So, what did -- what did Jake Sullivan leave this call with today?

MILLER: I don't want to get into anymore detail than what I already said. He made clear that we will continue to impose consequences if they are warranted and did warn the Russian government directly. As we said publicly that they would pay a price if they did launch any chemical or biological attacks.

CAMEROTA: I have the Russian readout of the call, for what it's worth. And there was one line that jumped out at me. The secretary of the Russian security council announced the need for Washington to refuse to continue supplying weapons to the Kyiv regime. And then, as you just pointed out, there was all of this new announcement of military assistance today from Stinger, anti-aircraft systems, anti- armor systems, 7,000 small arms, machine guns, shotguns, grenade launchers, rounds of ammunition, a hundred drones.

So, I assume the response from Jake Sullivan was no.

MILLER: Yeah. I think it's safe to say you can assume that. Look, we have been clear and steadfast from the beginning. We will continue to provide military support to the Ukrainian people to back them in their fight for the country. That includes some of the systems that you just mentioned.

We have been flowing them in before the conflict. We have accelerated that support since the invasion began. It also includes as we announce today that we have identified and are helping the Ukrainians acquire air defense system to defend against Russian aircraft. President Zelenskyy made a specific ask for those systems. We worked hard to identify them and get them flowing into the country.

CAMEROTA: President Zelenskyy, in addition to asking for a no-fly zone, which I know NATO and the U.S. are not interested in doing at the moment, he also asked to ratchet up the sanctions on Russia. So, I know there's been whole slew of sanctions already. Are there more that will be coming?

MILLER: We have a number of additional options available at our disposal, as we've said from the beginning.

But we should step back and for a minute, just look at the impact the sanctions we have already imposed and had on the Russian economy and the Russian leadership. We've sanctioned President Putin and the oligarchs closest to him, the senior members of the government.

Since we announced our sanctions, the Russian ruble, the currency, has fallen by 40 percent. The Russian stock market hasn't opened in three weeks, and they seem afraid to open it because they know the crash that would ensue.

We continue to deny the Russians' ability to project power long-term and we cut in half the war chest that he built up to fund this war. So, we've already imposed severe consequences. We have other options at our disposal that we will continue to consider and roll out in close coordination with our allies and partners in Europe and beyond.

CAMEROTA: Matt, a moment ago we played the video of President Biden, we believe for first time, calling President Putin a war criminal. So, what does that mean now?

MILLER: Well, look, the law is very clear. Intentional attacks on civilian infrastructure are war crimes. It is clear that the Russian government has been attacking civilian infrastructure. We've all seen the devastating video of maternity wards bombed, schools bombed, hospitals.

We have continued to collect evidence related to those actions, along with the Ukrainian government, our other allies and partners. We've continued to provide that evidence, the international bodies that ultimately make that determination. And at the end, if it's appropriate, we will support prosecution for war crimes.

CAMEROTA: Matt Miller, thank you very much. We really appreciate your time.

MILLER: Thanks for having me.

BLACKWELL: Well, as they just discussed, President Biden announced hundreds of millions in new security assistance to Ukraine, but pressure is growing on Capitol Hill to do more. We'll speak with first you Ukrainian-born member of Congress about what she thinks the president should do. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:24:03]

BLACKWELL: This morning, members of the House and Senate watched a powerful virtual address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): In darkest time for our country, for the whole Europe, I call on you to do more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Republican Congresswoman Victoria Spartz joins me now to discuss. She's the first Ukrainian-born member of Congress.

Thank you so much for your time.

I want to get to President Zelenskyy's address in just a moment. But, first, the president, President Biden, he checked off a lot of the items on the wish list from the Ukrainians.

They wanted more anti-aircraft systems. The U.S. is sending 800. They wanted drones. The U.S. is sending drones. They wanted longer range anti-craft system, the U.S. is helping with that. Twenty million rounds of ammunition.

Your reaction to what the U.S. will be sending.

REP. VICTORIA SPARTZ (R-IN): Well, it's interesting to me. I'm glad that, you know, President Biden is doing something because strategy, speed and skill are very important.

[15:25:05]

But it's interesting for me how we discuss strategy before things are done. So, I wish he would have said I've done it, because I think you put a lot of people in dangerous situation now when you announce all of things before you actually done it.

And so, this is a very strange war strategy for me where you actually go on Twitter and go on national news and talking about things before you're done. I wish we done more things and then talk about it versus just do a lot of talk and don't work the works.

So, I think this is very strange, but I'm glad he's moving and trying to do something because ultimately, there are some things we cannot do. We cannot enforce no-fly zone, but at least we need to help them to defend their people not to get slaughtered. And now, we have millions of people, they're under siege. So, it's a very dire situation. BLACKWELL: So, you say it's weird to announce -- or strange to

announce what is going to happen instead of it arriving in Ukraine and then saying here's what we have done. Is it -- are you questioning whether all of what the president announced will arrive in Ukraine?

SPARTZ: Well, there's always a risk with some that, that if you want to mitigate that risk in anything like that, you probably shouldn't be talking before something is done, you know? Because you put a lot of people in danger, you know, to do that. So, that is very strange, you know, that like -- even with planes and there was analysis becoming politicized. It's almost like a theater (ph).

I've never seen -- that's not how you generally fight the war. I mean, this is a serious war. It's a serious crisis there. So, I think some things should be announced more properly, the same like red line and sanctions, what is going to happen for deterrence, and something need to be said. That's where we are.

That is the best deterrence when things are already there. so, that is a little bit strange way to approach for me.

BLACKWELL: What's your reaction to what we just heard from the president at the White House? He was first asked by a reporter is Vladimir Putin a war criminal. He said no. And then returned to that reporter, asked the reporter to repeat it and he said, yes, he is a war criminal. What do you think?

SPARTZ: Well, that is not the kind of example, that they're very indetermined, and the strategy, very politically nervous to make a decision and make some stand. But he is a large (ph) war criminal. Any criminal has to be proven guilty and the evidence needs to go there. I'm glad the international court is already, they're looking at this evidence.

But when you look what's happening and look at the footage and everything else, this is not just a regular war. This is genocide and terrorism of people, holding citizen besieged, you know, killing and shooting individuals. So, I think he's definitely a large war criminal, and Senator Lindsey Graham led a resolution in the Senate, and I'm leading it in the House. I think it's important for the international court to put a press, including his general and commanders to participate and the accomplices in these war crimes, because a lot of people are going to die.

BLACKWELL: Yeah.

You know, you've been very vocal about the U.S. -- that it should bring in more Ukrainians into this country. We know now that more than 3 million have left Ukraine, 1.8 million to Poland, Romania, more than 400,000, more than 300,000 in Moldova. Small, small fraction of that into the U.S.

I want you to listen to what deputy secretary of state, Wendy Sherman, told Alisyn about why that number is so slow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WENDY SHERMAN, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: We have provided assistance to all of the countries that are accepting refugees right now and helping through both our own efforts and through non-governmental efforts to find their way to a permanent home. Right now, folks who want to come to the United States go through the U.N. high commissioner on refugees and that process which we understand can take some time. We will look at this on a day-to-day basis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: I think there are some people who are surprised that there are not plane loads of Ukrainians from Poland, from Romania coming into the U.S.

What are your thoughts about what you heard?

SPARTZ: Well, unfortunately, our legal immigration system, our legal asylum seeker system and system for refugees is so bound (ph). There's a lot of cases that are not legitimate. And I'll be honest with you, there are a lot of people, very desperate people around the world and we cannot just save all of them. But there are some people that life and death situation and when our legal system is not working very well because it's overwhelmed then we cannot help people in legitimate system and what's happening on our border is just unacceptable. I think we need to make sure is that we can, you know, fix all these processes and help people that really need it so we can have a better system.

BLACKWELL: Yeah.

SPARTZ: And I think -- in this point, I think Europe has to step up to because I think they made it a Polish problem. And I think at this point, we have to push on European Union to help Poland but also look at what we can do here and first secure our border, because it's a big problem, and then we can help people that really need.